A cell regulatory agent, CeReS-18, inhibits mouse 3T6 cell proliferation but not polyomavirus replication

We have purified a cell regulatory sialoglycopeptide, CeReS-18, from intact bovine cerebral cortex cells. This is an 18-kDa molecule that reversibly inhibits cellular DNA synthesis and the proliferation of a wide array of target cells. In the present study, the effect of CeReS-18 on mouse 3T6 host cell proliferation and polyomavirus replication was investigated. The results showed that CeReS-18 was able to inhibit 3T6 cell cycling in a concentration-dependent, calcium-sensitive, and reversible manner. Despite the inhibition of cell proliferation, CeReS-18 did not influence polyomavirus infection of 3T6 cells. Indirect immunofluorescent assays revealed that CeReS-18-treated, and cell cycle-arrested, 3T6 cells remained permissive to polyomavirus replication. Electron microscopy and immunogold labeling showed that new viral particles were assembled inside the nuclei of infected cells in the presence of CeReS-18 and during cell cycle arrest. The cellular requirements for the replication of polyomavirus DNA and the synthesis of viral proteins, as well as for the assembly of viral particles, therefore, remained available in CeReS-18-inhibited 3T6 cells. In addition, although polyomavirus infection can be mitogenic, infection of CeReS-18-treated 3T6 cells did not reverse the cell cycle arrest mediated by this cell cycle inhibitor.     

STRUCTURE OF EXTRACELLULAR POLYSACCHARIDES PRODUCED BY A SOIL CRYPTOMONAS SP. (CRYPTOPHYCEAE)1

The Hindak strain of a Cryptomonas species (Cryptophyceae) produces extracellular polysaccharides. Because there is no information on the structure of these compounds in the Cryptophyceae we conducted structural studies. Gas–liquid chromatographic analyses showed that the polysaccharide is composed of fucose, rhamnose, xylose, mannose, glucose, galactose, galacturonic acid, glucuronic acid, and traces of 3-O-methyl galactose. The polysaccharide was separated into two subtractions by ion-exchange chromatography. Fraction A consisted mainly of 1,3-linked galactose units and 1,4-linked galacturonic acid. Unlike fraction B, fraction A did not have xylose, 3-O-methyl galactose, or glucuronic acid. Also, its degree of branching was low compared to that of fraction B. Only traces of sulfate were present infraction A, but fraction B was 10–15% sulfated. Protein was approximately 1% in both fractions. These polysaccharides appear to be a novel type of polymer in algae.     

Restriction fragment patterns of chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA of Dasypyvum villosum (L.) candargy and wheats

To elucidate the phylogenetic relationships and cytoplasmic types, restriction endonuclease fragment patterns of chloroplast (cp) and mitochondrial (mt) DNAs isolated from two different accessions of Dasypyrum villosum (L.) candargy were compared with those of tetraploid wheat (Triticum durum Desf., PI265007), hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv Chinese Spring), Aegilops longissimum (S. and M., in Muschli) Bowden and Hordeum vulgare L. T. aestivum and T. durum had identical restriction patterns for their cp and mtDNAs in digestions with four different enzymes. Likewise, no differences were found between the restriction fragment patterns of two accessions of D. villosum. But, there were distinct differences in chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment patterns between D. villosum and tetraploid and hexaploid wheats. A. longissimum (G609) showed a similar pattern to those wheats for PstI digestion of cpDNA. Organellar DNA from Hordeum vulgare (cv Himalaya) showed a distinctly different restriction pattern from those of wheat and D. villosum. These results suggest that D. villosum is unlikely to be the donor of cytoplasm to wheats, and its cytoplasmic organelles were also different from those of A. longissimum.Contribution No. 92-522-J from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station; Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA     

Inverse identification of region-specific hyperelastic material parameters for human brain tissue

The identification of material parameters accurately describing the region-dependent mechanical behavior of human brain tissue is crucial for computational models used to assist, e.g., the development of safety equipment like helmets or the planning and execution of brain surgery. While the division of the human brain into different anatomical regions is well established, knowledge about regions with distinct mechanical properties remains limited. Here, we establish an inverse parameter identification scheme using a hyperelastic Ogden model and experimental data from multi-modal testing of tissue from 19 anatomical human brain regions to identify mechanically distinct regions and provide the corresponding material parameters. We assign the 19 anatomical regions to nine governing regions based on similar parameters and microstructures. Statistical analyses confirm differences between the regions and indicate that at least the corpus callosum and the corona radiata should be assigned different material parameters in computational models of the human brain. We provide a total of four parameter sets based on the two initial Poisson’s ratios of 0.45 and 0.49 as well as the pre- and unconditioned experimental responses, respectively. Our results highlight the close interrelation between the Poisson’s ratio and the remaining model parameters. The identified parameters will contribute to more precise computational models enabling spatially resolved predictions of the stress and strain states in human brains under complex mechanical loading conditions.

