Partial purification and characterization of a factor which stimulates an increase in ornithine decarboxylase activity in the liver from tumor cell-free ascites fluid

A factor responsible for stimulating an increase in ornithine decarboxylase activity in the liver of mice was found in tumor cell-free ascites fluid of mice 3 days after inoculation of tumor cells. The factor was purified about 70-fold in 25% yield from tumor cell-free ascites fluid. As little as 1 μg of protein of purified fraction, injected intraperitoneally into normal mice, significantly increased the activity of ornithine decarboxylase in the liver. The most active preparation of the factor formed two major protein bands on analytical polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and both these bands stained with periodic acid-Schiff's reagent. The factor was a heat-labile, alkaline-stable, acidic protein with a molecular weight of more than 300 000. It was inactivated by treatment with 10 mM dithiothreitol, 5M urea, pronase or mixed glycosidase, but was stable on treatment with DNAase, RNAase or neuraminidase.     

Lack of association and linkage between HLA and familial polyposis coli

Summary We investigated possible association of and linkage between HLA and familial polyposis coli (FPC). In 182 individuals from 66 pedigrees of FPC and 108 individuals from a normal population, HLA-A,-B, and-C antigens were determined. When the frequencies of HLA antigens in 66 unrelated patients and in normal controls were compared, no association of FPC with HLA was observed. For the linkage analysis, HLA haplotypes of 17 affected sib pairs were investigated by the affected sib pair method. The number of pairs which shared two, one, and no haplotypes identical by descent was not significantly different from the number expected with random occurrence (P>0.95). Finally, seven families were analyzed using Morton's sequential test. A maximum lod score of-0.056 at a recombination fraction of 0.4, and a lod of-3.089 at a recombination fraction of 0.05 were obtained. Therefore, there is neither an association of nor linkage between FPC and HLA.     

A sensitive method for the detection of mutagenic nitroarenes: construction of nitroreductase-overproducing derivatives of Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100

'Classical nitroreductase' is an enzyme involved in the intracellular metabolic activation of mutagenic nitroarenes. The nitroreductase gene of Salmonella typhimurium TA1538 was cloned into pBR322 and the plasmids harboring the gene were introduced into TA98 and TA100. The resulting strains (YG1021 and YG1026) had more than 50 times higher nitrofurazone-reductase activity than TA1538 containing pBR322, and were extremely sensitive to the mutagenic action of 2-nitrofluorene, 1-nitropyrene and 2-nitronaphthalene. These results indicate that the new strains permit the efficient detection of mutagenic nitroarenes.     

Characteristics of settling matter and its role in nutrient cycles in a deep oligotrophic lake

The settling flux of seston (dry weight, DW), chlorophyll a (Chl a), particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate organic nitrogen (PON), and particulate phosphorus (PP) was measured monthly in 1981–1983 at 10 different depths in Lake Chuzenji, Japan; an oligotrophic lake with a maximum depth of 163 m. The Ti concentration in entrapped matter was used to separate the sedimentation flux into allochthonous and autochthonous components. Inflow loads of dissolved nutrients (DN: 4.5, DP: 0.48 g m^-2a^-1) were almost sufficient to supply the autochthonous fluxes at 30 m (PON: 2.9, PP: 0.51 g m^-2a^-1 ), and this flux of POC (26.6 g m^-2a ^-1) was about one-third of primary production (84 g C M^-2a^-1). Sedimentation of particulate matter was the main path of losing nutrients from lake water, explaining more than 80% removal of inflow loads (TN, TP). Decomposition rates during sedimentation which were calculated from the vertical difference in the autochthonous flux agreed very closely with the results obtained by laboratory experiments of a 100-day incubation (content ratios from field observations were: POC 0.67, PON 0.65, PP 0.85; and from laboratory experiments they were: POC 0.68, PON 0.70, PP 0.94). These decomposition rates and those near the sediment interface were used to explain dissolved oxygen depletion and nitrate increase in the hypolimnion during stratification. The average sinking velocities were 1.82m d^-1 for seston and 1.16 m d^-1 for Chl a at 30m, they were influenced by Chl a content of seston.     

Preparation ofN-acetylneuraminic acid from delipidated egg yolk

Egg yolk, a large proportion of the egg, was studied for the preparation ofN-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac). The delipidated hen egg yolk (DEY; 500 kg containing 0.2% w/w, Neu5Ac) was hydrolysed with HCl (pH 1.4) at 80 °C and neutralized with NaOH (pH 6.0). The mixture was filtered and electrodialysed until the conductivity was 240 µS cm^–1. The filtrate was applied on a column of Dowex HCR-W2 (20–50 mesh), followed by a column of Dowex 1-X8 (200–400 mesh). The latter column was washed with water, and then eluted with a linear gradient of HCO₂H (0–2m). The eluates containing Neu5Ac were concentrated using a reverse osmosis membrane and, finally, rotary evaporated at 40 °C. The residue was then lyophilized to yield 500 g Neu5Ac. The purity of Neu5Ac was >98% (TBA method). HPLC, NMR spectroscopy and TLC chromatography of the product obtained from the DEY showed that Neu5Ac was the sole derivative present in egg yolk. The DEY, a byproduct from egg processing plants, was found to be an excellent source for the large-scale preparation of Neu5Ac.Abbreviations Neu5Ac N-acetylneuraminic acid - Neu5Gc N-glycolylneuraminic acid - DEY delipidated egg yolk - HPLC high performance liquid chromatography - TLC thin layer chromatography - NMR nuclear magnetic resonance - IR infrared spectroscopy Presented at the 11th International Symposium on Glycoconjugates, Toronto, Canada.     

