Fatty aldehyde dehydrogenases in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N: role in hexadecanol metabolism

The role of fatty aldehyde dehydrogenases (FALDHs) in hexadecane and hexadecanol metabolism was studied in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N. Two distinct FALDHs were demonstrated in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N: a membrane-bound, NADP-dependent FALDH activity induced 5-, 15-, and 9-fold by growth on hexadecanol, dodecyl aldehyde, and hexadecane, respectively, and a constitutive, NAD-dependent, membrane-localized FALDH. The NADP-dependent FALDH exhibited apparent Km and Vmax values for decyl aldehyde of 5.0, 13.0, 18.0, and 18.3 microM and 537.0, 500.0, 25.0, and 38.0 nmol/min in hexadecane-, hexadecanol-, ethanol-, palmitate-grown cells, respectively. FALDH isozymes ald-a, ald-b, and ald-c were demonstrated by gel electrophoresis in extracts of hexadecane- and hexadecanol-grown cells. ald-a, ald-b, and ald-d were present in dodecyl aldehyde-grown cells, while palmitate-grown control cells contained ald-b and ald-d. Dodecyl aldehyde-negative mutants were isolated and grouped into two phenotypic classes based on growth: class 1 mutants were hexadecane and hexadecanol negative and class 2 mutants were hexadecane and hexadecanol positive. Specific activity of NADP-dependent FALDH in Ald21 (class 1 mutant) was 85% lower than that of wild-type FALDH, while the specific activity of Ald24 (class 2 mutant) was 55% greater than that of wild-type FALDH. Ald21R, a dodecyl aldehyde-positive revertant able to grow on hexadecane, hexadecanol, and dodecyl aldehyde, exhibited a 100% increase in the specific activity of the NADP-dependent FALDH. The oxidation of [3H]hexadecane byAld21 yielded the accumulation of 61% more fatty aldehyde than the wild type, while Ald24 accumulated 27% more fatty aldehyde, 95% more fatty alcohol, and 65% more wax ester than the wild type. This study provides genetic and physiological evidence for the role of fatty aldehyde as an essential metabolic intermediate and NADP-dependent FALDH as a key enzyme in the dissimilation of hexadecane, hexadecanol, and dodecyl aldehyde in Acinetobactor sp. strain HO1-N.     

Alcohol dehydrogenases in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N: role in hexadecane and hexadecanol metabolism.

Multiple alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) were demonstrated in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N. ADH-A and ADH-B were distinguished on the basis of electrophoretic mobility, pyridine nucleotide cofactor requirement, and substrate specificity. ADH-A is a soluble, NAD-linked, inducible ethanol dehydrogenase (EDH) exhibiting an apparent Km for ethanol of 512 microM and a Vmax of 138 nmol/min. An ethanol-negative mutant (Eth1) was isolated which contained 6.5% of wild-type EDH activity and was deficient in ADH-A. Eth1 exhibited normal growth on hexadecane and hexadecanol. A second ethanol-negative mutant (Eth3) was acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) deficient, having 12.5% of wild-type ALDH activity. Eth3 had threefold-higher EDH activity than the wild-type strain. ALDH is a soluble, NAD-linked, ethanol-inducible enzyme which exhibited an apparent Km for acetaldehyde of 50 microM and a Vmax of 183 nmol/min. Eth3 exhibited normal growth on hexadecane, hexadecanol, and fatty aldehyde. ADH-B is a soluble, constitutive, NADP-linked ADH which was active with medium-chain-length alcohols. Hexadecanol dehydrogenase (HDH), a soluble and membrane-bound, NAD-linked ADH, was induced 5- to 11-fold by growth on hexadecane or hexadecanol. HDH exhibited apparent Kms for hexadecanol of 1.6 and 2.8 microM in crude extracts derived from hexadecane- and hexadecanol-grown cells, respectively. HDH was distinct from ADH-A and ADH-B, since HDH and ADH-A were not coinduced; Eth1 had wild-type levels of HDH; and HDH requires NAD, while ADH-B requires NADP. NAD- and NADP-independent HDH activity was not detected in the soluble or membrane fraction of extracts derived from hexadecane- or hexadecanol-grown cells. NAD-linked HDH appears to possess a functional role in hexadecane and hexadecanol dissimilation.     

