New seed geometry for growth of low dislocation synthetic quartz

A method to grow low dislocation density synthetic quartz by using a special cutting seed geometry is reported. With this method, a relatively high dislocation density seed material is allowable. For such a purpose, a seed of new geometry was prepared and grown in a standard hydrothermal growth condition, long in Y-direction with multiple V-shaped notches made on Z-face. The characterization study was conducted by X-ray topography. The results showed new growth regions, equal to the numbers of V-shaped notches made in the seed and usually not found in the conventional Y- and Z-bar synthetic quartz crystals. Each new growth region is composed of two sectors of distinct textures. Soon they disappear due to their high growth velocity, and they are replaced by the so-called Z-region. However, the growth process of these new sectors grown perpendicular to the internal faces of the V-shaped notches played an important role in inhibiting the propagation of the dislocation originally present in the seed into the grown Z-region.

Mitochondrial Lon of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a ring-shaped protease with seven flexible subunits

Lon (or La) is a soluble, homooligomeric ATP-dependent protease. Mass determination and cryoelectron microscopy of pure mitochondrial Lon from Saccharomyces cerevisiae identify Lon as a flexible ring-shaped heptamer. In the presence of ATP or 5'-adenylylimidodiphosphate, most of the rings are symmetric and resemble other ATP-driven machines that mediate folding and degradation of proteins. In the absence of nucleotides, most of the rings are distorted, with two adjacent subunits forming leg-like protrusions. These results suggest that asymmetric conformational changes serve to power processive unfolding and translocation of substrates to the active site of the Lon protease.

A toxic fusion protein accumulating between the mitochondrial membranes inhibits protein assembly in vivo

When overexpressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, beta-galactosidase fusion proteins directed to the mitochondria are toxic, preventing growth of yeast cells on non-fermentable carbon sources (Emr, S. D., Vassarotti, A., Garrett, J., Geller, B. L., Takeda, M., and Douglas, M. G. (1986) J. Cell Biol. 102, 523-533). We show that such fusion proteins interfere with the assembly of respiratory complexes in the mitochondrial inner membrane, without blocking protein translocation. The gene YME1, encoding an ATP-dependent metalloprotease of the mitochondrial inner membrane, acts as a suppressor of this defect; a 3-fold overexpression of Yme1p is sufficient to restore respiratory complex assembly and mitochondrial function. Detailed knowledge of the topology and effect of the toxic beta-galactosidase fusion proteins will permit the identification and characterization of components that control protein sorting and protein assembly within the mitochondrial inner membrane.

The ATPase and protease domains of yeast mitochondrial Lon: roles in proteolysis and respiration-dependent growth

The ATP-dependent Lon protease of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondria is required for selective proteolysis in the matrix, maintenance of mitochondrial DNA, and respiration-dependent growth. Lon may also possess a chaperone-like function that facilitates protein degradation and protein-complex assembly. To understand the influence of Lon's ATPase and protease activities on these functions, we examined several Lon mutants for their ability to complement defects of Lon-deleted yeast cells. We also developed a rapid procedure for purifying yeast Lon to homogeneity to study the enzyme's activities and oligomeric state. A point mutation in either the ATPase or the protease site strongly inhibited the corresponding activity of the pure protein but did not alter the protein's oligomerization; when expressed at normal low levels neither of these mutant enzymes supported respiration-dependent growth of Lon-deleted cells. When the ATPase- or the protease-containing regions of Lon were expressed as separate truncated proteins, neither could support respiration-dependent growth of Lon-deleted cells; however, coexpression of these two separated regions sustained wild-type growth. These results suggest that yeast Lon contains two catalytic domains that can interact with one another even as separate proteins, and that both are essential for the different functions of Lon.

A uniformly cleaved epitaxically grown diamond crystal for synchrotron radiation

A homoepitaxic single-crystal diamond (111) film grown by microwave-assisted chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and fractured along the [110] directions to form small triangles was investigated by X-ray double-crystal topography. The X-ray topographic image showed that all parts of the cleaved CVD diamond film sections uniformly reflected X-rays at the peak position of the rocking curve, which was measured in the Bragg case. Furthermore, no bending effect was observed and the CVD diamond film appeared to be more perfect than and showed higher integrated intensity than the natural diamond substrate.

