Antigens responsible for eosinophil hyporesponsiveness in Brugia pahangi microfilariae injected mice

In order to identify the eosinophil hyporesponsiveness factor in the microfilaremic host, stage-specific monoclonal antibodies against microfilariae (Mf) of Brugia pahangi were produced. One of these (MfG2a) was established for the first time as a monoclonal antibody of IgG2a isotype against Mf. MfG2a recognizes the eosinophil hyporesponsiveness factor, the 42 kDa excretory/secretory antigen of Mf. Treatment of MfG2a significantly (P < 0.05) induced eosinophil response with rapid reduction of microfilaremia in previously Mf injected mice which became amicrofilaremic within 2 weeks. Eosinophil hyporesponse was observed in the control microfilaremic mice and the microfilaremia persisted at high levels. Another monoclonal antibody, MfG1 of the IgG1 class, recognized the 64-kDa surface antigen of Mf, MfG1 was less effective in eosinophil response- or microfilaremia reduction. These data suggest that the 42-kDa microfilarial excretory/secretory antigen might be responsible for the eosinophil hyporesponsiveness in B. pahangi Mf injected mice.     

The C550 photoresponse at room temperature observed in membrane fragments of the blue-green alga Anabaena variabilis

The C550 photoresponse at room temperature was studied withmembrane fragments of the blue-green alga Anabaena variabilis.The kinetics, light minus dark difference spectrum and DCMUeffect were the same as those reported for spinach chloroplasts.The photoresponse size suggested that the number of the photosystemII center is half that for the photosystem I center in thisorganism grown under our autotrophic culture conditions. (Received September 16, 1975; )     

Localization of glucuronoxylans in Japanese beech visualized by immunogold labelling

Summary An antiserum against glucuronoxylans (GXs) has been raised from a mouse. The dot-blot immunoassay and competitive inhibition test indicated that the antibodies could bind specifically to GXs. Therefore, the antiserum was used for immunogold labelling to investigate the localization of GXs in Japanese beech. Labelling of GXs was seen only in the secondary walls of xylem cells, but not in the primary walls or the middle lamella. GXs were evenly distributed in the secondary walls except for the outer part of the outer secondary-wall layer in which they were less abundant. The labelling density in each secondary-wall layer (S₁, S₂, and S₃) increased during cell wall formation. This result strongly suggests that the deposition of GXs occurs in a penetrative way.     

The Presence of Two Cd-Binding Components in the Roots of Water Hyacinth Cultivated in a Cd2+-Containing Medium

To find why water hyacinth accumulates the toxic heavy metalion Cd²⁺, the plant was cultivated in a mineral medium supplementedwith Cd²⁺. Cd accumulated in the roots against the concentrationgradient, mostly as a soluble form in the cytoplasm. Chromatographywith Sephadex G-25 and G-50 columns showed that the accumulatedCd was present in two forms with mol wt of 2,300 and 3,000.The components carrying Cd showed a high ratio of absorbanceat 254 nm to that at 280 nm, which suggests that they resemblemammalian Cd-thioneins. These components were not detected inthe roots of water hyacinth cultivated in the absence of Cd²⁺,indicating that they are formed in response to the Cd²⁺ supplement. (Received September 6, 1984; Accepted November 30, 1984)     

Cloning and sequencing of rpoH and identification of ftsE-ftsX in Pseudomonas putida PpG1.

The rpoH gene encoding the heat-shock sigma factor of Pseudomonas putida was cloned by using its ability to complement the temperature-sensitive growth of the Escherichia coli rpoH mutant. The cloned DNA contained an open reading frame for a 284 amino acid sequence exhibiting high homology to the sigmaH proteins of P. aeruginosa and E. coli. Moreover, homologs to the cell division genes ftsX and ftsE were found immediately upstream of the rpoH gene.     

Characterization of a novel Le(x)-active ganglioside from chick intestinal tissues recognized by murine monoclonal antibody 188C1.

