Phlegmacins and anhydrophlegmacinquinones: Dimeric hydroanthracenes from seedlings of Cassia torosa

From seedlings of Cassia torosa four dimeric hydroanthracenes have been isolated. Two, a pair of atropisomeric dimers consisting of two molecules o     

Effects of illumination on absorption peak shifts in spectra of intact etiolated cotyledons of Pharbitis nil I. Existence of two kinds of shift patterns

Two patterns were found in the shifts of absorption peaks inspectra of intact etiolated Pharbitis cotyledons illuminatedat room temperature. One was a well-known pattern, P649C678C683C672,called the "high-intensity illumination pattern" in this study.The other, called the "low-intensity illumination pattern,"was P649C672. (Received June 16, 1976; )     

Effect of piperonyl butoxide and diphenylamine on lipid peroxidation in ozonated chloroplasts

Lipid peroxide (LPO) formation was remarkable when isolatedtobacco chloroplasts were bubbled with high concentrations ofozone, though the fatty acid composition and the fractionationpattern of glycolipids and phospholipids in the chloroplastlipids changed little after ozone fumigation of the leaves.Piperonyl butoxide (PB), a potent protectant against ozone injury,strongly inhibited LPO formation in ozonated chloroplasts. PBalso prevented ozone-induced decreases in the amounts of linolenicand linoleic acids in the chloroplast lipids. These resultssuggest that PB inhibition of LPO formation may be involvedin the protective mechanism against ozone phytotoxicity. However,the mode of PB action differed on some points from that of diphenylamine,which is an antioxidant and also effective against ozone injury.The mode of PB action is discussed. ¹ Present address: The Central Research Institute, Japan Tobacco& Salt Public Corporation, Umegaoka, Midori-ku, Yokohama227, Japan. (Received July 5, 1976; )     

Studies on the control of cell division in a green alga,Ankistrodesmus gracilis (Chlorococcales)

The effects of various kinds of nitrogen compounds on the proliferation patterns ofAnkistrodesmus gracilis were examined. Among the tested compounds, the addition of peptone, arginine or glutamine to the N-free medium was the most effective on cell growth. The effectiveness was also shown in media containing one of several kinds of amino acid. In both peptone and arginine media the alga proliferated with multiple fission type of cell division, whereas the cultures grown in glutamine or serine medium contained 2-celled colonies at high frequencies. The latter was an efficient culture condition for cell reproduction with binary fission. The evidence for the behavior of nuclear and cytoplasmic division in these growth patterns were obtained from observations of thin sectioned materials.     

Resistance to tolerance induction in B cells of autoimmune mice—Abnormal expansion of low affinity IgG-producing B-cell population

Several strains of mice are known to develop spontaneous autoimmune diseases like lupus erythematosus and they show various immunological abnormalities as well. Despite different genetic backgrounds, they manifest various immunological abnormalities in common, e.g., polyclonal B-cell activation (PBA) and resistance to tolerance induction. To elucidate mechanisms of the development of autoimmunity, tolerance inducibility was examined in autoimmune and normal mice using trinitrophenylated carboxymethyl cellulose (TNP-CMC) as tolerogen which is known to induce TNP-specific B-cell tolerance without the participation of T cells. NZB and MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr mice were used as autoimmune mice and C57BL/6, BALB/c, and MRL/Mp-+/+ mice as nonautoimmune mice. When TNP-CMC-injected mice were challenged with T-independent antigens, all of the mice tested were shown to be tolerant. In contrast, when TNP-CMC-injected mice were challenged with T-dependent antigen and secondary IgG responses were assessed, autoimmune mice showed rather hyperreactivity, while nonautoimmune mice showed hyporesponsiveness. Cyclophosphamide improved this defective tolerance inducibility. By the solid-phase radioimmunoassay it was revealed that average affinity of serum anti-TNP antibodies produced in TNP-CMC-injected mice was low. Such low affinity antibodies were produced in large amount in autoimmune mice. Hence, it was suggested that B-cell clones destined to produce low affinity IgG antibodies were responsible for the resistance to tolerance induction and such clones were expanding in autoimmune mice.     

