Thermally Enhanced Radiosensitivity of Cultured Chinese Hamster Cells

X-IRRADIATION of mammalian cells in culture yields a survival curve of the threshold type (for review see ref. 1). It isjnter-esting to ask how one can enhance the radiation response by small changes of the physical environment of the cells, as can be done chemically, for example, by incorporation of 5-bromo-deoxyuridine into DNA^1,2. Elevation of the temperature is a likely prospect for enhancement of radiosensitivity for the following reasons. It is known that proteins are heat labile and that temperature sensitive mutants of bacteria and phage can be obtained for many different enzymes³ which are operative at 37° C but not at 42° or 43°C. For example⁴, DNA polymerase is reversibly temperature sensitive; it is rendered inoperative above 42°C, but will be functional again when the temperature is lowered. It is not unreasonable to expect that temperature sensitive mutations for many enzymes occur frequently and that the use of temperatures somewhat higher than the normal range at which the cells grow might disclose sensitivities for specific enzymes in normal cells of higher organisms.     

Inhibition of benzoyl peroxide/Cu2+-dependent lipid peroxidation by manganese

1. Formation of peroxides by benxoyl peroxide (BPO) and CuCl2 was examined in the human red blood cell ghost. 2. Amounts of peroxides formed increased with the amount of the ghost solution added. 3. Of all the cations tested only manganese ion inhibited the formation of peroxides in BPO-CuCl2 reaction system. 4. The formation of peroxides was inhibited approx. 50% with 0.4 microM manganese. 5. The inhibitory manner of manganese was non-competitive against copper.     

Bacterial reduction of hexavalent molybdenum to molybdenum blue

A bacterium that was able to tolerate and reduce as high as 50 mM of sodium molybdate to molybdenum blue has been isolated from a metal recycling ground. The isolate was tentatively identified as Serratia sp. strain Dr.Y8 based on the carbon utilization profiles using Biolog GN plates and partial 16S rDNA molecular phylogeny. ANOVA analysis showed that isolate Dr.Y8 produced significantly higher (P < 0.05) amount of Mo-blue with 3, 5.1 and 11.3 times more molybdenum blue than previously isolated molybdenum reducers such as Serratia marcescens strain Dr.Y6, E. coli K12 and E. cloacae strain 48, respectively. Its molybdate reduction characteristics were studied in this work. Electron donor sources such as sucrose, mannitol, fructose, glucose and starch supported molybdate reduction. The optimum phosphate, pH and temperature that supported molybdate reduction were 5 mM, pH 6.0 and 37°C, respectively. The molybdenum blue produced from cellular reduction exhibited a unique absorption spectrum with a maximum peak at 865 nm and a shoulder at 700 nm. Metal ions such as chromium, silver, copper and mercury resulted in approximately 61, 57, 80, and 69% inhibition of the molybdenum-reducing activity at 1 mM, respectively. The reduction characteristics of strain Dr.Y8 suggest that it would be useful in future molybdenum bioremediation.     

Seasonal changes in the cecal microflora of the high-arctic Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)

The dominant cecal bacteria in the high-arctic Svalbard reindeer were characterized, their population densities were estimated, and cecal pH was determined in summer, when food quality and availability is good, and in winter, when it is very poor. In summer the total culturable viable bacterial population was (8.9 +/- 5.3) X 10(8) cells ml-1, whereas in winter it was (1.5 +/- 0.7) X 10(8) cells ml-1, representing a decrease to 17% of the summer population density. Of the dominant species of cultured bacteria, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens represented 23% in summer and 18% in winter. Streptococcus bovis represented 17% in summer and 5% in winter. Bacteroides ruminicola represented 10% in summer and 26% in winter. In summer and winter, respectively, the proportion of the viable population showing the following activities was as follows: fiber digestion, 36 and 48%; cellulolysis, 10 and 6%; xylanolysis, 33 and 48%; and starch utilization, 77 and 71%. The most abundant cellulolytic species in summer was Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, representing 62% of the total cellulolytic population, and in winter it was Ruminococcus albus, representing 80% of the total cellulolytic population. The most abundant xylanolytic species in summer was Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, and in winter it was Bacteroides ruminicola, representing 59 and 54% of the xylanolytic isolates in summer and winter, respectively. The cecal bacterial of the Svalbard reindeer have the ability to digest starch and the major structural carbohydrates of the diet that are not digested in the rumen. The cecum in these animals has the potential to contribute very substantially to the digestion of the available plant material in both summer and winter.     

