scholarly journals Studies on the accessibility of deoxyribonucleic acid in deoxyribonucleoprotein to cationic molecules

1971 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth F. Itzhaki

The binding of deoxyribonucleoprotein to Toluidine Blue, to cetylpyridinium chloride and to polylysine of various molecular weights was studied to determine the percentage of free DNA phosphate groups in deoxyribonucleoprotein. Binding was measured by addition of these reagents to deoxyribonucleoprotein at a range of concentrations such that complete precipitation of the deoxyribonucleoprotein occurred. With Toluidine Blue the binding corresponded to about 48% of the DNA phosphates in deoxyribonucleoprotein. The dye did not cause appreciable displacement of protein from the DNA. With cetylpyridinium chloride the binding corresponded to about 41% of the DNA phosphates. With polylysine preparations of molecular weight 1250 and 7790 the binding values for deoxyribonucleoprotein were 46 and 38% respectively. The results suggest that the free phosphates lie in stretches sufficiently long to accommodate most of each polylysine molecule. With polylysine of molecular weight 62000 cross-linking of free stretches of DNA on different deoxyribonucleoprotein molecules probably occurs. It is concluded that although most of the free phosphates are probably ‘hidden’ beneath covering histone, corresponding perhaps to runs of non-basic residues in the latter, they are surprisingly accessible to very large molecules. The relevance of this finding to the problem of gene repression is discussed.

1969 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Manley ◽  
R. N. Mullinger ◽  
P. H. Lloyd

1. Glycosaminoglycans were liberated from old and young human ascending aortae by digestion with papain. Heparan sulphate and chondroitin sulphate were separated by the different solubilities of their complexes with cetylpyridinium chloride in solutions of sodium chloride. Final fractionation was achieved by salt-gradient column chromatography on Dowex 1 (Cl−form). 2. Heparan sulphate from old aortae showed a slight, but consistent, increase in sulphation compared with heparan sulphate from young aortae. 3. The major amino acids associated with aortic heparan sulphate and chondroitin sulphate were serine, glycine, glutamic acid and aspartic acid. Heparan sulphate and chondroitin sulphate from old aortae contained about twice as much total amino acid as heparan sulphate and chondroitin sulphate from young aortae. Alkali hydrolysis resulted in the destruction of more serine in chondroitin sulphate from old, compared with young, aortae. 4. Molecular weights of glycosaminoglycans from old and young aortae were found to be similar, and in the region of 35000. 5. It is suggested that there is an increased degree of protein–glycosaminoglycan cross-linking in old aortae.


2017 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 667-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoran S. Petrović ◽  
Jelena Milić ◽  
Mihail Ionescu ◽  
James R. Halladay

ABSTRACT Polymerization of soybean oil produces higher-viscosity liquids, which may serve as processing aids and plasticizers in certain rubbers as a replacement of petrochemical oils. Four polymerized soybean oils of different molecular weights showed good compatibility with ethylene–propylene–diene rubber (EPDM), but because of the presence of double bonds and copolymerization with EPDM, they decreased the cross-linking density when compared with paraffinic extender oil. As a consequence, polymeric soybean oils reduced tensile strength and modulus but increased elongation, tear strength, and compression set. Higher-molecular-weight plasticizers are expected to reduce sweating out of oils. Pure soybean oil was not completely compatible at the concentration tested, but it showed a strong plasticizing effect; dramatically lowered tensile strength, tear strength, and modulus; and increased elongation and compression set. No clear effect of molecular weight of polymerized soybean oils on properties was observed, but increasing the sulfur content was found to be beneficial. Using polymeric vegetable oils instead of petrochemical extenders in EPDM rubbers is economical and environmentally desirable, but the curing system requires optimization to accommodate loss of cross-linking density.


1966 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 905-914
Author(s):  
Etsuji Maekawa ◽  
Ralph G. Mancke ◽  
John D. Ferry

Abstract The complex shear compliances of eight samples of polybutadiene crosslinked by cumyl peroxide and four samples crosslinked by sulfur have been measured over a frequency range from 0.2 to 2 cps at temperatures from − 6 to 45° C by a torsion pendulum. On four of the samples, measurements were extended by the Fitzgerald transducer from 45 to 600 cps at temperatures from − 71 to 55°. The vulcanizates had been prepared from polymers of two different molecular weights (180,000 and 510,000) with sharp molecular weight distribution; the physical crosslink density ranged from 0.57 to 2.68×10−4 mole/cm3, and the chemical crosslink density calculated following Kraus ranged from 0.22 to 1.49×10−4 mole/cm3. The mechanical data were all reduced to T0=298° K by shift factors calculated from the equation log aT=−3.64(T−T0)/(186.5+T−T0). In the transition zone of frequencies, the viscoelastic functions of the cumyl peroxide vulcanizates were closely similar, except for a shift toward lower frequencies with increasing crosslinking, corresponding to a small but unexpected increase in the monomeric friction coefficient. Cross-linking by sulfur caused a somewhat larger shift toward lower frequencies at a comparable crosslink density. In the rubbery zone, the sample with least cross-linking exhibited a substantial secondary loss mechanism at very low frequencies. The low-frequency losses are evident in all the samples, but their magnitude falls rapidly with increasing crosslink density as previously found for natural rubber. It also falls somewhat with increasing initial molecular weight, indicating a contribution from network strands with loose ends. The possible relation of the low-frequency losses to trapped entanglements is discussed.


