Effects of the thyroid status on the sarcoplasmic reticulum in slow skeletal muscle of the rat

The effects of the thyroid status on the Ca++-transporting capabilities of rat slow skeletal muscle (m.soleus) were studied. The oxalate supported Ca++-uptake activity and Ca++-loading capacity of muscle homogenates from hyperthyroid rats showed an approximate 4.2 and 2.5 fold increase, respectively, as compared to values found in the hypothyroid group. Muscle homogenates of euthyroid rats gave intermediate values. The specific activity of oxalate supported Ca++ uptake, but not the Ca++-loading capacity, of membrane preparations enriched with respect to sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) increased in proportion to the thyroid status. This was paralleled by a 3.5 fold increase in the amount of active Ca++ pumps in the SR preparations in the transition from hypothyroidism to hyperthyroidism as determined by measurement of Ca++-dependent 32P incorporation. These observations are not explained by differences in degree of purification of the examined SR preparations. Protein profiles of the membrane preparations obtained by gel electrophoresis indicated a thyroid-hormone dependent increase in Ca++-pump content relative to other SR proteins. The results suggest that thyroid hormone stimulates the proliferation of the SR and possibly also increases the Ca++-pump density in the SR membrane.     

Degranulation and histamine release from murine mast cells sensitized with dengue virus-immune sera

Mice were immunized with dengue type 2 virus (DEN 2) under a schedule favoring the production of IgE antibody. The antibody obtained could sensitize peritoneal resident mast cells both in vitro and in vivo so that the sensitized cells were degranulated and released histamine on challenge with the DEN 2 antigen. It was also demonstrated that the antibody was cytophilic and heat-labile. The above observations suggest that the present experimental system can be used to detect anti-DEN 2 IgE antibody in mice.     

Analysis of Hill slopes predicted by the four-ligand exponential model for a regulatory enzyme.

The four-ligand exponential model for a regulatory enzyme is described as it is applied to kinetic studies of yeast pyruvate kinase in which the concentrations of four ligands are systematically varied. The Hill slopes predicted by this model are calculated for the two situations in which the fourth ligand is either a substrate or an effector. It is shown that the individual terms that make up the expression for the Hill slope assist the interpretation of the observed behaviour in terms of the constants employed by the model.     

Structure of a hydroxyl radical induced cross-link of thymine and tyrosine

DNA-protein cross-links are formed when living cells or isolated chromatin is exposed to ionizing radiation. Little is known about the actual cross-linked products of DNA and proteins. In this work, a novel hydroxyl radical induced cross-link of thymine and tyrosine has been isolated along with a tyrosine dimer by high-performance liquid chromatography of aqueous mixtures of tyrosine and thymine that had been exposed to hydroxyl radicals generated by ionizing radiation. The isolated compounds have been examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The structure of the thymine-tyrosine cross-link has been identified as the product from the formation of a covalent bond between the methyl group of the thymine and carbon 3 of the tyrosine ring. In addition, the 3,3' tyrosine dimer was isolated and characterized. The mechanism of the formation of these compounds is discussed. This work presents the first complete chemical characterization of a hydroxyl radical induced DNA base-amino acid cross-link.     

Genetic Variability in Taro, Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott (Araceae)

Tablés 1 to 3 were omitted from the final printing ofthis article. They are reprinted here.     

Epidemiological characteristics and the importance of carriers of the surface antigen of the hepatitis B virus (HBsAg)

The occurrence of HBsAg carriership in Leningrad has been found to be 1.4% according to the results of countercurrent immunoelectroosmophoresis (CIEO) and 2.1% according to the results of the passive hemagglutination (PHA) test. In children HBsAg occurs with higher frequency: 1.9% according to the results of CIEO and 3.4% according to the results of the PHA test. The latter test reveals HBsAg carriers more completely, especially in women who have usually less pronounced antigenemia than men. Most of chronic HBsAg carriers are patients with chronic forms of hepatitis B (chronic active hepatitis and chronic persistent hepatitis); frequently they become the source of infection among their relatives under the conditions of family contacts. A complex of antiepidemic measures is necessary in the foci of chronic HBsAg carriership.     

A resonance Raman study of Ambystoma tigrinum hemoglobins: evidence for intraspecies hemepocket variations

Using resonance Raman difference spectroscopy, the Raman-active vibrational modes of hemoglobins from adult, neotenic, and larval forms of the salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum have been compared to each other and to human hemoglobin. The local heme environment of the adult and neotenic proteins were identical and differed from that of the larval protein. Differences were observed in modes sensitive to porphyrin pi electron density and axial ligation. Systematic differences were also observed between human and adult salamander hemoglobins particularly in modes sensitive to the heme vinyl environment. The relationship between these environmental differences, oxygen binding affinity, and the effects of allosteric modulators are discussed.     

Biosynthesis of rat insulin-like growth factor II. I. Immunochemical demonstration of a approximately 20-kilodalton biosynthetic precursor of rat insulin-like growth factor II in metabolically labeled BRL-3A rat liver cells

BRL-3A rat liver cells synthesize mature 7484-dalton rat insulin-like growth factor II (rIGF-II) as a approximately 22-kDa precursor, presumably prepro-rIGF-II. In the present study, we have biosynthetically labeled intact BRL-3A cells with [35S]cysteine and immunoprecipitated cell lysates and media with antisera to rIGF-II. A approximately 20-kDa protein was identified in immunoprecipitates of cell lysates having properties consistent with pro-rIGF-II. The approximately 20-kDa protein is precipitated by immune sera but not by nonimmune serum. Its immunoprecipitation is specifically inhibited by unlabeled rIGF-II but not by insulin. It is not precipitated from labeled lysates of a subclone of BRL-3A cells (BRL-3A2) that does not synthesize rIGF-II. The approximately 20-kDa protein is rapidly labeled intracellularly (10 min) but is not detected in BRL-3A media. In pulse-chase experiments, radioactivity in the approximately 20-kDa protein disappears during the chase and appears, at later times, in specifically immunoprecipitated approximately 19-, approximately 10-, approximately 8-, and approximately 7-kDa proteins in media and, to a limited extent, intracellularly. A protein with electrophoretic mobility identical to that of the approximately 20-kDa protein observed in cell lysates is immunoprecipitated from 35S-proteins whose synthesis is directed by BRL-3A RNA in a reticulocyte lysate cell-free translation system supplemented with microsomal membranes, and presumably arises by cotranslational removal of the signal peptide from approximately 22-kDa prepro-rIGF-II. Processing of the approximately 20-kDa protein in intact BRL-3A cells to intermediate and mature rIGF-II species appears to occur at the time of secretion and/or shortly thereafter, with the different forms appearing at approximately the same time.     

Plant Reactions to Inoculation of Roots with Fungi and Bacteria

The potential of 120 isolates of fungi and bacteria from plant rhizospheres to interfere with plant development and growth was studied in greenhouse experiments. The pure cultured isolates were obtained from plant roots in the field and applied as suspensions to the roots of eight test plant species. 10–20% of the isolates caused distinct symptoms on shoots, growth retardations without other symptoms or growth promotions. Responses of treated plants ranged from death of plants soon after treatment to up to about 40% higher shoot fresh weight than in control plants. Two bacterial isolates induced strong reactions in most of the plant species tested while other isolates showed a more or less pronounced specificity by giving reactions in only some of the plant species tested.