Effects of pingyanymycin on chromosomes: a possible structural basis for chromosome aberration

Pingyanymycin (PYM), and antitumor-antibiotic complex which belongs to the bleomycin family can induce "G2-free chromatin" and "uncompleted-packing-mitotic figures" (UPM) at increased frequency after treatment of cultured human lymphocytes. PYM can also induce an extraordinarily high frequency of chromosomal breaks but few sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE) in the same experiment, which is similar to the action of bleomycin. To solve this remarkable contradiction we presume that the UPM is related to a basic mechanism for producing chromosomal aberrations. Our results also show that various steps of the chromosomal cycle can be affected by certain chemical agents, and these treatments lead to chromosomal aberrations. Thus, other testing systems should be used in addition to the SCE system.     

A developmentally regulated hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein in maize pericarp cell walls

We have studied the accumulation of peptidyl hydroxyproline in the pericarp of developing maize (Zea mays L., Golden cross Bantam sweet corn) kernels. Although this hydroxyproline accumulates throughout development, it is most soluble and its content per milligram dry weight greatest at midmaturation stages of development. Salt-soluble proteins containing this hydroxyproline from isolated cell walls of developing kernels were fractionated on a CsCl density gradient and on a Chromatofocusing column, resulting in the purification of an hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein, PC-1. PC-1 is a basic protein of approximately 65 to 70 kilodaltons in molecular weight with an isoelectric point of at least 10.2 and a density of 1.38 to 1.39 in CsCl. Amino acid composition data indicate that it is rich in hydroxyproline, threonine, proline, lysine, and glycine. Its relation to dicot extensin is discussed.     

Tandem duplication and divergence of a sea urchin protein belonging to the troponin C superfamily

The Spec1 and Spec2 proteins of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus are related to calmodulin, troponin C, and myosin light chains by sequence similarity in their four calcium binding domains. These domains, the EF-hands, are distinct helix-loop-helix structures of about 40 amino acids. The Spec1 and Spec2 genes are expressed specifically in aboral ectoderm cells of the developing embryo; however, the function of the Spec proteins in these cells is unknown. To find conserved regions of the proteins that might be important for structure and function, Spec homologues from Lytechinus pictus, a distantly related sea urchin, were sought. L. pictus embryos do not synthesize detectable amounts of the 14,000-17,000-Da Spec proteins as determined by two-dimensional gel electro-phoresis, but do synthesize three 34,000-Da proteins that cross-react with Spec1 antibodies and display a similar ontogenetic pattern of expression. cDNA clones were isolated by hybridization to a synthetic oligonucleotide corresponding to the EF-hand. One clone, LpS1, encodes an mRNA with developmental properties like those of the S. purpuratus Spec mRNAs. However, LpS1 contains an open reading frame for a protein of 34,000 Da rather than 17,000 Da, and antibodies raised against part of the LpS1 reading frame demonstrate that LpS1 encodes a 34,000-Da protein in L. pictus embryos. The sequence of LpS1 reveals the presence of eight EF-hand domains, which share structural homology with the Spec1 or Spec2 EF-hands; however, little else in the protein sequence is conserved. The results support the hypothesis that the LpS1 gene arose from a duplication of an ancestral Spec gene and that the overall structural features of the Spec family of proteins are more conserved than the amino acid sequences.     

Properties and characterization of a rat spleen cell-derived factor that induces resistance to natural killer cell lysis in YAC lymphoma cells

Supernatants of Con A-stimulated rat spleen cell cultures contain a factor that induces relative resistance to NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity in the YAC cell line, a line that is otherwise highly susceptible to murine NK cell-mediated lysis. This NK-lysis resistance-inducing factor (LRIF) has a Mr of 12,600 Da, as determined by gel filtration chromatography, and an isoelectric pH of 4.8. NK-LRIF is heat labile and is de-activated by treatment with proteolytic enzymes. Unlike immune-IFN (IFN-gamma), NK-LRIF is not inactivated by pH 2 treatment, and antibodies capable of neutralizing IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma do not abrogate the effect of NK-LRIF. Highly purified IL-2 preparations lack NK-LRIF activity. NK-LRIF does not induce a general resistance to lysis in YAC cells, because control and NK-LRIF-treated YAC cells were equally susceptible to alloimmune cytotoxic T cells. YAC cells treated with NK-LRIF showed a marked enhancement (5- to 10-fold) in the expression of class I MHC Ag. This observation supports the proposition that the NK susceptibility of target cells could be inversely related to the expression of class I MHC Ag.     

