Regeneration of catalytic activity of glutamine synthetase mutants by chemical activation: exploration of the role of arginines 339 and 359 in activity.

In order to understand the nature of ATP and L-glutamate binding to glutamine synthetase, and the involvement of Arg 339 and Arg 359 in catalysis, these amino acids were changed to cysteine via site-directed mutagenesis. Individual mutations (Arg-->Cys) at positions 339 and 359 led to a sharp drop in catalytic activity. Additionally, the Km values for the substrates ATP and glutamate were elevated substantially above the values for wild-type (WT) enzyme. Each cysteine was in turn chemically modified to an arginine "analog" to attempt to "rescue" catalytic activity by covalent modification; 2-chloroacetamidine (CA) (producing a thioether) and 2,2'-dithiobis (acetamidine)(DTBA) (producing a disulfide) were the reagents used to effect these chemical transformations. Upon reaction with CA, both R339C and R359C mutants showed a significant regain of catalytic activity (50% and 70% of WT, respectively) and a drop in Km value for ATP close to that for WT enzyme. With DTBA, chemically modified R339C had a greater kcat than WT glutamine synthetase, but chemically modified R359C only regained a small amount of activity. Modification with DTBA was quantitative for each mutant and each modified enzyme had similar Km values for both ATP and glutamate. The high catalytic activity of DTBA-modified R339C could be reversed to that of unmodified R339C by treatment with dithiothreitol, as expected for a modified enzyme containing a disulfide bond. Modification of each cysteine-containing mutant to a lysine "analog" was accomplished using 3-bromopropylamine (BPA).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Two conformational states of Candida rugosa lipase.

The structure of Candida rugosa lipase in a new crystal form has been determined and refined at 2.1 A resolution. The lipase molecule was found in an inactive conformation, with the active site shielded from the solvent by a part of the polypeptide chain-the flap. Comparison of this structure with the previously determined "open" form of this lipase, in which the active site is accessible to the solvent and presumably the substrate, shows that the transition between these 2 states requires only movement of the flap. The backbone NH groups forming the putative oxyanion hole do not change position during this rearrangement, indicating that this feature is preformed in the inactive state. The 2 lipase conformations probably correspond to states at opposite ends of the pathway of interfacial activation. Quantitative analysis indicates a large increase of the hydrophobic surface in the vicinity of the active site. The flap undergoes a flexible rearrangement during which some of its secondary structure refolds. The interactions of the flap with the rest of the protein change from mostly hydrophobic in the inactive form to largely hydrophilic in the "open" conformation. Although the flap movement cannot be described as a rigid body motion, it has very definite hinge points at Glu 66 and at Pro 92. The rearrangement is accompanied by a cis-trans isomerization of this proline, which likely increases the energy required for the transition between the 2 states, and may play a role in the stabilization of the active conformation at the water/lipid interface. Carbohydrate attached at Asn 351 also provides stabilization for the open conformation of the flap.     

Determination of the structure of the DNA binding domain of gamma delta resolvase in solution.

The DNA binding domain (DBD) of gamma delta resolvase (residues 141-183) is responsible for the interaction of this site-specific DNA recombinase with consensus site DNA within the gamma delta transposable element in Escherichia coli. Based on chemical-shift comparisons, the proteolytically isolated DBD displays side-chain interactions within a hydrophobic core that are highly similar to those of this domain when part of the intact enzyme (Liu T, Liu DJ, DeRose EF, Mullen GP, 1993, J Biol Chem 268:16309-16315). The structure of the DBD in solution has been determined using restraints obtained from 2-dimensional proton NMR data and is represented by 17 conformers. Experimental restraints included 458 distances based on analysis of nuclear Overhauser effect connectivities, 17 phi and chi 1 torsion angles based on analysis of couplings, and 17 backbone hydrogen bonds determined from NH exchange data. With respect to the computed average structure, these conformers display an RMS deviation of 0.67 A for the heavy backbone atoms and 1.49 A for all heavy atoms within residues 149-180. The DBD consists of 3 alpha-helices comprising residues D149-Q157, S162-T167, and R172-N183. Helix-2 and helix-3 form a backbone fold, which is similar to the canonical helix-turn-helix motif. The conformation of the NH2-terminal residues, G141-R148, appears flexible in solution. A hydrophobic core is formed by side chains donated by essentially all hydrophobic residues within the helices and turns. Helix-1 and helix-3 cross with a right-handed folding topology. The structure is consistent with a mechanism of DNA binding in which contacts are made by the hydrophilic face of helix-3 in the major groove and the amino-terminal arm in the minor groove. This structure represents an important step toward analysis of the mechanism of DNA interaction by gamma delta resolvase and provides initial structure-function comparisons among the divergent DBDs of related resolvases and invertases.     

