The extracellular chitinase produced by Serratia marcescens was obtained in highly purified form by adsorption-digestion on chitin. After gel electrophoresis in a nondenaturing system, the purified preparation exhibited two major protein bands that coincided with enzymatic activity. A study of the enzyme properties showed its suitability for the analysis of chitin. Thus, the chitinase exhibited excellent stability, a wide pH optimum, and linear kinetics over a much greater range than similar enzymes from other sources. The major product of chitin hydrolysis was chitobiose, which was slowly converted into free N-acetylglucosamine by traces of β-N-acetylglucosaminidase present in the purified preparation. The preparation was free from other polysaccharide hydrolases. Experiments with radiolabeled yeast cell walls showed that the chitinase was able to degrade wall chitin completely and specifically. 相似文献
A characteristic electric organ discharge display in social encounters between mormyrid fish is a temporary discharge cessation. Using this response, we have investigated the useful range of electrocommunication under different water conductivity conditions in the mormyrid Brienomyrus niger. An individual fish was confined to a porous ceramic shelter tube and moved from a starting distance of 380 cm toward a similarly confined conspecific until discharge, cessation occurred. The moved fish was subsequently returned to its original, position. Water conductivity affects the peak-to-peak source voltage of the electric organ and the sensitivity of the fish's electroreceptors. Within a range of 10 to 36 000 μS/cm, the peak-to-peak amplitude of the electric organ discharge declined as a power function. At 120 μS/cm, the amplitude was 50%, and at 300μS/cm, 30% of the 10 μS/cm value. The interfish distance at which discharge cessation occurred and the associated electric field gradients were dependent on water conductivity and upon the spatial orientation of the two fish (end-to-end or parallel orientations of their shelter tubes). The respective ranges were from 135 cm and 0.02 mV/cm at 52 μS/cm (parallel orientation) to 22 cm and 0.36 mV/cm at 678 μS/cm (end-to-end orientation). When the data for both tube orientations were combined, the relationship between water conductivity (x) and the distance at which discharge cessation occurred (y) could be expressed by a power function, y=K·xa (with K=102.97 and a=?0.56). When an electrically ‘silent’ fish was moved away from its conspecific, a discharge resumption in the form of a high-frequency rebound occasionally effected changes in the other fish's discharge activity at distances up to 157 cm (with an associated electric, field gradient of 0.01 mV/cm under the lowest conductivity condition). 相似文献
Novikoff hepatocellular carcinoma cells possess cell-surface glycoproteins that bind the lectin, concanavalin A. A subset of Con A-binding plasma membrane glycoproteins was solubilized by addition of n-butanol to a suspension of Novikoff cells. Glycoproteins solubilized into the n-butanol-saturated aqueous phase of the two-phase mixture were purified by sequential chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and Sepharose-conjugated concanavalin A. Glycoproteins specifically bound to the Sepharose-conjugated Con A exhibited apparent Mr = 72,000 to 125,000. The plasma membrane localization of these components was inferred by their isolation from cells surface labeled with NaIO4/ NaB3H4. A xenoantiserum, raised against glycoproteins specifically bound to Sepharose-conjugated concanavalin A was employed to identify reactive components in nonionic detergent extracts of Novikoff tumor cells or rat hepatocytes surface labeled using lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination (125I). Major reactive peptides in extracts of Novikoff cells exhibited apparent Mr = 74,000, 82, 000, 110,000, and 135,000, while those in extracts of hepatocytes possessed apparent Mr = 98,000 and 105,000. The reactivity of the antiserum with extracts of 125I-labeled Novikoff cells was abolished by absorption of the antiserum with hepatocytes, indicating that the qualitative differences observed may result from structural modification of one or more cell-surface glycoproteins, rather than the expression of new or inappropriate glycoproteins. This antiserum will provide a useful probe to investigate alterations in the expression or structure of glycoproteins that occur as a consequence of malignant transformation or adaptation of malignant cells to growth in the ascitic form. 相似文献
