Benzylpenicillin induced specific non-IgE antibody response in mice

AIM

To study whether or not the specific non-IgE antibody response in mice can be induced by benzylpenicillin in vivo.

METHODS

Antibody response and antigenic cross reactions were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Antigen molecules recognized by antibodies were tested by hapten inhibition assay.

RESULTS

During d 1-d 50 after immunization, positive % of specific IgM, IgG, and IgA to benzylpenicillin were 100%, 50%-100%, and 17%-100%, respectively. IgM and IgG to benzylpenicillin also recognized ampicillin and piperacillin. The positive % of IgM and IgG to ampicillin were 23%-100% and 50%-100%, to piperacillin 43%-100% and 50%-100%, respectively. Aged benzylpenicillin showed an inhibitory effect on specific antibodies in a dose-dependent manner, and inhibitory % of specific IgM and IgG were 29%-87% and 29%-71%. However, freshly prepared benzylpenicillin had no effect.

CONCLUSION

Specific non-IgE antibody response was successfully induced by benzylpenicillin in mice, in which the isotypes were mainly IgM and then IgG and IgA. Antibodies recognized degraded products, not benzylpenicillin molecule itself. Antigenic cross reactions occurred between benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, and piperacillin. Isotypes of antibodies responsible for cross reactions were mainly IgG and then IgM.

Characterization of psaI and psaL mutants of Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002: a new model for state transitions in cyanobacteria

The psaI and psaL genes were characterized from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. The gene organization was different from that reported for other cyanobacteria with psaI occurring upstream and being divergently transcribed from the psaL gene. Mutants lacking PsaI or PsaL were generated by interposon mutagenesis and characterized physiologically and biochemically. Mutant strains PR6307 (delta psaI), PR6308 (psaI-) and PR6309 (psaL-) had doubling times similar to that of the wild type under both high- and low-intensity white light, but all grew more slowly than the wild type in green light. Only monomeric photosystem I (PS I) complexes could be isolated from each mutant strain when Triton X-100 was used to solubilize thylakoid membranes; however, approximately 10% of the PS I complexes from the psaI mutants, but not the psaL mutant, could be isolated as trimers when n-dodecyl beta-D-maltoside was used. Compositional analyses of the mutant PS I complexes indicate that the presence of PsaL is required for trimer formation or stabilization and that PsaI plays a role in stabilizing the binding of both PsaL and PsaM to the PS I complex. Strain PR6309 (psaL-) was capable of performing a state 2 to state 1 transition approximately three times more rapidly than the wild type. Because the monomeric PS I complexes of this mutant should be capable of diffusing more rapidly than trimeric complexes, these data suggest that PS I complexes rather than phycobilisomes might move during state transitions. A "mobile-PS I" model for state transitions that incorporates these ideas is discussed.

Presence of free radicals in pigment gallstone in vivo

OBJECTIVE

To clarify whether free radical, which may play a role in pigment gallstone formation, is present in pigment gallstones in vivo.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Free radical signal of gallstones from 18 patients was detected by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy at 77K under anaerobic condition and in air (control). As soon as the anaerobic determination was finished, the fresh anaerobic sample was exposed to air and stored in a freezer at -20 degrees C.

RESULTS

Free radical signal (g = 2.0038) was detected in fresh anaerobic samples containing more than 2% bilirubin compound, and the signal intensity correlated linearly with the content of calcium bilirubinate (r = +0.95, P < 0.0005). During the storage at -20 degrees C and exposure to air, the signal intensity of each anaerobic sample and its control increased gradually, eventually reaching the same stable level. Fe(III) signal intensity was enhanced synchronously and related linearly with free radical signal (r = +0.99, P < 0.0005).

CONCLUSIONS

Free radical exists originally in pigment gallstones in vivo, and it may play an important role in pigment gallstone formation. The free radical signal carried by gallstones may be strengthened by the action of oxygen in air on bilirubin. The transition metal ions probably take part in the formation of bilirubin free radical.

