scholarly journals Changes in the amounts of cytoskeletal proteins within the perikarya and axons of regenerating frog motoneurons.

1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 240-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
D V Sinicropi ◽  
D L McIlwain
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Skeletal Muscles ◽  
Contralateral Side ◽  
Cytoskeletal Proteins ◽  
Beta Tubulin ◽  
Alpha Tubulin ◽  
Axonal Elongation ◽  
Functional Consequences ◽  
Neurofilament Polypeptides ◽  
Ventral Roots

Changes in the amounts of tubulin, actin, and neurofilament polypeptides were found in regenerating motoneurons of grass frogs during the period of axonal elongation. Ventral roots 9 and 10 were transected unilaterally about 7 mm from the spinal cord. 35 d later, [3H]colchicine binding had decreased in the proximal stumps to approximately one-half of contralateral control values, well before the regenerating motor axons had reinnervated skeletal muscles of the hind limb. [3H]colchicine binding did not change significantly in the operated halves of the 9th and 10th spinal cord segments over a 75-d period. The relative amounts of actin, tubulin, and neurofilament polypeptides in the operated ventral roots were measured by quantitative densitometry of stained two-dimensional electrophoretic gels. Alpha-tubulin, beta-tubulin, and the 68,000 molecular weight subunit of neurofilaments (NF68) decreased within the transected ventral roots to 78%, 57%, and less than 15% of control values, respectively. The amount of actin increased to 132% of control values within the operated ventral roots, although this change was not statistically significant. Opposite changes were found within motoneuronal cell bodies isolated from the spinal cord. The relative amounts of alpha-tubulin, beta-tubulin and NF68 within axotomized perikarya increased, respectively, to 191%, 146%, and 144% of that in control perikarya isolated from the contralateral side of the spinal cord. Thus, the changes in NF68 and tubulin did not occur uniformly throughout the injured cells. The possible structural and functional consequences of these changes are discussed.

scholarly journals Fictive Rhythmic Motor Patterns Induced by NMDA in an In Vitro Brain Stem–Spinal Cord Preparation From an Adult Urodele

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 1074-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Delvolvé ◽  
Pascal Branchereau ◽  
Réjean Dubuc ◽  
Jean-Marie Cabelguen
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Rhythm Generation ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Rhythmic Motor ◽  
Bath Application ◽  
The Neural Networks ◽  
Ventral Roots ◽  
Pleurodeles Waltl

An in vitro brain stem–spinal cord preparation from an adult urodele ( Pleurodeles waltl) was developed in which two fictive rhythmic motor patterns were evoked by bath application of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA; 2.5–10 μM) with d-serine (10 μM). Both motor patterns displayed left-right alternation. The first pattern was characterized by cycle periods ranging between 2.4 and 9.0 s (4.9 ± 1.2 s, mean ± SD) and a rostrocaudal propagation of the activity in consecutive ventral roots. The second pattern displayed longer cycle periods (8.1–28.3 s; 14.2 ± 3.6 s) with a caudorostral propagation. The two patterns were inducible after a spinal transection at the first segment. Preliminary experiments on small pieces of spinal cord further suggested that the ability for rhythm generation is distributed along the spinal cord of this preparation. This study shows that the in vitro brain stem–spinal cord preparation from Pleurodeles waltl may be a useful model to study the mechanisms underlying the different axial motor patterns and the flexibility of the neural networks involved.

Tandem arrangement of tubulin genes in the protozoan parasite Leishmania enriettii

1983 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 1070-1076
Author(s):  
S M Landfear ◽  
D McMahon-Pratt ◽  
D F Wirth
Keyword(s):  
Tandem Repeat ◽  
Blot Hybridization ◽  
Protozoan Parasite ◽  
Southern Blot Hybridization ◽  
Beta Tubulin ◽  
Developmentally Regulated ◽  
Alpha Tubulin ◽  
Tubulin Genes ◽  
Southern Blot Hybridization Analysis ◽  
Leishmania Enriettii

The arrangement of developmentally regulated alpha- and beta-tubulin genes has been studied in the parasitic protozoan Leishmania enriettii by using Southern blot hybridization analysis. The alpha-tubulin genes occur in a tandem repeat whose monomeric unit may be represented by a 2-kilobase PstI fragment. Similarly, the beta-tubulin genes probably occur in a separate tandem repeat consisting of approximately 4-kilobase units unlinked to the alpha-tubulin repeats.

