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Porphyran, extracted from an edible red alga (Porphyra yezoensis), is a sulphated polysaccharide with a wide variety of biological activities including anti-tumour, antioxidant and immuno-modulating activities. In this study, we examined the effect of porphyran on nitric oxide (NO) production in mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7 cells. Although no significant activity of porphyran to induce NO or tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production in RAW264.7 cells was observed at the concentration range tested (10-500 µg/ml), it was found for the first time that porphyran inhibited NO production and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in RAW264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In the presence of 500 µg/ml porphyran, NO production and expression of iNOS in LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells were completely suppressed. On the other hand, porphyran showed only a marginal effect on the secretion of TNF-α from LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) using infrared dye labelled oligonucleotide with nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) consensus sequence suggested that porphyran inhibited the LPS-induced NF-κB activation. The LPS-inducible nuclear translocation of p65, and the phosphorylation and degradation of IκB-α were also inhibited by the pre-treatment with porphyran. Our results obtained in in vitro analysis suggest that porphyran suppresses NO production in LPS-stimulated macrophages by the blocking of NF-κB activation.

Prodigiosins are natural red pigments that have multi-biological activities. Recently, we discovered a marine bacterial strain, which produces a red pigment. Extensive two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry analysis showed that the pigment is a prodigiosin analogue (PG-L-1). Here, we investigated the effect of PG-L-1 on NADPH oxidase activity in macrophage cells. PG-L-1 significantly inhibited superoxide anion (O(2)(-)) production by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, a mouse macrophage cell line. The ED(50) value was estimated to be approximately 0.3 microM. PG-L-1 had no direct scavenging effect on O(2)(-) generated by hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase system in electron spin resonance-spin trapping determinations, suggesting that this compound directly acts on the O(2)(-) production system, NADPH oxidase, in macrophage cells. We further investigated the effect of PG-L-1 on the behaviour of the cytosolic components of the NADPH oxidase, p67(phox), p47(phox), p40(phox), Rac and protein kinase C (PKC), in PMA-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Although PG-L-1 showed no effect on the activation of PKC, the immunoblotting analysis using specific antibodies showed that PG-L-1 strongly inhibits the association of p47(phox) and Rac in the plasma membrane of PMA-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. These results suggest that PG-L-1 inactivates NADPH oxidase through the inhibition of the binding of p47(phox) and Rac to the membrane components of NADPH oxidase.

Our previous studies demonstrated that CEL-I, an N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-specific C-type lectin purified from the marine invertebrate Cucumaria echinata (Holothuroidea) showed potent cytotoxicity to several cell lines such as HeLa, MDCK and XC cells. In this study, we found that CEL-I induced increased secretion of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and granulocyte colony stimulation factor (G-CSF) by mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner, whereas this cell line was highly resistant to CEL-I cytotoxicity. The cytokine-inducing activity of CEL-I was stronger than that of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA-L). A binding study using FITC-labelled CEL-I (F-CEL-I) indicated that the amount of bound F-CEL-I on RAW264.7 cells was greater than that of F-PHA-L, suggesting that the greater activity of CEL-I to induce cytokine secretion by RAW264.7 cells is partly due to the higher binding ability. Since the cell binding and cytokine-inducing activity of CEL-I were partly but significantly inhibited by the specific sugar (GalNAc), it is considered that the binding of CEL-I to cell-surface-specific saccharide moieties, which may be recognized by CEL-I with higher affinity than GalNAc, is essential for the induction of cytokine secretion. The secretion of TNF-alpha and G-CSF from CEL-I-treated RAW264.7 cells were almost completely prevented by brefeldin A (BFA), whereas increase in mRNA levels of these cytokines were not affected by BFA. Bio-Plex beads assay suggested that temporal increase in phosphorylation of extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK), c-jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 MAP kinase occurred at relatively early time following CEL-I treatment. Furthermore, the secretion of TNF-alpha and G-CSF were inhibited by specific inhibitors for these MAP kinases. These results suggest that the intracellular signal transduction through the activation of MAP kinase system is involved in CEL-I-induced cytokine secretion.

