Inhibition of glucose-induced insulin secretion by 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal and other lipid peroxidation products.

Lipid peroxidation due to oxidative stress is accelerated under hyperglycemic conditions such as diabetes mellitus. The effect of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) and other lipid peroxidation products on the ability of isolated rat pancreatic islets to secrete insulin was examined in this study. HNE concentration- and time-dependently deteriorated glucose-induced insulin secretion: insulin secretion was decreased by 50% when measured after incubation of islets with 100 microM HNE for 1 h. Other lipid peroxidation products, e.g. 2-hexenal and 2-butenal, also inhibited glucose-induced insulin secretion. HNE at 100 microM lowered alpha-ketoisocaproate-induced insulin secretion, whereas leucine-induced insulin secretion was stimulated. Insulin secretion induced by 10 mM glyceraldehyde was slightly decreased by HNE. On the other hand, HNE severely decreased insulin secretion induced by 10 mM glyceraldehyde and 2.8 mM glucose. Glucose utilization and glucose oxidation were significantly lowered in islets treated with HNE. The amounts of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate in islets were decreased by treatment with HNE, whereas the amount of fructose 6-phosphate was increased. Our study indicates that HNE and other lipid peroxidation products impair insulin secretion induced by glucose probably through affecting both the glycolytic pathway and the citric acid cycle.

Exoribonuclease activity of purified reverse transcriptase preparations from retroviruses.

Highly purified and commercially available preparations of reverse transcriptases from retroviruses contain a 3' to 5' exoribonuclease activity capable of hydrolyzing synthetic homopolyribonucleotides having a 3'-OH end. The exoribonuclease activity of reverse transcriptase preparations from Rous associated virus-2 was further characterized. This exoribonuclease activity cleaves poly(C) and poly(U) exonucleolytically from the 3'-OH end to produce nucleoside 5'-phosphates. Poly(A), poly(G), circular polyribonucleotide, and double-stranded polyribonucleotide were not hydrolyzed by the activity. This is a novel type of exoribonuclease activity.

Effects of ammonium sulfate on the unfolding and refolding of the variable and constant fragments of an immunoglobulin light chain.

The equilibria and kinetics of unfolding and refolding by guanidine hydrochloride of the VL and CL fragments of a type kappa immunoglobulin light chain were studied in the presence of ammonium sulfate using circular dichroism and tryptophyl fluorescence at pH 7.5 and 25 degrees C. The unfolding equilibria of the VL and CL fragments were described in terms of the two-state transition. The midpoints of unfolding in the absence of ammonium sulfate were at 0.9 and 1.2 M guanidine hydrochloride for the CL and VL fragments respectively. The transition curves were shifted to higher concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride by 1.4 and 1.6 M for the CL and VL fragments, respectively, per mole of ammonium sulfate. Unfolding reactions of the VL and CL fragments in 3 M guanidine hydrochloride followed first-order kinetics, and the rate constants for the two proteins were both greatly decreased by the presence of ammonium sulfate. The refolding reaction of the CL fragment in 0.3 M guanidine hydrochloride consisted of two phases, and the rate constants were increased a little by the presence of ammonium sulfate. The refolding reaction of the VL fragment in 0.3 M guanidine hydrochloride followed first-order kinetics, and the rate was not affected by the presence of ammonium sulfate. These results showed that ammonium sulfate stabilizes the CL and VL fragments mainly by decreasing the unfolding rate.

Lymphoblastic transformation of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia in an infant.

A 10-month-old infant with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) of 5 months' duration, who had been treated only with transfusion, displayed leukemic transformation characterized by lymphoid morphology, PAS positivity, and myeloperoxidase negativity. Surface marker analysis of blast cells revealed expression of lymphoid-associated antigens (CD10 and CD19) but not myeloid-associated antigens (CD13, CD14, and CD33). These findings suggest that some cases of infantile CMML are clonal disorders arising in a pluripotent stem cell that can also differentiate along the lymphoid cell lineage.