Group-selective reagent modification of the sodium- and chloride-coupled glycine transporter under native and reconstituted conditions.

Glycine transporter from rat brain stem and spinal cord is inactivated by specific sulfhydryl reagents. Modification of lysine residues also promotes a decrease of the transporter activity but in a lesser extent than that promoted by thiol group reagents. Mercurials showed a more marked inhibitory effect than maleimide derivatives. SH groups display a similar reactivity for p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate (pCMBS) and mersalyl in synaptosomal membrane vesicles and proteoliposomes reconstituted with the solubilized transporter. However, different reactivity is observed with N-ethylmaleimide (MalNEt), the greatest effect being attained in membrane vesicles. The rate of inactivation by pCMBS and MalNEt is pseudo-first-order showing time- and concentration-dependence. pCMBS and MalNEt decrease the Vmax for glycine transport and to a lesser extent act on the apparent Km. Treatment with dithiothreitol (DTT) of the transporter modified by pCMBS results in a complete restoration of transporter activity indicating that the effect exercised by the reagent is specific for cysteine residues on the protein. It is concluded that SH groups are involved in the glycine transporter function and that these critical residues are mostly located in a relatively hydrophilic environment of the protein.     

Water-use efficiency as a means of modelling net assimilation in boreal forests

Although the processes governing photosynthesis are well understood, scaling from shoot to canopy in coniferous forests is complex. Development of different sap-flow techniques has made it possible to measure transpiration of whole trees and thereby also of whole canopies. There is a strong link between photosynthesis and transpiration, for which reason it would be interesting to test whether measurements of canopy transpiration could also be used to estimate canopy photosynthesis. As a first step towards this, water-use efficiency (WUE) was studied at branch and canopy scales on the basis of branch gas-exchange measurements, with half-hourly and daily temporal resolution. Half-hourly and daily WUE at both branch and canopy scales showed a strong dependency on vapour-pressure deficit ('e). Branch photosynthesis modelled from branch transpiration and 'e mimicked well measured branch photosynthesis. Also, modelled photosynthesis, scaled to canopy and compared to net forest CO₂ exchange measured by the eddy-covariance technique, occasionally showed good agreement. In spite of these seemingly promising results, there was a difference in the response to 'e between branches and between years, which needs to be better understood.     

Neuromuscular, anaerobic, and aerobic performance characteristics of elite power athletes

Various aspects of neuromuscular, anaerobic, and aerobic performance capacity were investigated in four powerlifters, seven bodybuilders, and three wrestlers with a history of specific training for several years. The data (means +/- SD) showed that the three subject groups possessed similar values for maximal isometric force per unit bodyweight (50.7 +/- 9.6, 49.3 +/- 4.1, and 49.3 +/- 10.9 N/kg, respectively). However, significant (P less than 0.05) differences were observed in the times for isometric force production, so that e.g., times to produce a 30% force level were shorter for the wrestlers and bodybuilders (28.3 +/- 3.1 and 26.4 +/- 6.6 ms) than that (53.3 +/- 23.7 ms) for the powerlifters. Utilization of elastic energy by the wrestlers was significantly (P less than 0.05) better than that of the other two subject groups, as judged from differences between the counter-movement and squat jumps at 0, 40, and 100 kg's loads. No differences were observed between the groups in anaerobic power in a 1-min maximal test, but the values for VO2 max were higher (P less than 0.05) among the wrestlers and bodybuilders (57.8 +/- 6.6 and 50.8 +/- 6.8 ml X kg-1 X min-1) as compared to the powerlifters (41.9 +/- 7.2 ml X kg-1 X min-1). Within the limitations of the subject sample, no differences of a statistical significancy were observed between the groups in fibre distribution, fibre areas, or the area ratio of fast (FT) and slow (ST) twitch fibres in vastus lateralis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Restriction mapping of the rRNA genes from Artemia larvae

A restriction endonuclease analysis of the genes coding for the ribosomal RNA from Artemia larvae has shown that these genes consist of a repeat unit of 16.2 kilobase pairs (10.7 Mdaltons) and that the repeat unit seems to be homogeneous in size.     

The antigen-antibody interaction algebraically interpreted as a relational process.

The antigen-antibody interaction occurring previous to the triggering of the immunological response is analyzed as a relational process in terms of lattices. Accordingly, this process is expressed as a lattice belonging to a pseudo-Boolean algebraic variety. The Heyting arrow operation, which appears in this kind of algebra, is used to analyze behaviors between non-comparable biological states expressed by the lattice. The resulting states coming from the arrows are connected with the influence of increasing and decreasing energies involved in the linking process.     

Astrocyte Resilience to Oxidative Stress Induced by Insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) Involves Preserved AKT (Protein Kinase B) Activity

Disruption of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) signaling is a key step in the development of cancer or neurodegeneration. For example, interference of the prosurvival IGF-I/AKT/FOXO3 pathway by redox activation of the stress kinases p38 and JNK is instrumental in neuronal death by oxidative stress. However, in astrocytes, IGF-I retains its protective action against oxidative stress. The molecular mechanisms underlying this cell-specific protection remain obscure but may be relevant to unveil new ways to combat IGF-I/insulin resistance. Here, we describe that, in astrocytes exposed to oxidative stress by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), p38 activation did not inhibit AKT (protein kinase B) activation by IGF-I, which is in contrast to our previous observations in neurons. Rather, stimulation of AKT by IGF-I was significantly higher and more sustained in astrocytes than in neurons either under normal or oxidative conditions. This may be explained by phosphorylation of the phosphatase PTEN at the plasma membrane in response to IGF-I, inducing its cytosolic translocation and preserving in this way AKT activity. Stimulation of AKT by IGF-I, mimicked also by a constitutively active AKT mutant, reduced oxidative stress levels and cell death in H₂O₂-exposed astrocytes, boosting their neuroprotective action in co-cultured neurons. These results indicate that armoring of AKT activation by IGF-I is crucial to preserve its cytoprotective effect in astrocytes and may form part of the brain defense mechanism against oxidative stress injury.