Phosphatidylcholesterol bilayers. A model for phospholipid-cholesterol interaction

Aqueous dispersions of monovalent and divalent cation salts of O-(1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoryl) cholesterol form multilamellar vesicles as shown by freeze-fracture electron microscopy, by electron micrographs of the negatively stained liposomes, and by swelling curves of liposomes in hypoosmotic medium. Differential scanning calorimetry reveals that aqueous dispersions of divalent metal salts of O-(1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoryl)-cholesterol undergo a characteristic thermotropic phase transition with a relatively large cooperative unit (n > 250 for the calcium salt). In contrast, monovalent cation salts of O-(1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphoryl)cholesterol do not show a thermotropic phase transition under comparable conditions. The molecular area of O-(1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoryl)cholesterol in a monolayer is the same in the presence and absence of Ca²⁺, and is virtually equal to the area of an equimolar mixture of dipalmitoyl phosphatidic acid and cholesterol. To account for the novel state induced by Ca²⁺ on aqueous dispersions of O-(1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoryl)cholesterol (i.e., bilayer organization and highly cooperative phase transition), a linear array model is proposed in which Ca²⁺ bridges adjacent arrays of O-(1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoryl)cholesterol molecules, thus freezing the acyl chains in their normal state. One of the main corollaries of the model is that the cooperative unit for a thermotropic phase transition is essentially one-dimensional, rather than a two-dimensional matrix. O-(1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoryl)cholesterol is proposed as an orientationally and conformationally restricted analog of glycerophospholipid plus cholesterol in bilayers.     

Air-borne fungi in the air of Barcelona (Spain). III. The genus Aspergillus link

During a survey on the presence of species of the genusAspergillus in the air of the city of Barcelona (Spain), the following species were identified:Aspergillus flavus Link,A. niger van Tieghem,A. fumigatus Fresenius,A. clavatus Desmazières,A. terreus Thorn,A. chevalieri (Mang.) Thomet Church,A. niveus Bloch, emend. Thomet Church,A. ochraceus Wilhelm,A. versicolor (Vuillemin) Tiraboschi, andA. amstelodami (Mang.) Churchet Thom.     

The molecular basis of disorders of human hemoglobin synthesis

Summary The structure and organization of the human globin genes at the nucleotide level has been established by restriction endonuclease digestion of cellular DNA, and by the isolation and purification of these. genes in phage vectors. With this approach it has been possible to define alterations at the DNA level resulting in a group of inherited diseases of man known as the thalassemia syndromes, and related disorders. Combined with other known genetic and biochemical data, these studies provide a framework for understanding the pathogenesis of these disorders at the molecular level.     

Spot position of rat liver ribosomal proteins by four different two-dimensional electrophoreses in polyacrylamide gel

Summary Separation of the proteins from rat liver 40S and 60S ribosomal subunits and polysomes was done in four different two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis systems. The first dimension was run at acidic or basic pH, the second dimension either with sodium dodecyl sulphate or at acidic pH in 18% acrylamide. The position of each individual protein of both subunits and polysomes was determined in each system. This identification resulted from a new method avoiding any previous purification of individual proteins. The new proposed uniform nomenclature for mammalian ribosomal proteins (McConkey et al. in press) was used for numbering the proteins in the four systems.     

Biochemical evidence for the non-inactivation of the steroid sulfatase locus in human placenta and fibroblasts

Summary Steroid sulfatase activities are significantly higher in placentas obtained after the birth of girls than after the birth of boys, and also in female fibroblasts compared to male strains. This constitutes biochemical evidence for the non-inactivation of the X-linked sulfatase locus. No hydrolytic activity is found in the fibroblasts of ichthyotic boys. Heterozygosity is demonstrated in the fibroblasts of the four mothers studied, as they have steroid sulfatase activity of less or equivalent to the normal male value.     

