Proteolytic Remodeling of the Synaptic Cell Adhesion Molecules (CAMs) by Metzincins in Synaptic Plasticity

Cell adhesion molecules participate in the formation, maturation, function and plasticity of synaptic connections. The growing body of evidence indicates that in the regulation of the synaptic plasticity, in which these molecules play pivotal role, also the proteolytic processes are involved. This review focuses on extracellular proteolysis of the cell adhesion molecules by specific subgroup of the matrix metalloproteinases, a disintegrin and metalloproteases and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs, jointly referred to as metzincins, in driving coordinated synaptic structural and functional modifications underlying synaptic plasticity in the adult brain.     

Frost resistance of winter rape leaves as related to the changes in water potential and growth capability

Differential thermal analysis indicated that the frost resistance of winter rape leaves ( Brassica napus L. var. oleifera L. cv. Gòrczanski), collected from plants grown in the cold (5/2°C), relies mainly on their ability to supercool to −9 to −11°C, i.e. consists in freezing avoidance. Initiation of ice formation in the cold-acclimated leaves resulted in the death of more than 50% of the cells as determined with a conductivity method. The development of freezing tolerance appeared to be an attribute of the second stage of plant hardening and was induced by the exposure of plants to a slightly subzero temperature (−5°C) for 18 h. Such a treatment brought about a sudden and persistent water potential decrease in the leaves, despite the fact that they had reabsorbed water from the medium prior to water potential measurements. Water potential changes were associated with a higher growth capability of the leaves as checked by determinations of disk area increments. It is suggested that the increased frost tolerance of the cold-grown winter rape leaves, subjected to subfreezing temperature, is related to the decreased water potential of the tissue caused by changes in turgor and/or in osmotic pressures of the cells.     

Heat-inducible expression of FLP gene in maize cells

The soybean heat-shock gene promoter ( Gmhsp 17.5-E ) has been used to direct expression of gusA and FLP genes in maize cells. At inducible temperatures, in transient expression assays, gusA gene expression controlled by the heat-shock promoter is about 10-fold higher than the expression directed by the CaMV 35S promoter. The Gmhsp 17.5-E promoter preserves its regulatory functions in heterologous maize cells after random integration into genomic DNA.
Heat-shock inducible expression of the FLP gene was investigated by co-transformation of the FLP expression vector (pHsFLP) and a recombination test vector (pUFNeo-FmG) into maize protoplasts. Co-transformed protoplasts were incubated at 42°C for 2 h. This treatment induced recombination of 20–25% of the available FRT sites in transient assays. As a result of heat-shock treatment of stably co-transformed maize cells, activation of gusA gene expression and an associated decrease or elimination of NPT-II activity in transgenic maize lines was observed. Molecular evidence was obtained of the expected DNA excision process catalyzed by the FLP protein in maize transgenic cells. Thus, the experiments presented in this paper indicate that the FLP protein can recognize and subsequently recombine the FRT target sites that had integrated into plant genomic DNA, and that regulated expression of the FLP gene is possible in maize cells using the soybean heat-shock promoter.     

Evaluation of iodine levels in daily dietary intake and urine of persons participating in epidemiological studies in the Krakow macro-region after the disaster in Czernobyl and level of iodine in drinking water of that region]

Following the Czernobyl accident, an epidemiologic study was undertaken in which the daily iodine intake was estimated in 15% of the population studied. Iodine excretion was measured in single morning urine specimens. The iodine content was also assessed in the water form wells and in cow-milk at farms in randomly chosen villages in the region of Krynica and Nowy Sacz. On the basis of a 24-hour diet recall, the mass of each food product consumed daily was estimated for 483 persons in the Kraków voivodship (14.4% of the total population) and for 397 persons in the Nowy Sacz voivodship (15.8% of the total population). Using this data, the nutrient content of the daily diet was calculated for each studied individual. Measurements of iodine content in water and cow-milk show relatively lower iodine levels in the Nowy Sacz voivodship. The estimated value of the iodine content in milk (5.5 micrograms/100 g of milk) was considered in the estimates of the chemical composition of the daily diet of the inhabitants of this region. The mean values of the daily energy as well as the protein and calcium consumption in all subpopulations grouped with respect to domicile, age and sex, fell within the recommended daily allowances for these groups. The iodine content, while widely scattered, concentrated around low values. The median values of the iodine content in children of age 3-10 years, age 10-16 years and in adults, were 66%, 48% and 25-40% of the recommended daily allowances, respectively. No particular differences in the food intakes were observed between inhabitants of Kraków and Nowy Sacz voivodships. Nor were significant differences found in the urine iodine excretion in groups of these regions. The low iodine content in the daily food intake may be an essential factor in the ethiology of the increasing number of thyroid goiter.     

Effects of starvation on the maximal activities of some glycolytic and citric acid-cycle enzymes and glutaminase in mucosa of the small intestine of the rat

Starvation decreases activities of some glycolytic and citric acid-cycle enzymes, and increases those of glucose 6-phosphatase and fructose bisphosphatase, whereas that of glutaminase is unchanged. These findings may be of significance for the control of glucose metabolism in the absorptive cells of the intestine.     

An Haemophilus influenzae mutant which inhibits the growth of HP1c1 phage

Summary A strain of Haemophilus influenzae, called hpm ^- inhibits the growth of phage HP1c1 but not S2. This inhibition is overcome by HP1c1ph mutants. Phage HP1c1 adsorbs normally to hpm ^- cells but only a small fraction of infected cells produce phage with a normal burst size or become lysogenic. When hpm ^- strains lysogenic for HP1c1 are induced, 100% of the cells yield phage. There is no degradation of phage DNA after infection of hpm ^- cells and HP1c1 can normally grow when its DNA is introduced into hpm ^- by transfection. The most probable explanation is that in hpm ^- cells the penetration of phage DNA is blocked. The hpm ^- property behaves as as unstable mutation.