Fully automated radioligand binding filtration assay for membrane-bound receptors

Here we describe a fully automated, hands-free radioligand filtration binding assay for dopamine D3 receptors. Three separate instruments were linked in tandem to perform the following operations: The Genmate and Genesis were linked to perform liquid handling, incubation, and the scheduling operations, while an automated harvester was used to perform rapid filtration. To minimize carryover of compounds, disposable tips were used for diluting and dispensing the compounds. A custom-designed tip holder was used to handle loading and pipetting by the Genmate 96-well pipettor. The assay for 84 compounds with six concentrations that spans six logs can be completed within 4 h. The reproducibility of the individual data point (cv < 10% between duplicates) and Ki (cv < 20%) is superior to that determined by manual procedures. Ki values of various dopamine ligands determined by the hands-free procedure are similar to published values. This technology reduces hands-on time (at least 70%), minimizes exposure to radioligands (up to 95%), and improves the reproducibility of results. The technology is applicablefor high-throughput screening and rapid determination of structure-activity relationship of compounds for many other membrane-bound receptors.     

Promotion of Plant Growth by Bacterial ACC Deaminase

To date, there has been only limited commercial use of plant growth-promoting bacteria in agriculture, horticulture, and silviculture. However, with recent progress toward understanding the mechanisms that these organisms utilize to facilitate plant growth, the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria is expected to continue to increase worldwide. One of the key mechanisms employed by plant growth-promoting bacteria to facilitate plant growth is the lowering of plant ethylene levels by the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase. This article reviews the published work on this enzyme, with an emphasis on its biochemistry, protein structure, genes, and regulation. In addition, this article provides some initial insights into the changes in both plants and ACC deaminase-containing plant growth-promoting bacteria as a consequence of plant-microbe interactions. Finally, a brief discussion of how bacterial ACC deaminase and indoleacetic acid (IAA) together modulate plant growth and development is included.     

An inexpensive tag for short-term studies in milkfish (Cbanos chanos Forsskal) and in seabass (Lates calcarifer Bloch)

An opercular tag for marking adult milkfish ( Chanos chanos Forsskal) and seabass ( Lates calcarifer Bloch) is described. High tag retention and relatively low mortality rates were observed in adult fish handled two to ten times during 14-to 60-day tests. The features and advantages of the tag for marking large-sized fish in short-term studies are discussed.

Zusammenfassung

Eine preiswerte Markierung für Kurzzeitstudien des Milchfisches (Chanos chanos Forsskal) und der Centropomidae (Lates calcarifer Bloch)
Eine Kiemendeckel-Markierung für adulte Milchfische (Chanos chanos Forsskal) und Centropomidae (Lates calcacifer Bloch) wird beschrieben. Sie zeichnet sich durch gute Haltbarkeit aus und verursacht relativ geringe Mortalität bei adulten Fischen, die in Versuchen von 14 bis 60 Tage Dauer 2-bis 10mal untersucht wurden. Die Eigenschaften und Vorteile dieser Markierung für große Fische in Kurzzeitstudien werden diskutiert.

Résumé

Un marquage économique pour des études de courte durée du chanidé (Chanos chanos Forsskal) et du centropomidé (Lates calcarifer Bloch)
Un marquage d'opercule pour les chanidés (Chanos chanos Forsskal) et les centropomidés (Lates calcarifer Bloch) adultes est décrit. Une bonne conservation et une mortalité relativement basse ont été observées chez des poissons adultes examinés 2 à 10 fois pendant des expériences d'une durée de 14 à 60 jours. Les caractéristiques et les avantages du marquage de poissons de grande taille pendant des expériences d'une courte durée sont discutés.     

2,5-Di(tert-butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone--a novel inhibitor of liver microsomal Ca2+ sequestration

Treatment of rat liver microsomes with 2,5-di(tert-butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone caused a dose-related inhibition (Ki congruent to 1 microM) of ATP-dependent Ca2+ sequestration. This was paralleled by a similar impairment of the microsomal Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activity. In contrast, the hydroquinose failed to induce Ca2+ release from Ca2+-loaded liver mitochondria (supplied with ATP), and inhibited neither the mitochondrial F1F0-ATPase nor the Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activity of the hepatic plasma membrane fraction. The inhibition of microsomal Ca2+ sequestration was not associated with any apparent alteration of membrane permeability or loss of other microsomal enzyme activities or modification of microsomal protein thiols. These findings suggest that 2,5-di(tert-butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone is a potent and selective inhibitor of liver microsomal Ca2+ sequestration which may be a useful tool in studies of Ca2+ fluxes in intact cells and tissues.     

