scholarly journals Chromatographic Separation, and Characteristics of Nucleic Acids from HeLa Cells

1961 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 899-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennart Philipson

The application of the phenol-duponol method to extraction of nucleic acids from HeLa cells is described. Chromatography of the phenol extract on an esterified bovine serum albumin column with a salt gradient of sodium chloride gives separation of soluble RNA, DNA, and two different high molecular RNA fractions. Ultracentrifugation of the DNA eluted from the column gives a sedimentation coefficient (s20o,w) of 38, which agrees with ultracentrifugation data on the phenol extract. The eluted RNA appears polydisperse at low ionic strength, but at high ionic strength and after alcohol precipitation two fractions with the sedimentation coefficients of 16 and 25 to 29, respectively, were obtained.

1979 ◽  
Vol 179 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. V. Chitre ◽  
K. S. Korgaonkar

Studies of binding of ethidium bromide and quinacrine hydrochloride to native DNA at low ionic strength indicate that for both compounds the binding is selective, with about one binding site for about four nucleotides. Annealing of unfractionated histones to DNA by a salt-gradient dialysis method slightly decreases the binding of the dyes to DNA. Similar observations made with reconstituted preparations by using individual histone fractions reveal that the arginine-rich histones (histones H3 and H4) are most effective in decreasing the binding. The binding studies with ethidium bromide at high ionic strength and with denatured DNA show that strong dye binding to DNA is strongly dependent on the ionic strength and on the secondary structure of DNA. The histones are not effective in decreasing the dye binding under conditions of high ionic strength. The results are consistent with the observations [Oliver & Chalkley (1974) Biochemistry13, 5093–5098; Axel, Melchoir, Sollner-Web & Felsenfield (1974) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.71, 4101–4105] that histones form some kind of surface structures on DNA through non-specific interactions and [Kornberg & Thomas (1974) Science184, 865–868; Kornberg (1974) Science184, 868–871; D'Anna & Isenberg (1974) Biochemistry13, 4992–4997; Vandegrift, Serra, Marve & Wagner (1974) Biochemistry13, 5087–5092] that the tendency of arginine-rich histones to aggregate may be an important factor in determining the structure of chromatin.


1982 ◽  
Vol 205 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Grazi ◽  
Ermes Magri ◽  
Ivonne Pasquali-Ronchetti

When protamine is added to actin, different supramolecular structures are formed depending on the molar ratio of the two proteins and of the ionic strength of the medium. At low ionic strength, and going from a molar ratio of protamine to G-actin of 4:1, 2:1 and 1:1, globular aggregates are first converted into extended structures and then to long threads in which the constituent ATP–G-actin is rapidly exchangeable with the actin of the medium. At high ionic strength {Tyrode [(1910) Arch. Int. Pharmacodyn. Ther.20, 205–212] solution}, starting from G-actin and protamine in the 1:1 molar ratio, long ropes are formed that can be resolved into intertwining filaments of 4–5nm diameter. The addition of protamine in a 1:1 molar ratio to a solution of F-actin in Tyrode solution causes the breakage of the actin filaments, which is also revealed by the decrease of the viscosity of the solution and the formation of ordered latero-lateral aggregates. The structures formed by reaction of protamine with G-actin can be separated from free G-actin and protamine by filtration through 0.45μm-pore-size Millipore filters. This technique has been exploited to study the exchange reaction between free actin and the actin–protamine complexes. For these studies the 1:1 actin–protamine complex formed at low ionic strength and the 2:1 actin–protamine complex formed in the presence of 23nm-free Mg2+ have been selected. In the first case the exchange reaction is practically complete in the dead time of the experiment (20s). In the second case, where the complex operates like a true ATPase, the rate of the exchange is initially comparable with the rate of the ATP cleavage. Later on, however, the complex undergoes a change and the rate of the exchange between free actin and the actin bound to protamine becomes lower than the rate of the ATPase reaction. It is proposed that the ATP exchanges for ADP directly on the G-actin bound in the complex.


1970 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 711-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Schubert ◽  
H. Frank

In mixtures of 1 volume of buffer and 2 volumes of 2-chloroethanol, the icosahedral bacteriophage fr is split into RNA and monomeric protein subunits. After removal of the RNA and after replacement of the organic solvent by water, viruslike particles can be obtained by dialysis of the protein against neutral buffers of high ionic strength, whereas multishell particles are formed in buffers of low ionic strength. All results achieved by the use of 2-chloroethanol are very similar to those obtained using acetic acid.


