Nature of the antigenic determinants of T locus antigens

The nature of the antigenic specificities of several antigens associated with the T/t complex in the mouse were analyzed by means of glycosidase and haptene inhibition studies. Results indicate that on testicular cells sugar residues are involved in at least six different T/t antigenic determinants. The immunodominant sugar appears to be different for each of the specificities. The specificity for the following T/t antigens resides predominantly in the sugars indicated: T:sialic acid; t12:beta-D-galactose; tw32:beta-D-galactose; t0:L-fucose; tw1:N-acetyl-D-galactosamine; tw18:L-fucose. It seems probable that these sugars are found at the terminal reducing ends of the carbohydrate portion of T/t-bearing moleculse. These studies imply that at least some of the genes in the T locus code for glycosyltransferases or regulators of glycosyltransferases which modigy oligosaccharide structures and impart specificity to the T/t antigens by alteration of their terminal sugar residues.     

The inactivation of rat adipocyte Mg2+-dependent phosphatidate phosphohydrolase by noradrenaline.

The inactivation of rat adipocyte Mg2+-dependent phosphatidate phosphohydrolase by noradrenaline [Cheng & Saggerson (1978) FEBS Lett. 87, 65--68; Cheng & Saggerson (1978) FEBS Lett. 93, 120--124] persists for at least 40 min in crude defatted homogenates kept at 0 degrees C or 20 degrees C, but is diminished at 37 degrees C. The effect of noradrenaline persists through the isolation of post-105000 g supernatants and is then stable in these preparations at 0 degrees C and 37 degrees C. Inclusion of albumin (10--20 mg/ml) in homogenization buffers abolishes the effect of noradrenaline. The effect of noradrenaline is not removed by dialysis of extracts or by raising the concentrations of Mg2+ or phosphatidate in assays.     

Human deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase. Purification and characterization of the deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase from acute lymphocytic leukemia.

A new fast assay procedure for increasing deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase activity was developed. With this assay procedure, this enzyme derived from blast cells of patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia was purified at least 1218-fold. The molecular weight was estimated by gel filtration to be 43,000. The enzyme exhibited optimal activity over a pH range of 7 to 8 and the activation energy was estimated to be 6.5 kcal/mol at pH 7.5. While the enzyme had activity in the absence of added divalent cations, the activity could be inhibited by EDTA but not by phenanthroline. The inhibition caused by EDTA could be reversed by Mg2+ or Zn2+. The enzyme had maximal activity in the presence of Mg2+ (40 muM) and Mg2+ (4 mM) stabilized the enzyme at 37 degrees C. Cupric ion (0.5 mM) inhibited (50%) enzyme activity in the presence or absence of Mg2+. The substrate for the enzyme was dUTP and the apparent Km was 1 muM. No other deoxyribonucleoside or ribonucleoside triphosphate served as a substrate for the enzyme.     

DNase Induced After Infection of KB Cells by Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 or Type 2 II. Characterization of an Associated Endonuclease Activity

Purified preparations of the "exonuclease" specified by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) possess an endonuclease activity. The exonuclease and endonuclease activities copurify and cosediment in a sucrose density gradient. Endonuclease activity is only observed in the presence of a divalent cation, and Mg(2+) or Mn(2+) is equally effective as a cofactor with an optimal concentration of 2 mM. A slight amount of endonuclease activity is observed in the presence of Ca(2+), whereas no activity occurs in the presence of Zn(2+). In the presence of Mg(2+), Ca(2+) and Zn(2+) are inhibitory. Comparison of exonuclease and endonuclease activity in the presence of various divalent cations revealed that, at concentrations of Mn(2+) greater than 1 mM, only endonuclease activity occurs whereas endonuclease and exonuclease activity occur at all concentrations of Mg(2+). The endonuclease was affected by putrescine and spermidine to the same extent as the exonuclease activity, but in marked contrast the endonuclease was inhibited by a 10-fold-lower concentration of spermine compared to the exonuclease. The activity specified by HSV-1 and HSV-2 has very similar properties. HSV-1 and HSV-2 endonuclease cleave covalently closed circular DNA to yield, firstly, nicked circles and then linear DNA which is subsequently hydrolyzed to small oligonucleotides. Cleavage does not appear to be base sequence specific. Conversion of nicked circles to linear DNA and subsequent degradation of linear DNA occurs more rapidly in the presence of Mg(2+) than Mn(2+) presumably by virtue of the presence of the exonuclease activity. Nonsuperhelical covalently closed circular duplex DNA is cleaved by the endonucleases at a rate 60 times slower than the rate observed on the supercoiled form. These data indicate that the HSV-1 and HSV-2 endonuclease preferentially recognize single-stranded DNA regions.     

