Indole-3-acetaldehyde oxidase of pea seedlings

Indole-3-acetaldehyde oxidase was partially purified from the epicotyl of Pisum satiyum seedlings by column chromatography using CM-Sephadex and Sephadex G-150. The enzyme was only active in the presence of molecular oxygen. The activity was maximal at pH 8.0, and the Km value for indole-3-acetaldehyde was 1.4 × 10⁻³ M . The enzyme was inhibited strongly by p -hydroxymercuribenzoate, cyanide and hydroxylamine, suggesting that it contains sulfhydryl group(s) and a metal component such as iron.     

Colcemid treatment of myeloma prior to cell fusion increases the yield of hybridomas between myeloma and splenocyte

Effect of Colcemid treatment of myeloma (X63-Ag8-6.5.3.) prior to fusion with mouse spleen cell was studied in terms of hybridoma formation. Spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized with various soluble antigens were fused with the myeloma cells by using polyethylene glycol solution. Colcemid treatment of myeloma cells prior to fusion increased the average number of hybridoma colonies per well by 26-570%. The yield of hybridomas producing antigen-specific antibodies was also higher with the Colcemid treatment. The results suggest that most of the proliferative hybridomas are formed by fusion of cells in the M-phase of the cell cycle.     

Impact of single-chain Fv antibody fragment affinity on nanoparticle targeting of epidermal growth factor receptor-expressing tumor cells

To determine the importance of single-chain Fv (scFv) affinity on binding, uptake, and cytotoxicity of tumor-targeting nanoparticles, the affinity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) scFv antibody C10 was increased using molecular evolution and yeast display. A library containing scFv mutants was created by error-prone PCR, displayed on the surface of yeast, and higher affinity clones selected by fluorescence activated cell sorting. Ten mutant scFv were identified that had a 3-18-fold improvement in affinity (KD=15-88 nM) for EGFR-expressing A431 tumor cells compared to C10 scFv (KD=264 nM). By combining mutations, higher affinity scFv were generated with KD ranging from 0.9 nM to 10 nM. The highest affinity scFv had a 280-fold higher affinity compared to that of the parental C10 scFv. Immunoliposome nanoparticles (ILs) were prepared using EGFR scFv with a 280-fold range of affinities, and their binding and uptake into EGFR-expressing tumor cells was quantified. At scFv densities greater than 148 scFv/IL, there was no effect of scFv affinity on IL binding and uptake into tumor cells, or on cytotoxicity. At lower scFv densities, there was less uptake and binding for ILs constructed from the very low affinity C10 scFv. The results show the importance of antibody fragment density on nanoparticle uptake, and suggest that engineering ultrahigh affinity scFv may be unnecessary for optimal nanoparticle targeting.     

氯化镧对硝酸盐胁迫下黄瓜幼苗光合特性的缓解效应

采用水培方式研究了LaCl₃对140 mmol·L^-1 NO₃-硝酸盐胁迫下黄瓜幼苗光合特性的影响.结果表明: 硝酸盐胁迫显著降低了黄瓜幼苗叶绿素及类胡萝卜素含量,叶片Mg²⁺ ATPase、Ca²⁺ ATPase活性也随之降低;硝酸盐胁迫7 d,黄瓜幼苗叶片光合速率的降低以气孔限制为主,叶片AQY与CE下降,胁迫12 d则以非气孔限制为主.硝酸盐胁迫下,外加LaCl3可以使黄瓜叶片保持较高的Mg²⁺ ATPase、Ca²⁺ ATPase活性及叶绿素和类胡萝卜素含量,尤其是外加低浓度（20 μmol·L^-1）LaCl3显著增加了叶片类胡萝卜素含量;LaCl₃还具有降低气孔关闭、改善叶片气体交换功能,减缓叶片F_v/F_m、Ф_PSII、AQY、CE及q_P的降低幅度等作用,使叶片在盐胁迫下保持较高的光能利用率及CO₂同化能力.20 μmol·L^-1 LaCl₃可以有效缓解硝酸盐对黄瓜幼苗光合作用的影响,而200 μmol·L^-1LaCl₃在胁迫初期对黄瓜幼苗有缓解效果,后期则效果不明显.该结果可为设施土壤的改良提供新的途径.     

Effects of diabetes and insulin on ketone bodies metabolism in heart

This work investigates the effect of alloxan-induced short-term diabetes (24 h) on D-3-hydroxybutyrate metabolism at physiological and non-physiological concentrations of the ketone body in the isolated non-working perfused rat heart. Also the effect of insulin (2 mU.ml⁻¹) on D-3-hydroxybutyrate metabolism was investigated in hearts from normal and diabetic rats. The rates of D-3-hydroxybutyrate utilization and oxidation and of acetoacetate production were proportional to D-3-hydroxybutyrate concentration. The utilization of D-3-hydroxybutyrate showed saturation kinetics in hearts from normal and diabetic rats, in the presence and absence of insulin. Acute short-term diabetes augmented D-3-hydroxybutyrate utilization and oxidation at 1.25 and 2.5 mM DL-3-HB, with no significant effect at higher concentrations, but increased acetoacetate production at all investigated concentrations. In hearts from normal rats, insulin enhanced D-3-hydroxybutyrate utilization and oxidation at 2.5, 5, and 10 mM DL-3-HB, but no effect was observed at the lowest (1.25 mM) and highest (16 mM) DL-3-HB concentrations. Insulin had no effect on D-3-hydroxybutyrate metabolism in hearts from diabetic rats. No significant effect of insulin on the rate of acetoacetate production in normal and diabetic states was observed.     

