The effects of abscisic acid on growth and respiratory characteristics of potato tuber tissue discs

Incubation of potato tuber tissue discs on B5 medium supplemented with 1-naphtyl-acetic acid (NAA) led to callus formation, irrespective of the presence of kinetin; without NAA no callus formation occurred. Incubation in the presence of abscisic acid (ABA) reduced the increases in fresh weight and dry weight both in callus-forming and in non-callus-forming tissue. Mitochondrial respiration was lowered by ABA as well. The induction of the alternative, CN-resistant pathway was inhibited by the presence of ABA, especially in mitochondria from non-callus-forming tissue.The in vivo respiration of the callus-forming tissue was higher than that of the non-callus-forming tissue. Total respiration, cytochrome pathway activity and the capacity of the alternative pathway were all lowered in callus-forming tissue by treatment with ABA. The in vivo activity of the alternative pathway was low in all tissue types, especially after ABA-treatment. The slight stimulation by hydroxamates of the oxygen uptake of callus-forming tissue incubated on medium with NAA and ABA indicates the involvement of a hydroxamate-activated peroxidase in the oxygen uptake of this tissue; this peroxidase seemed not to participate in the oxygen uptake of the other tissues types.In non-callus-forming tissue the oxygen uptake of ABA-treated tissue was very low and almost completely resistant to the combined addition of inhibitors of both the cytochrome and the alternative pathway, indicating that the in vivo activity of the mitochondria in the oxygen uptake of the tissue was very low. The possible causes for this ABA-effect are discussed. In non-callus-forming tissue the treatment with ABA creates a situation which is comparable with that observed in intact potato tubers. This situation is characterized by a tissue respiration lower than that of the isolated mitochondria and an alternative pathway capacity that is low or absent.     

Osmotic effectors in kidneys of xeric and mesic rodents: corticomedullary distributions and changes with water availability

Summary Urea, sodium, the methylamines glycine betaine and glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC), and the polyols sorbitol and myo-inositol are reported to be the major osmolytes in kidneys of laboratory mammals. These were measured (millimoles per kilogram wet weight) in kidney regions and urines of three species of wild rodents with different dehydration tolerances: the pocket mousePerognathus parvus (xeric), voleMicrotus montanus (mesic), and deer mousePeromyscus m. gambeli (intermediate). In animals kept without water for 4–6 days, sodium, urea, betaine and GPC+choline were found in gradients increasing from cortex to outer to inner medulla in all species, withPerognathus having the highest levels. Sorbitol was high in the inner medulla but low in the cortex and outer medulla; inositol was highest in the outer medulla. Totals of methylamines and methylamines plus polyols in the medulla showed high linear correlations (positive) with urea and with sodium values.Whole medullae were analyzed at several time points inMicrotus andPeromyscus subject to water diuresis followed by antidiuresis. In 102 h diuresis inMicrotus, all osmolytes decreased except inositol; however, only urea, sodium and sorbitol reached new steady states within 24 h. Urea returned to initial values in 18 h antidiuresis, while other osmolytes required up to 90 h. InPeromyscus, all osmolytes except the polyols declined in diuresis (max. 78 h test period). During antidiuresis, urea and GPC+choline rose to initial values in 18 h, with sodium and betaine requiring more time. In plots of both species combined, total methylamines+polyols correlated linearly (positive) with sodium, and GPC+choline with urea.Estimates of tissue concentrations suggest that total methylamines+polyols can account for intracellular osmotic balance in all species in antidiuresis and that sufficient concentrations of methylamines may be present to counteract perturbing effects of urea on proteins.Abbrevations GPC Glycero-3-phosphorylcholine - TCA trichloroacetic acid - M+P methylamines plus polyols     

Regulation of γ-Aminobutyric Acid/Barbiturate Receptor-Gated Chloride Ion Flux in Brain Vesicles by Phospholipase A2: Possible Role of Oxygen Radicals

