scholarly journals The major intracellular alkaline deoxyribonuclease activities expressed in wild-type and Rec-like mutants of Neurospora crassa

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 889-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Y.-K. Chow ◽  
M. J. Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Apparent Molecular Weight ◽  
Partial Purification ◽  
Mitochondrial Enzyme ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Dna And Rna ◽  
Dependent Endonuclease ◽  
In The Wild

Over 95% of the deoxyribonuclease (DNase) activity of log-phase mycelia of Neurospora crassa is expressed as single-strand (ss) specific endonucleolytic activity. This activity is associated with three nucleases (D1, D2, and D3) which, after partial purification from extracts, express activity with double-strand (ds) DNA as well. All three enzymes also degrade RNA at approximately the same rates that they degrade ss-DNA. D3 has been identified as endo–exonuclease, an enzyme previously shown to have endonuclease activity with ss-DNA and RNA and exonuclease activity with ds-DNA, both of which are inhibited by ATP. D3 is inhibited by ATP, is relatively resistant to p-hydroxymercuribenzoate (PHMB), and sediments with an apparent molecular weight of 75 000. D2 has the properties of the previously described mitochondrial nuclease. It is a relatively unstable Mg2+-dependent endonuclease with no appreciable strand specificity for DNA. In addition, it is not inhibited by ATP and is strongly inhibited by PHMB and by ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). It also sediments with an apparent molecular weight of 75 000. The properties of D1 are quite variable from one preparation to another. Freshly isolated D1 sediments with an apparent molecular weight of 180 000. It often shows some inhibition by ATP, but is relatively resistant to both PHMB and EDTA. However, on 'ageing,' the properties of D1 gradually convert to those of D2 with concomitant decrease in molecular weight, loss of inhibition by ATP, and increase in sensitivities to PHMB and EDTA. The results indicate that D1 is very likely a second form of the mitochondrial enzyme. Evidence was obtained for the presence of protein inhibitor(s) in crude extracts which may account for the masking of the ds-DNase activities of these enzymes in extracts.Two Rec-like mutants of Neurospora (uvs-3, and nuh-4) are deficient mainly in expressed levels of D3, the endo–exonuclease. However, the levels of inactive endo–exonuclease precursor in these two mutants are higher than in the wild type. There may, therefore, be some defect in the conversion of precursor to active enzyme in these two mutants. Another mutant, which is not sensitive to mutagens relative to the wild (nuh-3), has depressed levels of both endo–exonuclease and the mitochondrial enzyme. Nuh-3 has some defect in the conversion of D1 to D2. Proteinases probably play some role in vivo in these enzyme conversions.

scholarly journals MyD88-Dependent Signaling Affects the Development of Meningococcal Sepsis by Nonlipooligosaccharide Ligands

2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 3538-3546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Plant ◽  
Hong Wan ◽  
Ann-Beth Jonsson
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Responses ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Meningococcal Sepsis ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Microbial Infections ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Myeloid Differentiation Factor ◽  
Dependent Pathway ◽  
Meningococcal Strain

ABSTRACT The Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and the adaptor myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) are important in the innate immune defenses of the host to microbial infections. Meningococcal ligands signaling via TLRs control inflammatory responses, and stimulation can result in fulminant meningococcal sepsis. In this study, we show that the responses to nonlipooligosaccharide (non-LOS) ligands of meningococci are MyD88 dependent. An isogenic LOS-deficient mutant of the serogroup C meningococcal strain FAM20 caused fatal disease in wild type C57BL/6 mice that was not observed in MyD88−/− mice. Fatality correlated with high proinflammatory cytokine and C5a levels in serum, high neutrophil numbers in blood, and increased bacteremia at 24 h postinfection in the wild-type mice. Infection with the parent strain FAM20 resulted in fatality in 100% of the wild-type mice and 50% of the MyD88−/− mice. We conclude that both LOS and another neisserial ligand cause meningococcal sepsis in an in vivo mouse model and confirm that meningococcal LOS can act via both the MyD88- dependent and -independent pathways, while the non-LOS meningococcal ligand(s) acts only via the MyD88-dependent pathway.