Effect of Na-K adenosinetriphosphatase activity on relaxation of canine tracheal smooth muscle

The effect of Na-K adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) on relaxation induced by isoproterenol, prostaglandin E2, sodium nitroprusside, and forskolin, a specific stimulant of adenylate cyclase, was investigated in canine tracheal smooth muscle strips. Relaxation in response to isoproterenol, prostaglandin E2, and forskolin was significantly decreased after inhibition of the Na-K ATPase by ouabain or a potassium-free medium, but relaxation to sodium nitroprusside was not affected. Relaxation to isoproterenol was greater in muscles contracted by 5-hydroxytryptamine than in those contracted by acetylcholine. The stimulation of Na-K ATPase activity with potassium also caused differences in relaxation between tissues contracted with 5-hydroxytryptamine or acetylcholine. Relaxation caused by isoproterenol by activation of the Na-K-ATPase was also decreased by the Ca2+-channel antagonists, verapamil and diltiazem. The results suggest 1) Na-K ATPase activity modulates relaxation caused by isoproterenol, prostaglandin E2, and forskolin in canine tracheal smooth muscle, 2) isoproterenol or activation of the Na-K ATPase may cause relaxation partly by reducing Ca2+ influx through potential-dependent Ca2+ channels, and 3) the differences in the inhibitory effects of isoproterenol and Na-K ATPase activity on muscles contracted by acetylcholine and 5-hydroxytryptamine could be due to differences between these contractile agents in their dependence on extracellular Ca2+ for activation.     

Epitopes that span the tau molecule are shared with paired helical filaments

Tau protein has been shown to be an integral component of Alzheimer paired helical filaments (PHF). However, the extent to which tau is incorporated into PHF has not been clear because the antibodies used to label PHF generally do not have precisely defined epitopes. Here we define the antigenic sites for five monoclonal antibodies that react with tau and cross-react with SDS-extracted neurofibrillary tangles. The reactive sites were determined by screening a lambda gt11 sublibrary expressing small fragments of the tau sequence. The mapped epitopes were found to span almost the entire length of tau, suggesting that PHF contains tau in its entirety or nearly in its entirety. One antibody was found to cross-react with microtubule-associated protein 2, implying some degree of homology between the two proteins.     

电损毁海马CA3区及连合前穹窿对大鼠血浆胰岛素水平...

Bilateral electrical lesioning of the hippocampal CA3 region (HCA3-EL) or anterior commissura hippocampi (ACHF-EL) caused marked elevations in plasma basal levels of insulin. 2 weeks later, fasting blood glucose levels were also augmented with decreased glucose tolerance. In contrast, the secretory response of pancreatic B cells to glucose stimulation was markedly enhanced. Following intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT), the relative amounts of glucagon-like and insulin-like immunoreactants were reduced in the pancreatic islets of both HCA3-EL and ACHF-EL rats in comparison with the controls. In the HCA3-EL group, the relative amounts of somatostatin-like immunoreactants and gross numbers of such immunostained cells in islets were also decreased as compared with the control. No difference was seen in pancreatic-polypeptide-like immunoreactivities as assessed by immunohistochemistry plus microphotometry method. The above results suggest strongly that HCA3 and ACHF exert a tonic inhibitory action on the insulin secretion in the rat.     

Comparison between avian and human prolyl 4-hydroxylases: studies on the holomeric enzymes and their constituent subunits.

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase, a key enzyme in collagen biosynthesis, catalyzes the conversion of selected prolyl residues to trans-hydroxyproline in nascent or completed pro-alpha chains of procollagen. The enzyme is a tetramer composed of two nonidentical subunits, designated alpha and beta. To compare the enzyme and its subunits from different sources, the chick embryo and human placental prolyl 4-hydroxylases were purified to homogeneity and their physicochemical and immunological properties were determined. Both enzymes were glycoproteins with estimated apparent molecular weights ranging between 400 and 600 kDa. Amino acid and carbohydrate analyses showed slight differences between the two holomeric enzymes, consistent with their deduced amino acid sequences from their respective cDNAs. Human placental prolyl 4-hydroxylase contained more tightly bound iron than the chick embryo enzyme. Immunodiffusion of the human placental enzyme with antibodies raised against the purified chick embryo prolyl 4-hydroxylase demonstrated partial identity, indicating different antigenic determinants in their tertiary structures. The enzymes could be separated by high-resolution capillary electrophoresis, indicating differential charge densities for the native chick embryo and human placental proteins. Electrophoretic studies revealed that the human prolyl 4-hydroxylase is a tetrameric enzyme containing two nonidentical subunits of about 64 and 62 kDa, in a ratio of approximately 1 to 2, designated alpha and beta, respectively. In contrast, the chick embryo alpha and beta subunit ratio was 1 to 1. Notably, the human alpha subunit was partially degraded when subjected to electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. Analogously, when the chick embryo enzyme was subjected to limited proteolysis, selective degradation of the alpha subunit was observed. Finally, only the alpha subunit was bound to Concanavalin A demonstrating that the alpha subunits of prolyl 4-hydroxylase in both species were glycosylated. Using biochemical techniques, these results demonstrated that the 4-trans-hydroxy-L-proline residues in human placental collagens are synthesized by an enzyme whose primary structure and immunological properties differ from those of the previously well-characterized chick embryo enzyme, consistent with their recently deduced primary structures from cDNA sequences.