Possible explanation of the disparity between the in vitro and in vivo measurements of Rubisco activity: a study in loblolly pine grown in elevated pCO2.

Rubisco activity can be measured using gas exchange (in vivo) or using in vitro methods. Commonly in vitro methods yield activities that are less than those obtained in vivo. Rubisco activity was measured both in vivo and in vitro using a spectrophotometric technique in mature Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) trees grown using free-air CO2 enrichment in elevated (56 Pa) and current (36 Pa) pCO2. In addition, for studies where both in vivo and in vitro values of Rubisco activity were reported net CO2 uptake rate (A) was modelled based on the in vivo and in vitro values of Rubisco activity reported in the literature. Both the modelling exercise and the experimental data showed that the in vitro values of Rubisco activity were insufficient to account for the observed values of A. A trichloroacetic acid (TCA) precipitation of the protein from samples taken in parallel with those used for activity analysis was co-electrophoresed with the extract used for determining in vitro Rubisco activity. There was significantly more Rubisco present in the TCA precipitated samples, suggesting that the underestimation of Rubisco activity in vitro was attributable to an insufficient extraction of Rubisco protein prior to activity analysis. Correction of in vitro values to account for the under-represented Rubisco yielded mechanistically valid values for Rubisco activity. However, despite the low absolute values for Rubisco activity determined in vitro, the trends reported with CO2 treatment concurred with, and were of equal magnitude to, those observed in Rubisco activity measured in vivo.     

NP7 protects from cell death induced by oxidative stress in neuronal and glial midbrain cultures from parkin null mice

Parkin mutations produce Parkinson’s disease (PD) in humans and nigrostriatal dopamine lesions related to increased free radicals in mice. We examined the effects of NP7, a synthetic, marine derived, free radical scavenger which enters the brain, on H₂O₂ toxicity in cultured neurons and glia from wild-type (WT) and parkin null mice (PK-KO).NP7, 5-10 μM, prevented the H₂O₂ induced apoptosis and necrosis of midbrain neuronal and glial cultures from WT and PK-KO mice. NP7 suppressed microglial activation and the H₂O₂ induced drop-out of dopamine neurons_. Furthermore, NP7 prevented the increased phosphorylation of ERK and AKT induced by H₂O₂. NP7 may be a promising neuroprotector against oxidative stress in PD.     

A tail length modifier gene discovered in the Japanese wild mice (Mus musculus molossinus)

The presence of the t haplotypes in strains derived from the Japanese wild mice (Mus musculus molossinus) was investigated. Crosses between the T/+ heterozygous short tailed mice and five normal tailed molossinus strains (MOL-ANJ, MOA, MOL-NEM, MOM and Mns) produced no tailless mice, indicating that these strains possess no t haplotype. In contrast, tailless mice were produced by a cross between the T/+ heterozygotes and a MOL-NIS strain. Mating experiments showed that the tailless character was due to an interaction between the T gene and an autosomal recessive gene carried by the MOL-NIS strain that expresses the short tail character under the homozygous condition. We have tentatively named this gene brachyury-interacting tail length modifier (btm). It remains to be investigated whether the btm gene is located in the t complex region or in the other locus.     

Formulation of a flowable liquid concentrate of Bacillus thuringiensis serotype H-14 spores and crystals as mosquito larvicide

Bacillus thuringiensis serotype H-14 spores and crystals, produced in 51 fermenters, were centrifuged and resuspended in emulsified palm olein to give 3.2 x 10(11) colony forming units (cfu)/ml. The suspension was mixed with a cassava-molasses-palm olein-charcoal (CMPC-2) mixture which served as the carrier, adhesive, dispersant and protectant. The final concentration of the formulation was 3.2 x 10(9) cfu/ml. The lethal concentrations capable of killing 50% of the test population (LC50) of CMPC-2 during 0, 1 and 2 years of storage at 32 +/- 4 degrees C were 0.056, 0.058 and 0.058 mg/ml respectively as against 0.054, 0.051 and 0.054 mg/ml for the Institut Pasteur Standard-1978 (IPS-78) during the corresponding period. The chi 2 tests showed that the results were homogeneous at P = 0.05. The relative potencies of the preparations were 964.3, 879.3 and 931 International toxic units (ITU) Aedes aegypti as compared with the 1000 ITU assigned to IPS-78. At 95% confidence limits there was no significant difference between the potencies of CMPC-2 and IPS-78. Field tests showed that CMPC-2 provided between 87.5 and 100% control of natural populations of Aedes spp. and Cutex spp. Sedimentation tests showed that CMPC-2 settled markedly during storage. This, therefore, required that the product be thoroughly shaken before use.     

Identification of a stretch-activated monovalent cation channel from teleost urinary bladder cells.

