Retinol-binding protein 4 in neonates born small for gestational age.

BACKGROUND: Retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) is an adipocyte-derived 'signal' that may contribute to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. The relationship of RBP4 with insulin resistance and metabolic risk in human beings has been the subject of several studies. Subjects born small for gestational age (SGA) are at risk of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. Though RBP4 could represent an early marker of insulin resistance, to date, none have determined RBP4 in SGA children. AIM: Our aim was to measure RBP4 concentrations in cord blood of SGA newborns compared with those in children born with a birth weight appropriate for gestational age (AGA) and to determine whether serum RBP4 levels at birth correlate with insulin sensitivity markers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty-four newborns, 17 born SGA (mean gestational age: 36.4+/-2.1 weeks), and 47 born AGA (mean gestational age: 37.0+/-3.6 weeks) were studied. The main outcome measures included anthropometry, lipid profile, insulin, homeostasis model assessment, quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index, adiponectin, and RBP4. RESULTS: RBP4 concentrations were significantly reduced in SGA newborns (p<0.002). No relationship was found between RBP4 and insulin sensitivity parameters. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that birth weight was the major predictor of RBP4 serum concentrations (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: RBP4 is reduced in SGA newborns, birth weight representing the major determinant of RBP4 concentrations, and is not related to insulin sensitivity. No significant difference in adiponectin levels and insulin sensitivity markers was found between SGA and AGA neonates.

The serine protease cofactor factor V is synthesized by lymphocytes.

Ag-specific cellular immune responses result in CD4+ T cell activation, which can induce the expression of tissue factor in cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage. This results in initiation of the coagulation protease cascade, with ultimate generation of thrombin. The latter is a potent and pleiotropic mediator of cellular responses and deposition of fibrin. To explore the requirements for extravascular cellular mediation of immune effector pathways, we have searched for a cellular source of the cofactor factor Va. Factor V mRNA was identified in human lymphoid cells by using reverse transcription followed by the polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We confirmed our reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results by an independent cloning of factor V cDNA from a T cell cDNA library. The sequence of the factor V cDNA was virtually identical to hepatic factor V mRNA sequence. A limited span of mRNA, encoding part of the connecting region of the factor V protein, was found to contain nucleotide polymorphisms based on six nucleotide substitutions. Northern blot analysis confirmed the presence of a approximately 7-kb factor V mRNA in the Hut-78* human T lymphoma cell line and, at five- to eightfold less abundance, in unstimulated lymphocytes and long term allogeneic stimulated T cells. Immunocytology with factor V mAb identified factor V intracellularly in freshly isolated T lymphocytes but not on the surface of cells. These data provide evidence for factor V transcription and biosynthesis by human lymphocytes. They provide an additional perspective on how lymphocytes may contribute to inflammatory effector functions of cellular immune responses in extravascular sites through provision of cofactors necessary for the coagulation serine protease cascade.

Human combinatorial antibody libraries to hepatitis B surface antigen.

Human antibody Fab fragments that bind to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were generated by using a recombinant phage surface-display expression system. Characterization of HBsAg-specific Fab fragments isolated from two vaccinated individuals reveals diversity in specificity of antigen binding and in the sequences of the complementarity-determining region. The sequence results show examples of human light-chain promiscuity that result in fine specificity changes and a strong relationship to a human germ-line gene. This application illustrates further that this technique is a powerful tool to isolate distinct human antibodies against immunogenic viral targets.

Sequence and structural analysis of surface protein antigen I/II (SpaA) of Streptococcus sobrinus.

Streptococcal antigen I/II or the surface protein antigen A (SpaA) of Streptococcus sobrinus is an adhesin which mediates binding of the organism to tooth surfaces. The complete sequence of the gene which encodes SpaA has been determined. The gene consists of 4,584 bp and encodes a protein of 1,528 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence shows extensive homology with those of the cell surface adhesins from Streptococcus mutans serotypes c and f and from Streptococcus sanguis. Structural analysis of the N-terminal region (residues 50 to 550), which is rich in alanine and includes four tandem repeats of an 82-residue sequence, suggests that it adopts an alpha-helical coiled-coil conformation. Cell surface hydrophobicity may be associated with this region. The C-terminal region is more conserved and includes two tandem repeats of a 39-residue proline-rich sequence. A further proline-rich sequence in this region is predicted to span the cell wall. Although a hydrophobic sequence is present in the C-terminal region, it appears to be too short to span the cell membrane. Anchoring of SpaA in the cell membrane may therefore require some form of posttranslational modification or association with another membrane protein.