A monoclonal antibody, 188C1, raised against skin tissue from the back of bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) was found to recognize a common antigen in neural and intestinal tissues of chicken (Fujita, S. (1989) in Biological Transduction Mechanisms (Kasai, M., Yoshioka, T., and Suzuki, H., eds) pp. 159-177, Japan Scientific Societies Press, Tokyo Japan). The 188C1 antigen was isolated from chick intestinal tissues and characterized as a novel ganglioside by means of Q-Sepharose and Iatrobeads column chromatography, and chemical, immunochemical, and immunohistochemical analyses. The chemical structure was as follows: Gal beta 1-4 GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-3GalNAc beta 1-4Gal beta 1-4Glc beta 1-1'Cer Fuc alpha 1-3 NeuAc alpha 2-3 This represents a novel hybrid structure of type 2 Le(x) epitope and GM1 ganglioside core structure, designated as Le(x)-GM1. Monoclonal antibody 188C1 reacted strongly with Le(x)-GM1 on thin layer chromatography, but its reactivity was greatly reduced when sialic acid was removed from the antigen. This indicated that the internal sialic acid residue might participate in antigenicity of the Le(x) determinant. In addition to 188C1, a more specific antibody reacting with Le(x)-GM1 but not with asialo-Le(x)-GM1 was raised by immunizing a rabbit with Le(x)-GM1. TLC/enzyme immunostaining using this specific antibody showed the presence of Le(x)-GM1 in chick intestinal tissue, but not in chick brain.     

Purification and characterization of Streptomyces griseus metalloendopeptidases I and II.

Two metalloendopeptidases, designated as Streptomyces griseus metalloendopeptidases I and II (SGMPI and SGMPII), were isolated from a commercial Pronase P by a method including affinity chromatography on carbobenzoxy-L-alaninyl-triethylenetetraminyl-Sepharose (Z-Ala-T-Sepharose). The two enzymes differed from each other in behavior on ion-exchange chromatography but showed the same amino-terminal sequence at least up to the 20th residue. Their molecular weights were both estimated to be 37,000 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Elemental and amino acid composition analyses indicated that both of them contained about 1 g atom of zinc and one cystine residue per mol of protein. Cleavage specificities of the two enzymes toward synthetic peptide-substrates were very similar to those observed with thermolysin. EDTA, o-phenanthroline, and phosphoramidon strongly inhibited these enzymes, while typical serine-protease inhibitors and cysteine-protease inhibitors had no effect. The findings clearly indicate that SGMPI and SGMPII can be classified into the family of zinc-endopeptidases. It was unexpectedly found, however, that these metalloendopeptidases were strongly inhibited by protein serine-protease inhibitors produced by Streptomycetes, such as Streptomyces subtilisin inhibitor (SSI), alkaline protease inhibitor-2c' (API-2c'), and plasminostreptin (PS).     

Treatment of Starfish Sperm with Egg Jelly Induces the Degradation of Histones

When spermatozoa of Asterina pectinifera are treated with a solution of homologous egg jelly, besides undergoing the acrosome reaction, they begin to degrade their histones gradually. The degradation is most prominent with histone H1, almost 75% of which is degraded within one hour at 20°C. The jelly-induced histone degradation, like the acrosome reaction, requires external Ca²⁺, prefers high pHs and is susceptible to Ca²⁺-channel antagonists such as verapamil and diltiazem. Histone degradation is also induced by nigericin as well as monensin in normal seawater, but not in Ca²⁺-free seawater. Calcium ionophore A23187, that greatly facilitates the monensin-induced histone degradation, also induces histone degradation by itself, slightly in normal seawater and markedly in Ca²⁺-enriched seawater. Concanavalin A inhibits the jelly-induced histone degradation but not the jelly-induced acrosome reaction. These results suggest that egg jelly induces the histone degradation by enhancing Ca²⁺-influx via a Ca²⁺-channel(s) and by increasing cytoplasmic pH, through a pathway which is closely related to, but not entirely the same as, the one leading to the acrosome reaction.     

Interleukin-1 enhances the response of osteoblasts to platelet-derived growth factor through the alpha receptor-specific up-regulation.

Both platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) are produced by activated macrophages and are thought to contribute to bone remodeling, but their precise roles remain to be clarified. The interaction between PDGF and IL-1 was, therefore, studied in normal osteoblast-like cells (MC3T3-E1). The expression of alpha- and beta-PDGF receptors on MC3T3-E1 cells was detected by RNA blot analysis and confirmed by immunoblot analysis. PDGF-induced chemotactic as well as mitogenic activities were synergistically enhanced by either IL-1 alpha or IL-1 beta (40 units/ml) pretreatment in serum-free medium, although IL-1 alone did not show any detectable chemotactic activities. This biological enhancement by IL-1 was accompanied by a selective increase of alpha-PDGF receptor expression, following the augmentation of alpha receptor autophosphorylation and inositol phosphate hydrolysis induced by PDGF-AA. These findings suggest that PDGF and IL-1 are jointly involved in the bone-remodeling microenvironment as local coupling factors.