Morphological pathway of flagellar assembly in Salmonella typhimurium.

The process of flagellar assembly was investigated in Salmonella typhimurium. Seven types of flagellar precursors produced by various flagellar mutants were purified by CsCl density gradient protocol. They were characterized morphologically by electron microscopy, and biochemically by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The MS ring is formed in the absence of any other flagellar components, including the switch complex and the putative export apparatus. Four proteins previously identified as rod components, FlgB, FlgC, FlgF, FlgG, and another protein, FliE, assemble co-operatively into a stable structure. The hook is formed in two distinct steps; formation of its proximal part and elongation. Proximal part formation occurs, but elongation does not occur, in the absence of the LP ring. FlgD is necessary for hook formation, but not for LP-ring formation. A revised pathway of flagellar assembly is proposed based on these and other results.     

Correlation between Supercoiling and Conformational Motions of the Bacterial Flagellar Filament

The bacterial flagellar filament is a very large macromolecular assembly of a single protein, flagellin. Various supercoiled states of the filament exist, which are formed by two structurally different conformations of flagellin in different ratios. We investigated the correlation between supercoiling of the protofilaments and molecular dynamics in the flagellar filament using quasielastic and elastic incoherent neutron scattering on the picosecond and nanosecond timescales. Thermal fluctuations in the straight L- and R-type filaments were measured and compared to the resting state of the wild-type filament. Amplitudes of motion on the picosecond timescale were found to be similar in the different conformational states. Mean-square displacements and protein resilience on the 0.1 ns timescale demonstrate that the L-type state is more flexible and less resilient than the R-type, whereas the wild-type state lies in between. Our results provide strong support that supercoiling of the protofilaments in the flagellar filament is determined by the strength of molecular forces in and between the flagellin subunits.     

A killer factor produced by the cellular slime mold Polysphondylium pallidum

A killer strain was discovered in cellular slime molds. The wild isolate CK-8 of Polysphondylium pallidum kills all other strains in Polysphondylium and Dictyostelium, as far as could be determined, except strain CK-8 itself and its complementary mating type strain CK-9. Growth-phase cells of CK-8 excrete a killer factor which is sensitive to heat, above 60°C for 5 min, and trypsin. The apparent molecular mass of the factor was determined at 10 000–12 000.Abbreviations BSS Bonner's salt solution - CM conditioned medium     

Studies on peptides CLVIII. Model experiments for the synthesis of open-chain unsymmetrical cystine-peptides

Treatment of a mixture of Cys(R)(O) and Cys(R) with an acid was found to generate cystine in fairly good yields, when suitable R, R, and an acid were selected. An unsymmetrical cystine peptide was prepared by treatment of a mixture of Z(OMe)-Cys(R) (0)-Ala-NH₂ (R=Acm or MBzl) and Z(OMe)-Cys(MBzl)-Gly-OBzl with TFA or 1 M TFMSA/TFA.³ Oxytocin was obtained in an excellent yield by TFA treatment of the protected peptide containing Cys(Acm)(0) and Cys(MBzl). Thus, formation of the disulfide bond was found feasible at the position of Cys(R) (0).The following abbreviations are used Boc t-butyloxycarbonyl - Z(OMe) p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl - MBzl p-methoxybenzyl - Acm acetamidomethyl - Bzl benzyl - Ad l-adamantyl - tBu t-butyl - TFA trifluoroacetic acid - TFMSA trifluoromethanesulfonic acid - TMSOTf trimethylsilyl trifluoromethane sulfonate     

Purification and properties of 3 alpha-hydroxyglycyrrhetinate dehydrogenase of Clostridium innocuum from human intestine

