Electrophoretic variants of blood proteins in Japanese. IV. Prevalence and enzymologic characteristics of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase variants in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Summary Electrophoretic screening of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49, G6PD) was conducted one sample of 9,260 children born to the atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima (Honshu) and Nagasaki (Kyushu). The prevalence of electrophoretic variants was 0.11% in males and 0.42% in females in Hiroshima, and 0.16% in males and 0.31% in females in Nagasaki. Enzymologic characteristics of 10 variants obtained from three males and seven hemizygous fathers of heterozygous females were examined. As a result, three new types of G6PD variants were identified among five variants detected in Hiroshima, and three new types among five variants in Nagasaki. All the variants except one belonged to Class 3, as defined by Yoshida et al. (1971).     

Antigens associated with various cytotoxic activities of murine peripheral macrophages

BCG- or glucan-elicited murine peripheral macrophages released a cytotoxin in the presence of loach egg lectin, whereas proteose peptone-, glycogen-, or thioglycollate-elicited or resident macrophages did not. The macrophages that released cytotoxin coincided with those that showed lectin-dependent macrophage-mediated cytolysis (LDMC) in response to loach egg lectin. The cytotoxin released by BCG-elicited macrophages in response to loach egg lectin had a molecular weight of 55 K daltons. The macrophages that released cytotoxin and other cytotoxic macrophages such as those that showed LDMC- and antibody-dependent macrophage-mediated cytolysis (ADMC) were examined by using several antibodies to surface antigens of macrophages. The results showed that murine peripheral macrophages could be divided into three types. Resident macrophages (Type I) which had common macrophage antigens (Mac-1 and B12) showed only LDMC in response to wheat germ agglutinin. Some elicited macrophages (Type II) were asialo GM1-positive and showed both ADMC and LDMC in response to wheat germ agglutinin. Activated macrophages (Type III) showed LDMC in response to loach egg lectin and cytotoxin-release, but had no antigen detectable with monoclonal anti-macrophage antibody (C14). These three types of macrophages were clearly distinguished diagrammatically by their roof-shaped, rocket-shaped and irregular-shaped profiles of activities and antigens. These data suggest that several selected surface antigens of macrophages are associated with distinct cytotoxic stages of peripheral macrophages.     

Regulatory Mechanisms of Reproductive Effort in Plants II. Plasticity in Reproductive Energy Allocation and Propagule Output of Glycine max Merr. (Leguminosae) Cultivated at Varying Densities and Nitrogen Levels

Abstract Plasticity in growth, reproductive energy allocation (RA), and reproductive output were studied in Glycine max Merr. Cv. Enrei (Leguminosae) grown under varying densities and soil nitrogen levels.
Marked plastic responses were detected in individual biomass, the patterns of resource allocation to total reproductive structures (RA) and also to propagules, reproductive outputs, and propagule weight under changing densities and soil nitrogen levels. Plants cultivated at higher densities exhibited proportionately lower individual biomass, lower RA, lower seed output, and smaller seed size in response to increasing density and decreasing soil nitrogen levels, although some deviations were observed, especially in the highest density plot with no fertilization. Differences due to different N-levels were not as great as those to changing density, which may in part be due to the fact that soybean has nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root tubercles, just as in any other Leguminosae. Fecundity was also maintained at the similar high rates of 80–97% in all plots examined, although slight but steady decreases were noted with increasing density. This resemblance in fecundity may be due to its strong inbreeding system.
Another important finding was that seed production under limited resource availability, notably lack of ample solar radiation due to strong interference at higher density plots, is exceedingly costly. This was most clearly exhibited by a sharp increase in relative energy partitioning to a single propagule in response to the increased density, the relative energy cost to a single propagule (RA) increasing from one to seven-fold. The results obtained in this study coincide well with the findings made in other plants, e.g., Helianthus annuus, Oryza sativa , and Coix ma-yuen , with the same experimental designs.     

Receptor recycling: liberation of glucocorticoid receptors from liver nuclei in vitro

Dynamics of the steroid receptors seems to be the consequence of receptor recycling. In the present study, as a clue to elucidate the mechanism of receptor recycling, factors which affect the rate of liberation of nuclear bound 3H-glucocorticoids were examined in vitro. Among the factors examined, NAD, NADPH, cAMP and p-nitrophenyl phosphate accelerated the liberation of radioactivity from nuclei in a temperature-dependent manner when added to the incubation mixture. The presence of a large amount of unlabeled dexamethasone (Dex) did not modify the rate of liberation. From these results, it was concluded that the metabolism of ligand bound to the receptor is not a necessary step in the liberation of receptor from nuclei. These agents did not influence the binding process of 3H-Dex-receptor complex to DNA-cellulose. Therefore the stimulation of receptor release does not seem to be mediated by reducing the binding affinity between nuclei and receptor complexes. The liberated radioactivity was eluted on a Sephadex G-100 column in the void volume and in macromolecule-unbound fractions. In both fractions, the majority of the radioactivity comigrated with authentic glucocorticoids on thin-layer chromatography.     

