Application of photoaffinity labeling with [(3)H] all trans- and 9-cis-retinoic acids for characterization of cellular retinoic acid--binding proteins I and II.

Cellular retinoic acid-binding proteins (CRABPs) are carrier proteins thought to play a crucial role in the transport and metabolism of all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) and its derivatives within the cell. This report describes a novel photoaffinity-based binding assay involving competition between potential ligands of CRABP and [(3)H]atRA or [(3)H]-9-cis-RA for binding to the atRA-binding sites of CRABP I and II. Photoaffinity labeling of purified CRABPs with [(3)H]atRA was light- and concentration-dependent, saturable, and protected by several retinoids in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating that binding occurred in the CRABP atRA-binding site. Structure-function relationship studies demonstrated that oxidative changes to the atRA beta-ionone ring did not affect ligand potency. However, derivatives lacking a terminal carboxyl group and some cis isomers did not bind to CRABPs. These studies also identified two novel ligands for CRABPs: 5,6-epoxy-RA and retinoyl-beta-D-glucuronide (RAG). The labeling of both CRABPs with 9-cis-RA occurred with much lower affinity. Experimental evidence excluded nonspecific binding of RAG to CRABPs and UDP-glucuronosyltransferases, the enzymes responsible for RAG synthesis. These results established that RAG is an effective ligand of CRABPs. Therefore, photoaffinity labeling with [(3)H]atRA can be used to identify new ligands for CRABP and retinoid nuclear receptors and also provide information concerning the identity of amino acid(s) localized in the atRA-binding site of these proteins.

The auxilin-like phosphoprotein Swa2p is required for clathrin function in yeast.

BACKGROUND: In eukaryotic cells, clathrin-coated vesicles transport specific cargo from the plasma membrane and trans-Golgi network to the endosomal system. Removal of the clathrin coat in vitro requires the uncoating ATPase Hsc70 and its DnaJ cofactor auxilin. To date, a requirement for auxilin and Hsc70 in clathrin function in vivo has not been demonstrated. RESULTS: The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SWA2 gene, previously identified in a synthetic lethal screen with arf1, was cloned and found to encode a protein with a carboxy-terminal DnaJ domain which is homologous to that of auxilin. Like auxilin, Swa2p has a clathrin-binding domain and is able to stimulate the ATPase activity of Hsc70. The swa2-1 allele recovered from the original screen carries a point mutation in its tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain, a motif not found in auxilin but known in other proteins to mediate interaction with heat-shock proteins. Swa2p fractionates in the cytosol and appears to be heavily phosphorylated. Disruption of SWA2 causes slow growth and several phenotypes that are very similar to those exhibited by clathrin mutants. Furthermore, the swa2Delta mutant exhibits a significant increase in membrane- associated or -assembled clathrin relative to a wild-type strain. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that Swa2p is a clathrin-binding protein required for normal clathrin function in vivo. They suggest that Swa2p is the yeast ortholog of auxilin and has a role in disassembling clathrin, not only in uncoating clathrin-coated vesicles but perhaps in preventing unproductive clathrin assembly in vivo.

4-hydroxyretinoic acid, a novel substrate for human liver microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase(s) and recombinant UGT2B7.

It is suggested that formation of more polar metabolites of all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) via oxidative pathways limits its biological activity. In this report, we investigated the biotransformation of oxidized products of atRA via glucuronidation. For this purpose, we synthesized 4-hydroxy-RA (4-OH-RA) in radioactive and nonradioactive form, 4-hydroxy-retinyl acetate (4-OH-RAc), and 5,6-epoxy-RA, all of which are major products of atRA oxidation. Glucuronidation of these retinoids by human liver microsomes and human recombinant UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) was characterized and compared with the glucuronidation of atRA. The human liver microsomes glucuronidated 4-OH-RA and 4-OH-RAc with 6- and 3-fold higher activity than atRA, respectively. Analysis of the glucuronidation products showed that the hydroxyl-linked glucuronides of 4-OH-RA and 4-OH-RAc were the major products, as opposed to the formation of the carboxyl-linked glucuronide with atRA, 4-oxo-RA, and 5,6-epoxy-RA. We have also determined that human recombinant UGT2B7 can glucuronidate atRA, 4-OH-RA, and 4-OH-RAc with activities similar to those found in human liver microsomes. We therefore postulate that this human isoenzyme, which is expressed in human liver, kidney, and intestine, plays a key role in the biological fate of atRA. We also propose that atRA induces its own oxidative metabolism via a cytochrome P450 (CYP26) and is further biotransformed into glucuronides via UGT-mediated pathways.

