Identification and characterization of cell lines with a defect in a post-adsorption stage of Sendai virus-mediated membrane fusion

In the early stage of infection, Sendai virus delivers its genome into the cytoplasm by fusing the viral envelope with the cell membrane. Although the adsorption of virus particles to cell surface receptors has been characterized in detail, the ensuing complex process that leads to the fusion between the lipid bilayers remains mostly obscure. In the present study, we identified and characterized cell lines with a defect in the Sendai virus-mediated membrane fusion, using fusion-mediated delivery of fragment A of diphtheria toxin as an index. These cells, persistently infected with the temperature-sensitive variant Sendai virus, had primary viral receptors indistinguishable in number and affinity from those of parental susceptible cells. However, they proved to be thoroughly defective in the Sendai virus-mediated membrane fusion. We also found that viral HN protein expressed in the defective cells was responsible for the interference with membrane fusion. These results suggested the presence of a previously uncharacterized, HN-dependent intermediate stage in the Sendai virus-mediated membrane fusion.     

Purification and properties of tobacco ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase,and isolation of corresponding cDNA clones

Ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase (Fd-GOGAT, EC 1.4.7.1) was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from leaves of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.). The holoenzyme is a monomeric flavoprotein with a molecular weight of 164 kDa. Polyclonal rabbit antibodies against the purified enzyme were used to isolate a 450-bp Fd-GOGAT cDNA clone (C₁₆) from a tobacco gt11 expression library. A longer Fd-GOGAT cDNA clone (C₃₅) encoding about 70% of the amino acids of tobacco Fd-GOGAT was isolated from a tobacco gt10 cDNA library using C₁₆ as the probe. The amino-acid sequence of the protein encoded by the Fd-GOGAT cDNA clone C₃₅ was delineated. It is very likely that Fd-GOGAT is encoded by two genes in the amphidiploid genome of tobacco while only a single Fd-GOGAT gene appears to be present in the diploid genome of Nicotiana sylvestris. Two Fd-GOGAT isoenzymes could be distinguished in extracts of tobacco leaf protein. In contrast, a single Fd-GOGAT protein species was detected in leaves of Nicotiana sylvestris speg. et Comes. In tobacco leaves, the 6-kb Fd-GOGAT mRNA is about 50-fold less abundant than chloroplastic glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) mRNA. Both Fd-GOGAT mRNA and Fd-GOGAT protein accumulated during greening of etiolated tobacco leaves, and a concomitant increase in Fd-GOGAT activity was observed. These results indicate that tobacco Fd-GOGAT gene expression is light-inducible. Levels of Fd-GOGAT mRNA in tobacco organs other than leaves were below the detection limit of our Northern-blot analysis. Polypeptides of Fd-GOGAT were present in tobacco leaves and, to a lesser extent, in pistils and anthers, but not in corollas, stems and roots. These results support organ specificity in tobacco Fd-GOGAT gene expression.Abbreviations bp base pairs - Fd-GOGAT ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase - GS glutamine synthetase - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate The authors wish to thank Juan Luis Gómez Pinchetti (Marine Plant Biotechnology Laboratory) for his assistance during the experiments. This study was supported by grants received from SAREC (Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries), Carl Tryggers Fund for Scientific Research (K. Haglund), SJFR (Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research) (M. Björk, M. Pedersén), CITYT Spain (SAB 89-0091 and MAR 91-1237, M. Pedersén) and CICYT Spain (Z. Ramazanov, invited professor of Ministerio de Educatión y Ciencia, Spain). The planning of this cooperation was facilitated by COST-48.     

Partial amino-acid sequence of ECP31, a carrot embryogenic-cell protein,and enhancement of its accumulation by abscisic acid in somatic embryos

ECP31, an embryogenic-cell protein from carrot (Daucus carota L.), was purified by sequential column-chromatographic steps and digested by V8 protease on a nitrocellulose membrane. The resultant peptides were separated by reverse-phased column chromatography and sequenced. The sequences obtained were 70–80% homologous to those of a late-embryogenesis-abundant protein (D34) from cotton (Baker et al, 1988, Plant Mol. Biol. 11, 227–291). The level of ECP31 in somatic embryos of carrot was increased by treatment of the embryos with 3.7 · 10^–6 M abscisic acid (ABA) for 48 h, and there was no change in this enhanced level for up to 192 h in the presence of ABA. No similar enhancing effect of ABA was observed on the level of ECP31 in embryogenic callus or segments of carrot hypocotyls. In an immunohistochemical analysis, ECP31 was found in epidermal tissue and in the vascular system of ABA-treated somatic embryos.Abbreviations ABA abscisic acid - 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - LEA protein late-embryogenesis-abundant protein To whom correspondence should be addressedThis work was supported in part by a grant-in-aid for Special Research in Priority Areas (Project No. 02242102) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan, and by Special Coordination Funds of the Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese Government.     