Processing of the precursor to a chloroplast ribosomal protein made in the cytosol occurs in two steps, one of which depends on a protein made in the chloroplast

1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1093-1099
Author(s):  
R J Schmidt ◽  
N W Gillham ◽  
J E Boynton
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Ribosomal Protein ◽  
Apparent Molecular Weight ◽  
Protein L ◽  
Mature Form ◽  
Chloroplast Protein Synthesis ◽  
Made In

In pulse-chase experiments in which log-phase cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were labeled in vivo for 5 min with H2(35)SO4, fluorographs of immunoprecipitates from whole cell extracts revealed that chloroplast ribosomal proteins L-2, L-6, L-21, and L-29, which are made in the cytosol and imported, appeared in their mature forms. However, in the case of chloroplast ribosomal protein L-18, which is also made in the cytoplasm and imported, a prominent precursor with an apparent molecular weight of 17,000 was found at the end of a 5-min pulse. This precursor was processed to its mature size (apparent molecular weight of 15,500) within the first 5 min of the subsequent chase. As determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the precursor to L-18 formed in vivo was 1.5 kilodaltons smaller than the primary product detected in translations of Chlamydomonas polyadenylated RNA in vitro. Upon a 10-min incubation with a postribosomal supernatant from Chlamydomonas, the 18,500-dalton precursor detected in vitro could be partially converted into a polypeptide that comigrated with the 17,000-dalton precursor detected in extracts of cells labeled in vivo. Under conditions in which the total amounts of chloroplast proteins had been reduced and cells were made to synthesize ribosomes rapidly, the apparent half-life of the 17,000-dalton precursor was extended over that seen in log-phase cells. When chloroplast protein synthesis was inhibited with lincomycin for 3 h before labeling under these conditions, the 17,000-dalton L-18 precursor but not the mature form was found, and the precursor was slowly degraded during a 60-min chase. When cells were placed in the dark for 3 h before labeling, processing of this precursor to the mature form appeared unaffected, but the chloroplast-synthesized ribosomal protein L-26 was detected, indicating that chloroplast protein synthesis was still occurring. We interpret these results to indicate that the maturation of protein L-18 in vivo involves at least two processing steps, one of which depends on a protein made on chloroplast ribosomes.

Effect offurmutation on acid-tolerance response and in vivo virulence of avian septicemicEscherichia coli

2002 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 458-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengru Zhu ◽  
Musangu Ngeleka ◽  
Andrew A Potter ◽  
Brenda J Allan
Keyword(s):  
Parent Strain ◽  
Acid Tolerance ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Acid Tolerance Response ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Regulator Protein ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Tolerance Response ◽  
Wild Type Parent

The Fur (ferric uptake regulator) protein is a master regulator of iron metabolism in gram-negative bacteria. In the present study, the effect of a partial deletion of the fur gene on the acid-tolerance response and in vivo virulence of avian Escherichia coli was examined. The fur mutant was unable to trigger the acid-tolerance response as observed in the wild-type parent strain. However, the mutant was as virulent as the wild-type parent strain when tested in 1-day-old chickens by subcutaneous inoculation. These data indicate that the fur gene is involved in the acid-tolerance response but not involved in the virulence of E. coli, as detected by the ability to cause septicemia in our experimental infection.Key words: E. coli, fur, acid-tolerance response.

Yeast killer plasmid mutations affecting toxin secretion and activity and toxin immunity function

1982 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-354
Author(s):  
H Bussey ◽  
W Sacks ◽  
D Galley ◽  
D Saville
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
In Vitro Translation ◽  
Heat Curing ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Toxin Secretion ◽  
Killer Plasmid ◽  
Yeast Killer ◽  
Immunity Function

M double-stranded RNA (MdsRNA) plasmid mutants were obtained by mutagenesis and screening of a diploid killer culture partially heat cured of the plasmid, so that a high proportion of the cells could be expected to have only on M plasmid. Mutants with neutral (nonkiller [K-], immune [R+]) or suicide (killer [K+], sensitive [R-] phenotypes were examined. All mutants became K- R- sensitives on heat curing of the MdsRNA plasmid, and showed cytoplasmic inheritance by random spore analysis. In some cases, M plasmid mutations were indicated by altered mobility of the MdsRNA by agarose gel electrophoresis or by altered size of in vitro translation products from denatured dsRNA. Neutral mutants were of two types: nonsecretors of the toxin protein or secretors of an inactive toxin. Of three neutral nonsecretors examined, one (NLP-1), probably a nonsense mutation, made a smaller protoxin precursor in vitro and in vivo, and two made full-size protoxin molecules. The in vivo protoxin of 43,000 molecular weight was unstable in the wild type and kinetically showed a precursor-product relationship to the processed, secreted 11,000-molecular-weight toxin. In one nonsecretor (N1), the protoxin appeared more stable in a pulse-chase experiment, and could be altered in a recognition site required for protein processing.