1990 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Piperno ◽  
Z Ramanis ◽  
E F Smith ◽  
W S Sale

The molecular composition and organization of the row of axonemal inner dynein arms were investigated by biochemical and electron microscopic analyses of Chlamydomonas wild-type and mutant axonemes. Three inner arm structures could be distinguished on the basis of their molecular composition and position in the axoneme as determined by analysis of pf30 and pf23 mutants. The three inner arm structures repeat every 96 nm and are referred to here as inner arms I1, I2, and I3. I1 is proximal to the radial spoke S1, whereas I2 and I3 are distal to spokes S1 and S2, respectively. The mutant pf30 lacks I1 whereas the mutant pf23 lacks both I1 and I2 but has a normal inner arm I3. Each of the six heavy chains that was identified as an inner dynein arm subunit has a site for ATP binding and hydrolysis. Two of the heavy chains together with a polypeptide of 140,000 molecular weight form the inner arm I1 and were extracted from the axoneme as a complex that had a sedimentation coefficient close to 21S at high ionic strength. Different subsets of two of the remaining four heavy chains form the inner arms I2 and I3. These arms at high ionic strength are dissociated as 11S particles that include one heavy chain, one intermediate chain, two light chains, and actin. These and other lines of evidence indicate that the inner arm I1 is different in structure and function from the inner arms I2 and I3.


1973 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Mayes ◽  
Roger M. Mason ◽  
David C. Griffin

1. A proteoglycan fraction (the proteoglycan subunit fraction) was prepared from extracts, with 0.15m-KCl (low-ionic-strength) and 0.5m-LaCl3, 2.0m-CaCl2 and 4.0m-guanidinium chloride (high-ionic-strength), of bovine nasal cartilage by equilibrium-density-gradient centrifugation, essentially as described by Hascall & Sajdera (1969). 2. The use of different centrifugation times showed that near-equilibrium conditions were reached by 48h for the fractions prepared from the high-ionic-strength extracts. The fraction isolated from the low-ionic-strength extract required a longer centrifugation time to reach equilibrium conditions. 3. The composition of the proteoglycan fractions from the various extracts was compared by analyses of their carbohydrate and amino acid contents. Difference indices were calculated from the amino acid analysis to compare the degree of compositional relationship between the protein components of the proteoglycans. 4. Small compositional differences were found between the proteoglycans isolated from the various high-ionic-strength extracts. The protein content of the fractions from the CaCl2 extract and the guanidinium chloride extract showed the greatest difference in this respect, although their amino acid analysis was similar. 5. The proteoglycan fraction isolated from the low-ionic-strength extract shows marked differences in composition from the fractions isolated from the high-ionic-strength extracts. Its protein and glucosamine contents were lower whereas its hexuronic acid and galactosamine contents were higher than those of the latter. It also exhibits major differences in its amino acid composition. The glucosamine:galactosamine ratio of the fraction from the low-ionic-strength extract indicates that it may be an almost exclusively chondroitin sulphate–proteoglycan. Its analysis correlates closely with that of a low-molecular-weight proteoglycan isolated from pig laryngeal cartilage by Tsiganos & Muir (1969). 6. The proteoglycan fractions from both the low- and high-ionic-strength extracts migrate as a single band in zone electrophoresis carried out in a sucrose-density gradient at both pH3.0 and pH7.0, although each showed evidence of band widening during the electrophoresis. All the proteoglycan fractions migrated with the same electrophoretic mobility at pH3.0, irrespective of the differences in composition between them. 7. The differences between the proteoglycans from the low- and high-ionic-strength extracts are discussed and the view is advanced that they may be due to association between predominantly chondroitin sulphate–proteoglycans and a keratan sulphate-enriched proteoglycan species.


1987 ◽  
Vol 247 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
J S Barton ◽  
D L Vandivort ◽  
D H Heacock ◽  
J A Coffman ◽  
K A Trygg

The assembly kinetics of microtubule protein are altered by ionic strength, temperature and Mg2+, but not by pH. High ionic strength (I0.2), low temperature (T less than 30 degrees C) and elevated Mg2+ (greater than or equal to 1.2 mM) induce a transition from biphasic to monophasic kinetics. Comparison of the activation energy obtained for the fast biphasic step at low ionic strength (I0.069) shows excellent agreement with the values obtained at high ionic strength, low temperature and elevated Mg2+. From this observation it can be implied that the tubulin-containing reactant of the fast biphasic event is also the species that elongates microtubules during monophasic assembly. Second-order rate constants for biphasic assembly are 3.82(+/- 0.72) x 10(7) M-1.s-1 and 5.19(+/- 1.25) x 10(6) M-1.s-1, and for monophasic assembly the rate constant is 2.12(+/- 0.56) x 10(7) M-1.s-1. The microtubule number concentration is constant during elongation of microtubules for biphasic and monophasic assembly.


