Regulation of adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate sulfotransferase activity by H2S and cyst(e)ine in primary leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris L.

During chloroplast development in the primary leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris, the extractable activity of adenosine 5-phosphosulfate sulfotransferase increased ten-fold. When chloroplast development took place in air enriched with 3.5 l H₂S·l^-1 there was a decrease in adenosine 5-phosphosulfate sulfotransferase activity. Cyst(e)ine in concentrations up to 1 mM (in the external medium) did not affect the increase in adenosine 5-phosphosulfate sulfotransferase activity in intact plants. In plants with excised roots, 0.75 mM cyst(e)ine inhibited this increase. In green primary leaves, H₂S or cyst(e)ine treatment resulted in a decrease of extractable adenosine 5-phosphosulfate sulfotransferase activity. In intact plants, this effect of cyst(e)ine was observed at a concentration of 1 mM, and in plants with excised roots, 0.25 mM had a comparable effect.In developing plants, the extractable activities of O-acetyl-L-serine sulfhydrylase (EC 4.2.99.9) and ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.39.) were not affected by H₂S or cyst(e)ine.Abbreviations APS adenosine 5-phosphosulfate - APSSTase adenosine 5phosphosulfate sulfotransferase - BSA bovine serum albumin - DTE dithioerythritol - EDTA ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid - OASSase O-acetyl-L-serine sulfhydrylase - PAPS adenosine 3-phosphate 5-phosphosulfate - POPOP 1,4 Di 2-(5-phenyloxazolyl)-benzene - PPO 2,5-diphenyloxazol - RubP ribulose-bisphosphate - RubPCase ribulosebiphosphate carboxylase This is no. 8 in the series Regulation of Sulfate Assimilation in Plants. The term cysteine is used when it is clear that cystine is not involved; cyst(e)ine is used for an undefined mixture of cysteine and cystine. The concentrations are expressed in all cases relative to cysteine     

Chironomus tentans epithelial cell lines sensitive to ecdysteroids, juvenile hormone, insulin and heat shock

A new culture medium, ZW, and the preparation of an extract of adult Drosophila, FX, are described, which for the first time allow the in vitro proliferation of normal Drosophila cells in the absence of undefined heterologous components. Cells from 6-hour-old Drosophila embryos can extensively differentiate and/or proliferate in ZW supplemented with FX and insulin. Cells isolated from wing discs of 90–120-hour-old larvae require ecdysterone for proliferation in ZW, in addition to FX and insulin. Explanted ovaries, testes, genital discs and intact or halved wing discs of 100-hour-old larvae grow in the same medium, at least in part due to cell proliferation. High concentrations of ecdysterone prevent differentiation and/or proliferation of cells from embryos and from wing discs and cause the lysis of most isolated imaginal disc cells grown in vitro, while cuticular differentiations are induced in wing discs and disc fragments grown in vitro.     

Ultrastructure of cuticular exudations in parasitic juvenileHeterodera schachtii,as related to cuticle structure

Summary The development ofHeterodera schachtii inside roots of a cruciferous host plant grown under monoxenic conditions in an agar medium was observed with video-enhanced contrast light microscopy. One to 6 days after inoculation, roots were excised and processed for electron microscopic observations. Exudates were present on the cuticle surfaces of J 2 and early J 3 juveniles located at feeding sites. Fibrillar exudations were correlated with similar fibrillar patterns in the epicuticle, exocuticle, intermediate zone, and the striated endocuticle. Secretion vesicles assembled at many Golgi sites in the hypodermis, appeared to coalesce and form large electron translucent vesicles in the cytoplasm. We propose that secretion vesicles migrate toward the cuticle, contact the plasmalemma and transfer their contents by exocytosis or a similar mechanism to a secretion accumulation site. These contents are associated with cuticle structure and emerge as surface exudations.     