We found that CEL-I was a potent cytotoxic lectin. MDCK, HeLa, and XC cells were highly sensitive to CEL-I cytotoxicity and killed in a dose-dependent manner, whereas CHO, L929, and RAW264.7 cells were relatively resistant to CEL-I, and no significant toxicity was observed up to 10 microg/ml. Among these cell lines, MDCK cells showed the highest susceptibility to CEL-I cytotoxicity. A binding study using FITC-labeled CEL-I (F-CEL-I) revealed that the amounts of bound F-CEL-I on the sensitive cell lines were evidently greater than those on the resistant cell lines, suggesting that the different susceptibility of the cell lines to CEL-I cytotoxicity is partly explained by different efficiencies of binding of CEL-I to these cell lines. Interestingly, the cytotoxicity of CEL-I toward MDCK cells was more potent than those of other lectins such as WGA, PHA-L, and Con A, even though these lectins were capable of binding to MDCK cells at comparable levels to CEL-I. Since the cytotoxicity of CEL-I was strongly inhibited by GalNAc, the binding to cell surface specific carbohydrates is essential for the CEL-I cytotoxicity. The trypan blue dye exclusion test indicated that CEL-I caused a disorder of plasma membrane integrity as a relatively early event. CEL-I failed to induce the release of carboxyfluorescein (CF) from CF-loaded MDCK cells as seen for pore-forming hemolytic isolectin CEL-III, suggesting that the primary cellular target of CEL-I may be the plasma membrane, but its action mechanism differs from that of CEL-III. Although CEL-I induced dramatic cellular morphological changes in MDCK cells, neither typical apoptotic nuclear morphological changes nor DNA fragmentation was observed in CEL-I-treated MDCK cells even after such cellular changes. Our results demonstrated that CEL-I showed a potent cytotoxic effect, especially on MDCK cells, by causing plasma membrane disorder without induction of apoptosis.

CEL-I is a C-type lectin isolated from the Holothuroidea Cucumaria echinata. This lectin shows very high N-acetylgalactosamine-binding specificity. We constructed an artificial gene encoding recombinant CEL-I (rCEL-I) using a combination of synthetic oligonucleotides, and expressed it in Escherichia coli cells. Since the recombinant protein was obtained as inclusion bodies, the latter were solubilized using urea and 2-mercaptoethanol, and the protein was refolded during the purification and dialysis steps. The purified rCEL-I showed comparable hemagglutinating activity to that of native CEL-I at relatively high Ca(2+)-concentrations, whereas it was weaker at lower Ca(2+)-concentrations due to decreased Ca(2+)-binding affinity. rCEL-I exhibited similar carbohydrate-binding specificity to native CEL-I, including strong GalNAc-binding specificity, as examined by hemagglutination inhibition assay. Comparison of the far UV-CD spectra of recombinant and native CEL-I revealed that the two proteins undergo a similar conformational change upon binding of Ca(2+). Single crystals of rCEL-I were also obtained under the same conditions as those used for the native protein, suggesting that they have similar tertiary structures. Although native CEL-I exhibited strong cytotoxicity toward cultured cells, rCEL-I showed low cytotoxicity. These results indicate that rCEL-I has a tertiary structure and carbohydrate-binding specificity similar to those of native CEL-I. Howeger, there is a subtle difference in the properties between the two proteins probably due to the additional methionine residue at the N-terminus of rCEL-I.

Ricin induced apoptotic nuclear morphological changes in mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7 cells at concentrations sufficient to cause severe protein synthesis inhibition. Ricin also induced the release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) from this cell line in a dose-dependent manner but the profile was bell-shaped. However, the isolated galactose-specific ricin B-chain had no such effects. These results suggest that the receptor-binding of ricin through the B-chain is not enough, and subsequent attack on the intracellular target, i.e., the 28S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), by the A-chain of internalized ricin is required for the effects of ricin. Z-D-CH2-DCB, a caspase family inhibitor, showed potent inhibition of the release of TNF-alpha from RAW264.7 cells as well as blockage of the induction of apoptosis by ricin. Furthermore, SB202190, a specific P38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase inhibitor that strongly inhibits the release of TNF-alpha, also showed significant inhibition of ricin-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that there may be cross-talk between the pathways leading to the release of TNF-alpha and apoptosis. Time course analysis revealed that the activation of p38 MAP kinase started prior to the induction of TNF-alpha release and apoptosis. Since the activation of p38 MAP kinase in ricin-treated RAW264.7 cells was not prevented by Z-D-CH2-DCB, the activation of p38 MAP kinase may occur upstream of the caspase cascade. Among the other protein synthesis inhibitors examined, modeccin and anisomycin, which can trigger a ribotoxic stress response similar to ricin, induced the release of TNF-alpha, but emetine and cycloheximide did not. These results suggest that the specific attack on the 28S ribosomal RNA and the resulting ribotoxic stress response may trigger the multiple signal transduction pathways through the activation of p38 MAP kinase, which in turn leads to TNF-alpha release and apoptosis.

