Osmotic parameters of red blood cells from umbilical cord blood

The transfusion of red blood cells from umbilical cord blood (cord RBCs) is gathering significant interest for the treatment of fetal and neonatal anemia, due to its high content of fetal hemoglobin as well as numerous other potential benefits to fetuses and neonates. However, in order to establish a stable supply of cord RBCs for clinical use, a cryopreservation method must be developed. This, in turn, requires knowledge of the osmotic parameters of cord RBCs. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize the osmotic parameters of cord RBCs: osmotically inactive fraction (b), hydraulic conductivity (L_p), permeability to cryoprotectant glycerol (P_glycerol), and corresponding Arrhenius activation energies (E_a). For L_p and P_glycerol determination, RBCs were analyzed using a stopped-flow system to monitor osmotically-induced RBC volume changes via intrinsic RBC hemoglobin fluorescence. L_p and P_glycerol were characterized at 4 °C, 20 °C, and 35 °C using Jacobs and Stewart equations with the E_a calculated from the Arrhenius plot. Results indicate that cord RBCs have a larger osmotically inactive fraction compared to adult RBCs. Hydraulic conductivity and osmotic permeability to glycerol of cord RBCs differed compared to those of adult RBCs with the differences dependent on experimental conditions, such as temperature and osmolality. Compared to adult RBCs, cord RBCs had a higher E_a for L_p and a lower E_a for P_glycerol. This information regarding osmotic parameters will be used in future work to develop a protocol for cryopreserving cord RBCs.     

ACCUMULATION OF β-CAROTENE IN HALOTOLERANT ALGE: PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF β-CAROTENE-RICH GLOBULES FROM DUNALIELLA BARDAWIL (CHLOROPHYCEAE)1

Dunaliella bardawil Ben-Amotz & Avron, but not most other Dunaliella species, has a unique property of being able to accumulate, in addition to glycerol, large amounts of β-carotene when cultivated under appropriate conditions. These include high light intensity, a high sodium chloride concentration, nitrate deficiency and extreme temperatures. Under conditions of maximal carotene accumulation D. bardawil contains at least 8% of its dry weight as β-carotene while D. salina grown under similar conditions contains only about 0.3%. Electron micrographs of D. bardawil grown under conditions of high β-carotene accumulation show many β-carotene containing globules located in the interthylakoid spaces of the chloroplast. The same algae grown under conditions where β-carotene does not accumulate, contain few to no β-carotene globules. The β-carotene-rich globules were released from the algae into an aqueous medium by a two-stage osmotic shock technique and further purified by centrifugal ion on 10% sucrose. The isolated purified globules were shown by electron microscopy to be free of significant contamination and composed of membrane-free osmiophilic droplets with an average diameter of 150 nm. Reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography of a total pigment extract of the cells revealed the presence of β-carotene as the major pigment, together with chlorophylls a and b, α-carotene and the xanthophylls lutein, neoxauthin and zeaxanthin. β-Carotene accounted for essentially all the pigment in the purified globules. Analysis of the algal and globule β-carotene fractions by HPLC showed that the β-carotene was composed of approximately equal amounts of all-trans β-carotene and of its 9-cis isomer. Intact D. bardawil cells contained on a dry weight basis about 30% glycerol, 30% protein, 18% lipid, 11% carbohydrate, 9%β-carotene and 1% chlorophyll. The β-carotene globules were composed of practically only neutral lipids, more than half of which was β-carotene. It is suggested that the β-carotene globules may serve to protect D. bardawil against injury by the high intensity irradiation to which this alga is usually exposed in nature.     

生物柴油研究进展

介绍了国内外生物柴油的发展现状,探讨了我国发展生物柴油的原料来源途径,包括木本油料植物、转基因油料作物、废弃油脂、微生物油脂和微藻油脂等,综述了制备生物柴油的化学法、酶法、超临界法等生产技术及其进展,概括了当前生物柴油主要的品质问题与改性对策,分析了生物柴油副产物的高值化利用策略,指出了我国生物柴油产业化面临的原料、技术和生物炼制方面的主要问题。     

High yield conversion of a crude glycerol fraction from biodiesel production to hydrogen by photofermentation

Present biodiesel manufacturing processes inevitably produce a crude glycerol side fraction. Projected future volumes of biodiesel will generate enormous quantities of glycerol of a magnitude suggesting that conversion to a fuel is the only viable route. Here we have shown that the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris is capable of the photofermentative conversion of glycerol, both pure and a crude glycerol fraction, to hydrogen, a proposed future fuel. Relatively high yields, up to 6 moles H₂/mole glycerol (75% of theoretical, 8 moles of H₂/mole glycerol) were obtained. Even the crude glycerol fraction, at the concentrations used here, was readily converted to hydrogen with no apparent evidence of inhibition or toxicity. We show that the concentration of added nitrogen can be used to modify both rates and yields of hydrogen production with an apparent trade-off between the two. Finally, some factors are identified that might be examined in future studies in attempts to increase rates and/or yields.     