Chimaeric CP47 mutants of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 carrying spinach sequences: Construction and function

Chimaeric mutants of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 have been generated carrying part or all of the spinach psbB gene, encoding CP47 (one of the chlorophyll-binding core antenna proteins in Photosystem II). The mutant in which the entire psbB gene had been replaced by the homologous gene from spinach was an obligate photoheterotroph and lacked Photosystem II complexes in its thylakoid membranes. However, this strain could be transformed with plasmids carrying selected regions of Synechocystis psbB to give rise to photoautotrophs with a chimaeric spinach/cyanobacterial CP47 protein. This process involved heterologous recombination in the cyanobacterium between psbB sequences from spinach and Synechocystis 6803; which was found to be reasonably effective in Synechocystis. Also other approaches were used that can produce a broad spectrum of chimaeric mutants in a single experiment. Functional characterization of the chimaeric photoautotrophic mutants indicated that if a decrease in the photoautotrophic growth rates was observed, this was correlated with a decrease in the number of Photosystem II reaction centers (on a chlorophyll basis) in the thylakoid membrane and with a decrease in oxygen evolution rates. Remaining Photosystem II reaction centers in these chimaeric mutants appeared to function rather normally, but thermoluminescence and chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements provided evidence for a destabilization of QB (-). This illustrates the sensitivity of the functional properties of the PS II reaction center to mild perturbations in a neighboring protein.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of IgG against penicillins in children

AIM

To establish an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of IgG against penicillins and then investigate this antibody response in children.

METHODS

Western blotting, ELISA, and hapten inhibition assay were used.

RESULTS

Penicillins reacted with bovine serum albumin (BSA) to generate conjugate which was used as coating antigen (100 mg.L-1) in ELISA. A good correlation was found between absorbance (A) and dilutions of sample with a linear coefficient of 0.9918. Thirteen subjects who were clinically suspicious of penicillin allergy were tested for specific IgG by ELISA, 4 positive for benzylpenicillin, 1 for benzylpenicillin and piperacillin, and 3 for benzylpenicillin, piperacillin and ampicillin.

CONCLUSION

An ELISA was successfully established and penicillin reactive IgG response in children was heterogeneous. IgG antibodies recognized benzylpenicillin molecule, degraded products and new antigenic determinant from conjugate. Cross reactions occurred among benzylpenicillin, ampicillin and piperacillin.

[The prevalence and risk factors of carotid atherosclerosis in elderly patients]

To assess the prevalence of extracranial carotid artery atherosclerosis and its relation to principal cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese elderly patients, 100 cases aged from 54 to 94 were investigated with B-mode ultrasonography. Arterial intima-media thickening, plaque, mild stenosis (defined as a plaque that obstructed > 20% of the lumen diameter), and clinically significant stenosis (> 50% in cross-sectional area) were found in 79, 49, 40 and 3 patients, respectively. There was no significant correlation between carotid atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction, hypertension, hyperlipidemia or diabetes. In contrast, the prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis was increased with age (P < 0.05), so did the severity. Thus, age is a major risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis in the elderly.

Synchrotron X-Ray Study of Iron at High Pressure and Temperature

X-ray synchrotron experiments with in situ laser heating of iron in a diamond-anvil cell show that the high-pressure epsilon phase, a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure, transforms to another phase (possibly a polytype double-layer hcp) at a pressure of about 38 gigapascals and at temperatures between 1200 and 1500 kelvin. This information has implications for the phase relations of iron in Earth's core.

A simple method to incorporate the effects of an RF shield into RF resonator analysis for MRI applications

A simple but effective method is proposed to incorporate the effects of a radio-frequency (RF) shield into the analysis of RF resonators for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications. It is shown that the method can predict the resonant frequencies of RF resonators within 5% of the measured values.

Characterization of a Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 mutant lacking Photosystem I. Protein assembly and energy distribution in the absence of the Photosystem I reaction center core complex

A Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 ΔpsaAB::cat mutant has been constructed by deletional interposon mutagenesis of the psaA and psaB genes through selection and segregation under low-light conditions. This strain can grow photoheterotrophically with glycerol as carbon source with a doubling time of 25 h at low light intensity (10 μE m(-2) s(-1)). No Photosystem I (PS I)-associated chlorophyll fluorescence emission peak was detected in the ΔpsaAB::cat mutant. The chlorophyll content of the ΔpsaAB::cat mutant was approximately 20% that of the wild-type strain on a per cell basis. In the absence of the PsaA and PsaB proteins, several other PS I proteins do not accumulate to normal levels. Assembly of the peripheral PS I proteins PsaC,PsaD, PsaE, and PsaL is dependent on the presence of the PsaA and PsaB heterodimer core. The precursor form of PsaF may be inserted into the thylakoid membrane but is not processed to its mature form in the absence of PsaA and PsaB. The absence of PS I reaction centers has no apparent effect on Photosystem II (PS II) assembly and activity. Although the mutant exhibited somewhat greater fluorescence emission from phycocyanin, most of the light energy absorbed by phycobilisomes was efficiently transferred to the PS II reaction centers in the absence of the PS I. No light state transition could be detected in the ΔpsaAB::cat strain; in the absence of PS I, cells remain in state 1. Development of this relatively light-tolerant strain lacking PS I provides an important new tool for the genetic manipulation of PS I and further demonstrates the utility of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 for structural and functional analyses of the PS I reaction center.

