Production and characterization of human renin antibodies with region-oriented synthetic peptides

Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies were raised against pure human renin, but nothing was known about the regions against which they were directed. Using a three-dimensional model of mouse submandibular renin, we selected seven peptide sequences as belonging to potential epitopes. The main criteria for their choice were the location of the peptide sequences near the catalytic region and on the surface of the renin molecule and their hydrophilicity. After transposition of the regions to the 340-amino acid sequence of human renin, the seven peptides (corresponding to amino acids 50-60, 63-71, 81-90, 118-126, 162-169, 247-255, and 287-295) were synthesized, coupled to bovine serum albumin, and injected into rabbits. Five of these peptides elicited antibodies, and 50-68% binding of the corresponding iodinated peptide was obtained with a 1:25 dilution of antiserum. The antisera titers ranged from 1:5,000 to 1:100,000 when tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The same antisera bound 15-65% of labeled pure human renin at a final dilution of 1:2.5, the highest percentage being obtained with peptide 81-90 antiserum. At a 1:5 dilution, the five antisera inhibited renin activity by 23-68% in human plasma with a high renin activity (40 ng of angiotensin I/h/ml). At a final dilution of 1:50, peptide 81-90 antiserum was still capable of producing 25% inhibition. Purified IgG (0.6 mg) from this antiserum inhibited pure human renin activity by up to about 40%, as measured by its reaction with pure synthetic human tetradecapeptide substrate. Antigenic peptides that mimic a part of the human renin sequence, especially peptide 81-90 representing the "flap" covering the cleft between the two renin lobes, constitute promising tools for the development of a synthetic antirenin vaccine.     

Cloning and characterization of the HpaII methylase gene.

The HpaII restriction-modification system from Haemophilus parainfluenzae recognizes the DNA sequence CCGG. The gene for the HpaII methylase has been cloned into E. coli and its nucleotide sequence has been determined. The DNA of the clones is fully protected against cleavage by the HpaII restriction enzyme in vitro, indicating that the methylase gene is active in E. coli. The clones were isolated in an McrA-strain of E. coli; attempts to isolate them in an McrA+ strain were unsuccessful. The clones do not express detectable HpaII restriction endonuclease activity, suggesting that either the endonuclease gene is not expressed well in E. coli, or that it is not present in its entirety in any of the clones that we have isolated. The derived amino acid sequence of the HpaII methylase shows overall similarity to other cytosine methylases. It bears a particularly close resemblance to the sequences of the HhaI, BsuFI and MspI methylases. When compared with three other methylases that recognize CCGG, the variable region of the HpaII methylase, which is believed to be responsible for sequence specific recognition, shows some similarity to the corresponding regions of the BsuFI and MspI methylases, but is rather dissimilar to that of the SPR methylase.     

Effect of brefeldin A on alphaherpesvirus membrane protein glycosylation and virus egress.

In this work we used brefeldin A (BFA), a specific inhibitor of export to the Golgi apparatus, to study pseudorabies virus viral glycoprotein processing and virus egress. BFA had little effect on initial synthesis and cotranslational modification of viral glycoproteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but it disrupted subsequent glycoprotein maturation and export. Additionally, single-step growth experiments demonstrated that after the addition of BFA, accumulation of infectious virus stopped abruptly. BFA interruption of virus egress was reversible. Electron microscopic analysis of infected cells demonstrated BFA-induced disappearance of the Golgi apparatus accompanied by a dramatic accumulation of enveloped virions between the inner and outer nuclear membranes and also in the ER. Large numbers of envelope-free capsids were also present in the cytoplasm of all samples. In control samples, these capsids were preferentially associated with the forming face of Golgi bodies and acquired a membrane envelope derived from the trans-cisternae. Our results are consistent with a multistep pathway for envelopment of pseudorabies virus that involves initial acquisition of a membrane by budding of capsids through the inner leaf of the nuclear envelope followed by deenvelopment and release of these capsids from the ER into the cytoplasm in proximity to the trans-Golgi. The released capsids then acquire a bilaminar double envelope containing mature viral glycoproteins at the trans-Golgi. The resulting double-membraned virus is transported to the plasma membrane, where membrane fusion releases a mature, enveloped virus particle from the cell.     

