Endothelin-3 is a novel neuropeptide: isolation and sequence determination of endothelin-1 and endothelin-3 in porcine brain

The molecular forms of endothelin (ET) related peptides were investigated in porcine brain by using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with three specific radioimmunoassays. ET-1 and its oxidized form were isolated and sequenced as in the case of porcine spinal cord. A very small amount of big ET-1 (1-39) and its C-terminal fragment (big ET-1 (22-39] were also detected. Furthermore, immunoreactive (ir)-ET-3 was isolated and sequenced; its partial primary structure was identical to that of human (rat) ET-3. The concentrations of ir-ET-1 and ir-ET-3 in porcine brain were 140 fmol/g tissue and 5 fmol/g tissue, respectively. These results indicate that besides ET-1, ET-3 is a novel neuropeptide in the central nervous system.     

Presence of endothelin-1 in porcine spinal cord: isolation and sequence determination

We investigated the molecular forms of endothelin (ET) related peptides in porcine spinal cord by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with radioimmunoassays using three antisera raised against ET-1 and C-terminal fragments of ET-1 and big ET-1. ET-1 and its oxidized form were isolated as major immunoreactive peptides and sequenced. Furthermore, immunoreactivities like ET-3 and big ET-1(22-39) (contents: less than 8% and less than 1% of ET-1, respectively) were detected based on their chromatographic retention times and characteristics of immunoreactivity to the antisera. Big ET-1 was only scarcely detected. Immunohistochemical study showed the presence of ET-1-like immunoreactivity in motoneurons, dorsal horn neurons and dot- and fiber-like structures in the dorsal horn of lumbar spinal cord. These results indicate that ET-1 is present not only in endothelial cells but also in spinal cord, and that big ET-1 is converted into ET-1 in spinal cord by specific processing between Trp21-Val22. The data also indicate that ET-1 may act as a neuropeptide in the central nervous system.     

Carboxyl methylation and farnesylation of transducin gamma-subunit synergistically enhance its coupling with metarhodopsin II.

A heterotrimeric G-protein in vertebrate photoreceptor cells is called transducin (T alpha beta gamma), whose gamma-subunit is a mixture of two components, T gamma-1 and T gamma-2. T gamma-2 is S-farnesylated and partly carboxyl methylated at the C-terminal cysteine residue, whereas T gamma-1 lacks the modified cysteine residue. To elucidate the physiological significance of the double modifications in T gamma, we established a simple chromatographic procedure to isolate T gamma-1, methylated T gamma-2 and non-methylated T gamma-2 on a reversed phase column. Taking advantage of the high and reproducible yield of T gamma from the column, we analyzed the composition of T gamma subspecies in the T alpha-T beta gamma complex which did not bind with transducin-depleted rod outer segment membranes containing metarhodopsin II. The binding of T alpha-T beta gamma with the membranes was shown to require the S-farnesylated cysteine residue of T gamma, whose methylation further enhanced the binding. This synergistic effect was not evident when T alpha was either absent or converted to the GTP-bound form which is known to dissociate from T beta gamma. Thus we concluded that a formation of the ternary complex, T alpha-T beta gamma-metarhodopsin II, is enhanced by the farnesylation and methylation of T gamma. This suggests that the double modifications provide most efficient signal transduction in photoreceptor cells.     

Cyclic nucleotide-dependent phosphorylation of proteins in rod outer segments in frog retina. Characteristics of the phosphorylated proteins and their dephosphorylation