Dominant effects of tubulin overexpression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1049-1059
Author(s):  
D Burke ◽  
P Gasdaska ◽  
L Hartwell
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Chromosome Loss ◽  
Beta Tubulin ◽  
Alpha Tubulin ◽  
Inducible Promoters ◽  
Selective Degradation ◽  
Novel Structure ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Transient Overexpression ◽  
Mutant Phenotypes

The consequences of altering the levels of alpha- and beta-tubulin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were examined by constructing fusions of the structural genes encoding the tubulins to strong galactose-inducible promoters. Overexpression of beta-tubulin (TUB2) was lethal: cells arrested in the G2 stage of the cell cycle exhibited an increased frequency of chromosome loss, were devoid of microtubules, and accumulated beta-tubulin in a novel structure. Overexpression of the major alpha-tubulin gene (TUB1) was not lethal and did not affect chromosome segregation. The rate of alpha-tubulin mRNA and protein synthesis was increased, but the protein did not accumulate. Overexpression of both alpha- and beta-tubulin together resulted in arrested cell division, and cells accumulated excess tubules that contained both alpha- and beta-tubulin. Transient overexpression of both tubulins resulted in a high frequency of chromosome loss. These data suggest that strong selective pressure exists to prevent excess accumulation of microtubules or beta-tubulin and suggest a model by which this goal may be achieved by selective degradation of unassembled alpha-tubulin. Furthermore, the phenotype of beta-tubulin overexpression is similar to the phenotype of a beta-tubulin deficiency. These results add to a number of recent studies demonstrating that mutant phenotypes generated by overexpression can be informative about the function of the gene product.

Expression of alpha- and beta-tubulin genes during dimorphic-phase transitions of Histoplasma capsulatum

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 2042-2049
Author(s):  
G S Harris ◽  
E J Keath ◽  
J Medoff
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transitions ◽  
Histoplasma Capsulatum ◽  
Blot Hybridization ◽  
Dot Blot ◽  
Dimorphic Fungus ◽  
Tubulin Gene ◽  
Beta Tubulin ◽  
Two Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
Alpha Tubulin

Recent investigations have confirmed the presence of one alpha-tubulin gene (TUB1) and one beta-tubulin gene (TUB2) in the dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. In the present study, Northern blot (RNA blot) analyses revealed multiple alpha-tubulin transcripts and a single beta-tubulin transcript in the yeast and mycelial phases of the high-virulence 217B strain and low-virulence Downs strain. S1 nuclease protection assays demonstrated one initiation start site and two major stop sites for the TUB1 transcripts, suggesting that variations in 3' processing generate the alpha-tubulin messages of 2.5 and 2.0 kilobases. Dot blot hybridization experiments indicated that tubulin gene expression is developmentally regulated during the dimorphic phase transitions. alpha- and beta-tubulin mRNAs increased six- to eightfold during the yeast-to-mycelium conversion and decreased two- to threefold during the reverse transition. These changes in tubulin mRNA content coincided with major morphological events associated with H. capsulatum development. Western blots (immunoblots) of H. capsulatum yeast-specific proteins resolved by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis demonstrated a single alpha- and a single beta-tubulin isoform. Multiple tubulin polypeptides expressed in mycelia are probably products of posttranslational modifications.

mRNA abundance changes during flagellar regeneration in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-434
Author(s):  
J A Schloss ◽  
C D Silflow ◽  
J L Rosenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Control Cell ◽  
Beta Tubulin ◽  
Rna Sequences ◽  
Class V ◽  
Alpha Tubulin ◽  
Flagellar Regeneration ◽  
Flagellar Proteins ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Class Iv

