Both internal and external regulatory elements control expression of the pea Fed-1 gene in transgenic tobacco seedlings.

In previous studies using leaves of light-grown transgenic tobacco plants, we have shown that sequences located within the transcribed region of the pea Fed-1 gene (encoding ferredoxin I) are major cis-acting determinants of light-regulated mRNA accumulation. However, we show here that these internal sequences are less important for the Fed-1 light response in etiolated tobacco seedlings than they are in green leaves and that upstream elements confer organ specificity and contribute significantly to Fed-1 light responses in etiolated material. Light effects mediated by upstream response elements are thus most pronounced during the initial induction of gene activity, whereas internal elements play a more prominent role in modulating Fed-1 expression once the gene is already active.     

Isolation and characterization of rabbit endocervical cells

Three cytologically distinct cell populations were identified, in addition to ciliated cells, when a unit gravity sedimentation procedure was applied to pronase-dispersed rabbit endocervical cells. Two of these cell populations contained histochemically distinguishable (periodic acid- Schiff [PAS]) mucoproteins and were designated vacuolated and granular PAS-positive cells. The third, designated as vacuolated PAS-negative, did not contain secretory granules. Cell integrity was confirmed by trypan blue dye exclusion, [(3)H]leucine incorporation, and ultrastructural analysis. To demonstrate hormonal modulation of endocervical cell morphology, cell distribution profiles were compared from animals in different hormonal states. In the absence of estrogen dominance, PAS- positive cells from 5-d pseudopregnant rabbits were reduced 50 percent, while vacuolated PAS-negative cells increased fourfold as compared with estrous cell populations. The PAS-positive cells sedimented toward the top of the gradient where the bovine serum albumin concentrations were lower, consistent with a reduction in the number of secretory granules. In the sustained absence of ovarian steroid hormones, the number of PAS-positive mucous cells from ovariectomized rabbits was reduced to only 4 percent of the total endocervical cell population. The biosynthetic capacity of isolated endocervical cells was determined by incubating the three nonciliated cell populations from estrous and 5-d pseudopregnant rabbits for 36 h with the mucin precursor, [(14)C]N-acetyl- D-glucosamine. Only PAS-positive cells incorporated significant amounts of labeled precursor. This study indicates that steroid hormones influence cervical secretions by modulating the type of endocervical cells.     

Mechanisms shaping the synergism of zeaxanthin and PsbS in photoprotective energy dissipation in the photosynthetic apparatus of plants

Safe operation of photosynthesis is vital to plants and is ensured by the activity of processes protecting chloroplasts against photo-damage. The harmless dissipation of excess excitation energy is considered to be the primary photoprotective mechanism and is most effective in the combined presence of PsbS protein and zeaxanthin, a xanthophyll accumulated in strong light as a result of the xanthophyll cycle. Here we address the problem of specific molecular mechanisms underlying the synergistic effect of zeaxanthin and PsbS. The experiments were conducted with Arabidopsis thaliana, using wild-type plants, mutants lacking PsbS (npq4), and mutants affected in the xanthophyll cycle (npq1), with the application of molecular spectroscopy and imaging techniques. The results lead to the conclusion that PsbS interferes with the formation of densely packed aggregates of thylakoid membrane proteins, thus allowing easy exchange and incorporation of xanthophyll cycle pigments into such structures. It was found that xanthophylls trapped within supramolecular structures, most likely in the interfacial protein region, determine their photophysical properties. The structures formed in the presence of violaxanthin are characterized by minimized dissipation of excitation energy. In contrast, the structures formed in the presence of zeaxanthin show enhanced excitation quenching, thus protecting the system against photo-damage.     

Aminoquinoline Surfen Inhibits the Action of SEVI (Semen-derived Enhancer of Viral Infection)

In semen, proteolytic peptide fragments from prostatic acid phosphatase can form amyloid fibrils termed SEVI (semen-derived enhancer of viral infection). These fibrils greatly enhance human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infectivity by increasing the attachment of virions to target cells. Therefore, SEVI may have a significant impact on whether HIV is successfully transmitted during sexual contact. Here, we demonstrate that surfen, a small molecule heparan sulfate proteoglycan antagonist, inhibits both SEVI- and semen-mediated enhancement of HIV type 1 infection. Surfen interferes with the binding of SEVI to both target cells and HIV type 1 virions but does not deaggregate SEVI fibrils. Because SEVI can increase HIV infectivity by several orders of magnitude, supplementing current HIV microbicide candidates with SEVI inhibitors, such as surfen, might greatly increase their potency.     

Suppression of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis by 6-hydroxyphthalaldehydic acid, O-(p-chlorobenzyl)oxime (EN3638)

EN3638 is a new oxime derivative of salicylic acid that has immunosuppressive properties. Oral administration of the compound to rats during the incubation period of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) delayed the onset of clinical signs. EN3638 was effective in both ordinary and hyperacute forms of EAE. Doses of 50, 100, or 150 mg/kg daily, 250 mg/kg three times a week, or 400 mg/kg twice a week suppressed both clinical and histologic evidence of EAE during the course of therapy (as long as 4 weeks) and for 8 or more days thereafter. Clinical EAE developed after a full incubation period after discontinuance of EN3638, probably due to the persisting depot of antigen in oil. When EAE was produced without an oily depot, a single dose suppressed the disease for at least 5 weeks in some rats. EN3638 was effective when given only in the second half of the incubation period but not when given at the time that EAE lesions and signs develop. Passive transfer experiments suggested that the drug prevented and even reversed sensitization to neural antigens. It had only slight effect on fully sensitized lymphoid cells or on the recruitment of nonimmune inflammatory cells in the nervous system, and it was not acting as a source of salicylate or as an adrenocortical stimulator.     

