Estramustine binds MAP-2 to inhibit microtubule assembly in vitro

1988 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-342
Author(s):  
M.E. Stearns ◽  
K.D. Tew
Keyword(s):  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Scatchard Analysis ◽  
Binding Assays ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Microscopic Studies

We have investigated the ability of estramustine to bind to rat brain microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) and purified MAP-2 in vitro. [3H]estramustine's relative affinity for tubulin and MAPs was assessed by gel filtration chromatography, immunoprecipitation and binding assays. Scatchard analysis demonstrated a specific affinity of the drug for MAP-2. Calculations from kinetic parameters and non-linear regression analysis gave a Kd of 15 microM, and a Bmax of 3.4 × 10(−7)M ml-1. Extrapolation of this value suggested that each MAP-2 molecule binds approximately 20 molecules of estramustine. Microtubule assembly studies and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that at 20–60 microM levels, estramustine inhibited the association of MAPs with taxol microtubules. Turbidity (A350) studies further demonstrated that 20–60 microM-estramustine inhibited MAP-2-driven tubulin assembly and produced microtubule disassembly. Electron-microscopic studies confirmed the centrifugation and turbidity results. The data demonstrated that estramustine can bind MAPs and MAP-2 specifically, thereby inhibiting microtubule assembly.

Microtubule initiating proteins compose rootlet MTOCs of polytomella

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-271
Author(s):  
Mark E. Stearns ◽  
David L. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Material ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Assembly System ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Cytoskeletal Network ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Tubulin Protein

Based on electron microscopic studies the control of microtubule assembly was originally postulated to reside with electron dense amorphous material localized at the ends of microtubules. These centers which are now more generally recognized as microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) appear to function in determining the spatial and temporal distribution of microtubules in many developing cell systems. In the alga Polytomella, amorphous material is found coating 8 flagella rootlets to form MTOCs which serve to initiate assembly of a highly patterned cytoskeletal network of microtubules fig. 1. The discovery of conditions for assembly of tubulin in vitro has made possible the reconstitution of an MTOC controlled microtubule assembly system in vitro. We have developed procedures for isolating intact rootlet MTOCs from Polytomella and more recently we have investigated the composition of rootlet MTOCs and the role of these MTOCs in the control of microtubule assembly using phosphocellulose purified tubulin protein.

scholarly journals Estramustine binds a MAP-1-like protein to inhibit microtubule assembly in vitro and disrupt microtubule organization in DU 145 cells.

1988 ◽  
Vol 107 (6) ◽  
pp. 2647-2656 ◽  
Author(s):  
M E Stearns ◽  
M Wang ◽  
K D Tew ◽  
L I Binder
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Microtubule Organization ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Beta Tubulin ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
Sds Page ◽  
Microscopic Studies

The twofold purpose of the study was (a) to determine if a MAP-1-like protein was expressed in human prostatic DU 145 cells and (b) to demonstrate whether a novel antimicrotubule drug, estramustine, binds the MAP-1-like protein to disrupt microtubules. SDS-PAGE and Western blots showed that a 330-kD protein was associated with microtubules isolated in an assembly buffer containing 10 microM taxol and 10 mM adenylylimidodiphosphate. After purification to homogeneity on an A5m agarose column, the 330-kD protein was found to promote 6 S tubulin assembly. Turbidimetric (A350), SDS-PAGE, and electron microscopic studies revealed that micromolar estramustine inhibited assembly promoted by the 330-kD protein. Similarly, estramustine inhibited binding of the 330-kD protein to 6-S microtubules independently stimulated to assemble with taxol. Immunofluorescent studies with beta-tubulin antibody (27B) and MAP-1 antibody (MI-AI) revealed that 60 microM estramustine (a) caused disassembly of MAP-1 microtubules in DU 145 cells and (b) removed MAP-1 from the surfaces of microtubules stabilized with 0.1 microM taxol. Taken together the data suggested that estramustine binds to a 330-kD MAP-1-like protein to disrupt microtubules in tumor cells.

scholarly journals Electron-microscopic and electrophoretic studies of bovine femoral-head cartilage proteoglycan fractions

