Characterization of pNiXa,a serpin of Xenopus laevis oocytes and embryos,and its histidine-rich,Ni(II)-binding domain

A Ni(II)-binding serpin, pNiXA, is abundant in Xenopus oocytes and embryos. Kinetic assays show that purified pNiXa strongly inhibits bovine α-chymotrypsin (K₁ = 3 mM), weakly inhibits porcine elastase (K₁ = 0.5 μM), and does not inhibit bovine trypsin. The reversible, slow-binding inhibition of α-chymotrypsin by pNiXa is unaffected by Ni(II). Ovochymase in egg exudates is inhibited by pNiXa, but to a limited extent, even at high pNiXa concentrations. An octadecapeptide that models the His-rich domain (-HRHRHEQQGHHDSAKHGH-) of pNiXa forms six-coordinate, octahedral Ni(II)-complexes when the N-terminus is acetylated, and a square-planar Ni(II)-complex when the N-terminus is unblocked. Spectroscopy reveals two distinct types of octahedral Ni(II)-coordination to the N-acetylated octadecapeptide, involving, respectively, 3–4 and 5–6 imidazole nitrogens; the octadecapeptide undergoes partial, reversible precipitation in pH-and Ni(II)-dependent fashion, suggesting an insoluble, Ni(II)-coupled (Hx)_n-dimer. Such (Hx)_n-peptide interaction is confirmed by an enzyme-linked biotin-avidin assay with N-biotin-KHRHRHE-amide and N-acetyl-KHRHRHE-resin beads, which become coupled after adding Ni(II) or Zn(II). H₂O₂ oxidation of 2′-deoxyguanosine to mutagenic 8-hydroxy-2′deoxyguanosine is enhanced by the octahedral Ni(II)-octadecapeptide complex, although the effect is more intense with the square-planar Ni(II) octadecapeptide complex. Immunoperoxidase staining of whole mounts wish pNiXa antibody shows that pNiXa is distributed throughout gastrula-stage embryos and is localized during organogenesis in the brain, eye, spinal cord, myotomes, craniofacial tissues, and other sites of Ni(II) induced anomalies. Patterns of pNiXa staining are similar in controls and Ni(II)-exposed embryos. Binding of Ni(II) to pNiXa may cause embryotoxicity by enhancing oxidative reactions that produce tissue injury and genotoxicity. Although the natural target proteinases for pNiXa inhibition have not been established, pNiXa may be an important regulator of proteolysis during embryonic development. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Identification of two new denitrifying strains of Rhodobacter sphaeroides

Abstract Highly specific polyclonal and antibodies against either nitrate, nitrite or nitrous oxide reductases from a photosynthetic denitrifying bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides f. sp. denitrificans were used to show the presence of immunologically reactive proteins in strains that Pellerin and Gest had shown to grow in the dark with nitrate as a terminal acceptor [9]. Two strains of this bacterium, namely 81-3 and 2.4.3 synthesized the three denitrifying enzymes and were capable of denitrification. Strains 81-1 and 2.4.1 (neotype) both expressed nitrate reductase activities but nitrite reductase was not detected since these strains did not reduce nitrite. They also did not grow in the dark with nitrate as a terminal acceptor. Each of strains 81-1, 81-3, 2.4.1 and 2.4.3 contain four plasmids. R. sphaeroides f. sp. denitrificans , however, contains only one large 108 kb plasmid, which is distinctly different in size from those detected in the other strains. This indicates that the 108 kb plasmid is not necessarily specific for denitrification.     

Crystal structures of amylosucrase from Neisseria polysaccharea in complex with D-glucose and the active site mutant Glu328Gln in complex with the natural substrate sucrose

The structure of amylosucrase from Neisseria polysaccharea in complex with beta-D-glucose has been determined by X-ray crystallography at a resolution of 1.66 A. Additionally, the structure of the inactive active site mutant Glu328Gln in complex with sucrose has been determined to a resolution of 2.0 A. The D-glucose complex shows two well-defined D-glucose molecules, one that binds very strongly in the bottom of a pocket that contains the proposed catalytic residues (at the subsite -1), in a nonstrained (4)C(1) conformation, and one that binds in the packing interface to a symmetry-related molecule. A third weaker D-glucose-binding site is located at the surface near the active site pocket entrance. The orientation of the D-glucose in the active site emphasizes the Glu328 role as the general acid/base. The binary sucrose complex shows one molecule bound in the active site, where the glucosyl moiety is located at the alpha-amylase -1 position and the fructosyl ring occupies subsite +1. Sucrose effectively blocks the only visible access channel to the active site. From analysis of the complex it appears that sucrose binding is primarily obtained through enzyme interactions with the glucosyl ring and that an important part of the enzyme function is a precise alignment of a lone pair of the linking O1 oxygen for hydrogen bond interaction with Glu328. The sucrose specificity appears to be determined primarily by residues Asp144, Asp394, Arg446, and Arg509. Both Asp394 and Arg446 are located in an insert connecting beta-strand 7 and alpha-helix 7 that is much longer in amylosucrase compared to other enzymes from the alpha-amylase family (family 13 of the glycoside hydrolases).     

