Electron transfer properties of melanin.

Melanin synthesized from mushroom tyrosinase and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine has been shown to oxidize NADH and NADPH, reduce ferricyanide, oxidized forms of cytochrome c and dichlorophenolindophenol, and catalyze the coupled oxidation of NADH and reduction of ferricyanide. Kinetic studies involving the determination of initial velocity at various concentrations of substrates and product inhibition measurements have been carried out on the NADH-ferricyanide-melanin reaction. The results are consistent with a ping-pong mechanism in which one product is formed prior to the reaction of melanin with the second substrate involving the reversible oxidation and reduction of melanin during the reaction. It may be concluded that melanin is capable of acting as an electron transfer agent in several reduction-oxidation systems.     

Inhibitory effects of anions and active site amino acid sequence of chicken liver L-2-hydroxyacid oxidase A, a member of the FMN-dependent α-hydroxyacid oxidizing enzyme family

Monocarboxylic acids with aliphatic chains were found to be mixed inhibitors of chicken liver L-2-hydroxyacid oxidase A when L-2-hydroxy-4-methylthiobutanoic acid was used as the substrate. The finding that the binding affinity of the enzyme for monocarboxylic acids was directly proportional to the number of carbon atoms in the chain strongly suggests that in addition to the electrostatic interaction due to the carboxyl moiety, hydrophobic forces may also be involved in the binding affinity of monocarboxylic acids to the enzyme's active site. Oxalate, a dicarboxylic acid, also resulted in a mixed-type inhibition of chicken liver L-2-hydroxyacid oxidase A, and, surprisingly, its binding affinity to the enzyme was found to be quite high as compared with monocarboxylic acids. This is probably due to the fact that the two carboxyl groups of oxalate give rise to electrostatic interactions with the positively charged side chains of two adjacent residues in the polypeptide chain. The inhibitory effects of other dicarboxylic acids was found to decrease as the number of carbon atoms in the chain increased. Oxamate was found however to be a novel type of potent inhibitor of the enzyme. All in all, these kinetic studies and the amino acid sequence determination in the active site region after limited proteolysis of the polypeptide chain definitely establish that chicken liver NADH/FMN containing L-2-hydroxyacid oxidase A is a member of the FMN-dependent α-hydroxyacid oxidizing enzyme family.     

腹腔注射ConA对鲤鱼表皮粘液细胞的影响

腹腔注射Ｃｏｎ Ａ （伴刀豆球蛋白Ａ） 后, 鲤鱼腮粘膜上皮、口腔粘膜上皮和皮肤的粘膜细胞数量明显增多, 且在上皮的深层也出现部分粘膜细胞, 但其形态、大小无明显变化。     

Diffusion measurements of water, ubiquinone and lipid bilayer inside a cylindrical nanoporous support: A stimulated echo pulsed-field gradient MAS-NMR investigation

Stimulated echo pulsed-field gradient ¹H magic angle spinning NMR has been used to investigate the mobility of water, ubiquinone and tethered phospholipids, components of a biomimetic model membrane. The diffusion constant of water corresponds to an isotropic motion in a cylinder. When the lipid bilayer is obtained after the fusion of small unilamellar vesicles, the extracted value of lipid diffusion indicates unrestricted motion. The cylindrical arrangement of the lipids permits a simplification of data analysis since the normal bilayer is perpendicular to the gradient axis. This feature leads to a linear relation between the logarithm of the attenuation of the signal intensity and a factor depending on the gradient strength, for lipids covering the inner wall of aluminium oxide nanopores as well as for lipids adsorbed on a polymer sheet rolled into a cylinder. The effect of the bilayer formation on water diffusion has also been observed. The lateral diffusion coefficient of ubiquinone is in the same order of magnitude as the lipid lateral diffusion coefficient, in agreement with its localization within the bilayer.     

