Red blood cell aging--membrane skeleton alteration and IgG receptor expression

Investigations were performed on aging of erythrocytes. It has been assumed that structural changes of the membrane result after exposer of the cells to certain environmental influences in vivo or in vitro. Cell aging can be connected with varying combinations of membrane structure disturbances. It is postulated that the messenger which signals membrane structure lesion is involved in a mechanism given by the expression of immunoglobulin G (IgG) receptor sites which bind autologous IgG1 and IgG3. This antibodies are cytophilic for macrophages. The performed studies demonstrated that an intact molecular arrangement of the membrane skeleton is not only a supposition for stabilization of the membrane asymmetry but also for IgG receptor masking to prevent an early elimination of the red blood cells from the organism.     

Ouabain-binding site of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase in right-side-out vesicles has not an externally accessible SH group

The fluorescing sulfhydryl reagent N-(7-dimethylamino-4-methylcoumarinyl)maleimide (DACM) inactivates purified (Na+ + K+)-ATPase at 20 microM. This inactivation results in a decrease of the ouabain-binding capacity of the enzyme. Treatment of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, embedded in right-side-out-oriented vesicles, by DACM does not affect ouabain binding to the enzyme. Incorporation of DACM into the alpha subunit of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase embedded in right-side-out vesicles is also not affected by the presence or absence of 100 microM ouabain. It is therefore concluded that a sulfhydryl group does not reside within the ouabain-binding site of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase.     

兜兰胚胎学的研究

云南兜兰花药壁有五层细胞,绒毡层细胞具双核,属分泌型。小孢子母细胞减数分裂为同时型。四分体中四个小孢子呈四面体或左右对称式排列。成熟花粉为二细胞型。单粒分散的花粉包裹于黄色粘性物质中。生殖细胞最初形成的壁为胼胝质的,待游离到营养细胞质中时,具一层很薄的 PAS 正反应的壁,直到花药开裂时这层壁仍存在。成熟花粉无特化的萌发孔,只具薄壁区。胚珠为薄珠心,具一层珠被,胚囊发育为葱型,成熟胚囊为6—8核,胚发育过程中,具2—4细胞胚柄。胚乳具二核。种子成熟时胚柄及胚乳核都消失。成熟种子只具单层细胞的种皮和一个未分化的球形胚。     

Presence of nucleosomes inPenicillium chrysogenum

We have studied the chromatin structure ofPenicillium chrysogenum. This fungus presents the typical nucleosomal repeat and the core DNA size characteristic of all the eukaryotes. The repeat length (about 180 base pairs) is in the range of those obtained for most fungi (160–180 base pairs) and shorter than in higher eukaryotes. Knowledge aboutP. chrysogenum chromatin structure opens the way to the study of the mechanisms of genetic regulation in this filamentous fungus.     

A complex balanced chromosomal rearrangement in repeated abortions

Summary A double balanced reciprocal translocation involving four chromosomes, t(1;19;6;14) (1p11; 19p11; 6q25; 14q21), was found in the phenotypically normal husband in a couple referred because of repeated abortions. Reciprocal translocations, t(6;14), had been transmitted by his mother, his father being apparently homozygous for a translocation comprising pairs 1 and 19-t(1;19)(1;19). The genetic consequences of this complex chromosomal rearrangement are analyzed.     

Fragile sites,chromosome evolution,and human neoplasia

Summary In a study of the possible relationship between human fragile sites, chromosomal rearrangements related to neoplasia, and chromosome regions involved in evolutionary changes, we have found that 17 fragile sites related to cancer, 15 fragile sites not related to cancer, and 17 non-fragile regions also related to human malignancy correspond or are close to bands involved in rearrangements that have taken place during chromosomal evolution in primates.     