Mutagenicity of 30 chemicals in Salmonella typhimurium strains possessing different nitroreductase or O-acetyltransferase activities

Salmonella typhimurium YG1021, YG1024, YG1026 and YG1029 are new derivatives of the Ames tester strains TA98 and TA100, with elevated 'classical' nitroreductase or acetyl-CoA:N-hydroxyarylamine O-acetyltransferase level. Thirty mutagens with different structures were tested using these strains and the sensitivities were compared with those of the conventional strains and of the enzyme-deficient strains. Elevated O-acetyltransferase activity of the indicator strains specifically increased their ability to detect the mutagenicity of aromatic nitro, amino and hydroxylamino compounds, whereas the strains with high nitroreductase activity were very sensitive to some nitroaromatics. The combined use of the isogenic tester strains with different metabolic capacities was quite useful to assess the intracellular metabolic activation and detoxification mechanisms of chemical mutagens.     

Serologic dissection of HLA-D specificities by the use of monoclonal antibodies

To study the gene products of the HLA complex, we produced two monoclonal antibodies, termed HU-18 and HU-23. They were active in complement-dependent cytotoxicity and detected B-cell alloantigens encoded by a locus (or loci) linked to HLA. When three types of HLA-DR4 homozygous B-cell lines with different HLA-D specificities were tested for reactivity with HU-18 and HU-23, they displayed distinct reaction patterns depending on the HLA-D specificities they possessed: EBV-Wa (HLA-DYT homozygous), negative for both HU-18 and HU-23; KT2 and KOB (HLA-DKT2 homozygous), positive only for HU-18; and ER (HLA-Dw4 homozygous), positive for both. These differential reaction patterns were further confirmed by testing against a panel of 17 HLA-DR4-positive peripheral blood lymphocytes with known HLA-D specificities. Thus, these monoclonal antibodies allow us to identify HLA-DYT, HLA-DKT2, and HLA-Dw4 solely by serologic methods. This is the first clearcut serologic identification of these three HLA-DR4-associated HLA-D specificities, which have been indistinguishable by conventional serology and identified only by cellular techniques. It is hoped that immunochemical investigations using HU-18 and HU-23 will advance our understanding of the HLA-D region on a molecular level.     

Kinetics of microbial cell growth

As a rate equation of microbial cell growth, the Monod equation is widely used. However, this equation cannot fully correspond to real courses of microbial cell growth in many batch cultivations. Especially, predicted values based on this equation do not agree with observed values in many continuous cultivations. In this paper, which introduces new concepts of critical concentration and coefficient of consumption activity, the growth rate equation which corresponds to the whole period including lag period is newly derived and characteristics of microbial cell growth in batch cultivation are clarified. Further, applying the new rate equation to continuous cultivation, a general equation with which to calculate cell concentration is derived and characteristics of microbial cell growth in continuous cultivation are clarified. The calculated values of cell concentration based on the new theory showed quite good agreement with the observed values in both batch and continuous cultivation.     

Characterization of three forms of cytochrome P-450 inducible by 3-methylcholanthrene in Golden hamster livers with special reference to aflatoxin B1 activation

Three forms of cytochrome P-450 of liver microsomes of 3-methylcholanthrene-treated Golden hamsters were purified and characterized as regards their catalytic activity toward aflatoxin B1-related hepatocarcinogenic mycotoxins. These include two major forms, designated as cytochrome P-450-AFB (P-450-I) and P-450-II, and one minor form, P-450-III. Cytochromes P-450-AFB, P-450-II, and P-450-III have their absorption maximum in the carbon monoxide-complex of the reduced form at 448.5, 447.0, and 448.0 nm, have apparent molecular weights of 56,000, 58,000, and 59,500, and are in the low spin, high spin, and low spin state, respectively. Of these, cytochrome P-450-AFB was shown to be highly active in the mutagenic activation of aflatoxin B1-related hepatocarcinogens such as sterigmatocystin and O-methylsterigmatocystin. Activation of aflatoxin B1 by hepatic microsomes of 3-methylcholanthrene-treated hamsters was inhibited almost completely by the antibody against P-450-AFB but not by the antibody against P-450-II, indicating that P-450-AFB is the major component responsible for the activation of aflatoxin B1 by hamster liver. Western blot analysis demonstrated that no protein cross-reacted with the antibody to P-450-AFB in the liver microsomes from guinea pig, rat, mouse, and house musk shrew (Suncus murinus) treated with 3-methylcholanthrene, while one or two proteins cross-reacted with the antibody to P-450-II in the liver microsomes of these animals.     

Sensitive method for the detection of mutagenic nitroarenes and aromatic amines: new derivatives of Salmonella typhimurium tester strains possessing elevated O-acetyltransferase levels

Acetyl-CoA: N-hydroxyarylamine O-acetyltransferase is an enzyme involved in the intracellular metabolic activation of arylhydroxylamines derived from mutagenic nitroarenes and aromatic amines. The acetyltransferase gene of Salmonella typhimurium TA1538 was cloned into pBR322 and the plasmids harboring the gene were introduced into TA98 and TA100. The resulting strains (YG1024 and YG1029) had about 100 times higher 2-hydroxyamino-6-methyldipyrido[1,2-a:3',2'-d]-imidazole (N-hydroxy-Glu-P-1) O-acetyltransferase activity than TA1538 containing pBR322, and were extremely sensitive to the mutagenic actions of 2-nitrofluorene, 1-nitropyrene, 1,8-dinitropyrene, 2-amino-6-methyldipyrido[1,2-a:3',2-d)-imidazole (Glu-P-1), 2-aminofluorene and 2-aminoanthracene. These results indicate that the new strains permit the efficient detection of the mutagenicity of environmental nitroarenes and aromatic amines.