真空渗透法转化油菜及转化种子的筛选

真空渗透遗传转化法首先在拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)中获得成功,是一种简便、快速且无需经过组织培养阶段即可获得大量转化植株的基因转化方法。该研究以不同遗传背景的3个甘蓝型油菜(Brassica napus)品种(系)陕3B、L45和Mg23为材料,对真空渗透遗传转化方法中真空渗透时间和Silwet L-77浓度与遗传转化效果的关系进行了比较,同时对转化种子的筛选方法进行了优化。结果表明,卡那霉素(Km)对油菜种子的萌发影响不显著,但对其生长发育有明显的抑制作用。不同油菜品种对卡那霉素的敏感性不同,各自的致死浓度也不一样。在0%-0.05%的浓度范围内,随着Silwet L-77浓度的增加,在相同的真空渗透时间内,3个油菜品种的转化率逐渐升高。当Silwet L-77浓度为0.05%时,10分钟的真空渗透时间可获得最高转化效率,此时陕3B、L45和Mg23的转化率分别达到1.97%、2.09%和2.30%。     

Somatostatin receptor subtype 4 modulates L-type calcium channels via Gβγ and PKC signaling in rat retinal ganglion cells

Somatostatin subtype-4 receptors (sst₄) inhibit L-type calcium channel currents (I_Ca) in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Here we identify the signaling pathways involved in sst₄ stimulation leading to suppression of I_Ca in RGCs. Whole cell patch clamp recordings were made on isolated immunopanned RGCs using barium as a charge carrier to isolate I_Ca. Application of the selective sst₄ agonist, L-803 (10 nM), reduced I_Ca by 41.2%. Pretreatment of cells with pertussis toxin (Gi/o inhibitor) did not prevent the action of L-803, which reduced I_Ca by 34.7%. To determine the involvement of Gβγ subunits after sst₄ activation, depolarizing pre-pulse facilitation paradigms were used to remove voltage-dependent inhibition of calcium channels. Pre-pulse facilitation did not reverse the inhibitory effects of L-803 on I_Ca (8.4 vs. 8.8% reductions, ctrl vs. L-803); however, pharmacologic inhibition of Gβγ reduced I_Ca suppression by L-803 (23.0%, P < 0.05). Inhibition of PKC (GF109203X; GFX) showed a concentration-dependent effect in preventing the action of L-803 on I_Ca (1 μM GFX, 34.3%; 5 μM GFX, 14.6%, P < 0.05). When both PKC and Gβγ were inhibited, the effects of L-803 on I_Ca were blocked (1.8%, P < 0.05). These results suggest that sst₄ stimulation modulates RGC calcium channels via Gβγ and PKC activation. Since reducing intracellular Ca²⁺ is known to be neuroprotective in RGCs, modulating these sst₄ signaling pathways may provide insights to the discovery of unique therapeutic targets to reduce intracellular Ca²⁺ levels in RGCs.     

Herpes simplex virus 1 infection alters the mRNA translation processing in L-02 cells

HSV-1 infection-mediated regulation of mRNA translation in host cells is a systematic and complicated process. Investigation of the details of this mechanism will facilitate understanding of biological variations in the viral replication process and host cells. In this study, a comparative proteomics technology platform was applied by two-dimension electrophoresis of HSV-1 infected normal human L-02 cell and control cell lysates. The observed protein spots were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by the PDQuest software package. A number of the different observed protein spots closely associated with cellular protein synthesis were identified by matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The expression levels of the RPLP1 protein, which is required for mRNA translation, and KHSRP protein, which is involved in rapid decay of mRNA, were up-regulated, whereas the expression level of RNP H2, which is involved in positive regulation on the mRNA splicing process, was down-regulated. All of these results suggest that HSV-1 infection can influence cellular protein synthesis via modulation of cellular regulatory proteins involved in RNA splicing, translation and decay, resulting in optimisation of viral protein synthesis when cellular protein synthesis is shut off. Although there is need for further investigations regarding the detailed mechanisms of cellular protein control, our studies provide new insight into the targeting of varied virus signaling pathways involved in host cellular protein synthesis.     