Preincubation of brain membranes with phospholipase A2 (PLA2) has been shown previously to affect the binding characteristics of various recognition sites associated with the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor complex. In the present study, we have investigated the effects of PLA2 (from Naja naja siamensis venom) on the functional activity of the GABA receptor/chloride ion channel. PLA2 (0.001-0.02 U/mg protein) preincubation decreased pentobarbital-induced 36Cl- efflux and muscimol-induced 36Cl- uptake in rat cerebral cortical synaptoneurosomes. The effect of PLA2 was prevented by EGTA and two nonselective PLA2 inhibitors, mepacrine and bromophenacyl bromide. The removal of free fatty acids by addition of bovine serum albumin both prevented and reversed the effect of PLA2. Products of the catalytic activity of PLA2, such as the unsaturated free fatty acids, arachidonic and oleic acids, mimicked the effect of PLA2. However, the saturated fatty acid, palmitic acid, and lysophosphatidyl choline had no effect on pentobarbital-induced 36Cl- efflux. Because unsaturated free fatty acids are highly susceptible to peroxidation by oxygen radicals, the role of oxygen radicals was investigated. Xanthine plus xanthine oxidase, a superoxide radical generating system, mimicked the effect of PLA2, whereas the superoxide radical scavenger, superoxide dismutase, diminished the effects of PLA2 and arachidonic acid on pentobarbital-induced 36Cl- efflux. Similarly, the effect of PLA2 was also inhibited by methanol (1 mM), a scavenger of the hydroxyl radical, and by catalase. These data indicate that exogenously added PLA2 induces alterations in membrane phospholipids, possibly promoting the generation of oxygen radicals and fatty acid peroxides which can ultimately modulate GABA/barbiturate receptor function in brain.     

pH Dependence of Histidine Affinity for Blood-Brain Barrier Carrier Transport Systems for Neutral and Cationic Amino Acids

The effects of pH (3.5-7.5) on the brain uptake of histidine by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) carriers for neutral and cationic amino acids were tested, in competition with unlabeled histidine, arginine, or phenylalanine, with the single-pass carotid injection technique. Cationic amino acid ( [14C]arginine) uptake was increasingly inhibited by unlabeled histidine as the pH of the injection solution decreased. In contrast, the inhibitory effect of unlabeled histidine on neutral amino acid ( [14C]phenylalanine) uptake decreased with decreasing pH. Brain uptake indices with varying histidine concentrations indicated that the neutral form of histidine inhibited phenylalanine uptake whereas the cationic form competed with arginine uptake. Since phenylalanine decreased [14C]histidine uptake at all pH values whereas arginine did not, it was concluded that the cationic form of histidine had an affinity for the cationic carrier, but was not transported by it. We propose that the saturable entry of histidine into brain is, under normal physiological circumstances, mediated solely by the carrier for neutral amino acids.     

Protein Tyrosine Kinase Activity and Its Endogenous Substrates in Rat Brain: A Subcellular and Regional Survey

The rat CNS contains high levels of tyrosine-specific protein kinases that specifically phosphorylate the tyrosine-containing synthetic peptide poly(Glu80,Tyr20). The phosphorylation of this peptide is rapid and occurs with normal Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Using this peptide to assay for enzyme activity, we have measured the protein tyrosine kinase activity in homogenates from various regions of rat CNS. A marked regional distribution pattern was observed, with high activity present in cerebellum, hippocampus, olfactory bulb, and pyriform cortex, and low activity in the pons/medulla and spinal cord. The distribution of protein tyrosine kinase activity was examined in various subcellular fractions of rat forebrain. The majority of the activity was associated with the particulate fractions, with enrichment in the crude microsomal (P3) and crude synaptic vesicle (LP2) fractions. Moreover, the subcellular distribution of pp60csrc, a well-characterized protein tyrosine kinase, was examined by immunoblot analysis using an affinity-purified antibody specific for pp60csrc. The subcellular distribution of pp60csrc paralleled the overall protein tyrosine kinase activity. In addition, using an antibody specific for phosphotyrosine, endogenous substrates for protein tyrosine kinases were demonstrated on immunoblots of homogenates from the various regions and the subcellular fractions. The immunoblots revealed numerous phosphotyrosine-containing proteins that were present in many of the CNS regions examined and were associated with specific subcellular fractions. The differences in tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity, and in phosphotyrosine-containing proteins, observed in various regional areas and subcellular fractions may reflect specific functional roles for protein tyrosine kinase activity in mammalian brain.     

The X-ray induced G2 arrest in mouse eggs: a maternal effect involving a lack of polypeptide phosphorylation

Summary In some strains of mice, eggs when X irradiated during the pronuclear stage, undergo a mitotic block in the G₂ phase of the first cell cycle and cleave when the second division takes place in controls. The importance of this effect varies considerably with the strain and depends exclusively on the maternal genotype. In previous work, two-dimensional electrophoresis showed that eggs blocked at the one-cell stage after irradiation, undergo the same modifications in polypeptide synthesis as two-cell controls of the same age, except at the time of normal first mitosis, where three polypeptide sets of 30, 35 and 45 kDa appear only in cleaving controls. In the present study, we have found phosphorylations in dividing controls, on polypeptides of 30, 35 and 45 kDa. These phosphorylations are not seen in blocked irradiated eggs.     

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