Structural modifications of non-mammalian gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) isoforms: design of novel GnRH analogues

Three natural forms of vertebrate gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) provided the structural basis upon which to design new GnRH agonists: [His⁵,Trp⁷,Leu⁸]-GnRH, dogfish (df) GnRH; [His⁵,Asn⁸]-GnRH, catfish (cf) GnRH; and [His⁵,Trp⁷,Tyr⁸]-GnRH, chicken (c) GnRH-II. The synthetic peptides incorporated the position 6 dextro ( )-isomers -arginine ( -Arg) or -naphthylalanine ( -Nal) in combination with an ethylamide substitution of position 10. The in vitro potencies for LH and FSH release of these analogues were assessed using static cultures of rat anterior pituitary cells. Efficacious peptides were examined for their gonadotropin-II and growth hormone releasing abilities from perifused goldfish pituitary fragments. Rat LH and FSH release was measured using homologous radioimmunoassays, whereas goldfish growth hormone and gonadotropin-II release were determined using heterologous carp hormone radioimmunoassays. The receptor binding of the most potent analogues was determined in bovine pituitary membrane preparations. Substitution of -Nal⁶ into [His⁵,Asn⁸]-GnRH increased the potency over 2200-fold compared with the native ligand (cfGnRH) in cultured rat pituitary cells. This was equivalent to a 55-fold greater potency than that of the native mammal (m) GnRH peptide. Substitution of -Nal⁶ or -Arg⁶ into dfGnRH or cGnRH-II resulted in potencies that were related to the overall hydrophobicity of the analogues. The [ -Nal⁶,Pro⁹NEt]-cfGnRH bound to the bovine membrane preparation with an affinity statistically similar to that of [ -Nal⁶,Pro⁹NEt]-mGnRH (k_d = 0.40 ± 0.04 and 0.55 ± 0.10 nM, respectively) in cultured rat pituitary cells. All analogues tested released the same ratio of FSH to LH. In goldfish, the analogues did not possess superagonistic activity but instead desensitized the pituitary fragments at lower analogue doses than that of the sGnRH standard suggesting differences in receptor affinity or signal transduction.     

Mitochondrial mismatch analysis is insensitive to the mutational process

Mismatch distributions are histograms showing the pattern of nucleotide (or restriction) site differences between pairs of individuals in a sample. They can be used to test hypotheses about the history of population size and subdivision (if selective neutrality is assumed) or about selection (if a constant population size is assumed). Previous work has assumed that mutations never strike the same site twice, an assumption that is called the model of infinite sites. Fortunately, the results are surprisingly robust even when this assumption is violated. We show here that (1) confidence regions inferred using the infinite- sites model differ little from those inferred using a model of finite sites with uniform site-specific mutation rates, and (2) even when site- specific mutation rates follow a gamma distribution, confidence regions are little changed until the gamma shape parameter falls well below its plausible range, to roughly 0.01. In addition, we evaluate and reject the proposition that mismatch waves are produced by pooling data from several subdivisions of a structured population.      

Characterization of Vacuolar Malate and K Channels under Physiological Conditions

Patch-clamp techniques were employed to study the electrical properties of vacuoles from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) cell suspensions at physiological concentrations of cytoplasmic Ca²⁺. Vacuoles exposed to K⁺ malate revealed the activation of instantaneous and time-dependent outward currents by positive membrane potentials. Negative potentials induced only instantaneous inward currents. The time-dependent outward currents were 10 times more selective for malate than for K⁺ and were completely blocked by zinc. Vacuoles exposed to KCl developed instantaneous currents when polarized to positive or negative membrane potentials. The time-dependent outward channels could serve as the route for the movement of malate into the vacuole, whereas K⁺ could move through the time-independent inward and outward channels.     

Bacterial biomass and production in a shallow bay

Bacterial biomass (BB, acridine orange) and bacterial secondaryproduction (BSP, [³H]thymidine incubations) were measured forthe first time in Concepción Bay (37°35'S, 73°01'W).BB ranged from 1.8x10⁶ to 22.5x10⁶ cells ml^–1 (the lattervalue observed near to an industrial effluent), BSP from 0.27x10⁶to 2.5x10⁶ cell ml^–1 day^–1 and heterotrophic turnoverrates between 0.15 and 1.0 doublings day^–1.     

Vacuolar reticulum in oomycete hyphal tips: An additional component of the Ca2+Regulatory system?

Cultures of Achlya sp., Phytophthora cinnamomi, Saprolegnia diclina, S. ferax, and S. parasitica, treated with 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate solution, accumulate 6-carboxyfluorescein in a reticulate system of fine tubules. The network shows longitudinal polarity within the hyphae, tubules being finest toward the hyphal tips. In more mature subapical regions the network is connected with large vacuoles that also accumulate 6-carboxyfluorescein. A morphologically similar system has also been identified in freeze-substituted hyphae of S. ferax. The network is considered to be vacuolar, but differs from the tubular vacuole system of true fungi in that tubules are less motile, more frequently branched, and do not alternate with clusters of spherical vacuoles. The appearance of the network resembles patterns of calcium-sensitive dye staining and it is suggested that the vacuolar reticulum in the tip region of oomycete hyphae may act as a Ca2+ sink. The tubular reticulum in oomycetes is very fragile and can be shown with 6-carboxyfluorescein in only those hyphal tips with a motility and organelle distribution characteristic of growing hyphae with normal morphology. Diverse abnormal hyphae show a range of other fluorochrome localizations. These include large irregular compartments filled with fluorochrome, and fluorescent cytoplasm with organelles and vacuoles standing out in negative contrast. These localizations in abnormal hyphae are correlated with other structural changes indicative of damage. Special care is required in experiments with oomycetes to avoid such artefacts of localization. Copyright 1997 Academic Press. Copyright 1997 Academic Press     

