Structures of the tetrahydrogenated menaquinones fromActinomadura angiospora,Faenia rectivirgula,andSaccharothrix australiensis

The structures of the tetrahydrogenated menaquinones fromActinomadura angiospora, Faenia rectivirgula, andSaccharothrix australiensis were determined by mass spectrometry and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. The positions of saturation of the tetrahydrogenated menaquinones fromFaenia rectivirgula andSaccharothrix australiensis were units II plus III (counting from the ring system), whereas that ofActinomadura angiospora had units III and VIII hydrogenated. The tetrahydrogenated menaquinones fromFaenia rectivirgula andSaccharothrix australiensis are similar to those characterized from other Gram-positive taxa to date, whereas that fromActinomadura angiospora represents a hitherto unknown isomer.     

Chromogranin C: A Third Component of the Acidic Proteins in Chromaffin Granules

We characterized a group of acidic proteins of bovine chromaffin granules with an antiserum raised against a protein described by Rosa and Zanini [Eur. J. Cell Biol. 31, 94-98 (1983)] in pituitary gland. In adrenal medulla the proteins reacting with this antiserum are confined to chromaffin granules. Their largest component has a Mr of 86,000 and a pI of 5.0. In addition six proteins of lower molecular weight are recognized by this antiserum. In a cell-free system only one protein is synthesized that can be precipitated with this antiserum. The properties of these proteins are very similar to those of the previously described chromogranins A and B; however, there is no immunological cross-reaction between these protein groups. We suggest this third group of acidic proteins of chromaffin granules be named chromogranins C.     

Arachidonic acid metabolism by murine peritoneal macrophages infected with Leishmania donovani: in vitro evidence for parasite-induced alterations in cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways

Leishmania donovani is an obligate intracellular protozoan that resides within mononuclear phagocytes of infected mammals. Affected human and rodent hosts commonly show abnormalities of T cell function, which may be related to altered macrophage physiology resulting from intracellular parasitism. To examine this possibility, we studied the metabolism of endogenous arachidonyl-phospholipids and [3H]-arachidonyl-phospholipids by murine peritoneal exudate macrophages infected with amastigotes of L. donovani. Our results indicated that infected cells synthesized increased amounts of both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid. Increased synthesis of immunoreactive prostaglandin (PG)E2 was evident as early as 1 to 4 hr after infection, was correlated with the fraction of cells infected, and was inhibited by sodium meclofenamate (0.2 and 20 microM) but not nordihydroguaiaretic acid (3 microM). As determined by thin-layer chromatography, infected cells also produced markedly increased amounts of prostaglandin F2 alpha (also inhibited by sodium meclofenamate) with insignificant increases in thromboxane B2 and the stable metabolite of prostacyclin, 6-oxo-PGF1 alpha. In contrast, stimulation of cells with opsonized zymosan resulted in significantly increased synthesis of all four eicosanoids. L. donovani infection was also found to induce marked increases in synthesis of lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid by infected cells. This was evidenced by increased amounts of [3H]-labeled material in cell extracts that co-migrated with authentic standards of 5 and 12/15-hydroxy-eicosate-traenoic acids in thin-layer chromatograms. Increased synthesis of these products was largely inhibited by both NDGA (3 microM) and sodium meclofenamate (20 and 0.2 microM). Additional evidence for augmentation of 5-lipoxygenase by Leishmania was provided by the demonstration of increased leukotriene-C4 in conditioned medium from infected cells. These results indicate that macrophages infected with L. donovani produce increased amounts of arachidonic acid metabolites with the potential for influencing cellular immune function and the inflammatory response to infection.     

Immunological Characterization of Secretory Proteins of Chromaffin Granules: Chromogranins A, Chromogranins B, and Enkephalin-Containing Peptides

The soluble proteins of bovine chromaffin granules can be resolved into about 40 proteins by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Use of several antisera enabled us to characterize most of these proteins with the immune replica technique. An antiserum against dopamine beta-hydroxylase reacted with one protein of Mr 75,000. Met-enkephalin antisera labeled eight proteins of Mr 23,000-14,000. A new method was developed to obtain highly purified chromogranin A for immunization. The antiserum reacted with chromogranin A and several smaller proteins of similar pI. This specific antiserum did not react with a second family of hitherto undescribed proteins, which we propose to call chromogranins B. An antiserum against these proteins was raised. It labeled several proteins ranging in Mr from 100,000 to 24,000 and focusing at pH 5.2. Subcellular fractionation established that chromogranins B are specifically localized in chromaffin granules of several species. They are secreted from the adrenal medulla during cholinergic stimulation. We conclude that apart from dopamine beta-hydroxylase chromaffin granules contain three families of immunologically unrelated proteins.     

Isolation and Immunological Characterization of a Glycoprotein from Adrenal Chromaffin Granules

A glycoprotein (s-GP III) was isolated from the soluble lysate of chromaffin granules by chromatography with immunoaffinity and lectin columns. An identical protein (m-GP III) was shown to be present in the granule membranes. The apparent molecular weight of these glycoproteins as determined by the electrophoresis system of Laemmli (1970) was 43,000 under reducing conditions. In the absence of mercaptoethanol they aggregated to dimers. Antisera were raised against both the soluble and the membrane-bound forms of this glycoprotein. With these antisera GP III was further characterized: Immunoreplicas were obtained after two-dimensional electrophoresis of soluble and membrane-bound proteins of chromaffin granules. GP III was identified as a protein with a rather broad pI (4.6-5.3), indicating microheterogeneity. As shown by subcellular fractionation, m-GP III is specifically confined to chromaffin granules. GP III can therefore be used as a marker for the membranes of these organelles. The soluble form is secreted from adrenal medulla during stimulation with carbamylcholine chloride. An immunologically identical antigen was detected in adeno- and neurohypophysis. The physiological function of GP III is still unknown. It does not demonstrate any of the enzymatic activities so far known to occur in chromaffin granules.     

