scholarly journals Electron-microscopic and electrophoretic studies of bovine femoral-head cartilage proteoglycan fractions

1986 ◽  
Vol 240 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Thornton ◽  
I A Nieduszynski ◽  
K Oates ◽  
J K Sheehan

Proteoglycans (A1D1) extracted from bovine femoral-head cartilage were examined by electron microscopy using benzyldimethylammonium chloride as a spreading agent. The preparation contained a mixture of particles, some with a ‘beaded’ structure and a contiguous filamentous ‘tail’ at one end and others which appeared as round ‘blobs’, some of which also had filamentous tails. Previous electron-microscopic studies of proteoglycan monomers have indicated that their length distributions were apparently unimodal, a finding that contrasted with agarose/polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoresis results, which generally indicated two bands. In the present study proteoglycans isolated from the slowly migrating electrophoretic band were shown to be predominantly the larger molecules of beaded appearance, whereas the rapidly migrating proteoglycans were predominantly molecules with the ‘blob-like’ appearance. Gel-filtration, isopycnic-density-gradient-centrifugation and rate-zonal-centrifugation techniques were evaluated as means of proteoglycan fractionation by electron microscopy and agarose-gel electrophoresis. Rate-zonal centrifugation in mixed-salt gradients of caesium chloride/4 M-guanidinium chloride yielded the most effective fractionation.

1988 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-342
Author(s):  
M.E. Stearns ◽  
K.D. Tew

We have investigated the ability of estramustine to bind to rat brain microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) and purified MAP-2 in vitro. [3H]estramustine's relative affinity for tubulin and MAPs was assessed by gel filtration chromatography, immunoprecipitation and binding assays. Scatchard analysis demonstrated a specific affinity of the drug for MAP-2. Calculations from kinetic parameters and non-linear regression analysis gave a Kd of 15 microM, and a Bmax of 3.4 × 10(−7)M ml-1. Extrapolation of this value suggested that each MAP-2 molecule binds approximately 20 molecules of estramustine. Microtubule assembly studies and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that at 20–60 microM levels, estramustine inhibited the association of MAPs with taxol microtubules. Turbidity (A350) studies further demonstrated that 20–60 microM-estramustine inhibited MAP-2-driven tubulin assembly and produced microtubule disassembly. Electron-microscopic studies confirmed the centrifugation and turbidity results. The data demonstrated that estramustine can bind MAPs and MAP-2 specifically, thereby inhibiting microtubule assembly.


1986 ◽  
Vol 235 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
S K Ghosh ◽  
N K Mukhopadhyay ◽  
S Majumder ◽  
S K Bose

The final purification of the three-fraction enzyme complex mycobacillin synthetase was done by hydroxyapatite column chromatography and sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation; each of the fractions obtained migrates as a single component in SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and gel electrofocusing. The Mr of the enzyme fractions A, B and C by gel filtration is 260 000, 190 000 and 105 000, and that by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis is 252 000, 198 000 and 108 000 respectively. None of the enzyme fractions appears to possess subunit structure.


1977 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. J. Marder ◽  
L. Tranqui-Pouit ◽  
G. Hudry-Clergeon ◽  
V. Atichartakarn ◽  
M. Suscillon

Preparations of human Factor VIII which were homogemeous by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were examined by electron microscopy after negative staining with phosphotungstic acid. Most striking were large oval and circular forms, usually present in loose groupings of four or more molecules. Approximately 80% were oval-shaped and the mean axial dimensions of 167 such molecules, considered to be prolate ellipsoids, were 725 Å and 346 Å (axial ratio about 2rl). The 34 circular forms had a mean diameter of 545 Å and were considered to represent a separate though related molecular entity, either of spherical or oblate ellipsoidal shape. A variety of smaller forms was also present in these preparations including round molecules of 110–330 Å in diameter, irregular ovoid shapes with filamentous transformation and filaments of variable length and thickness. Based on calculations of volume relative to that of fibrinogen, the molecular weight of the predominant prolate ellipsoid form is about 3 million daltons, a value which is consistent with reported estimates of molecular size obtained by ultracentrifuge or gel filtration studies.


