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Biomedical subjects

K Hamana

Publications and source records attributed to K Hamana.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Natural occurrence of guanidinooxypropylamine in Wistaria floribunda and the sword bean Canavalia gladiata.

We found a new guanidinooxyamine in Wistaria floribunda seeds and seedlings of the sword bean, Canavalia gladiata. This amine was not only ninhydrin-positive but also gave a positive alkaline nitroprusside-ferricyanide reaction. It was characterized as gamma-guanidinooxypropylamine [H2N (NH=)CNHO (CH2)3NH2] by comparison with the authentic compound on column and thin-layer chromatograms visualized with specific reagents and by reductive cleavage. Evidence for the occurrence of another unusual guanidino amine, homoagmatine in W. floribunda seeds was also presented.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed1985

Further study on polyamines in primitive unicellular eukaryotic algae.

The possible usefulness of polyamines as chemotaxonomic markers has been investigated in eukaryotic algae. Polyamines were analyzed in 12 species of primitive unicellular eukaryotic algae including some anomalous species. Norspermidine and norspermine in addition to putrescine and spermidine are widely distributed in most unicellular species of the algae. However, neither norspermidine nor norspermine was found in the taxonomically conflicting algae, Cyanophora and Glaucocystis, which contain cyanellae, or in a primitive red alga, Porphyridium. A thermoacidophilic eukaryotic alga, Cyanidium, is rich in both norspermidine and norspermine. Appreciable amounts of spermine and sym-homospermidine were detected only in the species belonging to the Rhodophyta (red algae).

Eukaryota↗
PubMed1985

Distinct difference in the polyamine compositions of bryophyta and pteridophyta.

Polyamine contents of various species of plants and fungi including Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Lichenobionta were determined by the combination of six chromatographic techniques. Polyamines examined included putrescine, spermidine, spermine, 1,3-diaminopropane (diaminopropane), sym-norspermidine (norspermidine), sym-norspermine (norspermine), thermospermine, caldopentamine, homocaldopentamine, cadaverine, aminopropylcadaverine, sym-homospermidine (homospermidine), agmatine, and canavalmine. In addition to the widely occurring polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine), the "unusual" polyamines norspermidine and norspermine were found to be widely distributed in Bryophyta and Lichenobionta. These two polyamines were not detected in any species of Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, and fungi even though their possible precursor, diaminopropane, was found in some species. Homospermidine was one of the major polyamines in Bryophyta and Lichenobionta, and was detected in most species of Pteridophyta and sporadically in higher plants. Agmatine was detected in most species of Bryophyta and in certain species of Gymnospermae. These data suggest that norspermidine, norspermine, and homospermidine can serve as chemical phylogenic and taxonomic markers in Plantae and Fungi.

Fungi↗
PubMed1985

Polyamines in photosynthetic eubacteria and extreme-halophilic archaebacteria.

Qualitative and quantitative determinations of polyamines have been done in 4 photosynthetic eubacteria and 6 extreme-halophilic archaebacteria. For comparison, 5 moderate-halophilic eubacteria were also analyzed to determine their polyamine contents. Not only putrescine and spermidine but also homospermidine were found in the photosynthetic eubacteria, especially in the N2-fixing species, Rhodospirillum and Chromatium. Norspermidine, norspermine, and spermine were not detected in the phototrophic eubacteria. No appreciable amount of any polyamine was found in extreme-halophilic archaebacteria, Halobacterium and Halococcus, while moderate-halophilic eubacteria contained quite high concentrations of putrescine and spermidine and cadaverine. When arginine was incubated with cell lysates of these two archaebacteria, appreciable amounts of agmatine were produced; neither putrescine nor cadaverine was formed in the presence of ornithine or lysine. No detectable amount of spermidine was produced by the lysates on incubation with putrescine.

Archaea↗
PubMed1985

DNA strand scission by enzymatically reduced mitomycin C: evidence for participation of the hydroxyl radical in the DNA damage.

