Aromatase activity in human skin fibroblasts: characterization by an enzymatic method

Human skin fibroblasts were incubated for 24 h with 10(-6) M androstenedione and the estrone + estradiol released in the culture medium were measured by an enzymatic assay. Aromatase activity was expressed as pmol (estrone + estradiol) formed in the medium per mg cell protein per day. Using this method we were able to investigate the kinetic properties of aromatase in different cell strains and its stimulation by dexamethasone. Values of 92 nM and 9.1 pmol/mg protein/day were obtained respectively for Km and Vmax in cultured fibroblasts derived from genital skin of normal prepubertal subjects. In patients with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome CAIS, the Km was 156 nM and the Vmax 42 pmol/mg protein/day. Aromatase activity varied from 7.9 +/- 1.2 pmol/mg protein/day (mean +/- SD; n = 19) in normal prepubertal boys to 24.5 +/- 4.7 pmol/mg protein/day (mean +/- SD; n = 11) in those from normal postpubertal boys. The values were even higher in fibroblasts cultured from genital skin of prepubertal patients with CAIS. Cell concentrations did not modify the pattern of estrogen formation and aromatase activity did not vary with serial subcultures. The stimulatory effect of dexamethasone on aromatase activity in cultured fibroblasts was measured after preincubation of the cells for 48 h with dexamethasone, by determining estrogen formation after 24 h incubation of the cells with androstenedione 10(-6) M using this enzymatic method. This data suggest that aromatase activity measured in cultured fibroblasts could be a useful tool for studying extraglandular estrogen formation in physiological and pathological conditions.     

Balance between anionic and cationic extracellular peroxidase activities in Sedum album leaves after ozone exposure. Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography

Peroxidase activity was assayed with different electron donors (guaiacol, ascorbate, syringaldazine) in the intercellular fluid of Sedum album L. leaves after ozone exposure. Anionic and cationic peroxidases were separated and purified by high performance ion-exchange and gel permeation chromatography. Both isoperoxidases were tested as regards their molecular weight and apparent kinetic constants with different substrates. Ascorbate peroxidase activity was rapidly stimulated after ozone exposure, whereas syringaldazine peroxidase activity reached its maximum 24 h later. Increases in ascorbate and syringaldazine peroxidase activities occurred simultaneously with increases in cationic and anionic peroxidase activities, respectively. Apparent K_m values indicate a high affinity of cationic peroxidases for ascorbate and of anionic peroxidases for syringaldazine. The metabolic role of this balance between cationic and anionic peroxidases after ozone exposure is discussed.     

Autolysis of cell walls in pea epicotyls during growth. Enzymatic activities involved

Pisum sativum L. (cv. Lincoln) epicotyl cell walls show autohydrolysis and release into the incubation medium up to 120 μg of sugar per mg of cell wall dry weight in 30 h. Cell walls from younger epicotyls with high growth capacity showed higher auto-lytic capacity than older epicotyls. This suggests that both processes, growth and au-tolysis, are related. The proteins responsible for autolysis were extracted from the wall fraction with high saline solution (3 M LiCl) and enzymatic activities associated with the proteins were studied. The highest activity corresponded to α-galactosidase; lower activities were found for β-galactosidase, a-arabinosidase and exoglucanase. Changes in enzymatic activities and changes in the proportion of sugars released in autolysis by cell walls during the growth of epicotyls support the notion that α-galac-tosidase is one of the enzymes involved in the process of autolysis, and that the liberation of arabinose and galactose in this process occurs as arabinogalactan.     

Detection of sugar-binding proteins in membrane-depleted nuclei

Nuclear sugar-binding proteins were detected in membrane-depleted nuclei isolated from hamster BHK cells and mouse L 1210 leukemia cells by means of fluorescein-labelled neoglycoproteins. In fluorescence microscopy, the fluorescence was seen throughout the nucleus but was generally brighter over the nucleoli than over the rest of the nucleus. Flow cytofluorometry analysis demonstrated the presence of nuclear sugar-binding proteins for synthetic glycoproteins associated with different sugar residues. Among the nine neoglycoproteins used, four neoglycoproteins (namely alpha-rhamnosylated, alpha-glucosylated, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminylated and alpha-mannosylated-6P-serum albumin) strongly labelled nuclei. Various controls strongly argue for the specificity of the nuclear labelling. The possibility that some of the sugar-binding proteins might correspond to endogenous nuclear lectins is considered.     

Structural aspects of intranuclear matrix disintegration upon RNase digestion of HeLa cell nuclei

The organization of the intranuclear elements observed in histone-depleted (2 M NaCl-extracted) HeLa cell nuclei was investigated by means of electron microscopy and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. This work was mainly aimed at verifying whether or not an intranuclear skeleton or matrix existed, which could explain the stable attachment of RNA to the residual nuclear structure after high-salt extraction, and its three-dimensional organization. We compared the ultrastructure and the polypeptide composition of RNA-containing and RNA-depleted (RNase-treated) nuclear residues, and we visualized intermediate stages of RNase action on the intranuclear material. We showed that this material was made of two types (fibrillar and granular) of salt-resistant RNP components equally sensitive to RNase when the enzyme was used prior to high-salt extraction. At least in our material and under our experimental conditions, no intranuclear matrix could be distinguished from the residual RNP material. Our results further suggest that formation of such a matrix is a path-dependent phenomenon.     

