Three-dimensional reconstruction of the chlorocruorin of the polychaete annelid Eudistylia vancouverii.

The chlorocruorin of the polychaete Eudistylia vancouverii observed in the electron microscope in vitreous ice, was subjected to a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction by the random conical tilt series method. The 3D volume with a resolution of 35 A reconstructed from 1062 images in top, side and intermediate view orientations has a D6 point-group symmetry. It possesses the characteristic hexagonal bilayer (HBL) appearance.

Block polycationic oligonucleotide derivative: synthesis and inhibition of herpes virus reproduction.

The block polycationic oligonucleotide (oligo) consisting of a phosphodiester 12-mer linked to the polycation chain at the 3'-end and cholesteryl group at the 5'-end was synthesized. The polycation chain was grown on the solid support using the monomer, H-phosphonate of 1-O-(4,4'-dimethoxytrityl)-1,3-butanediol. Amino groups were introduced in the polymer backbone using 1,4-diaminobutane, and then the oligo chain was formed at the free end of the polymer.

Water-soluble block polycations as carriers for oligonucleotide delivery.

Water-soluble, block copolymeric carriers consisting of polyoxyethylene (PEO) and polyspermine (PS) chains have been developed for the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides (oligo) into the target cells. These copolymers spontaneously form complexes with oligos in aqueous solutions. The PS block electrostatically binds to the oligo, and as a result, the stability of the oligo is increased.

Primary structure of a constituent polypeptide chain of the chlorocruorin from Sabellastarte indica.

A 16 kDa polypeptide chain (chain E) was isolated from the giant extracellular chlorocruorin from the polychaete Sabellastarte indica by reverse-phase chromatography, and the N-terminal 19 amino-acid residues was determined by an automated protein sequencer. The cDNA of Sabellastarte chain E was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the complete nucleotide sequence of 1205 bp was determined. The open reading frame is 498 nucleotides in length and encodes a protein with 165 amino-acid residues.

Alignment of 700 globin sequences: extent of amino acid substitution and its correlation with variation in volume.

Seven-hundred globin sequences, including 146 nonvertebrate sequences, were aligned on the basis of conservation of secondary structure and the avoidance of gap penalties. Of the 182 positions needed to accommodate all the globin sequences, only 84 are common to all, including the absolutely conserved PheCD1 and HisF8. The mean number of amino acid substitutions per position ranges from 8 to 13 for all globins and 5 to 9 for internal positions.

Mass spectrometric composition, molecular mass and oxygen binding of Macrobdella decora hemoglobin and its tetramer and monomer subunits.

The hexagonal bilayer hemoglobin (Hb) of the leech Macrobdella decora has an equilibrium sedimentation mass of 3544(+/- 80) kDa. Maximum entropy analysis of the electrospray ionization mass spectra of the Hb show three groups of peaks: two peaks of equal intensity at approximately 17 kDa, A (16,770.1 Da) and B (16,841.

Asymmetry of temporal lobe phosphorous metabolism in schizophrenia: a 31phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging study.

In vivo 31Phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (31P MRSI) was performed on 18 chronic schizophrenic patients and 14 normal controls to determine if there was asymmetry of high-energy phosphorous metabolism in the temporal lobes of schizophrenic patients. Temporal lobe phosphorous metabolites were also correlated with severity of psychiatric symptomatology as assessed by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Schizophrenics demonstrated significantly higher right relative to left temporal phosphocreatine/adenosine triphosphate (PCr/ATP), phosphocreatine/inorganic phosphate (PCr/Pi), and PCr as well as significantly lower right relative to left temporal ATP.

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometric determination of the complete polypeptide chain composition of Tylorrhynchus heterochaetus hemoglobin.

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) of the native, reduced, and carbamidomethylated forms of the extracellular, 3.38-MDa hemoglobin from the marine polychaete Tylorrhynchus heterochaetus, when combined with a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) analysis, provided a complete description of the polypeptide chain composition. This hemoglobin, a hetero-multimeric complex of approximately 180 polypeptide chains, consisting of globin and linker subunits in an approximately 3:1 mass ratio, is among the largest protein complexes investigated by ESI-MS.

[The demonstration of the genes controlling enterotoxigenicity in Staphylococcus aureus strains by using the polymerase chain reaction].

The selection and subsequent synthesis, according to the nucleotide sequences of S. aureus genes responsible for the expression of enterotoxins A and B, of highly specific primers for polymerase chain reaction Pcr were carried out with the use of the program "Primer". The optimum temperature conditions of polymerase chain reaction for all pairs of primers were selected.