1986 ◽  
Vol 240 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Thornton ◽  
I A Nieduszynski ◽  
K Oates ◽  
J K Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Femoral Head ◽  
Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Gradient Centrifugation ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Mixed Salt ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Femoral Head Cartilage ◽  
Microscopic Studies

Proteoglycans (A1D1) extracted from bovine femoral-head cartilage were examined by electron microscopy using benzyldimethylammonium chloride as a spreading agent. The preparation contained a mixture of particles, some with a ‘beaded’ structure and a contiguous filamentous ‘tail’ at one end and others which appeared as round ‘blobs’, some of which also had filamentous tails. Previous electron-microscopic studies of proteoglycan monomers have indicated that their length distributions were apparently unimodal, a finding that contrasted with agarose/polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoresis results, which generally indicated two bands. In the present study proteoglycans isolated from the slowly migrating electrophoretic band were shown to be predominantly the larger molecules of beaded appearance, whereas the rapidly migrating proteoglycans were predominantly molecules with the ‘blob-like’ appearance. Gel-filtration, isopycnic-density-gradient-centrifugation and rate-zonal-centrifugation techniques were evaluated as means of proteoglycan fractionation by electron microscopy and agarose-gel electrophoresis. Rate-zonal centrifugation in mixed-salt gradients of caesium chloride/4 M-guanidinium chloride yielded the most effective fractionation.

scholarly journals Electron Microscopic Studies of the Factor VIII-Von Willebrand Factor Protein

1977 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. J. Marder ◽  
L. Tranqui-Pouit ◽  
G. Hudry-Clergeon ◽  
V. Atichartakarn ◽  
M. Suscillon
Keyword(s):  
Factor Viii ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Molecular Size ◽  
Axial Ratio ◽  
Molecular Entity ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Human Factor Viii ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Von Willebrand

Preparations of human Factor VIII which were homogemeous by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were examined by electron microscopy after negative staining with phosphotungstic acid. Most striking were large oval and circular forms, usually present in loose groupings of four or more molecules. Approximately 80% were oval-shaped and the mean axial dimensions of 167 such molecules, considered to be prolate ellipsoids, were 725 Å and 346 Å (axial ratio about 2rl). The 34 circular forms had a mean diameter of 545 Å and were considered to represent a separate though related molecular entity, either of spherical or oblate ellipsoidal shape. A variety of smaller forms was also present in these preparations including round molecules of 110–330 Å in diameter, irregular ovoid shapes with filamentous transformation and filaments of variable length and thickness. Based on calculations of volume relative to that of fibrinogen, the molecular weight of the predominant prolate ellipsoid form is about 3 million daltons, a value which is consistent with reported estimates of molecular size obtained by ultracentrifuge or gel filtration studies.

Cytoplasmic Granules in Lymphocytes from Rats Dosed with SK&F 14336-D

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 556-557
Author(s):  
T. G. Merrill ◽  
B. J. Payne ◽  
A. J. Tousimis
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Storage ◽  
Pokeweed Mitogen ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Cytoplasmic Granules ◽  
Storage Diseases ◽  
Tay Sachs Disease ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Neurovisceral Lipidosis

Rats given SK&F 14336-D (9-[3-Dimethylamino propyl]-2-chloroacridane), a tranquilizing drug, developed an increased number of vacuolated lymphocytes as observed by light microscopy. Vacuoles in peripheral blood of rats and humans apparently are rare and are not usually reported in differential counts. Transforming agents such as phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen induce similar vacuoles in in vitro cultures of lymphocytes. These vacuoles have also been reported in some of the lipid-storage diseases of humans such as amaurotic familial idiocy, familial neurovisceral lipidosis, lipomucopolysaccharidosis and sphingomyelinosis. Electron microscopic studies of Tay-Sachs' disease and of chloroquine treated swine have demonstrated large numbers of “membranous cytoplasmic granules” in the cytoplasm of neurons, in addition to lymphocytes. The present study was undertaken with the purpose of characterizing the membranous inclusions and developing an experimental animal model which may be used for the study of lipid storage diseases.