Cytochemical and electron microscopic demonstration of organelle translocation and the inhibition of such translocation by colchicine during the mitosis of rat hepatocytes

Hepatocyte lysosomes, mitochondria, and peroxisomes show a dramatic translocation during mitosis induced by partial hepatectomy. During prophase, all three organelles move to the perinuclear cytoplasm. In metaphase, they become concentrated in the polar regions. During telophase, these organelles form clusters in the juxtanuclear regions. This organelle translocation is inhibited by the administration of a low concentration of colchicine, suggesting an involvement of microtubules in their movement.     

A new acid carboxypeptidase,O-1, fromAspergillus oryzae

A new acid carboxypeptidase was purified fromAspergillus oryzae grown on solid bran culture medium. The purified enzyme was found to be homogeneous by disc gel electrophoresis at pH 9.4 and isoelectric focusing. The enzyme was termedA. oryzae acid carboxypeptidase O-1 with isoelectric point 4.08. The substrate specificity of the new enzyme was investigated with proangiotensin, angiotensin, and bradykinin. Even when the proline was present at the penultimate position of the peptide, the enzyme rapidly hydrolyzed the carboxyterminal Pro-X (X=amino acid) peptide bond. TheK _m andk _cat values for angiotension (–Pro⁷–Phe⁸) at pH 3.7 and 30°C were 0.2 mM and 1.7 sec^–1, respectively.     

Two new subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis isolated in Japan: Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kumamotoensis (serotype 18) and Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. tochigiensis (serotype 19)

Bacteriological and serological characteristics of three Bacillus thuringiensis isolates obtained in Japan were investigated. They formed typical rhomboidal parasporal inclusions but flagellar (H) antigens of these isolates were different from those of the known 17 H serotypes of B. thuringiensis. The three isolates were divided into two new serotypes (serotypes 18 and 19). The serotype 18 isolate (3–71) produced thermostable exotoxin and the inclusions of this isolate were toxic to larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, but nontoxic to larvae of the mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The other isolate (119-72) belonging to serotype 18 produced inclusions nontoxic to larvae of B. mori and A. aegypti and did not produce thermostable exotoxin. However, other bacteriological properties of the isolate 119-72 were similar to those of the isolate 3–71. The serotype 19 isolate (117-72) produced inclusions nontoxic to larvae of B. mori and A. aegypti and did not produce thermostable exotoxin. Acid production from saccharose and the production of brownish purple pigment were observed in the two serotype 18 isolates, while neither of them was observed in the serotype 19 isolate. In other 29 biochemical properties tested, there was no difference among the three isolates. Based on these characteristics, the following two subspecies names are proposed: Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kumamotoensis (serotype 18) for the type strain 3–71 and Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. tochigiensis (serotype 19) for the type strain 117-72.     

Studies on the constituents of the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia: The structures of two new lactones,isotoralactone and cassialactone

Torosachrysone and two new naphthalenic lactones, isotoralactone and cassialactone, were isolated from the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia. Their structures were established as 9,10-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-3-methylene-¹H-naphtho(2,3-c)dihydropyrone-1-one and 8-methoxy-4-methyl-1-oxo-4,10,11-trihydroxy-naphtho(2,3-c)oxepin, respectively.     

Soluble and bound forms of intracellular acid carboxypeptidase inAspergillus saitoi

The enzymological, physical, and immunological properties of soluble and bound forms of intracellular acid carboxypeptidase isolated from fresh mycelia ofAspergillus saitoi are reported. In the broken mycelia, about 60% of the total activity was found in the 2,000×g precipitate, with most of the remainder in the 100,000×g supernantant. The highly purified enzymes, I_a and I_b, from the 100,000×g supernatant were found to be homogeneous by such criteria as disc gel electrophoresis at pH 9.4 The bound enzyme, II, was solubilized from the 2,000×g precipitate by self-digestion at pH 6.4 and was highly purified by chromotography. The two forms of intracellular enzymes, the soluble enzymes (I_a and I_b) from the 100,00×g supernatant and the solubilized enzyme (II) from the 2,000×g precipitate, were closely related to, but not completely identical with, the extracellular acid carboxypeptidase.