Quantitative aspects of plasma membrane-associated immunoglobulin in clones of diploid human lymphocytes

The amount of kappa and lambda chains and Fc fragment associated with the plasma membrane and in the entire cell has been measured for eight lines of human lymphocytes and 21 clones derived from two diploid lines. There was considerable variation in the nature and amount of membrane-associated immunoglobulin and total immunoglobulin among different cell lines and clones. Cells with different phenotypes for membrane-associated immunoglobulin were utilized to show that it is not simply absorbed from the culture medium onto the plasma membrane. The methods are useful for selecting variants which lack or have altered membrane-associated immunoglobulin.     

Antibodies to peptides detect new hepatitis B antigen: serological correlation with hepatocellular carcinoma

The expression of a previously unidentified gene product, encoded by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome, has been achieved with a recombinant SV40 expression vector. Antibodies against synthetic peptides representing defined regions of this protein were used to screen cells infected with recombinant virus as well as tissues naturally infected with HBV. A 24,000-dalton protein (p24) was detected in cells infected with recombinant virus and a 28,000-dalton protein (p28) was detected in tissues infected with HBV. The peptides or recombinant-derived protein were used as antigens to screen sera from individuals infected with HBV. Specific antibodies were detected predominantly in sera from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The presence of p28 in tissues infected with HBV and the appearance of specific antibodies in infectious sera establish the existence of an additional marker for HBV infection.     

Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Great spectral simplification can be obtained by spreading the conventional one-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum in two independent frequency dimensions. This so-called two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy removes spectral overlap, facilitates spectral assignment, and provides a wealth of additional information. For example, conformational information related to interproton distances is available from resonance intensities in certain types of two-dimensional experiments. Another method generates 1H NMR spectra of a preselected fragment of the molecule, suppressing resonances from other regions and greatly simplifying spectral appearance. Two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy can also be applied to the study of 13C and 15N, not only providing valuable connectivity information but also improving sensitivity of 13C and 15N detection by up to two orders of magnitude.     

Giant wormlike rubber micelles

A low molecular weight poly(ethyleneoxide)-poly(butadiene) (PEO-PB) diblock copolymer containing 50 weight percent PEO forms gigantic wormlike micelles at low concentrations (<5 percent by weight) in water. Subsequent generation of free radicals with a conventional water-based redox reaction leads to chemical cross-linking of the PB cores without disruption of the cylindrical morphology, as evidenced by cryotransmission electron microscopy and small-angle neutron scattering experiments. These wormlike rubber micelles exhibit unusual viscoelastic properties in water.     

Quality and endosperm storage protein variation in Argentinean grown bread wheat. I. Allelic diversity and discrimination between cultivars

Genetic variability for endosperm storage proteins was analysed in 119 Argentinean grown bread wheat cultivars. For the HMW-GS, three, six and two alleles were observed at the Glu-A1, Glu-B1 and Glu-D1 loci, respectively, in 17 allelic combinations. The majority of these combinations were considered to be associated with good quality. For the LMW-GS, eight, seven and four alleles were provisionally observed at the Glu-A3, Glu-B3 and Glu-D3 loci, respectively, in 51 allelic combinations. Regarding quality, the alleles present at Glu-D3 were mainly those previously shown to be associated with good quality, whereas at Glu-A3 and Glu-B3, some alleles previously associated with poor quality were present at high frequency. Relatively few cultivars carried combinations for all the loci studied that would be expected to be associated with high quality. The mean genetic variation index (H) observed for the glutenin loci (0.589) was similar to values observed in other collections. Unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA) of the six loci plus the Chinese Spring-Cheyenne CSS–CNN difference showed that the 119 cultivars fell into 93 distinct combinations. For complete discrimination between all cultivars they would have to be analysed for additional loci. There remains scope for varietal quality improvement within this germplasm pool.     

Evaluation of hepatitis E virus infection between different production systems of pigs in Brazil

The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the occurrence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in pigs from large-scale and family-scale farms, (2) genetically characterize the strains isolated, and (3) study the pathogenesis of swine HEV infection via immunohistochemistry. A total of 50 pigs from 10 farms in Mato Grosso State, Brazil were divided according to type of production system into either large-scale farms (n?=?5) or family-scale farms (n?=?5). Samples of liver, gallbladder, small and large intestines, bile, and feces from the pigs were analyzed by nested PCR with primers targeting the ORF2 region of HEV and by immunohistochemistry. Of the eight HEV-positive samples from pigs of family-scale farms, phylogenetic analysis revealed that seven of the swine HEV isolates clustered with subtype 3b of genotype 3 and one isolate was categorized with subtype 3 f. The HEV antigen was detected mainly in the small intestine samples from family-scale farms, suggesting an early stage HEV infection. HEV was not detected in the samples of pigs from large-scale farms, reinforcing the need for additional studies to evaluate the risk of transmission of HEV to humans from pigs from family-scale farms in Mato Grosso State.     

Ameliorative Effects of Melatonin against Hydrogen Peroxide‐Induced Oxidative Stress on Boar Sperm Characteristics and Subsequent In Vitro Embryo Development

Melatonin, the major secretory product of the pineal gland, scavenges a variety of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in vivo and in vitro, indicating that melatonin is a potent function as an antioxidant. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of melatonin in the presence or absence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) on sperm characteristics (motility, viability, survival rate, membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and mitochondria activity) and also to examine the developmental rates to the blastocysts stage of porcine oocytes fertilized in vitro with semen treated with or without melatonin (100 nm ) in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ (250 μm ). The sperm were treated with melatonin in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ for 3, 6, 9 and 12 h at 37°C and then analysed for the sperm characteristics. The porcine embryos were produced by in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization (IVM/IVF) using semen treated with or without melatonin (100 nm ) in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ (250 μm ) for 6 h. The semen characteristics, including motility, viability, survival rate, membrane integrity and mitochondria activity, were higher in the groups that were treated with melatonin in comparison to other groups, irrespective of incubation periods. Malondialdehyde levels in control, melatonin and melatonin + H₂O₂ groups were lower than H₂O₂ only group. A positive correlation was shown among motility, viability, survival rate and membrane integrity, but a negative correlation was observed between LPO and the other evaluation methods. The developmental rates to blastocysts of IVM/IVF porcine oocytes fertilized by semen treated with melatonin were significantly increased compared with any other groups, with the cell number of blastocysts shown to have a similar trend to the developmental rates. These results demonstrate that melatonin can improve the semen characteristics during in vitro storage and support the developmental ability of IVM/IVF embryos in pigs.