Formation of 5 alpha-products as major C19-steroids in estrogen-responsive mouse Leydig cell tumor lines

Homogenates of estrogen-responsive mouse Leydig cell tumors (T 124958-R and T 22137) or 28- and 120-day-old mouse testes were incubated with [3H]progesterone or [14C]4-androstene-3,17-dione in the presence of NADPH, and progesterone metabolism and enzyme activities were estimated. The growth of T 124958-R tumor transplanted in BALB/c mice was markedly stimulated by estrogenization of host mice, but the growth of T 22137 tumor was evidently suppressed by the estrogenization. The major C21-17-OH-steroids and C19-steroids formed from progesterone by both tumors and the testes of immature mice were 5 alpha-steroids, such as 3 alpha,17-dihydroxy-5 alpha-pregnan-20-one, 5 alpha-androstane-3,17-dione, androsterone, 3 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-androstan-17-one and 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha,17 beta-diol. In contrast, the major steroids formed by the testes of adult mice were testosterone and 4-androstene-3,17-dione, and no or little 5 alpha-steroids were produced. 5 alpha-Reductase activities in both tumor cells (40-50 nmol/l X 10(8) cells per h) were also found to be approx. 5-6 times higher than that in Leydig cells of adult mouse testes (8 nmol/l X 10(8) Leydig cells per h), though 17-hydroxylase activity was much higher in the Leydig cells of adult testes (730 nmol/l X 10(8) Leydig cells per h) than in both tumor cells (1-7 nmol/l X 10(8) cells per h). Furthermore, the presence of significant amounts of endogenous androsterone and/or 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha,17 beta-diol was demonstrated in both tumors by radioimmunoassay. The present results demonstrate for the first time that C19-5 alpha-steroids are major C19-steroid products (immature type of testicular androgen production) in Leydig cell tumor lines.     

Calcitonin-induced phosphorylation of rat liver cytosolic proteins

Calcitonin (CT) stimulated phosphorylation of two liver cytosolic proteins whose molecular weights are 67,000 and 93,000. Stimulation of 67,000-Mr protein phosphorylation began shortly after subcutaneous injection of CT, reaching a maximum at 5 min and decreasing to below the control level at 30 min. The reaction was independent of cyclic AMP or Ca2+, and was not influenced by a calmodulin antagonist, W7. Stimulation of 93,000-Mr protein phosphorylation became evident by 30 min. This reaction was also stimulated by administration of vasopressin or epinephrine, which is known to cause increased phosphorylation of glycogen phosphorylase having the same molecular weight. The phosphorylation of 93,000-Mr protein, stimulated by CT, was dependent on Ca2+ but not on cyclic AMP, and appeared to be inhibited by W7. In addition, CT did not influence the phosphorylation of 61,000-Mr protein, a major protein phosphorylated in a cyclic AMP-dependent manner. These results suggest that CT may exert its effect on liver cells through protein phosphorylation, most probably in a cyclic AMP-independent manner.     

Inactivation of T Antigen-Forming Capacities of Simian Virus 40 and Adenovirus 12 by Ultraviolet Irradiation

Methods to measure T antigen-forming capacities of simian virus 40 (SV40) and adenovirus 12 (Ad12) were investigated, and a method to measure the capacity in terms of T antigen-forming units was employed by the use of cytosine arabinoside. Plaque-forming units and T antigen-forming units of SV40, SV40 deoxyribonucleic acid, or Ad12 were inactivated by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation at the same rate, roughly following a single-hit curve. T-antigen formation by UV-irradiated SV40 and Ad12 was enhanced in cells multiply infected and in cells in a growing state. These observations showed that it was difficult or impossible to estimate the size of the gene for T antigen by UV inactivation.     

