Accelerated transbilayer movement of phosphatidylcholine in sickled erythrocytes. A reversible process

The transbilayer mobility of phosphatidylcholine (PC) molecules in the membrane of homozygous reversible sickle cells (RSCs) was studied using a PC-specific exchange protein from beef liver. In deoxygenated RSCs, all of the PC present in the membrane of the intact cell is rapidly available for exchange, mediated by this protein. Since a substantial amount of the PC is present in the inner membrane leaflet of these cells, this observation implies that the PC molecules in their membranes do experience rapid transbilayer movements. To determine the actual rate of transbilayer movement of the PC, radioactive PC was introduced into the outer monolayer of oxygenated RSCs using the PC-specific exchange protein. Subsequently, the cells were incubated at 37 degrees C under oxy- and deoxygenating conditions to enable the PC to equilibrate within the bilayer. At various time intervals, samples were taken and treated with phospholipase A2, which selectively degrades the PC in the outer monolayer. Analysis of the specific radioactivities of the lyso-PC thus produced, as well as of the residual PC, enabled us to follow the fate of the radioactive PC previously introduced into the outer membrane layer. The half-time value for transbilayer equilibration of the PC in deoxygenated RSCs was determined to be 3.5 h, which is about four times lower than that for oxygenated RSCs. This increased transbilayer mobility of PC, observed in deoxygenated RSCs, is immediately restored to the normal low rate upon reoxygenation of the cells, indicating a complete reversibility of this phenomenon.     

The comparative effects of vitamin deficiency on development and on adult fecundity of Tribolium castaneum

When larvae of Tribolium castaneum were reared on diets deficient in thiamine, pyridoxine or riboflavin mortality was high and the rate of development was slow. The few surviving larvae did attain the same final stage as larvae developing on an all-vitamin control. On diets deficient in nicotinic acid, calcium pantothenate or choline chloride all aspects of development were impaired and no pupation occurred. The negative effects of folic acid deficiency were more pronounced in the pupal stage than in the larval instars. The dietary deficiency of folic acid, choline chloride or thiamine, had no apparent effect on adult fecundity, and a dietary deficiency of any one of the seven vitamins assayed did not adversely affect egg fertility.

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Résumé Une mortalité importante a été constatée chez des larves de Tribolium castaneum élevées sur des régimes déficitaires en thiamine, pyridoxine et riboflavine. Le développement a été ralenti d'une façon considérable, mais les larves qui ont survécu sont arrivées au même stade final que les larves témoins nourries avec toutes les vitamines. Tous les autres régimes alimentaires ont été moins adéquates que celui contenant un supplément de levure. L'effet de l'absence de l'acide nicotinique, du pantothenate de calcium ou bien du chlorure de choline a été encore plus net, car les larves ne se sont pas nymphosées. Cet effet prononcé de l'insuffisance du chlorure de choline contraste avec la réaction de Tribolium confusum à l'absence de chlorure de choline dans le régime alimentaire.Le développement larvaire a été peu affecté par l'absence de l'acide folique. Mais, durant la nymphose, les effets négatifs se manifestent davantage encore. L'absence de pyridoxine, riboflavine, acide nicotinique ou pantothenate du calcium a réduit d'une façon importante le taux initial de la fécondité des adultes de T. castaneum. L'absence de l'acide folique, chlorure de choline ou thiamine n'a pas été marquée par un effet semblable. La fertilité des ufs n'a pas été affectée par le manque d'une vitamine quelconque.Ces résultats indiquent que le chlorure de choline et la thiamine sont nécessaires pour le développement larvaire, mais qu'elles sont peu importantes pour la vitalité des adultes. Les réserves en certaines vitamines essentielles chez les nymphes suffisent donc aux exigences des adultes, au moins pendant quelques mois après leur éclosion.