ATP-dependent proteases that also chaperone protein biogenesis

The ATP-dependent proteases Clp and FtsH from bacteria, as well as mitochondrial homologs of FtsH and Lon from yeast, may act as chaperones; they mediate not only proteolysis, but also the insertion of proteins into membranes and the disassembly or oligomerization of protein complexes. The coordination of such processes with selective proteolysis may function in the quality control of protein biogenesis.

Promotion of mitochondrial membrane complex assembly by a proteolytically inactive yeast Lon

Afg3p and Rca1p are adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent metalloproteases in yeast mitochondria. Cells lacking both proteins exhibit defects in respiration-dependent growth, degradation of mitochondrially synthesized proteins, and assembly of inner-membrane complexes. Defects in growth and protein assembly, but not in degradation, were suppressed by overproduction of yeast mitochondrial Lon, an ATP-dependent serine protease. Suppression by Lon was enhanced by inactivation of the proteolytic site and was prevented by mutation of the ATP-binding site. It is suggested that the mitochondrial proteases Lon, Afg3p, and Rca1p can also serve a chaperone-like function in the assembly of mitochondrial protein complexes.

[Analysis of direct immunofluorescence tests for trachoma diagnosis]

For the confirmation of trachoma foci in places where no previous cases had been reported, the State Health Secretariat of S. Paulo makes provision for the realization of laboratory exams, particularly because the disease was considered to have been eradicated from the State in the seventies. During the epidemiological investigations, conjunctival scrapings were collected from the subjects with inflammatory trachoma (TF/TI), clinically diagnosed. The results of the immunofluorescence (DFA) exams were analysed in the light of the frequency of the appropriate exams and their positive results, by the quantity of elementary bodies (EB) found. A total of 385 slides were studied, the criteria for positivity being 5 or more EBs. The test's sensitivity was 19.9%. The DFA test is considered to be the best laboratorial exam to be used in field work, though it does not show a sufficient sensitivity to confirm all clinically diagnosed cases of trachoma; it can only confirm the circulation of the aetiological agent within a community. In endemic areas the clinical diagnosis continues to be the criterion for case confirmation.

Requirement for the yeast gene LON in intramitochondrial proteolysis and maintenance of respiration

The role of protein degradation in mitochondrial homeostasis was explored by cloning of a gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae that encodes a protein resembling the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent bacterial protease Lon. The predicted yeast protein has a typical mitochondrial matrix-targeting sequence at its amino terminus. Yeast cells lacking a functional LON gene contained a nonfunctional mitochondrial genome, were respiratory-deficient, and lacked an ATP-dependent proteolytic activity present in the mitochondria of Lon+ cells. Lon- cells were also impaired in their ability to catalyze the energy-dependent degradation of several mitochondrial matrix proteins and they accumulated electron-dense inclusions in their mitochondrial matrix.

Identification of the region on the class I histocompatibility molecule that interacts with the molecular chaperone, p88 (calnexin, IP90)

During early stages in their biogenesis, murine class I histocompatibility molecules interact transiently with a molecular chaperone of the endoplasmic reticulum designated p88. Using a series of mutant class I heavy chains we mapped the region of the heavy chain that interacts with p88. Domain deletion mutants of the H-2Db and H-2Kb molecules revealed that most of the extracellular portion of the heavy chain and the bulk of the cytoplasmic domain were not required for the association. However, replacement of the transmembrane segment and cytoplasmic domain with a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol anchor from Q7b resulted in a heavy chain that was incapable of interaction with p88. These results suggested that the primary site of interaction with p88 is within a region containing the transmembrane segment and several flanking amino acids of the class I heavy chain. This finding was supported by replacing the glycosyl phosphatidylinositol anchor of the noninteracting Q7b protein with segments of the Db heavy chain containing the putative interaction site and showing that the hybrids were capable of associating with p88. The apparent lack of interaction between segments of p88 and the class I heavy chain that are present within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum was also observed when the association between p88 and the alpha chain of the T cell receptor was examined. The full-length transmembrane alpha chain formed a complex with p88, whereas a soluble variant consisting of most of the luminal portion of the alpha chain exhibited only minimal interaction. Thus, p88 is capable of associating with nascent integral membrane proteins through transmembrane interactions that are unavailable to the major soluble chaperone of the endoplasmic reticulum, BiP (GRP78).