A reassessment of decreased amino acid accumulation by ehrlich ascites tumor cells in the presence of metabolic inhibitors

This study was undertaken to examine the mechanism by which metabolic inhibition reduces amino acid active transport in ehrlich ascites tumor cells. At 37 degrees C the metabolic inhibitor combination 0.1 mM 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) + 10 mM 2- deoxy-D-glucose (DOG) reduced the cell ATP concentration to 0.10- 0.15 mM in less than 5 min. This inhibition was associated with a 20.6 percent +/- 6.4 percent (SD) decrease in the initial influx of α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB), and a two- to fourfold increase in the unidirectional efflux. These effects could be dissociated from changes in cell Na(+) or K(+) concentrations. Cells incubated to the steady state in 1.0-1.5 mM AIB showed an increased steady-state flux in the presence of DNP + DOG. Steady- state fluxes were consistent with trans-inhibition of AIB influx and trans-stimulation of efflux in control cells, but trans- stimulation of both fluxes in inhibited cells. In spite of the reduction of the cell ATP concentration to less than 0.15 mM and greatly reduced transmembrane concentration gradients of Na(+) and K(+), cells incubated to the steady state in the presence of the inhibitors still established an AIB distribution ration 13.8 +/- 2.6. The results are interpreted to indicate that a component of the reduction of AIB transport produced by metabolic inhibition is attributable to other actions in addition to the reduction of cation concentration gradients. Reduction of cell ATP alone is not responsible for the effects of metabolic inhibition, and both the transmembrane voltage and direct coupling to substrate oxidation via plasma-membrane-bound enzymes must be considered as possible energy sources for amino acid active transport.     

Improvement of a PCR method for the detection of necrotizing hepatopancreatitis in shrimp

Necrotizing hepatopancreatitis (NHP) is considered to be one of the most important bacterial diseases affecting penaeid shrimp culture and is caused by an unclassified Gram-negative, pleomorphic, intracellular Alphaproteobacterium. Due to the enteric nature of the bacteria, PCR is the one non-lethal method available for detection of the pathogen. Over a decade ago, a PCR protocol was developed for detection of NHP, which over the subsequent years was shown to occasionally generate false positive reactions. The University of Arizona Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory has developed a set of primers and PCR cycling parameters that have been tested on a variety of DNA templates, using 2 types of PCR reagent systems, which eliminated the generation of false positive amplicons.     

Ser123 Is Essential for the Water Channel Activity of McPIP2;1 from Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

The increased expression of McPIP2;1 (MipC), a root-specific aquaporin (AQP) from Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, under salt stress has suggested a role for this AQP in the salt tolerance of the plant. However, whether McPIP2;1 transports water or another solute and how its activity is regulated are so far unknown. Therefore, wild type (wt) or mutated McPIP2;1 protein was expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Then, the osmotic water permeability (P_f) of the oocytes membrane was assessed by hypotonic challenges. Selectivity of McPIP2;1 to water was determined by radiolabeled glycerol or urea uptake assays. Moreover, swelling and in vitro phosphorylation assays revealed that both water permeation and phosphorylation status of McPIP2;1 were significantly increased by the phosphorylation agonists okadaic acid (OA), phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), and 8-Br-cAMP, and markedly decreased by the inhibitory peptides PKI 14-22 and PKC 20-28, inhibitors of protein kinases A (PKA) and C (PKC), respectively. Substitution of Ser¹²³ or both, Ser¹²³ and Ser²⁸², abolished the water channel activity of McPIP2;1 while substitution of Ser²⁸² only partially inhibited it (51.9% inhibition). Despite lacking Ser¹²³ and/or Ser²⁸², the McPIP2;1 mutant forms were still phosphorylated in vitro, which suggests that phosphorylation may have a dual role on this AQP. Our results indicate that McPIP2;1 water permeability depends completely on Ser¹²³ and is positively regulated by PKA- and PKC-mediated phosphorylation. Regulation of the phosphorylation status of McPIP2;1 may contribute to control water transport through root cells when the plant is subjected to high salinity conditions.     

Sensitivity of the Plant Vacuolar Malate Channel to pH, Ca2+ and Anion-Channel Blockers

The organic anion malate is accumulated in the central vacuole of most plant cells. Malate has several important roles in plant vacuoles, such as the maintenance of charge balance and pH regulation, as an osmolyte involved in the generation of cell turgor, and as a storage form of CO2. Transport of malate across the vacuolar membrane is important for the regulation of cytoplasmic pH and the control of cellular metabolism, particularly in plants showing crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), in which large fluxes of malate occur during the day/night cycle. By applying the patch-clamp technique, in the whole-vacuole configuration, to isolated vacuoles from leaf mesophyll cells of the CAM plant Kalancho? daigremontiana, we studied the regulation of the vacuolar malate channel by pH and Ca2+, as well as its sensitivity to anion-channel blockers. Malate currents were found to be insensitive to Ca2+ on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane over a range from approximately 10(-8) M to 10(-4) M. In contrast, decreasing cytoplasmic pH below 7.5 had a significant modulatory effect on channel activity, reducing malate currents by 40%, whereas increasing cytoplasmic pH above 7.5 resulted in no change in current. Several known Cl?-channel blockers inhibited the vacuolar malate currents: niflumic acid and indanoyloxyacetic acid (IAA-94) proved to be the most effective inhibitors, exerting half-maximal effects at concentrations of approximately 20 mM, suggesting that the plant vacuolar malate channel may share certain similarities with other classes of known anion channels.