23,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 was isolated from the plasma of vitamin D3-toxic pigs. An ultraviolet absorbance spectrum confirmed its purity. The configuration of the 23-hydroxyl group was determined to be S by comparison of the natural product with synthetic 23,25- and 23,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The affinity of both 23,25- and 23,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 for the plasma vitamin D binding protein was similar to vitamin D3. Thus, with respect to the plasma vitamin D binding protein, 23,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is the least potent, naturally-occurring, dihydroxylated vitamin D3 metabolite known. 相似文献
Four hybridomas obtained from mice immunized with human adenocarcinomas of colon or stomach produce antibodies that bind specifically in solid-phase radioimmunoassay to the ceramide pentasaccharide that contains the lacto-N-fucopentaose III sequence of sugars. Binding of the antibodies to the glycolipid is inhibited by lacto-N-fucopentaose III, but not by structurally related oligosaccharides. The antibodies bind to glycolipids of erythrocytes, granulocytes, and certain normal and malignant tissues. 相似文献
1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3] receptor was characterized after partial purification of thymus cytosol by ammonium sulfate fractionation. The 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptor sediments at 3.7S in 5–20% sucrose gradients. The binding of 1,25-(OH)2D3 in thymic cytosol was a saturable process with high affinity (Kd = 0.12?0.48 nM) at 4°C. Competition for 1,25-(OH)2[3H]D3 receptor by nonradioactive analogs demonstrated the affinities of these analogs to be in order; 1,25-(OH)2D3 = 1,24R,25-(OH)3D3 = 1,25S,26-(OH)3D3 = 1,25R,26-(OH)3D3 > 1,25-(OH)2D3-26,23 lactone > 25-OHD3 > 23R,25-(OH)2D3 > 24R,25-(OH)2D3 > 23S,25-(OH)2D3 ? 25-OHD3-26,23 lactone. The receptor bound to DNA cellulose columns in low salt buffer and eluted as a single peak at 0.21 M KCl. These findings provide evidence that the thymus possesses a 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptor with properties indistinguishable from 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptors in other tissues. 相似文献
The potentiometric acid-base titration curve of fully protonated lysozyme at ionic strengths of 0.10 and 1.0 m has been performed. The stoichiometry and the pKa values of each titratable group have been determined through the linearization of titration curves. Two types of carboxylic groups with pKa values of 3.76 and 5.02, the imidazole group with pKa 7.37 and the amine group with pKa 9.63, have been identified at an ionic strength of 0.10 m at 25.0°C. The number of titratable groups found per mole of protein has been 5.12 and 5.60 for the two types of carboxylic groups, 1.13 for the imidazole group, and 3.19 for the amino groups. The endpoint of the titration of the protein obtained by this method accords quite well with the endpoint obtained by the use of Gran function applied to the excess of strong base. 相似文献
Mammalian erythropoiesis includes a step in which the nucleus is extruded through the cell membrane. We have investigated the relationship between concanavalinA (conA) plasma membrane receptors, which are known to leave the incipient reticulocyte during enucleation, and regions of the plasma membrane which bind merocyanine 540, a differentiation-specific marker of hematopoietic cells. The distribution of these two fluorescent probes was examined on living cells from the spleens of neonatal mice and on erythroleukemia cells induced to enucleate in culture. In both cases, the region of the membrane extruded with the nucleus preferentially binds conA and merocyanine 540, whereas the plasma membrane which is left behind retains the capacity to bind another lectin, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the mechanism by which markers are eliminated from the erythrocyte cell surface. 相似文献
Relative biological effectiveness of neutrons vs. X-rays in inducing crossing-over in males of D. melanogaster was investigated using 812 and 834 rad of neutrons and the same dose of X-rays. Crossing-over was induced in spermatocytes and spermatogonia of adults and pupae. Neutrons were 4 times more effective in spermatocytes of adults and their effectiveness in pupal spermatocytes was even more. Neutrons also induced more exchanges in spermatogonial cells including predefinitive spermatogonia. Higher effectiveness of neutrons can be attributed to their high linear energy transfer. 相似文献