Long-chain acyl CoA synthetase in microsomes from rat brain gray matter and white matter

Long-chain acyl coenzyme A (CoA) synthetase in homogenates and microsomes from rat brain gray and white matter was studied. The formation of the thioesters of CoA was studied upon addition of [1-¹⁴C]-labeled fatty acids. The maximal activities were seen with linoleic acid, followed by arachidonic, palmitic, and docosahexaenoic acids in both gray and white matter homogenates and microsomes. The specific activities in microsomes were 3–5 times higher than in homogenates. The presence of Triton X-100 in the assay system enhanced the activity of long-chain acyl CoA synthetase in homogenates. The effect was more pronounced in palmitic and docosahexaenoic acid activation. The apparentK _m values andV _max values for palmitic and docosahexaenoic acids were much lower than for linoleic and arachidonic acids. The presence of Triton X-100 in the medium caused a definite decrease in the apparentK _m and Vmax values for all the fatty acid except palmitic acid in which case the reverse was true. There were no significant differences observed in the kinetic measurements between gray and white matter microsomes. These findings are similar to those resulting from the known interference of Triton X-100 in the measurement of kinetic variables of long-chain acyl CoA synthetase of liver microsomes. In this work, no correlation was observed between the fatty acid composition of gray and white matter and the capacity of these tissues for the activation of different fatty acids.     

Chemical structure of the lipid A component of Plesiomonas shigelloides and its taxonomical significance

Abstract The chemical structure of the lipid A moiety of the lipopolysaccharide of the type strain of Plesiomonas shigelloides was elucidated. It consists of a β-(1 → 6)-linked glucosamine disaccharide carrying phosphate groups at C-1 of the reducing and at C-4' of the non-reducing glucosamine. It contains a total of 6 residues of fatty acids, 2 amide-linked and 4 ester-linked. The amino groups of the backbone disaccharide are N -acylated by substituted 3-hydroxyacyl residues: at the reducing glucosamine by 3-O-(14:0)14:0; and at the non-reducing glucosamine by 3-O-(12:0)14:0.
Two residues of 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid are linked to C-3 and C-3' of the glucosamine residues; the hydroxy groups of these ester-linked 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acids are unsubstituted. In free lipid A, the hydroxyl groups at C-4 and C-6' are unsubstituted, indicating that the 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid (KDO) is linked to C-6' of the non-reducing glucosamine, as was shown with enterobacterial lipid A. The taxonomical significance of these structural details is discussed.     

Streptomycin-resistance of Euglena gracilis chloroplasts: identification of a point mutation in the 16S rRNA gene in an invariant position.

We sequenced the chloroplast 16S rRNA gene of two Euglena gracilis mutants which contain streptomycin-resistant chloroplasts (Smr 139.12/4 and Smr 139.20/2). These mutants are known to contain a single intact rrn operon per circular chloroplast genome. Nucleotide sequence comparison between a 16S rRNA gene of wild type Euglena gracilis, strain Z, with streptomycin-sensitive chloroplasts, and the 16S rRNA gene of both Smr-strains reveals a single base change (C to T) at position 876. This position is equivalent to the invariant position 912 of the E. coli 16S rRNA gene. The analogous position is also conserved in all chloroplast small subunit RNA genes from lower and higher plants sequenced so far. Light dependent protein synthesis with purified chloroplasts from streptomycin-resistant cells is not inhibited by streptomycin. Based on the results reported here we postulate linkage between the observed point mutation on the 16S rRNA gene and streptomycin-resistance of chloroplast 70S ribosomes.     

Attachment of DNA to nucleolar and nuclear skeletal structures as visualized by Kleinschmidt molecular spreading

Co-isolated residual nuclear shells and residual nucleoli from membrane-depleted rat liver nuclei were spread according to Kleinschmidt's method. Comparison of the spread residual structures isolated from nuclear shells and spread pore complex-lamina isolated from nuclear envelopes showed that these residual structures are morphologically identical. Furthermore, our nuclear shell isolation procedure allowed visualization of DNA strands bound to a granular component of the lamina. The fragmentation of nuclear shells allowed us to obtain well-spread nucleolar remnants, in which we observed DNA strands anchored on a residual nucleolar network attached to the lamina. The different molecular features revealed by the spreading of residual nucleolar structures suggest that both non-transcribing nucleolar DNA and active ribosomal genes are linked to the nucleolar network. Although the exact nature of this network remains to be defined, the results of the present study strongly suggest that the DNA molecules of the chromosomes bearing ribosomal genes have many sites of attachment to a non-chromatin nucleolar network which can be referred to as a nucleolar skeletal complex.