Vertebrate skeletal muscle alpha-tropomyosin polymerizes in a head-to-tail manner and binds cooperatively to actin. It has been postulated that the cooperative actin binding is governed by the strength of the head-to-tail interaction. In order to know the relationship between the head-to-tail affinity and actin binding, we studied the properties of tropomyosin variants with single residue substitutions at serine-283, the penultimate residue at the carboxyl terminus that is involved in the head-to-tail interaction. It has been shown that the phosphorylation of serine-283 strengthens the head-to-tail interaction. Viscometry was employed to compare the head-to-tail affinity of tropomyosin variants. Variant S283E showed higher viscosity whereas variant S283K showed lower viscosity compared with the wild type non-phosphorylated alpha-tropomyosin. The results confirm the idea that the interaction is sensitive to the ionic properties of residue 283. The strength of the head-to-tail interaction was assessed directly by sedimentation equilibrium using two pairs of tropomyosin variants designed so that only dimeric interactions were allowed within each pair. From one pair of variants with serine-283, the association constant was determined to be 2.6 x 10(4) M(-1) (SD =1.0 x 10(4)), whereas for the second pair with glutamate-283, the affinity was 3.9 x 10(4) M(-1) (SD =1.6 x 10(4)), slightly stronger than the former, consistent with the results of viscometry. The results indicate that the head-to-tail association is weak as previously implicated from light scattering measurements. Cosedimentation was employed to measure the cooperative actin binding of tropomyosin variants. Although previous results indicated the phosphorylation has no significant influence on the actin affinity, variant S283E shows a lower affinity compared with the control. Variants S283K and S283A show even lower affinities to actin, although these species bind to actin more cooperatively than does variant S283E. The results indicate that the affinity of the head-to-tail interaction between adjacent tropomyosin molecules is weak, and is substantially influenced by an extra charge at residue 283. On the other hand, the interaction with actin, the affinity and the cooperativity in actin binding, is dependent on amino acid residues at 283 and is not simply correlated with the strength of the head-to-tail interaction between Tm molecules in solution.

In the rat liver, two mRNAs for serine:pyruvate (or alanine:glyoxylate) aminotransferase are generated from a single gene by alternative transcription initiation. The longer mRNA encodes a precursor of a mitochondrial enzyme that has a mitochondrial targeting signal at the N-terminus and is translocated into mitochondria. The shorter mRNA encodes a peroxisomal enzyme of mature size that is imported into peroxisomes. We have been interested in the mechanism of selective targeting to mitochondria of the precursor protein that also contains a peroxisomal targeting signal in the molecule. In this study, we examined the effect of the mitochondrial targeting signal on the conformation of the protein and on the function of the peroxisomal targeting signal in the precursor molecule. The results suggest that the mitochondrial targeting signal causes the conformation of the protein to become unfolded and that this conformational change in turn causes repression of the putative peroxisomal targeting signal contained in the precursor protein.

ETR103 cDNA was cloned as an immediate early gene in the course of macrophagic differentiation of HL-60 cells stimulated by TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate). The induction by TPA was immediate-early (within 30 min) and transient. This gene was not induced by vitamin D3 or by retinoic acid, which stimulates differentiation of HL-60 cells to the monocytic or granulocytic lineage, respectively. The ETR103 mRNA was induced by TPA in lymphoid or myeloid leukemia cell lines of several maturation stages. The induction by TPA seems to proceed by a protein kinase C-mediated mechanism, on the basis of the results obtained by using protein kinase C inhibitor (H-7), protein kinase C activator (diC8), and an activator of protein kinase A (dibutyryl cAMP). Okadaic acid, an inhibitor of protein phosphatases, also induced the ETR103 mRNA expression. The nucleotide sequence of the ETR103 cDNA reveals that ETR103 encodes a human zinc finger-containing transcription factor identical to Egr-1 and 225, which is homologous to mouse Egr-1, Zif/268, Krox-24, and TIS8, or to rat NGFI-A.

