Host-parasitoid associations in patchy environments

Studies of insect host-parasitoid interactions have contributed much to the consensus that spatial patchiness is important in the regulation of natural populations. A variety of theoretical models predict that host and parasitoid populations, although unstable in the absence of environmental heterogeneity, may persist at roughly steady overall densities in a patchy environment owing to variation in levels of parasitism from patch to patch. Observed patterns of parasitism, however, have a variety of forms (with variation in attack rates among patches depending directly or indirectly on host density, or showing variation uncorrelated with host density). There is some confusion about the dynamical consequences of these different forms. Here we first show how the dynamical effects of all these forms of environmental heterogeneity can be assessed by a common criterion. This 'CV2 greater than 1 rule' states that the overall population densities will remain roughly steady from generation to generation if the coefficient of variation squared (CV2) of the density of searching parasitoids in the vicinity of each host exceeds approximately unity. By partitioning CV2 into components, we show that both direct and inverse patterns of dependence on host density, and density-independent patterns, all contribute to population regulation in the same way. Second, we show how a maximum-likelihood method can be applied to the kind of field data that are usually available (that is, percentage parasitism versus local host density) to estimate the components of CV2. This analysis indicates that heterogeneity is large enough to stabilize dynamics in 9 of 34 published studies, and that density-independent heterogeneity is the main factor in most cases.     

Molecular cloning of the microtubule-associated mechanochemical enzyme dynamin reveals homology with a new family of GTP-binding proteins

A complementary DNA encoding the D100 polypeptide of rat brain dynamin--a force-producing, microtubule-activated nucleotide triphosphatase--has been cloned and sequenced. The predicted amino acid sequence includes a guanine nucleotide-binding domain that is homologous with those of a family of antiviral factors, inducible by interferon and known as Mx proteins, and with the product of the essential yeast vacuolar protein sorting gene VPS1. These relationships imply the existence of a new family of GTPases with physiological roles that may include microtubule-based motility and protein sorting.     

Cloning of a probable potassium channel gene from mouse brain

Potassium channels comprise a diverse class of ion channels important for neuronal excitability and plasticity. The recent cloning of the Shaker locus from Drosophila melanogaster has provided a starting point for molecular studies of potassium channels. Predicted Shaker proteins appear to be integral membrane proteins and have a sequence similar to the sequence of the S4 segment of the vertebrate sodium channel, where the S4 segment has been proposed to be the voltage sensor. Expression studies in frog oocytes confirm that Shaker encodes a component of a potassium channel (the A channel) that conducts a fast transient potassium current. Here we report the isolation of complementary DNA clones from the mouse brain, the nucleotide sequences of which predict a protein remarkably similar to the Shaker protein. The strong conservation of the predicted protein sequence in flies and mammals suggests that these mouse clones encode a potassium channel component and that the conserved amino acids may be essential to some aspect of potassium channel function.     

A new A4 amyloid mRNA contains a domain homologous to serine proteinase inhibitors

The amyloid proteins isolated from neuritic plaques and the cerebrovasculature of Alzheimer's disease are self-aggregating moieties termed A4 protein and beta-protein, respectively. A putative A4 amyloid precursor (herein termed A4(695] has been characterized by analysis of a human brain complementary DNA. We report here the sequence of a closely related amyloid cDNA, A4(751), distinguished from A4(695) by the presence of a 168 base-pair (bp) sequence which adds 57 amino acids to, and removes one residue from, the predicted A4(695) protein. The peptide predicted from this insert is very similar to the Kunitz family of serine proteinase inhibitors. The two A4-specific messenger RNAs are differentially expressed: in a limited survey, A4(751) mRNA appears to be ubiquitous, whereas A4(695) mRNA has a restricted pattern of expression which includes cells from neuronal tissue. These data may have significant implications for understanding amyloid deposition in Alzheimer's disease.     

Insulin-stimulated MAP-2 kinase phosphorylates and activates ribosomal protein S6 kinase II

Ribosomal protein S6 is a component of the eukaryotic 40S ribosomal subunit that becomes phosphorylated on multiple serine residues in response to a variety of mitogens, including insulin, growth factors, and transforming proteins of many oncogenic viruses. Recently, an activated S6 kinase (S6 K II) has been purified to homogeneity from Xenopus eggs, and characterized immunologically and at the molecular level. Purified S6 K II can be deactivated in vitro by incubation with either protein phosphatase 1 or protein phosphatase 2A. Reactivation and phosphorylation of S6 K II occurs in vitro with an insulin-stimulated microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2) protein kinase which is itself a phosphoprotein that can be deactivated by protein phosphatase 2A. These studies suggest that a step in insulin signalling involves sequential activation by phosphorylation of at least two serine/threonine protein kinases.     

Protease inhibitor domain encoded by an amyloid protein precursor mRNA associated with Alzheimer's disease

Amyloid B-protein/amyloid A4 is a peptide present in the neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and cerebrovascular deposits in patients with Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome (trisomy 21) and may be involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Recent molecular genetic studies have indicated that amyloid protein is encoded as part of a larger protein by a gene on human chromosome 21 (refs 6-9). The amyloid protein precursor (APP) gene is expressed in brain and in several peripheral tissues, but the specific biochemical events leading to deposition of amyloid are not known. We have now screened complementary DNA libraries constructed from peripheral tissues to determine whether the messenger RNA encoding APP in these tissues is identical to that expressed in brain, and we identify a second APP mRNA that encodes an additional internal domain with a sequence characteristic of a Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor. The alternative APP mRNA is present in both brain and peripheral tissues of normal individuals and those with Alzheimer's disease, but its pattern of expression differs from that of the previously reported APP mRNA.     

Novel anti-inflammatory peptides from the region of highest similarity between uteroglobin and lipocortin I

Significant future developments in the effective treatment of inflammatory diseases may arise from non-toxic dual inhibitors of both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways in the arachidonate cascade. Inhibition of phospholipase A2(PLA2)(EC3.1.1.4), may provide such a dual action and recent research has concentrated on the role of PLA2-inhibitory proteins as possible anti-inflammatory agents. Blastokinin or uteroglobin is a steroid-induced rabbit secretory protein with PLA2-inhibitory activity. Its biochemical and biological properties have been extensively studied and its crystallographic structure has been resolved at 1.34 A (refs 15, 16). Lipocortins are a family of related proteins, which, it has been suggested, mediate the anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids (for a review, see ref. 23). Some proteins of this group have been purified and the complementary DNA sequences of two human lipocortins are known. Lipocortins inhibit PLA2 in vitro, although their mechanism of action is still unclear. Recombinant lipocortin I inhibits eicosanoid synthesis in isolated perfused lungs from the guinea pig. Here, we report that synthetic oligopeptides corresponding to a region of high amino-acid sequence similarity between uteroglobin and lipocortin I have potent PLA2 inhibitory activity in vitro and striking anti-inflammatory effects in vivo.     

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate activates a channel from smooth muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) can initiate calcium release into the cytoplasm in a variety of cells. From experiments using permeabilized cells, membrane vesicles, and patch-clamp techniques, it has been suggested that InsP3 acts by directly opening calcium channels. Here, we show that InsP3 induced openings of channels in planar lipid bilayers into which vesicles made from aortic muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) were incorporated. Activation of channels by InsP3 was not observed when vesicles made from SR of cardiac or skeletal muscle were incorporated into planar lipid bilayers. The present study demonstrates for the first time unique properties of an InsP3-gated calcium channel in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles from vascular smooth muscle. This InsP3-activated channel from aortic SR differs strikingly from the calcium-gated calcium channel of striated muscle SR in single-channel conductance and pharmacology.