Modification of Oudin’s method of single immunodiffusion in agar gel for detection of IgA in bronchoalveolar lavage of white mice

Oudin’s principle of single immunodiffusion in agar gel was modified for quantitative determination of IgA in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of normal 20–25 g mice. The reaction took place at 25 °C in 0.3 % agarose with 16.7 % pig serum against mouse IgA, and was evaluated on the basis of a relationship between the progress of the precipitin zone and the square root of time. The linear dependence of the derived constantk on the logarithmic concentration of antibody in the sample permitted to express the results as titre, corresponding to a dilution wherek = 0. Examination of seven samples of pooled blood serum of normal mice shoved taht (1) the IgA level was practically constant, (2) serum IgA possessed under given conditions similar properties as IgA from the bronchoalveolar secretion; it is therefore possible to employ pooled sera as a reliable control of the immunodiffusion system in ease of lack of reference standards with defined IgA content. Examination of 82 individual BAL samples of normal mice revealed that the mean IgA concentration in 2.5 mL samples was almost 1000 times lower than in blood serum.     

Effect of labuctril 25 and three other herbicides on wild soil isolates and mutant strains of streptomycetes

Labuctril 25 (3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile, LAB) at concentrations up to 100μg/mL inhibits effectively growth, morphology, and pigmentation of most soil streptomycete isolates grown under laboratory conditions. Oxytril CM (OXT), Basagran (BAS) and Faneron 50 WP (FAN) applied at the same concentrations had no detectable effect on growth of substrate mycelium but suppressed both aerial mycelium and pigment formation, the effectivity decreasing in the order OXT—BAS—FAN. The LAB-sensitivity of mutant strains was markedly higher as compared with that of the soil isolates. A wild strain resistant to 100–400μg of LAB per mL (depending on the medium composition) was isolated. It was capable of supporting the growth and development of sensitive strains on the LAB-containing medium. A stimulatory effect of low doses of LAB (10–20μg/mL) on the antibiotic activity of streptomycetes was observed.     

Tissue-specific expression of the rat glutathione S-transferases

Tissue-specific patterns of rat glutathione S-transferase expression have been demonstrated by in vitro translation of purified poly(A) RNAs and by protein purification. Poly(A) RNAs from six rat tissues including heart, kidney, liver, lung, spleen, and testis were used to program in vitro translation with the rabbit reticulocyte lysate system and [35S]methionine. The glutathione S-transferase subunits synthesized in vitro were purified from the translation products by affinity chromatography on S-hexylglutathione-linked Sepharose 6B columns. The affinity bound fractions were analyzed by Na dodecyl SO4-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography. A subunit of Mr = 22,000 detected in the in vitro translation products of poly(A) RNAs from heart, kidney, lung, spleen, and testis is missing from the translation products of liver poly(A) RNAs. This Mr = 22,000 subunit is present only in the anionic glutathione S-transferase fraction purified from rat heart, kidney, lung, spleen, and testis. Purified anionic glutathione S-transferase from rat liver does not contain this subunit. The relative specific activities toward a dozen different substrates also demonstrate the nonidentity between liver and kidney anionic glutathione S-transferases. In addition, among the glutathione S-transferase subunits expressed in the liver, some of them could not be detected in the other tissues investigated. Our results indicate that tissue-specific expression of rat glutathione S-transferases may occur pretranslationally.     

Characterization of lizard venom hyaluronidase and evidence for its action as a spreading factor

Hyaluronidase was isolated from the lizard (Heloderma horridum horridum) crude venom. The chemical properties were characterized and compared to the same enzyme from other sources. The enzyme was found to be a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weight of 63,000 daltons. It possesses an isoelectric point and pH optimum of 5.0, and was observed to be extremely temperature sensitive. The role of hyaluronidase as a spreading factor which serves to aid in the diffusion of toxins has been suspected for a long time; yet no experimental proof has been offered until now. It was shown that hyaluronidase promotes the spread of the hemorrhagic area in mice when injected with hemorrhagic toxin. Thus experimental evidence is supplied for the first time that the enzyme plays a role as a "spreading factor" in the toxic action of venom.     

Relationship Between the Membrane Envelope of Rhizobial Bacteroids and the Plasma Membrane of the Host Cell as Demonstrated by Histochemical Localization of Adenyl Cyclase

By using adenyl cyclase as a marker enzyme, the relationship between the membrane envelope of the bacteroids of rhizobia and the plasma membrane of the host cell was demonstrated histochemically. Electron-dense deposits were found on the outer surface of the plasma membrane of the host cell and on the inner surface of the membrane envelopes of the bacteroids, but not in vacuole membranes, endoplasmic reticula, Golgi apparatus, and mitochondrial membranes. The results suggest that the membrane envelopes of the bacteroids are closely related to the host plasma membrane, and that entry of the bacteroids into the cytoplasm is in a manner similar to endocytosis.