Systemic injections of gastro-intestinal peptides alter behavior in rats

Twenty-four male albino rats were given daily intraperitoneal injections of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), motilin, human gastrin I (1–17) or the diluent control vehicle at a dose of 100 μg/kg for four consecutive days and food intake, water intake, body weight, and running wheel activity were determined every 24 hours. Animals injected with motilin or human gastrin I (1–17) exhibited decreased food intake relative to those injected with VIP or diluent, which did not differ from each other, although food intake increased reliably over days. The mean water consumption followed the same pattern as that of food intake. As expected from the above results, VIP produced weight gains as compared with rats injected with motilin or gastrin but not reliably more than after diluent. A reliable effect of trials for weight gain was the greatest on day three. Running wheel activity was not affected by injections of human gastrin I (1–17), motilin, or diluent but was reliably decreased by VIP. No significant differences existed across days. Although the results indicate that GI peptides may affect behavior when injected systemically and that like other peptides they have multiple effects, caution is urged in the interpretation of behavioral results at this time.     

Purification of an NADH-(dichlorophenol-indophenol) oxidoreductase from Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The crystals of the entomocidal protein of Bacillus thuringiensis are admixed with proteinases that in the course of their dissolution cause gradual degradation of the "genuine" crystal-forming protein components (i.e. the primary biosynthetic products) to products of lower molecular weight. This phenomenon might explain at least partially the contradictory data on the molecular parameters of the crystal-forming proteins. Preliminary inactivation of the proteinases adsorbed on the crystals allowed us to eliminate this source of the artefacts and to gain more reliable data on the protein composition of the crystals formed by various strains of B. thuringiensis. It has been shown that the crystals formed by all serotypes of B. thuringiensis, with the exception of the serotype V, contain only one protein with a mol. wt. of 145000, 135000 or 130000, depending on the strain. The majority of the strains that belong to the serotype V form crystals consisting of two proteins with mol. wts. of 135000 and 130000, but some of them also have a third component with a mol. wt. of 65000.     

myo-Inositol metabolism in rat testis in response to streptozotocin-induced diabetes

The effects of streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia on de novo myo-inositol biosynthesis in rat testis was examined. Testicular glucose and glucose 6-phosphate levels increased significantly 10 and 12 h after stretozotocin injection, respectively. However, testis myo-inositol content did not increase appreciably until 24 h following injection of the drug. Seventy-two hours after streptozotocin administration, testis myo-inositol levels were 2.7-fold higher in diabetic rats than in controls injected with citrate buffer. No changes were observed in the Specific activities of myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase (EC 5.5.1.4) and 1-l-myo-inositol-1-phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.25). However, hyperglycemic rats displayed testicular glucose and glucose 6-phosphate levels approximately 4- and 2-fold in excess of control values, respectively. Insulin treatment of diabetic rats resulted in the lowering of plasma glucose, and testis glucose 6-phosphate to normal or below normal levels within hours. Inositol levels remained significantly elevated compared with control animals, although slightly lower than that observed for untreated diabetic rats. Streptozotocin diabetic rats had a significantly decreased testis cytosolic $\text{NAD}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{NADH}$ ratio compared with control animals 72 h after injection. The potential role of testis hexokinase distribution in the regulation of glucose 6-phosphate and myo-inositol biosynthesis in normal and diabetic rats was investigated. No significant differences in testis hexokinase distribution or in the kinetic characteristics of the soluble and particulate hexokinase activities were observed. Testicular sperm counts in streptozotocin diabetic rats were not significantly different from control values.     

Expressions of the prefertilization polar axis in sea urchin eggs

The distribution of pigment granules in eggs of three species of sea urchins is described with reference to developmental stage and an egg's animal-vegetal axis of organization. Polarity in unfertilized sea urchin eggs has been a debated subject; present evidence demonstrates that the animal-vegetal axis is established before fertilization. The pigment pattern in some batches of Paracentrotus eggs exhibiting the celebrated “pigment band,” originally described by Theodor Boveri, is revised and is interpreted as a comparatively precocious expression of the underlying egg polarity. “Unbanded” Paracentrotus eggs and eggs of Arbacia lixula and Arbacia punctulata can be induced to exhibit the same pigment pattern by artificial activation. The induced pigment pattern aligns with an axis defined by polar bodies and the jelly canal, which are two external markers of the animal pole which are only rarely seen. It is therefore concluded that all of these eggs possess an animal-vegetal axis before fertilization even though it usually remains unexpressed until later developmental stages. Polarized changes in pigmentation are consistent with the following general mechanism: A change is triggered in the cortex of the vegetal pole; the change is programmed for a time which corresponds to the fourth mitotic division, even though mitosis itself is not involved; activation at fertilization initiates the “clock” in most cases, although in “banded” Paracentrotus eggs the “clock” is apparently started before ovulation; only the vegetal hemisphere's pigment is affected by the change. The nature of the underlying axis which defines animal and vegetal poles is discussed. Aspects of the axis have been tentatively traced back to the primary oocyte stage, but its fundamental nature remains unknown.     

Nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor effects in the proton NMR spectra of the oligoribonucleotides ApGpX and CpApX

The variable-temperature proton nmr spectra of the oligoribonucleotides in the series CpApX and the series ApGpX, X = A, G, C, U, together with the parent dimers CpA and ApG have been measured. A complete analysis of all the nonexchangeable base proton resonances and ribose H-1′ proton resonances was made. The presence of trends in the shielding abilities of the various bases at both the nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor positions were identified. The observed shieldings could be used to predict the chemical shifts of protons in related systems. Based on the empirical results from ribodinucleoside monophosphates, the temperature-dependent behavior of the J_1′2′ coupling constants of the triribonucleotides suggested that the compounds in the CpApX series stacked from the 5′-end to the 3′-end, while those in the ApGpX series stacked from the 3′-end to the 5′-end.     

INVESTIGATION OF SECONDARY STRUCTURES AND MACROMOLECULAR INTERACTIONS IN BACTERIOPHAGE P22 BY LASER RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY

Laser Raman spectra of the DNA bacteriophage P22 and of its precursor particles and related structures have been obtained using 514.5-nm excitation. The spectra show that P22 DNA exists in the B form both inside of the phage head and after extraction from the phage. The major coat protein (gp5) contains a secondary structure composed of 18% α-helix, 20% β-sheet and 62% irregular conformations. The scaffolding protein (gp8) in the phage prohead is substantially richer than gp5 in α-helical content. Among the amino acid residues which give prominent Raman lines, the spectra show that tryptophans are exposed to solvent and most tyrosines are hydrogen bonded to positive donor groups. The above features of phage DNA and protein structures are nearly invariant to changes in temperature up to 80°C, indicating a remarkable thermal stability of the phage head and its encapsulated DNA.     

Assignment of proximal histidyl imidazole exchangeable proton NMR resonances to individual subunits in hemoglobins A,Boston, Iwate and Milwaukee

The proton nmr spectra of the synthetic valency hybrids, α₂(β⁺CN)₂, (α⁺CN)₂β₂ of hemoglobin A and the natural valency hybrids of the mutant hemoglobins Boston, Iwate and Milwaukee have led to the unambiguous assignment of the two proximal histidyl imidazole exchangeable proton signals at 64 and 76 ppm to individual α and β subunits, respectively. New single non-exchangeable proton resonances detected in the extreme downfield region of the spectra of Hbs Boston and Iwate are tentatively assigned to the coordinated tyrosine of the mutated α chains.     

Periodate oxidation and alkaline degradation of heparin-related glycans

Heparin, heparan sulphate, and various derivatives thereof have been oxidised with periodate at pH 3.0 and 4° and at pH 7.0 and 37°. Whereas oxidation under the latter conditions destroys all of the nonsulphated uronic acids, treatment with periodate at low pH and temperature causes selective oxidation of uronic acid residues. The reactivity of uronic acid residues depends on the nature of neighbouring 2-amino-2-deoxyglucose residues. d-Glucuronic acid residues are susceptible to oxidation when flanked by N-acetylated amino sugars, but resistant when adjacent residues are either unsubstituted or N-sulphated. L-Iduronic acid residues in their natural environment (2-deoxy-2-sulphoamino-d-glucose) are resistant to oxidation, whereas removal of N-sulphate groups renders a portion of these residues periodate-sensitive. Oxidised uronic acid residues in heparin-related glycans may be cleaved by alkali, producing a series of oligosaccharide fragments. Thus, periodate oxidation-alkaline elimination provides an additional method for the controlled degradation of heparin.     

Spatiotemporal behaviors in immobilized enzyme systems

The immobilization of enzymes within an artificial membrane, with a homogeneous distribution of the active sites, allows a simple modelling in a well defined context. The systems are described by non-linear PDE'S, taking into account enzyme reaction and metabolite diffusion. These equations can exhibit several types of behaviors, qualitatively different from those observed in solution, such as hysteresis, oscillations and pattern formations. Preliminary experimental results have shown the existence of sustained oscillations and instabilities with immobilized acetylcholinesterase and phosphofructokinase.