Blocking of acidosis-mediated apoptosis by a reduction of lactate dehydrogenase activity through antisense mRNA expression.

Lactic acid produced from the cells is a potential cause of extra- and intracellular acidification. Due to scarce technical tools, lactic acid that leads to acidification could not be reduced and direct evidence of the relationship between metabolic lactate and apoptosis has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we designed a cellular pH regulation system in CHO cells by a reduction of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity through LDH antisense mRNA expression. This inhibited lactate production and, therefore, acidification of the cytosol. Under HCO3(-)-buffered growth conditions, both the parent CHO cells and the engineered CHO cells maintained their extracellular pH and intracellular pH fairly well. However, upon acidification of the cytosol, only the parent CHO cells underwent apoptosis under HCO3(-)-free conditions. In fact, we observed a number of apoptosis-related events only in control cells, including mitochondrial dysfunction, cytochrome c release, and an increase in caspase-3 enzymatic activity.     

DNA cleavage and religation by human topoisomerase II alpha at high temperature.

A common DNA religation assay for topoisomerase II takes advantage of the fact that the enzyme can rejoin cleaved nucleic acids but cannot mediate DNA scission at suboptimal temperatures (either high or low). Although temperature-induced DNA religation assays have provided valuable mechanistic information for several type II enzymes, high-temperature shifts have not been examined for human topoisomerase IIalpha. Therefore, the effects of temperature on the DNA cleavage/religation activity of the enzyme were characterized. Human topoisomerase IIalpha undergoes two distinct transitions at high temperatures. The first transition occurs between 45 and 55 degrees C and is accompanied by a 6-fold increase in the level of DNA cleavage at 60 degrees C. It also leads to a loss of DNA strand passage activity, due primarily to an inability of ATP to convert the enzyme to a protein clamp. The enzyme alterations that accompany the first transition appear to be stable and do not revert at lower temperature. The second transition in human topoisomerase IIalpha occurs between 65 and 70 degrees C and correlates with a precipitous drop in the level of DNA scission. At 75 degrees C, cleavage falls well below amounts seen at 37 degrees C. This loss of DNA scission appears to result from a decrease in the forward rate of DNA cleavage rather than an increase in the religation rate. Finally, similar high-temperature alterations were observed for yeast topoisomerase II and human topoisomerase IIbeta, suggesting that parallel heat-induced transitions may be widespread among type II topoisomerases.     

A new statistical method for identifying interconnections between neuronal network elements

A new method is proposed to analyse dependencies in point processes, which takes into account specific character of neuronal activity. Simulation modelling of neuronal network revealed that the estimated weight of connection depends monotonically on the value of the model synaptic strength. In contrast to the crosscorrelation, the method allows for nonlinear interconnections and does not require point processes to be stationary and samples to be large. Examples are presented of the method's application to neurophysiological data analysis.     

Epithelioid sarcoma

The first appearance, the 12-year follow-up, and the autopsy of a patient with a strange soft-tissue tumor in the lower leg region are described. Although it was originally taken for a malignant synovial tumor, its peculiar distribution pattern, together with its histologic picture, confirmed the final diagnosis as an epithelioid sarcoma.     

Alterations in high-affinity binding characteristics and levels of opioids in invertebrate ganglia during aging: Evidence for an opioid compensatory mechanism

In Mytilus and Leucophaea the high-affinity binding site density is significantly lower in old animals than in young animals, whereas the low-affinity site density remains unchanged. In Mytilus the estimated met-enkephalin and met-enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7 levels are significantly higher in old than in young animals. In Leucophaea only the met-enkephalin level can be determined, and it is also higher in old animals. The decrease in the high-affinity binding site density and the corresponding increase in endogenous enkephalin levels suggest the existence of an opioid compensatory mechanism associated with the aging process. In Mytilus there is a demonstrated decrease with age in intraganglionic dopamine levels in response to applied opiates. In addition, the inhibition of dopamine-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity by opiates also decreases in older animals. In Leucophaea the sex difference in opioid binding densities diminishes with age.     

Posttranslational deamidation of crystalline lens proteins during animal aging

The amide content of total proteins and protein fractions (alpha-, beta-, gamma-cristallins and albuminoid) from cortex and nuclear lens zones of cattle has been investigated. The amide content in proteins of cortex and nuclear lens of young animals (1,5-2 years old) is the same. The decrease of the amide content in the proteins of nuclear lenz zone of old animals (6-12 years old) is due to fraction of readily hydrolysed amides. The data obtained prove the posttranslational desamidation of lens proteins at ageing. beta-Cristallines--the proteins with the highest amides content is exposed to posttranslational desamidation most of all.     

Effect of brain acid extract products in inbred mice on 3H-diazepam reception

The influence of brain acid extract products, isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography on H3-diazepam binding was investigated in synaptosomal membranes of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. Fractions with stimulatory and inhibitory activity were isolated. Quantitative and qualitative differences in the effects and structure of ACTH-immunoreactive peptide fractions under study were established.