Regulating the retention of T-cell receptor alpha chain variants within the endoplasmic reticulum: Ca(2+)-dependent association with BiP

Immunoglobulin heavy chain binding protein (BiP, GRP 78) coprecipitates with soluble and membrane-associated variants of the T-cell antigen receptor alpha chain (TCR-alpha) which are stably retained within the ER. Chelation of Ca2+ during solubilization of cells leads to the dissociation of BiP from the TCR-alpha variants, which is dependent upon the availability of Mg2+ and hydrolyzable ATP; this suggests that Ca2+ levels can serve to modulate the association/dissociation of these proteins with BiP. In vivo treatment of cells expressing either the soluble or membrane-anchored TCR-alpha variants with the Ca2+ ionophore, A23187, or an inhibitor of an ER Ca(2+)-ATPase, thapsigargin, or the membrane-permeant Ca2+ chelator BAPTA-AM, results in the redistribution of these proteins out of the ER and their subsequent secretion or cell surface expression. Under the same assay conditions, no movement of BiP out of the ER is observed. Taken together, these observations indicate that decreased Ca2+ levels result in the dissociation of a protein bound to BiP, leading to its release from ER retention. These data suggest that the intracellular fate of newly synthesized proteins stably associated with BiP can be regulated by Ca2+ levels in the ER.

A peptide sequence confers retention and rapid degradation in the endoplasmic reticulum

A nonlysosomal pathway exists for the degradation of newly synthesized proteins retained within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This pathway is extremely selective: whereas some proteins are rapidly degraded, others survive for long periods in the ER. The question of whether this selectivity is due to the presence within the sensitive proteins of definable peptide sequences that are sufficient to target them for degradation has been addressed. Deletion of a carboxyl-terminal sequence, comprising the transmembrane domain and short cytoplasmic tail of the alpha chain of the T cell antigen receptor (TCR-alpha), prevented the rapid degradation of this polypeptide. Fusion of this carboxyl-terminal sequence to the extracellular domain of the Tac antigen, a protein that is normally transported to the cell surface where it survives long-term, resulted in the retention and rapid degradation of the chimeric protein in the ER. Additional mutagenesis revealed that the transmembrane domain of TCR-alpha alone was sufficient to cause degradation within the ER. This degradation was not a direct consequence of retention in the ER, as blocking transport of newly synthesized proteins out of the ER with brefeldin A did not lead to degradation of the normal Tac antigen. It is proposed that a 23-amino acid sequence, comprising the transmembrane domain of TCR-alpha, contains information that determines targeting for degradation within the ER system.

Pre-Golgi degradation of newly synthesized T-cell antigen receptor chains: intrinsic sensitivity and the role of subunit assembly

The T cell antigen receptor (TCR) is a multisubunit complex composed of at least seven transmembrane chains. The predominant species in most T cells has the composition alpha beta gamma delta epsilon zeta 2. The roles of subunit assembly in transport out of the ER and in the recently described process of pre-Golgi degradation of newly synthesized TCR chains were analyzed in a T-cell line deficient in the synthesis of delta chains (delta 2) and in COS-1 fibroblasts transfected with genes encoding individual TCR chains. Studies with the delta-deficient T-cell line showed that, in the absence of delta, the other TCR chains were synthesized at normal rates, but, instead of being transported to the cell surface, they were retained in the ER. Analysis of the fate of TCR chains retained in the ER showed that they were degraded at vastly different rates by a nonlysosomal pathway. Whereas the alpha chains were degraded rapidly, gamma, zeta, and epsilon were relatively long-lived. To analyze whether this selective degradation was because of different intrinsic susceptibility of the individual chains to degradation or to the formation of resistant oligomers, TCR chains were expressed alone or in combinations in COS-1 fibroblasts. These studies showed that (a) individual TCR chains were degraded at different rates when expressed alone in COS-1 cells, and (b) sensitive chains could be stabilized by coexpression with a resistant chain. Taken together, these observations indicate that both intrinsic sensitivity and subunit assembly play a role in determining the rates at which newly synthesized TCR chains are degraded in the ER.

Photodynamic Production of Superoxide In Vitro by Altertoxins in the Presence of Reducing Agents

Superoxide production by the three 4,9-dihydroxyperylene-3,10-quinone fungal toxins, altertoxins I, II, and III, was stimulated on illumination with broad-spectrum light. As determined previously for cercosporin, superoxide production by illuminated altertoxins was increased by the addition of the reducing substances ergothioneine or urate; ascorbate also effectively increased superoxide production. Illuminated urate alone engendered some superoxide production.