Diverse functions of antioxidants

All biological organisms have developed a defense system against oxidative stress, which is comprised of many kinds of antioxidants. Antioxidants are classified by function into four categories; preventive antioxidants; radical scavenging antioxidants; repair and de novo antioxidants; and adaptation. Radical scavenging antioxidants have the greatest advantage. Although the activities of radical scavenging antioxidant are determined by several factors, their chemical structure is of key importance. Furthermore, radical scavenging antioxidants have been explored to have a novel function by which they regulate gene expression of cell.     

High-performance affinity beads for identifying drug receptors

We have developed a method using novel latex beads for rapid identification of drug receptors using affinity purification. Composed of a glycidylmethacrylate (GMA) and styrene copolymer core with a GMA polymer surface, the beads minimize nonspecific protein binding and maximize purification efficiency. We demonstrated their performance by efficiently purifying FK506-binding protein using FK506-conjugated beads, and found that the amount of material needed was significantly reduced compared with previous methods. Using the latex beads, we identified a redox-related factor, Ref-1, as a target protein of an anti-NF-kappaB drug, E3330, demonstrating the existence of a new class of receptors of anti-NF-kappaB drugs. Our results suggest that the latex beads could provide a tool for the identification and analysis of drug receptors and should therefore be useful in drug development.     

A set of temperature sensitive-replication/-segregation and temperature resistant plasmid vectors with different copy numbers and in an isogenic background (chloramphenicol, kanamycin, lacZ, repA, par, polA)

A set of plasmid vectors conferring chloramphenicol resistance (Cm(R)), 3064bp in size, or kanamycin resistance (Km(R)), 2972bp in size, were developed, having multiple cloning sites in lacZ' genes for alpha-complementation. pTH18cs1, pTH19cs1, pTH18ks1 and pTH19ks1 are temperature-sensitive (ts) in DNA replication (ts-Rep); pTH18cs5, pTH19cs5, pTH18ks5 and pTH19ks5 are ts in plasmid segregation (ts-Seg); and pTH18cr, pTH19cr, pTH18kr and pTH19kr are temperature resistant (tr) in both. They are based on the pSC101 replicon consisting merely of the replication origin and repA gene, compatible with ColE1/pMB1/p15-derived plasmids, and thus do not require polA function of host cells. The copy numbers of the ts-Rep, tr and ts-Seg plasmids were 14, 5 and 1 per chromosome at 30 degrees C, respectively. These plasmids are fairly stable when inherited at 30 degrees C, but not above 37 degrees C or 41.5 degrees C, depending on the repA mutations and host strains. They are isogenic apart from the ts mutations in the repA gene, and thus provide with useful tools for having appropriate controls in various experiments including bacterial gene-targeting, transposon mutagenesis, toxic gene expression, differential substitution on host functions, gene dosage analysis and so on.     

Detection of Microsporum canis in the skin scrapings and hairs of dogs with dermatophytosis based on sequences of the chitin synthase 1 gene

In the present study, to confirm Microsporum canis infection rapidly, we detected the chitin synthase gene 1 (CHS1) gene of M. canis in the hair and skin samples of four dogs with dermatophytosis. Amplification of the DNAs in the four samples with CHS1 primers yielded fragments of about 620-bp. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the CHS1 gene fragments from samples and a reference strain of M. canis gene showed more than 99% similarity. The method presented in this study can rapidly detect the DNA of M. canis in skin scrapings, and we anticipate that it will be a useful microbiological tool for the diagnosis of M. canis infections in animals and humans.     