Transfer of purified herpes virus thymidine kinase gene to cultured mouse cells.

Treatment of Ltk^?, mouse L cells deficient in thymidine kinase (tk), with Bam I restriction endonuclease cleaved DNA from herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) produced tk⁺ clones with a frequency of 10^?6/2 μg of HSV-1 DNA. Untreated cells or cells treated with Eco RI restriction endonuclease fragments produced no tk+ clones under the same conditions. The thymidine kinase activities of four independently derived clones were characterized by biochemical and serological techniques. By these criteria, the tk activities were found to be identical to HSV-1 tk and different from host wildtype tk. The tk⁺ phenotype was stable over several hundred cell generations, although the rate of reversion to the tk^? phenotype, as judged by cloning efficiency in the presence of bromodeoxyuridine, was high (1–5 × 10^?3). HSV-1 DNA Bam restriction fragments were separated by gel electrophoresis, and virtually all activity, as assayed by transfection, was found to reside in a 3.4 kb fragment. Transformation efficiency with the isolated fragment is 20 fold higher per gene equivalent than with the unfractionated total Bam digest. These results prove the usefulness of transfection assays as a means for the bioassay and isolation of restriction fragments carrying specific genetic information. Cells expressing HSV-1 tk may also provide a useful model system for the detailed analysis of eucaryotic and viral gene regulation.     

Elevation of aminopeptidase activity in Biomphalaria glabrata (Mollusca) parasitized by Echinostoma lindoense (Trematoda)

Comparisons of the levels of aminopeptidase activity in the hemocytes and serum of Biomphalaria glabrata at 20 and 30 days postexposure to irradiated Echinostoma lindoense miracidia with enzyme levels in control snails have revealed that there are significant elevations in the serum of snails at both time periods postexposure. Furthermore, there is a significantly higher level of aminopeptidase activity in the serum of snails at 30 days than at 20 days postexposure. Although the biologic function of the elevated levels of serum aminopeptidase in sensitized snails remains uncertain, it is possible that this lysosomal enzyme may degrade the surface proteins of secondarily introduced parasites and thus act as a form of acquired humoral immunity.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance study of the impact of ribose 2′-O-methylation on the aqueous solution conformation of cytidylyl-(3′ → 5′)-cytidine