The NSY mouse: a new animal model of spontaneous NIDDM with moderate obesity

The NSY (Nagoya-Shibata-Yasuda) mouse was established as an inbred strain of mouse with spontaneous development of diabetes mellitus, by selective breeding for glucose intolerance from outbred Jcl:ICR mice. NSY mice spontaneously develop diabetes mellitus in an age-dependent manner. The cumulative incidence of diabetes is 98% in males and 31% in females at 48 weeks of age. Neither severe obesity nor extreme hyperinsulinaemia is observed at any age in these mice. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was markedly impaired in NSY mice after 24 weeks of age. In contrast, fasting plasma insulin level was higher in male NSY mice than that in male C3H/He mice (545 +/- 73 vs 350 +/- 40 pmol/l, p < 0.05, at 36 weeks of age). Pancreatic insulin content was higher in male NSY mice than that in male C3H/He mice (76 +/- 8 vs 52 +/- 5 ng/mg wet weight, p < 0.05, at 36 weeks of age). Morphologically, no abnormal findings, such as hypertrophy or inflammatory changes in the pancreatic islets, were observed in NSY mice at any age. These data suggest that functional changes of insulin secretion in response to glucose from pancreatic beta cells may contribute to the development of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in the NSY mouse. Although insulin sensitivity was not measured, fasting hyperinsulinaemia in NSY mice suggests that insulin resistance may also contribute to the pathogenesis of NIDDM. Since these findings are similar to the pathophysiologic features of human NIDDM patients, the NSY mouse is considered to be useful for investigating the pathogenesis and genetic predisposition to NIDDM.

Effects of expressing human Hsp70 and its deletion derivatives on heat killing and on RNA and protein synthesis

We have established rat cell lines stably and constitutively expressing intact human heat shock protein (hsp) 70 and its deletion mutant derivatives. Using these stable cell lines, the functions of the various domains of human hsp70 were studied. An elevated level of human hsp70 or fragments containing the C-terminal portion of the protein, but not fragments containing the amino-terminal portion of the protein, is found to protect cells against thermal killing. Only the expression of intact human hsp70, however, can reduce the degree of heat-induced inhibition of translation and most effectively accelerate the recovery from heat-induced inhibition of transcription and translation. The peptide-binding domain in the carboxyl portion of hsp70 is of primary importance in protecting cells from thermal stress, probably through its binding to unfolded or partially folded polypeptides; this interaction, in turn, retards detrimental thermal denaturation or aggregation of key cellular proteins and protects cells from thermal stress. ATP binding and hydrolysis, on the other hand, are presumably necessary in the refolding and reassembly of thermally damaged proteins through multiple cycles of interactions between hsp70 and its targets.

[Bioavailability study on xiaohuoluo pills]

According to the relationship between dosage and effect, the time course of analgesic was determined after oral administration of Xiaohuoluo Pills to mice. Based on this experiment, contrasting the commercial pills with the reference preparation, the bioavailability of Xiaohuoluo Pills was studied. It was shown that the bioavailability of different batches of product from the same factory was different. This method was good for the study of compound preparations of Chinese materia medica.

[A study on growth and development of maxillofacial region with vector analysis]

In order to observe the maxillofacial growth and development quantitatively, the vector analysis was applied in this study to divide Y axis,which is advocated in Downs method,into horizontal section and vertical one,from which the ratio of the facial growth separately in anterior and inferior direction was obtained.75 pieces of x ray films for various dental stages of Shanghaiese with normal occlusion were selected and their angle of Y axis together with their cotangents were measured. The results showed that the cotangent of those with mixed,early permanent and permanent dentition were separately 0.47,0.48 and 0.45 indication that there was a certain relationship between anterior direction and inferior one for the maxillofacial region growth and development.