Mitochondrial creatine kinase from chicken brain. Purification, biophysical characterization, and generation of heterodimeric and heterooctameric molecules with subunits of other creatine kinase isoenzymes

In a recent study it has been shown that mitochondrial creatine kinase from chicken brain (Mia-CK) and heart (Mib-CK) are two distinct isoenzymes differing in ten out of the thirty N-terminal amino acids (Hossle, J.P., Schlegel, J., Wegmann, G., Wyss, M., B?hlen, P., Eppenberger, H.M., Wallimann, T., and Perriard J.C. (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 151, 408-416). The present article describes the purification and biophysical characterization of the mitochondrial creatine kinase isoenzyme from chicken brain (Mia-CK). Gel permeation chromatography, direct mass measurements of individual molecules by scanning transmission electron microscopy, and analytical ultracentrifugation confirmed the existence of two different oligomeric forms, dimeric and octameric Mia-CK, with molecular masses of 85 kDa and 306-352 kDa and with sedimentation constants of 4.9-5.3 and 11.6-12.0 S, respectively. In addition, it was tested if Mia- and Mib-CK can form heterodimeric and heterooctameric molecules with subunits of other CK isoenzymes. By denaturation in urea or guanidine hydrochloride and subsequent renaturation, MiaMib-CK and surprisingly also MiaM-CK heterodimers could be generated. In contrast, no heterodimers were obtained between Mib- and M- or B-CK. Furthermore, reoctamerization of a mixture of Mia- and Mib-CK homodimers led to the formation of MiaMib-CK heterooctamers. In these heterooctamers, the Mia- and Mib-CK homodimers remained the fundamental building blocks. No subunit exchange between adjacent dimers within the heterooctamer could be observed even after storage for 3 months at 4 degrees C. The relevance of these data on the structural organization of the Mi-CK octamer and on the physiological aspects of tissue-specific isoenzyme expression are discussed.     

LY2228820 Dimesylate,a Selective Inhibitor of p38 Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase,Reduces Angiogenic Endothelial Cord Formation in Vitro and in Vivo

LY2228820 dimesylate is a highly selective small molecule inhibitor of p38α and p38β mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) that is currently under clinical investigation for human malignancies. p38 MAPK is implicated in a wide range of biological processes, in particular those that support tumorigenesis. One such process, angiogenesis, is required for tumor growth and metastasis, and many new cancer therapies are therefore directed against the tumor vasculature. Using an in vitro co-culture endothelial cord formation assay, a surrogate of angiogenesis, we investigated the role of p38 MAPK in growth factor- and tumor-driven angiogenesis using LY2228820 dimesylate treatment and by shRNA gene knockdown. p38 MAPK was activated in endothelial cells upon growth factor stimulation, with inhibition by LY2228820 dimesylate treatment causing a significant decrease in VEGF-, bFGF-, EGF-, and IL-6-induced endothelial cord formation and an even more dramatic decrease in tumor-driven cord formation. In addition to involvement in downstream cytokine signaling, p38 MAPK was important for VEGF, bFGF, EGF, IL-6, and other proangiogenic cytokine secretion in stromal and tumor cells. LY2228820 dimesylate results were substantiated using p38α MAPK-specific shRNA and shRNA against the downstream p38 MAPK effectors MAPKAPK-2 and HSP27. Using in vivo models of functional neoangiogenesis, LY2228820 dimesylate treatment reduced hemoglobin content in a plug assay and decreased VEGF-A-stimulated vascularization in a mouse ear model. Thus, p38α MAPK is implicated in tumor angiogenesis through direct tumoral effects and through reduction of proangiogenic cytokine secretion via the microenvironment.     

Effect of feeding dehydrated and ensiled tanniferous sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) on nitrogen and mineral digestion and metabolism of lambs

The effects of tanniferous sainfoin on digestion and metabolism have been investigated in 12 lambs in an incomplete cross-over design (n = 6). Effects of condensed tannins (CT) were evaluated by comparing dehydrated and ensiled sainfoin treated with and without polyethylene glycol (PEG). Dehydrated and ensiled grass-clover mixtures served as controls. The lambs were fed the treatment diets, including a mineral supplement, for 21 d. During the last 7 d excreta, rumen fluid and blood were sampled. The CT of sainfoin decreased rumen fluid ammonia concentration (p < 0.001) and increased the plasma concentration mainly of essential amino acids (p < 0.001). Body retention of phosphorus, calcium and magnesium was lower with sainfoin compared to PEG-treated sainfoin (p < 0.05). Sainfoin without PEG resulted in lower digestibilities of organic matter and neutral detergent fibre than sainfoin with PEG and the grass-clover mixture (p < 0.001). Ensiling of sainfoin led to the lowest N-retention. In conclusion, the reduction in ruminal ammonia and urine-N losses by sainfoin CT did not improve N-retention.     

