Genetics of lipid deposition in the Japanese quail

Summary The research presented here was designed to investigate the mode of inheritance of fat and lean tissue deposition, and the relationship between them and body weight in Japanese quail. Heterotic effects were found for weight, size, and number of adipocytes in the abdominal fat depots, weight of the sartorial fat depot and percentage carcass fat with means for the hybrids being lower than those for the parental lines. General inferences concerning the importance of nonadditive genetic variation for lean and body weight were precluded due to inconsistencies observed among mating combinations. Thus, although heterosis and recombination effects were general for characteristics associated with fat deposition, the situation for body weight and lean was unique to the populations involved. It may be hypothesized that heterosis in the efficiency of feed utilization is reflected by the heterosis for fat deposition which explains why hybrids utilize feed better than their parental lines.     

The production of 5-HETE and leukotriene B in rat neutrophils from carrageenan pleural exudates

Rat neutrophils isolated from three-hour carrageenan pleural exudates actively metabolize arachidonic acid into three major metabolites, HHT, 11-HETE and 15-HETE. However, in the presence of the calcium ionophore, A23187, or the non-ionic detergent, BRIJ 56, these cells also produce 5-HETE and LTB. The production of these lipoxygenase products is calcium dependent. While non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs do not affect 5-HETE or LTB production, BW 755C and ETYA inhibit formation of these metabolites from exogenously added arachidonic acid.     

Native cross-links in collagen fibrils induce resistance to human synovial collagenase.

A model system consisting of highly purified lysyl oxidase and reconstituted lathyritic chick bone collagen fibrils was used to study the effect of collagen cross-linking on collagen degradation by mammalian collagenase. The results indicate that synthesis of approx. 0.1 Schiff-base cross-link per collagen molecule results in a 2--3-fold resistance to human synovial collagenase when compared with un-cross-linked controls or samples incubated in the presence of beta-aminopropionitrile to inhibit cross-linking. These results confirm previous studies utilizing artificially cross-linked collagens, or collagens isolated as insoluble material after cross-linking in vivo, and suggest that increased resistance to collagenase may be one of the earliest effects of cross-linking in vivo. The extent of intermolecular cross-linking among collagen fibrils may provide a mechanism for regulating the rate of collagen catabolism relative to synthesis in normal and pathological conditions.     

Collagen cross-linking. Purification and substrate specificity of lysyl oxidase.

Lysyl oxidase is a specific amine oxidase that catalyzes the formation of aldehyde cross-link intermediates in collagen and elastin. In this study, lysyl oxidase from embryonic chick cartilage was purified to constant specific activity and a single protein band on sodium dodecyl sulfate acrylamide gel electrophoresis. This band had an apparent molecular weight of 62,000. The eluted protein cross-reacted with inhibiting antisera developed against highly purified lysyl oxidase. The highly purified enzyme was active with both insoluble elastin and embryonic chick skin or bone collagen precipitated as reconstituted, native fibrils. There was low activity with nonhydroxylated collagen, collagen monomers, or native fibrils isolated from lathyritic calvaria. The maximum number of aldehyde intermediates formed per molecule of collagen that became insoluble was two. These results indicate that lysyl oxidase has maximum activity on ordered aggregates of collagen molecules that may be overlapping associations of only a few collagen molecules across. Formation of aldehyde intermediates and cross-links during fibril formation may facilitate the biosynthesis of stable collagen fibrils and contribute to increased fibril tensile strength in vivo.     

Adrenal medullary cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase: lack of activation by the calcium-dependent regulator.

Calcium-dependent regulator, a calcium-binding protein isolated from brain and adrenal medulla, has been shown to activate a brain calcium-sensitive cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase. To determine if this protein has the same role in the adrenal medulla, the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase of adrenal medulla was characterized. Neither crude nor partially purified adrenal medullary phosphodiesterase was inhibited by EGTA or stimulated by calcium and the calcium-dependent regulator, whereas similar brain preparations displayed sensitivity to these agents. As the calcium-dependent regulator does not appear to stimulate adrenal medullary cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity, alternate roles of this protein in adrenal medulla are suggested.     

Lysyl oxidase dependent synthesis of a collagen cross-link containing histidine

To date, collagen appears unique among proteins in that it contains histidine in certain of its cross-links. Synthesis of histidine containing collagen cross-links was studied in vitro with lathyritic L-¹⁴C histidine or L-¹⁴C lysine labelled bone collagen fibrils and purified lysyl oxidase. Synthesis of the tetrafunctional cross-link, dehydrohistidinohydroxymerodesmosine occurred with lysyl oxidase and was inhibited by β-aminopropionitrile. Synthesis began after a lag period of sixteen hours and then proceeded linearly for four days. These data indicate that enzyme dependent synthesis of dehydrohistidinohydroxymerodesmosine occurs in vitro in a biochemically defined system. Biosynthesis in vivo might occur under similar conditions.     

Isolation and detailed characterization of human cell lines resistant to -threo-chloramphenicol

The isolation and characterization of chloramphenicol resistant derivatives of the human cell line HeLa B is described. Growth of resistant lines was unaffected in the presence of 100 μg/ml -threo-chloramphenicol, whereas growth of the parental cells was inhibited at 12.5 μg/ml. The incorporation of [³⁵S]methionine into mitochondrial protein of intact resistant cells continued normally in the presence of 100 μg/ml chloramphenicol (cytoplasmic protein synthesis was blocked by addition of 50 μg/ml emetine). Under these conditions the electrophoretic profile of labelled, presumptive mitochondrially-made proteins was similar to that of the parental cell line labelled in the absence of chloramphenicol. The cell lines selected in the presence of chloramphenicol also showed increased resistance to some other inhibitors of mitochondrial protein synthesis, e.g. carbomycin and mikamycin. [¹⁴C]Chloramphenicol was found to have normal access to the interior of resistant cells and it is therefore unlikely that resistance results from altered cell permeability. No modification of the drug by acetylation or glucuronide conjugation mechanisms was observed. The possibilities remain that resistance is mediated by altered permeability of the mitochondrial membrane, or from modification to a component of the mitochondrial protein synthetic system.