To clarify the function of cyclic nucleotides in rod outer segments (ROS) of frog retinas, we studied cyclic nucleotide-dependent phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of protein. cGMP or cAMP with [gamma-32P]ATP in the dark enhanced the phosphorylation of two ROS proteins with Mr = 10,500 (Band 1) and 8,500 (Band 2) according to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. The phosphorylation was maximally enhanced at 2.0 mM cGMP and cAMP in the presence of Mg2+. The cGMP-activated protein kinase showed near-optimal activity between pH 6.5 and 8.0. GMP, GDP, GTP, AMP, and ADP did not enhance the phosphorylation. The stoichiometry of the phosphate incorporated into Bands 1 and 2 could not be calculated because the amount of Bands 1 and 2 was too small to measure. Both 32P-phosphorylated Bands 1 and 2 (32P-Bands 1 and 2) were solubilized during preparation and the molecular weight of each, in the native preparation, was 19,000. Their isoelectric point was 5.2. The sites of phosphorylation were the serine residue(s). DEAE-Sephadex A-50 column chromatography gave a good separation of Bands 1 and 2 from other 32P-phosphoproteins at 60 mM NaCl. Dephosphorylation of 32P-Bands 1 and 2 in dark-adapted ROS suspension required Mn2+ or Mg2+; the former was more effective than the latter at concentrations below 0.5 mM. Both phosphorylation and dephosphorylation were inhibited by Zn2+.     

Structures of deepoxytrichothecene metabolites from 3'-hydroxy HT-2 toxin and T-2 tetraol in rats.

3'-Hydroxy HT-2 toxin and T-2 tetraol, in vivo metabolites of T-2 toxin, were orally administered to Wistar rats, and four metabolites having a trichothec-9,12-diene nucleus, which were termed deepoxytrichothecenes, were newly found in the excreta. Their structures were confirmed as 3'-hydroxy-deepoxy HT-2, 3'-hydroxy-deepoxy T-2 triol, 15-acetyl-deepoxy T-2 tetraol, and deepoxy T-2 tetraol on the basis of mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Resolution of T-2 metabolites and corresponding deepoxytrichothecenes by gas-liquid and thin-layer chromatography was also described.     

Mother-infant interactions of wild-born,individually-caged cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) during the first 14 weeks of infant life

This study documents age-related changes in the interactions of wild-born cynomolgus macaque mothers and their infants living in individual cages during the first 14 weeks of infant life. Body contact between mother and infant, maternal holding, and infant sucking were found to decrease, and the mothers showed an increased frequency of aggression toward their infants with age. These results were broadly similar to those reported for mother-infant interactions in other macaques living in social groups. Nevertheless, a clear difference between the present cynomolgus macaques and other macaques in social groups was apparent. The cynomolgus macaque mothers tended to permit their infants to move about freely without displaying maternal protectiveness such as restraint or retrieval, unlike other macaque mothers in social groups. Such maternal behaviors might derive from the experience of living in individual cages for many years and the relative safety of living in individual cages. The lack of maternal restraint and retrieval could be responsible for the observed sex differences in behavior: male infants moved more actively, and broke, and made contact with their mothers more frequently than did female infants. Moreover, mothers of female infants held and groomed them more frequently and were less aggressive toward them.     

Fine structure of the dorsal lingual epithelium of the Japanese monkey Macaca fuscata fuscata.

Filiform papillae, which were densely distributed all over the dorsal surface of the lingual body, were crown-shaped, with a central, circular area that sloped in the anterior direction and several branches that surrounded it in a semicircle from the back of the central area. Dome-shaped, fungiform papillae were scattered among these filiform papillae. At the posterior end of the lingual body, there were four circumvallate papillae. Prominent microridges and elevated intercellular borders were widely distributed in the central area of the filiform papillae and the interpapillar region. On the surface of the branches of the filiform papillae, microridges were rarely seen. On the surface of the fungiform papillae, indistinct microridges were observed. Histologically, the dorsal lingual epithelium revealed three different regions: the epithelium on the anterior side of the filiform papillae, the epithelium on the posterior side of the filiform papillae and the interpapillar epithelium. Whereas the basal and suprabasal cells are similar throughout, differences characterize the intermediate and surface layers. Keratohyalin granules appear predominantly in the intermediate layer in the epithelium on the anterior side of filiform papillae. In the epithelium on the posterior side of the filiform papillae, no keratohyalin granules occur and, instead, tonofibrils are prominent. The cells become significantly flattened. In the interpapillar epithelium, no keratohyalin granules are visible, and the tonofilaments occupy almost the entire cytoplasm of most cells in the intermediate and surface layers. The cells are larger in volume in these layers.