Inhibition of DNA fragmentation in thymocytes and isolated thymocyte nuclei by agents that stimulate protein kinase C

Glucocorticoid hormones and Ca2+ ionophores stimulate a suicide process in immature thymocytes, known as apoptosis or programmed cell death, that involves extensive DNA fragmentation. We have recently shown that a sustained increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration stimulates DNA fragmentation and cell killing in glucocorticoid- or ionophore-treated thymocytes. However, a sustained increase in the cytosolic Ca2+ level also mediates lymphocyte proliferation, suggesting that apoptosis is blocked in proliferating thymocytes. In this study we report that phorbol esters, which selectively stimulate protein kinase C (PKC), blocked DNA fragmentation and cell death in thymocytes exposed to Ca2+ ionophore or glucocorticoid hormone. The T cell mitogen, concanavalin A, which stimulates thymocytes by a mechanism that involves PKC activation, caused concentration-dependent increases in the cytosolic Ca2+ level that did not result in DNA fragmentation, but incubation with concanavalin A and the PKC inhibitor H-7 (1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine) resulted in both DNA fragmentation and cell death. Phorbol ester directly inhibited Ca2+-dependent DNA fragmentation in isolated thymocyte nuclei. Our results strongly suggest that PKC activation blocks thymocyte apoptosis by preventing Ca2+-stimulated endonuclease activation.     

Calcium-dependent killing of immature thymocytes by stimulation via the CD3/T cell receptor complex

Development of tolerance to self Ag occurs during a negative cell selection process in the thymus. This selection process is thought to involve interactions between Ag-specific thymocyte receptors and self Ag presented by the MHC proteins on accessory cells, resulting in deletion of potentially harmful self-reactive precursors. However, the mechanisms underlying this clonal deletion have not been identified. In confirmation of previous findings (C. A. Smith, G. T. Williams, R. Kingston, E. J. Jenkins, and J. J. T. Owen, 1989. Antibodies to CD3/T-cell receptor complex induce death by apoptosis in immature T cells in thymic cultures. Nature 337:181), we have found that an anti-CD3 antibody stimulated DNA fragmentation, characteristic of a suicide mechanism known as apoptosis or programmed cell death (PCD), in suspensions of human thymocytes. Endonuclease activation and cell killing were dependent on an early, sustained increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, most of which was of extracellular origin. Although the magnitude and duration of the Ca2+ increase were similar to those observed in response to Con A, the mitogen did not stimulate DNA fragmentation or cell death. Phorbol ester prevented Ca2+-dependent DNA fragmentation and cell killing in response to anti-CD3 or other agents that stimulated PCD, suggesting that activation of protein kinase C abrogated cell suicide. Disappearance of CD4+CD8+ immature thymocytes was generally observed in response to all agents that stimulated PCD, whereas mature PBL were insensitive to stimulation of PCD. Our results suggest that antibody-mediated stimulation of immature thymocytes via the TCR complex results in Ca2+-dependent, endonuclease-mediated cell killing, depending on the activation status of protein kinase C.     

Patterns of extensive genetic differentiation and variation among European harbor seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina) revealed using microsatellite DNA polymorphisms

The harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) has the most extensive distribution of any phocid seal species. An analysis of population structure in this species across its European range was made using 7 phocid derived microsatellites in a sample of 1,029 individuals from 12 separate geographic areas. Despite the species potential for long-distance movement, significant genetic differentiation between areas was observed using an unbiased estimator of RST. Six distinct population units were identified: Ireland-Scotland, English east coast, Waddensea, western Scandinavia (Norway-Kattegat-Skagerrak-west Baltic), east Baltic, and Iceland. Little local substructuring is present along coastlines with a continuous distribution of breeding animals, but differentiation does increase with geographic distance. The degree of differentiation is greater over equivalent distances where the distribution is discontinuous, such as along coasts where breeding colonies are separated by large distances or by stretches of open sea. Patterns of population differentiation derived from microsatellites are very similar to those obtained from previous mitochondrial DNA analysis and suggest that philopatry in harbor seals operates over 300-500 km. In Europe, harbor seals have experienced a complex demographic history and patterns of population structure are likely to have been affected by natural environmental influences such as Pleistocene glaciations and epizootics. Comparison of Nm values from an unbiased estimator of RST, GST, and theta are consistent and, in some cases, may indicate populations where conditions deviate from the expectations of the RST model.      

Evidence for control of protein synthesis in HeLa cells via the elongation rate

The effects of fresh medium and serum on protein synthesis in suspension-cultured HeLa cells after growth to high cell density (>5 × 10⁵ cells/ml) were studied. Cells which were resuspended in fresh medium plus serum and grown for 24 hours (control) were compared with cells grown for 2 hours after resuspension (stimulated). The spectrum of proteins being synthesized by control and stimulated cells does not appear to be grossly different; that is, the weight and number average molecular weights of newly synthesized whole-cell protein are about the same in both cultures. Also, no significant differences were observed in the number of ribosomes per polysome or in the fraction of total ribosomes in polysomes. However, the transit times (combined elongation and termination times) were found to differ significantly; the average transit time for control cells was 2.24 minutes, while the average transit time for stimulated cells was 1.26 minutes. (An appendex evaluating the methodology involved in measuring the transit time is included.) In agreement with the difference in transit time, the absolute rate of protein synthesis in stimulated cells was approximately 1.8 times the rate measured in control cells. These data are taken as evidence that under certain conditions, the rate of elongtion and/or termination of polypeptide chains limits the overall rate of translation, and that cells can respond to growth conditions by changing the elongation and/or termination rate of protein synthesis.