Towards an integrated system for bio-energy: hydrogen production by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> and use of palladium-coated waste cells for electricity generation in a fuel cell

Escherichia coli strains MC4100 (parent) and a mutant strain derived from this (IC007) were evaluated for their ability to produce H₂ and organic acids (OAs) via fermentation. Following growth, each strain was coated with Pd(0) via bioreduction of Pd(II). Dried, sintered Pd-biomaterials (‘Bio-Pd’) were tested as anodes in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell for their ability to generate electricity from H₂. Both strains produced hydrogen and OAs but ‘palladised’ cells of strain IC007 (Bio-Pd_IC007) produced ~threefold more power as compared to Bio-Pd_MC4100 (56 and 18 mW respectively). The power output used, for comparison, commercial Pd(0) powder and Bio-Pd made from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, was ~100 mW. The implications of these findings for an integrated energy generating process are discussed.     

Presence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">C. albidus</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">C. laurentii</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">C. uniguttulatus</Emphasis> in Crop and Droppings of Pigeon Lofts (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Columba livia</Emphasis>)

Columba livia is an important reservoir and carrier of Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus uniguttulatus, Cryptococcus laurentii and Cryptococcus albidus. Upper digestive tract of this species is also known as a habitat for Cryptococcus neoformans. Given the increasing clinical interest of this microorganism, 331 swabs from crop and 174 dropping samples from pigeon lofts in Grand Canary Island have been studied. The obtained results show an extensive presence samples 81 positive (24.47%) of Cryptococcus spp. in analysed crops: 32 (9.66%) for C. neoformans, 24 (7.2%) for C. uniguttulatus, 23 (6.9%) for C. albidus and 2 (0.6%) for C. laurentii. In the same way, Cryptococcus spp was also isolated in 82 (47.13%), dropping samples: C. neoformans in 59 (33.9%), C. uniguttulatus, in 9 (5.17%), C. laurentii in 8 (4.59%) and C. albidus in 6 (3.44%) of the investigated samples, respectively. The cryptococcosis produced by species of cryptococci other than C. neoformans has become more important during the last decade, supporting the study on the role of pigeon in the epidemiology of this disease.     

The nuclear glutathione and its functions

During recent years the nuclear localization of glutathione has been confirmed and this fraction has been quantitatively determined. The nuclear GSH and the enzymes of its metabolism realize independent and important functions. They considerably differ from functions of hyaloplasmic and mitochondrial GSH. Glutathione interacts with regulatory pathways, involved into signal transmission into the nucleus.     

Calcium control of glycogen synthase activities in mouse diaphragms, rat adipocytes and rat hepatocytes

The following article provides evidence that cellular calcium controls the activity of glycogen synthase in all three major glycogen storage tissues; muscle, fat, and liver. Depletion of cellular calcium resulted in a moderate increase of glycogen synthase %I activities in intact mouse diaphragms, in isolated rat adipocytes, and in rat hepatocytes. The increase in %I activity of glycogen synthase was more pronounced when the uridine di-phosphoglucose concentration in the glycogen synthase assay was lowered from 4.4 mM to 0.2 mM. Calcium depletion resulted in an approximately two-fold decrease in the Ka values for glucose-6-phosphate in all three tissues. The activities of glycogen synthase also correlated well with the content of cell-associated calcium in rat hepatocytes. The glucose-6-phosphate independent activities of glycogen synthase in extracts of calcium-replete and calcium-depleted tissue approached the same value following the exposure to crude phosphoprotein phosphatase. The activities of glycogen phosphorylase decreased in calcium-depleted tissues and cells. Insulin stimulated the activity of glycogen synthase in muscle and fat in the absence of added sugar and in the absence of extracellular calcium. It is concluded that glycogen synthase is under the control of calcium in the three main glycogen storage tissues. The actions of calcium are probably mediated through the actions of calcium-sensitive protein kinase(s).     

Untangling spider silk evolution with spidroin terminal domains

Background  

Spidroins are a unique family of large, structural proteins that make up the bulk of spider silk fibers. Due to the highly variable nature of their repetitive sequences, spidroin evolutionary relationships have principally been determined from their non-repetitive carboxy (C)-terminal domains, though they offer limited character data. The few known spidroin amino (N)-terminal domains have been difficult to obtain, but potentially contain critical phylogenetic information for reconstructing the diversification of spider silks. Here we used silk gland expression data (ESTs) from highly divergent species to evaluate the functional significance and phylogenetic utility of spidroin N-terminal domains.