Differential glucuronidation of bile acids, androgens and estrogens by human UGT1A3 and 2B7.

In this work, UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs), UGT1A3, 2B7(H268) and 2B7(Y268), stably expressed in human embryonic kidney cells (HK293) were used to assess glucuronidation activities with a variety of steroid hormone and bile acid substrates. The rate of synthesis of carboxyl- and hydroxyl-linked glucuronides was determined under optimal reaction conditions. Expressed UGT1A3 catalyzed bile acid glucuronidation at high rates exclusively at the carboxyl moiety for all compounds tested. In contrast, UGT1A4 catalyzed bile acid glucuronidation at very low rates exclusively at the 3alpha-hydroxyl function. Both UGT2B7 allelic variants glucuronidated the bile acid substrates at both carboxyl and hydroxyl moieties, however, the 3alpha-hydroxyl position was preferentially conjugated compared to the carboxyl function. Similarly, androsterone, a 3alpha-hydroxylated androgenic steroid, was glucuronidated at very high rates by expressed UGT2B7. Of the estrogenic compounds tested, UGT2B7 catalyzed the glucuronidation of estriol at rates comparable to those determined for androsterone. Other structural discrimination was found with UGT2B7 which had activity toward estriol and estradiol exclusively at the 17beta-OH position, yielding the cholestatic steroid D-ring glucuronides.

Blunt myocardial disruption: report of an unusual case and literature review.

Blunt cardiac injury is frequently noted among trauma patients. They may demonstrate few signs and symptoms or may be in profound shock. A unique case of left ventricular disruption in a young soldier who sustained blunt torso trauma is reported. A paucity of clinical findings led to a delay in diagnosis. He ultimately underwent successful repair 12 days after injury.

Synthetic neural modeling applied to a real-world artifact.

We describe the general design, operating principles, and performance of a neurally organized, multiply adaptive device (NOMAD) under control of a nervous system simulated in a computer. The complete system, Darwin IV, is the latest in a series of models based on the theory of neuronal group selection, which postulates that adaptive behavior is the result of selection in somatic time among synaptic populations. The simulated brain of Darwin IV includes visual and motor areas that are connected with NOMAD by telemetry. Under suitable conditions, Darwin IV can be trained to track a light moving in a random path. After such training, it can approach colored blocks and collect them to a home position. Following a series of contacts with such blocks, value signals received through a "snout" that senses conductivity allow it to sort these blocks on the basis of differences in color associated with differences in their conductivity. Darwin IV represents a new approach to synthetic neural modeling (SNM), a technique in which large-scale computer simulations are employed to analyze the interactions among the nervous system, the phenotype, and the environment of a designed organism as behavior develops. Darwin IV retains the advantages of SNM while avoiding the difficulties and pitfalls of attempting to simulate a rich environment in addition to a brain.

Delayed primary closure after sternal wound infection.

Infected median sternotomy is a major complication of cardiac operations. Over a 30-month period, 25 sternal wound infections were treated at a single institution. Twenty-four (2.7%) followed 883 operations with cardiopulmonary bypass, and 1 followed median sternotomy for a noncardiac procedure. Twenty-one of the 25 patients survived to sternal closure. Eighteen patients were treated with delayed primary closure and 3 with pectoralis muscle flaps. Fifteen patients (83%) had an uneventful postoperative course after delayed primary closure. In 2 patients reoperation was required for sternal dehiscence, and in 1 patient a superficial wound infection developed, which was treated with local wound care. In all 18 patients the sternum eventually healed. Criteria for delayed primary closure included clean tissue surfaces without purulent debris, the absence of pockets of purulent drainage, and negative wound cultures obtained 24 hours before closure. The average time from operation to sternal incision and drainage was 11 days (range, five to 59 days). Delayed primary closure was performed nine days after incision and drainage (range, five to 27 days). The average hospital stay was 24 days after sternal incision and drainage (range, nine to 85 days). Cultures from specimens taken at the time of sternal incision and drainage were positive in all patients. Wound cultures were positive at the time of sternal closure in 5 patients. Wound complications developed in 2 of these 5 patients. Delayed primary closure has many of the advantages of classic methods, but fewer complications. Results are comparable, while allowing simpler wound care and less cosmetic deformity. Delayed primary closure is an acceptable alternative in the treatment of sternal wound infections.

