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Biomedical subjects

M Villarejo

Publications and source records attributed to M Villarejo.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Selective inhibition of carbohydrate transport by the local anesthetic procaine in Escherichia coli.

Maltose and lactose transport systems have been used to investigate the action of procaine on insertion and activity of membrane proteins and translocation of exported proteins in Escherichia coli. Procaine mildly inhibited growth on lactose. The level of inhibition was consistent with the small reduction observed in active and facilitated transport functions of the lac permease. However, procaine caused a severe reduction of growth rate on maltose, as well as an inhibition of induction of maltose regulon activities. In both constitutive and inducible strains, the synthesis of both maltose transport activity (malB operon) and amylomaltase activity (malA operon) was inhibited. Coordinate inhibition of soluble and membrane products was not observed with the lac operon. beta-Galactosidase synthesis proceeded normally during growth on procaine, whereas, the appearance of new transport activity was reduced. Regardless of carbon source, procaine specifically inhibited the appearance of ompF protein in the membrane fraction.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗

Construction and properties of Escherichia coli strains exhibiting -complementation of -galactosidase fragments in vivo.

In vivo alpha-complementation of beta-galactosidase was demonstrated in 16 Z gene terminator (nonsense) mutant strains of Escherichia coli upon introduction of the episome F'M15 which specifies production of a mutant Z gene polypeptide containing a small deletion in the N-terminal region of the enzyme monomer. Genetic and biochemical analyses of the merodiploids showed that restoration of enzyme activity was due to their terminator/F'M15 genetic constitution resulting in the production of two enzymatically inactive polypeptides which associate in vivo to reconstitute active, stable beta-galactosidase. The prematurely terminated polypeptide fragments known to be rapidly degraded in haploid cells were shown by phenotypic and biochemical studies to be stabilized (i.e., protected) in merodiploids by formation of complemented enzyme complexes with the M15 protein. Phenotypic properties of complementing diploids are described and are discussed in relation to in vitro determination of beta-galactosidase activity.

Coliphages↗

Protein components of bacteriophages lambda and lambda virulent.

Parallel studies have been made of the protein coats of the temperate bacteriophage lambda and of a deletion mutant, lambda virulent. A new method for preparing ghosts of both phages by the action of Cu(++) is described. Protein ghosts of both phages can be dissolved in citrate at pH values below 3, more rapidly in the presence of 8 m urea. Both phages yielded three apparently identical protein components which can be separated by thin-layer gel filtration and thin-layer gel electrophoresis. The protein of molecular weight 47,000 +/- 1,500 represents about 55% of the protein of the ghosts and is therefore likely to be the subunit of the head. The other proteins of molecular weight 30,000 +/- 1,500 and 16,000 +/- 1,500 represent approximately 25% and 20% of the protein, respectively. Amino acid analyses of the ghosts from the two phages have been carried out and show no significant differences. The buoyant density of phage lambda virulent is 0.016 g/ml less than that of lambda. Since no differences have been found in the protein components of the two phages, this indicates that the virulent mutant contains approximately 16% less deoxyribonucleic acid than the temperate phage.

Amino Acids↗