3 alpha-Hydroxyglycyrrhetinate dehydrogenase of Clostridium innocuum, isolated from human intestinal bacteria, was capable of converting 3-ketoglycyrrhetic acid to 3 alpha-hydroxyglycyrrhetic acid. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by means of butyl-Toyopearl 650M, Sephadex G-150, Matrex Red A, Toyopearl HW-55S, and isoelectric focusing column chromatographies. The purified enzyme showed a specific activity of 156 mumol/min.mg toward 3 alpha-hydroxyglycyrrhetic acid, and showed a single band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The apparent molecular weight was 53,000, as estimated by gel filtration, and 30,000, as judged by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Its isoelectric point was 5.2. The enzyme showed absolute specificity for the 3 alpha-hydroxyl and 3-ketonic groups of 18 alpha- or 18 beta-glycyrrhetic acid and required NADP+ and NADPH as cosubstrates. The enzyme did not act on any 3 alpha-hydroxyl or 3-ketonic group of steroids or bile acids. The enzyme is a novel type of enzyme, defined as 3 alpha-hydroxy-glycyrrhetinate dehydrogenase, being quite different from 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase [EC 1.1.1.50].     

Actions of exogenous heparan sulfate and hyaluronic acid on growth and thymidine incorporation of normal and transformed human fibroblasts. A comparison with the effects of high cell density and low serum concentration and a warning against thymidine incorporation as a measure of DNA synthesis

Treatment of normal human (WI-38) cells with exogenous heparan sulfate (HS) reduced cell growth and incorporation of radio-isotope-labeled thymidine (TdR) into DNA. In spite that growth of their transformants (WI-38 CT-1) was enhanced by HS treatment, transformed cells also decreased in TdR incorporation thereby. This peculiar observation was explained by a reduction of TdR uptake, leading to a decrease in specific radioactivity of newly synthesized DNA. The changes in cell growth and TdR incorporation by HS treatment were revealed to be similar to the changes with increasing cell density rather than by serum starvation.     

Determination of 9α,11β-prostaglandin F2 by stereospecific antibody in various rat tissues

In view of the recent finding that prostaglandin D₂ is stereospecifically converted to 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂, an isomer of prostaglandin F₂α, a highly specific and sensitive radioimmunoassay for 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ was developed and applied to determine the content of this prostaglandin in various rat tissues. Antisera against 9α-11β-prostaglandin F₂ were raised in rabbits immunized with the bovine serum albumin conjugate, and [³H]9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ was enzymatically prepared from [³H]prostaglandin D₂. The assay detected 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ over the range of 20 pg to 1 ng, and the antiserum showed less than 0.04% cross-section with prostaglandin F₂α, prostaglandin F₂β and 9β,11β-prostaglandin F₂. To avoid postmortem changes, tissues were frozen in liquid nitrogen immediately after removal. The basal level of 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ was hardly detectable in various tissues of the rat examined, including spleen, lung, liver and brain; although it was found to be 0.31 ± 0.06 ng/g wet weight in the small intestine. During convulsion induced by pentylenetetrazole, enormous amounts of prostaglandin D₂ (ca. 180 ng/g wet weight) and prostaglandin F₂α (ca. 70 ng/g) were produced in the brain; however, 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ was detected neither there nor in the blood. This result demonstrates that the conversion to 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ is a minor pathway, if one at all, of prostaglandin D₂ metabolism in the rat brain.     

Effect of intraluminal bile or bile acids on release of gut glucagon-like immunoreactive materials in the dog

The true biological role of gut glucagon-like immunoreactive materials (gut GLI) is still unknown, although the stimulatory effect of intraluminal nutrients on the secretion of gut GLI has been described. The present authors, using the canine intestinal loop prepared from the terminal portion of the ileum, investigated how gut GLI would respond to digestive juice or its components. When bladder bile collected from another dog and diluted to 10% in saline was instilled into canine ileal loop, gut GLI in a branch of regional mesenteric vein was elevated significantly. Cholic acid suspended in saline (0.25 g/50 ml) also stimulated gut GLI secretion in the similar pattern to that of bile administration. On the other hand, 154 mM NaHCO3 which is a major inorganic component of pancreatic juice did not affect the venous level of gut GLI.