Analysis of amelogenin proteins using monospecific antibodies to defined sequences

Amelogenins are the predominant proteins found in the developing enamel matrix and are believed to play a crucial role in normal mineralization. Although the amelogenin gene is found as a single copy in all species in which it has been examined, multiple amelogenin polypeptides ranging in size from 5 to 25 kDa are obtained upon extraction of developing enamel matrix, making identification and characterization of individual components difficult. This heterogeneity may be ascribed to transcription of divergent genes located on the X and Y chromosomes, alternative splicing of the primary transcripts, physiologic degradative processing, and artefactual degradation. In order to characterize individual components, antibodies were produced to the following peptides: (1) QPLQPMQPMQPLQPLQPL (corresponding to the repeat sequence encoded only in the bovine X chromosome gene), (2) IRHPPLPP (corresponding to a unique sequence generated by alternative splicing found in leucine-rich amelogenin peptide (LRAP), (3) LPDLPLEAWPATDKTKREEVD corresponding to the amelogenin carboxy-terminus. Amelogenin proteins obtained from fetal bovine molars were subjected to SDS PAGE and Western electrotransfer, and immuno-ultrastructural analysis. These analyses demonstrated that: (1) the distribution of amelogenin polypeptides isolated from male fetuses differed appreciably from that of females, (2) the LRAP junctional peptide sequence can be specifically identified, and (3) the LRAP peptide can be immunolocalized in the enamel matrix of both males and females.

Autoantibody profile of primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic progressive liver disease of unknown etiology. It has been suggested that genetic and immunological factors are important in its pathogenesis. The present study examined the prevalence of 23 different autoantibodies in 25 PSC sera, by ELISA, in order to better define the autoimmune profile of PSC. The results indicate that 88% of PSC patients produced at least 1 autoantibody, and 36% had reactivity to multiple autoantibodies. Moreover, 35% of the PSC patients produced anti-endothelial-cell antibodies (AECA) and 75% of the sera contained perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA), detected by indirect immunofluorescence. The prominent ANCA autoantibody was anti-cathepsin-G, demonstrated in 35% of the patients. The multiplicity of the autoantibody profile, revealed in the present study, points to the autoimmune characteristics of PSC. In addition, the association of ANCA and of AECA in PSC may suggest a pathogenic role for these antibodies in PSC.

On the field inhomogeneity of a birdcage coil

A mathematical model is developed for the numerical analysis of birdcage coils constructed using capacitors having different capacitance. With the aid of this model, it is shown that the deviation of some capacitance introduced by tune, balance, and drive mechanisms can cause inhomogeneity in the B1 field produced by the coil. Useful curves and formulae are developed to provide a guideline for the design of birdcage coils.

[Propagation of the HTV in primary human embryonic kidney and lung cell culture]

2 strains of Hantaan virus (HTV, 76-118, Hubei-114) have been propagated successfully in cultured primary human embryonic kidney (HEK) and lung (HEL) cells. Cytopathic effect (CPE) was observed in the two kind of cells on day 5 to 7 postinoculation which showed the cell became round and clustered, then detached. The replicating peak of the Hubei-114 in two kinds of cell cultures appeared on the 11th day and another strain on the 14th or 17th day after infection. The ultrastructure changes were observed with EM and IEM, which stained by ICGT before embedding. It was discovered that the mitochondia atrophied and decreased, and inclusion bodies in the cytoplasma of HEK and KEL cells. A large amount of gold granulae were found in the inclusion bodies and the virions were seen occasionally. Contamination with other agents have been ruled out. Our data suggest that the replicating characters of HTV in these cell systems might be possible for the pathogenicity of HFRS for human.

Mutation of chlorophyll ligands in the chlorophyll-binding CP47 protein as studied in a Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 photosystem I-less background

Site-directed mutations have been introduced to replace conserved histidine residues in the chlorophyll-binding protein CP47 of photosystem II (PS II) in a PS I-less/apcE-background strain of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. In thylakoids isolated from such a system, the degree of loss of the 695-nm fluorescence emission maximum at 77 K compared to that at 685 nm generally was consistent with the decrease in oxygen evolution rates measured at saturating light intensity. Taking into account that in the absence of CP47 and PS I some chlorophyll remains detectable in cells, the relative 695-nm fluorescence emission and the rate of oxygen evolution also correlate with the relative amount of chlorophyll per cell and with the number of PS II reaction centers on a chlorophyll basis. Interestingly, the 77 K fluorescence excitation spectra monitoring 695-nm emission of thylakoids from the CP47 His-to-Tyr mutants in a photosystem I-less/apcE-background showed increases in the 413- and 531-nm absorption regions, compared to spectra of thylakoids from the background strain. These wavelengths coincide with absorption maxima of pheophytin. No increase in the 531-nm excitation band was observed in thylakoids from mutants lacking PS II or with a His-to-Asn mutation. These results are interpreted to indicate that replacement of conserved histidine residues by tyrosine in CP47 leads to the loss of Mg2+ from chlorophyll, resulting in the formation of pheophytin, or to the binding of pheophytin (rather than chlorophyll) at a particular pigment-binding site of CP47 during biogenesis and assembly of the protein. It was observed that the light-harvesting efficiency of CP47 His mutants was lower judging from the light intensity dependence of electron transport and analysis of fluorescence decay kinetics. This suggests that the presence of pheophytin in the antenna decreases antenna efficiency.

