Chromosome 17 abnormalities and lack of TP53 mutations in paediatric central nervous system tumours

Central nervous system (CNS) tumours are the most common solid tumours in children. Cytogenetic and molecular genetic studies of these neoplasms have previously shown abnormalities of chromosome 17, implicating genes on this autosome in tumorigenesis. To identify mutations in the TP53 tumour suppressor gene (17p13.1), we have sequenced the five highly conserved regions of this gene in 29 mixed paediatric CNS tumors. No mutations were detected by this analysis. In order to identify other candidate disease loci on chromosome 17, we have carried out a detailed deletion mapping analysis using 16 polymorphic DNA markers on 19 of the above tumours and an additional four cases. Abnormalities of chromosome 17 occurred in nine cases (39%), six of which were primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET)-medulloblastomas. These findings suggest that it is unlikely that the TP53 gene is directly involved in the development of common paediatric brain tumours. This is in contrast to findings from adult brain and other tumour types. Moreover, the frequency of chromosome 17 aberrations, especially in PNET-medulloblastomas, suggests that other genes on this chromosome contribute to tumourigenesis.     

Carotenoid content in growing cells of Haematococcus pluvialis during a sunlight cycle

Under certain culture conditions, cells of the chlorophyte Haematococcus pluvialis accumulate significant amounts of astaxanthin. This study describes biomass and carotenoid production during a sunlight cycle in a continuous culture of growing cells of H. pluvialis and shows that these two parameters are under the control of irradiance. The hourly carotenoid production increases with light intensity and, in our culture conditions, carotenoid accumulation occurs in a few hours and without any morphological change in the algae. These carotenoids seem to be efficient in protecting algal cells against photoinhibition damage if their content is greater than 1% dry biomass. Below this concentration, that is to say in the early hours of high light intensity, dry biomass decreases due to cell lysis. The results demonstrate that secondary carotenoid accumulation in H. pluvialis may occur in the active growth phase and is stimulated from the first hours of sunlight illumination.     

Opa-typing: a high-resolution tool for studying the epidemiology of gonorrhoea

A single gonococcus possesses a family of 11 distinct and highly variable opa genes. The extensive variation and rapid evolution of the opa gene repertoire has been exploited to provide a high-resolution typing method for studies of the short-term transmission of gonorrhoea. The 11 opa genes are amplified with a single pair of primers by the polymerase chain reaction, digested with frequently-cutting restriction enzymes, and the fragments are fractionated on polyacrylamide to provide an opa-type. The method appeared to be highly discriminatory as the opa-types of gonococci, isolated world-wide over the last 30 years, were all different. Opa-typing discriminated between isolates of the same auxotype/serovar class. Similarly, there were 41 opa-types among 43 consecutive isolates from a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic. The two pairs of isolates from this clinic that gave the same opa-types were identical by other criteria and may have been from unsuspected sexual contacts. With one minor exception, identical opa-types were obtained from gonococci recovered from known sexual contacts. These results suggest that variation in the family of 11 opa genes evolves so rapidly that the opa-types of gonococci are distinguishable, unless the isolates are from sexual contacts or a short chain of disease transmission. The identification of gonococci with identical opa-types is therefore believed to be a good indicator that the individuals from which they were recovered were sexual partners, or part of a short chain of disease transmission.     

Salmonella typhimurium secreted invasion determinants are homologous to Shigella lpa proteins

Salmonella typhimurium secreted proteins (Ssp) were previously implicated in epithelial cell invasion. Here we describe four genes ( sspB , sspC , sspD , and sspA ), located between spaT and prgH , which encode proteins of 63, 42, 36, and 87 kDa, respectively. These Ssp are homologous to Shigella flexneri secreted proteins lpaB, lpaC, lpaD and lpaA. A non-invasive mutant with a transposon insertion in sspC lacks Ssp of 87,42 and 36 kDa. Complementation analyses show that sspC and sspD encode the 42 and the 36 kDa Ssp, while the 87 kDa Ssp is encoded by sspA . sspC and sspD , but not sspA are required for invasion. Amino-terminal sequencing shows that SspC and SspA are secreted without amino-terminal processing. We further demonstrate that Ssp secretion requires proteins encoded by prgHIJK , homologous to the Shigella lpa secretion system, since SspA is abundantly secreted by wild-type bacteria but is completely retained within the cellular fraction of a prgHIJK mutant. A precipitate containing abundant SspC and three other major Ssp of 63,59 and 22 kDa was isolated from culture supernatants of wild-type bacteria. These data indicate that major secreted invasion determinants of S. typhimurium are structurally and functionally homolgous to S. flexneri lpa proteins.     