Abstract 165: The 18 kDa FGF-2 Prevents the Doxorubicin-induced Cardiac Damage and Amp-activated Kinase Activation, in vitro and in vivo

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Navid Koleini ◽  
Jon Jon Santiago ◽  
Barbara E Nickel ◽  
Robert Fandrich ◽  
Davinder S Jassal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Left Ventricular Ejection ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Rat Cardiomyocytes ◽  
Ventricular Ejection Fraction ◽  
Compound C

Introduction: Protection of the heart from chemotherapeutic (Doxorubicin, DOX) drug-induced toxicity is a desirable goal, to limit side effects of cancer treatments. DOX toxicity has been linked to the activation (phosphorylation) of the AMP-activated kinase, AMPK. The 18 kDa low molecular weight isoform of fibroblast growth factor 2 (Lo-FGF-2) is a known cardioprotective and cytoprotective agent. In this study we have tested the ability of Lo-FGF-2 to protect from DOX-induced damage in rat cardiomyocytes in vitro, and in transgenic mouse models in vivo, in relation to AMPK activation. Methods: Rat neonatal cardiomyocytes in culture were exposed to DOX (0.5 μM) in the presence or absence of pre-treatment Lo-FGF-2 (10 ng/ml). Compound C was used to block phosphorylation (activity) of AMPK. Levels of cell viability/death (using Calcein-AM/Propidium iodide assay), phospho -and total AMPK, and apoptotic markers such as active caspase 3 were analyzed. In addition, transgenic mice expressing only Lo-FGF2, and wild type mice, expressing both high molecular weight (Hi-FGF2) as well as Lo-FGF2 were subjected to DOX injection (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneal); echocardiography was used to examine cardiac function at baseline and at 10 days post-DOX. Results: DOX-induced cell death of cardiomyocytes in culture was maximal at 24 hours post-DOX coinciding with significantly increased in activated (phosphorylated) AMPK. Compound C attenuated DOX-induced cardiomyocyte loss. Pre-incubation with Lo-FGF-2 decreased DOX induced cell death, and also attenuated the phosphorylation of AMPK post-DOX. Relative levels of phospho-AMPK were lower in the hearts of Lo-FGF2-expressing male mice compared to wild type. DOX-induced loss of contractile function (left ventricular ejection fraction and endocardial velocity) was negligible in Lo-FGF2-expressing mice but significant in wild type mice. Conclusion: Lo-FGF-2 protects the heart from DOX-induced damage in vitro and in vivo, by a mechanism likely involving an attenuation of AMPK activity.

A Dictyostelium mutant with severe defects in alpha-actinin: its characterization using cDNA probes and monoclonal antibodies

1988 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
M. Schleicher ◽  
A. Noegel ◽  
T. Schwarz ◽  
E. Wallraff ◽  
M. Brink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Polypeptide Chain ◽  
Mutant Cell ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Cell Extract ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Partial Purification ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
In The Wild

Cells of a Dictyostelium discoideum mutant deficient in binding a monoclonal antibody to alpha-actinin have previously been shown to grow and develop similarly to the wild type and to exert unimpaired chemotaxis as well as patching and capping of membrane proteins. Here we show that the normal 3.0 kb message for alpha-actinin is replaced in the mutant by two RNA species of approximately 3.1 and 2.8 kb. The 3.1 kb RNA was recognized by DNA fragments from all parts of the coding region, while the 2.8 kb RNA hybridized to all but a 3′-terminal fragment. Proteins synthesized in the mutant were analysed using four monoclonal antibodies that in the wild type specifically recognize the 95 × 10(3) Mr polypeptide of alpha-actinin. Cleavage mapping indicated that the binding sites of these antibodies are distributed over a region comprising more than half of the alpha-actinin polypeptide chain. In the mutant, three of the antibodies faintly labelled two polypeptides of 95 × 10(3) Mr and 88 × 10(3) Mr; the fourth antibody, which binds closest to one end of the polypeptide chain, faintly labelled the 95 × 10(3) Mr polypeptide only. The 88 × 10(3) Mr polypeptide most probably lacks the C-terminal portion of alpha-actinin. The binding of an antibody that recognized both polypeptides was quantified by a radio-immuno competition assay using wild-type alpha-actinin as a reference. In a mutant cell extract containing total soluble proteins the antibody binding activity was decreased to 1.1% when compared with wild-type extract. After their partial purification and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the mutant 95 × 10(3) Mr and 88 × 10(3) Mr polypeptides were barely detectable as Coomassie Blue-stained bands, indicating that in the mutant not only certain epitopes of alpha-actinin were altered but the entire molecule is almost completely lacking. When the fitness of mutant cells relative to wild type was determined during growth in nutrient medium, a slight disadvantage for the mutant was indicated, by finding selection coefficients between 0.03 and 0.05.