We developed a highly sensitive procedure for assaying chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) enzyme activity in extracts of eukaryotic cells transfected with the CAT gene expression vector, by modification of the partition extraction procedure described by Sleigh [Anal. Biochem. 156, 251-256 (1986)]. The sensitivity of the new method was improved 100-fold on commercial purified enzyme. In routine measurements with cell extracts a CAT activity as low as 1.3 x 10(-4) unit could be measured within an error of less than 30%. The CAT enzyme expressions in undifferentiated human promyelocytic leukemic cell line HL-60 from typical gene promoters could be measured by the new method and compared to select a stronger promoter. Similar measurements were made with more mature monocytic THP-1 cells to evaluate the change in the promoter activity with cell maturation. Differentiation induction with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) activated transcription from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) promoter about 10-fold in HL-60 cells, as expected, but the level was less than that in untreated THP-1 cells. In addition, a similar activation was observed in THP-1 cells as well.

Production of a cachexia-inducing factor(s) by the SEKI melanoma cell line, established from a human melanoma, has been well documented. Conditioned medium from cultures of this melanoma cell line contains a factor(s) that inhibits the activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in fully differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The mode of inhibition of this enzyme by the factor, i.e. its dose-dependency and time course, is very similar to that of LPL-inhibition by a macrophage-derived cachexia-inducing factor, cachectin/tumor necrosis factor (cachectin/TNF). However, the conditioned medium of SEKI melanoma cells does not contain any immuno-reactive substances reactive in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with anti-cachectin/TNF antibody, or with anti-interleukin 1 alpha or beta antibodies. This LPL-suppression factor present in the conditioned medium seems to be a peptide because of its heat-lability and apparent molecular weight of more than 25,000. The conditioned media from cultures of four other different cell lines were found to show no significant suppression of LPL activity. These results imply that SEKI melanoma cells produce a cachexia-inducing factor(s) similar to cachectin/TNF but that the molecule involved is different.

Nascent peptides on free and bound ribosomes prepared from rat liver were labeled and released with [3H]puromycin, and the amounts of the nascent peptides of two secretory proteins, serum albumin and transferrin, were determined by immunoprecipitation with specific antibodies. An appreciable amount of serum albumin nascent peptides was associated with free ribosomes, although most of them were carried by bound ribosomes. Serum albumin nascent peptides associated with free ribosomes were smaller in size than those carried by bound ribosomes. When the products of cell-free translation programmed by free and bound polysomes were immunoprecipitated with antibodies, the percentages of serum albumin to the total translation products were in good agreement with those obtained in the nascent peptides experiment. Cell-free translation of free polysomes produced serum albumin with a similar molecular weight to the authentic one. Although nascent peptides of transferrin were detected only on bound ribosomes, and not on free ribosomes, the transferrin antibody immunoprecipitated 0.2% of total translation products of free polysomes. These observations indicate that free polysomes have complete messenger RNA's and shorter growing nascent peptides of serum albumin and transferrin.

The binding of Ricinus communis lectins to HeLa cells, Sarcoma 180 ascites tumor cells and human erythrocytes was studied in detail. Scatchard plots of binding of 125I-lectins to these cells gave biphasic lines except for HeLa cells at 0 degree C. The association constants of lectins for the three cell types at 37 degrees C were lower than those at 0 degree C. The numbers of total binding sites were estimated to be 7 to 16 X 10(7) per HeLa cell, 3 to 4 X 10(7) per Sarcoma 180 ascites tumor cell and 0.4 to 1 X 10(6) per erythrocyte. A fraction, 16 to 27% of the total amount of cell-bound lectin at 37 degrees C, appeared to be bound irreversibly as judged by non-removal on washing with 0.1 M lactose, whereas no lectin was irreversibly bound at 0 degree C. In the case of erythrocytes, no lectin became irreversibly bound even at 37 degrees C. The toxicity of lectins on HeLa cells and Sarcoma 180 ascites tumor cells was investigated. The toxicity of ricin D was 50 times for Sarcoma 180 ascites tumor cells and 140 times for HeLa cells as much as that for castor bean hemagglutinin. As to the sensitivities of both cell types to these lectins, it became apparent that Sarcoma 180 ascites tumor cells were more susceptible than HeLa cells.

