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Membrane insertion and assembly of ductin: a polytopic channel with dual orientations.

Ductin is a highly conserved and polytopic transmembrane protein which is the subunit c component of the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) and a component of a connexon channel of gap junctions. Previous studies have suggested that ductin in the V-ATPase has the opposite orientation of ductin in a connexon. Using an in vitro translation system coupled to microsomes derived from the endoplasmic reticulum, we show that ductin is co-translationally inserted into the membrane bilayer, suggesting a dependency on the signal recognition particle for synthesis. By attaching a C-terminal polypeptide derived from beta-lactamase and by using cysteine replacement coupled to chemical labelling, we show that ductin is inserted into the microsomal membrane in both orientations in similar proportions. In contrast, squid rhodopsin appears to be inserted in a single orientation. Changing conserved charged residues at the N-terminus of ductin does not affect the ratio of the two orientations. Once in the microsomal membrane, ductin assembles into an oligomeric complex which contains a pore accessible to a water-soluble probe, reminiscent of the ductin complex found in the V-ATPase and a connexon.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Preparation and development of anti-chitosan antibodies.

Polyclonal antibodies directed against chitosan were produced using several immunogens, prepared by binding the polymer according to two ways (covalent and electrostatic) with a protein (bovine serum albumin or hemocyanin). It appeared that the presence of a carrier protein linked to chitosan was necessary to enhance the immune response and to obtain antibodies in a stable and reproducible way. Direct and inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay experiments were performed to assess the affinity and the specificity of the antibodies. The interactions of these antibodies with modified chitosans showed no influence of the degree of polymerization of the polymer in the range studied (from 24 to 2261), by contrast with the degree of acetylation. The affinity decreased when the degree of acetylation increased. Absence of cross-reactivity with glycosaminoglycans was observed whatever the antibody. The cationicity of the amine function along the polymer chains may have a role in the immunological recognition of the chitosan structure.

Acetylation↗

Hydrothermal growth of hydroxyapatite scaffolds from aragonitic cuttlefish bones.

Scaffolds of AB-type carbonated hydroxyapatite (HA) were successfully produced via hydrothermal transformation (HT) of aragonitic cuttlefish bones at 200 degrees C. The transformation was seemingly complete after 9 h of HT and no intermediate products were registered. Beyond low production cost, worldwide availability, and natural-biological origin of raw materials, the produced scaffolds preserved the initial structure of cuttlefish bone, featuring good biocompatibility in osteoblasts tests and ideal pore size ( approximately 80 microm in width and approximately 100 microm in height) and interconnectivity for supporting biological activities, such as bone tissue growth and vascularization. The highly channeled structure and the use of fresh cuttlefish bones favored the diffusion of the reaction solution towards the aragonite resulting in fast kinetics (after 1 h, hydroxyapatite was the dominant crystalline phase).

Animals↗

Purification and properties of a diisopropyl-fluorophosphatase from squid Todarodes pacificus steenstrup.

A diisopropyl-fluorophosphatase (DFPase) was purified from brain and ganglia of squid Todarodes pacificus steenstrup. The DFPase had a preference in hydrolysis toward diisopropylphosphorofluoridate (DFP). It also was able to hydrolyze O-1,2,2-trimethylpropyl methylphosphofluoridate (soman) and O-isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (sarin) at nearly equal hydrolytic rates but only 1/10 that of DFP. The hydrolytic activity toward diethyl-p-nitrophenylphosphate (paraoxon) was very low compared with DFP, soman, and sarin. The DFPase was purified 330-fold to a specific activity of 18,300 n mol/min/mg protein. Its molecular weight was 34,000 dalton determined by gel-filtration chromatography. Mn2+ stimulation of the DFPase was not observed when DFP and soman were the substrates, but with sarin, the rate increased onefold in the presence of 1.0 mM of Mn2+. Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid disodium (EDTA-Na2) at 0.05 M inhibited the DFPase activity about 30%. It could be concluded that this DFPase belongs to the squid-type DFPase.

Animals↗

A voltage-clamp study of the effects of colchicine on the squid giant axon.

The effects of colchicine applied inside a squid giant axon were studied using voltage-clamp and internal perfusion techniques. It was found that colchicine selectively and reversibly suppresses the sodium conductance during excitation. The possible involvement of the microtubular structure in the functioning of the excitable channel is discussed.

Animals↗

Photoreceptor processes: some problems and perspectives.

