Rabbit liver alcohol dehydrogenase: purification and properties

Alcohol dehydrogenase [EC 1.1.1.1] was purified to homogeneity from rabbit liver by water extraction, DEAE-cellulose treatment, affinity chromatography on 5'-AMP-Sepharose and gel filtration on Sephadex G-150 using dithiothreitol as a stabilizer. The purified enzyme has an estimated molecular weight of 72,000 and consists of two subunits with a molecular weight of about 36,000 each. The enzyme contains 4 g-atoms of zinc and 18 sulfhydryl groups per mol of protein and exhibits maximal activity at pH 10.8, with a second maximum at pH 7.5. The apparent Km values for ethanol and NAD+ are 0.45 mM and 53.19 microM, respectively, at pH 10.8 and 3.33 mM and 6.94 microM, respectively, at pH 7.5. The enzyme oxidizes ethanol most readily among the aliphatic alcohols studied and has very low substrate specificity for methanol. Among steroid alcohols, 5 beta-androstan-3 beta-ol-17-one serves as a substrate for the enzyme. Pyrazole and 4-methylpyrazole (which are well known alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitors), sulfhydryl reagents, heavy metal ions and metal-chelating agents inactivate the enzyme.     

Central inhibitory action of TRH on prolactin secretion in the rat

Intravenous (iv) injection of FK33-824 [( D-Ala2, MePhe4, Met-(O)5-ol]-enkephalin, 8 and 16 nmole/100 g body wt), a potent Met5-enkephalin analog, and domperidone (1.2, 2.4, and 24 nmole/100 g body wt), a dopamine antagonist, resulted in a dose-related increase in plasma prolactin (PRL) levels in urethane-anesthetized male rats. PRL release induced by FK33-824 (16 nmole/100 g body wt, iv) was inhibited by intraventricular (icv) injection of TRH (0.6 nmole/rat). DN-1417 (gamma-butyrolactone-gamma-carbonyl-histidyl-prolinamide citrate, 0.6 nmole/rat, icv), a TRH analog, also blunted PRL release induced by FK33-824. PRL release induced by a smaller dose of domperidone (1.2 nmole/100 g body wt, iv) was blunted by TRH and DN-1417, whereas both peptides failed to suppress elevated PRL levels induced by larger doses of domperidone. These results suggest that TRH not only stimulates PRL secretion by acting directly at the pituitary, but has an inhibitory action on PRL release through activation of the central dopaminergic mechanism.     

Biological activities of lipopolysaccharide fractionated by preparative acrylamide gel electrophoresis

Lipopolysaccharide from a smooth strain of Salmonella minnesota was fractionated into two major fractions and one intermediate fraction by using sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. On the basis of the study by Hitchcock and Brown, it was deduced that the top fraction was mainly long O-side chain LPS and the bottom fraction was O-side chain-less LPS. The middle fraction was a mixture of both short O-side chain LPS and O-side chain-less LPS. The antigenic properties and biological activities were not altered in this fractionation procedure. Comparison of the biological activities of the top fraction with those of the bottom fraction revealed that the bottom fraction had higher activity in polyclonal B-cell activation and spleen-swelling effect and that there was no significant difference in adjuvant activity, ability to render macrophages cytotoxic, induction of colony-stimulating factor and the ability to induce the Schwartzmann reaction. It was suggested that O-side chain makes no contribution to the latter biological activities including adjuvant activity of S. minnesota LPS.     

An 18K protein from ascites hepatoma cell depolymerizes actin filaments rapidly

Several actin binding proteins were isolated from ascites hepatoma cells AH7974 by DNase I affinity chromatography. Among them, a protein having a molecular weight of 18,000 was further purified by DEAE cellulose and hydroxyapatite column chromatographies and gel filtration on a Sephadex G-75 column. The 18K protein not only inhibits actin polymerization but also depolymerizes actin filaments. This conclusion was supported by viscosity and fluorescence intensity measurements and the DNase I inhibition assay. A chemical cross-linking experiment suggested that the 18K protein binds to monomeric actin and forms and 18K-actin 1:1 complex. The net depolymerization rate by the 18K protein measured by the DNase I inhibition assay was slower than the rapid reduction of the fluorescence intensity of pyrene-labeled F-actin upon addition of the 18K protein. This result suggests that the 18K protein not only binds to monomeric actin but also binds to actin filaments directly. The sedimentation assay showed that a part of the 18K protein was cosedimented with actin filaments. Electron microscopic observations demonstrated that the 18K protein decreased the amount of actin filaments and the remaining filaments appeared to be decorated and distorted by the 18K protein. The 18K protein had no Ca2+ ion sensitivity and exhibited the same effect on both this tumor actin and muscle actin.     

