Effect of Drying Medium on Residual Moisture Content and Viability of Freeze-Dried Lactic Acid Bacteria

The effect of various substances on the relationship between residual moisture content and the viability of freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria has been studied. Compounds such as polymers, which display considerable ability in displacing water, showed no protective action during freeze-drying. Adonitol, on the other hand, produced the smallest change in water content at various times during drying and allowed the highest rate of survival.     

Effect of the rehydration medium on the recovery of freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria.

Sixteen cultures of lactic acid bacteria were freeze-dried in 10% nonfat skim milk plus 0.75 M adonitol and rehydrated by using different rehydration media. Marked variations in their capacity to repair cellular damage after freeze-drying were observed among the species and strains under consideration.     

Membrane and cytoskeletal changes associated with IgE-mediated serotonin release from rat basophilic leukemia cells

Binding of antigen to IgE-receptor complexes on the surface of RBL-2H3 rat basophilic leukemia cells is the first event leading to the release of cellular serotonin, histamine, and other mediators of allergic, asthmatic, and inflammatory responses. We have used dinitrophenol-conjugated bovine serum albumin (DNP-BSA) as well as the fluorescent antigen, DNP-B-phycoerythrin, and the electron-dense antigen, DNP-BSA-gold, to investigate dynamic membrane and cytoskeletal events associated with the release of [3H]serotonin from anti-DNP-IgE-primed RBL-2H3 cells. These multivalent antigens bind rapidly to cell surface IgE-receptor complexes. Their distribution is initially uniform, but within 2 min DNP-BSA-gold is found in coated pits and is subsequently internalized. Antigen internalization occurs in the presence and absence of extracellular Ca2+. The F-actin content of the detergent-extracted cell matrices analyzed by SDS PAGE decreases during the first 10-30 s of antigen binding and then increases by 1 min to almost double the control levels. A rapid and sustained increase is also observed when total F-actin is quantified by flow cytometry after binding of rhodamine-phalloidin. The antigen-stimulated increase in F-actin coincides with (and may cause) the transformation of the cell surface from a finely microvillous to a highly folded or plicated topography. Other early membrane responses include increased cell spreading and a 2-3-fold increase in the uptake of fluorescein-dextran by fluid pinocytosis. The surface and F-actin changes show the same dependence on DNP-protein concentration as stimulated [3H]serotonin release; and both the membrane responses and the release of mediators are terminated by the addition of the non-cross-linking monovalent ligand, DNP-lysine. These data indicate that the same antigen-stimulated transduction pathway controls both the membrane/cytoskeletal and secretory events. However, the membrane and actin responses to IgE-receptor cross-linking are independent of extracellular Ca2+ and are mimicked by phorbol myristate acetate, whereas ligand-dependent mediator release depends on extracellular Ca2+ and is mimicked by the Ca2+ ionophore A23187.     

TRH and TRH-OH in the pancreas of adult and newborn rats

TRH and its metabolite TRH-OH have been measured by specific radioimmunoassays in acid extracts of pancreas in adults and developing rats. TRH and TRH-OH immunoreactivity had the same ontogenic pattern with a maximal concentration on day 4 followed by a progressive return towards adult levels on day 20. A significant linear correlation was found between TRH levels and the TRH/TRH-OH ratio. The range of TRH/TRH-OH ratio varied from 136 +/- 1.6, at the peak of concentrations of both peptides, to 18 +/- 3.9 on day 20. Pancreatic TRH and TRH-OH had the same elution pattern as corresponding synthetic peptides both on Biogel P2 and high-pressure liquid chromatography. The origin of TRH-OH as well as its potential function need further investigations.     