Visual photoreceptors from both vertebrates and invertebrates are characterized by extensive elaboration of membrane which contains visual pigment (rhodopsin). Visual pigments in all phyla examined are chemically similar: the chromophore is 11-cis retinaldehyde attached by an aldimine linkage (Schiff base) to a membrane protein, opsin. The effect of light is to isomerize the chromophore to the all-trans configuration. Beyond these fundamental similarities, several specific areas are discussed in which variations and differences appear. (1) Light causes vertebrate visual pigments to bleach, liberating the chromophore. Most invertebrate visual pigments do not bleach in the light, but instead form a thermally stable metarhodopsin, with the chromophore in the all-trans configuration still attached to the opsin. (2) In the disk membranes of vertebrate rod and cone outer segments, the rhodopsin molecules are oriented with their chromophores nearly coplanar with the disks. Within this plane, however, both rotational and translational diffusion are possible. In the microvillar membranes of arthropod and cephalopod rhabdoms, on the other hand, the situation is less clear. There is evidence for some preferential orientation of chromophores that implies restrictions on Brownian rotation. (3) In the outer segments of vertebrate receptors, absorption of light by rhodopsin causes the plasma membrane to hyperpolarize due to a decrease in sodium conductance, possibly mediated by calcium ions. In most invertebrate photoreceptors, light causes a depolarization due to an increase in conductance, principally to sodium ions. A subsequent entry of calcium causes a partial repolarization of the membrane, due to a decrease in sodium conductance. (4) For vertebrate receptors, log threshold is directly proportional to the fraction of rhodopsin bleached (Dowling-Rushton relationship). The proportionality constant varies in different preparations from less than four to more than 30, and the physical basis for the relationship is unknown. For invertebrates, by contrast, the dependence of sensitivity on rhodopsin concentration is much less dramatic and may well depend simply on the probability of quantum catch. (5) In most species, vertebrate and invertebrate, the accumulation of photoproduct probably has no effect on membrane conductance, but several possible exceptions exist. (6) Photoregeneration of rhodopsin from metarhodopsin is likely an important mechanism of recovery in certain arthropods such as diurnal insects, but dark mechanisms of recovery also exist in all phyla. In no single case are they adequately understood.

Adaptation, Ocular↗

How do biological systems discriminate among physically similar ions?

This paper reviews the history of understanding how biological systems can discriminate so strikingly among physically similar ions, especially alkali cations. Appreciation of qualitative regularities ("permitted sequences") and quantitative regularities ("selectivity isotherms") in ion selectivity grew first from studies of ion exchangers and glass electrodes, then of biological systems such as enzymes and cell membranes, and most recently of lipid bilayers doped with model pores and carriers. Discrimination of ions depends on both electrostatic and steric forces. "Black-box" studies on intact biological membranes have in some cases yielded molecular clues to the structure of the actual biological pores and carriers. Major current problems involve the extraction of these molecules; how to do it, what to do when it is achieved, and how (and if) it is relevant to the central problems of membrane function. Further advances are expected soon from studies of rate barriers within membranes, of voltage-dependent ("excitable") conducting channels, and of increasingly complex model systems and biological membranes.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Purification and properties of glutamate dehydrogenase from the mantle muscle of the squid, Loligo pealeii. Role of the enzyme in energy production from amino acids.

1. The activity of glutamate dehydrogenase was measured in the tissues of the squid, Loligo pealeii. The enzyme occurs in high activity in digestive pouch, systemic heart, and all muscle tissues. 2. Glutamate dehydrogenase from mantle muscle is located intra-mitochondrially, has a molecular weight of 310,000, and is electrophoretically similar to the enzyme from all other squid tissues. 3. The enzyme from mantle muscle was purified 40-fold by elution from DEAE-cellulose and used for kinetic studies. The enzyme is NAD+-specific, activated by ADP, AMP, and leucine, and inhibited by GTP, GDP, ATP, and reaction products (in particular NADH). 4. Squid glutamate dehydrogenase shows an almost absolute dependence on ADP. The purified enzyme is activated over 100-fold by saturating concentrations of ADP (Ka = 0,75 7M); The pH optima are also altered significantly by ADP. 5. The enzyme appears to be kinetically adapted to favour glutamate oxidation in comparison to glutamate dehydrogenase from other resources. The evidence indicates that the primary role of glutamate dehydrogenase in squid mantle muscle is in regulating the catabolism of amino acids for energy production.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Closure of the squid cornea: a muscular basis for embryonic tissue movement.

The squid cornea is derived from epithelial tissue behind the eyeball. The future cornea is pulled over the developing eyeball by contraction of muscle cells which develop just behind the leading edge. Treatment with cytochalasin B or colchicine does not stop this embryonic tissue movement, suggesting that the muscle is the main motive force in corneal closure.

Animals↗

Renal organs of cephalopods: a habitat for dicyemids and chromidinids.

The renal organs of 32 species of cephalopods (renal appendage of all cephalopods, and renal and pancreatic appendages in decapods) were examined for parasite fauna and for histological comparison. Two phylogenetically distant organisms, dicyemid mesozoans and chromidinid ciliates, were found in 20 cephalopod species. Most benthic cephalopods (octopus and cuttlefish) were infected with dicyemids. Two pelagic cephalopod species, Sepioteuthis lessoniana and Todarodes pacificus, also harbored dicyemids. Chromidinid ciliates were found only in decapods (squid and cuttlefish). One dicyemid species was found in branchial heart appendages of Rossia pacifica. Dicyemids and chromidinids occasionally occurred simultaneously in Euprymna morsei, Sepia kobiensis, S. peterseni, and T. pacificus. The small-sized cephalopod species, Idiosepius paradoxus and Octopus parvus, harbored no parasites. Comparative histology revealed that the external surface of renal organs varies morphologically in various cephalopod species. The small-sized cephalopod species have a simple external surface. In contrast, the medium- to large-sized cephalopod species have a complex external surface. In the medium- to large-sized cephalopod species, their juveniles have a simple external surface of the renal organs. The external surface subsequently becomes complicated as they grow. Dicyemids and chromidinids attach their heads to epithelia or insert their heads into folds of renal appendages, pancreatic appendages, and branchial heart appendages. The rugged and convoluted external surface provides a foothold for dicyemids and chromidinids with a conical head. They apparently do not harm these tissues of their host cephalopods.

Animals↗