大鼠杏仁核内注射八肽胆囊收缩素（CCK—8）拮抗吗啡镇痛的研究

大鼠双侧杏仁核内注射ＣＣＫ－８１ｎｇ（１μｌ）,能明显降低皮下注射４ｍｇ／ｋｇ吗啡产生的镇痛作用,并在０．１－１ｎｇ范围内呈量效关系。分别向双侧仁核注射ＣＣＫ－Ａ受体拮抗剂Ｄｅｖａｚｅｐｉｄｅ５０ｎｇ能部分翻转,２００ｎｇ则完全翻转ＣＣＫ－８的抗吗啡镇痛作用,１０ｎｇ无效;而ＣＣＫ－Ｂ受体拮抗剂Ｌ－３６５,２６０在５－８ｎｇ时即可完全番转ＣＣＫ－８的抗吗啡镇痛作用。杏仁核注射２００ｎｇ的Ｄｅｖａｚ     

斜卧青霉L-06内切葡聚糖酶Ⅰ基因的克隆与表达

【目的】克隆斜卧青霉L-06的内切葡聚糖酶Ⅰ基因(egI),并实现其在大肠杆菌内的高效表达。【方法】利用RT-PCR技术克隆了斜卧青霉L-06的内切葡聚糖酶Ⅰ基因(egI),并将egI基因克隆到原核表达载体中,构建了重组质粒pET32a-egI。【结果】转化至大肠埃希菌Rosetta(DE3),经IPTG诱导重组蛋白表达,SDS-PAGE检测结果表明:重组表达产物的相对分子质量约为80 kD,与预期相符。重组表达的菌悬液,经破碎离心,取其上清液,进行纤维素酶活性染色,获得了活性条带。DNS法测得内切酶活力为2.56 IU/mL。【结论】构建了斜卧青霉L-06内切葡聚糖酶Ⅰ的原核表达系统。     

Characteristics of Cl−-dependentl-[35S]cysteic acid transport into rat brain synaptic membrane vesicles

Uptake ofl-[³⁵S]cysteic acid (L-CA) in rat synaptic membrane vesicles was investigated. Preincubation with either 10 mMl-glutamic acid (L-Glu), 25 mM L-CA, 10 mMdl-homocysteic acid, or 25 mMdl-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate on membrane vesicles enhanced L-[³⁵S]CA and L-[³H]Glu uptake. Na⁺ (5 mM) and omission of Cl^– from the assay medium decreased L-[³⁵S]CA uptake into both 10 mM L-Glu-loaded and non-loaded membrane vesicles. The anion transport blockers, 4-acetamide-4-isothiocyano-2,2-disulfonic acid stibene (SITS) and 4,4-diisothiocyano-2,2-disulfonic acid stilbene (DIDS), inhibited L-[³⁵S]CA uptake in a dose-dependent manner. The maximal uptake rate for L-[³⁵S]CA was decreased by 50 M SITS, while the apparent Km value of L-CA was not changed. SITS increased the EC₅₀ value of Cl^– for L-[³⁵S]CA uptake from 5 mM to 10 mM with reduction of the maximal effect. These results suggested that L-[³⁵S]CA uptake into synaptic membrane vesicles was mediated by a SITS-sensitive hetero-exchange transport with non-labeled substrates.Abbreviations SITS 4-Acetamide-4-isothiocyano-2,2-disulfonic acid stilbene - DIDS 4,4-Diisothiocyano-2,2-disulfonic acid stilbene - CA Cysteic acid - APB 2-Amino-4-phosphonobutyrate - CSA Cysteine sulfinic acid - EGTA Ethyleneglycol bis(aminoethylether) tetraacetate - GABA -Aminobutyric acid