The Gene Encoding Flavanone 3-Hydroxylase is Expressed Normally in the Pale Yellow Flowers of the Japanese Morning Glory Carrying the speckled Mutation Which Produce Neither Flavonol nor Anthocyanin but Accumulate Chalcone, Aurone and Flavanone

The Japanese morning glory carrying the recessive mutable speckledallele with the dominant speckled-activator bears colorlessflowers with fine and round colored spots distributed over thecorolla whereas the plant without the speckled-activator producespale yellow flowers. Previous chemical analysis has indicatedthat a mutation in the gene for flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H)is a likely candidate for the speckled allele. However, theF3HmRNA without sequence alteration accumulates normally inthe pale yellow flowers, indicating that the speckled alleleis neither the F3H gene nor a regulatory gene acting on theF3H gene expression. (Received April 4, 1997; Accepted June 2, 1997)     

Identification and purification of overlapping cosmid clones of the region Xq24-qter of human X chromosome using HPLC.

The assembly of a large physical map of genomes requires simultaneous analysis of many cosmid clones for overlapping regions. The search for overlapping regions may be achieved by various means. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) provides an alternative to gel electrophoresis since microgram amounts of each DNA fragment may be collected into individual test tubes for further analysis. HPLC has been used to identify overlapping cosmid clones from a pool of cosmid DNA containing the terminal portion of the long arm of the human X chromosome (Xq24-qter). Among 400 cosmids analyzed, 3 were shown to overlap.     

Analysis of Immune Response Markers in Jorge Lobo's Disease Lesions Suggests the Occurrence of Mixed T Helper Responses with the Dominance of Regulatory T Cell Activity

Jorge Lobo’s disease (JLD) is a chronic infection that affects the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Its etiologic agent is the fungus Lacazia loboi. Lesions are classified as localized, multifocal, or disseminated, depending on their location. Early diagnosis and the surgical removal of lesions are the best therapeutic options currently available for JLD. The few studies that evaluate the immunological response of JLD patients show a predominance of Th2 response, as well as a high frequency of TGF-β and IL-10 positive cells in the lesions; however, the overall immunological status of the lesions in terms of their T cell phenotype has yet to be determined. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the pattern of Th1, Th2, Th17 and regulatory T cell (Treg) markers mRNA in JLD patients by means of real-time PCR. Biopsies of JLD lesions (N = 102) were classified according to their clinical and histopathological features and then analyzed using real-time PCR in order to determine the expression levels of TGF-β1, FoxP3, CTLA4, IKZF2, IL-10, T-bet, IFN-γ, GATA3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-33, RORC, IL-17A, IL-17F, and IL-22 and to compare these levels to those of healthy control skin (N = 12). The results showed an increased expression of FoxP3, CTLA4, TGF-β1, IL-10, T-bet, IL-17F, and IL-17A in lesions, while GATA3 and IL-4 levels were found to be lower in diseased skin than in the control group. When the clinical forms were compared, TGF-β1 was found to be highly expressed in patients with a single localized lesion while IL-5 and IL-17A levels were higher in patients with multiple/disseminated lesions. These results demonstrate the occurrence of mixed T helper responses and suggest the dominance of regulatory T cell activity, which could inhibit Th-dependent protective responses to intracellular fungi such as L. loboi. Therefore, Tregs may play a key role in JLD pathogenesis.     

Genetic parameters of egg characteristics in Japanese quail

Heritability, phenotypic and genetic correlations of egg characteristics of Japanese quail were investigated to obtain basal information on breeding, strain identification and genetic monitoring. For this study, 3230 eggs produced from 323 female were used. Measurement were taken on egg weight, yolk weight, albumen weight, shell weight, egg shape index, albumen height, specific gravity, shell thickness, shell strength and yolk color. Heritability estimates of egg characteristics were high and ranged from 0.62 to 0.84. Diverse phenotypic and genetic correlations were observed among egg characteristics. These results indicate that individual selection should be the most efficient method of improving egg characteristics and that consideration should be given to the interrelationship of characteristics to accomplish genetic improvement. The possibility exists these assays of egg characteristics can be used for strain identification and genetic monitoring without killing an individual of quail.     

Cord transferrin and ferritin values for erythropoiesis in newborn infants of diabetic mothers

Neonatal polycythemia is a perinatal complication in infants of diabetic mothers. The cord CBC (complete blood counts), serum iron, transferrin and ferritin concentrations were studied in newborn infants of 9 GDM (gestational diabetes), 21 NIDDM (noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus), and 8 IDDM (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) mothers. The RBC (red blood cell) count, Hb (hemoglobin) and Hct (hematocrit) of these infants were higher than control infants. There was no difference between the serum iron concentration of the infants of each group diabetic mothers and the infants in the control group, but the transferrin concentration was significantly higher and the ferritin was significantly lower in the infants of diabetic mothers than in those of control mothers. There was a significant negative correlation between transferrin and ferritin (r = -0.491 p less than 0.001). Erythropoiesis is considered to be enhanced in the fetuses of diabetic mothers, and the iron needed for erythropoiesis is reportedly transported from the mother to the fetus according to the demands of the fetus, but the iron storage was shown to be reduced in the fetuses of diabetic mothers.     

Accumulation and Interconversion of Amino Acids in Rice Roots under Anoxia

In excised rice roots, anaerobic degradation of proteins gaverise to an increase of free-amino acids. Anoxic accumulationof alanine, -aminobutyric acid and proline was the consequenceof the interconversion of glutamate, aspartate and amides. Theshift in the composition of the amino acid pool appears to becaused by changes in keto acid levels. The role of reactionsinvolved in amino acid interconversion and the physiologicalsignificance of these interconversions are considered and discussed. (Received November 25, 1988; Accepted June 9, 1988)     

The usefulness of CHAPS as a non-cytotoxic stabilizing agent in purification of growth factors

Among several detergents, a zwitterionic detergent, 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate (CHAPS), was found to be least cytotoxic for cultured mammalian cells. CHAPS improved the activity recovery and elution profile of crude and purified fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) during chromatographies. Diluted preparations of FGFs were stabilized by CHAPS against the loss during storage. Amino acid sequence analysis was not disturbed by CHAPS. CHAPS was removable by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. These results indicate that CHAPS is useful as a non-cytotoxic stabilizing agent in purification of various kinds of bioactive polypeptides.Abbreviations -MEM Alpha Modification of Eagle's Minimal essential medium - CHAPS 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate - CHAPSO 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-2-hydroxy-1-propane sulfonate - CS Calf Serum - EGF Epidermal Growth Factor - FGF Fibroblast Growth Factor - HPLC High-Performance Liquid Chromatography - NGF Nerve Growth Factor - NOG 1-O-n-octyl--D-glucopyranoside - NP-40 Nonidet P-40 - PBS Phosphate-Buffered Saline - SB 12 3-(dodecylmethylammonio)-1-propane sulfonate - SDS Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate - TGF- and Transforming Growth Factor type and