Transcriptomic and proteomic analysis reveals wall-associated and glucan-degrading proteins with potential roles in Phytophthora infestans sexual spore development

Sexual reproduction remains an understudied feature of oomycete biology. To expand our knowledge of this process, we used RNA-seq and quantitative proteomics to examine matings in Phytophthora infestans. Exhibiting significant changes in mRNA abundance in three matings between different A1 and A2 strains compared to nonmating controls were 1170 genes, most being mating-induced. Rising by >10-fold in at least one cross were 455 genes, and 182 in all three crosses. Most genes had elevated expression in a self-fertile strain. Many mating-induced genes were associated with cell wall biosynthesis, which may relate to forming the thick-walled sexual spore (oospore). Several gene families were induced during mating including one encoding histidine, serine, and tyrosine-rich putative wall proteins, and another encoding prolyl hydroxylases which may strengthen the extracellular matrix. The sizes of these families vary >10-fold between Phytophthora species and one exhibits concerted evolution, highlighting two features of genome dynamics within the genus. Proteomic analyses of mature oospores and nonmating hyphae using isobaric tags for quantification identified 835 shared proteins, with 5% showing >2-fold changes in abundance between the tissues. Enriched in oospores were β-glucanases potentially involved in digesting the oospore wall during germination. Despite being dormant, oospores contained a mostly normal complement of proteins required for core cellular functions. The RNA-seq data generated here and in prior studies were used to identify new housekeeping controls for gene expression studies that are more stable than existing normalization standards. We also observed >2-fold variation in the fraction of polyA+ RNA between life stages, which should be considered when quantifying transcripts and may also be relevant to understanding translational control during development.

Effect of dehydroleucodine on the reproductive tract of male mice

The effects of a sesquiterpene lactone, dehydroleucodine, on the reproductive tract were investigated using adult male mice. Dehydroleucodine was dissolved in tap water and administered as drinking water for 30 days. All the parameters were compared with a control group that received only vehicle. Animals were killed by decapitation and the trunk blood, the testes and the epididymes were collected. Plasma concentrations of testosterone and oestradiol, and testicular weight and concentration of spermatids did not change by dehydroleucodine. Nevertheless, in epididymal cauda dehydroleucodine treatment caused a diminution in sperm number, a decrease in the amount of tubular fluid and a reduction in the activity of the hydrolytic enzyme N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase. However, the sperm motility was not altered by dehydroleucodine treatment, although sperm binding to zona-free oocytes increased significantly. These results suggest that dehydroleucodine, which has been implicated in the inhibition of aromatase P450, does not affect the plasma concentration of testosterone and oestradiol or testicular activity, whereas altering several epididymal parameters. The epididymis is thus a more sensitive target for dehydroleucodine action.

Dehydroleucodine inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation in G2 phase

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis and in the vascular changes seen in hypertension. Dehydroleucodine (DhL) is a sesquiterpene lactone that inhibits cell proliferation in plant cells. In this paper, we study the effect of DhL in the proliferation of VSMCs stimulated with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Very low concentrations of DhL (2-6 microM) inhibited VSMC proliferation and induced cell accumulation in G2. DhL did not affect the dynamics of 3H-thymidine incorporation, and did not modify either the activity of DNA polymerase or the incorporation of deoxyribonucleotides in an in vitro assay. Moreover, DhL did not induce apoptosis in VSMCs. These results indicate that DhL, in very low concentration, induces a transient arrest of VSMCs in G2. Our data show that VSMCs are especially sensitive to DhL effect, suggesting that DhL could be potentially useful to prevent the vascular pathological changes seen in hypertension and other vascular diseases.

Epidermolysis bullosa associated with congenital localized absence of skin, fetal abdominal mass, and pyloric atresia

A 2320-g male infant was delivered at 35 weeks gestation to a mother who had polyhydramnios. He had a combination of congenital localized absence of skin, unilateral hydronephrosis, and hydroureter due to ureterovesical obstruction, and nonbilious vomiting due to pyloric atresia. Blistering of the skin developed after birth. Epidermolysis bullosa simplex was confirmed by electron microscopy of a skin biopsy specimen. We describe this patient, who had three unusual manifestations of epidermolysis bullosa.