The protein-bound sulfhydryl (SH) groups of the mitochondrial membrane were determined with Ellman's reagent in energized and non-energized configurational states of mitochondria and submitochondrial particles. When beef heart mitochondria were energized by respiration, there was a decrease in titratable protein-bound SH groups which varied according to substrate: NADH-linked substrates induced a decrease of about 10 nmol per mg of protein,succinate about 7, and ascorbate-tetramethyl-p-phenylene-diamine about 3. Similar changes occurred in phosphorylating submitochondrial particles. A decrease in SH titer was also observed in non-energized conditions, induced by hypotonic treatment and by some reagents inhibiting electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation and inducing orthodox configuration. These changes in protein-bound SH groups might be useful in analyzing the conformational states of mitochondrial membranes.

Tryptophanase purified from Escherichia coli B/1t7-A was irreversibly inactivated by chloramine T (sodium N-chloro-p-toluenesulfonamide). The mode of inactivation was rather complex and did not follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. The inactivation of the apoenzyme was much faster than that of the holoenzyme. The Km value for the synthetic substrate S-o-nitrophenyl-L-cysteine (SOPC) increased concomitantly with the modification. In contrast, the Km value for the coenzyme, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), was not altered. L-Serine, another substrate, and L-alanine, a competitive inhibitor, protected the enzyme from inactivation. Determination of SH groups in the enzyme protein with 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) showed that modification of two SH groups per enzyme subunit resulted in a complete inactivation. When the enzyme was subjected to chloramine T-modification following the SH group modification with DTNB, further inactivation was still observed, even after the addition of dithiothreitol. The SH-blocked enzyme preparation thus obtained, however, exhibited less pH dependency of inactivation by chloramine T than that of the native enzyme. The amino acid analysis of the chloramine T-modified enzyme showed that modification of four or five methionine residues among the 16 residues per subunit proceeded concomitantly with the complete inactivation. Modification of the enzyme with chloramine T quenched the absorption peak near 500 nm, characteristic of a quinoidal structure formed by labilization of the alpha-proton. These results suggest the possibility that chloramine T modifies not only the SH groups, but also methionine residues important for the catalytic activity of the enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Free ribosomes and membrane-bound ribosomes were prepared from rat livers, and the contributions of these two types of ribosomes to the synthesis of aldolase B were studied by the immunoprecipitation of [3H]puromycin-labeled nascent peptides with a rabbit antibody to this enzyme. Although rat liver aldolase was recovered in both cytosolic and microsomal fractions by the fractionation of liver homogenate, the microsomal aldolase was immunologically identical with its cytosolic counterpart as confirmed by Ouchterlony immunodiffusion test. We examined the nascent peptide fractions prepared from free and bound ribosomes, and found that the nascent peptides of aldolase were mainly localized in free ribosomes. About 0.5% of the total nascent peptides of free ribosomes and 0.08% of those of bound ribosomes was aldolase. The site of synthesis of serum albumin was also examined as a reference standard by the immunoprecipitation of labeled nascent peptides, and the nascent peptides of this secretory protein were mainly associated with bound ribosomes, as reported by other workers. These observations confirm that aldolase B is mainly synthesized by free ribosomes in rat liver cells.

