Elevated total and isoenzyme forms of acid phosphatase in falciparum malaria

The activities of total serum acid phosphatase (E.C. 3.1.3.2) and of two of its isoenzymes, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase and erythrocyte-specific acid phosphatase were measured in 109 adult male and female patients presenting acute falciparum malaria infection, and a normal, healthy control group comprised of 82 subjects. All the three forms of acid phosphatase were found to be significantly (p<0.05) higher during infection as compared to their activity in the control group. This result suggests that the measurement of acid phosphatase, particularly the erythrocyte isoenzyme, in serum could be potentially used as a biomarker of acute falciparum malaria infection.     

Identity tests: determination of cell line cross-contamination

Cell line cross-contamination is a phenomenon that arises as a result of the continuous cell line culture. It has been estimated that around 20% of the cell lines are misidentified, therefore it is necessary to carry out quality control tests for the detection of this issue. Since cell line cross-contamination discovery, different methods have been applied, such as isoenzyme analysis for inter-species cross-contamination; HLA typing, and DNA fingerprinting using short tandem repeat and a variable number of tandem repeat for intra-species cross-contamination. The cell banks in this sense represent the organizations responsible for guaranteeing the authenticity of cell lines for future research and clinical uses.     

The Isolation of Soluble Proteins,Glycoproteins, and Proteoglycans from Bone

Procedures are described for the isolation from bone of fractions containing proteins, glycoproteins and proteoglycans. Extraction of powdered bone with solutions of the sodium salts of ethylendiaminetetra-acetic acid (EDTA) at pH 7.5 solubilised about 7% of the organic material. These extracts contained about 1.8% of the total collagen and at least 60% of the total non-collagenous protein of bone. The extracts were dialysed against water to remove EDTA and then against a pH 5 buffer. At this stage a precipitate (Cl) formed which was removed by centrifugation. The supernatant was applied to a column of the carboxylio ion-exchange resin, Amberlite CG-50. The effluent at pH 5 contained the proteoglycans and more-acidic glycoproteins and was therefore named the Acidic Fraction (AF). The material adsorbed to the resin (Fraction G2) was eluted by equilibration to pH 8. AF was further fractionated by cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) precipitation into three relatively pure components:(i) CP-S, a glycoprotein soluble in CPC, (ii) bone sialoprotein (BSP) which formed a CPC precipitate soluble in 0.2M-MgCl₂; and (iii) a proteoglycan fraction which formed a CPC precipitate insoluble in 0.2M-MgCl₂. The G2 fraction contained most of the soluble collagen together with glycoproteins and other non-collagenous proteins. These were fractionated by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose at pH 7.2 using stepwise elution with increasing concentrations of NaCl. Some resolution of the mixture was obtained, though most of the fractions contained more than one component. These procedures have been used on an analytical scale to assess the yields and recoveries of total protein, hydroxyproline and sialic acid in the fractions described above. This has been compared with the large scale procedure for the preparation of the fractions, which have been studied in previous work.     

尼罗罗非鱼和萨罗罗非鱼遗传生殖隔离的初步证据(英文)

罗非鱼类(Tilapiini)含3个属70余种,种间和属间颇易人工杂交,但尼罗罗非鱼(Oreochromis niloticus)和萨罗罗非鱼(Sarotherodon melanotheron)人工杂交难度大,产苗概率甚低,要获得数量足够的可用于生产的杂交子代相当困难。该文对这两种鱼及其正交(O.niloticus♀×S.melanotheron♂)和反交(S.melanotheron♀×O.niloticus♂)子代的头肾细胞的核型进行了比较。此外,采用同工酶电泳方法检测肾、肝、眼、肌肉、心中乳酸脱氢酶等4种同工酶的表型差异。4种遗传型罗非鱼具有相同的染色体二倍数(2n=44)和总臂数(NF=50),但各具不同的染色体类型,尼罗罗非鱼为3对近中着丝点染色体(sm)、12对近端着丝点染色体(st)和7对端着丝点染色体(t);萨罗罗非鱼为1对中间着丝点染色体(m)、2对sm、12对st和7对t;正反杂交子代表现为介于双亲之间的混合类型,为0.5对m、2.5对sm、12对st和7对t。在同工酶中,仅见肾脏乳酸脱氢酶电泳结果有清晰差异,尼罗罗非鱼出现5条谱带,萨罗罗非鱼3条,而杂交子代6条,且所有谱带的迁移率和活性均表现出多态性。据此初步认为,核型和同工酶方面的差异可能是导致这两种不同属罗非鱼生殖隔离的遗传原因,这些差异也可能为这两种(属)鱼的分类学提供新的遗传背景资料。     

Isolation of Asticcacaulis sp. SA7, a Novel Agar-Degrading Alphaproteobacterium

An agar-degrading bacterium, strain SA7, was isolated from plant roots cultivated in soil. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence showed that strain SA7 is affiliated with the genus Asticcacaulis. Strain SA7 produced extracellular agarase, and grew utilizing agar in the culture medium as sole carbon source. Zymogram analysis showed that strain SA7 extracellularly secreted single agarase protein (about 70 kDa).     

