Defective binding of 3-methylcholanthrene to the Ah receptor within C3H/1OT1/2 clone 8 mouse fibroblasts in culture

C3H/1OT1/2 clone 8 mouse fibroblasts (C3H/1OT1/2 cells) exhibit induction of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (cytochrome P1-450) when exposed in culture to benzo(a)pyrene, benz(a)anthracene or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), but do not display the induction response when treated with 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA), the classical inducer of cytochrome P1-450. Induction of cytochrome P1-450 is regulated by the Ah receptor which initially binds inducing chemicals in the cytoplasm, after which the inducer x receptor complex translocates into the nucleus. Cytosolic and nuclear forms of the Ah receptor can be detected in C3H/1OT1/2 cells using [3H]TCDD as the radioligand in culture, but specific Ah receptor binding is not detectable within C3H/1OT1/2 cells incubated with [3H]MCA. In contrast, in Hepa-1c1 cells, which exhibit cytochrome P1-450 induction when treated with MCA, cytosolic and nuclear Ah receptor can be detected by incubation of the cells either with [3H]MCA or with [3H]TCDD. Nonradioactive MCA is able to compete with [3H]TCDD for Ah receptor sites in C3H/1OT1/2 cells, but the relative potency of MCA as a competitor is lower within C3H/1OT1/2 cells than in C3H/1OT1/2 cytosol during extracellular incubation. Specific binding of [3H]MCA to Ah receptor can be detected by incubation of [3H]MCA with C3H/1OT1/2 cytosol outside the cell. The selective loss of response to MCA as a cytochrome P1-450 inducer (while retaining response to other inducers) appears to be due to defective interaction of MCA with the Ah receptor within the intracellular environment. The specific molecular alteration which makes the MCA x receptor complex ineffective within C3H/1OT1/2 cells is unknown. Some fibroblast lines other than C3H/1OT1/2 also selectively fail to respond to MCA; thus, this variation in Ah receptor function may not be due to a mutational change in the Ah regulatory gene which codes for the Ah receptor.     

Late Famennian gastropoda from south-west England

The gastropod fauna of the Upper Devonian Baggy and Pilton formations in south‐west England is revised and includes some 30 taxa. The topmost part of the Upper Famennian succession in Devon is represented by clastic near‐shore and shallow shelf sediments, indicating a short‐term transgressive phase (‘Strunian Transgression’). The sequence yields a highly diverse fauna dominated by brachiopods and ostracodes, locally supplemented by crinoids, bryozoans, trilobites and molluscs. The taxa ‘Patellostium’britannicum sp. nov., Angyomphalus (Angyomphalus) junius sp. nov. and Dictyotomaria eurocapillaria sp. nov. are erected; a junior homonym is replaced by Macrochilina? piltonensis nom. nov. The gastropod fauna displays an independent character, where latest Devonian faunal elements overlap with Late Palaeozoic taxa expressing a transition similar to that of the bivalves, brachiopods, echinoderms and corals, without a sharp faunal break at the Devonian/Carboniferous boundary. Apart from the Caenogastropoda, all subclasses of gastropods are represented. Members of the bellerophontoids, pleurotomarioids and loxonematoids are most abundant, followed by murchisonioids, naticimorphs, euomphalomorphs and platyceratoids. The various gastropod groups represent different ecological demands and trophic categories, and together with the accompanying fauna indicate that nearly all habitats and niches were occupied in the shallow South Laurussian Shelf.     

Development of two cloned epithelial cell lines from normal adult mouse and rat ventral prostates

Summary Two epithelial cell lines were established, one from adult C3H mouse and one from adult Fischer rat ventral prostate. These cell lines were obtained from explant cultures, using Ham's F12 medium supplemented with HEPES, insulin, testosterone, hydrocortisone, epidermal growth factor, and 7.5% fetal bovine serum. A low concentration of trypsin and EDTA in Ca⁺⁺-and Mg⁺⁺-free phosphate buffer was used for passaging the cells. The rat cell line was established following implantation of prostate tissue in nude mice. These cell lines stained positively for acid phosphatase and were dependent upon epidermal growth factor for growth. Morphological studies, including electron microscopy, revealed a highly characteristic epithelial morphology of both cell lines. These cell lines have hypotetraploid chromosome numbers and are capable of metabolizing benzo(a)pyrene. We propose the application of these cells as models for the study of prostate carcinogenesis. This work was supported in part by Grant CA-21, 746, and by the Electron Microscope Core Facility on Grant CA-14,089, from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.     