scholarly journals Replication Properties of Clade A/C Chimeric Feline Immunodeficiency Viruses and Evaluation of Infection Kinetics in the Domestic Cat

2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (16) ◽  
pp. 7953-7963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohela de Rozìeres ◽  
Jesse Thompson ◽  
Magnus Sundstrom ◽  
Julia Gruber ◽  
Debora S. Stump ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Domestic Cat ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Mild Disease ◽  
Clade C ◽  
In The Wild

ABSTRACT Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) causes progressive immunodeficiency in domestic cats, with clinical course dependent on virus strain. For example, clade A FIV-PPR is predominantly neurotropic and causes a mild disease in the periphery, whereas clade C FIV-C36 causes fulminant disease with CD4+ T-cell depletion and neutropenia but no significant pathology in the central nervous system. In order to map pathogenic determinants, chimeric viruses were prepared between FIV-C36 and FIV-PPR, with reciprocal exchanges involving (i) the 3′ halves of the viruses, including the Vif, OrfA, and Env genes; (ii) the 5′ end extending from the 5′ long terminal repeat (LTR) to the beginning of the capsid (CA)-coding region; and (iii) the 3′ LTR and Rev2-coding regions. Ex vivo replication rates and in vivo replication and pathologies were then assessed and compared to those of the parental viruses. The results show that FIV-C36 replicates ex vivo and in vivo to levels approximately 20-fold greater than those of FIV-PPR. None of the chimeric FIVs recapitulated the replication rate of FIV-C36, although most replicated to levels similar to those of FIV-PPR. The rates of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene transcription driven by the FIV-C36 and FIV-PPR LTRs were identical. Furthermore, the ratios of surface glycoprotein (SU) to capsid protein (CA) in the released particles were essentially the same in the wild-type and chimeric FIVs. Tests were performed in vivo on the wild-type FIVs and chimeras carrying the 3′ half of FIV-C36 or the 3′ LTR and Rev2 regions of FIV-C36 on the PPR background. Both chimeras were infectious in vivo, although replication levels were lower than for the parental viruses. The chimera carrying the 3′ half of FIV-C36 demonstrated an intermediate disease course with a delayed peak viral load but ultimately resulted in significant reductions in neutrophil and CD4+ T cells, suggesting potential adaptation in vivo. Taken together, the findings suggest that the rapid-growth phenotype and pathogenicity of FIV-C36 are the result of evolutionary fine tuning throughout the viral genome, rather than being properties of any one constituent.

scholarly journals Fate of Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-Less Procyclin and Characterization of Sialylated Non-GPI-Anchored Surface Coat Molecules of Procyclic-Form Trypanosoma brucei

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1407-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Lucia Sampaio Güther ◽  
Kenneth Beattie ◽  
Douglas J. Lamont ◽  
John James ◽  
Alan R. Prescott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Apparent Molecular Weight ◽  
Life Cycle Stage ◽  
Galactose Oxidase ◽  
Surface Coat ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
P Type

ABSTRACT A Trypanosoma brucei TbGPI12 null mutant that is unable to express cell surface procyclins and free glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPI) revealed that these are not the only surface coat molecules of the procyclic life cycle stage. Here, we show that non-GPI-anchored procyclins are N-glycosylated, accumulate in the lysosome, and appear as proteolytic fragments in the medium. We also show, using lectin agglutination and galactose oxidase-NaB3H4 labeling, that the cell surface of the TbGPI12 null parasites contains glycoconjugates that terminate in sialic acid linked to galactose. Following desialylation, a high-apparent-molecular-weight glycoconjugate fraction was purified by ricin affinity chromatography and gel filtration and shown to contain mannose, galactose, N-acetylglucosamine, and fucose. The latter has not been previously reported in T. brucei glycoproteins. A proteomic analysis of this fraction revealed a mixture of polytopic transmembrane proteins, including P-type ATPase and vacuolar proton-translocating pyrophosphatase. Immunolocalization studies showed that both could be labeled on the surfaces of wild-type and TbGPI12 null cells. Neither galactose oxidase-NaB3H4 labeling of the non-GPI-anchored surface glycoconjugates nor immunogold labeling of the P-type ATPase was affected by the presence of procyclins in the wild-type cells, suggesting that the procyclins do not, by themselves, form a macromolecular barrier.

