Reproductive potential does not cause loss of heat shock response performance in honey bees.

In other species characterized to date, aging, as a function of reproductive potential, results in the breakdown of proteaostasis and a decreased capacity to mount responses by the heat shock response (HSR) and other proteostatic network pathways. Our understanding of the maintenance of stress pathways, such as the HSR, in honey bees, and in the reproductive queen in particular, is incomplete. Based on the findings in other species showing an inverse relationship between reproductive potential and HSR function, one might predict that that HSR function would be lost in the reproductive queens. However, as queens possess an atypical uncoupling of the reproduction-maintenance trade-off typically found in solitary organisms, HSR maintenance might also be expected. Here we demonstrate that reproductive potential does not cause loss of HSR performance in honey bees as queens induce target gene expression to levels comparable to those induced in attendant worker bees. Maintenance of HSR function with advent of reproductive potential is unique among invertebrates studied to date and provides a potential model for examining the molecular mechanisms regulating the uncoupling of the reproduction-maintenance trade-off in queen bees, with important consequences for understanding how stresses impact different types of individuals in honey bee colonies.

Coordinate up-regulation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha and HIF-1 target genes during multi-stage epidermal carcinogenesis and wound healing.

Both carcinogenesis and wound healing proceed through stages of proliferation and tissue remodeling. Here, using either a model of multistage epidermal carcinogenesis in K14-HPV16 transgenic mice or creation of full-thickness back wounds in nontransgenic mice, we determined patterns of expression of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha, and three targets of the heterodimeric transcription factor HIF-1, glucose transporter (GLUT)-1, phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK)-1, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in skin. Neither HIF-1alpha, GLUT-1, PGK-1, nor VEGF mRNA was detectable in unwounded nontransgenic skin. In epidermal carcinogenesis, HIF-1alpha, GLUT-1, PGK-1, and VEGF mRNAs were just detectable in early-stage hyperplasia, markedly increased in high-grade epidermal chest dysplasias, and further increased in invasive squamous carcinomas. In neoplastic skin, HIF-1alpha, GLUT-1, and PGK-1 mRNAs localized in the basal and immediate suprabasal epidermal layers, whereas VEGF mRNA was predominantly expressed in the more superior spinous and granular epidermal layers. Immediately after wounding, HIF-1alpha, GLUT-1, and PGK-1 mRNAs were detectable in basal keratinocytes at the wound edge. Expression of all three genes increased to maximum levels in reepithelializing basal keratinocytes and then diminished to near undetectable levels after wound epithelialization. Although VEGF mRNA similarly increased and decreased during wound healing, its expression pattern was more punctate; the most intense hybridization signals were detected in the upper spinous and granular layers of reepithelializing keratinocytes and in dermal cells morphologically similar to macrophages. These data suggest stage-specific and spatio-temporal control of HIF-1alpha and HIF-1 target gene expression in both multistage epithelial carcinogenesis and wound healing.

Interaction of class A amphipathic helical peptides with phospholipid unilamellar vesicles.

The exchangeable apolipoproteins are important in determining the structure/function properties of lipoproteins. These proteins typically contain varying amounts of amphipathic helices. Five model peptides, 18A, Ac-18A-NH2, Ac-18R-NH2, 37pA, and 37aA, have been designed to investigate variations of the amphipathic alpha-helix structural motif on their lipid-binding properties. These include the 18-residue peptides, 18A and Ac-18A-NH2, examples of class A helices, and Ac-18R-NH2, which has the positions of acidic and basic residues interchanged relative to 18A. Three larger peptides were also studied: 36A, a dimer of 18A, 37pA and 37aA, dimers of 18A coupled by Pro (18A-Pro-18A) and Ala (18A-Ala-18A), respectively. We report here the results of a thermodynamic characterization of the binding properties of these peptides to small unilamellar vesicles of POPC. Partition coefficients, Kp, were determined by fluorescence spectroscopy and binding enthalpies, deltaH, by titration calorimetry. These parameters were used to obtain the free energies, deltaG0, and entropies, deltaS0, of binding. The results of this study indicate Kp values on the order of 10(5), with interactions being enthalpically but not entropically favored in all cases. The presence of positively charged residues at the interface (18A and Ac-18A-NH2) enhances binding but has little effect on the extent of bilayer penetration. The presence of tandem repeats decreases lipid affinities for these small, highly curved bilayers. Our results are consistent with the idea that interaction appears to be confined largely to the surface, with some degree of penetration of the hydrophobic face of the helix into the interior of the bilayer.

Effect of vesicle size on their interaction with class A amphipathic helical peptides.

