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The structure of arthropod hemocyanins.

Hemocyanins are large multi-subunit copper proteins that transport oxygen in many arthropods and molluscs. Comparison of the amino acid sequence data for seven different subunits of arthropod hemocyanins from crustaceans and chelicerates shows many highly conserved residues and extensive regions of near identity. This correspondence can be matched closely with the three domain structure established by x-ray crystallography for spiny lobster hemocyanin. The degree of identity is particularly striking in the second domain of the subunit that contains the six histidines which ligate the two oxygen-binding copper atoms. The polypeptide architecture of spiny lobster hemocyanin appears to be the same in all arthropods. This structure must therefore be at least as old as the estimated time of divergence of crustaceans and chelicerates, about 540 to 600 million years ago.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Specificity and evolutionary divergence of the antigenic structure of the polypeptide chain elongation factors.

Antisera have been prepared against two electrophoretically homogeneous "polypeptide chain elongation factors," T and G, from Escherichia coli. Inactivation and precipitation tests showed that these two fractions were antigenically distinct with no cross-reaction. The immune inactivation curve of G factor from E. coli was distinguishable from that of G factor from Pseudomonas fluorescens. Mammalian factors were not inhibited by antibody directed against the E. coli T and G factors. By Ouchterlony diffusion tests, the antisera also detected significant antigenic variability among different bacterial species. It is concluded that the factors have undergone considerable evolutionary divergence in their antigenic structure.

Antigens↗

Immunochemical and enzymatic comparisons of the tryptophan synthase alpha subunits from five species of Enterobacteriaceae.

The reactive surface structures of alpha subunits of tryptophan synthase from Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhimurium, Aerobacter aerogenes, and Serratia marcescens were compared by measuring (i) their reactivities in micro-complement-fixation assays with antibodies directed specifically to E. coli wild-type alpha subunit, (ii) their reactivities in enzyme neutralization assays with the same antibodies, and (iii) their binding affinities for tryptophan synthase beta(2) subunits. The enzymes from the four heterologous species cross-reacted in the microcomplement-fixation assays with the anti-E. coli alpha subunit antibodies, each to a different degree. However, neutralization titers of the antibodies reacting with the various alpha subunits were comparatively similar, and the beta(2) subunit-binding and -stimulating abilities of the alpha subunits were even more closely alike. The results suggested that the tertiary structure of the beta(2) subunit-binding site of the alpha subunit has been conserved, relative to the rest of the molecule, during the evolutionary divergence of the species of Enterobacteriaceae.

Antigen-Antibody Reactions↗

Demystified. Nitric oxide.

The discovery of nitric oxide (NO) demonstrated that cells could communicate via the manufacture and local diffusion of an unstable lipid soluble molecule. Since the original demonstration of the vascular relaxant properties of endothelium derived NO, this fascinating molecule has been shown to have multiple, complex roles within many biological systems. This review cannot hope to cover all of the recent advances in NO biology, but seeks to place the discovery of NO in its historical context, and show how far our understanding has come in the past 20 years. The role of NO in mitochondrial respiration, and consequently in oxidative stress, is described in detail because these processes probably underline the importance of NO in the development of disease.

Animals↗

Heteronuclear NMR pulse sequences applied to biomolecules.

Current concepts in heteronuclear multidimensional NMR spectroscopy are reviewed. Methods to improve the sensitivity and the efficiency of data collection include constant time, compression through the overlap of chemical shift evolution and dephasing and rephasing periods, and dual or time-shared evolution. Two classes of three-dimensional and four-dimensional triple-resonance experiments applied to proteins are considered. The first class correlates 1H, 15N, and 13C signals of the protein backbone. The second class correlates both backbone and side-chain signals. Application of triple resonance to RNA is also discussed. Heteronuclear cross polarization (HCP) is considered as an alternative to INEPT transfer, and its application to nucleic acids is presented. Finally, two methods of employing pulsed field gradients (PFGs) are reviewed.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy↗