In order to establish a standard procedure for the spectrophotometric determination of urinary and plasma oxalate with oxalate oxidase (Laker, M.F., et al. (1980) Clin. Chem. 26, 827-830; Sugiura, M., et al. (1980) Clin. Chim. Acta 105, 393-399) and to define the limitations of the method, the procedures and reactions involved in the assay have been examined. Among the chromogenic hydrogen donors for peroxidase tested, a combination of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH) and sodium N-sulfopropylaniline (HALPS) was found to be best for the oxalate determination under the conditions used. Urine contained substance(s) which were inhibitory to the measurement of hydrogen peroxide by the peroxidase-catalyzed oxidative condensation of MBTH and HALPS, but they were largely removed by charcoal treatment at pH 5.6 without significant loss of oxalate. Deproteinization of plasma was carried out by ultrafiltration through a membrane cone (Centriflo CF-25) at neutral pH. The plasma oxalate ultrafiltrability under the conditions employed was calculated to be approximately 95%. A standard assay system for oxalate in these urine and plasma samples was then set up based on a series of studies on the reactions involved in the assay. In the case of normal plasma, however, the absorbance change was very small due to the low concentration of oxalate, and in addition, pretreatment of plasma with excess oxalate decarboxylase followed by the ultrafiltration and oxalate determination did not abolish completely the oxalate oxidase-dependent absorbance increase. It was concluded that the enzymic method was useful for the assay of urinary oxalate and in detecting elevated levels of plasma oxalate such as those in hemodialysis patients but was not sensitive enough to determine accurately the normal or decreased level of oxalate in plasma. The apparent concentration of oxalate in normal human plasma was measured in this work as 3.5 +/- 0.8 microM (mean +/- S.D., n = 8), and this result was interpreted to mean that the concentration of plasma oxalate was less than approximately 3.5 microM, as estimated by the present method.

Studies were performed in the rat liver to examine whether or not insulin as well as glucagon causes the induction of mitochondrial serine:pyruvate aminotransferase (SPTm) [EC 2.6.1.51] and if so, whether the mechanisms of induction are similar or different for the two hormones. Not only glucagon but also insulin induced SPTm. Cell-free translation assaying and RNA blot analysis showed that both hormones cause an increase in the hepatic level of mRNA for the precursor of SPTm. Their effects were virtually additive, and the time course of the increase in the mRNA level differed between the hormones. The maximal increase induced by glucagon was observed 3.5 h after the hormone injection while that by insulin was found after 6 h. The increase in the mRNA due to insulin was completely inhibited by the co-administration of cycloheximide, while that due to glucagon was not. The finding suggests that a newly synthesized, insulin-dependent protein(s) is involved in the regulation of the mRNA level by insulin. On the other hand, hydrocortisone treatment selectively suppressed the increase in the mRNA due to glucagon. These data indicate that the synthesis of the mRNA for SPTm is regulated by glucagon and insulin through different mechanisms. The size of the hormone-induced mRNA for SPTm gradually decreased with time, but the cell-free translation products did not exhibit size alteration. RNase H digestion to remove the poly(A) tail of the mRNA indicated that shortening of the poly(A) sequence might be responsible for the time-dependent size alteration of the mRNA.

In the previous study (Oda, T., et al. (1985) Eur. J. Biochem. 150, 415-421), we isolated a cDNA clone which expressed in Escherichia coli a specific size of product having the activity of rat liver serine:pyruvate aminotransferase (SPTm). This specific product (SPT10) was purified to homogeneity through three different column chromatographies. The amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme agreed with those predicted from the nucleotide sequence of cDNA and showed that SPT10 consists of the whole amino acid sequence of mature SPTm and several extra amino acid residues at the N-terminus. The catalytic and physical properties of SPT10, such as substrate specificity, Km for alpha-keto acids, electric charge, and quaternary structure, were all very similar to those of SPTm. Using several cDNA clones which lack a 5'-terminal sequence corresponding to a portion of the N-terminal amino acid sequence of SPTm, we examined the expression profile of the specific product in bacteria transformed with each cDNA clone. The products encoded by these cDNAs were segregated into inclusion bodies and were neither catalytically active nor easily solubilized by sonication. In contrast, the inclusion bodies were not formed in the bacteria transformed with the cDNA clone for SPT10.