Growth of Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N on n-hexadecanol: physiological and ultrastructural characteristics.

The growth of Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N on hexadecanol results in the formation of intracytoplasmic membranes and intracellular rectangular inclusions containing one of the end products of hexadecanol metabolism, hexadecyl palmitate. The intracellular inclusions were purified and characterized as "wax ester inclusions" consisting of 85.6% hexadecyl palmitate, 4.8% hexadecanol, and 9.6% phospholipid, with a phospholipid-to-protein ratio of 0.42 mumol of lipid phosphate per mg of inclusion protein. The cellular lipids consisted of 69.8% hexadecyl palmitate, 22.8% phospholipid, 1.9% triglyceride, 4.7% mono- and diglyceride, 0.1% free fatty acid, and 0.8% hexadecanol, as compared with 98% hexadecyl palmitate and 1.9% triglyceride, which comprised the extracellular lipids. Cell-associated hexadecanol represented 0.05% of the exogenously supplied hexadecanol, with hexadecyl palmitate accounting for 14.7% of the total cellular dry weight. Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N possesses a mechanism for the intracellular packaging of hexadecyl palmitate in wax ester inclusions, which differ in structure and chemical composition from "hydrocarbon inclusions" isolated from hexadecane-grown cells.     

Assignment of the porcine major histocompatibility complex to chromosome 7 by in situ hybridization

The major histocompatibility complex (SLA) of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa) was regionally mapped to 7p12----q12 by in situ hybridization with an SLA class I-specific recombinant DNA probe. This localization contradicts linkage data suggesting a possible assignment of the SLA locus to porcine chromosome 15.     

MSI2通过下调circRNA_001214促进急性髓系白血病细胞HL60生长

Musashi-2（MSI2）是一种RNA结合蛋白质,对维持造血干细胞功能具有重要作用。研究表明,MSI2高表达能促进急性髓系白血病（acute myelocytic leukemia, AML）进展,但其作用机制尚不明确。本研究稳定沉默HL60细胞MSI2后,第1、2、3、4 d对照组的相对细胞生长率分别为1.931 ± 0.027、3.070 ± 0.073、4.017 ± 0.092和4.215 ± 0.246;敲减组分别为1.927 ± 0.035、2.564 ± 0.090、2.825 ± 0.097和3.223 ± 0.182,两组相比具有统计学差异,P<0.001;细胞凋亡明显增加(7.967% ± 0.698% vs 3.400% ± 0.322%., P<0.01);G₀/G₁期细胞比例明显增高（67.430% ± 4.390% vs. 50.360% ± 2.160%, P<0.01）;NUMB蛋白明显上调,LEF1明显下降。环状RNA（circular RNA, circRNA）芯片筛选和荧光定量PCR验证显示,MSI2沉默组circRNA_001214表达水平是对照组3.48倍。这一结果也在NALM6细胞得到证实。进一步用生物信息学分析,显示circRNA_001214最可能与miR-1273a、miR-1273e和miR 5095结合,进而影响参与细胞凋亡相关基因（CYCS、AKT1、BAX、TNFRSF10A、TNFRSF10D）、Wnt信号基因（WNT4、WNT2B、WNT7B、 DKK2、SFRP1、CSNKE1和LEF1）以及参与细胞代谢相关基因（RPE, PGAM4, PGAM1, TAT, CBS、RPE、SUCLG2、PGAM4、PGAM1和 IDNK）。总而言之,MSI2可能通过干扰circRNA_001214生成,减少靶miRNA对凋亡、Wnt信号及细胞代谢相关基因表达的影响,促进细胞生长。     

Large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels in freshly dissociated smooth muscle cells

Freshly dissociated cells from the stomach muscularis of the toad Bufo marinus have been employed to carry out a systematic set of electrophysiological studies on the membrane properties of smooth muscle. The existence of Ca2+-activated K+ channels became apparent during the first studies under current clamp. In subsequent studies under voltage clamp, a Ca2+-activated. TEA-sensitive outward current was evident, and it was more than an order of magnitude larger than any other current observed in the cells. The channel responsible, at least in part, for this large outward current has been identified on the basis of single-channel records, and some of its main characteristics have been studied. It is similar in many respects to the large-conductance, Ca2+-activated K+ channel seen in other preparations. This channel has now been found in a considerable diversity of smooth muscle types.     