Cholinergic development in chick brain reaggregated cell cultures

Reaggregated cell cultures from dissociated 7-day-old chick embryo whole brains were prepared, and the developmental profiles of acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase, in the aggregates, determined over a 30-day period. Enzyme activities in vitro, at different times of culture, typically lie between 30 and 60% of the values obtained for embryos or chicks of the same developmental age, up to day-10 posthatching. The increase in acetylcholinesterase activity over a 24-day period of culture/incubation is fourfold in the aggregates vs. sixfold for embryos, while the choline acetyltransferase values increase, during the same period of time, 32-fold in the aggregates vs. 17-fold in vivo. Choline acetyltransferase activity seems to be more dependent on good cell-to-cell contact than acetylcholinesterase activity. On the other hand, morphological studies on the aggregates with light and electron microscopy reveal a number of structural features characteristic of well-developed nervous tissue. It is suggested that aggregate cultures of chick brain cells are an adequate model system that is especially useful in analyzing developmental phenomena requiring free tridimensional interaction.Abbreviations AChE acetylcholinesterase - ChAT choline acetyltransferase - BW284 C51 dibromide 1,5-bis-(4-allyldimethylammoniumphenyl)pentan-3-one dibromide - ACh acetylcholine     

Cholinergic development in chick optic tectum and retina reaggregated cell cultures

The developmental profiles of acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase in chick optic tectum and retina cell aggregates, over a 30-day period, have been determined and compared with the corresponding developmental curves obtained in vivo. Both acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase activities in retina cell aggregates and the acetylcholinesterase activity in optic tectum cell aggregates usually lie between 40 and 90% of the values measured in vivo for the same cell (tissue) type and developmental age. However, the choline acetyltransferase activity in tectum aggregates increases only during the first 7 days of culture, and then decreases to reach a low value of 8% of that measured in vivo, by day 24. This fact, which is associated with widespread degeneration and cell death, could be attributed to the condition of natural deafferentiation occurring in a tectum cell aggregate. A parallel has been drawn between this behavior of a tectum cell aggregate and the effect of early embryonic eye removal on the development of the contralateral optic tectum in vivo. Thus, the tectum may have a biphasic pattern of development, with an autonomous period of growth of about 2 wk, followed by an afference-dependent phase, while the retina behaves, from a cholinergic point of view, as a relatively self-sufficient structure.Abbreviations AChE acetylcholinesterase - ChAT choline acetyltransferase - ACh acetylcholine - BW284 C51 dibromide 1,5-bis(4-allyldimethylammoniumphenyl)pentan-3-one dibromide     

Scanning electron microscopy of Penicillium conidia

The morphology of conidia in 211 species and 12 varieties belonging to the genus Penicillium Link ex Gray have been studied and compared.According to surface ornamentation, conidia have been classified into six groups: A, smooth-walled (7% of the species); B, delicately roughened (13%); C, warty (28%); D, echinate (10%); E, striate with low irregular ridges (36%); and F, striate with scarce high ridges or bars (6%). Whereas the first two groups are closely related in both shape and average size, a gradual reduction was observed in size and in the length/width (l/w) ratio in the remaining groups. Echinate conidia were globose, having the largest average size. Only four species produced conidia not surpassing 2 m in diameter. Maximum length observed was 8 m, and most elongated conidia had a l/w ratio of 3.5. Forty per cent of the species studied had globose conidia.Conidia of the monoverticillate species were generally smaller, more globose and frequently with ridges. In the Asymmetrica, the conidia were generally larger, and showed ridges in comparatively few species. Conidia of the Symmetrica, which were frequently striate with ridges, presented the most elongated forms. The largest average size was found in the conidia of the Polyverticillata which were generally warty. Finally, we have considered the variations in surface ornamentation of conidia during the evolution of the genus Penicillium and drawn attention to their possible relationship with certain habitats and ways of conidial dispersion.     

Binding of 4-methylumbelliferyl-galactosides to peanut agglutinin

The binding of 4-methylumbelliferyl-α-D-galactopyranoside, -β-D-galactopyranoside and -D-Galβ(1→3)DGalNac to peanut agglutinin was studied by fluorescence. Peanut agglutinin quenched the fluorescence intensity of 4-methylumbelliferyl-α-D-galactopyranoside but enhanced that of the two 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-galactosides. For α-D-galactopyranoside, the association constants measured at 4 and 25°C were 3.4 × 10³ and 1.7 × 10³ M^?1 respectively, and for D-Galβ(1→3)DGalNac, 1.5 × 10⁵ and 3.3 × 10⁴ M^?1. The binding enthalpies estimated from these values are consistent with the existence of extended sugar binding sites in the peanut agglutinin molecule.