Effects of prenatal care on neonates born to drug-using women

This study examined whether prenatal care ameliorates the adverse effects of illicit drug use during pregnancy. We reviewed medical records of 336 women who delivered at the university hospital for results of urine drug screens, maternal history, infant outcome, and presence of prenatal care. Ninety-one women tested positive for illicit drugs, of whom 60 obtained prenatal care. We associated use of marijuana with increased risk of fetal distress; cocaine use with decreased birth weight, smaller head circumference, anemia, and meconium-stained amniotic fluid; and multiple drug use with decreased weight and meconium-stained fluid. Drug-using women who obtained prenatal care delivered infants of greater weight and with larger head circumferences than did those who obtained no care (p < .05). These results confirm the adverse effects of illicit drug use during pregnancy.

Postnatal intussusception in a premature infant, causing jejunal atresia

The authors report on a 5-week-old boy who presented with bilious gastric aspirates. He became intolerant to feedings after 1 week of adequate feeding and passage of stools. Based on clinical and radiological findings, the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction was made. During laparotomy, atresia of the proximal jejunum was found. The lumen of the distal segment contained an intussusceptum. The blind ends were resected, and end-to-end anastomosis was performed.

Prevalence of abnormal levels of serum tumour markers in elderly people

The study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of abnormal levels of several serum tumour markers in an institutionalized elderly population. Serum tumour markers assay of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), the carbohydrate antigens CA 19-9, CA 72-4 and CA 15-3 (Enzymun-test, Boehringer Mannheim GmbH Diagnostic), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) (Abbot Diagnostic Division) were performed in 228 unselected, institutionalized elderly subjects, whose mean age (SD) was 82.4 (5. 79) range (66-99 years). Patients with acute or neoplastic diseases were excluded from the study. The serum markers were also measured in 52 healthy young adults (controls). Using the established threshold values, 92 subjects (40%) were found to have at least one elevated marker. PSA was elevated in 33%, CA 19-9 in 16%, CEA in 11. 5%, CA 15-3 in 11%, CA 72-4 in 8% and AFP in 3%. We found a significant difference in the serum levels between the two groups for CEA, CA 19-9. CA 15-3, and PSA (p < 0.0001). Healthy aged people appear to have an elevated prevalence of elevated levels of serum tumour markers. The results suggest that apart from PSA, elevated antigen levels in elderly subjects are related to the ageing process itself rather than to occult pathology.

Substance use during pregnancy and peripartum complications in a triethnic population

To study the effects of illicit drug use during pregnancy on maternal health, we reviewed the records of women who delivered at the University of Texas Medical Branch between June 1, 1989, and February 28, 1990, for peripartum history and results from drug urinalysis screens. After controlling for age at delivery, gravidity, race/ethnicity, and use of alcohol or tobacco, elevated relative risk estimates were observed among women who had positive urinalysis for syphilis, gonorrhea, pregnancy-induced hypertension, chorioamnionitis, asthma, and postpartum hemorrhage. These findings confirm that pregnant women who use illicit drugs are at increased risk for serious health complications.

Steric inhibition of cytoplasmic dynein and kinesin motility by MAP2

Using several in vitro motility assays, we found that motility driven by the microtubule (MT) motors, kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein, could be inhibited by MAP2 but not by tau protein or the MT-binding proteolytic fragment of MAP2. In MT gliding assays, even the presence of one MAP2 molecule per sixty-nine tubulin dimers caused an inhibition of about 75% of MT motility at low concentrations of both motors. The percent inhibition of motility decreased with increasing concentration of either motor, suggesting that the inhibition was the result of competition for access to the MT surface. The decrease in the number of moving MTs with MAP2 was correlated with an increase in the frequency of release of moving MTs from the motor-coated glass. In assays of in vitro vesicular organelle motility and formation of ER networks, the presence of MAP2 inhibited small vesicle movements and to a lesser extent ER network formation. To determine if competition for specific sites on the MT or coating of the MT surface inhibited motility, we used tau protein and the chymotryptic MT-binding fragments of MAP2 to coat MTs. No inhibition was observed and there was even an increase in the number of attached and moving MTs in the gliding assay with tau-coated MTs. Because MAP2, tau and the chymotryptic MT-binding fragments of MAP2 bind to the same domain on tubulin, masking of the MT surface sites does not appear responsible for the inhibition of motility by MAP2. Rather, we suggest that the sidearm of MAP2 interfered with the interaction of motors with MTs and caused a dramatic increase in the rate of MT release. In vivo, MAP2 could play a major role in the generation of cellular polarity even at substoichiometric levels by inhibiting transport on microtubules in specific domains of the cytoplasm.