Phosphorescence lifetime analysis with a quadratic programming algorithm for determining quencher distributions in heterogeneous systems.

A new method for analysis of phosphorescence lifetime distributions in heterogeneous systems has been developed. This method is based on decomposition of the data vector to a linearly independent set of exponentials and uses quadratic programming principles for x2 minimization. Solution of the resulting algorithm requires a finite number of calculations (it is not iterative) and is computationally fast and robust.

Inhibition of herpes simplex virus 1 reproduction with hydrophobized antisense oligonucleotides.

Antisense oligonucleotides were modified by their ends with hydrophobic substituents which permitted enhancing their activity. The effect of hydrophobized oligonucleotides on reproduction of Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 in Vero cells was studied. Two types of oligonucleotides were used: a 12-mer complementary to the splicing site 983-994 of early mRNA-5 of the virus and 19-mer complementary to the site of mRNA that encodes the virus DNA-polymerase.

The primary oxygen sensor of the cat carotid body is cytochrome a3 of the mitochondrial respiratory chain.

Carbon monoxide was shown to be competitive with O2 in oxygen sensing by perfused carotid bodies isolated from cats, afferent electrical activity increasing with either decreasing O2 or increasing CO. The CO-induced increase in afferent activity was fully reversed by bright light. At submaximal light intensities the extent of reversal, after correcting to equal light intensity of light quanta at each wavelength, was maximal for light of 432 +/- 2 and 590 +/- 2 nm, with a ratio (432/590) of approximately 6.

Crystallization of hemoglobins II and III of the symbiont-harboring clam Lucina pectinata.

Diffraction data to 2.7 A resolution were measured on crystals of the homotetramers of components II and III of the cytoplasmic hemoglobin of the symbiont-harboring clam Lucina pectinata. Even though the crystallization conditions are different and the sequence homology of the two hemoglobins is only 63%, the crystals are isomorphous to each other and to the heterotetramer Hb II/III, implying that the residues primarily involved in the intermolecular interactions and responsible for crystal cohesion may be invariant.

Purification and properties of the hemoglobins of the platyhelminth Isoparorchis hypselobagri (Trematoda: Isoparorchidae) and its host Wallagu attu (catfish).

1. The hemoglobins of the trematode Isoparorchis hypselobagri and of its host Wallagu attu (catfish) were isolated and purified. 2.

Purification and characterization of recombinant polymeric hemoglobin P1 of Glycera dibranchiata.

The apoprotein of component P1 of the polymeric fraction of the intracellular hemoglobin of the marine polychaete Glycera dibranchiata has been expressed at a high level in Escherichia coli. The expressed globin was reconstituted with heme and purified. The N-terminal sequence of the recombinant P1 is identical to the cDNA-derived sequence of cloned P1 (Zafar et al.

Adventitious variability? The amino acid sequences of nonvertebrate globins.

1. The more than 140 amino acid sequences of non-vertebrate hemoglobins (Hbs) and myoglobins (Mbs) that are known at present, can be divided into several distinct groups: (1) single-chain globins, containing one heme-binding domain; (2) truncated, single-chain, one-domain globins; (3) chimeric, one-domain globins; (4) chimeric, two-domain globins; and (5) chimeric multi-domain globins. 2.

[Cloning of the gene for thermostable Thermus aquaticus YT1 DNA polymerase and its expression in Escherichia coli].

Using the phasmid vector pSL5, the genomic DNA fragment of T. aquaticus YT1 which contained the thermostable DNA polymerase (Taq-polymerase) gene was cloned. The BglII fragment of this genome locus was subcloned in the BamHI site of the pUC19 plasmid.

Kinetics of ligand binding to Pseudoterranova decipiens and Ascaris suum hemoglobins and to Leu-29-->Tyr sperm whale myoglobin mutant.

The kinetics of binding of O2, CO, and NO to the octameric, two-domain hemoglobins of the parasitic nematodes Pseudoterranova decipiens and Ascaris suum were determined on nanosecond and picosecond time scales using flash photolysis. The two nematode hemoglobins have very similar kinetic properties. On the picosecond time scale, they exhibit an unusual behavior in showing a geminate reaction with oxygen that is biphasic and dependent on the flash intensity.

[Rationale for the maximum permissible concentration of porophor P-18-S in the air of work place].

Porophor P-18-S LD50 is 712.5 mg/kg. This substance is not characterized by cumulative or irritating properties.