Use of infusoria Paramecium caudatum for the evaluation of the toxicity of antigens of different causative quarantine agents

The results of the evaluation of the toxicity of bacterial antigens obtained from the causative agents of plaque, glanders, melioidosis, cholera on infusoria of the species P. caudatum, as well as on cell lines L-929, CHO K-1 and peritoneal macrophages of BALB/c mice, are presented. As revealed in this study, the method of toxicity determination on infusoria is similar in its sensitivity to the methods of testing on. CHO K-1 and L-929 cells, but the former is simpler, more available and permits the determination of toxic doses producing disturbances in the vital activity of the infusoria, but not leading to their death.     

Isoform-specific O-glycosylation by murine UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N- acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-T3, in vivo

Multiple isoforms of UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyl- transferase (ppGaNTase) have been cloned and expressed from a variety of organisms. In general, these isoforms display different patterns of tissue-specific expression, but exhibit overlapping substrate specificities, in vitro . A peptide substrate, derived from the sequence of the V3 loop of the HIV gp120 protein (HIV peptide), has previously been shown to be glycosylated in vitro exclusively by the ppGaNTase-T3 (Bennett et al. , 1996). To determine if this isoform- specificity is maintained in vivo , we have examined the glycosylation of this substrate when it is expressed as a reporter peptide (rHIV) in a cell background (COS7 cells) which lacks detectable levels of the ppGaNTase-T3. Glycosylation of rHIV was greatly increased by coexpression of a recombinant ppGaNTase-T3. Overexpression of ppGaNTase- T1 yielded only partial glycosylation of the reporter. We have also determined that the introduction of a proline residue at the +3 position flanking the potential glycosylation site eliminated ppGaNTase- T3 selectivity toward rHIV observed both in vivo and in vitro .      

Conservative motif CMLD in silicic acid transport proteins of diatom algae

Sequencing of fragments of genes coding for silicic acid transport (SIT) proteins of diatoms of evolutionary distant classes (centric Chaetoceros muelleri Lemmermann, pennate araphid Synedra acus Kützing, pennate raphid Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin, and pennate with keeled raphe system Cylindrotheca fusiformis Reimann et Lewin), revealed the presence in these proteins of a conservative amino acid motif CMLD. Hydropathy profiles suggest that CMLD occupies a position between two transmembrane strands which do not contain lysine and arginine residues. The two strands are good candidates for the role of the channel along which transport of silicic acid occurs. CMLD is a rare motif. Diatoms are known to need Zn2+ for the incorporation of silica. Presumably, CMLD is the site of Zn2+ binding of SITs. We found that the growth of diatoms is inhibited by a negatively charged alkylating reagent 5-(2-iodoacetamidoethyl)aminonaphtalene-1-sulfonic acid which cannot penetrate through the cell membrane. Cysteine of CMLD can be a target of this reagent. Synthetic peptide NCMLDY forms a complex with Zn2+, as revealed by the fact that the ion considerably reduces the rate of alkylation of the peptide.