1972 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. P. Griffith

The effect of reduction of intramolecular disulphide bridges on the mobility of proteins in 5% (w/v) polyacrylamide gels in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate was investigated. A series of polypeptide polymers, containing up to 68 intramolecular disulphide bridges, was prepared by cross-linking proteins of known structure with glutaraldehyde. These model polypeptides were denatured with heat, sodium dodecyl sulphate and urea, and their mobilities in sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gels compared before and after reduction with dithiothreitol. The mobilities of polypeptides containing no cystine were unaffected by reduction. However, reduction generally decreased the mobilities of polypeptides containing cystine; the extent of this decrease depended on the number of cystine residues originally present in the polypeptide polymer, and on the protein from which the latter was derived. In contrast with their higher oligomers, the monomer of lysozyme and the dimer of ribonuclease increased in mobility after reduction. The reduced polypeptide oligomers formed by reaction with glutaraldehyde were generally found to migrate at a rate significantly faster than was expected from their calculated molecular weights. It was concluded that the use of unreduced proteins and protein aggregates for molecular-weight measurements by the sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide-gel method may give erroneous estimates of the molecular weight of any protein being investigated.


1988 ◽  
Vol 60 (01) ◽  
pp. 107-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Harris ◽  
Louis Garcia Frade ◽  
Lesley J Creighton ◽  
Paul S Gascoine ◽  
Maher M Alexandroni ◽  
...  

SummaryThe catabolism of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) was investigated after injection of radiolabelled material into rats. Both Iodogen and Chloramine T iodination procedures yielded similar biological activity loss in the resultant labelled rt-PA and had half lives in the rat circulation of 1 and 3 min respectively. Complex formation of rt-PA was investigated by HPLC gel exclusion (TSK G3000 SW) fractionation of rat plasma samples taken 1-2 min after 125I-rt-PA injection. A series of radiolabelled complexes of varying molecular weights were found. However, 60% of the counts were associated with a single large molecular weight complex (350–500 kDa) which was undetectable by immunologically based assays (ELISA and BIA) and showed only low activity with a functional promoter-type t-PA assay. Two major activity peaks in the HPLC fractions were associated with Tree t-PA and a complex having a molecular weight of ̴ 180 kDa. HPLC fractionation to produce these three peaks at various timed intervals after injection of 125I-rt-PA showed each to have a similar initial rate half life in the rat circulation of 4-5 min. The function of these complexes as yet is unclear but since a high proportion of rt-PA is associated with a high molecular weight complex with a short half life in the rat, we suggest that the formation of this complex may be a mechanism by which t-PA activity is initially regulated and finally cleared from the rat circulation.


1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (06) ◽  
pp. 1452-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Treib ◽  
Anton Haass ◽  
Gerhard Pindur ◽  
Ulrich T Seyfert ◽  
Wolfgang Treib ◽  
...  

SummaryThe plasma clearance of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) depends on the initial molecular weight and the degree of substitution. So far, little attention has been paid to the clinical relevance of the C2/C6 substitution ratio of hydroxyethyl starch.10 patients with cerebrovascular circulatory disturbance received hemodilution therapy for 10 days, consisting of 10% HES 200/0.5 (mean molecular weight 200 kD, degree of substitution 0.5) with a C2/C6 ratio of 13.4. A second group of 10 patients received a starch solution with identical initial molecular weight and degree of substitution but with a C2/C6 ratio of 5.7.After the administration of a single dose, no significant differences between the two groups were observed. After repeated administration, significant differences could be detected in hemorheology, coagulation and elimination (p<0.01). The larger C2/C6 ratio led to a higher intravascular mean molecular weight (95 vs. 84 kD), which in turn led to a higher increase in serum concentration during the therapy (14.7 vs.8.6 mg/ml). Hematocrit was lowered more (-30,5 vs. -23,5%) and plasma viscosity was increased more. There was also a more pronounced increase in partial thromboplastin time (+30% vs. +13%) and a factor of 2 larger decrease of factor VIII/von Willebrand factor-complex (p <0.01), which exceeded the dilution effect.The higher C2/C6 ratio of HES 200/0.5/13.4 slows down enzymatic degradation. After repeated administration of this starch, large molecules accumulate which are inefficiently degraded. The same effect has been observed after therapy with highly-substituted HES. This accumulation of large molecules leads to a beneficial longer lasting volume effect. The disadvantages include an increase in plasma viscosity and coagulation disturbances, which cannot be explained with the respective dilution effect alone. For these reasons, the C2/C6 ratio is of clinical relevance and should be included in the product labeling in the future.


