Mechanism of inhibition by lithium of sodium transport in the toad bladder

Lithium transport across the urinary bladder of Bufo marinus has been studied by means of the short-circuit current technique, as well as unidirectional ion flux measurements. Exposure to lithium of the epithelial (mucosal) surface of this preparation led to a slow, progressive decrease of ion transport, with increasing discrepancy between short-circuit current and lithium influx; in fact there was still an appreciable lithium influx across bladder exposed to amiloride even though short-circuit current was suppressed. Ohmic conductance and sodium efflux barely increased under these circumstances. Upon replacement of lithium by sodium on the epithelial side, the preparations recovered slowly indeed, and residual lithium could be detected in bladder tissue for more than 2 hr while the rate of sodium extrusion at the basal-lateral cell border was slowed down. Recovery from exposure to lithium was accelerated by vasopressin and amphotericin, both of which facilitate sodium entry at the apical border of the epithelium. Thus the lasting deleterious influence of lithium on sodium transport might result from the fact that this ion, once trapped in the cytoplasm, closes the sodium channels.     

Bovine lens aldehyde dehydrogenase. Kinetics and mechanism.

Bovine lens cytoplasmic aldehyde dehydrogenase exhibits Michaelis-Menten kinetics with acetaldehyde, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, p-nitrobenzaldehyde, propionaldehyde, glycolaldehyde, glyceraldehyde, phenylacetylaldehyde and succinic semialdehyde as substrates. The enzyme was also active with malondialdehyde, and exhibited an esterase activity. Steady-state kinetic analyses show that the enzyme exhibits a compulsory-ordered ternary-complex mechanism with NAD+ binding before acetaldehyde. The enzyme was inhibited by disulfiram and by p-chloromercuribenzoate, and studies with with mercaptans indicated the involvement of thiol groups in catalysis.     

A rating scale for wildness and ease of handling laboratory mice: results for 21 inbred strains tested in two laboratories

Rating scales for difficulty in capturing and holding mice were devised that proved to be easy to use and highly sensitive to differences among mouse strains on the A and B priority lists of the Mouse Phenome Project. The simplicity of the scales makes it feasible to rate wildness during behavioral test sessions without adding much to testing time or distracting the technician from the principal task at hand. Overall wildness and placidity ratings obtained by combining capture and hold ratings provide a good impression of the difficulties encountered while working with lab mice in the course of complex experiments. Ratings of 21 inbred strains during the course of 15 behavioral tests in two laboratories demonstrated that the SPRET/Ei, PERA/Ei, CAST/Ei and SWR/J strains were particularly difficult to handle. The NOD/LtJ strain posed no special challenge in the Edmonton laboratory but was very difficult to handle in the Portland lab. The rating scales should be useful for judging the difficulties in working with novel targeted or induced mutations in mice as well as effects of a variety of environmental treatments or drugs.     

A spectrophotometric assay for deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase

A continuous direct spectrophotometric assay for deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase was developed, based on the absorption at 260 nm characteristic of the dihydrothiazine moiety of cephalosporins. Km values of 0.18 mM for penicillin N and 0.16 mM for alpha-ketoglutarate were determined. A coupled assay using succinate thiokinase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase showed that succinate was a product of both deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase and hydroxylase reactions. The expandase reaction exhibited a 1:1.06 stoichiometry for deacetoxycephalosporin C and succinate.     

Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequence of Holoparasite Cistanche deserticola (Orobanchaceae) Reveals Gene Loss and Horizontal Gene Transfer from Its Host Haloxylon ammodendron (Chenopodiaceae)

Background

The central function of chloroplasts is to carry out photosynthesis, and its gene content and structure are highly conserved across land plants. Parasitic plants, which have reduced photosynthetic ability, suffer gene losses from the chloroplast (cp) genome accompanied by the relaxation of selective constraints. Compared with the rapid rise in the number of cp genome sequences of photosynthetic organisms, there are limited data sets from parasitic plants.

Principal Findings/Significance

Here we report the complete sequence of the cp genome of Cistanche deserticola, a holoparasitic desert species belonging to the family Orobanchaceae. The cp genome of C. deserticola is greatly reduced both in size (102,657 bp) and in gene content, indicating that all genes required for photosynthesis suffer from gene loss and pseudogenization, except for psbM. The striking difference from other holoparasitic plants is that it retains almost a full set of tRNA genes, and it has lower dN/dS for most genes than another close holoparasitic plant, E. virginiana, suggesting that Cistanche deserticola has undergone fewer losses, either due to a reduced level of holoparasitism, or to a recent switch to this life history. We also found that the rpoC2 gene was present in two copies within C. deserticola. Its own copy has much shortened and turned out to be a pseudogene. Another copy, which was not located in its cp genome, was a homolog of the host plant, Haloxylon ammodendron (Chenopodiaceae), suggesting that it was acquired from its host via a horizontal gene transfer.     