First evidence of human meconium glycoasparagines

During a systematic study of carbohydrate material present inhuman meconium, in addition to the previously described mucins,glycolipids and free oligosaccharides, we have now characterizeda significant quantity of free glycoasparagines. These glycoasparagineshave been isolated from human meconium by a combination of ion-exchange,concanavalin A (ConA)-affinity and high-performance liquid (HPLC)chromatographies. Their structures have been established by400 MHz ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. These compounds are related toN-acetyllactosaminic type structures and are based on the commoncore These glycoasparagines are probably derived from both proteaseand partial exoglycosidase hydrolysis of fetal gastrointestinalN-glycosyl proteins. Their structures are discussed in the contextof the known catabolic pathways of N-glycans glycoasparagine N-glycosyl protein catabolism meconium NMR     

Human prostatic steroid 5α-reductase isoforms—A comparative study of selective inhibitors

The present study describes the independent expression of the type 1 and 2 isoforms of human 5α-reductase in the baculovirus-directed insect cell expression system and the selectivity of their inhibition. The catalytic properties and kinetic parameters of the recombinant isozymes were consistent with published data. The type 1 isoform displayed a neutral (range 6–8) pH optimum and the type 2 isoform an acidic (5–6) pH optimum. The type 2 isoform had higher affinity for testosterone than did the type 1 isoform (K_m = 0.5 and 2.9 μM, respectively). Finasteride and turosteride were selective inhibitors of the type 2 isoform (K_i (type 2) = 7.3 and 21.7 nM compared to K_i (type 1) = 108 and 330 nM, respectively). 4-MA and the lipido-sterol extract of Serenoa repens (LSESr) markedly inhibited both isozymes (K_i (type 1) = 8.4 nM and 7.2 μg/ml, respectively; K_i (type 2) = 7.4 nM and 4.9 μg/ml, respectively). The three azasteroids were competitive inhibitors vs substrate, whereas LSESr displayed non-competitive inhibition of the type 1 isozyme and uncompetitive inhibition of the type 2 isozyme. These observations suggest that the lipid component of LSESr might be responsible for its inhibitory effect by modulating the membrane environment of 5α-reductase. Partially purified recombinant 5α-reductase type 1 activity was preserved by the presence of lipids indicating that lipids can exert either stimulatory or inhibitory effects on human 5α-reductase.     

Effect of indomethacin on prostaglandin content of several rabbit tissues

The prostaglandin (PG) content of several tissues and fluids from 6 day pregnant rabbits was evaluated following treatment with indomethacin or vehicle . PGE and PGF were measured by radioimmunoassay. More complete depletion of PGE and PGF was accomplished by 3 injections of indomethacin (s.c.) given during the 18 h before sacrifice at a dose of 10 mg indomethacin per kg body weight than was accomplished by 1 injection of the same amount of indomethacin (i.v.) 1.5 h before sacrifice. Levels of PGF were more easily depressed by indomethacin than were those of PGE. PG levels in the kidney and blastocysts were depressed to a greater extent by indomethacin than were those in the uterus, uterine fluid or peritoneal fluid. Evaluation of the effect of indomethacin on a particular physiological function should be interpreted with caution unless the extent of PG depletion in that tissue is also measured.     

High phosphate requirement for oxidative phosphorylation and low affinity for phosphate transport in newborn rat liver mitochondria

Rat liver mitochondria are not fully functional at birth. The relationship between this deficiency and the affinity for phosphate, in oxidative phosphorylation or in phosphate transport, have been studied.The phosphate concentration necessary to observe maximal rate of succinate oxidation in the presence of ADP was higher for newborn than for adult rat liver mitochondria. After preincubation of newborn rat liver mitochondria with ATP, the rate of succinate oxidation in the presence of ADP increased with phosphate concentration similarly for newborn and adult rat liver mitochondria. The maximal rate of phosphate-acetate exchange, which is an indirect measure of the rate of phosphate transport across the mitochondrial membrane, was not significantly different for adult and newborn rat liver mitochondria. On the contrary the apparent affinity for phosphate was about ten-fold lower for newborn than for adult mitochondria.