Population genetics theory of concerted evolution and its application to the immunoglobulin V gene tree

Summary The previous simple model for treating concerted evolution of multigene families has been revised to be compatible with various new observations on the immunoglobulin variable region family and other families. In the previous model, gene conversion and unequal crossing-over were considered, and it was assumed that genes are randomly arranged on the chromosome; neither subdivision nor correlation of gene identity and chromosomal distance were considered. Although this model satisfactorily explains the observed amino acid diversity within and between species, it fails to predict the very ancient branching of the mouse immunoglobulin heavy chain V-gene family. By incorporating subdivided structure and genetic correlation with chromosomal distance into the simple model, the data of divergence may be satisfactorily explained, as well as the rate of nucleotide substitution and the amino acid diversity. The rate at which a V-gene is duplicated or deleted by conversion or by unequal crossing-over is estimated by the new model to be on the order of 10^–6 per year. The model may be applicable to other multigene families, such as those coding for silkmoth chorion or mammalian kallikrein.Contribution no. 1560 from the National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, 411 Japan     

Inherited deficiency of the seventh component of complement associated with meningococcal meningitis: lack of serum bactericidal activity against Neisseria meningitidis in a girl with C7 deficiency and HLA studies of a C7-deficient Japanese family

An 8-year-old girl with meningococcal meningitis lacked serum complement activity. The seventh component of complement (C7) could not be detected in her serum by either functional or immunochemical analysis. The levels of the other components were within the normal range. Her serum complement activity was restored by the addition of purified C7. Her fresh serum showed a total absence of bactericidal activity against Neisseria meningitidis, group Y, but her serum bactericidal activity was restored by the addition of purified C7. The restoration of her serum bactericidal activity was completely inhibited in the presence of Mg2+ EGTA. These findings suggest that restoration of the bactericidal activity of her serum against N. meningitidis might be mediated by the specific antibody against N. meningitidis and the reconstituted complement system in her serum. Heterozygous deficiency of C7 was found in 10 of her family members. Genetic studies showed that the mode of inheritance might be an autosomal codominant trait. No genetic linkage between deficiency of C7 and the HLA system was found.     

Learning set formation in slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang)

In primates, learning set formation has been reported in various simian species, but in only few prosimian species. The formation of visual discrimination learning set was tested on a nocturnal prosimian species, slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang). Their performance was higher than that of some New World monkeys. This confirmed the suggestion from the data on black lemurs (Lemur macaco) that there is an overlap between prosimians and simians in learning set ability.     

Agromonas oligotrophica gen. nov., sp. nov., a nitrogen-fixing oligotrophic bacterium

Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics of five isolates of acetylenereducing (nitrogen-fixing) oligotrophic bacteria from a paddy soil were investigated. They showed similar phenotypic characteristics: they were aerobic, asporogenous, gram-negative, motile by a polar flagellum, and irregular rods. On full strength nutrient broth (NB) growth was severely suppressed, but well supported on 10-to 10000-fold diluted NB. They consumed glucose but produced no acid, and also utilized phenolic acids such as ferulic acid or p-coumaric acid. The cellular fatty acid composition, quinone system and DNA base composition of the isolates were investigated. Cellular fatty acids mainly consisted of straightchain unsaturated C_{18 : 1} (62–81% of total fatty acids). Ubiquinone Q-10 and a high guanine-plus-cytosine content (65.1–66.0 mol%) were found. The taxonomic status of the isolates is discussed and a new genus, Agromonas, with a single species Agromonas oligotrophica sp. nov., is proposed for these isolates. The type strain of A. oligotrophica is JCM 1494.