Cloning of the amino terminal nucleotides of the antigen I/II of Streptococcus sobrinus and the immune responses to the corresponding synthetic peptides.

A portion of the antigen I/II (spaA, B, P1) gene of Streptococcus sobrinus 6715, containing the coding sequence for the amino terminal 684 amino acids of the protein, was cloned in bacteriophage lambda GT10. Selection was by immunological detection using a polyclonal antiserum to the antigen I/II from Strep. mutans. From the amino acid sequence, peptides were synthesized, 15 amino acids in length, that covered the entire sequence. In total, 260 synthetic peptides were synthesized and evaluated for their immunogenicity in Balb/C mice. Thirty-nine peptides were immunogenic, without carrier, and the antisera generated were tested for their ability to bind cells of Strep. mutans and Strep. sobrinus in a solid-phase assay. Antisera corresponding to peptides from five regions on the I/II molecule bound cells of both bacterial species. These peptides were then evaluated for their ability to stimulate in vitro murine lymphocyte proliferation, after in vivo immunization with Strep. sobrinus cells. Two of the peptides were capable of stimulating proliferation, as determined by incorporation of [3H]-thymidine into murine lymph node cells. The sequences of these 5 peptides were then compared to sequences found in the antigen I/II from Strep. mutans (Kelly et al., 1989). As expected, there was considerable homology between the cross-reactive peptides synthesized and the analogous region from Strep. mutans. This homology was not usually contiguous and suggests that the antibodies bind a face of antigen I/II that is in an alpha-helical conformation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Mouse muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gamma subunit: cDNA sequence and gene expression.

Clones coding for the mouse nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) gamma subunit precursor have been selected from a cDNA library derived from a mouse myogenic cell line and sequenced. The deduced protein sequence consists of a signal peptide of 22 amino acid residues and a mature gamma subunit of 497 amino acid residues. There is a high degree of sequence conservation between this mouse sequence and published human and calf AChR gamma subunits and, after allowing for functional amino acid substitutions, also to the more distantly related chicken and Torpedo AChR gamma subunits. The degree of sequence conservation is especially high in the four putative hydrophobic membrane spanning regions, supporting the assignment of these domains. RNA blot hybridization showed that the mRNA level of the gamma subunit increases by 30 fold or more upon differentiation of the two mouse myogenic cell lines, BC3H-1 and C2C12, suggesting that the primary controls for changes in gene expression during differentiation are at the level of transcription. One cDNA clone was found to correspond to a partially processed nuclear transcript containing two as yet unspliced intervening sequences.

Isolation and characterization of a cDNA clone for the complete protein coding region of the delta subunit of the mouse acetylcholine receptor.

A mouse cDNA clone has been isolated that contains the complete coding region of a protein highly homologous to the delta subunit of the Torpedo acetylcholine receptor (AcChoR). The cDNA library was constructed in the vector lambda 10 from membrane-associated poly(A)+ RNA from BC3H-1 mouse cells. Surprisingly, the delta clone was selected by hybridization with cDNA encoding the gamma subunit of the Torpedo AcChoR. The nucleotide sequence of the mouse cDNA clone contains an open reading frame of 520 amino acids. This amino acid sequence exhibits 59% and 50% sequence homology to the Torpedo AcChoR delta and gamma subunits, respectively. However, the mouse nucleotide sequence has several stretches of high homology with the Torpedo gamma subunit cDNA, but not with delta. The mouse protein has the same general structural features as do the Torpedo subunits. It is encoded by a 3.3-kilobase mRNA. There is probably only one, but at most two, chromosomal genes coding for this or closely related sequences.

