Antigen competition: a paradox

Immunization of mice with pig erythrocytes caused impairment of the antibody response to subsequent immunization with sheep erythrocytes, a phenomenon called "antigen competition." Paradoxically, spleen cells from mice previously injected with pig erythrocytes produced an increased response when immunized in vitro with sheep erythrocytes. Augmentation of the in vitro response is due to an increase in one of the interacting cell types. "Antigen competition" is not due to competition for cells. Cell transfer experiments provided evidence that "antigen competition" observed in animals is the result of a humoral factor, presumably antibody, present in the animal but eliminated during preparation of cells for culture.     

Polymorphism of sickle cell hemoglobin aggregates: structural basis for limited radial growth

Fibers composed of molecules of deoxygenated sickle cell hemoglobin are the basic cause of pathology in sickle cell disease. The hemoglobin molecules in these fibers are arranged in double strands that twist around one another with a long axial repeat. These fibrous aggregates exhibit a pattern of polymorphism in which the ratio of their helical pitch to their radius is approximately constant. The observed ratio agrees with an estimate of its value calculated from the geometric properties of helical assemblies and the degree of distortion that a protein-protein interface can undergo. This agreement indicates that the radius of an aggregate is limited by the maximum possible stretching of double strands. The geometric properties limiting the radial extent of sickle hemoglobin fibers are fundamental to all cables of protein filaments and could contribute to the control of diameter in other biological fibers such as collagen or fibrin.     

Allelopathy between zooplankton: a mechanism for interference competition

The filtering rate of the copepod Diaptomus tyrrelli is reduced in the presence of its potential competitor and predator, Epischura nevadensis, by as much as 60 percent. This effect is caused by a chemical released into the water by Epischura. The chemical does not pass through dialysis tubing with a pore size of 10(4) angstroms, indicating that it is a large molecular weight compound. The reduction in filtering rate is the result of interference competition between two species and may be linked to the evolution of a mechanism for avoiding predation.     

Androgens prevent normally occurring cell death in a sexually dimorphic spinal nucleus

The spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB) contains many more motoneurons in adult male rats than in females. Androgens establish this sex difference during a critical perinatal period, which coincides with normally occurring cell death in the SNB region. Sex differences in SNB motoneuron number arise primarily because motoneuron loss is greater in females than in males during the early postnatal period. Perinatal androgen treatment in females attenuates cell death in the SNB region, reducing motoneuron loss to levels typical of males. The results suggest that steroid hormones determine sex differences in neuron number by regulating normally occurring cell death and that the timing of this cell death may therefore define critical periods for steroid effects on neuron number.     

Regulated virulence controls the ability of a pathogen to compete with the gut microbiota

The virulence mechanisms that allow pathogens to colonize the intestine remain unclear. Here, we show that germ-free animals are unable to eradicate Citrobacter rodentium, a model for human infections with attaching and effacing bacteria. Early in infection, virulence genes were expressed and required for pathogen growth in conventionally raised mice but not germ-free mice. Virulence gene expression was down-regulated during the late phase of infection, which led to relocation of the pathogen to the intestinal lumen where it was outcompeted by commensals. The ability of commensals to outcompete C. rodentium was determined, at least in part, by the capacity of the pathogen and commensals to grow on structurally similar carbohydrates. Thus, pathogen colonization is controlled by bacterial virulence and through competition with metabolically related commensals.     

Soluble membrane antigens of lip and cervical carcinomas: reactivity with antibody for herpesvirus nonvirion antigens

With the use of antibody for herpesvirus nonvirion antigens (not structural components of the virus) complement fixing reactivity has been shown for soluble membrane antigens separated from lip and cervical carcinomas but not for similar extracts from normal vaginal tissue or intestinal carcinoma. Neither the serum obtained from the guinea pig before hyperimmunization with the herpesvirus nonvirion antigen nor the antiserum of guinea pigs immunized with comparable uninfected cell extracts reacted with these tumor soluble membrane antigens. Since the above soluble membrane antigens could be specific markers for the presence of virus genome within the tumor cells, the findings could support an etiological role of herpesvirus in selected human malignancies.     

Homoreactant: a naturally occurring autoantibody in rabbits

Homoreactant, a factor found in the serum of every normal rabbit tested thus far, reacts specifically with buried antigenic determinants on the Fab-fragment of papain-digested autologous and homologous gammaG-globulin. It appears that rabbits normally produce naturally occurring autoantibodies.     

Small cell carcinoma of the lung: macrophage-specific antigens suggest hemopoietic stem cell origin

Four surface antigens previously recognized only in macrophages are present on human small cell lung carcinoma cells and tumors. Cancerous cells may arise from macrophage precursors in bone marrow, and these precursors migrate to lung to participate in the repair of damaged tissue produced by continuous heavy smoking. The characteristic presence of neuropeptides such as bombesin in small cell carcinoma, when considered along with these findings, presents new possibilities for the role of such peptides in nervous, endocrine, and immune system function.     