Throughout the life span of a lipoprotein particle, the type and number of exchangeable apolipoproteins on its surface varies with particle size, suggesting a role of surface curvature on the lipid-binding properties of these proteins. Peptides 18A, Ac-18A-NH2, Ac-18R-NH2, 37pA, and 37aA have been designed to investigate the lipid-binding properties of the amphipathic alpha-helix structural motif that appears to modulate the lipid-binding properties of the exchangeable plasma apolipoproteins. We report here the results of a quantitative thermodynamic characterization of the effects of modifying helix length and of varying both the location of charged residues about the polar face of the peptides and vesicle size on the lipid affinity and depth of bilayer penetration for model amphipathic alpha-helices. Partition coefficients, Kp, were determined by fluorescence spectroscopy, and binding enthalpies, deltaH, by titration calorimetry. The results indicate that Kp values are on the order of 10(5), with similar deltaG(o) values for the interactions of the peptides with vesicles of various sizes. It appears that a class A motif and increased alpha-helical content optimize binding for 18-residue peptides. The interactions of the model peptides with 20 nm SUV are enthalpically driven with small, negative entropy changes; however, interactions for larger vesicles are entropically driven, likely due to disordering of bilayer hydrocarbon chains. Thermodynamic data indicate that 37pA and 37aA induce greater disordering of bilayer hydrocarbon chains than Ac-18A-NH2. The results of this study suggest that the type of interaction, i.e., enthalpically or entropically driven, may be modulated by the lateral compressibility of the bilayer membrane.

An analytical model for the phase behavior of cholesteryl esters in intracellular inclusions.

The cholesteryl ester-rich, intracellular inclusions that characterize atherosclerotic plaque are capable of existing in a metastable, relatively fluid state for long periods of time. We have developed an analytical model which explains this metastability, and other aspects of the phase behavior, of physiologically relevant, phospholipid-stabilized dispersions of cholesteryl ester mixtures. The model, based on classical nucleation theory, incorporates temperature, time and lipid composition as independent variables. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to elucidate the model. The dispersions consisted of cholesteryl palmitate and an ester containing a long-chain, unsaturated or polyunsaturated, fatty acid. When a dispersion of approx. 1-microns droplets is melted, then cooled, crystallization is preceded by the formation of small crystalline nuclei (homogeneous nucleation). Nucleation is energetically unfavorable until (typically) well below the melting point. sigma, the tension between the surface of the crystal nucleus and surrounding fluid, is a measure of the difficulty in forming nuclei. This parameter was found to increase with the content of unsaturated ester. sigma was found to increase with increasing triacylglycerol content, and to decrease upon addition of free cholesterol.

The phase behavior of cholesteryl esters in intracellular inclusions.

Differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing light microscopy have been used to investigate kinetic and thermodynamic properties of the phase behavior of cholesteryl ester contained in Fu5AH rat hepatoma cells and J774 murine macrophages. These cultured cells store cholesteryl esters as cytoplasmic inclusions of approximately 1-micron diameter and thus are models of the foam cells characteristic of atherosclerotic plaque. Simple binary mixtures of cholesteryl palmitate and cholesteryl oleate, the predominant cholesteryl esters in cellular inclusions in both cell types serve as models to explain important aspects of the phase behavior of these inclusions. Although inclusions should exist as stable crystals at 37 degrees C under conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium, microscopic examination of cells indicates that inclusions exist as metastable liquid crystals at 37 degrees C for extended periods of time. Using an analytical model based on nucleation theory, we predict that the cholesteryl ester inclusions should be liquid-crystalline in the cytoplasm of living cells. This may not be true either for lysosomal cholesteryl ester or for extracellular cholesteryl ester present in advanced atherosclerotic plaque where fusion of droplets can enhance the possibility of crystallization. The enhanced metastability of the relatively fluid liquid-crystalline state in cellular inclusions should result in increased activity of the neutral cholesteryl ester hydrolase in living cells.

Analysis of the physical state of cholesteryl esters in arterial-smooth-muscle-derived foam cells by differential scanning calorimetry.

The physical state of cholesteryl esters (CE) in the arterial-smooth-muscle-derived foam cells may contribute to the documented reduction in CE hydrolysis. The physical state of CE may also provide a potential enhancing mechanism for increased CE accumulation. To explore these concepts, we therefore examined the influence of alterations in CE and triacylglycerol (TG) content and their fatty acid composition on the thermotropic behaviour of these lipids by differential scanning calorimetry (d.s.c.). After exposure to cationized LDL (cLDL) or after infection with herpes simplex virus type I (HSV), smooth-muscle cells accumulated significant amounts of CE. The CE/TG ratio was significantly higher in cells treated with cLDL compared with HSV infection. TG content was unaffected by either treatment. However, the fatty acid profile of both CE and TG was significantly different between treatment groups, with the polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid (PUFA/SFA) ratio being significantly higher in cLDL-treated cells than in HSV-infected cells. The d.s.c.-generated thermograms of intact cells revealed that neutral lipids of both treatment groups were in the isotropic-liquid state, similar to the state of lipids derived from 'fatty streak' types of atherosclerotic lesions. Differences in the thermograms between HSV-infected and cLDL-treated cells can be ascribed to differences in the CE content and the fatty acid composition of CE and TG (PUFA/SFA ratio). Polarizing optical microscopy revealed the presence of isotropic lipids in both groups. Biochemical and physicochemical data confirm the lysosomal localization of engorged CE, and indicate that the cellular isotropic CE in these foam cells are in a physical state which favours enzymic hydrolysis.