In order to obtain information about the conformational characteristics at the nearestneighbor level in the 2′-O-methylated region of t-RNA, as well as in the bizarre 5′-terminus of eucaryotic mRNA, a detailed nuclear magnetic resonance study of 2′-O-methyl-cytidylyl-(3′ → 5′)-cytidine (CmpC) was conducted. Proton spectra were recorded at 270 MHz in the Fourier mode in D₂O solutions, 0.01M, pD 7.3 in the temperature range 5–80°C. Complete accurate sets of nmr parameters were derived for each of the nucleotidyl units by a combination of homo-nuclear decouplings and simulation iteration methods. The data were translated into conformational parameters using procedures developed in earlier studies from these laboratories. It is shown that the ribofuranose ring exists at a ²E ? ³E equilibrium with clear preference [(75–80)%] for the ³E mode. The C(4′)-C(5′) and C(5′)-O(5′) bonds form a stable conformational network with outspoken preference for conformers in which Ψ₁, Ψ₂ ? 60° and ?₂ ? 180°. The orientation of the 3′-phosphate and 2′-O-methyl groups is such that ?₁′ ? 210° and ?″ ? 60°. The phosphodiester bonds are flexible and shift trends for base, H(1′), and H(5″) suggest the existence of a conformational blend of right-handed stack (g^?g^?), left-handed stack (g⁺g⁺), and unstacked arrays (tg^? and tg⁺). Elevation of temperature perturbs the ²E ? ³E equilibrium accompanied with modest depopulation of ψ₁, ψ₂ ? 60° and ?₂ ? 180° conformers. The major effect of elevation of temperature is in the increase of unstacked arrays at the expense of g^?g^? and g⁺g⁺ conformers. The shift trend of Cmp-H(3′) with temperature shows that torsional variation about O(3′)-P is facilitated by increase in temperature and the preferred rotamer about O(3′)-P in the unstacked form is t (ω₁′ = 180°). A detailed comparison of the aqueous solution conformations of CpC and CmpC reveals that 2′-O-methylation causes: (i) a reduction in the magnitude of _χ1; (ii) an increase in the population of ³E pucker at the 3′-nucleotidyl unit; and (iii) modest perturbations in the O(3′)-P and P-O(5′) bond conformations. Comparison of the aqueous solution conformations of AmpA and CmpC makes clear that the conformational properties of pyrimidine-pyrimidine and purine-purine dimers which carry a 2′-O-methylated 3′-nucleotidyl unit are significantly different.     

壳聚糖固定化木瓜蛋白酶的研究

以壳聚糖为载体,成二醛为交联剂将木瓜蛋白酶固定化。5％戊二醛在4-6℃下处理载体5h,加酶液(3.5mg/mL蛋白,pH7.2)固定12h,活力回收达32％,作用于酪蛋白的半衰期为36天,其表观K_m(酪蛋白)值为0.075％(W/V),溶液酶的K_m值为0.086％;最适pH7.0～7.5,溶液酶为7.0～8.5。固定化酶在pH8.5以下,溶液酶在9.0以下活力稳定。固定化酶在45℃以下,溶液酶在75℃以下稳定。用6mol/L脲洗脱固定化酶4次(5.5h)活力仍有54.5％。用固定化酶处理啤酒浊度比对照下降了1.5-3.7倍,蛋白质含量下降了44％,冷藏(4℃)120天无冷混浊现象发生并保持了啤酒原有风味和理化性状。     

转化淋巴细胞胰岛素受体酪氨酸蛋白激酶活性及细胞内源性底物的研究

本文对增殖期的淋巴细胞胰岛素依赖性酪氨酸蛋白激酶活性及内源性废物进行了分析研究。在纯化的健康人淋巴细胞中加入适量的植物血凝素(PHA),经过72h培养即成为转化淋巴细胞(增殖期淋巴细胞)。应用~(32)P参入实验,证实转化淋巴细胞胰岛素受体具有胰岛素依赖性的酪氨酸蛋白激酶活性,与未转化的对照组相比其活性增加约9倍。Scatchard分析表明转化后淋巴细胞膜表面胰岛素受体数增加3.5倍。应用抗酪氨酸磷酸酯抗体,对胰岛素作用前后的转化与未转化淋巴细胞内,酪氨酸残基磷酸化的蛋白进行了鉴定,结果表明:除了95kD受体β亚基自身磷酸化外,45kD蛋白质也明显磷酸化,我们命名它为PP45。我们认为PP45可能是淋巴细胞中胰岛素受体酪氨酸蛋白激酶的主要内源性废物,它的磷酸化是胰岛素信息传递过程级联反应的初始步骤。