Puromycin-mediated in vitro release of nascent peptides from rat liver ribosomes was significantly stimulated by the presence of low concentrations of a detergent, and the stimulation was much more marked with bound ribosomes than with free ribosomes. The release of nascent peptides from ribosomes could be carried out in two steps, first with puromycin in the absence of a detergent and then with a detergent, to give two separate nascent peptide fractions S1 and S2, respectively. Although S1 and S2 fractions were not significantly different in hydrophobicity and in the size of the puromycin-conjugated peptides when examined by alkyl-Sepharose column chromatography and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the fractionation of the released peptides by immunoprecipitation showed significant difference in the distribution of the nascent peptides of two specific proteins, serum albumin and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, between these two fractions. The nascent peptides of serum albumin were found mainly in fraction S1 obtained from bound ribosomes. On the other hand, a larger portion of the nascent peptides of NADPH-cytochrome c reductase was detected in fraction S2 from free ribosomes than in other fractions. The presence of a detergent is indispensable for efficient in vitro release of nascent peptides from ribosomes by puromycin and this finding may be important in studying the synthesis of specific proteins in mammalian cells.

We recently reported that Serratia 56K protease is inhibited by plasma alpha 2 macroglobulin (alpha 2M) temporarily and by chicken egg white ovomacroglobulin (ovoM) continuously (Molla, A. et al. (1986) Infect. Immun. 53, 522-529). The inhibition of this protease is almost complete with ovoM whereas it is incomplete with alpha 2M, although these two macroglobulins show homology and many similarities. In the present study we determined the apparent numbers of binding sites and binding constants for the two macroglobulins by means of the fluorescence polarization method using FITC-labeled 56K protease. The time courses of complex formation of 56K protease with alpha 2M and ovoM were different; with ovoM it was complete within 5 min while with alpha 2M 150 min was required. Their apparent molecular volumes were also different; the fluorescence polarization value of the E/I complex was 18.7% larger with ovoM than with alpha 2M. The association constants obtained on Scatchard plot analysis with 56K protease and alpha 2M or ovoM were 0.33 X 10(7) M-1 and 1.09 X 10(7) M-1, respectively. One molecule of each of these macroglobulins binds 1.13 and 1.35 molecules of 56K protease, respectively. Upon E/I complex formation, an increase in amino groups due to proteolysis was noted in both cases, but more progressive proteolysis was observed in the case of alpha 2M. Furthermore, when the 56K protease was inactivated through the depletion of Zn atoms, complex formation did not occur.

Processing and uptake of the precursor of serine: pyruvate aminotransferase [EC 2.6.1.51] by mitochondria were studied in vitro and in vivo. Serine: pyruvate aminotransferase was synthesized mainly on free ribosomes as judged by immunoprecipitation of puromycin-labeled nascent peptides prepared from free and bound ribosomes. The precursor of rat liver serine:pyruvate aminotransferase (pSPT) synthesized in vitro was post-translationally processed to an apparently mature form by isolated rat liver mitochondria. Available evidence indicated that the processed product was localized in the matrix of mitochondria. Mature serine:pyruvate aminotransferase did not inhibit the in vitro processing, suggesting that the extra peptide was necessary for the mitochondrial uptake of the precursor. In the livers of rats fed a vitamin B6-deficient high-protein diet, the induction by glucagon of serine:pyruvate aminotransferase occurred and most of the induced enzyme existed in mitochondria as the apo-form, suggesting that pSPT was taken up by mitochondria and processed in the apo-form under the conditions employed. In the in vitro system, on the other hand, the processing of pSPT proceeded both in the absence and presence of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Should the precursor also bind the prosthetic molecule, therefore, it would be transported into mitochondria in both the apo- and holo-forms. When isolated rat hepatocytes were labeled with [35S]methionine, labeled pSPT appeared in the cytosolic fraction and was transported rapidly into mitochondria in association with the processing. This uptake and processing were inhibited by a fluorescent laser dye, rhodamine 123, and the precursor accumulated in the cytosol in the presence of the dye.

Dienestrol, meso-hexestrol, and dl-hexestrol, synthetic nonsteroidal estrogens, were shown to be inhibitors of microtubule assembly in vitro using microtubule proteins isolated from porcine brains. The order of activity of the synthetic estrogens as inhibitors of microtubule assembly is: dienestrol greater than diethylstilbestrol greater than meso-hexestrol greater than dl-hexestrol greater than isodienestrol. The activity of dienestrol as an inhibitor was of the same order as that of (+)-griseofulvin, as determined by turbidity measurement. Electron microscopic observation revealed that twisted ribbon structures are formed from microtubule proteins in the presence of some synthetic estrogens (dienestrol, meso-hexestrol, and dl-hexestrol).