Effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid on excitability of tubero-infundibular neurons in rat hypothalamic slices

The effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on antidromically identified tubero-infundibular (TI) neurons was examined in hypothalamic slices of ovariectomized female rats. Twenty antidromically evoked spikes were obtained in the medial basal hypothalamus, including the arcuate and ventromedial nuclei, by electrical stimulation of the median eminence. Sixteen of them had a notch in the rising phase and fractionation of the initial segment (IS)- and somatodendritic (SD)-spikes was elicited by repeated stimulation at frequencies higher than 10 Hz. The application of 0.5-1.5 mM GABA to the incubation medium inhibited SD spikes in 7 of these 16 neurons. The latency, amplitude and threshold of IS spikes were not affected by GABA except for one spike whose latency fluctuated. On the remaining 9 neurons having the notch, no effect of 5-10 mM GABA was discernible. Four of 20 antidromically evoked spikes, which had a smooth rising phase and a shorter duration, were not inhibited by 5-10 mM GABA, but a fluctuation of the latency was observed in one neuron. Fifteen neurons having spontaneous unit activity were also obtained in the arcuate nucleus and its adjacent area and tested with GABA. In 10 of the 15 neurons, spontaneous unit activity disappeared following 0.1-1.5 mM GABA perfusion, while the firing rate in the remaining 5 neurons was not affected by 5-10 mM GABA. These results provide evidence for a direct inhibitory effect of GABA on TI neurons and support the involvement of GABAergic neurons in regulating neuroendocrine functions.     

Biological Activity of 5-Hydroxymethyluracil and Its Deoxynucleoside in Noninfected and Phageinfected Bacillus subtilis

(14)C-hydroxymethyldeoxyuridine (dHMU) is specifically incorporated into the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of bacteriophage SP8. Incorporation experiments demonstrate that the initiation of phage SP8 DNA synthesis occurs between 12.5 to 15 min after infection. Incorporation into host DNA does not occur. (14)C-dHMU can be used as an analytical tool for screening conditionally lethal phage mutants containing hydroxymethyluracil in their DNA to select those that are defective in DNA synthesis under restrictive conditions. The pyrimidine, (14)C-hydroxymethyluracil (HMU), is not incorporated into bacterial or phage DNA. Neither HMU nor dHMU can replace thymine as a growth requirement for Bacillus subtilis 168 Ind(-) Thy(-). HMU does not inhibit the utilization of thymine. Although dHMU inhibits deoxythymidine utilization, the inhibition is not competitive.     

Ether polar lipids of methanogenic bacteria: structures, comparative aspects, and biosyntheses.

Complete structures of nearly 40 ether polar lipids from seven species of methanogens have been elucidated during the past 10 years. Three kinds of variations of core lipids, macrocyclic archaeol and two hydroxyarchaeols, were identified, in addition to the usual archaeol and caldarchaeol (for the nomenclature of archaeal [archaebacterial] ether lipids, see the text). Polar head groups of methanogen phospholipids include ethanolamine, serine, inositol, N-acetylglucosamine, dimethyl- and trimethylaminopentanetetrol, and glucosaminylinositol. Glucose is the sole hexose moiety of glycolipids in most methanogens, and galactose and mannose have been found in a few species. Methanogen lipids are characterized by their diversity in phosphate-containing polar head groups and core lipids, which in turn can be used for chemotaxonomy of methanogens. This was shown by preliminary simplified analyses of lipid component residues. Core lipid analysis by high-pressure liquid chromatography provides a method of determining the methanogenic biomass in natural samples. There has been significant progress in the biosynthetic studies of methanogen lipids in recent years. In vivo incorporation experiments have led to delineation of the outline of the synthetic route of the diphytanylglycerol ether core. The mechanisms of biosynthesis of tetraether lipids and various polar lipids, and cell-free systems of either lipid synthesis, however, remain to be elucidated. The significance and the origin of archaeal ether lipids is discussed in terms of the lipid composition of bacteria living in a wide variety of environments, the oxygen requirement for biosynthesis of hydrocarbon chains, and the physicochemical properties and functions of lipids as membrane constituents.     

Newly established cell lines fromDrosophila larval CNS express neural specific characteristics

Summary From the central nervous system ofDrosophila melanogaster 3rd instar larvae, eight continuous cell lines have been established (named ML-DmBG1 to 8). Using ML-DmBG2, single colony isolation was carried out and six colonial clones were obtained. All reacted to the antibody to horseradish peroxidase, which is a neuronal marker in insects. Acetylcholine, a known neurotransmitter inDrosophila, was detected in three of the colonial clones by high performance liquid chromatography. Therefore, it is concluded that the established colonial clones are neural cells originating in the larval central nervous system. Among them, some variation was observed with respect to morphology, acetylcholine content, and reactivity to anti-HRP. The variation may reflect the heterogeneity of cells composing the central nervous system.     

