Molecular characterization of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency: identification of a lys329 to glu mutation in the MCAD gene,and expression of inactive mutant enzyme protein in E. coli

Summary A series of experiments has established the molecular defect in the medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) dehydrogenase (MCAD) gene in a family with MCAD deficiency. Demonstration of intra-mitochondrial mature MCAD indistinguishable in size (42.5-kDa) from control MCAD, and of mRNA with the correct size of 2.4 kb, indicated a point-mutation in the coding region of the MCAD gene to be disease-causing. Consequently, cloning and DNA sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified complementary DNA (cDNA) from messenger RNA of fibroblasts from the patient and family members were performed. All clones sequenced from the patient exhibited a single base substitution from adenine (A) to guanine (G) at position 985 in the MCAD cDNA as the only consistent base-variation compared with control cDNA. In contrast, the parents contained cDNA with the normal and the mutated sequence, revealing their obligate carrier status. Allelic homozygosity in the patient and heterozygosity for the mutation in the parents were established by a modified PCR reaction, introducing a cleavage site for the restriction endonuclease NcoI into amplified genomic DNA containing G⁹⁸⁵. The same assay consistently revealed A⁹⁸⁵ in genomic DNA from 26 control individuals. The A to G mutation was introduced into an E. coli expression vector producing mutant MCAD, which was demonstrated to be inactive, probably because of the inability to form active tetrameric MCAD. All the experiments are consistent with the contention that the G⁹⁸⁵ mutation, resulting in a lysine to glutamate shift at position 329 in the MCAD polypeptide chain, is the genetic cause of MCAD deficiency in this family. We found the same mutation in homozygous form in 11 out of 12 other patients with verified MCAD deficiency.     

A chloramphenicol-streptomycin-resistance plasmid from a clinical strain of Staphylococcus sciuri and its structural relationships to other staphylococcal resistance plasmids

A 5.1-kb plasmid, designated pSCS12, isolated from a naturally occurring Staphylococcus sciuri conferred resistance to chloramphenicol (CmR) and streptomycin (SmR). Restriction endonuclease analyses of pSCS12 revealed partial structural homologies to the CmR-plasmids pC221 from S. aureus and pSCS1 from S. intermedius, to the SmR-plasmids pSAI-1 from S. hyicus and pS194 from S. aureus, as well as to the CmR/SmR plasmid pSK68 from S. aureus. Southern-blot hybridization with specific CmR- and SmR-gene probes confirmed these similarities and allowed the mapping of the CmR- and SmR-determinants in the S. sciuri plasmid pSCS12. These observations lead to the suggestion that CmR/SmR-plasmids, such as pSCS12, may have evolved from CmR- and SmR-plasmids by interplasmidic recombination.     

Biliary lipid secretion in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and combined hyperlipidemia. Influence of bezafibrate and fenofibrate

Serum and biliary lipid metabolism were examined in 13 patients with different types of hyperlipoproteinemia before and after 4 weeks of treatment with either bezafibrate or fenofibrate. In patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), bezafibrate (n = 5) and fenofibrate (n = 7) produced a similar significant reduction of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides by 21, 23, and 32%, respectively. In patients with familial combined hyperlipidemia (CHL), only triglycerides decreased markedly. Biliary lipid secretion rates in patients with heterozygous FH were not different from those of young male volunteers, indicating that a reduction of hepatic LDL receptors did not affect hepatic elimination of cholesterol or bile acids. Biliary cholesterol secretion increased significantly from 57 to 75 mg/hr during bezafibrate therapy (n = 8) and from 62 to 71 mg/hr during fenofibrate therapy (n = 9). No consistent change in bile acid or phospholipid secretion was observed. The elevated output of biliary cholesterol increased cholesterol saturation significantly from 147 to 185% and from 152 to 173% during administration of bezafibrate and fenofibrate, respectively. The present study indicates that treatment with bezafibrate or fenofibrate is effective in lowering LDL cholesterol in patients with heterozygous FH, but both drugs increase cholesterol saturation of bile, which might enhance the risk of cholesterol gallstone formation.     

Mechanical constraints canalizing the evolutionary transformation of tetrapod limbs

A reconstruction of the anagenetic transformations from fins to tetrapod limbs is represented considering the self-evident mechanical constraints which must have limited the construction and thus the function and the transformation.     

Processing of the asparagine-linked oligosaccharides of secreted and intracellular forms of the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein: in vivo evidence of Golgi apparatus compartmentalization

The structures of the asparagine-linked oligosaccharides of several variant forms of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein transiently expressed from cloned cDNAs have been determined. Glycopeptides isolated from forms of the G protein that reach the cell surface or that are secreted into the medium are virtually identical; they contain complex-type oligosaccharides whose nonreducing ends terminate in galactose and sialic acid residues. In contrast, forms of the G protein that remain intracellular possess oligosaccharides at intermediate stages in the processing pathway. One deletion mutant, delta 1473, codes for a protein that remains in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (Rose, J. K., and J. E. Bergmann, 1982, Cell, 30:753-762) and contains only high mannose-type oligosaccharides. Another mutant, delta 1554, codes for a glycoprotein that contains oligosaccharides of primarily two classes. One class is of the high mannose type and is similar to those found on the protein coded for by delta 1473. However, the major class contains biantennary and more highly branched complex-type oligosaccharides that terminate in N-acetylglucosamine rather than galactose or sialic acid residues. These data suggest that the protein coded for by delta 1554 migrates to the Golgi apparatus, but does not enter the more distal compartment(s) of the organelle which contains galactosyl- and sialyltransferases.     