Phage DNA, as well as plasmid and mammalian DNA's, were exposed to a superoxide and hydroxyl radical-generating system containing NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and mitomycin C, both with and without added Fe3+-ADP, in phosphate buffer at pH 7.5. The generation of superoxide (O2-.) and hydroxyl (.OH) radicals in the system was demonstrated by using ESR spectrometry with N-tert -butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone (PBN) as a spin trapping agent. Only the lambda DNA isolated after exposure to the O2-./.OH-generating system containing many lower molecular weight DNA fragments indicating DNA strand breaks. This breakage was completely inhibited by a .OH radical scavenger (sodium benzoate) and by catalase, but only slightly by superoxide dismutase. Thyroid and plasmid DNA's were both cleaved when exposed to the O2-./.OH-generating systems. It is suggested that the mechanism of DNA scission by mitomycin C described here closely resembles that induced by the anthracycline drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Unusual polyamines in slime molds Physarum polycephalum and Dictyostelium discoideum.

We analyzed the cellular contents of not only major polyamines but also minor polyamines in slime molds Physarum polycephalum and Dictyostelium discoideum. The presence of putrescine and spermidine in either plasmodia or myxamoebae of these molds as major polyamines was confirmed. In addition to these polyamines, appreciable amounts of 1,3-diaminopropane were detected in P. polycephalum and D. discoideum. Cadaverine and sym-homospermidine were detected in P. polycephalum even when the slime mold was cultured in a chemically defined growth medium. Spermine was not detected when these molds were grown in synthetic media. Other "unusual" polyamines such as norspermidine, norspermine, thermospermine, aminopropylcadaverine, and canavalmine were not detected in either mold.

Cadaverine↗
PubMed1984

Changes in polyamine levels in various organs of Bombyx mori during its life cycle.

Polyamines in various organs of larval, pupal, and moth stages of Bombyx mori, were assayed by high-performance ion-exchange chromatography and paper and thin-layer chromatography. Putrescine and spermidine were especially abundant in the silk gland, gonads, mucous gland, and sucking stomach; spermine was also present in them, but at much lower concentrations. Both norspermidine and norspermine were detected in almost all organs examined, while their precursor 1,3-diaminopropane was found only in a limited number of organs. Low concentrations of sym-homospermidine were observed in the silk gland and ovary. Cadaverine content was particularly high in the mucous gland which contained diapause eggs and the sucking stomach. Diapause eggs contained much higher levels of cadaverine than non-diapause eggs. The concentrations of most polyamines in the silk glands remained rather constant during the larval stage, and decreased markedly at the pupal stage. Polyamines in gonads, in contrast, did not decrease at the pupal stage, but putrescine, diaminopropane, and norspermidine rather increased during the pupal and moth stages.

Aging↗
PubMed1983

Isolation of deuterated histones from yeast grown on media dissolved in 2H2O.

We have succeeded in growing Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast) on media containing 2H2O and isolating the core histones highly deuterated in the non-exchangeable positions. The deuterated histones obtained here are of great value for their possible widespread use for structural studies of chromatin.

Deuterium↗
PubMed1983

Occurrence of sym-homospermidine as the major polyamine in nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria.

We analyzed the amount of polyamines in a variety of cyanobacteria including nitrogen-fixing and nonfixing species. All the cyanobacteria capable of fixing nitrogen, contained sym-homospermidine as the major polyamine. The concentration of putrescine, spermidine and spermine was extremely low in these cyanobacteria. The cyanobacteria which normally fail to fix nitrogen contained spermidine as the major polyamine, while the sym-homospermidine content was very low or under the limits of detection. Apparently there is a close relationship between the sym-homospermidine content and the ability to fix nitrogen in cyanobacteria.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed1982

Widespread occurrence of norspermidine and norspermine in eukaryotic algae.

Seven phyla of eukaryotic algae were analyzed to determine their contents of diamines and polyamines. The algae examined included Rhodophyta, Pyrrophyta, Chrysophyta, Phaeophyta, Euglenophyta, Chlorophyta, and Charophyta. Both putrescine and spermidine were detected in all the algae studied, while appreciable amounts of spermine were detected only in a few species of algae. 1,3-Diaminopropane, norspermidine, and norspermine, which are chemical analogs of putrescine, spermidine, and spermine, respectively, were widely distributed in various species of algae. There was no parallelism between the distribution patterns of putrescine derivatives and those of 1,3-diaminopropane derivatives. Cadaverine and agmatine were detected in multicellular marine algae. Homospermidine was detected sporadically in some algae. The biological and phylogenetical significance of polyamines in these lower eukaryotes is discussed.

