Pentanol and Benzyl Alcohol Attack Bacterial Surface Structures Differently

The genus Methylobacterium tolerates hygiene agents like benzalkonium chloride (BAC), and infection with this organism is an important public health issue. Here, we found that the combination of BAC with particular alcohols at nonlethal concentrations in terms of their solitary uses significantly reduced bacterial viability after only 5 min of exposure. Among the alcohols, Raman spectroscopic analyses showed that pentanol (pentyl alcohol [PeA]) and benzyl alcohol (BzA) accelerated the cellular accumulation of BAC. Fluorescence spectroscopic assays and morphological assays with giant vesicles indicated that PeA rarely attacked membrane structures, while BzA increased the membrane fluidity and destabilized the structures. Other fluorescent spectroscopic assays indicated that PeA and BzA inactivate bacterial membrane proteins, including an efflux pump for BAC transportation. These findings suggested that the inactivation of membrane proteins by PeA and BzA led to the cellular accumulation but that only BzA also enhanced BAC penetration by membrane fluidization at nonlethal concentrations.     

Glucose-induced abnormal egg-laying rate in Caenorhabditis elegans

High glucose reduced the egg-laying rate of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and was dependent on serotonergic signaling. Antidiabetic drugs of the biguanide and thiazolidine classes ameliorated the detrimental effect of glucose on egg-laying rate, suggesting the possibility that this quick and easy assay system may be applicable to whole-animal screening for novel antidiabetic drugs, at least, of these classes.     

Charge-dependent regulation of NADPH oxidase activities in intact and subcellular systems of polymorphonuclear leukocytes

It has been reported that respiratory bursts with N-formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine, A23187, phorbol ester and fatty acids are switched off and on by modulating the net charges of plasma membranes in guinea-pig neutrophils (Miyahara, M. et al. (1987), Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 929, 253-262). In the present study, this was further extended in cells treated with protein kinase C inhibitors which completely suppressed the phorbol ester-dependent respiratory burst. This suggested that the initiation of the respiratory burst, which is generally accepted as linked to protein kinase C activation, might also be implicated in the net charge changes of plasma membranes. The above results were also supported by data obtained with a cell-free system reconstituted with plasma membranes and cytosolic fractions from unstimulated neutrophils, guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate and NADPH. Arachidonate stimulated NADPH oxidase activity accompanied by a marked phosphorylation of membrane proteins. The phosphorylation was sensitive to H-7, but it did not appear to be essential for the respiratory burst, because the oxidase activation was insensitive to H-7. Pretreating the plasma membranes with positively charged cetylamine inhibited the oxidase activation by arachidonate. These results suggest that a charge-dependent process, which does not use protein kinase C, may play an important role in the reaction leading to NADPH oxidase activation, and this may be related to the interaction of plasma membranes with the cytosolic activation factor.     

Scammonins VII and VIII, two resin glycosides from Convolvulus scammonia.

Two minor ether-soluble resin glycosides, scammonins VII and VIII, were isolated from Radix Scammoniae, the roots of Convolvulus scammonia. In addition to (2S)-2-methylbutyric acid and tiglic acid, they are composed, respectively, of orizabic acid A and a new glycosidic acid named scammonic acid B, with similar macrocyclic ester structures to those of the scammonic acid A-based scammonins I-VI. Isolation of genuine scammonins III-V, which were previously obtained as peracetates, is also described.     

Purification and characterization of a lipocortin-like 33 kDa protein from guinea pig neutrophils

A lipocortin-like, phospholipase A2 inhibitory 33 kDa protein was purified from guinea pig neutrophils. From amino acid composition and sequence data, this protein was found to have a high degree of homology to human lipocortin I. This protein inhibited porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2 activity in the presence of [3H]oleic acid-labeled Escherichia coli membranes as substrate. Maximal inhibition amounted to 65% whereas 50% inhibition occurred at 83.5 nM. This protein showed F-actin-binding ability in a Ca2+-dependent manner.     

Isolation of an acyl-glucose-dependent anthocyanin 7-O-glucosyltransferase from the monocot Agapanthus africanus

A cDNA encoding an acyl-glucose-dependent anthocyanin 7-O-glucosyltransferase (AaAA7GT) was isolated from Agapanthus africanus petals; this is the first AAGT identified in a monocot. Peak expression of AaAA7GT in developing A. africanus petals occurred before the flowering stage, and was later than found previously for other anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. Analysis of recombinant proteins showed AaAA7GT had strict substrate preference for anthocyanidin 3-O-glycosides. The AaAA7GT amino acid had high sequence similarity to glycoside hydrolase family 1 (GH1) proteins, which typically act as β-glycosidases. A phylogenetic analysis of amino acid sequences suggested that AAGTs were derived from glycosidase early in the angiosperm lineage.     