Identification of copper(II) binding sites in actinomycin D, a cytostatic drug--correlation of coordination with DNA damage

Actinomycin D (AD) is a potent anticancer drug widely applied in therapy, which however exhibits very high toxicity in humans. As the character of donors present in the AD molecule seems to be very favorable for Cu(II) ions, we undertook the coordination study on the Cu(II)-AD system. Potentiometric experiments proved a formation of very stable complexes and with the use of spectroscopic methods the identification of the binding sites was made. The values of potential energy minima, provided by theoretical modeling, confirmed the feasibility of formation of the complexes in water solution. We also demonstrated a significant effect of Cu(II) ions on AD interactions with DNA. The strand-nicking activity was observed. This process could be correlated with the speciation of complex forms. We also found out that in the presence of H2O2, low levels of Cu(II)-AD complexes induce the formation of considerable amounts of linearised plasmid. In consequence, the hypothesis is proposed that the physiologically available cupric ions may participate in the drug-induced toxic effects.     

Selenium supplementation on plasma glutathione peroxidase activity in patients with end-stage chronic renal failure

Patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) usually have a lower than healthy level of selenium (Se) in whole blood and plasma. Plasma glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) is synthesized mostly in the kidney. In CRF patients, activity of this enzyme is significantly reduced and its reduction increases with the progress of the disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Se supplementation to CRF patients at various stages of the disease on Se concentration in blood components and on plasma GSH-Px activity. The study group comprised 53 CRF patients at various stages of the disease supplemented with Se (200 μg/d for 3 mo as Se-enriched yeast, containing about 70% l-selenomethionine [SeMet]). The control group consisted of 20 healthy subjects. The Se concentration in blood components was measured spectrofluorometrically with 2,3-diaminonaphthalene as a complexing reagent. GSH-Px activity in red cell hemolysates and plasma was assayed by the coupled method with tert-butyl hydroperoxide as a substrate. The Se concentration in whole blood and plasma of CRF patients is significantly lower as compared with healthy subjects, but similar at all stages of the disease. In the patients’ plasma, total protein and albumin levels are also significantly lower than in healthy subjects. Plasma GSH-Px activity in patients is extremely low, and contrary to Se concentration, it decreases linearly with the increasing stage of the illness. Se-supplied patients show an increased Se concentration in all blood components and at all disease stages, whereas plasma GSH-Px activity is enhanced only at the incipient stage of the disease. Se supply has no effect on plasma GSH-Px activity in uremic patients at the end stage of the disease. Total plasma protein and albumin levels did not change after Se supplementation. Our data seem to show that in patients with CRF lower total protein and albumin levels in plasma may be the chief cause of the low blood and plasma Se concentrations. GSH-Px activity decreases along with the kidney impairment. At the end stage of the disease, Se supplementation in the form of Se-enriched yeast has no effect on the increase in plasma GSH-Px activity.     

The morphological analysis of vasculature in thyroid tumours: immunoexpression of CD34 antigen

Angiogenesis represents an important process manifested in tumour growth and in development of metastases. Using immunohistochemistry, the authors evaluated number of vessels in various nodular lesions of the thyroid (54 cases). Expression of CD34 antigen and microvessel density were evaluated in sections of archival paraffin blocks originating from the Department of Pathological Anatomy, University Medical School and the Lower Silesia Centre of Oncology in Wroc?aw, Poland. Microvessel density was assessed in ten different fields per section in "hot spots". Expression of CD34 was quantified using computerised image analysis and, then, mean micrvessel count (MVC) and microvessel area (MVA) were calculated. In thyroid tissue with benign lesions, the MVC (31.7) was higher than in neoplastic lesions (22.3), although no differences in MVA were observed. This observation points to differences in the size of newly formed vessels in individual nodular lesions of the thyroid.     

Large-scale characterization of integral proteins from Arabidopsis vacuolar membrane by two-dimensional liquid chromatography

We developed a method to characterize different classes of membrane proteins within a single experiment and using simple matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) analysis. After membrane solubilization with the nondenaturing detergent n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside, proteins were separated successively by gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography and finally by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). This procedure allowed to characterize 70 proteins from a membrane fraction enriched in plant vacuolar membrane (Arabidopsis), including integral proteins like the V0 complex of the H(+)-ATPase, the H(+)-pyrophosphatase or the glutathione S-conjugate ATPase AtMRP1, and peripheral proteins like the subunits of the catalytic V1 complex of the H(+)-ATPase. Approximately 60% of identified proteins were predicted to possess at least two trans-membrane domains. Furthermore, proteins, with molecular masses ranging between 20 and 200 kDa were distributed into two populations with maximum frequencies at pI 5.3 and 8.9. Finally, this procedure appeared to allow the identification of proteins known to be minor in whole-cell extracts like signaling or vesicular trafficking proteins. Almost 50% of the proteins identified were functionally unknown whereas the others confirmed that the plant vacuole is a multipurpose compartment.     

Methods of embryo scoring in in vitro fertilization

It has been 25 years since the introduction of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for treatment of infertility. During this time very dynamic advances have taken place in all aspects of assisted reproductive technology (ART). The rapid improvement in embryological methods, especially these related to preimplantation embryo evaluation are of great importance. This article is a review of embryo classification systems utilized in ART programs. The most widely used scoring systems of zygotes and embryos (including blastocysts) are described. Additionally, the advantages of advanced embryo classifications in relation to ART success rates are presented.