Raman spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction studies of the effect of temperature and Ca2+ on phosphatidylethanolamine dispersions

Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction are used to study the effect of heat and Ca²⁺ on dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine dispersions. Unlike phosphatidylcholine dispersions, dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine bilayers (at pH 8) require heating above T_m in order for hydration to occur and apparently bind Ca²⁺ at very low levels. These results are related to models for membrane fusion.     

The effect of dantrolene on skeletal-muscle sarcoplasmic-reticulum function in malignant hyperpyrexia in pigs.

The effect of the muscle relaxant dantrolene on isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum was studied in control and malignant-hyperpyrexia-susceptible Landrace pigs. The membranes prepared from both sources showed similar Ca2+-dependent ATPase activities, had comparable phospholipid/protein ratios, and their sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel patterns were indistinguishable. Membranes from both sources appeared to bind similar amounts of dantrolene. The drug did not stimulate Ca2+-dependent ATPase activity in preparations from either source. The rates of Ca2+ exchange and Ca2+ efflux appeared to be similar in sarcoplasmic reticulum of control and malignant-hyperpyrexia-susceptible pigs. Dantrolene did not affect either the rates or the amount of Ca2+ lost from the vesicles. These results suggest that dantrolene does not directly affect the movement of Ca2+ across the sarcoplasmic-reticulum membrane.     

Role of Peroxidase when Hydroxyproline-rich Protein in Plant Cell Walls is increased by Ethylene

Ethylene may control the growth of plant cells by regulating hydroxylation of specific wall proteins.     

Genetic Control of Variable and Constant Regions of Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains

IMMUNOGLOBULIN polypeptide chains consist of two well defined regions designated the “variable region” and the “constant region”. Whereas great diversity exists in amino-acid sequences of variable regions, the constant regions of a given subclass of heavy chains (C_H)^* are essentially invariant in sequence^{1, 2}. Exceptions are the allelic forms, such as the rabbit allotypes A14 and A15^{3, 4}, where a threonine-alanine interchange occurs in the constant region of γ chains (Appella, Chersi, R. G. M. and Dubiski, in preparation). The markers unique to a chains (for example, A14-A15) are closely linked to allotypic markers at the a locus (a1, a2, a3)^{3, 4} which seem to be present on four different Ig heavy chain classes (α, γ, ε, µ)^5–7. These puzzling observations can be explained if the a locus determinants are variable region markers which reflect genetically controlled differences in some relatively constant residues within the V_H region sequences⁷.     

Mitochondrial Ribosomes in HeLa Cells

HeLa cell mitochondria contain 60S ribosomes which seem to consist of subunits of 45S and 35S particles. The 16S and 12S RNA components are coded by mitochondrial DNA.     

Histocompatibility Gene Organization and Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction

TRANSFORMATION of allogenic lymphocytes in mixed cultures depends chiefly on an incompatibility between the lymphocyte donors at the major histocompatibility locus in man (HL-A), mouse (H-2) and rat (H-l)¹. Although the mouse H-2 locus can be divided into several regions each of which controls one or more antigenic specificities² and two or more subloci control HL-A antigens in man³, it is not known whether all parts of the major histocompatibility locus are equally important in eliciting transformation in mixed lymphocyte cultures. We now show that capacity to elicit lymphocyte transformation is different for different parts of the mouse H-2 locus.     

Demonstration of an “Excitation-Contraction Recoupling” Mechanism in Mammalian Ventricular Myocardium

A PROCESS called “excitation-contraction coupling” has been generally accepted to take place only in the direction of excitation to contraction. Through this mechanism a propagated action potential initiates an active state in skeletal or cardiac muscle and the muscle contracts. We propose that, in the mammalian ventricular myocardium at least, the process is not unidirectional and an important reverse coupling between the contractile system and the excitable plasma membrane has been overlooked. Through this feedback interaction the mode of contraction (that is, isotonic or isometric) not only determines the instantaneous electrical state of the plasma membrane, but also influences the mechanical events of the subsequent beats. Thus when Kaufmann et al.¹ recorded intracellular action potentials from cat papillary muscle, the time course of the repolarization was altered depending on the mode of contraction. Some kind of contraction-excitation feedback has also been suggested by Stauch² and Lab^3,4. They showed a difference in the shape of the monophasic action potential, as recorded by a suction electrode, when comparing isotonic and isovolumic contraction of the intact ventricle. But their experimental conditions did not allow satisfactory analysis of the phenomenon.     

The Structure of Calf Liver Cytochrome <Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis><Subscript>5</Subscript> at 2.8 Å Resolution

CYTOCHROME b₅ is a haem-containing protein in the microsomes of liver tissue. It interacts specifically with a flavo-protein, cytochrome b₅ reductase, which catalyses the transfer of electrons from NADH to the haem iron of the cytochrome¹. The microsomal cytochrome b₅ system has been implicated in fatty acid desaturation reactions² and a similar system in erythrocytes may catalyse the reduction of methaemoglobin³. Calf liver cytochrome b₅, solubilized by pancreatic lipase, has a molecular weight of 11,000 and consists of ninety-three amino-acids in the sequence shown in Fig. 1 (refs. 4 and 5). The haem group is non-covalently bound to the protein and can be removed reversibly by acid acetone treatment⁶.