     

Mechanism of inhibition of sickling by dimethyl adipimidate. Effects of intertetramer cross-linking

Dimethyl adipimidate (DMA), an effective antisickling agent in vitro, reacts with free amino groups producing chemically modified and cross-linked molecules. In this report, we have investigated the effect of cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers on sickle hemoglobin polymerization. Since the extent of cross-linking is pH-dependent, we first compared the solubilities of deoxygenated hemolysates prepared from sickle cells previously treated with dimethyl adipimidate at either pH 7.4 or 8.4. The solubility of the hemolysate increased from 18.6 +/- 0.8 g/dl in the untreated sample to 20.9 +/- 1.5 g/dl (pH 7.4) and to 25.4 +/- 3.0 g/dl (pH 8.4) after dimethyl adipimidate treatment. Removal of cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers from hemolysate obtained from dimethyl adipimidate-treated cells abolished part of this effect; at pH 7.4, the solubility decreased from 20.9 +/- 1.5 to 19.4 +/- 0.2 and at pH 8.4 from 25.4 +/- 3.0 to 21.0 +/- 1.5. However, the ratio of [14C]DMA-labelled hemoglobin in the sol phase to that in the gel phase in the unfractionated hemolysate was 1.17 at pH 7.4 and 1.25 at pH 8.4, suggesting that part of the cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers was incorporated into the gel. In order to further investigate the effect of cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers on sickle hemoglobin polymerization, we separated cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers on a gel-filtration column, prepared mixtures of untreated sickle hemoglobin and cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers and studied the polymerization of these mixtures. The Csat of the untreated hemolysate increased progressively from 18.6 +/- 0.8 to 22.5 +/- 0.8 g/dl with 33% cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers. The hemoglobin concentration in the gel decreased from 43 +/- 1.0 to 33.8 +/- 1.0 g/dl with 33% cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers, while the pellet volume fraction, phi p, increased with and almost approached 1 at 50% cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers. In addition, the sol phase contained a higher molecular weight distribution of cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers than the gel phase. These observations suggest that a loose polymer was formed in the gel phase with a hemoglobin concentration much lower than that of the control. Thus, polymerization of sickle hemoglobin is inhibited by: (1) exclusion of higher molecular weight cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers from the gel, and (2) loose incorporation of cross-linked hemoglobin tetramers into the gel, perhaps preventing lateral packing and formation of tightly ordered fibers.     

Transbilayer distribution and mobility of phosphatidylinositol in human red blood cells

The present studies describe the distribution of phosphatidylinositol (PI) within the membrane bilayer of the human red blood cell (RBC) as well as its transbilayer mobility. The membrane bilayer distribution was determined by measuring the hydrolysis of PI in the exterior leaflet of the RBC membrane using a PI-specific phospholipase C and by extraction of PI from the exterior leaflet using bovine serum albumin. The transbilayer mobility of PI was measured by following the fate of radiolabeled PI which was first incorporated into the outer leaflet of the RBC membrane. Our results indicate that PI is asymmetrically distributed in the membrane, with approximately 80% located in the inner and 20% in the outer leaflet of the bilayer. The rate of transbilayer mobility of PI is similar to that for certain molecular species of phosphatidylcholine and much slower than that reported for the aminophospholipids in the RBC membrane.     

Entrapment of purified alpha-hemoglobin chains in normal erythrocytes. A model for beta thalassemia

Altered membrane proteins have been previously described in beta thalassemia and are thought to play an important role in the shortened erythrocyte survival. To investigate the mechanism by which these changes occur, purified heme-containing alpha-hemoglobin chains were entrapped within normal erythrocytes by reversible osmotic lysis. These resealed cells exhibited normal hemoglobin concentration, cell volume, deformability, and no substantial modifications of membrane proteins. Incubation (37 degrees C; up to 20 h) of the alpha-chain-loaded cells resulted in increasing amounts of membrane-associated alpha-chains. This was associated with concurrent decreases in the protein concentrations and reactive thiol groups of spectrin, ankyrin, and actin as determined by gel electrophoresis. The decreases in membrane protein concentration and reactive thiol groups after 20 h of incubation were closely correlated (R2 = 0.947) in the alpha-chain-loaded cells. Indicative of increased oxidant stress within the alpha-chain-loaded erythrocytes, methemoglobin generation was also significantly increased in the alpha-chain-loaded erythrocytes. In addition, entrapment of alpha-chains led to a progressive and significant decrease in erythrocyte deformability. Thus, the entrapment of purified alpha-chains in normal erythrocytes resulted in structural and functional abnormalities very similar to that observed in beta-thalassemic erythrocytes in vivo. The model described provides a means by which the fate of excess alpha-chains, their pathophysiological effects, as well as possible therapeutic approaches to thalassemias can be examined.     