Production of L-leucine aminopeptidase by selected Streptomyces isolates

Aims: To screen various Streptomyces cultures producing l ‐leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). Methods and Results: Twenty‐one Streptomyces strains were screened for LAP production. The best three producers were found to be Streptomyces mobaraensis NRRL B‐3729, Streptomyces gedanensis IFO 13427, and Streptomyces platensis NRRL 2364. pH optima of the three enzymes were in the range of 8·0–8·5 and the temperature optima varied between 50 and 65°C. LAP of S. mobaraensis was stable at 60°C and pH 8·5 for 60 min. Metal ion salts, CoCl₂.6H₂O and ZnSO₄.7H₂O in 0·7 mmol l^?1 concentration enhanced the relative enzyme activity in all three enzymes. Molecular mass of LAP of S. mobaraensis was found to be approx. 37 kDa. Conclusions: Streptomyces mobaraensis NRRL B‐3729, S. gedanensis IFO 13427, and S. platensis NRRL 2364 were found to be good producers of extracellular LAP. The approx. 37 kDa enzyme of S. mobaraensis is considerably thermostable. Significance and Impact of the Study: A good number of Streptomyces were screened and the ability of the aminopeptidases to release a particular N‐terminal amino acid along with its good thermal stability makes them interesting for controlling the degree of hydrolysis and flavour development for a wide range of substrate.     

Development of EST-PCR markers and monitoring their intrapopulational genetic variation in Picea abies (L.) Karst.

Fifteen cDNA sequences are reported for the European coniferous forest tree species Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.], including the results of similarity searches in public electronic databases. The sequences were subsequently employed for the design of specific primer pairs and PCR-based amplification of genomic fragments. For seven primer pairs, polymorphic EST-PCR markers were identified among 18 trees. Their mode of inheritance was verified by analysing single-tree offspring and studying segregation among haploid endosperms in comparison to diploid tissue. Codominant inheritance was indicated for six markers, while one marker was apparently dominant. Variation of the six codominant EST markers was tested by genotyping 110 randomly selected trees in a Bavarian Norway spruce population. For comparison, the same trees were genotyped at 18 enzyme coding gene loci. There were 3.33 alleles per locus for EST markers and 3.00 for isoenzyme gene markers. In general, a trend to more even frequency distributions and larger intrapopulational variation, including observed heterozygosities, was indicated more for EST markers than for isoenzyme gene markers. The benefits of these newly developed EST-PCR markers are outlined with respect to population genetics and ecological genetics. Received: 29 April 2000 / Accepted: 25 August 2000     

Mass-production of human ACAT-1 and ACAT-2 to screen isoform-specific inhibitor: a different substrate specificity and inhibitory regulation

Recently, acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase was found to be present as two isoforms, ACAT-1 and ACAT-2, in mammalian tissues with different metabolic functions and tissue-specific locations. In this study, the isoforms were mass-produced individually from insect cells to establish a more sensitive and reliable screening method for specific inhibitors against each isoform. The expressed hACAT-1 and hACAT-2 appeared as a 50 kDa- and a 46 kDa-band on SDS-PAGE, respectively, from Hi5 cells and they preferred to exist in oligomeric form, from dimer to tetramer, during the purification process. They also exhibited an approximate 3.4 to 3.7-fold increase in activities when compared to rat liver microsomal fractions at the same protein concentration. Known ACAT inhibitors, pyripyropene A, oleic acid anilide, and diethyl pyrocarbonate, were tested to evaluate the inhibitory specificity and sensitivity of the expressed enzymes. Interestingly, pyripyropene A inhibited only the hACAT-2 fraction with IC(50)=0.64 microM but not the hACAT-1 fraction; whereas the fatty acid anilide did not show a significant difference in inhibitory activity with either hACAT-1 or hACAT-2. Furthermore, cholesterol was more rapidly utilized by hACAT-1, but hACAT-2 esterified other cholic acid derivatives more efficiently. These results suggest that the specificity of each substrate and inhibitor was highly different, depending on each isoform from the viewpoint of the regulatory site and the substrate binding site location.     

Isozyme Studies in Predicting the Potential Yield of Heterosis in Maize

Electrophoretic isozyme zymogram patterns of peroxidase (POD), cytochrome oxidase (COD), esterase (Est), α-amylase (α-Amy), catalase (Cat), Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), Malate dehydrogenase (MDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), acid phosphatase (Acp), etc. obtained from 108 maize inbred lines and their 199 hybrids were analyzed. The soluble protein patterns from these materials were tested as well. The authors had probed into the relationship between the index of zymogram difference and potential yield of heterosis in maize. The results indicated that hybrids from parents which showed high zymogram difference index could produce high heterosis and those from parents which had low zymogram difference index could also produce high heterosis as well. But hybrids from the sister lines which had lower zymogram difference index could only produce lower heterosis. There was no significant statistical difference between isozyme zymogram difference index and potential yield of heteroSis on a genetic background with complex combinaton.     

The Peroxidase Isoenzymes of Cupressus Linn.

By means of disc polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, peroxidase isoenzymes of 9 species of Cupressus Linn, were analysed. The interspecific zymogramatic differences are obvious. Each species possesses its specific zymogram, distinguishable form the others. According to the zymogramatic similarity among these species calculated with the method of polar ordination, they may be grouped into 5 groups, which may be grouped in turn into two categories. C. gigantea Cheng et L. K. Fu, C. torulosa D. Don, C. duclouxiana Hichel, C. chengiana S. Y. Hu, and C. jiangeensis N. Chao. fall into one category. The second category contains C. sempervirens, C. arizonica Greene, C. lusitanica and C. funebris Endl. The experimental result about peroxidase comfirms the interspecific relationships of Cupressus suggested by the previous works. A positive relation is found between the peroxidases isoenzyme zymogramatic similar degree and the geographical vicarism of the related species, which has been used for analysing the regularity of phytogeographical vicarism. The mean zymogram distance of Cupressus Linn. among species is 0.75, from which it is inferred that the divergency took place the Jurassic. The advantage of polar ordination method in the study of iso-enzyme zymogram is discussed.