Flagellar amputation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii induces the accumulation of a specific set of RNAs, many of which encode flagellar proteins. We prepared a cDNA clone bank from RNA isolated from cells undergoing flagellar regeneration. From this bank, we selected clones that contain RNA sequences that display several different patterns of abundance regulation. Based on quantitation of the relative amounts of labeled, cloned cDNAs hybridizing to dots of RNA on nitrocellulose filters, the cloned sequences were divided into five regulatory classes: class I RNAs remain at constant abundance during flagellar regeneration; classes II, III, and IV begin to increase in abundance within a few minutes after deflagellation, reach maximal abundance at successively later times during regeneration, and return to control cell levels within 2 to 3 h; and class V RNA abundance decreases during flagellar regeneration. Alpha- and beta-tubulin mRNAs are included in regulatory class IV. The abundance kinetics of alpha-tubulin mRNAs differ slightly from those of beta-tubulin mRNAs. The availability of these clones makes possible studies on the mechanisms controlling the abundance of a wide variety of different RNA species during flagellar regeneration in Chlamydomonas.

Effect of microgravity on the expression of mitochondrial enzymes in rat cardiac and skeletal muscles

1998 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 593-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael K. Connor ◽  
David A. Hood
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Enzyme Activity ◽  
Skeletal Muscles ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Mitochondrial Enzymes ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Triceps Brachii ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Functional Consequences ◽  
Microgravity Conditions

Connor, Michael K., and David A. Hood. Effect of microgravity on the expression of mitochondrial enzymes in rat cardiac and skeletal muscles. J. Appl. Physiol. 84(2): 593–598, 1998.—The purpose of this study was to examine the expression of nuclear and mitochondrial genes in cardiac and skeletal muscle (triceps brachii) in response to short-duration microgravity exposure. Six adult male rats were exposed to microgravity for 6 days and were compared with six ground-based control animals. We observed a significant 32% increase in heart malate dehydrogenase (MDH) enzyme activity, which was accompanied by a 62% elevation in heart MDH mRNA levels after microgravity exposure. Despite modest elevations in the mRNAs encoding subunits III, IV, and VIc as well as a 2.2-fold higher subunit IV protein content after exposure to microgravity, heart cytochrome c oxidase (CytOx) enzyme activity remained unchanged. In skeletal muscle, MDH expression was unaffected by microgravity, but CytOx activity was significantly reduced 41% by microgravity, whereas subunit III, IV, and VIc mRNA levels and subunit IV protein levels were unaltered. Thus tissue-specific (i.e., heart vs. skeletal muscle) differences exist in the regulation of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins in response to microgravity. In addition, the expression of nuclear-encoded proteins such as CytOx subunit IV and expression of MDH are differentially regulated within a tissue. Our data also illustrate that the heart undergoes previously unidentified mitochondrial adaptations in response to short-term microgravity conditions more dramatic than those evident in skeletal muscle. Further studies evaluating the functional consequences of these adaptations in the heart, as well as those designed to measure protein turnover, are warranted in response to microgravity.

scholarly journals Interacting proteins identified by genetic interactions: a missense mutation in alpha-tubulin fails to complement alleles of the testis-specific beta-tubulin gene of Drosophila melanogaster.

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 875-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
T S Hays ◽  
R Deuring ◽  
B Robertson ◽  
M Prout ◽  
M T Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Missense Mutation ◽  
Null Allele ◽  
Genetic Interaction ◽  
Structural Proteins ◽  
Interacting Proteins ◽  
Tubulin Gene ◽  
Beta Tubulin ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Alpha Tubulin

In this paper we demonstrate that failure to complement between mutations at separate loci can be used to identify genes that encode interacting structural proteins. A mutation (nc33) identified because it failed to complement mutant alleles of the gene encoding the testis-specific beta 2-tubulin of Drosophila melanogaster (B2t) did not map to the B2t locus. We show that this second-site noncomplementing mutation is a missense mutation in alpha-tubulin that results in substitution of methionine in place of valine at amino acid 177. Because alpha- and beta-tubulin form a heterodimer, our results suggest that the genetic interaction, failure to complement, is based on the structural interaction between the protein products of the two genes. Although the nc33 mutation failed to complement a null allele of B2t (B2tn), a deletion of the alpha-tubulin gene to which nc33 mapped complemented B2tn. Thus, the failure to complement appears to require the presence of the altered alpha-tubulin encoded by the nc33 allele, which may act as a structural poison when incorporated into either the tubulin heterodimer or microtubules.

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