Vanadate inhibits liver fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase.

Vanadate was found to be a reversible non-competitive inhibitor of chicken liver fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase. The inhibition was best observed in the presence of glycerol 2- or 3-phosphate and half-maximal effect was obtained with about 0.15 mM vanadate.

Fluorometric assay of peroxisomal oxidases.

The present paper deals with the adaptation of the fluorometric measurement of H2O2 originally described by Guilbault et al. (1967, Anal. Chem.

Use of anti-cholera toxin IgA-secreting hybridoma cells for the elaboration of an antigen-specific IgA-ELISPOT-assay.

Hybridoma anti-cholera toxin (CT) IgA-secreting cells, because of their monoclonal character, were used to establish and optimize an ELISPOT-assay for CT-specific IgA-secreting cells. The use of hybridoma cells easily and quickly allowed the elaboration of a sensitive, specific and reproducible ELISPOT-assay, which was successfully applied to enumerate intestinal lamina propria lymphoid cells secreting anti-CT IgA in mice immunized twice intraintestinally with CT. Monoclonal antibody-secreting hybridoma cells, if available against a given antigen, are suggested as ideal cell suspensions to elaborate new ELISPOT-assays to study antibody responses at the cellular level.

Adenine nucleotide catabolism in human erythrocytes: pathways and regulation.

Studies are reviewed which show that in human erythrocytes the catabolism of AMP, leading to hypoxanthine, proceeds by way of AMP deaminase under physiological conditions as well as upon alkalinization and addition of deoxyadenosine. In contrast, the catabolism induced by glucose deprivation, proceeds for 75% via dephosphorylation of AMP. These findings can be explained by the kinetic properties of erythrocytic AMP deaminase, which were investigated at concentrations of substrate and effectors in the physiological range.

Bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase-controlled specific gene expression in Pseudomonas.

The rifampicin (Rif)-resistant RNA polymerase of phage T7 has proved invaluable for the exclusive over-expression, in Escherichia coli, of genes cloned downstream from the T7 phi 10 promoter [Tabor and Richardson, Proc. Natl. Acad.

Cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of a rat hepatoma cell cDNA coding for 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase.

In liver, the 470-residue bifunctional enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (PFK-2/FBPase-2) catalyses the synthesis and degradation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, a potent stimulator of glycolysis. In rat hepatoma (HTC) cells, this enzyme has kinetic, antigenic, and regulatory properties, such as insensitivity to cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and lack of associated FBPase-2 activity, that differ from those in liver. To compare the sequence of the HTC enzyme with that of the liver enzyme, we have cloned the corresponding fully-coding cDNA from HTC cells.

Thyroid hormone stimulates expression of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase in rat liver.

The activity of liver 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (PFK-2), the enzyme that catalyses the synthesis of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, was markedly decreased in hypothyroid rats and partially restored after 3 days of treatment with triiodothyronine. The changes in PFK-2 activity were accompanied by parallel changes in enzyme content measured by immunotitration and in PFK-2 mRNA determined by dot blot and Northern blot hybridization with cDNA probes. It is concluded that thyroid hormone stimulates liver PFK-2 gene expression by a pre-translational mechanism.

Cholera toxin-induced fluid secretion in rat gut ligated loops: influence of bile from normal or cholera toxin-immunized rats.

Fresh normal rat bile premixed with cholera toxin (CT) did not significantly affect the CT-induced fluid accumulation in rat jejunal ligated loops. Bile from rats intrajejunally (i.j.

Glucosephosphate isomerase from Trypanosoma brucei. Cloning and characterization of the gene and analysis of the enzyme.

In Trypanosoma brucei the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, like most other enzymes of the glycolytic pathway, resides in a microbody-like organelle, the glycosome. Here we report a detailed study of this enzyme, involving a determination of its kinetic properties and the cloning and sequence analysis of its gene. The gene codes for a polypeptide of 606 amino acids, with a calculated Mr of 67280.

Mechanism of adenosine triphosphate catabolism induced by deoxyadenosine and by nucleoside analogues in adenosine deaminase-inhibited human erythrocytes.

The mechanism of the depletion of ATP, recorded in the erythrocytes of adenosine deaminase-deficient children and of leukemia patients treated with deoxycoformycin, was investigated in normal human erythrocytes treated with this inhibitor of adenosine deaminase. Deoxyadenosine, which accumulates in both clinical conditions, provoked a dose-dependent accumulation of dATP, depletion of ATP, and increases in the production of inosine plus hypoxanthine. Concomitantly, there was an increase of AMP and IMP, but not of adenosine, indicating that catabolism proceeded by way of AMP deaminase.

Accessory signals in murine cytolytic T cell responses. Dual requirement for IL-1 and IL-6.

We have examined the nature of the accessory factors required for the development of primary murine CTL in accessory cell-depleted allogeneic mixed lymphocyte cultures. None of the known macrophage-derived factors was active by itself but the combination of IL-1 and IL-6 induced cytolytic responses equivalent to those of unfractionated cultures. Experiments with purified T cell subsets and antibodies blocking the action of IL-2 and IL-4 demonstrated that IL-1 and IL-6 acted directly on CD8+ cells capable of growth factor production.