1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-110
Author(s):  
Paul G. Young

Transcription in Tetrahymena pyriformis mitochondria has been examined for whether or not symmetrical transcription occurs. A ribonuclease A digestion in high-ionic strength was used as a test for the presence of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) either before or after self-annealing- This test was applied to RNA prepared using pulse lengths of from 1 to 30 min. If symmetrical transcription occurred, then the amount of dsRNA should have varied inversely with pulse length. There was no evidence for the presence of dsRNA other than a ribonuclease-resistant core. A search was also made among the largest transcripts present (> 26S) since this region of a sucrose gradient is enriched in symmetrical transcripts in HeLa cells. Again none were found. In order to allow for possible rapid processing as the reason for the failure to find dsRNA, total cellular RNA was extracted as quickly as possible, and the ribonuclease digest analyzed by Sephadex chromatography. No large pieces of dsRNA were found.


1982 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 795-808
Author(s):  
K. B. Easterbrook ◽  
R. W. Coombs

The tubular appendage, spina (Easterbrook and Coombs. 1976. Can. J. Microbiol. 22: 438–440), dissociates most efficiently under conditions of low ionic strength (0.01 M), high pH (10), and high temperature (95 °C). The protomer, spinin, thus produced is stable under these conditions and reassociates on cooling to give two distinct filamentous polymeric structures that differ in their stability, protein conformation, and reassociation characteristics. Under conditions of low ionic strength (0.01 M), reassociation is relatively slow and leads to a product that has significant amounts of α-helix in addition to the high β-sheet component; under conditions of high ionic strength (1 M), reassociation is rapid and the non-β-sheet component is in the random coil configuration. Since polymerization of the latter structure is "seeded" by either endogenous or exogenously supplied spina fragments, the protomers comprising it are assumed to be in the same conformation as in the spinae. High ionic strength induces folding of the protomer, multimeric association, and finally, elongation by a temperature-dependent process. Reassociation appears to be pH (6–10) independent and, apart from a possible minor calcium effect, cation nonspecific.


2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (20) ◽  
pp. 10270-10281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murari Chaudhuri ◽  
Deborah S. Parris

ABSTRACT The DNA polymerase holoenzyme of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a stable heterodimer consisting of a catalytic subunit (Pol) and a processivity factor (UL42). HSV-1 UL42 differs from most DNA polymerase processivity factors in possessing an inherent ability to bind to double-stranded DNA. It has been proposed that UL42 increases the processivity of Pol by directly tethering it to the primer and template (P/T). To test this hypothesis, we took advantage of the different sensitivities of Pol and Pol/UL42 activities to ionic strength. Although the activity of Pol is inhibited by salt concentrations in excess of 50 mM KCl, the activity of the holoenzyme is relatively refractory to changes in ionic strength from 50 to 125 mM KCl. We used nitrocellulose filter-binding assays and real-time biosensor technology to measure binding affinities and dissociation rate constants of the individual subunits and holoenzyme for a short model P/T as a function of the ionic strength of the buffer. We found that as observed for activity, the binding affinity and dissociation rate constant of the Pol/UL42 holoenzyme for P/T were not altered substantially in high- versus low-ionic-strength buffer. In 50 mM KCl, the apparent affinity with which UL42 bound the P/T did not differ by more than twofold compared to that observed for Pol or Pol/UL42 in the same low-ionic-strength buffer. However, increasing the ionic strength dramatically decreased the affinity of UL42 for P/T, such that it was reduced more than 3 orders of magnitude from that of Pol/UL42 in 125 mM KCl. Real-time binding kinetics revealed that much of the reduced affinity could be attributable to an extremely rapid dissociation of UL42 from the P/T in high-ionic-strength buffer. The resistance of the activity, binding affinity, and stability of the holoenzyme for the model P/T to increases in ionic strength, despite the low apparent affinity and poor stability with which UL42 binds the model P/T in high concentrations of salt, suggests that UL42 does not simply tether the Pol to DNA. Instead, it is likely that conformational alterations induced by interaction of UL42 with Pol allow for high-affinity and high-stability binding of the holoenzyme to the P/T even under high-ionic-strength conditions.


1982 ◽  
Vol 207 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Cercek ◽  
M D Houslay

There are two distinct cyclic AMP phosphodiesterases associated with the liver mitochondrion: one with the outer membrane and one with the inner membrane. No activity is associated with the lysosomal fraction. Both of the enzymes are peripheral proteins and can be released from the membranes by high-ionic-strength treatment. Treatment of intact mitochondria with trypsin and insoluble trypsin localizes these enzymes to the cytosol-facing surface of their respective membranes. The enzymes differ in regard to sedimentation coefficient, thermostability and susceptibility to inactivation by trypsin. Both enzymes degrade cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP. Whereas the outer-membrane enzyme displays Michaelis kinetics and appears to be a low-affinity enzyme, the inner-membrane enzyme displays kinetics indicative of apparent negative co-operativity.


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