Separation of 17 DL-amino acids and chiral sequential analysis of peptides by reversed-phase liquid chromatography after labeling with R(-)-4- (3-isothiocyanatopyrrolidin-1-yl)-7-(N, N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole

Seventeen DL-amino acids labeled with a fluorescent chiral labeling reagent, R(-)-4-(3-isothiocyanatopyrrolidin-1-yl)-7-(N, N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (R(-)-DBD-PyNCS), were separated by reversed-phase chromatography and detected fluorometrically at 550 nm (excitation at 460 nm). The reagent reacted with amino functional group in dl-amino acids under basic medium. The thiocarbamoyl derivatives were converted to thiohydantoin via thiazolinone in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) solution. The epimerization ratios during the reaction of the cyclization were less than 37% in all dl-amino acids tested. The resulting thiohydantoin derivatives of individual dl-amino acids were completely separated with isocratic elutions using acidic mobile phase involving 0.1% TFA. The separations of the thiohydantoins yielded from acidic, basic, neutral, hydroxyl, and aromatic amino acids were good enough for the identification of dl-amino acid. The method using the reagent was adopted to identification of dl-amino acid sequences in eight peptides. The separation and identification of the thiohydantoin derivatives liberated from the peptides labeled were performed by the isocratic elutions. The applicability of the proposed procedure to sequential analysis of peptide was demonstrated with [D-Ala(2)]-leucine enkephalin, [D-Ala(2)]-deltorphin II, d-Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-amide, and Phe-D-Met-Arg-Phe-amide. D-Ala, D-Phe, and D-Met in the peptides were positively identified with the proposed procedures. [L-Ala(2)]-leucine enkephalin, beta-lipotropin, Asp-Ser-Asp-Pro-Arg, and Pro-Asp-Val-Asp-His-Val-Phe-Leu-Arg-Phe-amide were also analyzed as the references without D-amino acid.     

Structure of the transition state analog of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase. Crystallographic and molecular orbital studies on the charge-transfer complex of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase with 3-thiaoctanoyl-CoA

The flavoenzyme medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) eliminates the alpha-proton of the substrate analog, 3-thiaoctanoyl-CoA (3S-C8-CoA), to form a charge-transfer complex with deprotonated 3S-C8-CoA. This complex can simulate the metastable reaction intermediate immediately after the alpha-proton elimination of a substrate and before the beta-hydrogen transfer as a hydride, and is therefore regarded as a transition-state analog. The crystalline complex was obtained by co-crystallizing MCAD in the oxidized form with 3S-C8-CoA. The three-dimensional structure of the complex was solved by X-ray crystallography. The deprotonated 3S-C8-CoA was clearly located within the active-site cleft of the enzyme. The arrangement between the flavin ring and deprotonated 3S-C8-CoA is consistent with a charge transfer interaction with the negatively charged acyl-chain of 3S-C8-CoA as an electron donor stacking on the pyrimidine moiety of the flavin ring as an electron acceptor. The structure of the model complex between lumiflavin and the deprotonated ethylthioester of 3-thiabutanoic acid was optimized by molecular orbital calculations. The obtained theoretical structure was essentially the same as that of the corresponding region of the X-ray structure. A considerable amount of negative charge is transferred to the flavin ring system to stabilize the complex by 9.2 kcal/mol. The large stabilization energy by charge transfer probably plays an important role in determining the alignment of the flavin ring with 3S-C8-CoA. The structure of the highest occupied molecular orbital of the complex revealed the electron flow pathway from a substrate to the flavin ring.     

Acute hemodynamic responses in the head during microgravity induced by free drop in anesthetized rats

To examine acute hemodynamic responses to microgravity (microG) in the head, we measured carotid artery pressure (CAP) and jugular vein pressure (JVP) to calculate cephalic perfusion pressure (CPP = CAP - JVP) and recorded images of microvessels in the iris to evaluate capillary blood flow velocity (CBFV) and capillary diameter (CD) in anesthetized rats during 4.5 s of microG induced by free drop. Rats were placed in 30 degrees head-up whole body-tilted (HU, n = 7) or horizontal (flat, n = 6) position. In the flat group, none of the measured variables was significantly affected by microG, whereas in the HU group, CAP, JVP, and CPP increased, respectively, by 23.4 +/- 2.6, 1.3 +/- 0.2, and 22.9 +/- 3.1 mmHg, and CBFV and CD increased, respectively, by 33 +/- 8 and 9 +/- 3%, showing an increase in capillary blood flow. To further examine the mechanisms underlying these CAP and JVP increases, another experiment was performed in which CAP and JVP were measured in anesthetized rats (n = 6) during a postural change from HU to flat. In these animals, the change in JVP was similar to that observed during actual microG, but no change in CAP was seen, indicating that the JVP increase during actual microG is caused by disappearance of the gravitational pressure gradient in the head-to-foot axis, whereas the CAP increase is not. In conclusion, actual microG elicits an increase in CPP due to a greater increase in CAP than JVP, resulting in increased capillary blood flow. Although the increase in JVP is explained by the disappearance of gravitational pressure gradient in the head-to-foot axis as a result of microG, the larger increase in CAP is not.