Vasomotor dynamics associated with cardiac operations. I. Venous tone and the effects of vasodilators.

Vasomotor dynamics were studied in 52 patients undergoing direct coronary revascularization or mitral valve replacement utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass. Emphasis was placed on the study of venous tone. Operation resulted in a general vasoconstrictive response with increased arterial resistance and reduced venous capacitance. These changes were magnified in patients who underwent mitral valve replacement for mitral valve stenosis related or partially related to reduced cardiac performance before and after operation. Nine patients became hypertensive following coronary artery bypass and were treated with nitroprusside; eight patients were given nitroglycerin to reduce venous tone and prevent hypertension. A comparison of these two vasodilators, with their somewhat different actions on the vascular bed, reveals that afterload reduction and increase of cardiac output were equivalent with both. However, nitroglycerin had the effect of increasing venous capacitance, while nitroprusside had little effect on the venous circulation. In addition, nitroglycerin was especially effective in reducing venous tone and left ventricular preload following mitral valve replacement. Relative merits of pharmacologic reduction of venous tone as a part of overall relief of increased vascular resistance following cardiac operation should be considered when attempting to obtain an optimal hemodynamic state.

Lateral diffusion of surface molecules in animal cells and tissues.

When bound to cell surfaces, certain lectins such as concanavalin A induce a drop in the average diffusion coefficients (D) of a number of cell surface molecules. To find whether such anchorage modulation occurs naturally, D of surface antigens on different cell and tissue types were measured by fluorescence photobleaching recovery. Values for cells of the same tissue origin under different conditions of growth and association - in tissues, in small aggregates, and as isolated cells - varied by less than twofold when polyspecific monovalent antibodies to cell surface antigens were used, a range much less than the sixfold decrease in D observed after lectin-induced anchorage modulation. Thus, if reversible modulation of the diffusion rate is used naturally as a means of cell signaling, it must involve only a few kinds of surface receptors not detected by the antibodies used in this study. In certain tissues, however, a significant proportion of cells showed no apparent receptor mobility. This "all or none" modulation of lateral diffusion may reflect relatively long-lasting alterations in the states of a single cell type or differentiation among the cells of the particular tissue.

Characterization of the protein kinase activity of avian sarcoma virus src gene product.

The avian sarcoma virus src gene product, p60src, has been purified 650-fold from cytoplasmic extracts of the rat tumor cell line RR1022 by using ammonium sulfate fractionation, hydrophobic chromatography on omega-aminohexyl agarose, and ion exchange chromatography on phosphocellulose. Partially purified p60src is a monomer, with a native molecular weight of about 60,000 and an apparent pI of 6.0. In immunoprecipitates, p60src catalyzed phosphorylation of anti-p60src IgG heavy chains within the variable (VH) domain, which contains the heavy chain portion of the antigen combining site. Crude preparations of p60src contained phosphatase activity able to cleave phosphate from IgG heavy chains; this activity was removed by the purification procedure, and partially purified p60src could phosphorylate the heavy chain of specific antibody in solution. Furthermore, purified p60src catalyzed phosphorylation in solution of the general protein kinase substrate, alpha-casein, strengthening the hypothesis that it may in fact function as a protein kinase in vivo.

Adhesion among neural cells of the chick embryo. IV. Role of the cell surface molecule CAM in the formation of neurite bundles in cultures of spinal ganglia.

