Interactions of porphyrins with purified DNA and more highly organized structures

Studies of the solution properties of gold(III)tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl) porphine and its DNA binding characteristics have been conducted utilizing uv/vis absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), Mossbauer spectroscopy, and temperature-jump relaxation techniques. These studies indicate that over the concentration range considered this water soluble gold(III) porphyrin does not aggregate, binds axial ligands only weakly with a preference for soft Lewis bases, and is capable of intercalation into nucleic acids of appropriate base pair content. The interaction of this and several other porphyrins with the synthetic polynucleotide poly(dA-dC).poly(dT-dG) has been studied. Spectroscopic signatures for intercalation were found for those derivatives not having axial ligands. Intercalation into chromatin in vitro can also occur with those porphyrins and metalloporphyrins which do not have axial ligands. Finally, studies utilizing microinjection techniques indicate that once within the cell, tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl)porphine tends to localize in the nucleus.     

Complexity and tissue specificity of the mitochondrial respiratory chain

There is a renewed interest in the structure and functioning of the mitochondrial respiratory chain with the realization that a number of genetic disorders result from defects in mitochondrial electron transfer. These so-called mitochondrial myopathies include diseases of muscle, heart, and brain. The respiratory chain can be fractionated into four large multipeptide complexes, an NADH ubiquinone reductase (complex I), succinate ubiquinone reductase (complex II), ubiquinol oxidoreductase (complex III), and cytochromec oxidase (complex IV). Mitochondrial myopathies involving each of these complexes have been described. This review summarizes compositional and structural data on the respiratory chain proteins and describes the arrangement of these complexes in the mitochondrial inner membrane. This biochemical information is provided as a framework for the diagnosis and molecular characterization of mitochondrial diseases.     

Effects of traces of rare earth elements on the protozoanBlepherisma and on mice

The growth of the protozoanBlepherisma is stimulated by Lanthanum (La) at concentrations as low as 0.32 ppm. In mice Yttrium (Y) and Ytterbium (Yb) are absorbed, accumulated, and metabolized. Both rare earth elements (RE) exhibit a high affinity for teeth and bones, accumulation occurs and metabolism is slow. In the livers of RE-exposed mice, concentrations are variable. The liver is apparently capable of absorbing and discharging RE in a manner depending on metabolic activity. The main route of discharge for ingested REs is the alimentary canal. Exposure of pregnant mice to RE leads to rapid placental transfer of RE; 14.1% of the total amount of RE administered was detected in newborn mice. Young, developing organisms appear to be especially susceptible to RE accumulation.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of a residue located in the regulatory site of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase. Involvement of lysine 94 in effector binding and the allosteric mechanism

Lysine 94 in the regulatory chain of aspartate transcarbamoylase has been changed to a glutamine residue by site-directed mutagenesis. The resulting enzyme is almost insensitive to the activator ATP and shows a substantially reduced response to the feedback inhibitor CTP. Competition experiments indicate that ATP is still able to bind at low concentrations to the regulatory site of the mutant enzyme, even though no stimulation could be detected. When the nucleosides adenosine or cytidine were used, the saturation curves of the mutant and the wild-type enzyme became indistinguishable. Together these results indicate that lysine 94 is strongly involved in the binding of ATP and CTP by interacting specifically with the triphosphate moiety of these nucleotide effectors. Furthermore, unlike the wild-type enzyme, the inhibitory and stimulatory effects in the mutant enzyme are insensitive to changes in aspartate concentrations, implying that the lysine 94 side chain is also involved in the allosteric mechanism of the enzyme.     

人胸腺上皮细胞培养及其分泌产物

本文通过降低培养基中血清含量,向RPMI 1640培养基中补加三碘甲腺原氨酸而获得一种人胸腺网状上皮细胞占优势生长的培养物。在此培养基中细胞经传代培养长达90天,仍维持正常形态特征。胸腺组织在培养14天后,新生细胞的突起形成网状结构,细胞化学检查和电镜观察表明具有丰富的分泌颗粒,囊泡及张力原纤维束和桥粒等上皮细胞特征。收集合并细胞培养液,经部分纯化后检查其生物活性,表现出具有促进玫瑰花结形成和降低胸腺细胞TdT活性的作用,说明培养细胞的分泌产物具有胸腺激素活性。根据形态学,细胞化学和生物活性检测结果,我们倾向于认为该培养物主要为网状上皮细胞。     

限制性内切酶诱发的姊妹染色单体互换

用限制性内切酶PstⅠ,SalⅠ,PvuⅡ和BamHⅠ处理CHO细胞后,发现其SCE率升高,与对照相比,前三种酶具有显著性差异。但这些酶诱导SCE的效应与其致染色体畸变效应相比则较弱,提示引起DNA双链断裂的限制性内切酶不是SCE的强刺激物。实验结果表明,BrdU取代胸苷不能消除限制酶对底物DNA的识别及裂解。     

镉对雄性小鼠生精细胞的影响

为了研究镉对小鼠生殖力和生精细胞的作用,本文对氯化镉处理后的雄性小鼠进行了交配实验,以观察其对怀孕率、每窝产仔数及子代性比的影响。测定比较了注射镉后,小鼠成熟精子的总LDH酶和LDH-X酶的活性;还用双向电泳方法分析了成熟精子的蛋白质变化。结果表明,处理组在怀孕率、每窝产仔数及子代性比方面无统计学意义的差异。成熟精子的总LDH活性经镉处理后未发现明显变化,但镉能显著地抑制与精子运动的能量有关的LDH-X酶的活性。双向电泳图谱表示,镉处理后,精子中含量较少的三组蛋白质或消失不见,或发生明显变化。     

不同品种、不同花期的依兰花精油成分研究

为探讨依兰花精油的香气质量,我们对云南省西双版纳产依兰花精油以及引种栽培于西双版纳的泰国种、老挝种的依兰花精油的化学成分在Finnigan-4510 GC/MS/DS上用毛细管柱进行了定性和定量分析,鉴定了44个化学成分。分析结果表明,依兰油的香气与品种及精油中的酯类、醇类和酚醚的含量有关。倍半萜烯类和倍半萜醇类的含量越高,其香气质量越差。就西双版纳产依兰油的香气而言,依兰花由青转黄时得到的精油远较绿花和花蕾油为好。