Differential staining of insect neurons with nickel and cobalt

Pairs of neurons were differentially stained by intracellular injection of the divalent cations, nickel and cobalt. Pairs of neuronal tracts could be similarly labelled following immersion of their axon bundles in the markers described. Use of nickel and a 4 : 6 mixture of cobalt and nickel according to the protocols presented here revealed the morphology of cricket neuron processes as thin as 1 μm in diameter and yielded a favourable contrast between the cells marked, as well as with respect to the background of unstained tissue.     

Serologic dissection of HLA-D specificities by the use of monoclonal antibodies

To study the gene products of the HLA complex, we produced two monoclonal antibodies, termed HU-18 and HU-23. They were active in complement-dependent cytotoxicity and detected B-cell alloantigens encoded by a locus (or loci) linked to HLA. When three types of HLA-DR4 homozygous B-cell lines with different HLA-D specificities were tested for reactivity with HU-18 and HU-23, they displayed distinct reaction patterns depending on the HLA-D specificities they possessed: EBV-Wa (HLA-DYT homozygous), negative for both HU-18 and HU-23; KT2 and KOB (HLA-DKT2 homozygous), positive only for HU-18; and ER (HLA-Dw4 homozygous), positive for both. These differential reaction patterns were further confirmed by testing against a panel of 17 HLA-DR4-positive peripheral blood lymphocytes with known HLA-D specificities. Thus, these monoclonal antibodies allow us to identify HLA-DYT, HLA-DKT2, and HLA-Dw4 solely by serologic methods. This is the first clearcut serologic identification of these three HLA-DR4-associated HLA-D specificities, which have been indistinguishable by conventional serology and identified only by cellular techniques. It is hoped that immunochemical investigations using HU-18 and HU-23 will advance our understanding of the HLA-D region on a molecular level.     

Chemical modification of Escherichia coli succinyl-CoA synthetase with the adenine nucleotide analogue 5''-p-fluorosulphonylbenzoyladenosine.

Escherichia coli succinyl-CoA synthetase (EC 6.2.1.5) was irreversibly inactivated on incubation with the adenine nucleotide analogue 5'-p-fluorosulphonylbenzoyladenosine (5'-FSBA). Optimal inactivation by 5'-FSBA took place in 40% (v/v) dimethylformamide. ATP and ADP protected the enzyme against inactivation by 5'-FSBA, whereas desulpho-CoA, an analogue of CoA, did not. Inactivation of succinyl-CoA synthetase by 5'-FSBA resulted in total loss of almost four thiol groups per alpha beta-dimer, of which two groups appeared to be essential for catalytic activity. 5'-FSBA at the first instance appeared to interact non-specifically with non-essential thiol groups, followed by a more specific reaction with essential thiol groups in the ATP(ADP)-binding region. Plots of the data according to the method of Tsou [(1962) Sci. Sin. 11, 1535-1558] revealed that, of the two slower-reacting thiol groups, only one was essential for catalytic activity. When succinyl-CoA synthetase that had been totally inactivated by 5'-FSBA was unfolded in acidic urea and then refolded in the presence of 100 mM-dithiothreitol, 85% of the activity, in comparison with the appropriate control, was restored. These data are interpreted to indicate that inactivation of succinyl-CoA synthetase by 5'-FSBA involves the formation of a disulphide bond between two cysteine residues. Disulphide bond formation likely proceeds via a thiosulphonate intermediate between 5'-p-sulphonylbenzoyladenosine and one of the reactive thiol groups of the enzyme.     

Raman diagnosis of nucleic acid structure: sugar-puckering and glycosidic conformation in the guanosine moiety.

Observations of Raman spectra of various nucleic acids indicate that the guanine ring breathing frequency is sensitive to the internal rotation angle around the glycosidic bond and to the conformation of the five-membered ring of the ribose residue that is directly connected with the guanine residue in question. It is found that 682 cm-1 for C2'-endo-anti, at 665 cm-1 for C3'-endo-anti, and at 625 cm-1 for C3'-endo-syn. A DNA octamer d(GpGpApApTpTpCpC) shows, in its aqueous solution, a broad Raman band at 680 cm-1 with a tail at 670 cm-1. This fact suggests that the guanosine residues in this oligomer take primarily C2'-endo-anti conformation but an appreciable amount of fluctuation of the ribose ring structure towards C3'-endo is involved.     

Release of LH after administration of an analog of synthetic LH-RH in cattle

The $\text{in vivo}$ effect of an analog of LH-RH, (Des-Gly-NH₂¹⁰, Proethylamide⁹)-LH-RH, on LH release, was studied in one bull with azooapermia, and one cow with cystic follicle. The single intravenous injection of 100 μg LH-RH analog caused abrupt and marked increase in serum LH and the high levels of LH were maintained for 3 hours. The highest levels of serum LH were 48 and 114 times as high as the pre-treatment levels in a bull and a cow, respectively. Further studies are being undertaken to evaluate this compound for improving reproductive function in cattle.     

Further proof for the catalytic role of the larger subunit in the spinach leaf ribulose-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase

The catalytically active oligomeric form of the larger subunit, A_m, obtained from spinach leaf ribulose-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase by pretreatment with p-mercuribenzoate at pH 7.5 followed by incubation at pH 9.0, was free of the smaller subunit based on C-terminal amino acid analyses. Valine was the predominant C-terminus of the A_m preparations, the release of tyrosine being negligibly small [cf. Sugiyama and Akazawa, $\text{Biochemistry}$ 9 (1970) 4499]. The pH optimum of the ribulose-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase reaction by A_m was about 8.5, in comparison to the native enzyme which showed an alkaline pH optimum only in the absence of Mg²⁺. The substrate saturation curve of the catalytic subunit with respect to bicarbonate followed the Michaelis-Menten equation, as contrasted to the anomalous reaction kinetics of the native ribulose-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase molecule reported previously. These overall results indicate that the allosteric properties of spinach ribulose-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase are possibly conveyed by a unique structural conformation that requires the presence of the smaller subunit in association with the larger catalytic subunit component of the enzyme molecule.