Binding of 5-methoxypsoralen to human serum low density lipoproteins

5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP) binds to human serum low density lipoproteins (LDL) according to a two-step process. Scatchard analysis of the first step yields K = 1.4 × 10⁵ M^?1 and 4 binding sites. It involves the LDL apoprotein. The second step corresponds to a solubilization, in the lipidic core, of ? 45 molecules of 5MOP per LDL molecule. It is accompanied by a large blue shift of the 5MOP fluorescence. The ability of LDL to bind 5MOP and to carry it into various cells may explain some biological effects sometimes encountered during PUVA therapy.     

Variability and conformation of HLA class I antigens: a predictive approach to the spatial arrangement of polymorphic regions

Comparison of available sequences of HLA-A and HLA-B antigens shows that variable positions are predominantly localized in four segments spanning residues 63-85, 105-116, 138-156, and 177-194. The fourth segment is unique in that it contains no differences between antigens of the same locus. Secondary folding of HLA heavy chain was estimated by three independent predictive methods and areas of defined structure were correlated with the distribution of local hydrophobicity to outline putative internal and external portions. The three analyses each independently predict a high probability for beta structure in the alpha 1, alpha 2, and alpha 3 domains. A single alpha-helix is predicted within residues 146-160, a segment of likely importance in cytotoxic T cell recognition and graft rejection. Substitutions within this segment are spatially related by the helical turn. Variable residues usually lie in areas of high local hydrophilicity, and therefore they are probably on the surface of the molecule. The model predicts that they are frequently located in beta strands, beta-turns, or the above-mentioned alpha-helix, so that most substitutions would be accommodated within rigid frameworks that may impose structural constraints to variability. The secondary structure of alpha 1, alpha 2, and alpha 3 domains presents some analogies that suggest that they might share common features in their tertiary folding. The predicted structure of alpha 3 is strongly reminiscent of that of immunoglobulin constant domains. Possible arrangements of elements of secondary structure are discussed, as an attempt to situating the polymorphic regions of HLA class I antigens in a spatial context.     

Fluorescence method for measuring the kinetics of fusion between biological membranes

An assay is presented that allows continuous and sensitive monitoring of membrane fusion in both artificial and biological membrane systems. The method relies upon the relief of fluorescence self-quenching of octadecyl Rhodamine B chloride. When the probe is incorporated into a lipid bilayer at concentrations up to 9 mol% with respect to total lipid, the efficiency of self-quenching is proportional to its surface density. Upon fusion between membranes labeled with the probe and nonlabeled membranes, the decrease in surface density of the fluorophore results in a concomitant, proportional increase in fluorescence intensity, allowing kinetic and quantitative measurements of the fusion process. The kinetics of fusion between phospholipid vesicles monitored with this assay were found to be the same as those determined with a fusion assay based on resonance energy transfer [Struck, D. K., Hoekstra, D., & Pagano, R. E. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 4093-4099]. Octadecyl Rhodamine B chloride can be readily inserted into native biological membranes by addition of an ethanolic solution of the probe. Evidence is presented showing that the dilution of the fluorophore, occurring when octadecyl Rhodamine containing influenza virus is mixed with phospholipid vesicles at pH 5.0, but not pH 7.4, resulted from virus-vesicle fusion and was not related to processes other than fusion. Furthermore, by use of this method, the kinetics of fusion between Sendai virus and erythrocyte ghosts and virus-induced fusion of ghosts were readily revealed. Dilution of the probe was not observed upon prior treatment of fluorescently labeled Sendai virus with trypsin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Release of dopamine, noradrenaline and dopamine B-hydroxylase from mouse neuroblastoma

The murine C1300 neuroblastoma tumor was found to secrete dopamine, noradrenaline and dopamine B-hydroxylase into the circulation of tumor-bearing A/J mice. The plasma levels of dopamine, noradrenaline and dopamine B-hydroxylase increased with the size of the tumor, and the increase in noradrenaline paralleled the increase in dopamine B-hydroxylase (r = 0.86). The vesicular storage of dopamine and noradrenaline in the tumor was evidenced by a decrease of the tissue content of dopamine and noradrenaline 24 hours after the administration of reserpine (5 micrograms/g) respectively to 17.6% and 7.8% of control values. A similar observation could be made for the levels of dopamine and noradrenaline in the plasma of reserpinized C1300 mice. The total activity of dopamine B-hydroxylase in the tumor and in plasma was unaffected by the reserpine treatment. Chronic administration of 6-hydroxydopamine (100 micrograms/g for 8 days) had no effect on the tissue contents of dopamine, noradrenaline or dopamine B-hydroxylase. The release of catecholamines and dopamine B-hydroxylase from the C1300 neuroblastoma was studied in vitro on superfused tumor slices. Stimulation of these slices with 56 mM KC1 or with 5.10(-5) M tyramine failed to induce the release of endogenous dopamine, noradrenaline or dopamine B-hydroxylase above the basal outflow levels. These results are suggestive for a non-exocytotic release of catecholamines and dopamine B-hydroxylase from the neuroblastoma tumor.     