Membrane nanotubes physically connect T cells over long distances presenting a novel route for HIV-1 transmission

Transmission of HIV-1 via intercellular connections has been estimated as 100-1000 times more efficient than a cell-free process, perhaps in part explaining persistent viral spread in the presence of neutralizing antibodies. Such effective intercellular transfer of HIV-1 could occur through virological synapses or target-cell filopodia connected to infected cells. Here we report that membrane nanotubes, formed when T cells make contact and subsequently part, provide a new route for HIV-1 transmission. Membrane nanotubes are known to connect various cell types, including neuronal and immune cells, and allow calcium-mediated signals to spread between connected myeloid cells. However, T-cell nanotubes are distinct from open-ended membranous tethers between other cell types, as a dynamic junction persists within T-cell nanotubes or at their contact with cell bodies. We also report that an extracellular matrix scaffold allows T-cell nanotubes to adopt variably shaped contours. HIV-1 transfers to uninfected T cells through nanotubes in a receptor-dependent manner. These data lead us to propose that HIV-1 can spread using nanotubular connections formed by short-term intercellular unions in which T cells specialize.     

Determination of gatifloxacin in human serum and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

A simple and sensitive HPLC method for the determination of gatifloxacin concentrations in human serum and urine was developed and validated. Serum proteins were removed by ultrafiltration through a filtering device after adding a displacing agent. Urine samples were diluted with mobile phase prior to injection. Separation was achieved with a C18 reverse-phase column and gatifloxacin concentrations were determined using ultraviolet detection. The quantitation limits of the assay were 100 ng/ml in serum and 1.0 microg/ml in urine. The assay method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of gatifloxacin in healthy volunteers.     

Oxidation products and antioxidant markers in plasma of patients with Graves' disease and toxic multinodular goiter: effect of methimazole treatment

Oxidative stress plays an important role in hyperthyroidism-induced tissue damage, as well as in development of autoimmune disorders. To clarify influence of thyroid metabolic status and autoimmune factors on blood extracellular indices of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and free radical scavenging in hyperthyroidism, we studied patients with newly diagnosed and untreated Graves' disease without infiltrative ophthalmopathy (17 female and 8 male, aged 41.8±8.9) and toxic multinodular goiter (15 female and 9 male, aged 48.4±10.1) under the same antithyroid treatment protocol. Initially and after achievement of stable euthyroidism with methimazole, plasma levels of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), lipid hydroperoxides (ROOH) and ceruloplasmin (CP) and serum concentrations of thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances (TBARS) were determined. Similarly, activities of plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) were assayed. The results were compared to those of age- and sex-matched controls. Average duration of hyperthyroidism and treatment period were similar in both patients groups. H₂O₂, ROOH and TBARS concentrations were significantly higher in hyperthyroid patients compared to controls. Hyperthyroidism caused an evident increase in SOD and CAT activities and CP level, as well as a decrease in GPx and GR activities. Achievement of euthyroidism resulted in normalization of all analyzed parameters in both hyperthyroid patients groups. These findings suggest that the changes in blood extracellular indices of oxidative stress and free radical scavenging in hyperthyroid patients are influenced by thyroid metabolic status, and are not directly dependent on autoimmune factors present in Graves' disease.     

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in the Lewis rat: farther delineation of active sites in guinea pig and bovine myelin basic proteins.

Highly encephalitogenic peptide (37-88), derived from the guinea pig myelin basic protein by peptic digestion, was treated chemically to destroy its tyrosyl and histidyl residues and enzymatically to remove its C-terminal sequence Val-His-Phe. Neither of the modifications resulted in loss of activity in Lewis rats. The enccephalitogenic region within peptide (37-88) was located by examination of derivative peptides obtained by selective proteolytic cleavage. The results showed that peptide (61-88), like peptide (43-88), was fully active at the level of 0.02 nmole whereas peptides (72-88) and (72-84) were fully active at levels of 0.5 and 2.5 nmole, respectively. In contrast, peptides (43-71) and (75-88) were completely inactive. These results demonstrated that the undecapeptide Gln-Lys-Ser-Gln-Arg-Ser-Gln-Asp-Glu-Asn-Pro (residues 72-84), although not as encephalitogenic as peptides (43-88) or (61-88), does contain the elements essential for the induction of disease. At the levels tested (10.8 and 2.2 nmole) only peptides (43-88) and (61-88) were capable of inhibiting the induciton of disease by passively transferred lymph node cells; this inhibition, however, was less than that achieved by the intact guinea pig basic protein. Further studies on the encephalitogenicity of the bovine basic protein in Lewis rats demonstrated that the active site in the C-terminal half of this protein is present in its entirety within residues 89 to 115.