Secretion of a lipid transfer protein by human monocyte-derived macrophages

Human monocyte-derived macrophages in culture were shown to synthesize and secrete a lipid transfer protein. The human monocyte-derived macrophage transfer protein showed the following characteristics: (i) linear secretion rate over a 24-h period, which was blocked completely by cycloheximide and stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate (67% increase over nonstimulated values); (ii) apparent Mr = approximately 62,000 off Sephacryl S-200; (iii) isoelectric point of 5.0; (iv) binding to phenyl-Sepharose, but not to heparin-Sepharose; (v) facilitation of the transfer of both neutral lipids (cholesteryl esters and triglycerides) and phosphatidylcholine between high density lipoproteins and d less than 1.063 g/ml lipoproteins; and (vi) thermal stability (stable for 1 h at 56 degrees C). The last five of these properties are similar to those of the plasma lipid transfer protein. Thus, macrophages secrete a lipid transfer protein that closely resembles the neutral lipid transfer protein found in human plasma and may be a source of this plasma protein in vivo.     

Interaction of Opiates with Opioid Binding Sites in the Bovine Adrenal Medulla: I. Interaction with δ and μ Sites

In the present study we examined the interaction of opiates with the delta and mu opioid binding sites in the bovine adrenal medulla. [3H][D-Ala2, D-Leu5]-enkephalin ( [3H]DADLE) in the presence of saturating concentrations of morphiceptin was used to analyze delta site interactions, whereas either [3H]DADLE in the presence of saturation concentrations of [D-Ser2, Leu5]-enkephalin-Thr6 (DSLET) or [3H][D-Ala2, Me-Phe4, Gly5-ol]-enkephalin ( [3H]DAGO) was used for the determination of mu sites. Both binding sites were found to interact stereoselectively with opiates. The binding was affected differentially by proteolytic enzymes (trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, pepsin), N-ethylmaleimide, and A2-phospholipase. Kinetic and equilibrium binding studies revealed that in each case radiolabeled opiates interact with one class of binding sites, following simple second-order bimolecular kinetics. Competition for binding by opiates and opioid peptides confirmed the delta and mu selectivity of these sites. Monovalent (Na+, Li+, K+) and divalent (Mg2+, Mn2+, Ca2+) ions interacted differentially with these two binding sites: In general, monovalent cations affected preferentially the apparent number of binding sites, whereas divalent ions modified the equilibrium dissociation constant. Furthermore, positive or negative cooperativity and an apparent heterogeneity of binding sites were detected under some ionic conditions.     

The presence and photoregulation of protochlorophyllide reductase in green tissues

Summary The enzyme protochlorophyllide (pchlide) reductase has been identified amongst the peptides, resolved by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), of chloroplast membranes from oat and barley plants. In support of this identification the enzymic activity associated with the enzyme has also been measured in the same preparations. A higher level of enzyme was found in plants which had been darkened prior to extraction. Based on this data, mechanisms for the light regulated diurnal variation of the reductase are discussed.     

Isolation and characterization of Pediococcus halophilus from salted anchovies (Engraulis anchoita)

The presence of bacteria in salted anchovies during and at the end of the curing process was investigated. Attempts to isolate bacteria under aerobic or anaerobic conditions led to the isolation of only bacteria of the genus Pediococcus which were identified as Pediococcus halophilus. The isolates correspond to a rather heterogeneous group in which some of the members differ in some biochemical tests from the types described in the literature.     

Variants within the yeast Ty sequence family encode a class of structurally conserved proteins.

The Ty transposable elements of Saccharomyces cerevisiae form a heterogeneous family within which two broad structural classes (I and II) exist. The two classes differ by two large substitutions and many restriction sites. We show that, like class I elements a class II element, Tyl-17, also appears to contain at least two major protein coding regions, designated TYA and TYB, and the organisational relationship of these regions has been conserved. The TYA genes of both classes encode proteins, designated p1 proteins, with an approximate molecular weight of 50 Kd and, despite considerable variation between the TYA regions at the DNA level, the structures of these proteins are remarkably similar. These observations strongly suggest that the p1 proteins of Ty elements are functionally significant and that they have been subject to selection.