Interactions of the neurotoxic amine 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine with monoamine oxidases.

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a thermal breakdown product of a meperidine-like narcotic used by drug abusers as a heroin substitute, produces Parkinsonian symptoms in humans and primates. The nigrostriatal toxicity is not due to MPTP itself but to one or more oxidation products resulting from the action of monoamine oxidase (MAO) on this tertiary allylamine. Both MAO A and B catalyse the oxidation of MPTP to the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-2,3-dihydropyridinium species (MPDP+), which undergoes further oxidation to the fully aromatic 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium species (MPP+). These bio-oxidations are blocked by selective inhibitors of MAO A and B. Additionally, MPTP, MPDP+ and MPP+ are competitive inhibitors of MAO A and B. The A form of the enzyme is particularly sensitive to this type of reversible inhibition. Both MAO A and B also are irreversibly inactivated by MPTP and MPDP+, but not by MPP+. This inactivation obeys the characteristics of a mechanism-based or 'suicide' process. The inactivation, which is accompanied by the incorporation of radioactivity from methyl-labelled MPTP, is likely to result from covalent modification of the enzyme.     

酪氨酸对大鼠离体Leydig细胞睾酮和cAMP生成的影响

本实验采用胶原酶消化,Ficoll 密度梯度离心,制备大鼠睾丸 Leydig 细胞悬浮液进行体外培养(每管内含有10~6 细胞),以研究酪氨酸对 Leydig 细胞睾酮和cAMP 生成的影响。实验结果表明,hCG(100mIU)能明显地促进Leydig 细胞睾酮和 cAMP的生成。睾酮从对照组的3.08±0.58ng(X±SD,下同)增加到41.61±1.52ng,cAMP 含量从19.62±2.56pmol增加到153.24±5.92pmol。若将酪氨酸(60μg)与hCG同时加入到细胞培养液中,则睾酮和cAMP 含量分别下降到 19.22±.0.52ng(P<0.01)和92.63±6.02pmol(P<0.05)。但是,酪氨酸羟化酶抑制剂(α-甲基酪氨酸)对酪氨酸抗hCG致睾酮生成作用无阻断效应,而酪氨酸对外源cAMP(2.5mM)诱导的睾酮生成,则有明显的抑制作用,睾酮含量从27.56±1.53ng降至 19.50±0.47ng(P<0.01)。以上实验结果表明,酪氨酸抗hCG致睾酮生成的作用机理与cAMP有关。     

Isolation of low-copy-number sequences that neighbor satellite DNA in mammals

To investigate the role of satellite DNA in eukaryotic genomes, we isolated from an African green monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) genomic library cloned segments containing the previously described deca-satellite linked to low-copy-number genomic sequences. Three such clones were obtained. The low-copy-number sequences in the three clones do not cross-hybridize suggesting that they derive from different genomic loci. The structure of one of the clones, λAMkA, is described in detail. Subcloned segments containing the low-copy-number sequences from λAMkA anneal to monkey, human and mouse genomic DNA. The subcloned probes were used to select clones containing homologous sequences from a second, independent monkey library as well as from human and mouse genomic libraries. Several of the newly isolated monkey clones hybridized to probes containing the species-specific deca- and -satellites, confirming the genomic association of the low-copy-number sequence in λAMkA with satellite DNA. Moreover, several of the human and mouse clones hybridized to species-specific human and mouse satellite DNAs, respectively. These experiments indicate that the low-copy-number sequence in λMkA and its association with satellite DNA is conserved in primates and rodents.