5' flanking sequence and structure of a gene encoding rat 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase.

The synthesis and degradation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, a ubiquitous stimulator of glycolysis, are catalyzed by 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (EC 2.7.1.

Receptor binding-like specificity of two anti-cholera toxin monoclonal antibodies detected by latex agglutination immunoassay.

Six mouse monoclonal IgG antibodies (mAbs) reacting with the cholera toxin B-subunit (CT-B) were obtained from the spleen cells of mice immunized with CT. They were divided into two groups according to their different reactivities with CT in latex (Lx) agglutination. One group of two mAbs was called "non-repetitive" (NR) because they apparently recognized a single epitope on CT, which was unable to agglutinate Lx coated with these NRmAbs, in contrast with the other group of four mAbs that we called "repetitive" (RmAbs).

Peroxisomal and mitochondrial beta-oxidation of monocarboxylyl-CoA, omega-hydroxymonocarboxylyl-CoA and dicarboxylyl-CoA esters in tissues from untreated and clofibrate-treated rats.

In control rats, long-chain monocarboxylyl-CoA, omega-hydroxymonocarboxylyl-CoA, and dicarboxylyl-CoA esters were substrates for hepatic, renal, and myocardial peroxisomal beta-oxidation. The latter enzyme system could not be detected in skeletal muscle. Clofibrate treatment resulted in an enhancement of peroxisomal beta-oxidizing capacity in various tissues.

Latex particle immunoassay of carcinoembryonic antigen.

Immunoassay by particle counting (IMPACT) was used to assay carcinoembryonic antigen. The dynamic range in serum was shown to extend from 1 to 120 ng/ml with a detection limit of 0.3 ng/ml.

D-xylulose-induced depletion of ATP and Pi in isolated rat hepatocytes.

Xylitol is known to cause hepatic ATP catabolism by inducing the trapping of Pi in the form of glycerol 3-P as a consequence of an increase in the NADH:NAD+ ratio, resulting from the oxidation of xylitol to D-xylulose. The question was therefore raised whether D-xylulose also depletes hepatic ATP. In isolated rat hepatocytes, 5 mM D-xylulose decreased ATP by 80% within 5 min compared to 40% with 5 mM xylitol.

Clinical and subclinical alveolitis in collagen vascular diseases: contribution of alpha 2-macroglobulin levels in BAL fluid.

The probability that patients with collagen vascular diseases (CVD) will develop fibrosis is unpredictable. Since changes in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cell data can be observed in CVD patients without evidence of lung involvement, we investigated whether the study of soluble components in BAL could help to distinguish CVD patients with lung involvement (n = 15) from those without pulmonary disease (n = 37). Our results demonstrate that the alveolitis observed in patients with overt lung involvement is associated with an increase of BAL alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2-MA).

Increase in phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate induced by ATP and Pi depletion in hepatocytes.

A series of compounds that induce depletion of ATP and Pi when added to isolated rat hepatocytes were found to cause a remarkable, although transient, elevation in the concentration of phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP) in these cells. After the addition of 5 mM fructose, xylitol, tagatose, or D-xylulose, PRPP increased from a basal value of 6 +/- 1 nmol/g of cells to, respectively, 68 +/- 11, 42 +/- 11, 67 +/- 22, and 530 +/- 50 nmol/g of cells (means +/- SEM of 3-9 experiments). In each case, the increase in PRPP was preceded by a latency period of 5-10 min.

Pituitary-specific factor binding to the human prolactin, growth hormone, and placental lactogen genes.

The human genes coding for growth hormone (GH), chorionic somatomammotropin (placental lactogen, CS), and prolactin (Prl) are related evolutionarily but are expressed in phenotypically distinct cell types despite their nucleotide sequence homology. We show here that the promoters of the human Prl and CS genes contain cis-acting sequences that confer pituitary-specific expression in a cell-free transcription assay. Similar data are obtained with the human GH gene, consistent with earlier work by others.

Perturbation of sterol biosynthesis by itraconazole and ketoconazole in Leishmania mexicana mexicana infected macrophages.

The azole antifungals ketoconazole and itraconazole possess in vitro antileishmanial activity against Leishmania mexicana mexicana amastigotes in macrophages (cell line J774G8). As in yeast and fungi, the activity is likely to be due to inhibition of the cytochrome P-450-dependent 14 alpha-demethylation of lanosterol and/or 24,25-dihydrolanosterol. Indeed, 50% inhibition of ergosterol synthesis was observed at 0.

Turbidimetric latex immunoassay of placental lactogen on microtiter plates.

In this latex immunoassay for human placental lactogen, microtiter plates are used as the reaction vessel and the absorbance at 405 nm is measured to quantify the reactions. This 30-min assay necessitates only one serum dilution and two pipetting steps. The calibration curve extends from 0.

Translocation and proteolytic processing of nascent secretory polypeptide chains: two functions associated with the ribosomal domain of the endoplasmic reticulum.

Rat liver microsomes were subfractionated by isopycnic centrifugation in sucrose gradient. The subfractions were assayed for translocation and proteolytic processing of nascent polypeptides in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate programmed with total RNA from human term placenta. The distribution of the translocation and processing of prelactogen through the gradient correlated with that of the microsomal RNA (ribosomes).