1968 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Williams ◽  
Pauline M. Harrison

Horse ferritin was fractionated both by starch-gel electrophoresis and by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. Monomer fractions contained up to 98% of monomer and oligomer fractions up to 76% of oligomers as determined by quantitative electron microscopy. Percentages obtained from electron micrographs correlated well with analytical starch-gel electrophoretograms and ultracentrifuge patterns. Amino acid analyses of monomer- and oligomer-enriched fractions showed no significant differences. Ferritin oligomers did not apparently dissociate on dilution for electron microscopy or on storage. Apoferritin dimers were stable in 0·01m-phosphate buffer at dilutions down to 0·19mg./ml. as shown by ultracentrifugation. Chemical studies indicated that the intermolecular bonds in oligomers are resistant to a variety of reagents and conditions, including those that would be expected to attack disulphide, peptide and ester linkages respectively. Partial disaggregation was achieved at high pH values and in 67% (v/v) acetic acid. Centre-to-centre intermolecular distances in dimers were found to be about 100å. Three main types of trimer configuration were found and a variety of tetramers and pentamers. These configurations are described and discussed.


1988 ◽  
Vol 254 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
P M Wiest ◽  
E J Tisdale ◽  
W L Roberts ◽  
T L Rosenberry ◽  
A A F Mahmoud ◽  
...  

Biosynthetic labelling experiments with cercariae and schistosomula of the multicellular parasitic trematode Schistosoma mansoni were performed to determine whether [3H]palmitate or [3H]ethanolamine was incorporated into proteins. Parasites incorporated [3H]palmitate into numerous proteins, as judged by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and fluorography. The radiolabel was resistant to extraction with chloroform, but sensitive to alkaline hydrolysis, indicating the presence of an ester bond. Further investigation of the major 22 kDa [3H]palmitate-labelled species showed that the label could be recovered in a Pronase fragment which bound detergent and had an apparent molecular mass of 1200 Da as determined by gel filtration on Sephadex LH-20. Schistosomula incubated with [3H]ethanolamine for up to 24 h incorporated this precursor into several proteins; labelled Pronase fragments recovered from the three most intensely labelled proteins were hydrophilic and had a molecular mass of approx. 200 Da. Furthermore, reductive methylation of such fragments showed that the [3H]ethanolamine bears a free amino group, indicating the lack of an amide linkage. We also evaluated the effect of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C from Staphylococcus aureus: [3H]palmitate-labelled proteins of schistosomula and surface-iodinated proteins were resistant to hydrolysis with this enzyme. In conclusion, [3H]palmitate and [3H]ethanolamine are incorporated into distinct proteins of cercariae and schistosomula which do not bear glycophospholipid anchors. The [3H]ethanolamine-labelled proteins represent a novel variety of protein modification.


1981 ◽  
Vol 197 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
J L McKenzie ◽  
A K Allen ◽  
J W Fabre

Human and canine brain Thy-1 antigens were solubilized in deoxycholate and antigen activity was followed both by conventional absorbed anti-brain xenosera of proven specificity and by mouse monoclonal antibodies to canine and human Thy-1. It is shown that greater than 80% of Thy-1 activity in the dog and man binds to lentil lectin, that the mobility on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of canine and human Thy-1 is identical with that of rat Thy-1 and that the Stokes radius in deoxycholate of canine and human brain Thy-1 is 3.0 nm and 3.25 nm respectively. Both lentil lectin affinity chromatography followed by gel-filtration chromatography on the one hand and monoclonal antibody affinity chromatography on the other gave high degrees of purification of the brain Thy-1 molecule in the dog and man, resulting in single bands staining for both protein and carbohydrate on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (except for a slight contaminant of higher molecular weight staining for protein but not carbohydrate with human Thy-1 purified by lentil lectin and gel-filtration chromatography). Analysis of canine and human brain Thy-1 purified by monoclonal antibody affinity chromatography with additional gel filtration through Sephadex G-200 showed that these molecules had respectively 38% and 36% carbohydrate. The amino acid and carbohydrate compositions were similar to those previously reported for Thy-1 of the rat and mouse, the main point of interest being the presence in canine and human brain Thy-1 of N-acetylgalactosamine, which has been reported in rat and mouse brain Thy-1 but not in Thy-1 from other tissues.