scholarly journals Isolation and Characterization of Two Proteins fromMoraxella catarrhalis That Bear a Common Epitope

1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 4374-4381 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. McMichael ◽  
Michael J. Fiske ◽  
Ross A. Fredenburg ◽  
Deb N. Chakravarti ◽  
Karl R. VanDerMeid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Bacterial Attachment ◽  
Vaccine Candidates ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Sds Page

ABSTRACT The UspA1 and UspA2 proteins of Moraxella catarrhalisare potential vaccine candidates for preventing disease caused by this organism. We have characterized both proteins and evaluated their vaccine potential using both in vitro and in vivo assays. Both proteins were purified from the O35E isolate by Triton X-100 extraction, followed by ion-exchange and hydroxyapatite chromatography. Analysis of the sequences of internal peptides, prepared by enzymatic and chemical cleavage of the proteins, revealed that UspA1 and UspA2 exhibited distinct structural differences but shared a common sequence including an epitope recognized by the monoclonal antibody 17C7. By sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), purified UspA1 exhibited a molecular weight of approximately 350,000 when unheated and a molecular weight of 100,000 after being heated for 10 min at 100°C. In contrast, purified UspA2 exhibited an apparent molecular weight of 240,000 by SDS-PAGE that did not change with the length of time of heating. Their sizes as determined by gel filtration were 1,150,000 and 830,000 for UspA1 and UspA2, respectively. Preliminary results indicate the proteins have separate functions in bacterial pathogenesis. Purified UspA1 was found to bind HEp-2 cells, and sera against UspA1, but not against UspA2, blocked binding of the O35E isolate to the HEp-2 cells. UspA1 also bound fibronectin and appears to have a role in bacterial attachment. Purified UspA2, however, did not bind fibronectin but had an affinity for vitronectin. Both proteins elicited bactericidal antibodies in mice to homologous and heterologous disease isolates. Finally, mice immunized with each of the proteins, followed by pulmonary challenge with either the homologous or a heterologous isolate, cleared the bacteria more rapidly than mock-immunized mice. These results suggest that UspA1 and UspA2 serve different virulence functions and that both are promising vaccine candidates.

scholarly journals Characterization of proteins from the cytoskeleton of Giardia lamblia

1983 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Crossley ◽  
D.V. Holberton
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate ◽  
Giardia Lamblia ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Molecular Size ◽  
Molecular Weights

Proteins from the axonemes and disc cytoskeleton of Giardia lamblia have been examined by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In addition to tubulin and the 30 X 10(3) molecular weight disc protein, at least 18 minor components copurify with the two major proteins in Triton-insoluble structures. The most prominent minor bands have the apparent molecular weights of 110 X 10(3), 95 X 10(3) and 81 X 10(3). Protein of 30 X 10(3) molecular weight accounts for about 20% of organelle protein on gels. In continuous 25 mM-Tris-glycine buffer it migrates mostly as a close-spaced doublet of polypeptides, which are here given the name giardins. Giardia tubulin and giardin have been purified by gel filtration chromatography in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. Well-separated fractions were obtained that could be further characterized. Both proteins are heterogeneous when examined by isoelectric focusing. Five tubulin chains were detected by PAGE Blue 83 dye-binding after focusing in a broad-range ampholyte gel. Giardin is slightly less acidic than tubulin. On gels it splits into four major and four minor chains with isoelectric points in the pI range from 5.8 to 6.2. The amino acid composition of the giardin fraction has been determined, and compared to Giardia tubulin and a rat brain tubulin standard. Giardins are rich in helix-forming residues, particularly leucine. They have a low content of proline and glycine; therefore they may have extensive alpha-helical regions and be rod-shaped. As integral proteins of disc microribbons, giardins in vivo associate closely with tubulin. The properties of giardins indicate that in a number of respects - molecular size, charge, stoichiometry - their structural interaction with tubulin assemblies will be different from other tubulin-accessory protein copolymers studied in vitro.

scholarly journals Identification and characterization of microtubule proteins from myxamoebae of Physarum polycephalum