Mouse inbred strain differences in ethanol drinking to intoxication

Recently, we described a simple procedure, Drinking in the Dark (DID), in which C57BL/6J mice self-administer ethanol to a blood ethanol concentration (BEC) above 1 mg/ml. The test consists of replacing the water with 20% ethanol in the home cage for 4 h early during the dark phase of the light/dark cycle. Three experiments were conducted to explore this high ethanol drinking model further. In experiment 1, a microanalysis of C57BL/6J behavior showed that the pattern of ethanol drinking was different from routine water intake. In experiment 2, drinking impaired performance of C57BL/6J on the accelerating rotarod and balance beam. In experiment 3, 12 inbred strains were screened to estimate genetic influences on DID and correlations with other traits. Large, reliable differences in intake and BEC were detected among the strains, with C57BL/6J showing the highest values. Strain means were positively correlated with intake and BEC in the standard (24 h) and a limited (4 h) two-bottle ethanol vs. water test, but BECs reached higher levels for DID. Strain mean correlations with other traits in the Mouse Phenome Project database supported previously reported genetic relationships of high ethanol drinking with low chronic ethanol withdrawal severity and low ethanol-conditioned taste aversion. We extend these findings by showing that the correlation estimates remain relatively unchanged even after correcting for phylogenetic relatedness among the strains, thus relaxing the assumption that the strain means are statistically independent. We discuss applications of the model for finding genes that predispose pharmacologically significant drinking in mice.     

Human placental diamine oxidase. Improved purification and characterization of a copper- and manganese-containing amine oxidase with novel substrate specificity.

1. Isoelectric focusing studies of human placental diamine oxidase showed the pI value of the active enzyme to be 6.5. This information was used in modifying the enzyme purification by incorporating column chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex with ionic strength and pH gradient elution and this, together with affinity chromatography on concanavalin A--Sepharose, gave a highly purified preparation, with a specific activity of 7.0 units/mg. 2. The enzyme gave the expected stoicheiometry with p-dimethylaminomethylbenzylamine as substrate (Keq. 2700) and also oxidized [8-arginine]vasopressin, [8-lysine]vasopressin, collagen and tropocollagen. Polyacrylamide gel slices showed identical migration of diamine-oxidizing and [8-lysine]vasopressin-oxidizing activity. 3. The molecular weight, determined by ultracentrifugation, sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, variable polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and Sephadex G-200 column chromatography, was estimated to be approx. 70000. 4. E.s.r. spectroscopy showed that copper and manganese were present in the purified enzyme. This result was confirmed by atomic absorption spectroscopy, which indicated a stoicheiometry for copper and manganese of approx. 1.0 and 1.2g-atom respectively/70000mol.wt. unit. 5. The e.s.r. spectral intensity did not decrease nor did the spectral line shape change when excess of p-dimethylaminomethylbenzylamine was added to the enzyme. 6. Addition of K13CN to the enzyme eliminated the copper e.s.r. signal without affecting the manganese signal. 7. The placental enzyme therefore appears to differ from other amine oxidases in terms of its metal cofactor requirement, molecular weight and substrate specificity, and possible roles in vivo for this enzyme are discussed.     

Phylogenetic diversification of immunoglobulin genes and the antibody repertoire

Immunoglobulins are encoded by a large multigene system that undergoes somatic rearrangement and additional genetic change during the development of immunoglobulin-producing cells. Inducible antibody and antibody-like responses are found in all vertebrates. However, immunoglobulin possessing disulfide-bonded heavy and light chains and domain-type organization has been described only in representatives of the jawed vertebrates. High degrees of nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequence identity are evident when the segmental elements that constitute the immunoglobulin gene loci in phylogenetically divergent vertebrates are compared. However, the organization of gene loci and the manner in which the independent elements recombine (and diversify) vary markedly among different taxa. One striking pattern of gene organization is the "cluster type" that appears to be restricted to the chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes) and limits segmental rearrangement to closely linked elements. This type of gene organization is associated with both heavy- and light-chain gene loci. In some cases, the clusters are "joined" or "partially joined" in the germ line, in effect predetermining or partially predetermining, respectively, the encoded specificities (the assumption being that these are expressed) of the individual loci. By relating the sequences of transcribed gene products to their respective germ-line genes, it is evident that, in some cases, joined-type genes are expressed. This raises a question about the existence and/or nature of allelic exclusion in these species. The extensive variation in gene organization found throughout the vertebrate species may relate directly to the role of intersegmental (V<==>D<==>J) distances in the commitment of the individual antibody-producing cell to a particular genetic specificity. Thus, the evolution of this locus, perhaps more so than that of others, may reflect the interrelationships between genetic organization and function.      

Characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycobacterium tuberculosis</Emphasis> Beijing isolates from the Mediterranean area

Background  

The Beijing lineage of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is causing concern due to its global distribution and its involvement in severe outbreaks. Studies focused on this lineage are mainly restricted to geographical settings where its prevalence is high, whereas those in other areas are scarce. In this study, we analyze Beijing isolates in the Mediterranean area, where this lineage is not prevalent and is mainly associated with immigrant cases.