Synthesis of 18O-labeled RNA for application to kinetic studies and imaging

Radioisotopes and fluorescent compounds are frequently used for RNA labeling but are unsuitable for clinical studies of RNA drugs because of the risk from radiation exposure or the nonequivalence arising from covalently attached fluorophores. Here, we report a practical phosphoramidite solid-phase synthesis of ¹⁸O-labeled RNA that avoids these disadvantages, and we demonstrate its application to quantification and imaging. The synthesis involves the introduction of a nonbridging ¹⁸O atom into the phosphate group during the oxidation step of the synthetic cycle by using ¹⁸O water as the oxygen donor. The ¹⁸O label in the RNA was stable at pH 3–8.5, while the physicochemical and biological properties of labeled and unlabeled short interfering RNA were indistinguishable by circular dichroism, melting temperature and RNA-interference activity. The ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratio as measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry increased linearly with the concentration of ¹⁸O-labeled RNA, and this technique was used to determine the blood concentration of ¹⁸O-labeled RNA after administration to mice. ¹⁸O-labeled RNA transfected into human A549 cells was visualized by isotope microscopy. The RNA was observed in foci in the cytoplasm around the nucleus, presumably corresponding to endosomes. These methodologies may be useful for kinetic and cellular-localization studies of RNA in basic and pharmaceutical studies.     

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans induces detachment and death of human gingival epithelial cells and fibroblasts via elastase release following leukotoxin‐dependent neutrophil lysis

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is considered to be associated with periodontitis. Leukotoxin (LtxA), which destroys leukocytes in humans, is one of this bacterium's major virulence factors. Amounts of neutrophil elastase (NE), which is normally localized in the cytoplasm of neutrophils, are reportedly increased in the saliva of patients with periodontitis. However, the mechanism by which NE is released from human neutrophils and the role of NE in periodontitis is unclear. In the present study, it was hypothesized that LtxA induces NE release from human neutrophils, which subsequently causes the breakdown of periodontal tissues. LtxA‐treatment did not induce significant cytotoxicity against human gingival epithelial cells (HGECs) or human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). However, it did induce significant cytotoxicity against human neutrophils, leading to NE release. Furthermore, NE and the supernatant from LtxA‐treated human neutrophils induced detachment and death of HGECs and HGFs, these effects being inhibited by administration of an NE inhibitor, sivelestat. The present results suggest that LtxA mediates human neutrophil lysis and induces the subsequent release of NE, which eventually results in detachment and death of HGECs and HGFs. Thus, LtxA‐induced release of NE could cause breakdown of periodontal tissue and thereby exacerbate periodontitis.     

Stabilization of cortical microtubules by the cell wall in cultured tobacco cells

Cortical microtubules (MTs) in protoplasts prepared from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) BY-2 cells were found to be sensitive to cold. However, as the protoplasts regenerated cell walls they became resistant to cold, indicating that the cell wall stabilizes cortical MTs against the effects of cold. Since poly-l-lysine was found to stabilize MTs in protoplasts, we examined extensin, an important polycationic component of the cell wall, and found it also to be effective in stabilizing the MTs of protoplasts. Both extensin isolated from culture filtrates of tobacco BY-2 cells and extensin isolated in a similar way from cultures of tobacco XD-6S cells rendered the cortical MTs in protoplasts resistant to cold. Extensin at 0.1 mg·ml⁻¹ was as effective as the cell wall in this respect. It is probable that extensin in the cell wall plays an important role in stabilizing cortical MTs in tobacco BY-2 cells.     

Demography of agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis)

Demographic processes and the structure of a population of agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis) were investigated over 6 years in the Gunung Palung Reserve, Indonesia. Estimates of population size, density, and biomass revealed a population whose groups were stable in size and composition. Demographic processes place gibbons at risk, however, to short-term changes in their environment. Patterns of survival, fecundity, mortality, and dispersal combined to produce negative rates of growth. In addition, a top-heavy age-class distribution, with adults forming a large fraction of animals, makes it unlikely that this population could recover rapidly from a decline in numbers. Two behavioral factors, territoriality and monogamy, account for the size and stability of gibbon groups. Monogamy imposes limits on group size, while mating patterns and territoriality decrease the impact of sources of high mortality common in other primate species. These relationships underscore the fundamental importance of behavioral influence on demographic processes and social structure.     

A cis-acting element and a trans-acting factor involved in the wound-induced expression of a horseradish peroxidase gene

The mechanisms that control the wound-induced expression of the prxC2 gene for horseradish peroxidase (HRP) have been investigated. Analysis of the regulatory properties of 5′-deleted promoters showed that a positive element involved in the response to wounding was located between −307 and −99 bp from the site of initiation of translation. In in vitro binding assays of tobacco nuclear proteins and DNA fragments of prxC2 promoter, the binding site was the Box 1 from −296 to −283 containing the CACGTG motif. To identify the functional role of Box 1, the prxC2 promoter that has been digested from the 5′ end to −289 with a disrupted Box 1 was fused to a reporter gene for β-glucuronidase (GUS). No induction of GUS activity was observed in transgenic tobacco plants with the prxC2(−289)/GUS construct. These data indicated that the expression of prxC2 in response to wounding required the Box 1 sequence from −296 to −283. Furthermore, a tobacco cDNA expression library was screened and a cDNA clone for a protein, designated TFHP-1, that bound specifically to the Box 1 sequence was identified. The putative TFHP-1 protein contains a basic region and leucine zipper (bZip) motif and a helix—loop—helix (HLH) motif. The mRNA for TFHP-1 was abundant in roots and stems, and it was not induced by wounding in leaves. In tobacco protoplasts, antisense TFHP-1 suppressed the expression of prxC2 (−529)/GUS.     

A procedure to produce gnotobiotic calves by cesarean section.

An effective and economical method was developed for procuring and rearing calves in gnotobiotic conditions. To evaluate apparatuses and surgical techniques, three calves, 1 to 3, welf 1 was weak and pale at delivery and died within 5 hours after delivery. Calf 2 was delivered alive, but died from a human error at 3 days of age. It was free from demonstrable bacteria and fungi at that time. Calf 3 was also successfully delivered and raised. It was killed at 10 days of age, since fungi were isolated from the feces and waste materials from it.