Molecular docking of potential inhibitors with the mTOR protein

The mTOR (mammalian or mechanistic Target of Rapamycin) is linked with oral cancer. Therefore, it is of interest to study the molecular docking-based binding of paclitaxel (a FDA approved drug for oral cancer) and its analogues with mTOR. Hence, we report the binding features of 10-Deacetyltaxol, 7-Epi-10-deacetyltaxol, 7-Epi-Taxol and 6alpha-Hydroxypaclitaxel with mTOR for further consideration.     

Analysis of exposure-time-response relationships using a spline weight function

To examine the time-dependent effects of exposure histories on disease, we estimate a weight function within a generalized linear model. The shape of the weight function, which is modeled as a cubic B-spline, gives information about the impact of exposure increments at different times on disease risk. The method is evaluated in a simulation study and is applied to data on smoking histories and lung cancer from a recent case-control study in Germany.     

油菜耐盐碱种质鉴定与品种选育研究进展

盐碱地作为有效的耕地后备资源,其整治和利用尤为重要。油菜是世界上重要的油料作物,也是用于开发利用盐碱地的重要作物之一。从渗透调节物质、抗氧化酶活性、光合作用参数以及盐碱胁迫相关基因报道等方面分析了油菜响应盐碱胁迫的生理生化和分子机制,全面阐述了油菜苗期、营养生长期和成熟期耐盐碱种质的鉴定方法和优异资源筛选,概述了耐盐碱油菜品种选育和推广利用的最新状况,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望,为油菜耐盐碱新品种培育提供理论基础和育种思路。     

Amiloride in differentiation and commitment of Friend erythroleukemia cells

Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) converts almost all of the undifferentiated murine erythroleukemia cells (MEL or Friend cells, clone 745A) in a culture to differentiated cells that contain high levels of hemoglobin and that stop growing after a limited number of cell divisions. Contrary to other reports--that amiloride strongly inhibits DMSO-induced differentiation in MEL cells--in this laboratory, inhibition by amiloride, tested with DMSO over a range of concentrations in two kinds of media and at various cell densities, was found to be only weak or absent. Similarly, amiloride did not inhibit induction by N,N'-hexamethylene bis-acetamide (HMBA). As expected from previous findings with other cell systems, amiloride inhibited protein synthesis and cell multiplication.     

The Therapeutic Potential of AN-7, a Novel Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor,for Treatment of Mycosis Fungoides/Sezary Syndrome Alone or with Doxorubicin

The 2 histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) approved for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) including mycosis fungoides/sezary syndrome (MF/SS), suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and romidepsin, are associated with low rates of overall response and high rates of adverse effects. Data regarding combination treatments with HDACIs is sparse. Butyroyloxymethyl diethylphosphate (AN-7) is a novel HDACI, which was found to have selective anticancer activity in several cell lines and animal models. The aim of this study was to compare the anticancer effects of AN-7 and SAHA, either alone or combined with doxorubicin, on MF/SS cell lines and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from patients with Sezary syndrome (SPBL). MyLa cells, Hut78 cells, SPBL, and PBL from healthy normal individuals (NPBL) were exposed to the test drugs, and the findings were analyzed by a viability assay, an apoptosis assay, and Western blot. AN-7 was more selectively toxic to MyLa cells, Hut78 cells, and SPBL (relative to NPBL) than SAHA and also acted more rapidly. Both drugs induced apoptosis in MF/SS cell lines, SAHA had a greater effect on MyLa cell line, while AN-7 induced greater apoptosis in SPBL; both caused an accumulation of acetylated histone H₃, but AN-7 was associated with earlier kinetics; and both caused a downregulation of the HDAC1 protein in MF/SS cell lines. AN-7 acted synergistically with doxorubicin in both MF/SS cell lines and SPBL, and antagonistically with doxorubicin in NPBL. By contrast, SAHA acted antagonistically with doxorubicin on MF/SS cell lines, SPBL, and NPBL, leaving <50% viable cells. In conclusion, AN-7 holds promise as a therapeutic agent in MF/SS and has several advantages over SAHA. Our data provide a rationale for combining AN-7, but not SAHA, with doxorubicin to induce the cell death in MF/SS.