Resolving multiple overlapping calorimetric transitions by use of a microcomputer: studies on erythrocyte membranes.

Buffer changes and certain drugs cause temperature shifts, amplitude changes, and transition broadening in the differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analysis of erythrocyte membranes. However, it has been difficult to interpret and quantitate these shifts and changes because the scans are composed of multiple overlapping transitions and because more than one transition may be simultaneously affected. An empirical approach has been developed by using Gaussian modeling to resolve these calorimetric transitions. Data analysis was carried out on a microcomputer using a nonlinear regression program (PCNONLIN) to fit the data scans. These results show that changes in the calorimetric scans of erythrocyte membranes due to alterations in the buffer environment, such as pH and osmolarity, can be resolved by fitting the data scans with the proposed mathematical model and optimizing the resolution parameters with PCNONLIN. In addition, resolution uncovered hidden characteristics that may not have been readily evident. Under certain conditions, for example, apparent transition shifts were shown to actually be amplitude changes and transition broadening. Determination of the limitations and validity of this method was accomplished with simulation studies. This technique offers a simple means for fitting overlapping DSC transitions by use of a commercially available nonlinear regression program that can be run on a microcomputer.

The reversibility of absorption promoter interaction with red blood cell membranes studied with differential scanning calorimetry.

Absorption promoters, or adjuvants, are used to enhance the gastrointestinal absorption of poorly absorbed drugs such as macromolecules. In the present work, adjuvant-membrane interactions have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) using red blood cell (RBC) membranes as model membrane. These interactions caused temperature shifts, amplitude changes, and broadening of the RBC transitions. Because more than one transition may be simultaneously affected by a given adjuvant, complex overlappings occur. Gaussian modeling and nonlinear regression analysis, therefore, were used to resolve these transitions. A correlation, which may serve as an indicator of adjuvant potency, was found between adjuvant concentration and induced transition temperature shifts. Further, these shifts recovered to baseline after successive washings with buffer (for most adjuvants). Sodium lauryl sulfate induced transition alterations, however, never recovered. Thus the DSC might be useful in monitoring reversible adjuvant-membrane interactions.

The complete amino acid sequence of porcine gastrotropin, an ileal protein which stimulates gastric acid and pepsinogen secretion.

The stomach is stimulated by an enterooxyntin factor in a delayed response to feeding, resulting in an increase in both gastric acid and pepsinogen secretion. We have previously reported on the identity of such a factor from the porcine ileum (Wider, M. D., Vinik, A. I., and Heldsinger, A. (1984) Endocrinology 115, 1484-1491). This protein, termed gastrotropin, is localized to the distal region of the ileum where it constitutes less than 0.1% of the cytosolic protein. We have completed the primary structure of porcine gastrotropin by Edman degradation and mass spectrometry. Gastrotropin (Mr = 14,054) contains 127 amino acid residues and has a blocked (acetylated) alanine at its NH2 terminus. The sequence of porcine gastrotropin is similar to rat liver fatty acid-binding protein (FABP), with 44 of 127 residues being identical (35%). Homology with other members of the FABP family is significantly less apparent, with the order of similarity being liver FABP greater than heart FABP greater than retinol-binding protein greater than intestine FABP. The sequences of the NH2-terminal regions of these proteins account for virtually all of the homology; there are 9 conserved residues common to all five proteins. Gastrotropin represents the first member of the FABP family which has an extracellular function.

Physical state of cholesteryl esters deposited in cultured macrophages.

