Studies on Metabolism of Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid in Bacteria

l-Glutamic acid was formed from d-, l-, and dl-PCA with cell-free extract of Pseudomonas alcaligenes ATCC-12815 grown in the medium containing dl-PCA as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen. The enzyme(s) involved in this conversion reaction was distributed in the soluble fraction within the cell and in 0.5 saturated fraction at the fractionation procedure with the saturation of ammonium sulfate. Optimum pH of this enzyme(s) lied at pH 8.5 and optimum temperature was 30°C. Cu (5 × 10^?3 m) inhibited the reaction considerably while Ca or Fe accelerated it. PALP (1×10^?3 m) also gave an enhanced activity to some extent. The enzyme preparation converted dextro-rotatory enan-thiomorph of PCA to its laevo-rotatory one which in turn was not converted to the opposite rotation direction by this enzyme. Furthermore, the preparation did not, if any, show d-glutamic acid racemase activity. Isotopic experiments with using dl-PCA-1-¹⁴C revealed that l-glutamic acid-1-¹⁴C was formed by the cleavage of –CO–NH– bond of pyrrolidone ring of PCA. It was concluded that dl-PCA when assimilated by the present bacterium is at first transformed to l-PCA by the optically isomerizing enzyme and subsequently is cleaved to l-glutamic acid probably by the PCA hydrolysing enzyme.     

Adaptation of Hydrogenobacter thermophilus toward oxidative stress triggered by high expression of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase

Ferriperoxin is a novel peroxidase essential for aerobiosis of Hydrogenobacter thermophilus. Although the ferriperoxin-deficient mutant (Δfpx) was unable to grow aerobically, a suppressor mutant capable of aerobic growth was obtained after long aerobic cultivation. The alkyl hydroperoxide reductase gene was significantly upregulated in the suppressor mutant, indicating that the enzyme counteracts oxidative stress in the absence of ferriperoxin.     

Isolation and Characterization of a Temperature-sensitive Sporulation Mutant of Bacillus subtilis

Temperature-sensitive sporulation mutants were isolated spontaneously from Bacillus subtilis 168 TT by a sequential transfer method. A representative mutant strain, ts32, was characterized in detail. The mutant grew normally at 30°C and 42°C, but did not sporulate at 42°C. Electron microscopic observation and physiological analysis showed that the mutant was blocked at stage 0-1 of sporulation. Genetic analysis suggested that the mutation was located at the spo0B locus on the B. subtilis chromosome. Temperature-shift experiments clearly showed that the spo0B gene product functions only at the beginning of sporulation.     

Ceramide in Rice Grain

A rice lamina inclination test that is simple and specific for brassinosteroids was used as a micro-quantitative bioassay for brassinolide 1 and its 6-keto congener, castasterone 2, in the concentration range of 5 x 10^–5 /ig/ml to 5 x 10^–3μg/ml, when uniform seedlings of the rice cultivars Arborio J-l and Nihonbare were selected. A phytohormone, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), showed similar activity in this bioassay. Its lowest effective concentration, however, was 50 /ig/μl, about five orders of magnitude greater than that of brassinolide. Other phytohormones, abscisic acid (ABA) and the cytokinins kinetin and A⁶-benzyladenine, inhibited the lamina inclination of rice seedlings. The addition of a cytokinin reduced the promoting effect of brassinolide. Thus, the rice lamina inclination test can be used both as a micro-quantitative bioassay for brassinosteroids and as a method for detecting antibrassinolide compouds.     

Purification and Characterization,of Rice Bran Lipase II

A species of rice bran lipase (lipase II) was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, followed by successive chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose, Sephadex G–75 and CH-Sephadex C–50. Both polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation demonstrated that the enzyme protein is homogeneous. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was 9.10 by ampholine electrophoresis. The sedimentation coefficient of the enzyme was evaluated to be 2.60 S, and the molecular weight to be 33,300 according to Archbald’s method. The enzyme showed the optimum pH between 7.5 and 8.0, and the optimum temperature at about 27°C. It was stable over the pH range from 5 to 9.5 and below 30°C. In substrate specificity, the enzyme exhibited a high specificity toward triglycerides having short-carbon chain fatty acids, although it was capable of hydrolyzing the ester bonds in the rice and olive oil.     

Characterization of a Degraded Product Derived from Serratia piscatorum Polysaccharide by Ultrasonication

Acidic polysaccharide, PLS F–II, was prepared from Serratia piscatorum polysaccharide, PLS N–I, by a sequence of ultrasonication and gel filtration and was examined for chemical composition and biological activity.

The purified PLS F–II preparation was shown to be homogeneous by ultracentrifugation, zone electrophoresis and column chromatography. The molecular weight was estimated to be about 2 × 10⁴ by the Archibald method. PLS F–II was composed of l-rhamnose, d-galactose and d-galacturonic acid in the molar ratio of 2: 1: 1 and was partially acylated on the galacturonic acid residues.

PLS F–II was found to enhance the antibody formation in mice, although it showed no anti-inflammatory activity.     

