Crystals of threonyl-tRNA synthetase from Thermus thermophilus. Preliminary crystallographic data

Crystals have been obtained of threonyl-tRNA synthetase from the extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus using sodium formate as a precipitant. The crystals are very stable and diffract to at least 2.4 A. The crystals belong to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with cell parameters a = 61.4 A, b = 156.1 A, c = 177.3 A.     

Organization of centromeres in the decondensed nuclei of mature human sperm

The localization of centromeres in mature human sperm was shown by immunofluorescent labeling and nonisotopic in situ hybridization. In the decondensed nucleus structural elements (dimers, tetramers, linear arrays and V shape structures) formed by individual centromeres of nonhomologous chromosomes were observed. They organize the compact chromocenter, which was shown for nuclei decondensed to a low extent. The chromocenter is buried inside the nucleus; in contrast, telomeric regions of chromosomes were tentatively localized on the periphery. Thus, a gross architecture, which can influence selective unpackaging of the paternal genome upon fertilization, exists in human sperm.     

Microwave influence on the isolated heart function: II. Combined effect of radiation and some drugs

The combined effects of microwave radiation and some drugs were studied in an isolated frog auricle preparation. The experiments established that exposure to pulse-modulated 915 MHz microwaves for up to 40 min had no effect on either the rate or the amplitude of spontaneous auricle twitches, unless the average absorbed power was high enough to produce preparation heating. Treatment of the preparation with saline containing (0.6–3.0) 10^?5 M of propranolol or (0.5–1.5) 10^?7 M of atropine altered neither its pacemaker nor its contractile functions; these drugs also had no effect when they were combined with nonthermal microwave irradiation. Caffeine (1 mM) strongly increased the average heart power, which was calculated as the product of twitch rate and amplitude. The caffeine effect appeared to be significantly augmented (by about 15%, P<0.02) under exposure to burst-type pulsed microwaves (pulse width, 1.5 msec; pause, 2.5 msec; 8 pulses/burst, 16 bursts/s; average SAR, 8–10 W/kg). By itself, this modulation was not effective; the heating of the preparation and saline during exposure was approximately 0.1°C, which could not account for the detected changes. The experimental results demonstrate that caffeine treatment increases the microwave sensitivity of the frog auricle preparation and reveals primarily subthreshold, nonthermal microwave effect. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

HSP70 Translocates into a cytoplasmic aggregate during lymphocyte activation

The percentage of T and B lymphocytes expressing a distinct cytoplasmic aggregate enriched in spectrin, ankyrin, and in several other proteins including protein kinase C greatly increases following various activation protocols. Members of the 70 kDa family of heat shock proteins (hsp70) temporarily bind to and stabilize unfolded segments of other proteins, a function apparently required for proper protein folding and assembly. Considering the multiprotein and dynamic nature of the lymphocyte aggregate, the possibility that hsp70 also might be associated with componets of this structure is considered here. Double immunofluorescence analysis indicates that hsp70 is a component of the lymphocyte aggregate and is coincident with spectrin in a subpopulation of freshly isolated, untreated lymphocytes from various murine tissues and in a T-lymphocyte hybridoma. When cell lysates of lymph node T cells are immunoprecipitated using an antibody against hsp70 or spectrin and then analyzed by Western blot utilizing the alternate antibody, it was found that hsp70 and spectrin coprecipitated with one another. Moreover, this coprecipitation could be abolished by addition of ATP. This latter observation was extended to lymphoid cells using a transient permeabilization procedure, and it was shown that addition of exogenous ATP results in the dissipation of the aggregate structure itself. Finally, conditions that result in T-cell activation and aggregate formation, i.e., treatment with the phorbol ester PMA or T-cell receptor cross-linking, also lead to the repositioning of hsp70 into the aggregate from a membrane/cytosolic locale in congruence with spectrin. These data suggest that hsp70 is an active component of the aggregate and that it may function in the interactions believed to occur in this unique activation-associated organelle. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Endocrine cells of the esophageal glands]

Distribution of endocrine cells in the human oesophagus was studied histochemically. Large amount of endocrine cells was discovered in terminal parts and excretory ducts of the cardial glands. Endocrine cells of the oesophageal cardial glands are represented, at least, by three types: argentaffine, argyrophil in the reactions of Grimelius and Sevier, Munger and argyrophil in the reaction of Grimelius only. The amount of argentaffine cells in the oesophageal cardial glands was observed to be 5 times as large as that of in the gastric cardial glands. The reason is evidently in functional difference of the oesophageal and gastric cardial glands. The endocrine cells were absent in the mucous glands of the oesophagus.     

Potassium channel blocker crafted by α-hairpinin scaffold engineering

The α-Hairpinins are a family of plant defense peptides with a common fold presenting two short α-helices stabilized by two invariant S–S-bridges. We have shown previously that substitution of just two amino acid residues in a wheat α-hairpinin Tk-AMP-X2 leads to Tk-hefu-2 that features specific affinity to voltage-gated potassium channels K_V1.3. Here, we utilize a combined molecular modeling approach based on molecular dynamics simulations and protein surface topography technique to improve the affinity of Tk-hefu-2 to K_V1.3 while preserving its specificity. An important advance of this work compared with our previous studies is transition from the analysis of various physicochemical properties of an isolated toxin molecule to its consideration in complex with its target, a membrane-bound ion channel. As a result, a panel of computationally designed Tk-hefu-2 derivatives was synthesized and tested against K_V1.3. The most active mutant Tk-hefu-10 showed a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of ～150 nM being >10 times more active than Tk-hefu-2 and >200 times more active than the original Tk-hefu. We conclude that α-hairpinins provide an attractive disulfide-stabilized scaffold for the rational design of ion channel inhibitors. Furthermore, the success rate can be considerably increased by the proposed “target-based” iterative strategy of molecular design.     

Structure of the L1 protuberance in the ribosome

The L1 protuberance of the 50S ribosomal subunit is implicated in the release/disposal of deacylated tRNA from the E site. The apparent mobility of this ribosomal region has thus far prevented an accurate determination of its three-dimensional structure within either the 50S subunit or the 70S ribosome. Here we report the crystal structure at 2.65 A resolution of ribosomal protein L1 from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius in complex with a specific 55-nucleotide fragment of 23S rRNA from Thermus thermophilus. This structure fills a major gap in current models of the 50S ribosomal subunit. The conformations of L1 and of the rRNA fragment differ dramatically from those within the crystallographic model of the T. thermophilus 70S ribosome. Incorporation of the L1-rRNA complex into the structural models of the T. thermophilus 70S ribosome and the Deinococcus radiodurans 50S subunit gives a reliable representation of most of the L1 protuberance within the ribosome.     

Non‐canonical roles of tRNAs and tRNA mimics in bacterial cell biology

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are the macromolecules that transfer activated amino acids from aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetases to the ribosome, where they are used for the mRNA guided synthesis of proteins. Transfer RNAs are ancient molecules, perhaps even predating the existence of the translation machinery. Albeit old, these molecules are tremendously conserved, a characteristic that is well illustrated by the fact that some bacterial tRNAs are efficient and specific substrates of eukaryotic aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetases and ribosomes. Considering their ancient origin and high structural conservation, it is not surprising that tRNAs have been hijacked during evolution for functions outside of translation. These roles beyond translation include synthetic, regulatory and information functions within the cell. Here we provide an overview of the non‐canonical roles of tRNAs and their mimics in bacteria, and discuss some of the common themes that arise when comparing these different functions.