scholarly journals One-carbon metabolism in Neurospora crassa wild-type and in mutants partially deficient in serine hydroxymethyltransferase

1976 ◽  
Vol 160 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
E A Cossins ◽  
P Y Chan ◽  
G Combepine
Keyword(s):  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Mutant Strain ◽  
Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase ◽  
Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase ◽  
Growth Media ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Feeding Experiments ◽  
Methylenetetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
One Carbon Metabolism

1. The concentrations of folate-dependent enzymes in Neurospora crassa Lindegren A wild type (FGSC no. 853), Ser-l mutant, strain H605a (FGSC no. 118), and for mutant, strain C-24 (FGSC no. 9), were compared during exponential growth on defined minimal media. Both mutants were partially lacking in serine hydroxymethyltransferase, but contained higher concentrations of 10-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase than did the wild type. Mycelia of the mutants contained higher concentrations of these enzymes when growth media were supplemented with 1mM-glycine. In the wild-type, this glycine supplement also increased the specific activities of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. 5. During growth, total folate and polyglutamyl folate concentrations were greatest in the wild-type. Methylfolates were not detected in mutant Ser-l, and were only present in the for mutant after growth in glycine-supplemented media. Exogenous glycine increased folate concentration threefold in the wild type, mainly owing to increases in unsubstituted polyglutamyl derivatives. 3. Feeding experiments using 14C-labelled substrates showed that C1 units were generated from formate, glycine and serine in the wild type. Greater incorporation of 14C occurred when mycelia were cultured in glycine-supplemented media. Formate and serine were precursors of C1 units in the mutants, but the ability to cleave glycine was slight or lacking.

scholarly journals Processing of the precursor to a chloroplast ribosomal protein made in the cytosol occurs in two steps, one of which depends on a protein made in the chloroplast.

1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1093-1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Schmidt ◽  
N W Gillham ◽  
J E Boynton
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Ribosomal Protein ◽  
Apparent Molecular Weight ◽  
Protein L ◽  
Mature Form ◽  
Chloroplast Protein Synthesis ◽  
Made In

In pulse-chase experiments in which log-phase cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were labeled in vivo for 5 min with H2(35)SO4, fluorographs of immunoprecipitates from whole cell extracts revealed that chloroplast ribosomal proteins L-2, L-6, L-21, and L-29, which are made in the cytosol and imported, appeared in their mature forms. However, in the case of chloroplast ribosomal protein L-18, which is also made in the cytoplasm and imported, a prominent precursor with an apparent molecular weight of 17,000 was found at the end of a 5-min pulse. This precursor was processed to its mature size (apparent molecular weight of 15,500) within the first 5 min of the subsequent chase. As determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the precursor to L-18 formed in vivo was 1.5 kilodaltons smaller than the primary product detected in translations of Chlamydomonas polyadenylated RNA in vitro. Upon a 10-min incubation with a postribosomal supernatant from Chlamydomonas, the 18,500-dalton precursor detected in vitro could be partially converted into a polypeptide that comigrated with the 17,000-dalton precursor detected in extracts of cells labeled in vivo. Under conditions in which the total amounts of chloroplast proteins had been reduced and cells were made to synthesize ribosomes rapidly, the apparent half-life of the 17,000-dalton precursor was extended over that seen in log-phase cells. When chloroplast protein synthesis was inhibited with lincomycin for 3 h before labeling under these conditions, the 17,000-dalton L-18 precursor but not the mature form was found, and the precursor was slowly degraded during a 60-min chase. When cells were placed in the dark for 3 h before labeling, processing of this precursor to the mature form appeared unaffected, but the chloroplast-synthesized ribosomal protein L-26 was detected, indicating that chloroplast protein synthesis was still occurring. We interpret these results to indicate that the maturation of protein L-18 in vivo involves at least two processing steps, one of which depends on a protein made on chloroplast ribosomes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document