Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. B, Comparative Biochemistry

1. The hemoglobins of the trematode Isoparorchis hypselobagri and of its host Wallagu attu (catfish) were isolated and purified. 2. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed both to consist of single, 15-17 kDa chains, having different electrophoretic mobilities. 3. Isoelectric focusing showed the trematode hemoglobin to be homogeneous with a pI of 4.2 and the host hemoglobin to consist of several components. 4. Gel filtration of freshly prepared trematode hemoglobin revealed one peak corresponding to M(r) approximately 17 kDa; gel filtration of a preparation which had been stored for 2-3 months demonstrated the presence of two peaks, whose elution volumes corresponded to M(r) of ca 35 and 17 kDa, respectively...

1. The use of an Ultrogel AcA 54 gel-filtration column separates camel lens cortex low molecular weight proteins into four peaks containing beta s-, gamma 1-, gamma 2- and gamma 3-crystallins. 2. The molecular weight of beta s-crystallin corresponded to 29 kDa on SDS-PAGE and showed three major bands between pH 5.85 and 8.45 on isoelectric focusing. In addition, as compared to gamma-crystallins it has a lower degree of homology in amino acid composition, a low sulfhydryl content and a blocked N-terminal amino acid...

1. Serum proteins of brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) were studied by the use of 1D PAGE, 2D agarose-PAGE, immunoblotting, inhibitions of trypsin and chymotrypsin, and specific staining for esterase. 2. Some serum proteins were identified, and easily interpretable polymorphisms were found in transferrin alpha 1B glycoprotein, protease inhibitors ATC2, ATC3 and AT1, esterase ES1 and in an unidentified postalbumin PO. 3. On the basis of family studies the evidence was obtained that the variants observed in these polymorphic proteins are under genetic control by codominant alleles of autosomal loci...

1. An arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) of the parasitic nematode, Ascaridia galli was studied using either [14C]serotonin (5-HT) or [14C]octopamine (OA) as substrates and with acetyl-CoA as the donor of the acetate group. 2. The NAT activity towards 5-HT and OA co-eluted from a size-exclusion column and appeared to have an M(r) of around 30,000. The enzyme had apparent Km values of 540 +/- 100 microM (+/- SEM) and 33 +/- 4 microM (+/- SEM) for 5-HT and octopamine, respectively, when assayed in the presence of 1 mM acetyl-CoA...

1. Asparagine-linked sugar chains released by hydrazinolysis from IgGs of porcine, equine, bovine, goat, ovine, canine, rabbit, guinea-pig and rat were comparatively analyzed by microsequencing and lectin affinity chromatography. 2. Sugar chains of all IgGs basically consisted of biantennary complex-type oligosaccharides containing 0-2 sialic acid residue(s). More than 70% of the oligosaccharides were neutral, except for guinea-pig IgG, and fucosylated trimannosyl core structures were dominant except for rabbit IgG...

1. A method developed for the isolation of phosvitin from chicken egg yolk was successfully applied to the isolation of phosvitin from salmon eggs. 2. Salmon roe phosvitin is smaller in molecular size than chicken egg phosvitin. 3. Circular dichroism spectra of all phosvitins investigated displayed good similarities with spectra showing characteristics of unordered and beta-sheet secondary structure. 4. The main component in the Fourier transform infrared spectra of chicken egg phosvitin is indicative of unordered conformation, whereas the Fourier infrared data of the salmon egg phosvitin are consistent with more of beta-sheet structure compared to the chicken egg phosvitin...

1. Phospholipase C activity present in the membranes of Xenopus laevis oocytes has been studied. 2. These membranes contain an activity capable of hydrolyzing phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. 3. Hydrolysis of PtdIns 4,5-P2 is absolutely dependent on the presence of Ca2+, however, the hydrolysis of PtdIns occurs in the absence of Ca2+ but addition of the cation stimulates the reaction. 4. Spermine, spermidine and polylysine cause significant stimulation of the phospholipase C activity...

1. The effects of varying pH and substrate on isolated skeletal muscle mitochondria from Bufo marinus and Rana catesbeiana were investigated. 2. For both species, VO2 max significantly decreased at all pH < 7.3 (P < 0.05), while maximum values were observed at a pH range of 7.3-7.6 with B. marinus maintaining a greater VO2 max than R. catesbeiana. 3. Respiratory control values (RCR) decreased significantly at all pH < 6.9 for both species (P < 0.05). 4. Isolated mitochondria from both species were maintained at pH = 7...

1. In almost all studies involving localization or quantitation of regulatory peptides, an essential prerequisite is the generation of specific antisera in rabbits. Despite this almost universal practice, the primary structures of some established regulatory peptides, such as pancreatic polypeptide (PP), of the rabbit, remain unknown. 2. Here we report the full primary structure of PP isolated from extracts of rabbit pancreas. 3. PP immunoreactivity was purified using an antiserum (PP 221) generated to the highly-conserved C-terminal hexapeptide amide of mammalian PP...