1980 ◽  
Vol 189 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Roobol ◽  
C I Pogson ◽  
K Gull
Keyword(s):  
Physarum Polycephalum ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Alpha Tubulin ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Microtubule Protein ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Microtubule Formation

Cell extracts of myxamoebae of Physarum polycephalum have been prepared in such a way that they do not inhibit assembly of brain microtubule protein in vitro even at high extract-protein concentration. Co-polymers of these extracts and brain tubulin have been purified to constant stoichiometry and amoebal components identified by radiolabelling. Amoebal tubulin has been identified as having an alpha-subunit, mol.wt. 54 000, which co-migrates with brain alpha-tubulin and a beta-subunit, mol.wt. 50 000, which co-migrates with Tetrahymena ciliary beta-tubulin. Non-tubulin amoebal proteins that co-purify with tubulin during co-polymer formation have been shown to be essential for microtubule formation in the absence of glycerol and appear to be rather more effective than brain microtubule-associated proteins in stimulating assembly. The mitotic inhibitor griseofulvin (7-chloro-2′,4,6-trimethoxy-6′-methylspiro[benzofuran-2(3H),1′-cyclohex-2′-ene] −3,4′-dione), which binds to brain microtubule-associated proteins and inhibits brain microtubule assembly in vitro, affected co-polymer microtubule protein in a similar way, but to a slightly greater extent.

Polarized pigment granule transport occurs in the absence of microtubules in squirrelfish erythrophores: studies of the effects of estramustine

1987 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-580
Author(s):  
M.E. Stearns ◽  
M. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Pigment Granule ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Voltage Electron ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Drug Inhibition ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
10 Nm Filaments ◽  
Inhibition Studies

We have re-examined the involvement of microtubules in the process of pigment granule transport in squirrelfish erythrophores in situ (i.e. on scales). Light-microscopic studies revealed that following exposure to 5 microM-nocodazole for 1 h at 4 degrees C erythrophores retained an ability to aggregate and disperse their pigment uniformly, though at reduced rates. Serial thick-section stereo high-voltage electron-microscopic studies showed that the entire microtubule population was removed by drug treatment and that the microtubules were not reassembled as a result of pigment translocation processes in the presence of reduced levels of nocodazole (0.4 microM). Immunofluorescence microscopic studies confirmed that nocodazole (0.5-1 microM) produced rapid disassembly of the microtubules. Whole-mount electron-microscopic studies showed that the pigment granules were suspended in a cross-linking network of 3–10 nm filaments, which appeared to support ordered pigment transport in situ in the absence of microtubules. Drug inhibition studies showed that micromolar levels of estramustine, a novel anti-MAPs (microtubule-associated proteins) drug, reversibly inhibited pigment transport. The results suggest that an estramustine-sensitive cytomatrix component might produce polarized pigment transport in intact erythrophores.

Electron microscopic studies on the structure of motile primordial germ cells of Xenopus laevis in vitro

Development ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-133
Author(s):  
Janet Heasman ◽  
C. C. Wylie
Keyword(s):  
Xenopus Laevis ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Microscopic Studies

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) of Xenopus laevis have been isolated from early embryos and kept alive in vitro, in order to study the structural basis of their motility, using the transmission and scanning electron microscope. The culture conditions used mimicked as closely as possible the in vivo environment of migrating PGCs, in that isolated PGCs were seeded onto monolayers of amphibian mesentery cells. In these conditions we have demonstrated that: (a) No significant differences were found between the morphology of PGCs in vitro and in vivo. (b) Structural features involved in PGC movement in vitro include (i) the presence of a filamentous substructure, (ii) filopodial and blunt cell processes, (iii) cell surface specializations. These features are also characteristic of migratory PGCs studied in vivo. (c) PGCs in vitro have powers of invasion similar to those of migrating PGCs in vivo. They occasionally become completely surrounded by cells of the monolayer and, in this situation, bear striking resemblance to PGCs moving between mesentery cells to the site of the developing gonad in stage-44 tadpoles. We conclude that as far as it is possible to assess, the behaviour of isolated PGCs in these in vitro conditions mimics their activities in vivo. This allows us to study the ultrastructural basis of their migration.

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