1977 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Boisvert ◽  
T. Yamamoto

Vaccinia virus particles were dissociated into their constituent polypeptides and analysed by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gel electrophoresis. Thirty-three distinct polypeptide bands were identified and their molecular weights ranged between 11 000 and 150 000 daltons.Specific staining of gels containing polypeptides of dissociated virions revealed the presence of eight glycopeptides. No lipopeptides were detected.Analysis of chemical extracts (urea, guanidine hydrochloride, and alkali treatment) of the virus by SDS gel electrophoresis indicated that a total of 10 to 14 different polypeptides ranging in molecular weights from 11 000 to 70 000 daltons were solubilized.Analysis of detergent extracts and of the remains of extracted viral particles has shown that the detergent Nonidet P-40 (NP-40) solubilized a total of 11 polypeptides of which 6 were glycopeptides. The other detergents sodium deoxycholate (SDC) and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) were not as selective, both solubilizing more than 25 of the polypeptides composing the virus. Gel electrophoresis results also indicated that most of the small molecular weight (11 000–70 000 daltons) polypeptides were readily solubilized by NP-40, SDC, and CTAB, while those with molecular weights of 70 000 daltons and higher were not well solubilized.The effects of detergents were also analysed by electron microscopy. Evidence was obtained for subpopulations of viral particles having different susceptibility to detergent extraction.


1975 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
E D Adamson ◽  
S E Ayers ◽  
Z A Deussen ◽  
C F Graham

The solubilization of 80% of the acetylcholinesterase activity of mouse brain was performed by repeated 2h incubations of homogenates at 37 degrees C in an aqueous medium. Analysis of the soluble extract by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 showed that up to 80% of the enzyme activity was eluted in a peak which was estimated to consist of molecules of about 74000mol.wt. This peak was called the monomer form of the enzyme. After 3 days at 4 degrees C, the soluble extract was re-analysed and was eluted from the column in four peaks of about 74000, 155000, 360000 and 720000 mol.wt. Since the total activity of the enzyme in these peaks was the same as that in the predominantly monomer elution profile of fresh enzyme, we concluded that the monomer had aggregated, possibly into dimers, tetramers and octomers. Extracts of the enzyme were analysed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and the resulting multiple bands of enzyme activity on gels were shown to separate according to their molecular sizes, that is by molecular sieving. All these forms had similar susceptibilities to the inhibitors eserine, tetra-isopropyl pyrophosphoramide and compound BW 284c51 [1,5-bis-(4-allyldimethylammoniumphenyl)pentan-3-one dibromide]. Thus the forms of the enzyme in mouse brain which can be detected by gel filtration and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis may all be related to a single low-molecular-weight form which aggregates during storage. This supports similar suggestions made for the enzyme in other locations.


1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Blaghen ◽  
Dominique J. M. Vidon ◽  
Mohamed Said El Kebbaj

A mercuric ion-reducing flavoprotein was purified from Yersinia enterocolitica 138A14 using dye matrix affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme had a characteristic absorption spectrum similar to those of flavin compounds, and FAD was detected as a part of the purified enzyme by thin-layer chromatography. Freshly purified preparations of the enzyme showed a single band on SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a molecular weight of 70 000. The isolated enzyme had a molecular weight of about 200 000 as determined by gel filtration and disc gel electrophoresis. These results suggest an apparently trimeric structure of the enzyme. Dithiothreitol treatment disrupted the trimer into a dimeric structure of 140 000. Along with ageing, as well as limited proteolytic digestion, the enzyme evolved to give a dimeric molecule of 105 000 composed of two identical subunits of 52 000. The combination of the purified enzyme with HgCl2, or unexpectedly with merthiolate, oxidised the NADPH, which was followed spectrophotometrically. The Km for HgCl2 was dependent on the concentration of exogenous thiol compounds. A comparison of physical properties as well as kinetic characteristics indicated that the enzyme from Y. enterocolitica 138A14 is similar to mercuric reductases isolated from other mercury-resistant bacteria.Key words: Yersinia enterocolitica, mercury resistance, mercuric reductase.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 964-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Yu

The formation of a stably linked complex of tritiated S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) and catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) has been achieved by irradiating the enzyme and ligand in Tris–HCl buffer (pH 7.5) with ultraviolet light at 254 nm. The reaction is specific as shown by a number of criteria. COMT inhibitors such as S-adenosylhomocysteine can block this photoactivated linkage. The [3H]AdoMet–COMT adduct has been shown to be a homogeneous protein by Sephadex gel filtration, sodium dodecyl sulfate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and isoelectric focussing. After extensive proteolysis of the [3H]AdoMet–COMT adduct with pronase P, one major labelled product was released. This fragment could be separated by paper chromatography and was shown to be chromatographically identical to that released from the [3H]AdoMet – phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase adduct.


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