Changes and Relationship of PAF and TNF in Rats with Myocardial Ischaemia and Reperfusion Injury

IN THIS STUDY IT IS REPORTED THAT: (1) the levels of blood platelet-activating factor and serum tumour necrosis factor significantly increased after coronary ligation and reperfusion, compared with sham-ligated controls, in an anaesthetized rat model; (2) compared with vehicle controls, pretreatment with the PAF antagonist BN 50739 (10 mg/kg, i.v.) produced significant decreases in infarct size (from 29.6 +/- 4.0% to 22.4 +/- 2.1%, p < 0.05 after 3 h ligation, and from 28.5 +/- 9.5% to 10.5 +/- 4.5%, p < 0.01 after 4 h reperfusion) and the level of serum TNF (from 10.4 +/- 7.7 U/ml to 3.9 +/- 4.8 U/ml, p < 0.05); and (3) a significan positive correlation was found between the level of blood PAF or serum TNF and infarct size. The present results indicate that PAF and TNF may be important mediators involved in myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion injury, and that PAF antagonists may exert a protective effect on ischaemic or reperfused myocardium by inhibiting the interaction of PAF and TNF.     

华南淡水鱼类单殖吸虫的研究──XVI．锚首虫属一新种（指环虫目：锚首虫科）

从广西荔蒲河所产的美丽小条鳅Ｍｉｃｒｏｎｏｅｍａｃｈｅｉｌｕｓｐｕｌｃｈｅｒ（ＮｉｃｈｏｌｓｅｔＰｏｐｅ）鳃上采得单殖吸虫一种,经鉴定为锚首虫属一新种──小脊锚首虫,Ａｎｃｙｒｏｃｅｐｈａｌｕｓｌｉｒｅｌｌａｔｕｓｓｐ．ｎｏｖ。新种与Ａ．ｂｏｔｉａｅ．Ｍａｅｔａｌ．１９８１后吸器几了质结构相似,但雄性交接器,阴道结构显著不同。     

Structure—activity studies leading to potent chloride channel blockers: 5e-tert-butyl-2-[4-(substituted-ethynyl)phenyl]-1,3-dithianes

5e-tert-Butyl-2e-[4-(substituted-ethynyl)phenyl]-1,3-dithianes with selected functional groups (R) on the ethynyl moiety are potent blockers of the GABA-gated chloride channel measured as inhibitor concentration (IC₅₀) for 4-n-[³H]propyl-1-(4-ethynylphenyl)-2, 6,7-trioxabicyclo[2.2.2]octanebinding to bovine brain membranes. The terminal R substituents were introduced by coupling 5e-tert-butyl-2e-(4-iodophenyl)-1,3-dithiane with HC ≡ CR or 5e-tert-butyl-2e-(4-ethynylphenyl)-1,3-dithiane with XR. The potency of the parent compound (R=H) with an IC₅₀ of 21 μM is equaled or exceeded by up to 7-fold (i.e. IC₅₀ = 3–21 μM) by several carboxylic acids [R = (CH₂)_nCO₂H (n = 0–3), (CH_2nOCH₂CO₂H (n = 1–3) and CH₂SCH₂ CO₂H] and their esters and two phosphonic acids (CH₂CH₂PO₃H₂ and CH₂OCH₂PO₃H₂) but not their esters. These carboxyl and phosphonic acids (and their salts) include the most potent water-soluble chloride channel blockers known. Conversion to the monosulfones increases activity of the R = H and CH₂OH analogs by 1.2- to 3-fold but decreases that of the R = CH₂CH₂CO₂R′ (R′ = H or CH₃) derivatives by 3- to 13-fold. Quantitative structure-activity analyses for 44 2-[4-(substituted-ethynyl)phenyl]-dithianes suggests that the principal feature of the R substituent for high activity is its polarizable volume modeled as molecular refractivity, i.e. this substituent is not a well-defined pharmacophore and undergoes a structurally non-specific interaction with the receptor. These observations lay the background for preparing candidate affinity probes.     

