Activities of respiratory enzymes during aerobic adaptation of anaerobically grownParacoccus denitrificans

The aerobic adaptation of anaerobically grownP. denitrificans carried out under conditions of limited growth is characterized by an exponential decrease of nitrite reductase activity and a sharp increase of cytochrome oxidase and a slow increase of NADH:cytochromec oxidase reductase and succinate dehydrogenase activities. The adaptation in a minimal adaptation medium under conditions of active or blocked protein synthesis showed that in addition to the degradation component of turnover during the aerobic adaptation other degradation enzyme(s), whose synthesis is induced by oxygen, are involved. This degradation system plays an essential role in the rapid disappearance of nitrite reductase and a pronounced decrease of the membranebound cytochromec oxidase activities during aerobic adaptation in the minimal adaptation medium.     

Effect of oxygen on ubiquinone-10 production by Paracoccus denitrificans

Summary Ubiquinone-10 (Q₁₀) production was measured in batch cultures of Paracoccus denitrificans grown for 8 h at increasing oxygen concentrations (0–21 % O₂ in the sparging gas). Whereas the cellular level of Q₁₀ decreased monotonically from 1.2 to 0.5 mol/g d.w., the total yield of Q₁₀ was maximal at 2.5 % O₂ and amounted to 350 nmol (0.3 mg) per L of culture.     

Cytotaxonomic study ofTragopogon L. in czechoslovakia

Karyotypes ofTragopogon orientalis L. subsp.orientalis, T orientalis L. subsp.leiocarpos (Sauter)Trnka,T. pratensis L.,T. minor Miller,T. dubius Scop. subsp.dubius andT. dubius Scop. subsp.major (Jacq.)Vollmann were studied. The occurrence in Slovakia ofT. pratensis was karyologically proved.     

Mutations in SLC33A1 cause a lethal autosomal-recessive disorder with congenital cataracts, hearing loss, and low serum copper and ceruloplasmin

Low copper and ceruloplasmin in serum are the diagnostic hallmarks for Menkes disease, Wilson disease, and aceruloplasminemia. We report on five patients from four unrelated families with these biochemical findings who presented with a lethal autosomal-recessive syndrome of congenital cataracts, hearing loss, and severe developmental delay. Cerebral MRI showed pronounced cerebellar hypoplasia and hypomyelination. Homozygosity mapping was performed and displayed a region of commonality among three families at chromosome 3q25. Deep sequencing and conventional sequencing disclosed homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations for all affected subjects in SLC33A1 encoding a highly conserved acetylCoA transporter (AT-1) required for acetylation of multiple gangliosides and glycoproteins. The mutations were found to cause reduced or absent AT-1 expression and abnormal intracellular localization of the protein. We also showed that AT-1 knockdown in HepG2 cells leads to reduced ceruloplasmin secretion, indicating that the low copper in serum is due to reduced ceruloplasmin levels and is not a sign of copper deficiency. The severity of the phenotype implies an essential role of AT-1 in proper posttranslational modification of numerous proteins, without which normal lens and brain development is interrupted. Furthermore, AT-1 defects are a new and important differential diagnosis in patients with low copper and ceruloplasmin in serum.     

Multifaceted roles of human elafin and secretory leukocyte proteinase inhibitor (SLPI), two serine protease inhibitors of the chelonianin family

Elafin and SLPI are low-molecular weight proteins that were first identified as protease inhibitors in mucous fluids including lung secretions, where they help control excessive proteolysis due to neutrophil serine proteases (elastase, proteinase 3 and cathepsin G). Elafin and SLPI are structurally related in that both have a fold with a four-disulfide core or whey acidic protein (WAP) domain responsible for inhibiting proteases. Elafin is derived from a precursor, trappin-2 or pre-elafin, by proteolysis. Trappin-2, which is itself a protease inhibitor, has a unique N-terminal domain that enables it to become cross-linked to extracellular matrix proteins by transglutaminase(s). SLPI and elafin/trappin-2 are attractive candidates as therapeutic molecules for inhibiting neutrophil serine proteases in inflammatory lung diseases. Hence, they have become the WAP proteins most studied over the last decade. This review focuses on recent findings revealing that SLPI and elafin/trappin-2 have many biological functions as diverse as anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and immuno-modulatory functions, in addition to their well-recognized role as protease inhibitors.     