Biochemical and clinical analysis of accumulated glycolipids in symptomatic heterozygotes of angiokeratoma corporis diffusum (Fabry's disease) in comparison with hemizygotes

Angiokeratoma corporis diffusum (Fabry's disease) is an X-linked disorder of glycosphingolipid catabolism. Heterozygous females, although usually asymptomatic, are occasionally as severely afflicted as hemizygous males; recently we identified a heterozygous patient with cardiomyopathy and severe pain in the extremities. In order to elucidate the difference of the clinical features, we analyzed the glycolipid composition of the heart, liver, and kidney obtained from the patient and from a hemizygote. Gas-liquid chromatography revealed that globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) was markedly increased in the heart (32.4 times higher than control) and increased to a lesser extent in the liver and kidney (3.74 and 6.79 times, respectively). The pattern of Gb3 accumulation in the heterozygote, where the highest increases were seen in the heart, was distinct from that in the hemizygote, where elevated levels of Gb3 and Ga2 were found in the kidney. Furthermore, the alpha-galactosidase activity in the heart, liver, and kidney of the heterozygote was 17%, 26%, and 36%, respectively, of normal controls, which correlated well with the accumulation of glycosphingolipid in the heart and with the disease's clinical manifestations. Two other hemizygotic patients, who were identified by low alpha-galactosidase activities, demonstrated the cardiac involvement.     

Production of a herbicide, 5-aminolevulinic acid,by Rhodobacter sphaeroides using the effluent of swine waste from an anaerobic digestor

Summary For the production of a herbicide, 5-amino-levulinic acid (ALA), from anaerobic digestion liquor, the utilization of the photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides was examined. This bacterium could produce ALA extracelularly from this liquor with the addition of levulinic acid (LA), an inhibitor of ALA dehydratase (ALAD), and glycine, a precursor of ALA biosynthesis in the Shemin pathway. Succinate (another precursor) addition was unnecessary for ALA production. When repeated additions of LA were made together with glycine ALA production was significantly enhanced. However, above three additions of LA, ALA production was not further enhanced. The maximum value of ALA production attained was 4.2 mM (0.63 g/ 1), which was over double that of other ALA producers such as Chlorella vulgaris. Propionic acid was predominantly utilized compared with other lower fatty acids, suggesting that this might be converted to ALA via succinyl-coenzyme A (CoA) in the methylmalonyl-CoA pathway.Offprint requests to: Y. Nishizawa     

Biosynthetic pathway of phytosiderophores in iron-deficient graminaceous plants: A new assay system for the detection of nicotianamine amino-transferase activity

A new assay system for the detection of nicotianamine amino-transferase activity was developed. The activity of nicotianamine amino-transferase which participated in biosynthetic pathway of MAs from methionine in graminaceous plants was induced by the iron deficiency treatment.     

Characterization of peroxidases in luminol chemiluminescence coupled with copper-catalysed oxidation of cysteamine

Hydrogen peroxide formed during the course of the copper(II)-catalysed oxidation of cysteamine with oxygen was continuously determined by a peroxidase (POD)-catalysed luminol chemiluminescence (CL) method. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP), lactoperoxidase (LPO) and Arthromyces ramosus peroxidase (ARP) were used as a CL catalyst. The respective PODs gave specific CL intensity-time profiles. HRP caused a CL delay, and ARP gave a time-response curve which followed the production rate of H₂O₂. LPO gave only a weak CL flash which decayed promptly. These differences of CL response curves could be explained in terms of the different reactivities of PODs for superoxide anion and the different formation rate of luminol radicals in the peroxidation of luminol catalysed by POD.     

Striatal L-DOPA Decarboxylase Activity in Parkinson's Disease In Vivo: Implications for the Regulation of Dopamine Synthesis

Abstract: L-DOPA is a large neutral amino acid subject to transport out of, as well as into, brain tissue. Competition between dopamine synthesis and L-DOPA egress from striatum must favor L-DOPA egress if decarboxylation declines relatively more than transport in Parkinson's disease. To test this hypothesis, we injected patients with Parkinson's disease with a radidabeled analogue of L-DOPA and recorded regional brain radioactivity as a function of time by means of positron emission tomography. We simultaneously estimated the activity of the decarboxylating enzyme and the amino acid transport. In the striatum of patients, we found the L-DOPA decarboxylase activity to be reduced in the head of the caudate nucleus and the putamen. However, the rate of egress of the DOPA analogue was unaffected by the disease and thus inhibited dopamine synthesis more than predicted in the absence of L-DOPA egress.