Chromatography, Paper↗
PubMed1981

Gel electrophoresis and gel chromatography of calf thymus histones in the presence of a cationic surfactant.

Five histone molecular species, H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, of calf thymus were subjected to gel electrophoresis and gel chromatography in the presence of a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and their behavior was compared with that in the presence of an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). In the presence of CTAB, the retardation coefficient (KR) and distribution coefficient (Kd) values calculated for the five histone species were linearly related to their molecular weights, without showing abnormality of the type found in the presence of SDS. It was concluded that CTAB-gel electrophoresis is useful for the analysis of histones.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

A possible role of cadaverine in the biosynthesis of polyamines in the Japanese newt testis.

Polyamine content in testes of various vertebrates was studied extensively. Putrescine, spermidine and spermine were detected in all the animals examined, although the distribution pattern varied greatly from animal to animal. Cadaverine was detected only in amphibian testes; sym-homospermidine was found not only in testes but also in various other tissues of amphibians and of some reptiles. In the newt testis the concentration of cadaverine was lower than that of any other polyamines in summer, but there was a great increase in cadaverine content from autumn to winter. The testicular content of cadaverine was greater than that of other polyamines in winter. There was a gradual decrease in the cadaverine content in spring. The spermidine and spermine levels, which were rather low in winter, increased in spring and reached a peak in summer when spermatogenesis was active. The testicular concentration of putrescine that was much higher than that of spermidine or spermine throughout the year, increased only a little in summer. There was a significant negative correlation between the cadaverine levels and four other polyamine levels. Exogenous cadaverine decreased the testicular levels of putrescine. Mammalian gonadotropins decreased the cadaverine levels and increased the levels of other polyamines. A partially purified LH fraction from pituitaries of bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, was also potent in depleting cadaverine of the testes of newts kept at 8 degrees C. These results suggest that testicular cadaverine suppresses the biosynthesis of polyamines, especially spermidine and spermine which are closely associated with spermatogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

A possible role of arginase in the regulation of polyamine biosynthesis in the rat thyroid.

Effect of chronic methylthiouracil (MTU) treatment on the thyroid arginase activity and thyroidal concentration of arginine, ornithine and other amino acids was studied in the rat. The activity of thyroid arginase increased significantly at 15 days of MTU treatment and the elevated enzyme activity was reduced to normal by L-thyroxine (T4) injection. The thyroidal concentration of polyamines was increased by MTU and decreased by T4 with the exception of spermine. The thyroidal concentration of arginine and lysine, a substrate and an inhibitor for arginase respectively decreased significantly, while that of ornithine remained unchanged after MTU treatment. T4 injected to MTU-pretreated rats restored the decreased arginine concentration to normal. These results suggest that ornithine supply for polyamine biosynthesis is regulated by the level of both arginase and lysine in the thyroid.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1980

Selective release of HMG nonhistone proteins during DNase digestion of Tetrahymena chromatin at different stages of the cell cycle.

The possible role of LG-1, a Tetrahymena specific HMG protein found in the macronuclear chromatin (Hamana, K. and Iwai, K. (1979) J. Biochem. 86, 789-794), was examined in relation to the chromatin structure. The chromatin isolated from cells synchronized at different stages of the cell cycle contained about one molecule of LG-1 per nucleosome. Limited digestion of the chromatin with DNase I or micrococcal nuclease selectively released LG-1 with the nucleosomal core histones and H1 remained insoluble, bound to the resistant DNA. Depending on the cell stages several types of chromatin structure were distinguished by their nuclease sensitivity. However, the chromatin at different stages exhibited the similar behavior of the LG-1 release with the nucleases as a function of the degree of chromatin solubilization. The results suggest that LG-1 proteins play a role in the chromatin organization which is rather independent of the cell stages.

Animals↗