The urinary bladder of euryhaline teleost is an important osmoregulatory organ which absorbs Na+, Cl-, and water from urine. Using patch clamp technique, single stretch-activated channels, which were permeable to K+ and Na+ (PNa/PK approximately 0.75) and had conductances of 55 and 116 pS, were studied. In excised, inside-out patches which were voltage-clamped in the physiological range of membrane potential, the single-channel open probability (Po) was low (approximately 0.02), and increased to a maximum of 0.9 with applied pipette suction. Single-channel conductance also increased with suction. The channels showed adaptation to applied suction and relaxed to a steady-state activity about 20 seconds after application of suction. The Po increased up to 0.9 with strong membrane depolarization (Vm = 0 to +80 mV); however, there was little dependence of Po on membrane potential in the physiological range. The kinetic data suggest that there is one conducting state and at least two non-conducting states of the channel. The open-time constant increased with suction but remained unchanged with membrane potential (Vm = -70 to +60 mV). The mean closed-time of the channel decreased with suction and membrane depolarization. These results demonstrate the presence of a non-selective monovalent cation channel which may be involved in cell volume regulation in the goby urinary bladder. Additionally, this channel may function as an enhancer of Na+ influx and K+ efflux across the bladder cell as part of transepithelial ion transport if it is located in apical membrane.     

Microflora of nuclear research reactor pool water

In the course of research done it was concluded that circulation of pool water through the nuclear reactor core produces a bactericidal effect on microflora due to influence of radiation of various types. Contents of microbes returns to the initial level after 2-4 months after circulation was stopped. Microflora of pool water comprises big amount of coccus, G-positive rods and fungi and a lower content of G-negative rods if compared to water which had been used to fill reactor pool. There is an increased number of radioresistant forms with intensified production of catalase and nuclease. Supposedly, presence of these enzymes gives to the microbes certain advances to survive in high-radiation zones.     

Anti-insulin antibody structure and conformation. I. Molecular modeling and mechanics of an insulin antibody.

A knowledge-based three-dimensional model of an anti-insulin antibody, 125, was constructed using the structures of conserved residues found in other known crystallographic immunoglobulins. Molecular modeling and mechanics were done with the 125 amino acid sequences using QUANTA and CHARMm on a Silicon Graphics 4D70GT workstation. A minimal model was made by scaffolding using crystallography coordinates of the antibody HyHEL-5, because it had the highest amino acid sequence homology with 125 (84% light chain, 65% heavy chain). The three hypervariable loop turns that are longer in 125 than in HyHEL-5 (L1, L3, and H3) were modeled separately and incorporated into the HyHEL-5 structure; then other amino acid substitutions were made and torsions optimized. The 125 model maintains all the structural attributes of an antibody and the structures conserved in known antibodies. Although there are many polar amino acids (especially serines) in this site, the overall van der Waals surface shape is determined by positions of aromatic side chains. Based on this model, it is suggested that hydrogen bonding may be key in the interaction between the human insulin A chain loop antigenic epitope and 125.     

Phospholipid turnover during cell-cycle traverse in synchronous Chinese-hamster ovary cells. Mitogenesis without phosphoinositide breakdown.

The turnover of phospholipids was investigated in quiescent serum-starved Chinese-hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells stimulated to progress through the cell cycle by the addition of dialysed bovine serum. A variety of radiolabelling techniques were employed to study the rapid effects of serum on phospholipids and later events during G1 and S phases of the cell cycle. Pulse-labelling studies using [32P]Pi revealed that there was a stimulation of the synthesis rate of all phospholipids investigated during the initial few hours after serum addition. The greatest stimulation (20-fold) was observed in phosphatidylcholine, and the smallest in the polyphosphoinositides (PPIs). Mock stimulation with serum-free medium caused a similar increase in PPI turnover, but little or no effect on turnover of other phospholipids. This effect could be accounted for by a stimulation of the turnover of cellular ATP pools increasing [32P]ATP specific radioactivity. Late G1 and S phases were associated with a decrease in the rate of synthesis of all phospholipids. Phosphatidic acid was the only phospholipid whose labelling fell below that in mock-stimulated cells during the period of the cell cycle. Stimulation of serum-starved cells that had been prelabelled with myo-[2-3H]inositol caused no change in the amounts of inositol trisphosphate, but both serum-stimulated and mock-stimulated cells exhibited similar small decreases in both inositol bisphosphate and inositol monophosphate, of approx. 30% after 30 s. When cells were serum-stimulated in the presence of 10 mM-Li+, there was no increase in the size of the total inositol phosphate pool. We conclude that mitogenic stimulation and cell-cycle traverse cause profound and complex effects on phospholipid turnover in CHO-K1 cells, but there is no evidence for a role of inositol lipid turnover in the proliferative response to serum in this cell line.