Biosynthesis of Piericidins A and B by Streptomyces mobaraensis

Biosynthesis of piericidins A and B (PA and PB) has been investigated using ¹⁴C-labeled compounds. Incorporation ratios of dl-methionine(methyl-¹⁴C), propionate-1-¹⁴C and acetate-1-¹⁴C and-2-¹⁴C were 7.4, 4,5, 1.2 and 0.9%, respectively, whereas dl-mevalonic lactone- 2-¹⁴C and formate-¹⁴C were not incorporated. Degradation studies on labeled PA show that in the biosynthesis of piericidins a long branched C₂₃-chain was formed from five propionate and four acetate units and then a nitrogen atom was introduced at the terminal part of the chain, followed by cyclization to form the pyridine ring. The two methoxyl groups on the rings of PA and PB as well as the one in the side chain of PB were derived from S-methyl of methionine.     

Epitope Mapping for Monoclonal Antibody Reveals the Activation Mechanism for αVβ3 Integrin

Epitopes for a panel of anti-αVβ3 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were investigated to explore the activation mechanism of αVβ3 integrin. Experiments utilizing αV/αIIb domain-swapping chimeras revealed that among the nine mAbs tested, five recognized the ligand-binding β-propeller domain and four recognized the thigh domain, which is the upper leg of the αV chain. Interestingly, the four mAbs included function-blocking as well as non-functional mAbs, although they bound at a distance from the ligand-binding site. The epitopes for these four mAbs were further determined using human-to-mouse αV chimeras. Among the four, P3G8 recognized an amino acid residue, Ser-528, located on the side of the thigh domain, while AMF-7, M9, and P2W7 all recognized a common epitope, Ser-462, that was located close to the α-genu, where integrin makes a sharp bend in the crystal structure. Fibrinogen binding studies for cells expressing wild-type αVβ3 confirmed that AMF-7, M9, and P2W7 were inhibitory, while P3G8 was non-functional. However, these mAbs were all unable to block binding when αVβ3 was constrained in its extended conformation. These results suggest that AMF-7, M9, and P2W7 block ligand binding allosterically by stabilizing the angle of the bend in the bent conformation. Thus, a switchblade-like movement of the integrin leg is indispensable for the affinity regulation of αVβ3 integrin.     

Validity of ultrasound muscle thickness measurements for predicting leg skeletal muscle mass in healthy Japanese middle-aged and older individuals

Background

The skeletal muscle mass of the lower limb plays a role in its mobility during daily life. From the perspective of physical resources, leg muscle mass dominantly decreases after the end of the fifth decade. Therefore, an accurate estimate of the muscle mass is important for the middle-aged and older population. The present study aimed to clarify the validity of ultrasound muscle thickness (MT) measurements for predicting leg skeletal muscle mass (SM) in the healthy Japanese middle-aged and older population.

Findings

MTs at four sites of the lower limb and the bone-free lean tissue mass (LTM) of the right leg were determined using brightness-mode ultrasonography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), respectively, in 44 women and 33 men, 52- to 78-years old. LTM was used as a representative variable of leg skeletal muscle mass. In the model-development group (30 women and 22 men), regression analysis produced an equation with R² and standard error of the estimate (SEE) of 0.958 and 0.3 kg, respectively: LTM (kg) = 0.01464 × (MT_SUM×L) (cm²) - 2.767, where MT_SUM is the sum of the product of MTs at four sites, and L is length of segment where MT is determined. The estimated LTM (7.0 ± 1.7 kg) did not significantly differ from the measured LTM (7.0 ± 1.7 kg), without a significant systematic error on a Bland-Altman plot. The application of this equation for the cross-validation group (14 women and 11 men) did not yield a significant difference between the measured (7.2 ± 1.6 kg) or estimated (7.2 ± 1.6 kg) LTM and systematic error.

Conclusion

The developed prediction equation may be useful for estimating the lean tissue mass of the lower extremity for the healthy Japanese middle-aged and older population.     

Impact of Robotic Assistance on Precision of Vitreoretinal Surgical Procedures

Purpose

To elucidate the merits of robotic application for vitreoretinal maneuver in comparison to conventional manual performance using an in-vitro eye model constructed for the present study.

Methods

Capability to accurately approach the target on the fundus, to stabilize the manipulator tip just above the fundus, and to perceive the contact of the manipulator tip with the fundus were tested. The accuracies were compared between the robotic and manual control, as well as between ophthalmologists and engineering students.

Results

In case of manual control, ophthalmologists were superior to engineering students in all the 3 test procedures. Robotic assistance significantly improved accuracy of all the test procedures performed by engineering students. For the ophthalmologists including a specialist of vitreoretinal surgery, robotic assistance enhanced the accuracy in the stabilization of manipulator tip (from 90.9 µm to 14.9 µm, P = 0.0006) and the perception of contact with the fundus (from 20.0 mN to 7.84 mN, P = 0.046), while robotic assistance did not improve pointing accuracy.

Conclusions

It was confirmed that telerobotic assistance has a potential to significantly improve precision in vitreoretinal procedures in both experienced and inexperienced hands.