The kinetics of inhibition of erythrocyte cholinesterase by monomethylcarbamates

1. The kinetics of the interaction of erythrocyte cholinesterase with 1-naphthyl N-methylcarbamate, 2-isopropoxyphenyl N-methylcarbamate and phenyl N-methylcarbamate were studied. Rate constants for inhibition and rate constants for spontaneous reactivation were determined. The calculated rate constants for spontaneous reactivation agreed well with those obtained experimentally. 2. The degree of inhibition obtained after preincubation of enzyme and inhibitor was found to be independent of both the substrate concentration and the dilution of the inhibited enzyme. 3. The reaction between the enzyme and the inhibitor was consistent with carbamates being regarded as poor substrates of cholinesterases. There was no evidence for the formation of a reversible complex between the enzyme and the carbamate.     

The human glucocerebrosidase gene and pseudogene: structure and evolution

We report the sequence of the entire human gene encoding beta-glucocerebrosidase and that of the associated pseudogene. The gene contains 11 exons extending from base pair 355 to base pair 7232 in the overall sequence. The gene promoter contains TATA- and CAT-like boxes upstream of the major 5' end of the glucocerebrosidase RNA. The two TATA boxes lie between nucleotides (-23)-(-27) and (-33)-(-39) and the two possible CAT boxes reside between nucleotides (-90)-(-94) and (-96)-(-99) in relation to the major 5' end of the mRNA. The functionality of the promoter region was monitored by coupling it to the bacterial gene coding for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and assaying the expression of the enzyme in cells transfected with this vector. The glucocerebrosidase promoter not only directs synthesis of the bacterial enzyme but also exhibits the same pattern of tissue-specific expression as that of the endogenous gene. An apparently tightly linked pseudogene is approximately 96% homologous to the functional gene. However, introns 2, 4, 6, and 7 have large "deletions" consisting of Alu sequences 313, 626, 320, and 277 bp in length, respectively. It is entirely possible that the ancestral gene lacks these sequences and that they have been inserted into the introns of the functioning gene. There is also a 55-bp deletion from a part of exon 9 flanked by a short inverted repeat. The sequence data should facilitate development of methods for diagnosis of Gaucher disease at the molecular level.     

Sorting of cyst wall proteins to a regulated secretory pathway during differentiation of the primitive eukaryote, Giardia lamblia

Giardia lamblia, which belongs to the earliest identified lineage to diverge from the eukaryotic line of descent, is one of many protists reported to lack a Golgi apparatus. Our recent finding of a developmentally regulated secretory pathway in G. lamblia makes it an ideal organism with which to test the hypothesis that the Golgi may be more readily demonstrated in actively secreting cells. These ultrastructural studies now show that a regulated pathway of transport and secretion of cyst wall antigens via a novel class of large, osmiophilic secretory vesicles, the encystation-specific vesicles (ESV), is assembled during encystation of G. lamblia. Early in encystation, cyst antigens are localized in simple Golgi membrane stacks and concentrated within enlarged Golgi cisternae which appear to be precursors of ESV. This would represent an unusual mechanism of secretory vesicle biogenesis. Later in differentiation, cyst antigens are localized within ESV, which transport them to the plasma membrane and release them by exocytosis to the nascent cell wall. ESV are not observed after completion of the cyst wall. In contrast to the regulated transport of cyst wall proteins, we demonstrate a distinct constitutive lysosomal pathway. During encystation, acid phosphatase activity is localized in endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, and small constitutive peripheral vacuoles which function as lysosomes. However, acid phosphatase activity is not detectable in ESV. These studies show that G. lamblia, an early eukaryote, is capable of carrying out Golgi-mediated sorting of proteins to distinct regulated secretory and constitutive lysosomal pathways.     

Secretogranin II: Relative Amounts and Processing to Secretoneurin in Various Rat Tissues

Abstract: Secretoneurin is a 33-amino-acid peptide produced in vivo from secretogranin II. An antiserum raised against this peptide recognizes both the free peptide and its precursors. By HPLC and radioimmunoassay we characterized the immunoreactive molecules and determined the levels of immunoreactivity in various rat organs. In adrenal medulla and to a lesser degree in the anterior pituitary processing of secretogranin II to secretoneurin was very limited, whereas in all other organs studied (brain, intestine, endocrine pancreas, thyroid gland, and posterior pituitary) a high degree of processing was apparent. Thus, practically all of the immunoreactivity was present as free secretoneurin. This was also true for serum. When the total amount of secretoneurin immunoreactivity was calculated for the various organs, the largest pools in descending order were in the intestine, CNS, anterior pituitary, pancreas, and adrenal gland. This makes it likely that secretoneurin in serum is mainly derived from the intestine. The high degree of processing of secretogranin II in most organs is consistent with the concept that this protein acts as a precursor of a functional peptide, i.e., secretoneurin.     

Taxonomic identification of Streptomyces exfoliatus K10 and characterization of its poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase gene

Abstract Using fungi grown on synthetic agar medium, we evaluated and compared the concentration of various H₂O₂-producing enzymes. Our results showed that oxidase production in solid medium was better than that found in liquid medium and as high as that detected in wood samples. High yields of oxidases made it possible to compare different oxidases in the same culture extracts and under different conditions. Our results also indicated that H₂O₂ production is ubiquitous in the white rot fungi tested and that enzyme levels are influenced by the substrate composition.