Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases in larval brain of wild type and dunce mutant strains of Drosophila melanogaster: isoenzyme pattern and activation by Ca2+/calmodulin

Like adult heads and whole flies, larval brains of wild type Drosophila melanogaster contain two major soluble cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases, forms I and II. Larval brains of the learning-defective mutant strain, dunceM11, contain only the form I enzyme. In both wild type and dunce strains the form I enzyme is activated by Ca2+/calmodulin. A time-dependent loss of this Ca2+ activation was observed.     

Changes in membrane phospholipid distribution during platelet activation

(1) Exposure of phospholipids at the outer surface of activated and control platelets was studied by incubation with a mixture of phospholipase A₂ from Naja naja and bee venom, solely or in combination with sphingomyelinase from Staphylococcus aureus, using conditions under which cell lysis remained below 10%. (2) Incubation with phospholipase A₂ alone revealed a markedly increased susceptibility of the phospholipids in platelets activated by a mixture of collagen plus thrombin, by the SH-oxydizing compound diamide, or by calcium ionophore A23187, as compared to control platelets or platelets activated separately by collagen or thrombin. (3) Collagen plus thrombin, diamide, and ionophore treated platelets revealed an increased exposure of phosphatidylserine at the outer surface accompanied by a decreased exposure of sphingomyelin, as could be concluded from incubations with a combination of phospholipase A₂ and sphingomyelinase. These alterations were much less apparent in platelets activated either by thrombin or by collagen alone. (4) The increased exposure of phosphatidylserine in activated platelets is accompanied by an increased ability of the platelets to enhance the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin by coagulation factor Xa, in the presence of factor Va and calcium. (5) It is concluded that the altered orientation of the phospholipids in the plasma membrane of platelets activated by collagen plus thrombin, by diamide, or by calcium ionophore, is the result of a transbilayer movement. Moreover, the increased exposure of phosphatidylserine in platelets stimulated by the combined action of collagen and thrombin might be of considerable importance for the hemostatic process.     

Interaction of fatty acids with lipid bilayers

We present a method by which it is possible to describe the binding of fatty acids to phospholipid bilayers. Binding constants for oleic acid and a number of fatty acids used as spectroscopic probes are deduced from electrophoresis measurements. There is a large shift in $\text{p}\text{K}$ value for the fatty acids on binding to the phospholipid bilayers, consistent with stronger binding of the uncharged form of the fatty acid. For dansylundecanoic acid, fluorescence titrations are consistent with the binding constants derived from the electrophoresis experiments. For 12-(9-anthroyloxy)stearic acid, fluorescence and electrophoresis data are inconsistent, and we attribute this to quenching of fluorescence at high molar ratios of 12-anthroylstearic acid to phospholipid in the bilayer.     

Accurate assay of dopa decarboxylase by preventing nonenzymatic decarboxylation of dopa

The nonenzymatic decarboxylation of dopa was completely blocked by both 2-mercaptoethanol and EDTA together over the wide range of pH. This finding made it possible to measure the activity of dopa decarboxylase precisely even at an alkaline pH value. The pH optimum of dopa decarboxylase was found to be pH 7.0 and the Km value for dopa was determined to be 4 X 10(-5) M.     

Effects of Light on Dopamine Metabolism in the Chick Retina

The effect of prolonged exposure to light on the activity of dopaminergic neurons and dopamine (DA) metabolism of chick retinae was investigated. alpha-Fluoromethyldopa, a potent and specific irreversible inactivator of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase, was used to assess DA turnover after inhibition of synthesis, and also to assess in vivo tyrosine hydroxylase activity by dihydroxyphenylalanine accumulation. After 48 h of light exposure, retinal DNA in 12-day-old chicks was about 30% higher (p less than 0.005) whereas dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were elevated two to three times (p less than 0.005) the level of controls kept in the dark for the same period. DA turnover was about twofold faster in the light (t 1/2 = 31 min) than in the dark (t 1/2 = 65 min). Tyrosine hydroxylase, assayed in vitro with saturating levels of cofactor and substrate, increased by about 50% after light exposure. The apparent tyrosine hydroxylase activity in vivo was approximately sixfold higher in the light than the dark. These results are interpreted and discussed in terms of the regulation of DA synthesis, and the use of DOPAC and HVA as indices of DA function in the retina.     

