‘De novo’ centrioles originate at sites associated with annulate lamellae in sea-urchin eggs

Hypertonic stress stimulates the formation of new centrioles in sea-urchin eggs. Those centrioles which appear away from the nuclear surface originate exclusiveJy at sites associated with annulate lamellae. Although apparent when nascent centrioles become visible, the annulate lamellar association is gradually lost as nascent forms mature into centrioles.     

Structural requirements for a primitive adaptor molecule

Adaptor properties of linear hairpin helices have been examined. The analysis suggests that neither right nor left handed hairpin helices can simultaneously read a comma free messenger and align aminoacyl residues for peptide condensation. Comparison of these studies with the model of the present day peptidyl transfer intermediate suggests that the "L" shaped folding of the present day tRNAs may be a prerequisite for adaptor function. Therefore, the three-dimensional organization of the ancestral adaptor molecule must have had structural features similar to its present day counterpart.     

Gene conversion-like mechanisms may generate polymorphism in human class I genes.

The nucleotide sequences of the human class I major histocompatibility complex genes HLA-B27k and HLA-B27w have been determined. They differ by only four nucleotides over a stretch of 14 bp in exon 2, resulting in three amino acid exchanges at positions 77 (Asp to Asn), 80 (Thr to Ile) and 81 (Leu to Ala). The distribution of these nucleotide substitutions suggests a gene conversion-like event responsible for the generation of these HLA-B27 subtypes. The mechanisms underlying the generation of new polymorphic variants in man are therefore probably identical to the gene conversion-like events postulated in the generation of H-2Kbm class I mutants in the mouse.     

Noninfectious human immunodeficiency virus type 1 mutants deficient in genomic RNA.

All retroviruses contain, in the nucleocapsid domain of the Gag protein, one or two copies of the sequence Cys-X2-Cys-X4-His-X4-Cys. We have generated a series of mutants in the two copies of this motif present in human immunodeficiency virus type 1. These mutants encoded virus particles that were apparently composed of the normal complement of viral proteins but contained only 2 to 20% of the normal level of genomic RNA. No infectivity could be detected in the mutant particles, while 10(5) infectious U were present in an equivalent amount of wild-type particles. Thus, the mutants have another defect in addition to the inefficiency with which they encapsidate genomic RNA. Our results show that both copies of the motif are required for normal RNA packaging and for infectivity. Mutants of this type may have important applications, including nonhazardous materials for research, immunogens in vaccine and immunotherapy studies, and diagnostic reagents.     

Light scattering and excitation in lobster giant axon Effects of ion substitution

Changes in the light scattering signal from single giant axons of lobster were observed during the propagation of the action potential in order to correlate membrane excitability with possible structural changes reflected in the optical properties of the axolemma. Substitution of guanidine and aminoguanidine for sodium resulted in a decreased action potential amplitude to 69 and 50% of control values, respectively. The amplitude of the light signal was, however, not significantly changed by these substitutions and is, therefore, reported to be independent of the transmembrane potential and current. The venom of the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus caused a marked prolongation of the action potential and the light scattering signal without significantly altering their amplitudes. A two-state model of the early (sodium) activation channel is suggested, in which the light scattering signal is correlated with a possible difference in the scattering efficiency between the states of the channel.     

Rescue and Transmission of a Replication-Defective Variant of Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus

We have described a clone of mouse cells, termed "8A," which appears to be infected with a replication-defective variant of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MuLV) (Rein et al., J. Virol. 25:146-156, 1978). Clone 8A cells release virus particles which do not form plaques in the standard XC test. However, approximately 10(2) particles per ml of clone 8A supernatant do form plaques in a modified XC test (the "complementation plaque assay"), in which the assay cells are coinfected with the XC-negative, nondefective amphotropic MuLV as well as the test virus. Superinfection of clone 8A cells themselves with amphotropic MuLV results in the production of approximately 10(5), rather than approximately 10(2), particles per ml which register in the complementation plaque assay. This increase is due to the rescue of replication-defective ecotropic MuLV from clone 8A cells by amphotropic MuLV since (i) this ecotropic MuLV can only form XC plaques in cells which are coinfected with amphotropic MuLV; and (ii) it is possible to transmit this defective variant, rescued from superinfected clone 8A cells, to a fresh clone of normal mouse cells. The time course of production of the rescued MuLV particles by superinfected clone 8A cells is virtually identical to that of rescue from these cells of murine sarcoma virus. Amphotropic MuLV superinfection of "NP-N" cells, which contain a "non-plaque-forming" variant of N-tropic MuLV (Hopkins and Jolicoeur, J. Virol. 16:991-999, 1975), also increases the titer of particles registering in the complementation plaque assay; thus, NP-N cells, like clone 8A cells, contain a rescuable defective variant of ecotropic MuLV.     

Loss of Fv-1 restriction in Balb/3T3 cells following infection with a single N tropic murine leukemia virus particle.

The ability of various murine leukemia viruses (MuLVs) to replicate in mouse cells exhibiting Fv-1 restriction was analyzed by quantitative dose-response assays. In particular, the effect of infection with N, B, or NB tropic MuLVs on Fv-1b restriction in Balb/3T3 cells was measured with an infection center technique in which pseudotypes of murine sarcoma virus (MSV), which have been shown to exhibit Fv-1 dependence of expression, were used to quantitate the degree of restriction. The resulting dose-response curves indicate that productive infection of a single Balb/3T3 cell with N tropic MSV requires co-infection with two MuLV particles. These two MuLV particles are functionally distinguishable. One of them must be N tropic and must be added less than 18 hr after infection with N tropic MSV. The second MuLV particle, on the other hand, need not be N tropic and may be added at any time. Balb/3T3 cultures infected with sufficient N tropic MuLV become fully permissive to transformation by N tropic MSV and to productive infection by N tropic MuLV. This effect, termed "abrogation" of Fv-1 restriction, results from infection of a Balb/3T3 cell with a single N tropic MuLV particle, but apparently occurs without viral replication. It seems probable that a requirement for abrogation of Fv-1b restriction by a single infectious particle of N tropic MuLV, which does not itself replicate, is responsible for the two-hit dose-response relationship observed in infectivity titrations of N tropic MuLV in Balb/3T3 cells. The requirements that N tropic MuLV be added within a specified time period with regard to N tropic MSV in order for abrogation to occur suggests that in the absence of N tropic MuLV, the cellular Fv-1b restriction mechanism inactivates N tropic MSV by 9 hr after infection.