A juvenile hormone-repressible transferrin-like protein from the bean bug, Riptortus clavatus: cDNA sequence analysis and protein identification during diapause and vitellogenesis

We found several juvenile hormone-responsive cDNAs in the bean bug, Riptortus clavatus, by using mRNA differential display (Hirai et al., 1998). One of them, a juvenile hormone-repressible cDNA, JR-3, was cloned, sequenced, characterized and identified as a transferrin (RcTf). RcTf cDNA encoded 652 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 71,453 Da. The deduced amino acid sequence showed significant homology with the transferin genes of several insects, Manduca sexta (43% identity), Blaberus discoidalis (43%), Aedes aegypti (43%), Drosophila melanogaster (36%), Sarcophaga peregrina (36%) and the human (25%). Antiserum was prepared by using recombinant RcTf protein expressed in Escherichia coli as an antigen. The antiserum reacted specifically with both the recombinant protein and the native protein from the bugs, with sizes of 70 and 75 kDa, respectively. The 75 kDa protein was partially purified from hemolymph of diapausing female bugs and the first ten amino acids were found to be identical to that of RcTf cDNA, indicating that the 75 kDa protein is RcTf. The tissue distribution of RcTf in the bug was examined by Western blot analysis. In diapausing animals, RcTf was detected in the fat body, hemolymph and ovary but not in the gut. In the post-diapause stage, RcTf was also detected in eggs, in addition to the fat body and ovary. These results indicate that RcTf is incorporated into the oocytes during vitellogenesis, and suggest that it may provide iron for the developing embryos.     

Photoperiodic and thermal regulation of development and cold hardiness in larvae of the clover leaf weevil, Hypera punctata

Effects of photoperiod and temperature on the development and cold hardiness were investigated in larvae of Hypera punctata. At a relatively low temperature (15 degrees C), the larvae fed less and developed more slowly under a 12L:12D (SD) photoperiod than under a 16L:8D photoperiod (LD). SD larvae had lower gut weight against the whole body weight and lower supercooling point (SCP) than the LD counterparts for the same instar and same body weight. This was because the larval SCP is markedly affected by the quantity of the gut content. Laboratory experiments indicated that the low temperature mortality of this larvae occurred mainly due to freezing irrespective of the photoperiod and temperature, suggesting that the lower lethal temperature (LLT) depends on the supercooling ability of larvae. The SD larvae tended to have a lower SCP and hence a lower LLT than the LD counterparts at 15 or 10 degrees C, unlike at 20 degrees C. Thus, the slower larval development under SD conditions at relatively low temperatures may prevent larvae from reaching the later instar, which have a higher SCP and thus less cold tolerance, during the coldest season. The suppressed feeding activity under SD conditions would lower the SCP, thereby reducing the possibility of lethal tissue freezing. Such a photoperiodic and thermal regulation of the larval development and the supercooling ability appear to represent adaptive mechanisms for winter survival in this beetle.     

Kinetic analysis of the reaction catalyzed by chitinase A1 from Bacillus circulans WL-12 toward the novel substrates, partially N-deacetylated 4-methylumbelliferyl chitobiosides

The kinetic behavior of chitinase A1 from Bacillus circulans WL-12 was investigated using the novel fluorogenic substrates, N-deacetylated 4-methylumbelliferyl chitobiosides [GlcN-GlcNAc-UMB (2), GlcNAc-GlcN-UMB (3), and (GlcN)(2)-UMB (4)], and the results were compared with those obtained using 4-methylumbelliferyl N, N'-diacetylchitobiose [(GlcNAc)(2)-UMB (1)] as the substrate. The chitinase did not release the UMB moiety from compound 4, but successfully released UMB from the other substrates. k(cat)/K(m) values determined from the releasing rate of the UMB moiety were: 145.3 for 1, 8.3 for 2, and 0.1 s(-1) M(-1) for 3. The lack of an N-acetyl group at subsite (-1) reduced the activity to a level 0.1% of that obtained with compound 1, while the absence of the N-acetyl group at subsite (-2) reduced the relative activity to 5.7%. These observations strongly support the theory that chitinase A1 catalysis occurs via a 'substrate-assisted' mechanism. Using these novel fluorogenic substrates, we were able to quantitatively evaluate the recognition specificity of subsite (-2) toward the N-acetyl group of the substrate sugar residue. The (-2) subsite of chitinase A1 was found to specifically recognize an N-acetylated sugar residue, but this specificity was not as strict as that found in subsite (-1).