The cell adhesion molecule (CAM) is involved in adhesion among embryonic retinal and brain cells and has been detected in a variety of neural tissues. This paper describes the use of spinal ganglion cultures and specific anti-CAM antibodies to determine the distribution of CAM on plasma membranes of nerve processes, and to assess the results of perturbation of its function during the growth of neurites from ganglia. The results indicate that CAM is distributed over the entire surface of nerve processes, and that specific anti-CAM Fab' fragments alter the morphology of neurite outgrowth. In particular, it was observed that anti-CAM inhibits formation of nerve bundles, so that the ganglion becomes surrounded by a tangled net of fine processes. Growth cone functions, such as neurite elongation, motility, and attachment to the substratum, did not appear to be affected by the antibody. These studies suggest that one of the major functions of CAM is to mediate side-to-side adhesion between neurites to form fascicles, and raise the possibility that this molecule serves a key role in embryogenesis of nerve tissues.

Synthesis and distribution of H-2 antigens in preimplantation mouse embryos.

Synthesis of H-2 antigens by preimplantation mouse embryos is first detectable at the late blastocyst stage. These antigens were detected using immune precipitation assays of extracts of embryos labeled by incorporation of radioactive amino acids but not by surface iodination. Experiments using isolated inner cell massess and trophoblast vesicles indicate that it is the cells of the inner cell mass that synthesize these antigens. H-2 antigens were not detected in either early blastocysts or at earlier cleavage stages.

Chemical dissection of mammalian spermatozoa.

Mammalian spermatozoa have been dissected by a variety of chemical techniques to yield free heads, tails with attached midpieces, and tails without mitochondria. By brief exposure to trypsin, mouse and rat spermatozoa were cleaved at the junction of the head and the tail, while human, guinea pig and rabbit spermatozoa were cleaved by trypsin only after prior incubation with a sulphhydryl reducing agent. Treatment with acid or base cleaved spermatozoa of all species examined. In contrast, exposure of spermatozoa to 1% sarkosyl NL-97 resulted in the quantitative cleavage of mouse cells without noticeable effect on the spermatozoa of the other species. Mitochondria were removed from the midpiece of intact sperm and isolated tails by gentle shaking after treatment with reducing agents. Homogeneous populations of spermatozoan subcellular components were obtained by density gradient centrifugation. Ultrastructural analysis showed that cleavage of mouse spermatozoa by trypsin occurs at a specific location in the neck of the cell without trypsin occurs at a specific location in the neck of the cell without observable damage to other cell structures. The basal plate remained attached to the head structures. In contrast cleavage of spermatozoa by sarkosyl or acid left the basal plate attached to the spermatozoan midpiece. Sarkosyl also removed the plasma membrane and extracted mitochondrial components. Treatment with acid or base also resulted in vesiculation of the plasma membrane and dissolution of the acrosome. Molecular probes have also been used to facilitate mapping of the cell surface. Each mouse spermatozoon has about 10-7 receptors for the lectin concanavalin A. Binding of fluorescein-labelled concanavalin A indicated that the majority of the receptors is in the acrosomal region; this polar distribution was confirmed by measurement of the number of sites on purified heads and tails. In addition, the low molecular weight probe ANS bound to the plasma membrane of spermatozoa from all species examined, with immediate immobilization of the cells. Ethidium bromide bound to the spermatozoan head without affecting motility.

Chemical dissection of mammalian spermatozoa.

Spermatozoa from several mammalian species have been dissected by chemical methods to yield free heads, tails with attached midpieces, and tails from which the mitochondrial components of the midpiece were removed. Mouse and rat spermatozoa were cleaved by brief treatment with trypsin to yield free heads and tails, while human, guinea pig, and rabbit spermatozoa were cleaved by trypsin only after incubation with 2-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol. Spermatozoa were also cleaved at the junction of the head and the tail by treatment with acid and base. Mitochondria were removed from intact spermatozoa or isolated tails by mechanical shear after treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol. The dissected components of spermatozoa were fractionated with good yield and high purity by density gradient centrifugation. Ultrastructural analysis indicates that proteolytic cleavage to yield separated heads and tails occurs at a specific location in the neck of the spermatozoon, leaving the basal plate attached to the head of the cell. In contrast, after acid cleavage the basal plate remains with the midpiece. Proteolytic treatment has no apparent effect on any other spermatozoan structures, whereas acid or base treatment results in damage to the plasma membrane, the acrosome, and other structures. The specificity of the proteolytic cleavage suggests that a particular protein or group of proteins may be responsible for the linkage between the sperm head and tail.