Uptake of ferritin from the medium byTokophrya infusionum

Summary Tokophrya infusionum, a suctorian, is deprived of a mouth opening. The uptake of ferritin from the medium is accomplished through pits, invaginations of the plasma membrane which are permanent structures. From the pits containing ferritin, flat vesicles are pinched off transporting the ferritin to the cytoplasm.Supported by grant AI-08989 US Public Health Service.The author acknowledges gratefully the excellent technical assistance of Mrs Sondra Lewengrub.     

Effect of catecholamines on ADP aggregation of rat platelets in vivo

Summary The influence of catecholamines on the platelet count was studied in an in vivo experimental model obtained with cannulation of the carotid and of the femoral vein. The i.v. infusion of epinephrine and l-norepinephrine induces a low drop in the platelet count and also potentiate aggregation by ADP.     

Thiopyrimidines: Specific inhibitors of poliovirus induced early cell damages

Riassunto Contrariamente ad altri inibitori specifici dei poliovirus che prevengono RNA-sintesi virale ed effetto citopatologico, ma non hano effetto sui danni precoci che l'infezione induce nel metabolismo cellulare, un derivato tiopirimidinico è anche capace di impedire il blocco precocem virus indotto, delle proteino-sinsteis cellulari.

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This work has been supported by the Consigiio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome (Italy).     

Sintesi dell'acido clorogenico

Summary Quinic acid methyl ester, having the 1.4 and 5 hydroxy-groups suitably blocked, was condensed with the carbonilcaffeic acid chloride.Gradual hydrolysis of the condensation compound gave place to chlorogenic acid.     

ATPase activity of guinea pig heart muscle

Riassunto L'Autore ha studiato l'influenza della concentrazione degli ioni Ca⁺⁺ e Mg⁺⁺ sull'ATPasi degli atri e dei ventricoli di cuore di cavia. Tale attività è maggiore a pH 9,2 che a pH 6,8. Mentre il Ca⁺⁺ influisce differenziando decisamente le attività degli atri da quelle dei ventricoli, il Mg⁺⁺ accentua piuttosto una differenza tra la parte destra e la sinistra. Il calore distrugge quasi completamente l'attività enzimatica dopo una permanenza a 60° per 20 min.     

Generation and annotation of the DNA sequences of human chromosomes 2 and 4

Human chromosome 2 is unique to the human lineage in being the product of a head-to-head fusion of two intermediate-sized ancestral chromosomes. Chromosome 4 has received attention primarily related to the search for the Huntington's disease gene, but also for genes associated with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, polycystic kidney disease and a form of muscular dystrophy. Here we present approximately 237 million base pairs of sequence for chromosome 2, and 186 million base pairs for chromosome 4, representing more than 99.6% of their euchromatic sequences. Our initial analyses have identified 1,346 protein-coding genes and 1,239 pseudogenes on chromosome 2, and 796 protein-coding genes and 778 pseudogenes on chromosome 4. Extensive analyses confirm the underlying construction of the sequence, and expand our understanding of the structure and evolution of mammalian chromosomes, including gene deserts, segmental duplications and highly variant regions.     

Structures of ParB bound to DNA reveal mechanism of partition complex formation

The faithful inheritance of genetic information, which is essential for all organisms, requires accurate DNA partition (segregation) at cell division. In prokaryotes, partition is mediated by par systems, for which the P1 plasmid system of Escherichia coli is a prototype comprising a partition site and two proteins, ParA and ParB. To form the partition complex necessary for segregation, P1 ParB must recognize a complicated arrangement of A-box and B-box DNA motifs located on opposite ends of a sharply bent parS partition site of approximately 74 bp (refs 3-7). Here we describe structures of ParB bound to partition sites. ParB forms an asymmetric dimer with extended amino-terminal HTH (helix-turn-helix) domains that contact A-boxes. The two HTH domains emanate from a dimerized DNA-binding module composed of a six-stranded beta-sheet coiled-coil that binds B-boxes. Strikingly, these individual DNA-binding modules rotate freely about a flexible linker, enabling them to contact several arrangements of A- and B-boxes. Most notably, each DNA-binding element binds to and thus bridges adjacent DNA duplexes. These unique structural features of ParB explain how this protein can bind complex arrays of A- and B-box elements on adjacent DNA arms of the looped partition site.