Chlorophyll in a Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 mutant without photosystem I and photosystem II core complexes. Evidence for peripheral antenna chlorophylls in cyanobacteria

The chlorophyll protein organization has been investigated in thylakoid membranes from mutants of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, in which the photosystem II (PS II) genes psbB and/or psbC (coding for CP47 and CP43, respectively) were inactivated together with the psaAB operon (coding for the photosystem I (PS I) core complex) and the apcE gene (coding for the phycobilisome anchor protein). Lack of the CP43 protein led to a significant decrease of the D1, D2, and CP47 proteins and a decrease in the 77 K fluorescence emission peak at 685 nm. In the absence of the CP47 protein, no PS II reaction center assembly was detected and the 77 K fluorescence emission peak at 695 nm was lost. The psbB-/psbC-/PS I-less/apcE- mutant had no assembly of the D1, D2, CP47, and CP43 proteins, had lost the 77 K fluorescence emission peaks at 685 and 695 nm, but retained about 15% of the chlorophyll present in the PS I-less/apcE- background strain. A broad 77 K fluorescence emission band with a maximum at 678 nm was displayed in the PS II-less, PS I-less mutant upon excitation of the remaining chlorophyll. A 678 nm shoulder was observed in the 77 K fluorescence emission spectrum of thylakoids from the psbB-/PS I-less/apcE- mutant, which still contains CP43 but no PS II reaction center. This shoulder was absent in thylakoids from the psbC-/PS I-less/apcE- mutant, which contain some PS II reaction center complexes. These results are consistent with the chlorophyll associated with the 678 nm emission to serve as peripheral antenna to PS II. The fluorescence emission characteristics of this chlorophyll are different from those of an accessory chlorophyll-binding protein expressed under iron-stress conditions in cyanobacteria. The chlorophyll remaining in the absence of PS II and PS I is indicative of a new chlorophyll-binding protein in cyanobacterial thylakoids.

Temperatures in Earth's Core Based on Melting and Phase Transformation Experiments on Iron

Experiments on melting and phase transformations on iron in a laser-heated, diamond-anvil cell to a pressure of 150 gigapascals (approximately 1.5 million atmospheres) show that iron melts at the central core pressure of 363.85 gigapascals at 6350 +/- 350 kelvin. The central core temperature corresponding to the upper temperature of iron melting is 6150 kelvin. The pressure dependence of iron melting temperature is such that a simple model can be used to explain the inner solid core and the outer liquid core. The inner core is nearly isothermal (6150 kelvin at the center to 6130 kelvin at the inner core-outer core boundary), is made of hexagonal closest-packed iron, and is about 1 percent solid (MgSiO(3) + MgO). By the inclusion of less than 2 percent of solid impurities with iron, the outer core densities along a thermal gradient (6130 kelvin at the base of the outer core and 4000 kelvin at the top) can be matched with the average seismic densities of the core.

A study of c-myc oncogene expression and amplification in colorectal cancer

Expression of c-myc oncogene transcripts in colorectal neoplasia was studied in paraffin embedded tissue sections from 25 patients undergoing surgery and from the rectal carcinoma cell line HR-8348 by using in situ hybridization, and its amplification was investigated in tumor and normal mucosa tissue from 25 coloproctomy samples by slot blot hybridization. Overexpression of this gene was seen in 78% (7/9) of the benign adenomas and 91% (20/22) of the malignancies sampled. There was no significant correlation between overexpression and the histologic type or grade, and no significant relationship between the level of expression and clinical stage was found, although overexpression was apparently more common in tumors with metastasis. Amplification of the gene was found in 0 of 4 benign adenomas and 7 of 22 malignancies. No obvious correlation was found between amplification and histological type or grade, though amplification was more frequent in tumors with metastasis. Amplification was also found in 2 adenomas with malignant change. The results suggest that multiple factors are involved in the progression of colorectal cancer, and in situ hybridization with a nonradiolabeled probe is useful in the detection of gene expression.