Repair of UV damage in plasmid DNA by human fibroblasts

Summary Plasmid DNA from Bacillus subtilis was introduced into monolayers of human fibroblasts by means of a modification of the calcium phosphate coprecipitation technique, comprising centrifugation of the coprecipitate onto the cells and treatment with polyethyleneglycol. The amount of DNA resistant to removal from the monolayers ranged from 10% to 15% of the input DNA. By determination of the biological activity of the plasmid DNA, re-extracted after various periods following entry into the fibroblasts and subsequently used as donor for B. subtilis protoplasts, it was shown that the activity of the plasmid DNA was gradually lost. When ultraviolet light-inactivated plasmid DNA was used as donor, reactivation of the plasmid was observed, which was completed within 2 h. The dose-dependent incorporation of [¹⁴C]-thymidine suggests that DNA repair processes were involved in reactivation of the plasmid DNA.     

Germacranolides from Schkuhria anthemoidea

The isolation of eucannabinolide and three new sesquiterpene lactones from Schkuhria anthemoidea is reported. The structures and stereochemistries of the new compounds were established by chemical and spectroscopic means. The structure of santhemoidin B was confirmed by X-ray crystallography.     

Comparative Characterization of Glutamate Decarboxylase in Crude Homogenates of Oviduct, Ovary, and Hypothalamus

Some biochemical characteristics of L-glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) were compared using crude homogenates of the rat oviduct, ovary, and hypothalamus. As estimated by the measurement of CO2 production, the specific activities of oviductal and ovarian GAD were about 10 and 3% of the hypothalamic value, respectively. Stoichiometric formation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and CO2 from L-glutamate could be observed in oviduct and hypothalamus, while in ovarian homogenates the production of CO2 was more than nine times that of GABA. Hypothalamic and tubal GAD showed similar time course, temperature dependence, and pH dependence. The dependence on protein concentration and on exogenous cofactor supply was also similar in these two tissues. The kinetic constant for L-glutamate as a substrate was nearly the same in oviduct (1.30 mM) and hypothalamus (1.64 mM). The responsiveness of tubal and hypothalamic GAD to various inhibitors was also similar. The present findings indicate that the oviductal and the hypothalamic GAD may be identical, and they suggest a possible GABAergic innervation of the Fallopian tube.     

Intracellular CBG-like molecules in the rat pituitary

The localization of transcortin (CBG) in pituitary cells of the rat was investigated using the peroxydase-antiperoxydase (PAP) technique. A rabbit antiserum against purified rat plasma transcortin was used as the primary antiserum. Transcortin-like (CBG-like) immunoreactive products were found in the cytoplasma of certain cells in the anterior pituitary, but not in the intermediate lobe and weakly in the posterior pituitary. It is postulated that the CBG-like molecules participate in the cellular uptake process of corticosterone, thereby modulating the feedback signal of this steroid on pituitary function.     

Glioblastoma cells release interleukin 1 and factors inhibiting interleukin 2-mediated effects

Studies were designed to investigate whether the cellular immunodeficiency state observed in human glioblastoma patients could be due to inhibitory factors released by the tumor cells. Cultured human glioblastoma cells were found to secrete an interleukin 1-like factor (m.w. 22,000) and a factor (m.w. 97,000) that inhibits interleukin 2 (IL 2)-dependent T cell mechanisms. This is demonstrated by its inhibitory effect on the IL 2-induced proliferation of T cell clones and on the induction of alloreactive cytotoxic T cells in mixed lymphocyte cultures. Additionally the glioblastoma cell-derived 97,000-m.w. factor inhibited growth of neuroblasts but not of fibroblasts and thus shares the characteristics of the neuroblast growth inhibition factor (NGIF) previously detected in the supernatant of fetal rat glia cell cultures. If released by glioblastoma cells in vivo, the factor may contribute to impaired immunosurveillance and to the cellular immunodeficiency state detected in the patients.     

Oncogenicity by adenovirus is not determined by the transforming region only.

We have constructed a nondefective recombinant virus between the nononcogenic adenovirus 5 (Ad5) and the highly oncogenic Ad12. The recombinant genome consists essentially of Ad5 sequences, with the exception of the transforming early region 1 (E1) which is derived from Ad12. HeLa cells infected with the recombinant virus were shown to contain the Ad12-specific E1 proteins of 41 kilodaltons (E1a) and 19 and 54 kilodaltons (both encoded by E1b). The recombinant virus replicated efficiently in human embryonic kidney cells and HeLa cells, showing that the transforming regions of Ad5 and Ad12 had similar functions in productive infection. After the recombinant virus was injected into newborn hamsters, no tumors were produced during an observation period of 200 days. Thus, despite the fact that all products required for oncogenic transformation in vitro were derived from the highly oncogenic Ad12, the recombinant virus did not produce tumors in vivo. These data show that tumor induction by adenovirus virions is not determined only by the gene products of the transforming region.