Cloning and expression of the Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase gene nanH in Escherichia coli

A cosmid gene bank of Vibrio cholerae 395, classical Ogawa, was screened in Escherichia coli HB101 for expression of the vibrio neuraminidase (NANase) gene nanH (N-acylneuraminate glycohydrolase). Positive clones were identified by their ability to cleave the fluorogenic NANase substrate 2'-(4-methylumbelliferyl)-alpha-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid. Seven NANase-positive clones were detected after screening 683 cosmid isolates with a rapid, qualitative plate assay method. The nanH gene was subcloned from one of the cosmids and was located within a 4.8-kilobase-pair BglII restriction endonuclease fragment. Evidence that nanH was the NANase structural gene was obtained by transposon mutagenesis and by purification and comparison of the cloned gene product with the secreted NANase purified from the parent V. cholerae strain. The sequence of the first 20 amino-terminal amino acids of the secreted NANase purified from V. cholerae was determined by automated Edman degradation and matched perfectly with the amino acid sequence predicted from nucleotide sequencing of nanH. The sequence data also revealed the existence of a potential signal peptide that was apparently processed from NANase in both V. cholerae and E. coli. In contrast to V. cholerae, E. coli nanH+ clones did not secrete NANase into the growth medium, retaining most of the enzyme in the periplasmic compartment. Kinetic studies in V. cholerae showed that nanH expression and NANase secretion were temporally correlated as cells in batch culture entered late-exponential-phase growth. Similar kinetics were observed in at least one of the E. coli nanH+ clones, suggesting that nanH expression in E. coli might be controlled by some of the same signals as in the parent V. cholerae strain.     

Effects of (dihydro)cytochalasin B, colchicine, monensin and trifluoperazine on uptake and processing of liposomes by Kupffer cells in culture

We investigated the effects of (dihydro)cytochalasin B, colchicine, monensin and trifluoperazine on uptake and processing of large unilamellar liposomes by rat Kupffer cells in maintenance culture. The phospholipid vesicles were labeled in the lipid moiety with phosphatidyl[14C]choline and contained [3H]inulin or [125I]iodoalbumin as nondegradable and degradable markers of the aqueous vesicle content, respectively. Cytochalasin B and dihydrocytochalasin B, inhibitors of microfilament function, reduced inert inulin label uptake by 75% maximally, but residual uptake was not followed by release of lipid degradation products from the cells. By contrast, colchicine, an inhibitor of microtubule assembly, reduced uptake of liposomal inulin by maximally 55% but could not inhibit release of lipid degradation products from the cells. It is concluded that the cytochalasins partly inhibit uptake but fully prevent the arrival of internalized liposomes in the lysosomal compartment, while the action of colchicine is to slow down the overall process of uptake and subsequent transportation to the lysosomes. Monensin reduced inulin uptake to an extent similar to that found with colchicine, but reversibly blocked degradation of liposomal lipid and encapsulated protein. The kinetics of degradation of liposomal constituents suggests that residual uptake in the presence of monensin represents accumulation in an intracellular compartment. Trifluoperazine did not affect binding, internalization or degradation of encapsulated protein at low concentration (6 microM), but completely inhibited release of liposomal lipid degradation products under these conditions. At intermediate concentration (14 microM), the drug also reduced the internalization, while a high concentration (22 microM) was required to inhibit protein degradation as well. We conclude that trifluoperazine has multiple sites of action in the uptake and processing of liposomal constituents by Kupffer cells.     

The effects of mating,exogenous juvenile hormone and a juvenile hormone analogue on pheromone titre,calling and oviposition in the omnivorous leafroller moth (Platynota stultana)

Mating in Platynota stultana resulted in the termination of calling, the gradual reduction of pheromone in the pheromone glands to non-detectable levels (<0.1 ng/♀) within 14 h, and oviposition of the first batch of eggs 20–24 h after copulation. Decapitation of virgin females resulted in a similar decline in pheromone titre, and also eliminated oviposition and calling. Pheromone production appears to be controlled via the head. Mating probably terminates neural or hormonal input required for pheromone production and/or removes neural or hormonal inhibition of pheromone degradation. A juvenile hormone analogue (ZR-512) and juvenile hormones I, II and III applied exogenously to virgin females elicited oviposition comparable to mated females and terminated calling within 48 h. The juvenile hormone analogue also appeared to block pheromone production in virgin females. These results suggest that juvenile hormone may be involved in the switch from virgin to mated behaviour in this species.     