Tetanus toxin-induced protein kinase C activation and elevated serotonin levels in the perinatal rat brain

A single intracerebral injection of tetanus toxin (TeTox) is able to produce a time-dependent translocation of Ca2(+)-phosphatidylserine-dependent protein kinase C (PKC) in close-to-term rat brain. TeTox-triggered translocation of PKC is dose- and time-dependent, can be prevented by tetanus antitoxin, and does not occur upon administration of toxin fragments B and C. TeTox-triggered PKC translocation is accompanied by a time-dependent increase in brain serotonin (5-HT). Increase of brain 5-HT is independent of monoamine oxidase inhibition by pargyline. Phorbol ester and TeTox cause a significant increase in serotonin while H-7, a kinase inhibitor, does not affect serotonin levels but abolishes the effect of TeTox. Gangliosides prevent TeTox-triggered 5-HT increase. The data are consistent with the possibility that TeTox acts effectively on the serotonergic innervation, presumably in conjunction with PKC to cause accumulation of serotonin.

Differential antigen-presenting cell requirements of hapten-specific T cell lines restricted to class II determinants

We used a panel of class II-restricted T cell lines (TCL), generated against trinitrophenyl (TNP)-modified autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), to examine the antigen-presenting functions of various PBMC-derived class II-positive cell types, including adherent cells, B + null cells, and activated T cells. However, activated T cells and transformed or activated B cells differed in their ability to present TNP to the TCL; TNP-modified activated lymphocytes stimulated only a subset of the class II-restricted TCL that responded to class II-positive resting cells. Moreover, certain antigen-specific TCL distinguished between antigen presented on activated T cells and transformed B cells. The differences in stimulatory capacity for particular TCL did not appear to reflect differences in the expression of class II molecules or in the ability of these cells to deliver hormonal signals or process antigen. Instead, the data suggest that differences in the ability of the cells to recognize antigen on the surface of different class II-positive cells may be a function of a secondary cell surface interaction.

Differential antigen-presenting cell requirements of hapten-specific T cell lines restricted to class II determinants

We used a panel of class II-restricted T cell lines (TCL), generated against trinitrophenyl (TNP)-modified autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), to examine the antigen-presenting functions of various PBMC-derived class II-positive cell types, including adherent cells, B + null cells, and activated T cells. However, activated T cells and transformed or activated B cells differed in their ability to present TNP to the TCL; TNP-modified activated lymphocytes stimulated only a subset of the class II-restricted TCL that responded to class II-positive resting cells. Moreover, certain antigen-specific TCL distinguished between antigen presented on activated T cells and transformed B cells. The differences in stimulatory capacity for particular TCL did not appear to reflect differences in the expression of class II molecules or in the ability of these cells to deliver hormonal signals or process antigen. Instead, the data suggest that differences in the ability of the cells to recognize antigen on the surface of different class II-positive cells may be a function of a secondary cell surface interaction.

The in vivo effect of low body temperatures on the degree of polymerization of tubulin in brain and testes: a comparison among some species of vertebrates

The tubulin of both brain and testes of the amphibian Bufo spinulosus, Leptodactylus ocellatus and Odontophrynus occidentalis and of the fish Salvelinus fontinalis were partially depolymerized when the animals were maintained on ice for 90 min. Recovery of the animals at room temperature restored the normal degree of polymerization in both organs. The cerebral tubulin of the saurian Phymatura palluma and of the mammalian Myotis chiloensis instead, were not depolymerized in these conditions. The results suggest that the depolymerization in vivo of tubulin by lowering body temperature at 0-2 degrees C, is common to many, but not all species of vertebrates. The existence of a cold stabilizing factor in the brain of some species is suggested. A comparison is made between these results and those of other authors who observed microtubule disaggregation by cold with the electron microscope.