Detection of induced mitotic chromosome loss in Saccharomyces cerevisiae--an interlaboratory study

The diploid yeast strain D61.M was used to study induction of mitotic chromosome loss. The test relies upon the uncovering and expression of multiple recessive markers reflecting the presumptive loss of the chromosome VII homologue carrying the corresponding wild-type alleles. The underlying 'loss event' is probably complex since the predicted centromere-linked lethal tetrad segregations for chromosome VII are not recovered. Instead, the homologue bearing the multiple recessive markers is patently homozygous. An interlaboratory study was performed in which 16 chemicals were tested under code in 2 laboratories. The results generated by the Berkeley and Darmstadt laboratories were in close agreement. Acetonitrile, ethyl acetate, 4-acetylpyridine, propionitrile and nocodazole were identified as potent inducers of mitotic chromosome loss. Acetone, dimethyl sulfoxide and 2-methoxyethyl acetate either elicited weak responses or yielded ambiguous results. Water, carbon tetrachloride, 4-fluoro-D,L-phenylalanine, amphotericin B, griseofulvin, cadmium chloride, ethyl methanesulfonate and methylmercury(II) chloride failed to induce chromosome loss. These data suggest that the system described herein represents a reliable assay for chemically induced chromosome loss in yeast.     

Nuclear-magnetic-resonance imaging of leaves ofMesembryanthemum crystallinum L. plants grown at high salinity

Differences in water binding were measured in the leaf cells ofMesembryanthemum crystallinum L. plants grown under high-salinity conditions by using nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) imaging. The 7-Tesla proton NMR imaging system yielded a spatial resolution of 20·20·100 m³. Images recorded with different spin-echo times (4.4 ms to 18 ms) showed that the water concentrations in the bladder cells (located on the upper and lower leaf surface), in the mesophyll cells and in the water-conducting vessels were nearly identical. All of the water in the bladder cells and in the water-conducting vessels was found to be mobile, whilst part of the water in the mesophyll cells was bound. Patches of mesophyll cells could be identified which bound water more strongly than the surrounding mesophyll cells. Optical investigations of leaf cross-sections revealed two types of mesophyll cells of different sizes and chloroplast contents. It is therefore likely that in the small-sized mesophyll cells water is strongly bound. A long-term asymmetric water exchange between the mesophyll cells and the bladder cells during Crassulacean acid metabolism has been described in the literature. The high density of these mesophyll cells in the lower epidermis is a possible cause of this asymmetry.Abbreviations CAM Crassulacean acid metabolism - NMR nuclear magnetic resonance - T_E spin-echo time     

Effect of HCO - 3 concentration in the absorption solution on the energetic coupling of H+-cotransports in roots of Zea mays L.

The effect of HCO ₃ ^- on ion absorption by young corn roots was studied in conditions allowing the independent control of both the pH of uptake solution and the CO₂ partial pressure in air bubbled through the solution. The surface pH shift in the vicinity of the outer surface of the plasmalemma induced by active H⁺ excretion was estimated using the initial uptake rate of acetic acid as a pH probe (Sentenac and Grignon (1987) Plant Physiol. 84, 1367). Acetic acid and orthophosphate uptake rates and NO ₃ ^- accumulation were slowed down, while ⁸⁶Rb⁺ uptake and K⁺ accumulation rates were increased by HCO ₃ ^- . These effects were similar to those induced by 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethane sulfonic acid/2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol (Hepes-Tris). They were more pronounced when the H⁺ excretion was strong, were rapidly reversible and were not additive to those of Hepes-Tris. The hypothesis is advanced that the buffering system CO₂/H₂CO₃/HCO ₃ ^- accelerated the diffusion of equivalent H⁺ inside the cell wall towards the medium. This attenuated the surface pH shift in the vicinity the plasma membrane and affected the coupling between the proton pump and cotransport systems.Abbreviations FW fresh weight - Hepes 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid - J_aa acetic acid influx - J_K ⁺ K⁺ influx - J_Pi orthophosphate influx - Mes 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid - pCO₂ CO₂ partial pressure - Tris 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol