Effects of some Amino-acid and Purine Antagonists on Chick Embryos

Development ◽  
1958 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-372
Author(s):  
C. H. Waddington ◽  
Margaret Perry

Several authors have studied the effects on developing embryos of substances which are analogues of naturally occurring amino-acids and purines, and known to act, in other systems, as metabolic inhibitors. It was emphasized by Waddington, Feldman, & Perry (1955) that any particular substance may exhibit very different effects in embryos of different types. They found, for instance, that the purine analogue 8-azaguanine has a very strong action in the chick and a much lesser one in the newt embryo. It is therefore necessary to consider the various classes of embryos separately. In this communication we shall be concerned only with chick embryos. Substances under test can be administered to such embryos by injection through the shell, as was done in the paper cited above With this technique it is impossible to know how much diffusion takes place of the substance injected, and one cannot therefore be certain of the effective concentration which actually reaches the embryo.

Author(s):  
Basel Shaaban ◽  
Victoria Seeburger ◽  
Annette Schroeder ◽  
Gertrud Lohaus

AbstractHoneydew honey is produced by bees from excretions of plant-feeding insects, such as aphids and scale insects. Honeydew on conifers, like fir (Abies alba) or spruce (Picea abies), is produced by different species of the genera Cinara and Physokermes. This means that honeydew honey can stem from different botanical as well as zoological origins, but so far it is not possible to clearly distinguish the different types of honeys. In the attempt to identify distinguishing markers, 19 sugars, 25 amino acids and 9 inorganic ions were quantified in three groups of honeydew honey (fir/Cinara, spruce/Cinara and spruce/Physokermes) with 20 honey samples each. It could be demonstrated that the contents of isomaltose, raffinose, erlose, two undefined oligosaccharides, several amino acids, sulfate, and phosphate differed significantly between the three groups of honey. Furthermore, multivariate analyses resulted in a separation of spruce/Physokermes honey from spruce- or fir/Cinara honey due to its higher contents of phosphate, sulfate, erlose and two undefined oligosaccharides. Moreover, the amino acid composition and the isomaltose as well as the raffinose contents proved useful in the distinction between fir/Cinara and spruce/Cinara honey. In sum, the contents of sugars, amino acids, and inorganic ions in German fir and spruce honeys provide useful information about the botanical and zoological origin of honeydew honeys.


2000 ◽  
Vol 167 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Wang ◽  
H Wolosker ◽  
J Pevsner ◽  
SH Snyder ◽  
DJ Selkoe

Little evidence is available for the physiological function of D-amino acids in species other than bacteria. Here we demonstrate that naturally occurring freed -aspartate (D-Asp) is present in all magnocellular neurons of rat hypothalamus. The levels of this naturally occurring D-amino acid were elevated during lactation and returned to normal thereafter in the magnocellular neurosecretory system, which produces oxytocin, a hormone responsible for milk ejection during lactation. Intraperitoneal injections of D-Asp reproducibly increased oxytocin gene expression and decreased the concentration of circulating oxytocin in vivo. Similar changes were observed in the vasopressin system. These results provide evidence for the role(s) of naturally occurring free D-Asp in mammalian physiology. The findings argue against the conventional concept that only L-stereoisomers of amino acids are functional in higher species.


Development ◽  
1958 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-269
Author(s):  
Phyllis W. Schultz ◽  
Heinz Herrmann

Amino acid analogues have been observed to give rise to abnormal forms of development of chick and amphibian embryos (Herrmann, 1953; Rothfels, 1954; Waddington & Sirlin, 1954; Feldman & Waddington, 1955; Herrmann, Rothfels-Konigsberg, & Curry, 1955). Assuming that these disturbances may be due to interference with the utilization of amino acids for protein formation, we have attempted an analysis of this effect by comparison of the protein contents and of the uptake of glycine into the proteins of chick embryo explants in the presence and absence of amino acid analogues. The results of such experiments are reported in this paper. The chick embryos used for explanation, the explantation technique, and the determination of total protein glycine and of tracer glycine were essentially the same as described previously (Herrmann & Schultz, 1958). The embryos were explanted at the 11–13 somite stage on to the surface of an agar gel containing egg extract as nutrient medium following the procedure given by Spratt (1947) as modified by Rothfels (1954).


1960 ◽  
Vol 198 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ira G. Wool

When diaphragms isolated from normal rats were incubated with a C14-amino acid the addition of epinephrine or norepinephrine decreased incorporation of C14 into muscle protein. The inhibition occurred whether epinephrine was added in vitro or administered in vivo. The minimal effective concentration of epinephrine in vitro was 0.1 µg/ml. When the glucose concentration in the medium was raised to 300 mg % or more the epinephrine induced inhibition of amino acid incorporation into muscle protein was no longer observed.


1966 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Leskowitz ◽  
Valerie E. Jones ◽  
Soloman J. Zak

Hapten-specific delayed hypersensitivity was produced by immunization of guinea pigs with arsanilic acid conjugated to N-acetyltyrosine or other small aromatic molecules. Such hapten-specific delayed sensitivity could be passively transferred by peritoneal exudate cells. While a conjugate made from a polymer of D-amino acids was ineffective in producing sensitization, the conjugate made with D-tyrosine was effective, suggesting that the inability of D-amino acid polymers to be broken down by enzymes might be bypassed by use of the monomer. The effectiveness of such monomers in producing delayed sensitivity, but not antibody production, is consistent with a hypothesis that different types of antigenic determinants are involved in the production of each.


1975 ◽  
Vol 147 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Nwagwu

A procedure for preparing polyribosome aminoacyl-tRNA free from contamination by supernatant aminoacyl-tRNA and free amino acids is described. Important features of the procedure are the use of acidic buffers to help protect the amino acid-tRNA linkage and the inclusion of sodium dodecyl sulphate, to inhibit ribonuclease activity. The specific radioactivity of polyribosome aminoacyl-tRNA is high within 30s and reaches a maximum in 2 1/2 min, well ahead of polyribosome peptides which, as described by Herrmann et al. (1971), attain maximum specific radioactivity in about 10 min.


1983 ◽  
Vol 210 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J Carroll ◽  
M Young

The relationship between placental protein synthesis and transfer of amino acids from mother to foetus was studied in the guinea pig, by using [U-14C]-lysine, -leucine, -glycine, -aspartate and -alpha-aminoisobutyrate. The uptake of label by protein was 12-16% of total label transferred. Cycloheximide inhibited incorporation of all naturally occurring amino acids into protein by 81-96% and transfer by 62-75%; the concentration of label in the free pool was increased for each. These findings were confirmed when specific-radioactivity measurements were made with L-[U-14C]lysine. The transfer of the non-protein amino acid alpha-aminoisobutyrate was not significantly decreased by cycloheximide. A model, linking protein synthesis to the generation of a transfer pool of amino acids, is proposed whereby inhibition of protein synthesis decreases the amount of amino acid available for transfer.


2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 879-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hesham M. Al-Younes ◽  
Joscha Gussmann ◽  
Peter R. Braun ◽  
Volker Brinkmann ◽  
Thomas F. Meyer

The differential influence of individual amino acids on the growth of Chlamydia trachomatis versus Chlamydia (Chlamydophila) pneumoniae was investigated. Certain essential amino acids added in excess at the middle of the infection course resulted in varying degrees of abnormality in the development of the two species. If amino acids were added as early as 2 h post-infection, these effects were even more pronounced. The most effective amino acids in terms of C. trachomatis growth inhibition were leucine, isoleucine, methionine and phenylalanine. These amino acids elicited similar effects against C. pneumoniae, except methionine, which, surprisingly, showed a lower inhibitory activity. Tryptophan and valine marginally inhibited C. trachomatis growth and, paradoxically, led to a considerable enhancement of C. pneumoniae growth. On the other hand, some non-essential amino acids administered at the middle of or throughout the infection course differentially affected the development of the two species. For example, C. trachomatis growth was efficiently inhibited by glycine and serine, whereas C. pneumoniae was relatively less sensitive to these agents. Another difference was apparent for glutamate, glutamine and aspartate, which stimulated C. pneumoniae growth more than that of C. trachomatis. Overall, several distinctive patterns of susceptibility to excess amino acid levels were revealed for two representative C. trachomatis and C. pneumoniae isolates. Perturbation of amino acid levels, e.g. of leucine and isoleucine, might form a basis for the development of novel treatment or preventive regimens for chlamydial diseases.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document