Cadaverine Involved in Urate Degrading Activity (Uricase Activity) in Soybean Radicles

Cadaverine, a 5-carbon diamine, was identified as the cofactorof uricase activity previously found in soybean seedlings. Thesubstance purified from freeze dried hypocotyls was subjectedto liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, ¹H- and ¹³C-nuclearmagnetic resonance spectrometry for identification. The concentrationsof cadaverine in 3-day-old radicles and hypocotyls were 2.37mM and 5.09 mM, respectively. Other polyamine concentrationswere low. Biogenic polyamines (cadaverine, putrescine, spermidineand spermine) functioned as cofactors, whereas conjugated polyamines(tyramine and histamine) and amino acids had no effect. Theaddition of catalase to the assay system counteracted the effectof cadaverine. Peroxide at appropriate concentrations actedlike cadaverine with an identical K_m value, suggesting thaturate degrading activity can be ascribed to the diamine oxidase-peroxidasesystem. (Received October 19, 1982; Accepted December 23, 1982)     

Stress-Induced Alterations in Metabolism of Γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Rat Brain

The effect of a stressful manipulation on the metabolism of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the rat brain was studied. Application of an immobilized stress to animals induced a significant increase in the striatal and hypothalamic GABA contents without affecting those in other central structures examined. It was also found that the increase in striatal GABA level preceded that in the hypothalamus. This increase in steady-state levels of GABA in the striatum and hypothalamus disappeared at 12 h after the termination of the application of stress for 3 h, which exhibited a maximal stimulatory action on the GABA contents in both central areas. The activity of L-glutamic acid decarboxylase was found to be significantly elevated in the striatum and hypothalamus following the stress application with a concomitant decrease in the content of L-glutamic acid, which is converted to GABA by the catalytic action of the latter enzyme. The in vivo turnover of GABA in the brain was estimated by taking advantages of the postmortem accumulation of GABA following decapitation and of the selective inhibitory action of a low dose of aminooxyacetic acid on the GABA degrading system, respectively. Analysis using these two different methods revealed that the cerebral turnover of GABA in vivo was not significantly altered under stressful situations despite of the increase in its steady-state level. These results suggest that central GABA system may respond to the input of painful stimuli resulting from the application of a severe physical and psychological stressor, in addition to the well-known functional alterations in catecholamine neurons. The functional significance of these alterations in the central GABA neurons is also discussed.     

The frequency among Japanese of heterozygotes for deficiency variants of 11 enzymes

Eleven human enzymes, chosen for this study because of relatively small coefficients of variation for mean activity, have been surveyed for the frequency with which activities less than or equal to 66% of the mean value occur. This criterion should detect almost all heterozygotes for variants lacking any activity plus a fraction of the persons with variants characterized by markedly depressed activity and/or instability. The enzymes surveyed are TPI, PGK, AK1, LDH, GAPD, GPI, PK, 6PGD, G6PD, GOT1, and HK. The number of determinations per enzyme ranged from 310 to 3,173, for a total of 26,634 determinations. Family studies have thus far been possible in 52 instances in which the initial observation of activity less than or equal to 66% of normal was confirmed. In every instance, a parent exhibited a similar finding, giving confidence that a true genetic entity was being detected. With this approach, the frequency of heterozygotes per 1,000 determinations varied from 0.0 (AK1, 6PGD) to 13.8 (PK), with an average of 2.4. For these same systems, in this laboratory the frequency of "rare" electrophoretic variants is 2.3/1,000, the ratio of the latter to the former thus being 1.0 in Japanese. Our experience with these deficiency phenotypes to date suggests that for selected enzymes such phenotypes can be incorporated into a program designed to detect mutational events.     

The syntheses of isoquinoline alkaloids and related compounds by biogenetic type reactions

This contribution describes the biogenetic-type syntheses of some isoquinoline alkaloids and related compounds which, without duplicating our previous review (1), is based on papers published after 1970.     

Chain conformation of copoly(γ-methyl D,L-glutamate)

Copolymers of γ-methyl D - and L -glutamates with various D /L ratios were prepared. Infrared absorption spectra of solid films were measured and sums of right- and left-handed helix contents were determined from intensities of amide V bands. Farultraviolet absorption spectra and optical rotatory dispersion of these copolymers in solutions are used to ascertain their helical character. Chain conformations of DL -copolypeptides are discussed.