Mechanisms for recycling and biosynthesis of endogenous cannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol

The mechanisms of endogenous cannabinoid biosynthesis are not completely understood. We hypothesized that anandamide could be recycled by the cell to form new endocannabinoid molecules and released into the extracellular space. We determined that new endocannabinoids derived from exogenous anandamide or arachidonic acid were synthesized and released from RBL-2H3 cells in response to ionomycin. Treatment of RBL-2H3 cells with nystatin and progesterone, agents that disrupt organization of lipid raft/caveolae, resulted in the attenuation of anandamide and 2-arachidonyl glycerol synthesis and/or release in response to stimulation with ionomycin suggesting a role for these membrane microdomains in endocannabinoid biosynthesis. Furthermore, anandamide synthesis may be independent of N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D as expression of the enzyme was not detected in RBL-2H3 cells. We also established that extracellular calcium is necessary for endocannabinoid biosynthesis because release of intracellular calcium stores alone does not promote endocannabinoid biosynthesis. Next, we examined the role of calcium as a 'switch' to activate the synthesis of anandamide and simultaneously reduce uptake. Indeed, [(3)H] anandamide uptake was reduced in the presence of calcium. Our findings suggest a mechanism indicative of calcium-modulated activation of anandamide synthesis and simultaneous termination of uptake.     

Birth of the first mithun ( Bos frontalis) calf through artificial insemination

The study describes the standardization of a suitable semen cryopreservation protocol for the first time in mithun (Bos frontalis) and birth of the first mithun calf through artificial insemination. The semen samples were collected from adult bulls through the rectal massage method and cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen using tris-egg yolk-glycerol diluent. The diluted semen samples were packaged in 0.50 ml straws and kept at 5°C for 4 h for equilibration. Following the equilibration, the straws were frozen into liquid nitrogen vapour for 10 min and then plunged into liquid nitrogen for storage. It was observed that the progressive motility (%) decreased significantly (P < 0.01) in cryopreserved semen (43.3 ± 4.1) compared with fresh samples (76.6 ± 3.3). The percentages of live spermatozoa (P < 0.01) and spermatozoa with intact acrosome (P < 0.05) also decreased significantly in cryopreserved semen (54.0 ± 3.3 and 64.6 ± 5.3) compared with fresh samples (79.3 ± 2.6 and 85.3 ± 1.8). Simultaneously, the total morphological abnormality (%) was found to be significantly (P < 0.01) higher in cryopreserved samples (15.46 ± 2.68) than in fresh semen (3.85 ± 0.63). A total of three mithun cows were inseminated using the cryopreserved semen. All the cows conceived following insemination and gave birth to healthy calves. The study revealed that mithun semen can be cryopreserved efficiently using tris-egg yolk-glycerol diluent, which can be further used for artificial insemination.     

Truncated ALK derived from chromosomal translocation t(2;5)(p23;q35) binds to the SH3 domain of p85-PI3K

The chromosomal translocation t(2;5)(p23;q35) is associated with "Anaplastic large cell lymphomas" (ALCL), a Non Hodgkin Lymphoma occurring in childhood. The fusion of the tyrosine kinase gene-ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) on chromosome 2p23 to the NPM (nucleophosmin/B23) gene on chromosome 5q35 results in a 80 kDa chimeric protein, which activates the "survival" kinase PI3K. However, the binding mechanism between truncated ALK and PI3K is poorly understood. Therefore, we attempted to elucidate the molecular interaction between ALK and the regulatory p85 subunit of PI3K. Here we provide evidence that the truncated ALK homodimer binds to the SH3 domain of p85. This finding may be useful for the development of a new target-specific intervention.     

Osmolarity hypersensitivity of hog1 deleted mutants is suppressed by mutation in KSS1 in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

An osmosensing mechanism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade (HOG pathway). This study aimed to investigate the response of the yeast to osmotic stress. A mutant strain, in which the HOG1 gene was disrupted by TRP1, was constructed. A spontaneous mutant, named YJY45, which suppresses the osmosensitive growth phenotype of the hog1 deletion mutant, was selected and showed a secondary phenotype of temperature sensitivity on YPD containing 0.5 M NaCl at 37 degrees C. Our data indicate that the spontaneous mutation in YJY45 mutant was mapped in KSS1, which is one of the MAPK family. The mutation in KSS1 suppresses the osmolarity-hypersensitive phenotype of the hog1 deletion mutation and restores GPD1 induction.     

Bicarbonate uptake by marine Crenarchaeota

Biphytanyl membrane lipids and 16S rRNA sequences derived from marine Crenarchaeota were detected in shallow North Sea surface water in February 2002. To investigate the carbon fixation mechanism of these uncultivated archaea in situ (13)C bicarbonate tracer experiments were performed with this water in the absence of light. About 70% of the detected (13)C incorporation into lipids (including fatty acids and sterols) is accounted for by the crenarchaeotal biphytanyl membrane lipids. This finding indicates that marine Crenarchaeota can utilize bicarbonate or CO(2) derived thereof in the absence of light and are chemoautotrophic organisms.