Oligosaccharide-dependent and independent Qa-1 determinants

A contribution of N-linked oligosaccharides to determinants recognized by alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes has not been demonstrated. Employing cloned CTL and tunicamycin, an inhibitor of protein glycosylation, we found that carbohydrate addition was required for the formation of two of six Qa-1 determinants. The other determinants were detectable on nonglycosylated Qa-1 molecules, similar to observations in most reports that allodeterminants on class I molecules are not dependent on glycosylation for serologic detection. Examination of TM-treated, Con A-activated lymphoblasts revealed a direct correlation between the determinants defined by the reactivity of CTL clones with target cells from four Qa-1 genotypes and their dependence on carbohydrate side chains for expression. Most anti-Qa-1b CTL clones recognized either a glycosylation-dependent determinant found only on Qa-1b cells or glycosylation-independent determinants on both Qa-1b and Qa-1c cells. Similarly, clones that killed only Qa-1a cells recognized a glycosylation-independent determinant. However, clones reactive with both Qa-1a and Qa-1d cells recognized a glycosylation-dependent determinant on Qa-1a molecules and a glycosylation-independent determinant on Qa-1d molecules. This result indicates that such clones recognize cross-reactive conformational determinants, not carbohydrate itself. Thus, N-linked oligosaccharides serve to stabilize the conformation of some Qa-1 determinants, but others remain intact on nonglycosylated molecules. The absence of similar data for H-2K/D/L molecules suggest that a reexamination of other class I antigens with cloned CTL is in order to determine whether Qa-1 molecules are unique.

Oligosaccharide-dependent and independent Qa-1 determinants

A contribution of N-linked oligosaccharides to determinants recognized by alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes has not been demonstrated. Employing cloned CTL and tunicamycin, an inhibitor of protein glycosylation, we found that carbohydrate addition was required for the formation of two of six Qa-1 determinants. The other determinants were detectable on nonglycosylated Qa-1 molecules, similar to observations in most reports that allodeterminants on class I molecules are not dependent on glycosylation for serologic detection. Examination of TM-treated, Con A-activated lymphoblasts revealed a direct correlation between the determinants defined by the reactivity of CTL clones with target cells from four Qa-1 genotypes and their dependence on carbohydrate side chains for expression. Most anti-Qa-1b CTL clones recognized either a glycosylation-dependent determinant found only on Qa-1b cells or glycosylation-independent determinants on both Qa-1b and Qa-1c cells. Similarly, clones that killed only Qa-1a cells recognized a glycosylation-independent determinant. However, clones reactive with both Qa-1a and Qa-1d cells recognized a glycosylation-dependent determinant on Qa-1a molecules and a glycosylation-independent determinant on Qa-1d molecules. This result indicates that such clones recognize cross-reactive conformational determinants, not carbohydrate itself. Thus, N-linked oligosaccharides serve to stabilize the conformation of some Qa-1 determinants, but others remain intact on nonglycosylated molecules. The absence of similar data for H-2K/D/L molecules suggest that a reexamination of other class I antigens with cloned CTL is in order to determine whether Qa-1 molecules are unique.

In vivo and in vitro effect of cold on the degree of polymerization of tubulin in toad brain and testis

The tubulin of both brain and testis of the toad Bufo arenarum was partially depolymerized when the animals were maintained on ice for 90 minutes or 17 hours. Recovery of the animals at room temperature restored the normal degree of polymerization in both organs. Normalization of the polymerization degree also occurred in organs separated from cooled animals and incubated in vitro for 90 minutes at 20 degrees C. When the organs were cooled in vitro, only testicular tubulin underwent depolymerization, and in a degree similar to that occurring by incubation at 20 degrees C. The results suggest that the mechanisms regulating tubulin depolymerization in vivo are different from those taking place in vitro.

Absorbability of plant sterols and their distribution in rabbit tissues

Rabbits were fed a low cholesterol diet containing 2% plant sterols for 10 weeks to determine the absorbability of these sterols and their deposition in the tissues. We found campesterol and beta-sitosterol in the blood and tissues. The plasma campesterol levels were 4.34--13.3 mg/100 ml, whereas, beta-sitosterol levels were 0.41--1 mg/100 ml. Stigmasterol was not detected. The total plasma plant sterol concentration was about 10% of the total plasma sterol. The mean terminal plasma cholesterol concentration averaged 60% higher (55 vs. 88 mg/100 ml, P less than 0.001) than the mean initial value. Campesterol was the preponderant sterol in all tissues studied, including the aorta. Sitosterol was found in small amounts in the tissues of the abdominal organs. Stigmasterol was not detected in any tissue studied. Esterified campesterol and sitosterol were detected in trace amounts in most tissues. Campesterol and sitosterol, particularly the former, accumulated in the tissues including the aorta.