Cleavage of the xylosyl serine linkage between a core peptide and a glycosaminoglycan chain by cellulases

We previously found that endo-beta-xylosidase from Patinopecten is an endo-type glycosidase that cleaves the xylosyl serine linkage between a glycosaminoglycan chain and its core protein (Takagaki, K., Kon, A., Kawasaki, H., Nakamura, T., Tamura, S., and Endo, M. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 854-860). Screening for endo-beta-xylosidase activity in several cellulases detected this activity in the enzymes from Aspergillus niger, Penicillium funiculosum, Trichoderma reesei, Trichoderma viride, and Irpex lacteus. The cellulase derived from A. niger was purified, and its molecular weight was determined to be 26,000 by SDS-PAGE. Examination of the specificity of the cellulase revealed that 1) the enzyme acts on the linkage region (xylosyl serine) between a core peptide and a glycosaminoglycan chain; 2) enzymatic activity is greater with shorter glycosaminoglycan chains; 3) the enzyme readily hydrolyzes the linkage in glycosaminoglycan peptides, but intact proteoglycan is cleaved only slowly; and 4) the activity is unaffected by the glycosaminoglycan component (chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and heparan sulfate). Judging from these enzymatic characteristics, this cellulase is different from the endo-beta-xylosidase of Patinopecten. We believe that this cellulase will become a useful tool in the further development of glycotechnology, because, like the endo-beta-xylosidase of Patinopecten, it enables the release of intact glycosaminoglycans from glycosaminoglycan peptides.     

Molecular cloning and overexpression of fleA gene encoding a fucose-specific lectin of Aspergillus oryzae

A protein from the cell lysate of Aspergillus oryzae was purified by column chromatography immobilized with a ferrichrysin (Fcy), which is one of the siderophores of A. oryzae. It is produced only in an iron-deficient culture and its molecular weight is estimated as 35,000 by SDS-PAGE. Two internal amino acid sequences of the protein obtained by lysylendopeptidase digestion were analyzed. Molecular cloning shows that it encodes 310 putative amino acid residues separated by 4 introns and is designated as fleA. It shows approximately 26% similarity with the gene encoding a fucose-specific lectin of Aleuria aurantia (AAL). The gene was overexpressed under control of the melO promoter in a submerged culture of A. oryzae. The fleA gene product showed hemagglutination activity against rabbit erythrocytes. A hemagglutination inhibition assay of monosaccharides showed that this lectin specifically binds to L-fucose and weakly reacts with mannose and N-acetyl-neuraminic acid.     

Large-scale preparation,purification, and characterization of hyaluronan oligosaccharides from 4-mers to 52-mers

Hyaluronan (HA) was depolymerized by partial digestion with testicular hyaluronidase and separated into size-uniform HA oligosaccharides from 4-mers to 52-mers by anion exchange chromatography after removal of the hyaluronidase. The purity and size of each HA oligosaccharide was confirmed by using HPLC analyses, FACE, and ESI-MS. (1)H and (13)C NMR assignments and elemental analyses were obtained for each HA oligosaccharide. Endotoxins, proteins, and DNA were absent or in trace amounts in these HA oligosaccharides. Gram/mg-scale hyaluronan oligosaccharides were obtained from 200 g of HA starting material. These pure, size-uniform, and large range of HA oligosaccharides will be available for investigating important biological functions of HA, such as for the determination of the size(s) of HA oligosaccharides that induce angiogenesis or mediate inflammatory responses, and to interact with HA-binding proteins and receptors both in in vitro and in vivo studies.     

Detection of underlying characteristics of nuclear chromatin patterns of thyroid tumor cells using texture and factor analyses

BACKGROUND: Aspiration biopsy cytology of thyroid tumors has been used more frequently in recent times to differentiate between malignant and benign lesions. Chromatin patterns of the tumor cell nuclei are one of most important factors for cytologic diagnosis. The interpretation of nuclear chromatin patterns is subjective and more difficult than that of nuclear size or shape. In the present report, we investigated how to detect underlying chromatin characteristics of benign and malignant thyroid tumor cells by means of texture and factor analyses. METHODS: We employed a computer-aided system in which light microscopy was combined with an image processor and monochrome camera. Using this system, 100 randomly selected cells in a Papanicolaou stained, aspiration biopsy cytologic smear in each case of 39 benign and malignant thyroid tumor cases were digitized. We applied two-dimensional and higher texture analyses with the use of co-occurrence and run-length matrices to analyze the chromatin patterns. Factor analysis was used to determine whether a large number of independent variables actually measured one or more underlying common variables. RESULTS: According to parameters with high factor-loading values, the morphologic chromatin characters were classified into three categories according to heterogeneity, contrast, and homogeneity of chromatin patterns. On the basis of analyses with these morphologic categories, nuclei of papillary carcinoma showed higher contrast of chromatin patterns than did those of the benign group. Moreover, there was a variety of contrasting chromatin patterns among cells in each papillary carcinoma case in comparison with the benign group. In contrast, follicular carcinomas showed a significant difference in the standard deviation of factor 3, which indicated more monotonous chromatin patterns among cells in each follicular carcinoma case than in each benign case. CONCLUSION: We believe that this technique, using texture and factor analyses, is useful in the detection of underlying characteristics of nuclear chromatin patterns in aspiration biopsy cytology.     