1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (03) ◽  
pp. 438-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Grøn ◽  
C Filion-Myklebust ◽  
S Bjørnsen ◽  
P Haidaris ◽  
F Brosstad

SummaryFibrinogen and fibrin related chains in reduced human plasma as well as the bonds interlinking partially cross-linked fibrin from plasma clots have been studied by means of 1D- and 2D electrophoresis and Western blotting. Immunovisualization of reduced plasma or partially cross-linked fibrin with monoclonal antibodies specific for the α-chains or the γ-chains have shown that several bands represent material belonging to both chains. In order to decide whether these bands constitute αγ-chain hybrids or superimposed α- and γ-chain dimers, the cross-linked material was separated according to both isoelectric point (pI) and molecular weight (MW) using Pharmacia’s Multiphor II system. Western blotting of the second dimension gels revealed that partially cross-linked fibrin contains αsγt-chain hybrids and γ- polymers, in addition to the well-known γ-dimers and α-polymers. The main αsγt-chain hybrid has a pI between that of the α- and the γ-chains, a MW of about 200 kDa and contains Aα-chains with intact fibrinopeptide A (FPA). It was also observed that soluble fibrinogen/fibrin complexes as well as partially cross-linked fibrin contain degraded α-dimers with MWs close to the γ-dimers. These findings demonstrate that factor XIII-catalyzed cross-linking of fibrin is a more complex phenomenon than earlier recognized.


1981 ◽  
Vol 45 (01) ◽  
pp. 090-094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuo Sueishi ◽  
Shigeru Nanno ◽  
Kenzo Tanaka

SummaryFibrinogen degradation products were investigated for leukocyte chemotactic activity and for enhancement of vascular permeability. Both activities increased progressively with plasmin digestion of fibrinogen. Active fragments were partially purified from 24 hr-plasmin digests. Molecular weights of the permeability increasing and chemotactic activity fractions were 25,000-15,000 and 25,000 respectively. Both fractions had much higher activities than the fragment X, Y, D or E. Electron microscopic observation of the small blood vessels in rabbit skin correlated increased permeability with the formation of characteristic gaps between adjoining endothelial cells and their contraction.These findings suggest that lower molecular weight degradation products of fibrinogen may be influential in contributing to granulocytic infiltration and enhanced permeability in lesions characterized by deposits of fibrin and/or fibrinogen.


1964 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
pp. 232-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Sasaki ◽  
T Takemoto ◽  
S Oka

SummaryTo demonstrate whether the intravascular precipitation of fibrinogen is responsible for the toxicity of heparinoid, the relation between the toxicity of heparinoid in vivo and the precipitation of fibrinogen in vitro was investigated, using dextran sulfate of various molecular weights and various heparinoids.1. There are close relationships between the molecular weight of dextran sulfate, its toxicity, and the quantity of fibrinogen precipitated.2. The close relationship between the toxicity and the precipitation of fibrinogen found for dextran sulfate holds good for other heparinoids regardless of their molecular structures.3. Histological findings suggest strongly that the pathological changes produced with dextran sulfate are caused primarily by the intravascular precipitates with occlusion of the capillaries.From these facts, it is concluded that the precipitates of fibrinogen with heparinoid may be the cause or at least the major cause of the toxicity of heparinoid.4. The most suitable molecular weight of dextran sulfate for clinical use was found to be 5,300 ~ 6,700, from the maximum value of the product (LD50 · Anticoagulant activity). This product (LD50 · Anticoagulant activity) can be employed generally to assess the comparative merits of various heparinoids.5. Clinical use of the dextran sulfate prepared on this basis gave satisfactory results. No severe reaction was observed. However, two delayed reactions, alopecia and thrombocytopenia, were observed. These two reactions seem to come from the cause other than intravascular precipitation.


1962 ◽  
Vol 08 (02) ◽  
pp. 270-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L Aronson ◽  
John W Preiss ◽  
Michael W Mosesson

SummaryThe molecular weights of AHF (factor VIII) and of PTC (factor IX) have been estimated by their sensitivity to inactivation by 7 kilovolt electrons. The molecular weight of AHF was found to be 180 000 by this method and that of PTC was found to be 110 000.


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