Comparative Endocranial Anatomy,Encephalization, and Phylogeny of Notoungulata (Placentalia,Mammalia)

Journal of Mammalian Evolution - Cranial endocasts are one of the most direct tools available to obtain information about the endocranial cavity of fossil mammals, but few anatomical comparisons...     

Solution structure and dynamics of the single-chain hepatitis C virus NS3 protease NS4A cofactor complex

The backbone assignments, secondary structure, topology, and dynamics of the single-chain hepatitis C virus NS3 protease NS4A cofactor complex have been determined by NMR spectroscopy. Residues I34 to S181 of NS3 and the central three residues of the NS4A cofactor were assigned and the secondary structure was verified for these residues. In several X-ray structures of NS4A-bound NS3 protease, residues 1 to 28 are stabilized by crystal packing, which allows for the formation of the A0 strand and alpha0 helix. In solution, these N-terminal residues are largely unassigned and no evidence of a well-structured A0 strand or alpha0 helix was detected. NOEs between residues in the E1-F1 loop (containing D81) and the alpha1 helix (containing H57) together with the detection of a D81-H57 hydrogen bond indicate that in solution the catalytic triad (D81, H57, S139) of the protease is better ordered in the presence of the NS4A cofactor. This is consistent with the earlier crystallographic results and may explain the observed increase in catalytic activity of the enzyme due to NS4A binding. A model-free analysis of our relaxation data indicates substantial exchange rates for residues V51-D81, which comprise the upper part of the N-terminal beta-barrel. A comparison of chemical-shift differences between NS3 protease and the NS3 protease-NS4A complex shows extensive chemical-shift changes for residues V51-D81 indicating that non-local structural changes occur upon NS4A binding to the NS3 protease that are propagated well beyond the protease-cofactor interaction site. This is consistent with crystallographic data that reveal large structural rearrangements of the strand and loop regions formed by residues V51-D81 as a result of NS4A binding. The coincidence of large exchange rates for the NS3 protease-NS4A complex with chemical-shift differences due to NS4A binding suggests that residues V51-D81 of the NS3 protease NS4A complex are in slow exchange with a NS4A-free conformation of NS3 protease.     

Solution structure and backbone dynamics of an engineered arginine-rich subdomain 2 of the hepatitis C virus NS3 RNA helicase

The NS3 protein of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a 631 amino acid residue bifunctional enzyme with a serine protease localized to the N-terminal 181 residues and an RNA helicase located in the C-terminal 450 residues. The HCV NS3 RNA helicase consists of three well-defined subdomains which all contribute to its helicase activity. The second subdomain of the HCV helicase is flexibly linked to the remainder of the NS3 protein and could undergo rigid-body movements during the unwinding of double-stranded RNA. It also contains several motifs that are implicated in RNA binding and in coupling NTP hydrolysis to nucleic acid unwinding and translocation. As part of our efforts to use NMR techniques to assist in deciphering the enzyme's structure-function relationships and developing specific small molecule inhibitors, we have determined the solution structure of an engineered subdomain 2 of the NS3 RNA helicase of HCV, d(2Delta)-HCVh, and studied the backbone dynamics of this protein by (15)N-relaxation experiments using a model-free approach. The NMR studies on this 142-residue construct reveal that overall subdomain 2 of the HCV helicase is globular and well structured in solution even in the absence of the remaining parts of the NS3 protein. Its solution structure is very similar to the corresponding parts in the X-ray structures of the HCV NS3 helicase domain and intact bifunctional HCV NS3 protein. Slow hydrogen-deuterium exchange rates map to a well-structured, stable hydrophobic core region away from the subdomain interfaces. In contrast, the regions facing the subdomain interfaces in the HCV NS3 helicase domain are less well structured in d(2Delta)-HCVh, show fast hydrogen-deuterium exchange rates, and the analysis of the dynamic properties of d(2Delta)-HCVh reveals that these regions of the protein show distinct dynamical features. In particular, residues in motif V, which may be involved in transducing allosteric effects of nucleotide binding and hydrolysis on RNA binding, exhibit slow conformational exchange on the milli- to microsecond time-scale. The intrinsic conformational flexibility of this loop region may facilitate conformational changes required for helicase function.