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Neuropeptides in the gastrointestinal canal of Necturus maculosus

Summary The presence and distribution of regulatory peptides in nerves and endocrine cells of the stomach, intestine and rectum of a urodele amphibian, the mudpuppy, Necturus maculosus, was studied immunohistochemically in sections or whole-mount preparations of the gut wall. The effect of the occurring peptides on gut motility was studied in isolated strip preparations of circular and longitudinal smooth muscle from different parts of the gut.Bombesin-, neurotensin-, substance P- and VIP-like immunoreactivity was present in abundant nerve fibres in the myenteric plexus of both stomach, intestine and rectum. Single fibres or bundles were present in the circular muscle layer and in a well-developed deep muscular plexus in the intestine and rectum. Immunoreactive nerve cells were found in the myenteric plexus of the stomach, intestine (neurotensin only) and rectum. Gastrin/CCK-like immunoreactivity was observed only in a few fibres in stomach and rectum.Endocrine cells containing bombesin-, met-enkephalin-, gastrin/CCK-, neurotensin-, somatostatin- or substance P- like immunoreactivity were present in the mucosa.The effect of bombesin was an inhibition of the rhythmic activity in circular muscle preparations and in longitudinal muscle from the rectum, while longitudinal muscle from the stomach usually responded with a weak increase in tonus. Neurotensin, like bombesin, was inhibitory on the spontaneous rhythmic activity of circular muscle throughout the gut, while the effect on longitudinal muscle was an increase in tonus. Met-enkephalin and substance P increased the tonus of all types of preparations, and often, in addition, initiated a rhythmic activity superimposed on this maintained tonus. VIP had a general inhibitory effect on the preparations, decreasing tonus and/or abolishing rhythmic activity.It is concluded that bombesin-, neurotensin-, substance P- and VIP-like peptides are present in nerves throughout the urodele gut and may have physiological functions in regulating the motility of the gut. The gastrin/CCK-like peptide present in nerves of the stomach and rectum may affect the function of these parts of the gut. The regulatory peptides present in endocrine cells may, perhaps with the exception of the somatostatin-like peptide, affect the motility humorally.     

Inositol Phospholipid Hydrolysis in Rat Cerebral Cortical Slices: I. Receptor Characterisation

Characterisation of receptor-mediated breakdown of inositol phospholipids in rat cortical slices has been performed using a direct assay which involves prelabelling with [3H]inositol. When slices were preincubated with [3H]inositol, lithium was found to greatly amplify the capacity of receptor agonists such as carbachol, noradrenaline, and 5-hydroxytryptamine to increase the amount of radioactivity appearing in the inositol phosphates. Using a large variety of agonists and antagonists it could be shown that cholinergic muscarinic, alpha 1-adrenoceptor, and histamine H1 receptors appear to be linked to inositol phospholipid breakdown in cortex. The large responses produced by receptor agonists allowed a clear discrimination between full and partial agonists as well as quantitative analysis of competitive antagonists for each receptor. Whereas carbachol and acetylcholine (in the presence of a cholinesterase inhibitor) were full agonists, oxotremorine and arecoline were only partial agonists. Very low concentrations of atropine shifted the carbachol dose-response curve to the right and allowed inhibition constants for the antagonist to be easily calculated. The nicotinic antagonist, mecamylamine, was ineffective. Noradrenaline adrenaline were full agonists at alpha 1-adrenoceptors, but phenylephrine and probably methoxamine were partial agonists. Prazosin, but not yohimbine, potently and competitively antagonised the noradrenaline inositol phospholipid response. Mepyramine but not cimetidine competitively antagonised the histamine response. These data provide strong confirmation for the potentiating effect of lithium on neurotransmitter inositol phospholipid breakdown and emphasise the ease with which functional responses at a number of cortical receptors can be characterised.     

Uptake and polar transport of indoleacetic acid in moss rhizoids

In the cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L. cv. Straight Eight) cotyledon expansion assay, cytokinin-stimulated ethylene production was separated from cytokinin-stimulated growth through the use of potassium and calcium salts. Low concentrations of KC1, which dramatically promoted growth induced by cytokinin, inhibited ethylene evolution, while CaCl₂ at a concentration that had no effect on growth, strongly promoted the cytokinin-induced ethylene evolution. In contrast to the growth response, stimulation of ethylene production was not directly related to the presence of potassium or calcium but to their relative concentrations. Concentrations of KCl and CaCl₂ which promoted ethylene evolution singly, strongly inhibited it when mixed together. Low rates of exogenous ethylene had no effect on the growth response. Both the growth and ethylene responses were found to be general cytokinin phenomena. Cotyledon respiration was promoted by KC1, CaCl₂ and cytokinin, but its stimulation was not correlated with either growth or ethylene production. In the presence of KClm cytokinin-induced respiration sharply lowered the content of certain sugars during the large growth response and followed KCl uptake. Analysis of KCl uptake showed that its growth promoting synergism with cytokinin was not due to osmotic effects.