Mitochondrial ribosome assembly in Neurospora. Structural analysis of mature and partially assembled ribosomal subunits by equilibrium centrifugation in CsCl gradients.

In Neurospora, one protein associated with the mitochondrial small ribosomal subunit (S-5, Mr 52,000) is synthesized intramitochondrially and is assumed to be encoded by mtDNA. When mitochondrial protein synthesis is inhibited, either by chloramphenicol or by mutation, cells accumulate incomplete mitochondrial small subunits (CAP-30S and INC-30S particles) that are deficient in S-5 and several other proteins. To gain additional insight into the role of S-5 in mitochondrial ribosome assembly, the structures of Neurospora mitochondrial ribosomal subunits, CAP-30S particles, and INC-30S particles were analyzed by equilibrium centrifugation in CsCl gradients containing different concentrations of Mg+2. The results show (a) that S-5 is tightly associated with small ribosomal subunits, as judged by the fact that it is among the last proteins to be dissociated in CsCl gradients as the Mg+2 concentration is decreased, and (b) that CAP-30S and INC-30S particles, which are deficient in S-5, contain at most 12 proteins that are bound as tightly as in mature small subunits. The CAP-30S particles isolated from sucrose gradients contain a number of proteins that appear to be loosely bound, as judged by dissociation of these proteins in CsCl gradients under conditions in which they remain associated with mature small subunits. The results suggest that S-5 is required for the stable binding of a subset of small subunit ribosomal proteins.

Mitochondrial ribosome assembly in Neurospora crassa. Purification of the mitochondrially synthesized ribosomal protein, S-5.

In Neurospora, one mitochondrial ribosomal protein (S-5, Mr = 52,000) is synthesized intramitochondrially and is presumably encoded by mitochondrial DNA. We have developed a rapid method for the purification of S-5 which takes advantage of its high affinity for carboxymethyl-Sepharose in the presence of 6 M urea. Using this method, S-5, at purity greater than 95%, can be prepared by column chromatography in a single batch elution step. The amino acid composition of S-5 was determined. Judged by the contents of hydrophilic and basic amino acids, S-5 is more similar to Escherichia coli and yeast ribosomal proteins than to other mitochondrial translation products which are hydrophobic membrane proteins.

A novel extranuclear mutant of Neurospora with a temperature-sensitive defect in mitochondrial protein synthesis and mitochondrial ATPase.

[C93] is a novel, extranuclear mutant of Neurospora crassa which has a normal mitochondrial phenotype when grown at 25 degrees, but which is deficient in cytochromes b and aa3 when grown at 37 degrees (Pittenger and West 1979). In the present work, the phenotype of [C93] was characterized in greater detail. When [C93] is grown at 37 degrees, the rate of mitochondrial protein synthesis is decreased to approximately 25% that of wild type; the ratio of mitochondrial small to large ribosomal subunits is decreased to 1:4 and mitochondrial small subunits are deficient in the mitochondrially-synthesized protein, S-5. The mitochondrial ribosome assembly defects in 37 degrees-grown [C93] resemble those in chloramphenicol-treated wild-type cells and could merely be a consequence of the decreased rate of mitochondrial protein synthesis. Analysis of mitochondrial translation products by SDS gel electrophoresis suggests that 37 degrees-grown [C93] is grossly deficient in the 19,000 Mr subunit of the oligomycin-sensitive ATPase relative to other mitochondrially-synthesized proteins. The ATPase defect was not found in other extranuclear or nuclear mutants deficient in mitochondrial protein synthesis. These data and additional evidence suggest that the primary defect in [C93] may be in the assembly of the ATPase complex. The possible connection between the ATPase defect and the deficiency of mitochondrial protein synthesis is discussed.

Binding of mitochondrial ribosomal proteins to a mitochondrial ribosomal precursor RNA containing a 2.3-kilobase intron.