1. We demonstrate the difference between the reactions of camel (Camelus dromedarius) lymphocytes and erythrocytes to heat-shock treatment. 2. Lymphocytes of this organism characteristically have a higher resistance of general protein synthesis to elevated temperature in comparison with human lymphocytes. 3. Camel lymphocytes exhibited strong induction of constitutively expressed 73 kDa heat-shock protein (hsp 73) after heat-shock but failed to synthesize an inducible member of the same family (hsp 72) at high temperatures...

1. The electrophoretic characteristics of feline (Felis catus) and canine (Canis familiaris) milk lysozymes were studied using starch gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. 2. Feline milk lysozyme was found to be polymorphic (two variants, designated A and B with frequencies of 0.13 and 0.87, respectively). Canine milk lysozyme was not polymorphic. 3. The lytic activities of feline and canine milk lysozymes were examined in buffers of varying pH and ionic strength. Preliminary kinetics studies were done...

1. Cholesterol metabolism has been characterized in three species of New World primates, the cotton-top tamarin, the saddle-back tamarin, and the squirrel monkey. 2. When fed a diet containing cholesterol, the three species exhibited differing responses of plasma cholesterol levels. 3. Dietary cholesterol absorption was determined and plasma cholesterol die-away kinetics were analyzed in terms of a two-pool model. 4. The results of the analyses of cholesterol turnover are consistent with the observed species-specific differences in plasma cholesterol values and cholesterol absorption...

1. The intravascular metabolism of the cholesteryl esters (CE) and apoproteins of low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL) was compared in the rat, an animal species without plasma cholesteryl ester transfer activity (CETA). 2. The apoproteins and the CE of LDL had identical catabolic rates, and there was no transfer of LDL CE to other lipoprotein classes. 3. The CE of the HDL, however, had higher catabolic rates than the apoproteins, and there was transfer of HDL CE to LDL but not to very low density lipoproteins...

1. The properties of Na+/K(+)-transporting ATPase in microsomal preparation from mid-gut of the grasshopper, Poekilocerus bufonius, were investigated and compared with the same enzyme from brain and excretory system. 2. Two components of ATPases activity are present in the three tissues studied. 3. The physiochemical properties of Na+/K(+)-transporting ATPase from mid-gut, brain and excretory system (hind-gut plus Malpighian tubules) are essentially the same. 4. The calculated values of PI50 were 2 (I50 = 1 x 10(-2) M), 3...

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1. Soluble esterases of digestive system organs of various developmental stages in the quail (Coturnix coturnix) were resolved by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis into several molecular forms which were characterized as carboxylesterases, acetylesterases, cholinesterases and esterases sensitive to eserine. 2. The pI of the majority of esterasic activity in several quail and chicken tissues was observed in the range of 5.1-5.6, while the apparent molecular weight in liver extracts was 60,000. 3. The expression of the esterase multiple molecular forms was found to be both tissue- and developmental stage-specific, with electrophoretic patterns becoming more complex in number and/or staining intensity upon hatching and thereafter, especially in liver and intestine...

1. The activity of the lipogenic enzyme, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, was investigated in four insect species; Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera), Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera), Glossina morsitans and Sarcophaga nodosa (Diptera). 2. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity in larval, pupal and adult forms was compared with the saponifiable lipid mass at each stage of the life-cycle, and found to follow similar patterns except for Tenebrio molitor. 3. The results are examined in relation to known metabolic requirements for each insect...

1. Gerbils were scored for seizure severity and duration and ambulatory and rearing behaviours on presentation with an "open field". 2. Eight seizure-prone (SP) and eight non-seizure-prone (NSP) gerbils were killed and their brains treated to inactivate enzymes before division into corticate and decorticate regions for amino acid analysis. 3. SP animals showed more ambulatory activity on later presentations (trials 3-5) with the open field compared to NSP animals. 4. Statistics showed seizure propensity related to high levels of glutamine and arginine and to low levels of glutamate, aspartate, citrulline, cysteine and glycine...

1. DNA-DNA hybridization showed that mussels (Mytilus edulis) and oysters (Crassostrea gigas) possess a highly conserved region constituting one or more genes of the ATP-dependent transmembrane transporter family to which belong the mammalian tumor cell genes responsible for multi-drug resistance. 2. Monoclonal antibody C219 visualized two proteins (220 and 240 kDa) which varied quantitatively in mussels depending on the level of organic pollution at the sampling sites. 3. The authors consider whether certain pollutants in the marine environment are capable of inducing pollutant-resistant gene expression...

1. The myelin protein profiles in the CNS and PNS of three species of amphibians were analyzed by biochemical and immunohistochemical methods. 2. The CNS myelin of the African clawed frog (Xenopus) and the Mexican salamander (axolotl) contained, in addition to proteolipid protein, a unique protein zero (P0)-like protein, whereas the adult bullfrog did not. 3. A strong expression of the P0-like protein in the bullfrog CNS myelin was found transiently at ontogenetically early phases including at the time of metamorphosis...