Adsorption of BSA on QAE-dextran: equilibria

Equilibrium isotherms for adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on a strong-base (QAE) dextran-type ion exchanger have been determined experimentally. They were not affected by the initial concentration of BSA but were affected by pH considerably. They were correlated by the Langmuir equation when pH >/= 5.05 and by the Freundlich equation of pH 4.8, which is close to pl approximately 4.8 of BSA. The contribution of ion exchange to adsorption of BSA on the ion exchanger was determined experimentally. The maximum amounts of inorganic anion exchanged for BSA were 1% and 0.4% of the exchange capacity of the ion exchanger at pH 6.9, respectively. Since the effect of the ion exchange on the adsorption appeared small, BSA may be adsorbed mainly by electrostatic attraction when pH >/= 5.05 and by hydrophobic interaction or hydrogen bonding at pH 4.8. When NaCl coexisted in the solution, the shape of the isotherm was similar to the Langmuir isotherm, but it is shifted to the right. When the concentration of NaCl was 0.2 mol/dm(3), BsA was not adsorbed on the resin. When BSA was dissolved in pure water, the saturation capacity of BSA on HPO(4) (2-),-orm resin was about 2 times larger than that for adsorption from the solution with buffer (pH 6.9 and 8.79). The saturation capacity for adsorption of BSA in pure water on HPO(4) (2-) + H(2)O(4) (-)-from resin was much smaller than that from the solution with buffer. The isotherms for univalent Cl(-)-and H(2)PO(4) (-)-form resin was peculiar; that is, the amount of BSA adsorbed decreased with increasing the liquid-phase equilibrium concentration of BSA. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY OF PHYTOPLANKTON PIGMENTS USING A POLYMERIC REVERSED-PHASE C18 COLUMN1

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method is described that allows improved resolution of several chemotaxonomically significant phytoplankton pigments. The protocol, which employs two pumps and a modified Mantoura and Llewellyn (1983) solvent system, can be easily adapted for many HPLC systems currently in use. The most unique aspect of the method is the use of a polymeric C₁₈ reversed phase HPLC column (VYDAC 201TP). In comparison to the monomeric C₁₈ columns typically used in the characterization of phytoplankton pigments, polymeric C₁₈ columns offer superior selectivity for structurally similar compounds. The protocol was evaluated for the ability to resolve most of the phytoplankton pigments of diagnostic importance using algal cultures from nine classes. Pigment pairs that were resolved by the method include a) lutein and zeaxanthin, b) neoxanthin and 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin, and c) α-carotene and β-carotene, and partial resolution of chlorophyll c₁ and chlorophyll c₂.     

Successful expression in pollen of various plant species of in vitro synthesized mRNA introduced by particle bombardment

Gold particles coated with -glucuronidase (GUS) mRNA with a 5 cap structure that had been synthesized in vitro were introduced, by use of a pneumatic particle gun, into pollen grains of lily (Lilium longiflorum), freesia (Freesia refracta) and tulip (Tulipa gesneriana). A fluorometric assay for the GUS activity indicated that in vitro synthesized GUS mRNA introduced into these pollen cells by particle bombardment was successfully expressed. GUS activity in extracts of the bombarded lily pollen became detectable fluorometrically within 30 min after bombardment, peaked at 6 h, then gradually decreased. This activity changed as a function of the developmental stage of the pollen cell of lily.     

Products of phosphatidylglycerol turnover in two Bacillus strains with and without lipoteichoic acid in the cells

In order to understand the phosphatidylglycerol turnover mechanism, especially the differential turnover of diacylated and unacylated glycerol moieties of the lipid, products of phosphatidylglycerol metabolism were surveyed in vivo in Bacillus subtilis W23 and an alkalophile, Bacillus sp. strain A007. When cells of B. subtilis W23 labeled with radioactive glycerol were chased, lipoteichoic acid accumulated 90% of the radioactivity lost from the unacylated glycerol moiety of phosphatidylglycerol. Also, lipids other that phosphatidylglycerol, except diacylglycerol, and glycerol and glycerophosphate incorporated much less radioactivity. The [32P]phosphoryl group was also transferred from phosphatidylglycerol to lipoteichoic acid almost quantitatively in B. subtilis W23. A unique metabolism of phosphatidylglycerol was found in Bacillus sp. strain A007 which lacked phosphoglycolipid and lipoteichoic acid, that is, the turnover of phosphatidylglycerol of this organism was less extensive compared with that of B. subtilis W23, and both glycerol moieties of the lipid were metabolized at an identical rate. These results suggested that the major reaction involved in the turnover of phosphatidylglycerol was the transfer of glycerophosphate residue to lipoteichoic acid in a bacterium which possessed lipoteichoic acid and that several minor reactions also were involved in phosphatidylglycerol turnover.