J774 macrophages load with cholesteryl ester (CE) when incubated with acetylated low-density lipoprotein and cholesterol-rich liposomes; the CE accumulates as cytoplasmic inclusions 1-2 micron in diameter. The CE core of the droplet comprises about 90% of its mass; the predominant CE species present are cholesteryl palmitate (CP, 41%) and cholesteryl oleate (CO, 37%). The thermotropic properties of the inclusions, both in intact cells and after isolation, have been characterized by differential scanning calorimetry. On heating, the inclusions exhibit two endothermic transitions at about 41 and 53 degrees C with a total enthalpy of 7.7 +/- 1.2 cal/g of CE. Very similar thermal behavior is exhibited by a binary mixture containing equal weights of CO and CP; this indicates that these two species dominate the phase behavior of CE in J774 inclusions. A phase diagram for the CO/CP system has been generated, and this reflects simple eutectic behavior. The eutectic is 83% w/w CO, and it melts at 49-50 degrees C. Below this temperature, CO and CP form two immiscible crystalline phases due to the very limited ability of the unsaturated oleate and saturated palmitate acyl chains to mix in the crystal phase. On heating a 1/1 w/w CO/CP mixture, an isotropic liquid of eutectic composition forms at 49 degrees C, and the remaining crystalline cholesteryl palmitate melts over the temperature range 50-69 degrees C. The phase diagram indicates that bulk mixtures of CE molecules in J774 inclusions should be crystalline at 37 degrees C, the growth temperature of the cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino acid sequence of the monomer subunit of the extracellular hemoglobin of Lumbricus terrestris.

The giant extracellular hemoglobin (3,800 kDa) of the oligochaete Lumbricus terrestris consists of four subunits: a monomer (chain I), two subunits each of about 35 kDa (chains V and VI), and a disulfide-bonded trimer (50 kDa) of chains II, III, and IV. The complete amino acid sequence of chain I was determined: it consists of 142 amino acid residues and has a molecular weight of 16,750 including a heme group. Fifty-nine residues (42%) were found to be identical with those in the corresponding positions in Lumbricus chain II (Garlick, R. L., and Riggs, A. F. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 9005-9015); 45 (32%), 56 (40%), 44 (31%), and 45 (32%) residues were found to be in identical positions in the sequences of chains I, IIA, IIB, and IIC, respectively, of Tylorrhynchus heterochaetus hemoglobin (Suzuki, T., and Gotoh, T. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 9257-9267). When the sequences of all six annelid chains are compared, 18 invariant residues are found in the first 104 residues of the molecule; very little homology exists among the annelid chains in the carboxyl-terminal 38-residue region. Nine of the 18 invariant residues are also found in the human beta-globin chain.

Two globin strains in the giant annelid extracellular haemoglobins.

The constituent polypeptide chains I, II, III and IV of the giant extracellular haemoglobin of the oligochaete Lumbricus terrestris were isolated by mono Q ion-exchange chromatography and C8 reverse-phase chromatography. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of Lumbricus chains I, III and IV were determined and aligned with those of Lumbricus chain II and the four chains of the extracellular haemoglobin of the polychaete Tylorrhynchus heterochaetus. Three invariant amino acid residues, Cys-7, Val-15 and Trp-19, were found to occur in the N-terminal segments (17-22 residues) of the eight chains of Lumbricus and Tylorrhynchus haemoglobins. In addition, it was found that the eight sequences could be separated into two groups: 'A', consisting of Lumbricus chains I and II and Tylorrhynchus chains I and IIA, having invariant Lys-14 and Lys-16, and 'B', consisting of Lumbricus chains III and IV and Tylorrhynchus IIB and IIC, having invariant Cys-6, Ser-8 and Asp-11. This result suggests that there are two strains of globin chain in the annelid extracellular haemoglobins.

Volar advancement skin flap to the fingertip.

The use of volar advancement flaps is presented for volar oblique amputation of fingertips. Use of a mini-volar flap allows closure of a guillotine amputation that leaves no scar on the pad of the fingertip and has only to be elevated to the axis of rotation of the PIP joint. This procedure decreases the likelihood of dorsal necrosis over the middle phalanx, since the dorsal neurovascular bundle is not encroached upon.

A relationship between anion transport and a structural transition of the human erythrocyte membrane.

Scanning microcalorimetry was employed as an aid in examining some structural features of the anion transport system in red blood cell vesicles. Two structural transitions were previously shown to be sensitive to several covalent and non-covalent inhibitors of anion transport in red cells. In this study, these transitions were selectively removed, either thermally or enzymatically, and the subsequent effect on 35SO2- 4 efflux in red cell vesicles was determined. It is shown that removal of one of these transitions (B2) has a negligible inhibitory effect on anion transport. Cytoplasmic, intermolecular disulfide linkages between band 3 dimers are known to form during the B2 transition. The integrity of the 4,4-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2-disulfonate-sensitive C transition, on the other hand, is shown to be a requirement for anion transport. The localized region of the membrane giving rise to this transition contains the transmembrane segment of band 3, as well as membrane phospholipids. The calorimetric results suggest a structure of band 3 which involves independent structural domains, and are consistent with the transmembrane segment playing a direct role in the transport process.