The effect of Raney nickel on the covalent thymidylate synthetase-5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylate-5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate complex.

Raney nickel (Ni(H)) catalyzes a specific reductive cleavage of carbon-sulfur bonds and, therefore, can be used to determine whether compounds are covalently bound to proteins through a sulfide linkage. When the covalent thymidylate synthetase-[3H]5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylic acid-[14C]-5,10-CH2H4-folate complex (Langenbach et al. (1972a), Biochem, Biophys. Res. Commun. 48, 1565) was denatured and then shaken with Ni(H) at 25 degrees C, both isotopes were rapidly cleaved from the protein, with identical reaction halftimes of less than 10 min. The liberated radioactivity was filterable through nitro-cellulose filters and comigrated with small molecules on Sephadex G-25. Both labels migrated identically upon paper chromatography. A [3H]5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylic acid-[35S]thymidylate synthetase complex was formed with enzyme isolated from Lactobacillus casei grown in the presence of [35S]cysteine. This complex, upon Ni(H) treatment, released both tritium and sulfur-35 at identical rates. Control experiments on amino acids showed that only the sulfur-containing amino acids are degraded by Ni(H). Cysteine was rapidly converted to alanine and methionine to alpha-aminobutyric acid. 5-Carboxymethylcysteine and 5-uracilylcysteine, simple models for the tenary enzyme-5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylic acid-5,10-CH2H4-folate complex, were converted to alanine at the same rate that 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylic acid (FdUrd-5'-P) was cleaved from the enzyme. Native ribonuclease, which has a tightly coiled structure, was not affected by the reagent, but carboxymethylated ribonuclease was desulfurized. Amino acid analysis of Ni(H)-treated thymidylate synthetase showed that cysteine was the only amino acid degraded. Gel electrophoresis of the proteins after exposure to Ni(H) showed no breakage of polypeptide chains. These results support a sulfide linkage between FdUrd-5'-P and thymidylate synthetase in the covalent complex.     

A highly Ca2+-sensitive pool of vesicles contributes to linearity at the rod photoreceptor ribbon synapse

Studies of the properties of synaptic transmission have been carried out at only a few synapses. We analyzed exocytosis from rod photoreceptors with a combination of physiological and ultrastructural techniques. As at other ribbon synapses, we found that rods exhibited rapid kinetics of release, and the number of vesicles in the releasable pool is comparable to the number of vesicles tethered at ribbon-style active zones. However, unlike other previously studied neurons, we identified a highly Ca(2+)-sensitive pool of releasable vesicles with a relatively shallow relationship between the rate of exocytosis and [Ca(2+)](i) that is nearly linear over a presumed physiological range of intraterminal [Ca(2+)]. The low-order [Ca(2+)] dependence of release promotes a linear relationship between Ca(2+) entry and exocytosis that permits rods to relay information about small changes in illumination with high fidelity at the first synapse in vision.     

Calcium-dependent binding of calmodulin to neuronal gap junction proteins

We examined the interactions of calmodulin with neuronal gap junction proteins connexin35 (Cx35) from perch, its mouse homologue Cx36, and the related perch Cx34.7 using surface plasmon resonance. Calmodulin bound to the C-terminal domains of all three connexins with rapid kinetics in a concentration- and Ca2+-dependent manner. Dissociation was also very rapid. K(d)'s for calmodulin binding at a high-affinity site ranged from 11 to 72 nM, and K(1/2)'s for Ca2+ were between 3 and 5 microM. No binding to the intracellular loops was observed. Binding competition experiments with synthetic peptides mapped the calmodulin binding site to a 10-30 amino acid segment at the beginning of the C-terminal domain of Cx36. The micromolar K(1/2)'s and rapid on and off rates suggest that this interaction may change dynamically in neurons, and may occur transiently when Ca2+ is elevated to a level that would occur in the near vicinity of an activated synapse.     

Site-specific PEGylation of native disulfide bonds in therapeutic proteins

Native disulfide bonds in therapeutic proteins are crucial for tertiary structure and biological activity and are therefore considered unsuitable for chemical modification. We show that native disulfides in human interferon alpha-2b and in a fragment of an antibody to CD4(+) can be modified by site-specific bisalkylation of the two cysteine sulfur atoms to form a three-carbon PEGylated bridge. The yield of PEGylated protein is high, and tertiary structure and biological activity are retained.