Relevance of fatty acid oxidation in regulation of the outer mitochondrial membrane permeability for ADP.

The present study on saponin-treated rat heart muscle fibers has revealed a new function of the fatty acid oxidation system in the regulation of the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) permeability for ADP. It is found that oxidation of palmitoyl-CoA+carnitine, palmitoyl-L-carnitine and octanoyl-L-carnitine (alone or in combination with pyruvate+malate) dramatically decreased a very high value of apparent K(m) of oxidative phosphorylation for ADP. Octanoyl-D-carnitine, as well as palmitate, palmitoyl-CoA, and palmitoyl-L-carnitine were not effective in this respect, when their oxidation was prevented by the absence of necessary cofactors or blocked with rotenone. Our data suggest that oxidation, but not transport of fatty acids into mitochondria, induces an increase in the OMM permeability for ADP.     

Diazoxide and Pinacidil Uncouple Pyruvate–Malate-Induced Mitochondrial Respiration

We investigated the effects of K_ATP channel openers diazoxide and pinacidil on the respiration rate and membrane potential () of rat heart mitochondria, oxidizing pyruvate and malate. Diazoxide and pinacidil (58.8–1348.3 M) increased the V ₂ (-ADP) respiration rate accordingly by 13–208% and 30–273% and decreased the by 2–17% and 6–55%. These effects were also similar in the respiration medium without K⁺. Moreover, carboxyatractyloside completely abolished diazoxide- and pinacidil-induced uncoupling, indicating a role for the mitochondrial adenine nucleotide translocase in this process.     

Ragweed plants and airborne pollen in the Baltic states

Presence of pollen in the atmosphere was determined inTartu in 1989–1997, in Kuressaare in 1996–1997 and iniauliai in 1997. Ragweed airpollen was found in latesummer in three years. The distribution, abundance andflowering of local ragweed plants were estimated. Itappeared that the number of local sources did notexceed twenty per country per year. Majority of thesesources consisted of a small number of pollinating A. artemisiifolia individuals. The largest localsources, consisting of several hundreds ofindividuals, were exclusively rare. Transport ofragweed pollen by air masses from distant sources wasstudied. It was found that incursions of ragweedpollen were determined by air fluxes originating fromthe Ukraine as well as from the southeastern andsouthern regions of the European part of Russia. Theseincursions occurred in extensive high-pressure areaswhose centre was located in the central region of theEuropean part of Russia with a periphery extending tothe Baltic countries.     

Carotenoid S(1) state in a recombinant light-harvesting complex of Photosystem II.

The carotenoid species lutein, violaxanthin, and zeaxanthin are crucial in the xanthophyll-dependent nonphotochemical quenching occurring in photosynthetic systems of higher plants, since they are involved in dissipation of excess energy and thus protect the photosynthetic machinery from irreversible inhibition. Nonetheless, important properties of the xanthophyll cycle carotenoids, such as the energy of their S(1) electronic states, are difficult to study and were only recently determined in organic solvents [Polívka, T. (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96, 4914. Frank, H. A. (2000) Biochemistry 39, 2831]. In the present study, we have determined the S(1) energies of three carotenoid species, violaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin, in their LHCII (peripheral light-harvesting complex of photosystem II) protein environment by constructing recombinant Lhcb1 (Lhc = light-harvesting complex) proteins containing single carotenoid species. Within experimental error the S(1) energy is the same for all three carotenoids in the monomeric LHCII, 13,900 +/- 300 cm(-1) (720 +/- 15 nm), thus well below the Q(y)() transitions of chlorophylls. In addition, we have found that, although the S(1) lifetimes of violaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin differ substantially in solution, when incorporated into the LHCII protein, their S(1) states have in fact the same lifetime of about 11 ps. Despite the similar spectroscopic properties of the carotenoids bound to the LHCII, we observed a maximal fluorescence quenching when zeaxanthin was present in the LHCII complex. On the basis of these observations, we suggest that, rather than different photochemical properties of individual carotenoid species, changes in the protein conformation induced by binding of carotenoids with distinct molecular structures are involved in the quenching phenomena associated with Lhc proteins.     

Optical microscopy in photosynthesis

Emerging as well as the most frequently used optical microscopy techniques are reviewed and image contrast generation methods in a microscope are presented, focusing on the nonlinear contrasts such as harmonic generation and multiphoton excitation fluorescence. Nonlinear microscopy presents numerous advantages over linear microscopy techniques including improved deep tissue imaging, optical sectioning, and imaging of live unstained samples. Nonetheless, with the exception of multiphoton excitation fluorescence, nonlinear microscopy is in its infancy, lacking protocols, users and applications; hence, this review focuses on the potential of nonlinear microscopy for studying photosynthetic organisms. Examples of nonlinear microscopic imaging are presented including isolated light-harvesting antenna complexes from higher plants, starch granules, chloroplasts, unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and cyanobacteria Leptolyngbya sp. and Anabaena sp. While focusing on nonlinear microscopy techniques, second and third harmonic generation and multiphoton excitation fluorescence microscopy, other emerging nonlinear imaging modalities are described and several linear optical microscopy techniques are reviewed in order to clearly describe their capabilities and to highlight the advantages of nonlinear microscopy.     