     

Stable,position-related responses to retinoic acid by chick limb-bud mesenchymal cells in serum-free cultures

Summary Retinoic acid (RA) has dramatic effects on limb-skeletal patterning in vivo and may well play a pivotal role in normal limb morphogenesis. RA’s effects on the expression of pattern-related genes in the developing limb are probably mediated by cytoplasmic RA-binding proteins and nuclear RA-receptors. Little is known, however, about how RA modifies specific cellular behaviors required for skeletal morphogenesis. Earlier studies supported a role for regional differences in RA concentration in generating the region-specific cell behaviors that lead to pattern formation. The present study explores the possibility that position-related, cell-autonomous differences in the way limb mesenchymal cells respond to RA might have a role in generating pattern-related cell behavior. Mesenchymal cells from different proximodistal regions of stage 21–22 and 23–24 chick wing-buds were grown in chemically defined medium and exposed to 5 or 50 ng/ml of RA for 4 days in high-density microtiter cultures. The effects of RA on chondrogenesis in these cultures clearly differed depending on the limb region from which the cells were isolated. Regional differences in RA’s effects on growth over 4 days in these cultures were less striking. The region-dependent responses of these cells to RA proved relatively stable in culture despite ongoing cytodifferentiation. This serum-free culture model will be useful in exploring the mechanisms underlying the region-dependent responsiveness of these cells to RA.     

Histochemical definition of muscle fibre types in the trunk musculature of a teleost fish (cod,Gadus morhua,L.)

Summary Cryostat sections incubated for myofibrillar ATPase, SDH, LDH, and -GPDH as well as p-phenylene-diamine stained semithin sections were used to define muscle fibre types in the trunk musculature of the cod (Gadus morhua, L.).Three zones (superficial, intermediate, deep) containing different muscle fibre types are present within both epaxial and hypaxial parts of each myomere subjacent to the lateral line.Atypical relations concerning myofibrillar ATPase activity probably reflects instability of myosin during storage of frozen tissue. The histochemical reaction does not distinguish between myofibrillar and mitochondrial ATPase in cod muscle.Based on ATPase and SDH activities, seven different histochemical profiles of muscle fibres can be identified in trunk musculature of this teleost fish. Attempts to homologize these fibre types with those in cyclostomes or those in higher animals proved futile. The higher number of histochemically defined muscle fibre types in cod might be explained by developmental processes and an admixture of immature fibres throughout life.     

Structural studies of water-soluble glycoproteins from Cannabis sativa L

Two carbohydrate-protein fractions, isolated from Cannabis sativa L. by extraction with water and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, contained arabinose, galactose, glucose, mannose, galacturonic acid, 2-acetamido-2-deoxyglucose, and 2-acetamido-2-deoxygalactose. The structure of the carbohydrate moieties was investigated by methylation analysis and Smith degradation. A high percentage of end-groups indicates a large degree of branching, glucose and galactose being the main branch-points, linked at C-3 and C-6. The hexoses are also present as unbranched residues in the chain, largely as (1→3)- and (1→4)-linked units and as end-groups. Arabinofuranosyl units constitute the main part of the non-reducing end-groups, and are also present as part of the chain. The polysaccharide chains are probably linked to protein through the hydroxyl group of hydroxyproline.     

Structural studies of the polysaccharide from Aloe plicatilis Miller

The interior part of the leaves of the succulent Aloe plicatilis Miller (Liliaceae) consists of a transparent jelly containing mainly an acetylated glucomannan. Structural studies show that glucose and mannose, which are present in the ratio 1:2.8, are (1 → 4)-linked and that there is no branching. The hexose residues are randomly and variously substituted at positions 2,3,6, 2,3, 2, and 3 with acetyl groups; a small proportion of the sugar units is unsubstituted.     

Darstellung selektiv blockierter 2-azido-2-desoxy-D-gluco- und -D-galactopyranosylhalogenide: reaktivität und 13C-NMR-spektren

The synthesis of several 2-azido-2-deoxy-D-gluco- and -D-galactopyranosyl halides is described. With tetraethylammonium chloride, α-pyranosyl bromides react to give β-pyranosyl chlorides. This provides a facile method for obtaining selectively blocked halides for the synthesis of α-linked, amino sugar of oligosaccharides. The inversion reaction at the anomeric centre is shown to be of second order, corresponding to an SN2 mechanism. The rates of the inversion reactions were correlated to the ¹³C-n.m.r. data of C-1 of α-bromides. Within the gluco series, the ¹³C-n.m.r. shift of C-1 proves to be proportional to the natural logarithm of the rate constant. An analogous correlation in the galacto series could not be observed.