Triacontanol: a new naturally occurring plant growth regulator

Alfalfa meal and chloroform extracts of the meal have increased the growth and yield of several plant species. A crystalline substance isolated from the active fraction of alfalfa meal increased the dry weight and water uptake of rice seedlings when sprayed on the foliage or applied in nutrient culture. The substance was identified as triacontanol by mass spectrometry. Sprays containing this compound also increased the growth of corn, and barley grown in soil. Authentic triacontanol produced a similar response over a wide range of concentrations on rice grown in nutrient cultures and tomatoes grown in soil.     

Soma-germ line competition for lipid phosphate uptake regulates germ cell migration and survival

Lipid phosphates can act as signaling molecules to influence cell division, apoptosis, and migration. wunen and wunen2 encode Drosophila lipid phosphate phosphohydrolases, integral membrane enzymes that dephosphorylate extracellular lipid phosphates. wun and wun2 act redundantly in somatic tissues to repel migrating germ cells, although the mechanism by which germ cells respond is unclear. Here, we report that wun2 also functions in germ cells, enabling them to perceive the wun/wun2-related signal from the soma. Upon Wun2 expression, cultured insect cells dephosphorylate and internalize exogenously supplied lipid phosphate. We propose that Drosophila germ cell migration and survival are controlled by competition for hydrolysis of a lipid phosphate between germ cells and soma.     

Sedimentary phosphate method for estimating paleosalinities: limited applicability

The sedimentary phosphate method for estimating paleosalinities was tested on argillaceous sediments from different formations and environments. Results reveal that the method cannot be used generally.     

Naturally occurring antihormones: secretion of FSH antagonists by women treated with a GnRH analog

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is a glycoprotein essential for gonadal development and steroidogenesis. Recent studies suggest that deglycosylation of FSH results in the formation of antagonistic proteins that are capable of binding to gonadal receptors but that are devoid of bioactivity. Treatment of hypogonadal women with an antagonist of gonadotropin-releasing hormone substantially decreased serum FSH bioactivity with minimal changes in immunoreactivity. Chromatofocusing and size fractionation of the serum samples indicated the secretion of immunoreactive FSH isoforms that are devoid of bioactivity but that are capable of blocking FSH action in ovarian granulosa cells. These findings provide the first demonstration of naturally occurring circulating antihormones. These FSH antagonists may play an important role in the physiology and pathophysiology of the gonads.     

Antibodies to cell membrane antigens associated with human T-cell leukemia virus in patients with AIDS

The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which has recently occurred at increasing rates in homosexual men, intravenous drug users, and others, is characterized by the development of Kaposi's sarcoma and several opportunistic infections including pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis carinii. Serum samples from patients with AIDS and from matched and unmatched control subjects were examined for the presence of antibodies to cell membrane antigens associated with human T-cell leukemia virus. Nineteen of 75 of the AIDS patients had antibodies directed to surface antigens of Hut 102, a reference T lymphoid cell line infected with leukemia virus, as did two of the 336 control subjects.     

Todorokites: a new family of naturally occurring manganese oxides

Todorokites are found in numerous terrestrial deposits and are important copper- and nickel-bearing materials in manganese nodules. Their structures are highly disordered, not well known, and controversial. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that terrestrial todorokites consist of tunnel structures of previously unreported dimensions and that these tunnel structures are intergrown coherently on a unit cell scale. Many types and degrees of disorder are evident in the high-resolution images. These newly discovered structures indicate a need for a revised nomenclature of tunnel manganese oxides, and such a system is suggested.     

Temporal frequency of subthreshold oscillations scales with entorhinal grid cell field spacing

Grid cells in layer II of rat entorhinal cortex fire to spatial locations in a repeating hexagonal grid, with smaller spacing between grid fields for neurons in more dorsal anatomical locations. Data from in vitro whole-cell patch recordings showed differences in frequency of subthreshold membrane potential oscillations in entorhinal neurons that correspond to different positions along the dorsal-to-ventral axis, supporting a model of physiological mechanisms for grid cell responses.     

Pla a 1的抗原表位分析

[目的]预测Plaa1抗原的免疫原性及B细胞表位。[方法]联合运用多种方法预测Plaa1的二级结构并预测其表面特性,如亲水性、可塑性及抗原表位。[结果]该蛋白是一个分子量约19kDa,pI值约8．7,主要为α-螺旋的结构紧凑的球形蛋白。预测其亲水性区域：32-42,55—59,76—8,88—89,92-98,110-112,118-127,140—151,157—163;预测其可塑性区域．28—40,49—57,76—80,87-98,109-114,121—125,137-139,144—151,154—162;预测其蛋白质抗原表位区域：29-42,49-60,75-78,86—100,107-114,116—130,134—152,156—164;预测其转角结构区域：39-42,51,55,88—89。[结论]Plaa1抗原蛋白具有较强的免疫原性;其主要的抗原表位集中于29—42,49—60,86—100,而这些预测结果为进一步寻求梧桐花粉变态反应的防治方法提供了依据。     

Circadian oscillations in rodents: a systematic increase of their frequency with age

The circadian activity rhythms of golden hamsters and two species of deermouse, when released from a light-dark cycle of 12 hours light and 12 hours of darkness into constant darkness, had progressively shorter periods as the animals became older. A possible bearing of this fact on the aging process is briefly outlined.