In Neurospora, the gene encoding the mitochondrial large subunit (25 S) rRNA contains an intervening sequence of approximately 2.3 kilobases. We have recently identified two temperature-sensitive, nuclear mutants (289-67 and 299-9) which are defective in splicing of the 25 S RNA. When grown at the nonpermissive temperature (37 degrees C), the mutants show decreased ratios of 25 S/19 S RNA and accumulate a novel 35 S RNA which appears to be a continuous transcript of the 25 S RNA gene, including the intervening sequence. In the present work, mitochondrial ribonucleoprotein particles present in the 50 S subunit peak from wild type and mutant 299-9 were analyzed by equilibrium centrifugation in CsCl gradients containing 25 mM MgCl2. The results show that 35 S RNA can be isolated as part of a ribonucleoprotein particle associated with nearly all of the large subunit ribosomal proteins. However, the particles appear to be less stable in CsCl gradients and more sensitive to nucleolytic degradation than particles derived from mature large subunits. Our results indicate that binding of ribosomal proteins to 35 S RNA could precede removal of the intron, but that removal of the intron may be required to achieve stable protein binding.

Mitochondrial ribosome assembly in Neurospora. Two-dimensional gel electrophoretic analysis of mitochondrial ribosomal proteins.

Recent results with Neurospora crassa show that one protein (S-5, mol wt 52,000) associated with the mitochondrial (mit) small ribosomal subunit is translated within the mitochondria (Lambowitz et al. 1976. J. Mol. Biol. 107:223-253). In the present work, Neurospora mit ribosomal proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis using a modification of the gel system of Mets and Bogorad. The results show that S-5 is present in near stoichiometric concentrations in high salt (0.5 MKCl)-washed mit small subunits from wild-type strains. S-5 is among the most basic mit ribosomal proteins (pI greater than 10) and has a high affinity for RNA under the conditions of the urea-containing gel buffers. The role of S-5 in mit ribosome assembly was investigated by an indirect method, making use of chloramphenicol to specifically inhibit mit protein synthesis. Chloramphenicol was found to rapidly inhibit the assembly of mit small subunits leading to the formation of CAP-30S particles which sediment slightly behind mature small subunits (LaPolla and Lambowitz. 1977. J. Mol. 116: 189-205). Two-dimensional gel analysis shows that the more slowly sedimentaing CAP-30S particles are deficient in S-5 and in several other proteins, whereas these proteins are present in normal concentrations in mature small subunits from the same cells. Because S-5 is the only mit ribosomal protein whose synthesis is directly inhibited by chloramphenicol, the results tentatively suggest that S-5 plays a role in the assembly of mit small subunits. In addition, the results are consistent with the idea that S-5 stabilizes the binding of several other mit small subunit proteins. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to examine mit ribosomal proteins from [poky] and six additional extra-nuclear mutants with defects in the assembly of mit small subunits. The electrophoretic mobility of S-5 is not detectably altered in any of the mutants. However, [poky] mit small subunits are deficient in S-5 and also contain several other proteins in abnormally low or high concentrations. These and other results are consistent with a defect in a mit ribosomal constituent in [poky].

In vitro studies of chemical mutagens and carcinogens. I. Stability studies in cell culture medium.

A quantitative microbial assay was used to study the stability of known mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds in cell culture medium. Ten direct-acting carcinogens, when incubated in culture medium with 15% fetal bovine serum at pH 7.2-7.4 and 37 degrees C, became inactive at varying rates. Biologic half-lives of the test compounds ranged from 8 minutes to 67 hours. In contrast, six procarcinogens showed no significant inactivation after 3 weeks' incubation. The biologic half-lives of each compound were presented, and the significance of these findings as they relate to cell culture carcinogenesis and mutagenesis assays was discussed.

CO2 production from galactose in galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase-deficient Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli K-12 deficient in galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase is capable of converting significant amounts of d-[1-(14)C]galactose to (14)CO(2), whereas strains deficient in other enzymes of the Leloir pathway cannot do so.

Addition of leucine precursors to the diet of leucine-starved mice.

Leucine-starved mice placed on a diet supplemented with the immediate precursor of leucine, alpha-ketoisocaproic acid, regain lost weight. This weight gain is similar to that observed when the leucine-starved mice are provided with leucine in their diet. Mice on a leucine-free diet supplemented with alpha-ketoisovaleric acid, the first compound in the leucine biosynthetic pathway, continued to lose weight as quickly as mice on leucine-deficient diets.