Products of phospholipid metabolism in Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The products of phospholipid turnover in Bacillus stearothermophilus were determined in cultures labeled to equilibrium and with short pulses of [32P]phosphate and [2-3H]glycerol. Label lost from the cellular lipid pool was recovered in three fractions: low-molecular-weight extracellular products, extracellular lipid, and lipoteichoic acid (LTA). The low-molecular-weight turnover products were released from the cells during the first 10 to 20 min of a 60-min chase period and appeared to be derived primarily from phosphatidylglycerol turnover. Phosphatidylethanolamine, which appeared to be synthesized in part from the phosphatidyl group of phosphatidylglycerol, was released from the cell but was not degraded. The major product of phospholipid turnover was LTA. Essentially all of the label lost from the lipid pool during the final 40 min of the chase period was recovered as extracellular LTA. The LTA appeared to be derived primarily from the turnover of cardiolipin and the phosphatidyl group of phosphatidylglycerol. Three types of LTA were isolated; an extracellular LTA was recovered from the culture medium, and two types of LTA were extracted from membrane preparations or whole-cell lysates by the hot phenol-water procedure. Cells contained 1.5 to 2.5 mg of cellular LTA per g of cells (dry weight), over 50% of which remained associated with the membrane when cells were fractionated. Over 75% of the 3H label incorporated into the cellular LTA pool during a 90-min labeling period was released from the cells during the first cell doubling after the chase. Label lost from the lipid pool was incorporated into cellular LTA which was then modified and released into the culture medium.     

Expression of beta-amyloid precursor protein in reactive astrocytes following neuronal damage

Although the beta-amyloid peptide is an established core component of neuritic plaques that accumulate in Alzheimer's disease, the mechanisms responsible for its deposition are not well understood. We now report that lesions of rat hippocampal neurons cause a time-dependent, long-lasting elevation of immunoreactivity for the beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) in neighboring astrocytes, a cell type not normally containing the protein. The increase represents astroglial expression of the protein rather than a scavenging of APP released by damaged neurons. Immunoelectron microscopy confirmed that APP-containing cells are reactive astroglia, both surrounding capillaries and within the neuropil. These results demonstrate that neuronal damage stimulates APP expression in adult brain and suggest that reactive astrocytes may be a source of the beta-amyloid that forms neuropathological plaques in Alzheimer's disease.     

RATES OF FLORAL EVOLUTION: ADAPTATION TO BUMBLEBEE POLLINATION IN AN ALPINE WILDFLOWER,POLEMONIUM VISCOSUM

Animal pollinators are thought to shape floral evolution, yet the tempo of this process has seldom been measured. I used the prediction equation of quantitative genetics, R = h²S , to predict the rate at which a change in pollinator abundance may have caused divergence in floral morphology of the alpine skypilot, Polemonium viscosum. A selection experiment determined the rate at which such divergence can actually proceed. Corolla flare in this species increases by 12% from populations pollinated by a wide assemblage of insect visitors to those pollinated only by bumblebees. To simulate the evolutionary process giving rise to this change, I used a pollinator selection experiment. Plants with broad flowers set significantly more seeds than plants with narrow flowers under bumblebee pollination but had equivalent fecundity when visited by other insects or hand-pollinated. Bumblebee-mediated selection for broad corolla flare intensified from 0.07 at seed set to 0.17 at progeny establishment. Maternal parent-offspring regression yielded a confidence interval of 0.22–1.00 for trait heritability. Given these parameter estimates, the prediction equation shows that broadly flared flowers of bumblebee-pollinated P. viscosum could have evolved from narrower ones in a single generation. This prediction is matched by an observed 9% increase in offspring corolla flare after a single bout of bumblebee-mediated selection, relative to offspring of unselected controls. Findings show that plant populations can adapt rapidly to abrupt changes in pollinator assemblages.     

Complementation analysis of pseudorabies virus gE and gI mutants in retinal ganglion cell neurotropism.

Pseudorabies virus glycoproteins gE and gI are required to infect some, but not all, regions of the rodent central nervous system after peripheral injection. After infection of the retina, pseudorabies virus mutants lacking either gE or gI can subsequently infect neural centers involved in the control of circadian function but cannot infect visual circuits mediating visual perception or the reflex movement of the eyes. In this study, we used genetic complementation to test the hypothesis that gE and gI are required for entry into the specific retinal ganglion cells that project to visual centers. These data strongly suggest that gE and gI must function after the viruses enter primary neurons in the retina.