Heme Orientation of Cavity Mutant Hemoglobins (His F8 → Gly) in Either α or β Subunits: Circular Dichroism, 1H NMR,and Resonance Raman Studies

Native human adult hemoglobin (Hb A) has mostly normal orientation of heme, whereas recombinant Hb A (rHb A) expressed in E. coli contains both normal and reversed orientations of heme. Hb A with the normal heme exhibits positive circular dichroism (CD) bands at both the Soret and 260‐nm regions, while rHb A with the reversed heme shows a negative Soret and decreased 260‐nm CD bands. In order to examine involvement of the proximal histidine (His F8) of either α or β subunits in determining the heme orientation, we prepared two cavity mutant Hbs, rHb(αH87G) and rHb(βH92G), with substitution of glycine for His F8 in the presence of imidazole. CD spectra of both cavity mutant Hbs did not show a negative Soret band, but instead exhibited positive bands with strong intensity at the both Soret and 260‐nm regions, suggesting that the reversed heme scarcely exists in the cavity mutant Hbs. We confirmed by ¹H NMR and resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopies that the cavity mutant Hbs have mainly the normal heme orientation in both the mutated and native subunits. These results indicate that the heme Fe‐His F8 linkage in both α and β subunits influences the heme orientation, and that the heme orientation of one type of subunit is related to the heme orientation of the complementary subunits to be the same. The present study showed that CD and RR spectroscopies also provided powerful tools for the examination of the heme rotational disorder of Hb A, in addition to the usual ¹H NMR technique. Chirality 28:585–592, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Purified Human Synovium Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Good Resource for Cartilage Regeneration

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability to differentiate into a variety of lineages and to renew themselves without malignant changes, and thus hold potential for many clinical applications. However, it has not been well characterized how different the properties of MSCs are depending on the tissue source in which they resided. We previously reported a novel technique for the prospective MSC isolation from bone marrow, and revealed that a combination of cell surface markers (LNGFR and THY-1) allows the isolation of highly enriched MSC populations. In this study, we isolated LNGFR⁺ THY-1 ⁺ MSCs from synovium using flow cytometry. The results show that the synovium tissue contained a significantly larger percentage of LNGFR ⁺ THY-1 ⁺ MSCs. We examined the colony formation and differentiation abilities of bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) and synovium-derived MSCs (SYN-MSCs) isolated from the same patients. Both types of MSCs exhibited a marked propensity to differentiate into specific lineages. BM-MSCs were preferentially differentiated into bone, while in the SYN-MSC culture, enhanced adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation was observed. These data suggest that the tissue from which MSCs are isolated should be tailored according to their intended clinical therapeutic application.     

Ribonucleic Acid Polymerase Mutant of Escherichia coli Defective in Flagella Formation

Escherichia coli K-12 mutants that are resistant to bacteriophage chi, defective in motility, and unable to grow at high temperature (42 degrees C) were isolated from among those selected for rifampin resistance at low temperature (30 degrees C) after mutagenesis with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Genetic analysis of one such mutant indicated the presence of two mutations that probably affect the beta subunit of ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase: one (rif) causing rifampin resistance and the other (Ts-74) conferring resistance to phage chi (and loss of motility) and temperature sensitivity for growth. Observations with an electron microscope revealed that the number of flagella per mutant cell was significantly reduced, suggesting that the Ts-74 mutation somehow affected flagella formation at the permissive temperature. When a mutant culture was transferred from 30 to 42 degrees C, deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis accelerated normally, but RNA or protein synthesis was enhanced relatively little. The rate of synthesis of beta and beta' subunits of RNA polymerase was low even at 30 degrees C and was further reduced at 42 degrees C, in contrast to the parental wild-type strain. Expression of the lactose and other sugar fermentation operons, as well as lysogenization with phage lambda, occurred normally at 30 degrees C, suggesting that the mutation does not cause general shut-off of gene expression regulated by cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate.     

Suitability of cryoprotectants and impregnation protocols for embryos of Japanese whiting Sillago japonica

The purpose of this study was to examine the suitability of cryoprotectant agent (CPA) impregnation protocols for the embryos of Japanese whiting (Sillago japonica), a small-sized, easy-to-rear, and prolific marine fish which may constitute a suitable experimental material for the development of cryopreservation methods for fish embryos. Our immediate goals were to assess the toxicity and permeability of various CPAs to whiting embryos of different developmental stages. Exposure of gastrula, somites, tail elongation, and pre-hatching embryos to 10%, 15%, and 20% solutions of propylene glycol (PG), methanol (MeOH), dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO), dimethylformamide (DFA), ethylene glycol (EG), and glycerol (Gly) in artificial sea water (ASW; 33 psu) for 20 min revealed that CPA toxicity for whiting embryos increased in the order of PG相似文献   

Requirement of kinesin-mediated membrane transport of WAVE2 along microtubules for lamellipodia formation promoted by hepatocyte growth factor

Lamellipodia formation necessary for epithelial cell migration and invasion is accomplished by rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton at the leading edge through membrane transport of WAVE2. However, how WAVE2 is transported to the cell periphery where lamellipodia are formed remains to be established. We report here that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) promoted lamellipodia formation and intracellular transport of WAVE2 to the cell periphery, depending on Rac1 activity, in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. Immunoblot analyses indicating the coimmunoprecipitation of WAVE2 with kinesin heavy chain KIF5B, one of the motor proteins, and IQGAP1 suggest that KIF5B and IQGAP1 formed a complex with WAVE2 in serum-starved cells and increased in their amount after HGF stimulation. Both downregulation of KIF5B by the small interfering RNA and depolymerization of microtubules with nocodazole abrogated the HGF-induced lamellipodia formation and WAVE2 transport. Therefore, we propose here that the promotion of lamellipodia formation by HGF in MDA-MB-231 cells is Rac1-dependent and requires KIF5B-mediated transport of WAVE2 and IQGAP1 to the cell periphery along microtubules.