Bi-specific aptamers mediating tumor cell lysis

Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity plays a pivotal role in antibody-based tumor therapies and is based on the recruitment of natural killer cells to antibody-bound tumor cells via binding of the Fcγ receptor III (CD16). Here we describe the generation of chimeric DNA aptamers that simultaneously bind to CD16α and c-Met, a receptor that is overexpressed in many tumors. By application of the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) method, CD16α specific DNA aptamers were isolated that bound with high specificity and affinity (91 pm-195 nm) to their respective recombinant and cellularly expressed target proteins. Two optimized CD16α specific aptamers were coupled to each of two c-Met specific aptamers using different linkers. Bi-specific aptamers retained suitable binding properties and displayed simultaneous binding to both antigens. Moreover, they mediated cellular cytotoxicity dependent on aptamer and effector cell concentration. Displacement of a bi-specific aptamer from CD16α by competing antibody 3G8 reduced cytotoxicity and confirmed the proposed mode of action. These results represent the first gain of a tumor-effective function of two distinct oligonucleotides by linkage into a bi-specific aptamer mediating cellular cytotoxicity.     

Molecular modelling of K(ATP) channel blockers-ADP/ ATP carrier interactions

The modelling of molecule-molecule interactions has been widely accepted as a tool for drug discovery and development studies. However, this powerful technique is unappreciated in physiological and biochemical studies, where it could be extremely useful for understanding the mechanisms of action of various compounds in cases when experimental data are controversial due to complexity of the investigated systems. In this study, based on the biochemical data suggesting involvement of mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier in K+ and H+ transport to mitochondrial matrix molecular modelling is applied to elucidate the possible interactions between the ADP/ATP carrier and its putative ligands--K(ATP) channel blockers glybenclamide, tolbutamide and 5-hydroxydecanoate. Results revealed that K(ATP) channel blockers could bind to the specific location proximal to H1, H4, H5 and H6 transmembrane helices within the cavity of the ADP/ ATP carrier. Analysis of the predicted binding site suggests that K(ATP) channel blockers could interfere with both the ADP/ATP translocation and possible cation flux through the ADP/ATP carrier, and supports the hypothesis that the ADP/ATP carrier is a target of K(ATP) channel modulators.     

Adenine nucleotide translocase mediates the K(ATP)-channel-openers-induced proton and potassium flux to the mitochondrial matrix

K_ATP channel openers have been shown to protect ischemic-reperfused myocardium by mimicking ischemic preconditioning, although their mechanisms of action have not been fully clarified. In this study we investigated the influence of the adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) inhibitors–carboxyatractyloside (CAT) and bongkrekic acid (BA)–on the diazoxide- and pinacidil-induced uncoupling of isolated rat heart mitochondria respiring on pyruvate and malate (6 + 6 mM). We found that both CAT (1.3 M) and BA (20 M) markedly reduced the uncoupling of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation induced by the K_ATP channel openers. Thus, the uncoupling effect of diazoxide and pinacidil is evident only when ANT is not fixed by inhibitors in neither the C- nor the M-conformation. Moreover, the uncoupling effect of diazoxide and pinacidil was diminished in the presence of ADP or ATP, indicating a competition of K_ATP channel openers with adenine nucleotides. CAT also abolished K⁺-dependent mitochondrial respiratory changes. Thus ANT could also be involved in the regulation of K_ATP-channel-openers-induced K⁺ flux through the inner mitochondrial membrane.     

What controls the outer mitochondrial membrane permeability for ADP: facts for and against the role of oncotic pressure

In our study 10% of bovine serum albumin was added to the physiological incubation medium to mimic the oncotic pressure of the cellular cytoplasm and to test for its effect on the respiration of isolated rat heart mitochondria, saponin- or saponin plus crude collagenase (type IV)-treated heart muscle fibers and saponin-treated rat quadriceps muscle fibers. Pyruvate and malate were used as substrates. We found that albumin slightly decreased the maximal ADP-stimulated respiration rate only for saponin-treated heart muscle fibers. The apparent Km ADP of oxidative phosphorylation increased significantly, by 70-100%, for isolated heart mitochondria, saponin plus collagenase-treated heart muscle fibers and for saponin-treated quadriceps muscle fibers but remained unchanged for saponin-treated heart muscle fibers. The saponin-treated heart muscle fibers were characterized by a very high control apparent Km ADP value (234+/-24 microM ADP) compared with other preparations (14-28 microM ADP). The results suggest that in vivo the oncotic pressure is not the relevant factor causing the low outer mitochondrial membrane permeability for ADP in cardiomyocytes, in contrast to quadriceps muscle cells. It is likely that the outer mitochondrial membrane-bound protein(s) which is supposed to remain in saponin-treated heart muscle fibers is responsible for this property of the membrane.