Conversion of gastric mucosa to intestinal metaplasia in Cdx2-expressing transgenic mice

Gastric intestinal metaplasia occurs as a pathological condition in the gastric mucosa. To clarify how an intestine-specific homeobox gene, Cdx2, affects the morphogenesis of gastric mucosa, we generated transgenic mice expressing Cdx2 in parietal cells. Until Day 18 after birth, the number of parietal cells inthegastric mucosa of transgenic mice was the same as for their normal littermates. However, at Day 19, we detected several glands in which parietal cells disappeared and the proliferating zone moved from the isthmus to the base of the glands. Thereafter, parietal cells decreased gradually and disappeared at Day 37. All of the gastric mucosal cells, except for enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells, were completely replaced by intestinal metaplasia, consisting of goblet cells, enteroendocrine cells, and absorptive cells expressing alkaline phosphatase. Pseudopyloric gland metaplasia was also formed. The transgenic mouse is a very useful model for clarifying physiological differentiation of gastric and intestinal cell lineages and analyzing the molecular events from intestinal metaplasia to adenocarcinoma.     

Simple non-ion-paired high-performance liquid chromatographic method for simultaneous quantitation of carboxylate and lactone forms of 14 new camptothecin derivatives

SN-38 (7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin) is an active metabolite derived from the semi-synthetic compound camptothecin (CPT) named Irinotecan (CPT-11). The antitumor activity of SN-38 is 1000-fold more potent than the parent CPT-11. Fourteen new derivatives of camptothecin have recently been developed by Yakult Honsha (Tokyo, Japan). Here we describe a simple and cost-effective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method without an ion-pairing agent, which allows the simultaneous determination of both lactone and carboxylate forms of SN-38 and other camptothecin derivatives. A weak linear relationship between the HPLC retention factors (ln k') and the cellular concentrations of these compounds was observed. These results suggest that low-polarity compounds easily accumulate in cancer cells and may circumvent drug resistance. The HPLC analysis herein described is expected to greatly assist in derivative synthesis and chemical modification of camptothecin-based antitumor drugs.     

Compensated hypertrophy of cardiac ventricles in aged transgenic FVB/N mice overexpressing calsequestrin

Cardiac-specific overexpression of murine cardiac calsequestrin results in depressed contractile parameters and hypertrophy in transgenic mice. To determine the long-term consequences of calsequestrin overexpression, the cardiac phenotype of young (2–3-months old) and aged (17 months old) transgenic FVB/N mice was characterized. Ventricular/body weight ratios, which were increased in young transgenics compared with wild-types, were unaltered with age. Left atria of aged transgenics exhibited enlargement and mineralization, but their ventricles did not display fibrosis, mineralization and other injuries. Although echocardiography suggested a time-dependent change in ventricular geometry and loading conditions in vivo, as well as an age-dependent reduction of left ventricular fractional shortening in transgenic mice, Langendorff-perfused hearts of young and aged transgenics indicated that there were no age-related reductions of contractile parameters (±dP/dt). Furthermore, neither genotype nor age altered lung/body weight ratios. Thus, our findings suggest that left ventricular performance in calsequestrin overexpressing mice becomes apparently depressed with age, but this depression is not associated with progressive reduction of left ventricular contractility and heart failure.     

Purification of anthocyanins from species of Banksia and Acacia using high-voltage paper electrophoresis

A new method has been developed for the isolation and rapid identification of anthocyanins from two floricultural crops based on the use of high-voltage paper electrophoresis with bisulphite buffer. Using this method, anthocyanin pigments were successfully purified as their negatively charged bisulphite-addition compounds from crude extracts of plant tissue. In conjunction with liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry, the method enabled the anthocyanins from the flowers of two Banksia species and the leaves of two Acacia species to be identified. The Banksia flowers contained both cyanidin and peonidin-based pigments, while the Acacia leaves contained cyanidin and delphinidin derivatives.     

1H and 13C NMR assignments for the glycans in glycoproteins by using 2H/13C-labeled glucose as a metabolic precursor

In order to understand the role of the glycans in glycoproteins in solution, structural information obtained by NMR spectroscopy is obviously required. However, the assignment of the NMR signals from the glycans in larger glycoproteins is still difficult, mainly due to the lack of appropriate methods for the assignment of the resonances originating from the glycans. By using [U-¹³C₆,²H₇]glucose as a metabolic precursor, we have successfully prepared a glycoprotein whose glycan is uniformly labeled with ¹³C and partially with D at the sugar residues. The D to H exchange ratios at the C1-C6 positions of the sugar residues have been proven to provide useful information for the spectral assignments of the glycan in the glycoprotein. This is the first report on the residue-specific assignment of the anomeric resonances originating from a glycan attached to a glycoprotein by using the metabolic incorporation of hydrogen from the medium into a glycan labeled with [U-¹³C₆,²H₇]glucose.     

Recommendations for the presentation of NMR structures of proteins and nucleic acids – IUPAC-IUBMB-IUPAB Inter-Union Task Group on the Standardization of Data Bases of Protein and Nucleic Acid Structures Determined by NMR Spectroscopy

The recommendations presented here are designed to support easier communication of NMR data and NMR structures of proteins and nucleic acids through unified nomenclature and reporting standards. Much of this document pertains to the reporting of data in journal articles; however, in the interest of the future development of structural biology, it is desirable that the bulk of the reported information be stored in computer-accessible form and be freely accessible to the scientific community in standardized formats for data exchange. These recommendations stem from an IUPAC-IUBMB-IUPAB inter-union venture with the direct involvement of ICSU and CODATA. The Task Group has reviewed previous formal recommendations and has extended them in the light of more recent developments in the field of biomolecular NMR spectroscopy. Drafts of the recommendations presented here have been examined critically by more than 50 specialists in the field and have gone through two rounds of extensive modification to incorporate suggestions and criticisms.