Serum organochlorine pesticides residues and risk of cancer: A case-control study

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are frequently used worldwide as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and termiticides and have been associated with a variety of cancers in animal and human studies. In the present study, we examined residues of fourteen OCPs in the serum samples of diagnosed cancer patients and healthy residents of Karachi, Pakistan. A random collection of fasting blood samples was carried out from the donors with informed consent. Serum was separated within 2?h of blood collection and was then subjected to extraction with organic solvents followed by purification with florisil column. The final organic extract of each serum sample was processed with Gas Chromatograph coupled with Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD). OCPs were detected in 97.59% of the cancer cases and 93.75% of the healthy subjects. Mean concentrations of total OCPs (ΣOCPs) was found elevated in the cancer group (0.606?mg/kg) compared with the control group (0.322?mg/kg). Endosulfan was the highest prevalent OCP with a mean concentration of 0.214?mg/kg in the cancer group and 0.166?mg/kg in the control group. The second most prevalent OCP was 4,4-DDE with a mean concentration of 0.131?mg/kg in the cancer group and 0.019?mg/kg in the control group. Highest level of ΣOCPs was detected in the breast cancer cases (20.411?mg/kg) with a mean level of (2.041?mg/kg). In light of the obtained results and available literature on the subject, it has been concluded that OCPs are positively associated with the risk of various cancers in humans.     

Structural Characterization of Mouse Neutrophil Serine Proteases and Identification of Their Substrate Specificities: RELEVANCE TO MOUSE MODELS OF HUMAN INFLAMMATORY DISEASES*

It is widely accepted that neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs) play a critical role in neutrophil-associated lung inflammatory and tissue-destructive diseases. To investigate NSP pathogenic role(s), various mouse experimental models have been developed that mimic acutely or chronically injured human lungs. We and others are using mouse exposure to cigarette smoke as a model for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with or without exacerbation. However, the relative contribution of NSPs to lung disease processes as well as their underlying mechanisms remains still poorly understood. And the lack of purified mouse NSPs and their specific substrates have hampered advances in these studies. In this work, we compared mouse and human NSPs and generated three-dimensional models of murine NSPs based on three-dimensional structures of their human homologs. Analyses of these models provided compelling evidence that peptide substrate specificities of human and mouse NSPs are different despite their conserved cleft and close structural resemblance. These studies allowed us to synthesize for the first time novel sensitive fluorescence resonance energy transfer substrates for individual mouse NSPs. Our findings and the newly identified substrates should better our understanding about the role of NSPs in the pathogenesis of cigarette-associated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well as other neutrophils-associated inflammatory diseases.     

Chromosome counts and chromosome morphology of some selected species

In the years 1976–1981 we studied chromosome counts and karyotypic formulae of the following 29 species of plants from 41 localities (of these 6 from Bohemia, 32 from Moravia, 3 from Slovakia):Batrachium baudotii (Godron) F. W. Schultz,Chenopodium rubrum L.,C. polyspermum L.,C. murale L.,C. ficifolium Sm.,C. opulifolium Schrader ex DC. inLam. et DC.,C. strictum Roth [subsp.strictum, subsp.glaucophyllum (Aellen)Aellen inJust etAellen, subsp.striatiforme Uotila],Arenaria grandiflora L.,Illecebrum verticillatum L.,Spergula morisonii Boreau inDuchartre,Spergularia marginata (DC. inLam. et DC.)Kittel S. marina (L.)Griseb.,S. rubra (L.) J. etC. Presl,Silene conica L.,Sisymbrium loeselii L.,S. volgense Bieb. exE. Fourn.,S. orientale L. [subsp. orientale, subsp.macroloma (A. Pomel)Dvo?ák],S. officinale (L.)Scop.,Descurainia sophia (L.)Webb exPrantl inEngler etPrantl,Nasturtium officinale R. Br. inAiton,Barbarea arcuata (Opiz inPresl J. et C.)Reichenb.,Lunaria annua L.,Soldanella montana Willd.,S. carpatica Vierh. inUrban etGraebner,Lotus tenuis Waldst. etKit. exWilld.,L. uliginosus Schkuhr,Trigonella monspeliaca L.,Geranium sibiricum L.,Lactuca tatarica (L.)C. A. Meyer.     

Aloeresin c,a bitter c,o-diglucoside from cape aloe

A new bitter C,O-diglucoside, aloeresin C, was isolated from commercial Cape aloe. Its structure, 2-acetonyl-7-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-8-C-β-D-[2′-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl]glucopyranosyl-5-methylchromone, was established by spectral and chemical methods.