从水稻根部悬浮培养细胞分离原生质体及植株再生

以长香稻(Oryza sativa L．)(糯稻)的幼嫩种子根为材料,在Ms和N6培养基上诱导产生结构松软而分散的愈伤组织,经过AA液体培养基振荡悬浮培养,悬浮培养细胞经酶解后得到了活性较高的原生质体,试验结果表明这是分离原生质体较理想的材料。在附加2,4-D lmg／L(以下单位同)、KT(激动素)0．2、各氨酰胺876、天门冬酰胺266的Ms琼脂糖培养基中,诱导出了大量愈伤组织,在含KT2、NAA(α-萘乙酸)0．2、zT(玉米素)0．2、cH(水解酪蛋白)1000和4％椰子汁的N6培养基中成功地诱导出了由原生质体再生的植株。当代原生质体再生植株能正常开花、结实、产生种子;染色体数均为二倍性(2n＝24),最显著的特点是结实率低,穗粒数减步、生育期延迟。     

抗鞘翅目δ－内毒素 及毒素基因文库的构建

研究了对鞘翅目昆虫有毒效的5个苏云金芽孢杆菌新菌株YM-03、Sph04-04、YK14-01、SH11-05、Sph16-01伴孢晶体的蛋白质组成,以柳蓝叶甲为供试虫测定了它们的LC_(50)值,其中YM-03毒力最高。测定了YM-03晶体蛋白N-末端部分氨基酸序列。用琼脂糖凝胶电泳快速检测了5株菌的质粒组成,证明其质粒图型各不相同。以广谱的cosmid质粒pLAFRI为载体,通过限制酶EcoRI部分酶解获得“目的”DNA片段,构建了菌株YM-03的总DNA文库,对17个抗性克隆的质粒进行酶切分析表明,其中含有外源片段的克隆占总数的76％,超过要求的理论值。以人工合成的杀鞘翅目基因的18bp保守序列片段为探针,筛选了近1200个抗性克隆,获得了3个阳性克隆,LE392(PBYM2)、LE392(pBYM3)和LE392(pBYM4),毒力测定试验表明LE392(pBYM3)和LE392(pBYM4)有一定表达,表明其携带有δ-内毒素基因。     

银杏授粉研究初报

本文报道银杏授粉的适宜品种,气候条件、不同时期、方法、浓度、雌花不同发育阶段等试验结果．为提高银杏的座果率提供有效的技术措施。     

广东车八岭国家级自然保护区种子植物区系研究

车八岭国家级自然保护区种子植物区系种类丰富,含１６１科６４５属１３４５种（包括种下等级）,并有相当数量的古老种类和１４种珍稀濒危重点保护植物。壳斗科Ｆａｇａｃｅａｅ、樟科Ｌａｕｒａｃｅａｅ、茶科Ｔｈｅａｃｅａｅ、木兰科Ｍａｇｎｏｌｉａｃｅａｅ以及杜英科Ｅｌａｅｏｃａｒｐａｃｅａｅ、安息香科Ｓｔｙｒａｃａｃｅａｅ、全缕梅科Ｈａｍａｍｅｌｉｄａｃｅａｅ等是该区系的主要表征科,构成了其各森林类型的主要树种组成。种子植物区系成分较为复杂,主要表现在科地理成分的广泛性和属地理成分的多样性,而以热带—亚热带成分占明显的优势,热带及温带区系成分均有相当的影响,各类成分交错渗透,叠置分布。本文对车八岭国家级自然保护区植物区系的归属,广东与云南植物区系的关系等争议问题展开了讨论,认为车八岭自然保护区植物区系是中亚热带向南亚热带过渡的区系类型,为华南植物亚区的组成部分,隶属于古热带植物区。广东与云南植物区系关系密切,极可能具有同一起源（华夏植物区系）,宜划入同一植物亚区。