The steroids and fatty acids of the basidiomycete Scleroderma polyrhizum

The fruit bodies of the Basidiomycete Scleroderma polyrhizum have been shown to contain the steroids ergosta-4,6,8(14) 22-tetraen-3-one and 5α,8α-epidoxyergosta-6,22-dien-3β-ol and also palmitic and oleic acids.     

1H nmr studies of complexes of ferric leghemoglobin with substituted pyridines and nicotinic acids

The ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) spectra of complexes of soybean ferric leghemoglobin with 3-substituted pyridines and 5-substituted nicotinic acids have been recorded in order to determine the influence of axial ligands on heme electronic structure. The hyperfine shifted resonances of the heme group were assigned by analogy to previous assignments for the pyridine and nicotinic acid complexes of leghemoglobin. The spectra are characteristic of predominantly low-spin ferric heme complexes. For the pyridine complexes, the rate of ligand exchange was found to increase with decreasing ligand pK_A. For many of the complexes, optical and nmr spectra reveal the presence of an equilibrium mixture of high- and low-spin states of the iron atom. The percentage of high-spin component increases with decreasing ligand pK_A Smaller hyperfine shifts are noted for leghemoglobin complexes with ligands capable of weak ligand → metal π bonding. The pattern of hyperfine shifted resonances is similar for all complexes studied and indicates that the overall heme electronic structure is dominated by the bonding to the proximal histidine.     

The effects of bisulfite on growth and macromolecular synthesis in Escherichia coli

Bisulfite reversibly inhibits the growth of a variety of microorganisms and has been used as a preservative in foods and beverages for that reason. We have now measured macromolecule synthesis in Escherichia coli K12 after bisulfite treatment. RNA synthesis, the synthesis of total protein, and of an inducible enzyme, beta-galactosidase, stopped almost immediately upon addition of 2 mM (or higher concentrations) of bisulfite. These functions resumed after a lag whose duration depended on the concentration of bisulfite added. The synthesis of DNA was slowed upon bisulfite addition, but did not stop entirely. The inhibition of RNA synthesis by bisulfite took place in both stringent and relaxed strains of E. coli and was not relieved upon addition of chloramphenicol. Stringent control was therefore not involved in this effect. No effect on protein synthesis was observed in the cell-free system of E. coli (using poly(U) or MS2 RNA as messenger) at bisulfite concentrations up to 10 mM. Protein synthesis inhibition in vivo was apparently not due to a reaction of bisulfite with a component of this system. In additional experiments, RNA polymerase was not impaired by bisulfite, and the growth inhibition effect was shown to proceed in the presence of inhibitors of free radical chain reactions.     

Induction of sexual reproduction in Opalina sudafricana by injecting its host Bufo regularis with gibberellic acid

Induction of sexual reproduction in Opalina sudafricana by injecting its host Bufo regularis with gibberellic acid. International Journal for Parasitology4, 203–206. Opalina sudafricana parasitic in the rectum of Bufo regularis was induced to reproduce sexually when its host was injected subcutaneously with 0·3 mg of gibberellin-A₃. This plant growth substance had no effect on the induction of encystation in the parasites in vitro. Urine of toads injected with gibberellin-A₃ induced sexual reproduction (encystation) in the opalinids in vitro. It is speculated that the plant hormone must either be broken down into an active substance by the toad or cause the toad to excrete its own gonadal hormones (or other hormones) into the urine. This active substance or the excreted hormones may induce division in the parasites resulting in the formation of small forms which encyst.     

Puromycin aminonucleoside increases the synthesis of ribonuclease inhibitor and other proteins in kidney

The incorporation of labelled amino acids into proteins was measured in vivo in the kidney of control rats and rats that received puromycin aminonucleoside. There was an increase in the synthesis of kidney proteins after the aminonucleoside that was similar to the increased synthesis previously observed in cell-free and slice preparations. The increased synthesis in vivo and in vitro especially involved proteins of the prealbumin fraction of average molecular weights of approx. 50 000, 35 000, 25000, 18 000, and 10 000. The largest of these proteins was identified as kidney ribonuclease inhibitor and additional evidence was obtained for the increased synthesis of the kidney inhibitor after aminonucleoside.