Down－regulated expression of atypical PKC－binding domain deleted asip isoforms in human hepatocellular carcinomas

INTRODUCTIONCell polarity is the reflection of complex mechanisms that establish and maintain the functionally specialized regions in the plasma membrane and cytoplasm, and is fundamentally important for differentiation, proliferation, morphogenesis and other functions of simple and complicated organisms[1].Molecular mechanisms of cell polarity during animal development have been analyzed mainly in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster[2]. In early …     

Specificity of Pyrrolysyl-tRNA Synthetase for Pyrrolysine and Pyrrolysine Analogs

Pyrrolysine, the 22nd amino acid, is encoded by amber (TAG = UAG) codons in certain methanogenic archaea and bacteria. PylS, the pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase, ligates pyrrolysine to tRNA^Pyl for amber decoding as pyrrolysine. PylS and tRNA^Pyl have potential utility in making tailored recombinant proteins. Here, we probed interactions necessary for recognition of substrates by archaeal PylS via synthesis of close pyrrolysine analogs and testing their reactivity in amino acid activation assays. Replacement of the methylpyrroline ring of pyrrolysine with cyclopentane indicated that solely hydrophobic interactions with the ring-binding pocket of PylS are sufficient for substrate recognition. However, a 100-fold increase in the specificity constant of PylS was observed with an analog, 2-amino-6-((R)-tetrahydrofuran-2-carboxamido)hexanoic acid (2Thf-lys), in which tetrahydrofuran replaced the pyrrolysine methylpyrroline ring. Other analogs in which the electronegative atom was moved to different positions suggested PylS preference for a hydrogen-bond-accepting group at the imine nitrogen position in pyrrolysine. 2Thf-lys was a preferred substrate over a commonly employed pyrrolysine analog, but the specificity constant for 2Thf-lys was 10-fold lower than for pyrrolysine itself, largely due to the change in K_m. The in vivo activity of the analogs in supporting UAG suppression in Escherichia coli bearing genes for PylS and tRNA^Pyl was similar to in vitro results, with l-pyrrolysine and 2Thf-lys supporting the highest amounts of UAG translation. Increasing concentrations of either PylS substrate resulted in a linear increase in UAG suppression, providing a facile method to assay bioactive pyrrolysine analogs. These results illustrate the relative importance of the H-bonding and hydrophobic interactions in the recognition of the methylpyrroline ring of pyrrolysine and provide a promising new series of easily synthesized pyrrolysine analogs that can serve as scaffolds for the introduction of novel functional groups into recombinant proteins.     

Myogenesis defect due to Toca-1 knockdown can be suppressed by expression of N-WASP

Skeletal muscle formation is a multistep process involving proliferation, differentiation, alignment and fusion of myoblasts to form myotubes which fuse with additional myoblast to form myofibers. Toca-1 (Transducer of Cdc42-dependent actin assembly), is an adaptor protein which activates N-WASP in conjunction with Cdc42 to facilitate membrane invagination, endocytosis and actin cytoskeleton remodeling. Expression of Toca-1 in mouse primary myoblasts and C2C12 myoblasts was up-regulated on day 1 of differentiation and subsequently down-regulated during differentiation. Knocking down Toca-1 expression in C2C12 cells (Toca-1^KD cells) resulted in a significant decrease in myotube formation and expression of shRNA-resistant Toca-1 in Toca-1^KD cells rescued the myogenic defect, suggesting that the knockdown was specific and Toca-1 is essential for myotube formation. Toca-1^KD cells exhibited elongated spindle-like morphology, expressed myogenic markers (MyoD and MyHC) and localized N-Cadherin at cell periphery similar to control cells suggesting that Toca-1 is not essential for morphological changes or expression of proteins critical for differentiation. Toca-1^KD cells displayed prominent actin fibers suggesting a defect in actin cytoskeleton turnover necessary for cell–cell fusion. Toca-1^KD cells migrated faster than control cells and had a reduced number of vinculin patches similar to N-WASP^KO MEF cells. Transfection of N-WASP-expressing plasmid into Toca-1^KD cells restored myotube formation of Toca-1^KD cells. Thus, our results suggest that Toca-1^KD cells have defects in formation of myotubes probably due to reduced activity of actin cytoskeleton regulators such as N-WASP. This is the first study to identify and characterize the role of Toca-1 in myogenesis.     

中华鳖对T3菌苗抗原的免疫应答

通过T3菌苗免疫中华鳖后的血清间接凝集抗体效价 (IAT)与免疫保护率 (PRP)的变化探讨了中华鳖的免疫应答规律。中华鳖对T3菌苗能产生较强的应答反应 ,免疫的二龄鳖PRP可达 82 6± 15 2 (19) % ,IAT达 1978 1± 716 4(19)。它对T3菌苗的免疫效应期为 3天 ,第 2 0天时免疫应答处于高峰 ,IAT与PRP分别为 176 8 0± 44 7 6 (4)与 91 7± 14 4(4) % ,持续 10天左右开始下降 ,到第 3个月左右基本上回复到免疫开始时水平。结论为 :中华鳖的免疫应答反应基本介于鱼类与鸟类之间 ,但较偏向于鸟类。