PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION OF AN ANDROGEN-MACROMOLECULAR COMPLEX FROM THE RAT VENTRAL PROSTATE

1969 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olav Unhjem ◽  
Kjell J. Tveter ◽  
Asbjørn Aakvaag

ABSTRACT Following administration of (1,2-3H)-testosterone to castrated rats or incubation of prostatic tissue with the same steroid, a gel filtration technique has been used for the isolation of a soluble steroid-macromolecular complex from the tissues. Subsequent steroid analyses revealed that 5α-androstan-17β-ol-3-one was the major component associated with the macromolecules both in the in vivo and by in vitro experiments. The complex is destroyed by proteolytic enzymes like trypsin and pronase, but is unaffected by DNase and RNase. The complex is excluded from G-200 as well as P-300 gel beds. By sucrose density gradient centrifugation two macromolecular components were found associated with radioactivity. The largest component had a sedimentation coefficient of 9.3 S and probably corresponds to the macromolecular complex demonstrated by gel filtration, whereas the smaller component had a sedimentation coefficient of 4.5 S and might represent an association of steroids with serum albumin.


1979 ◽  
Vol 92 (3_Supplb) ◽  
pp. S67-S81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuichiro Sudo ◽  
Keiji Yoshida ◽  
Yoshiaki Kimura ◽  
Ryo Nakayama

ABSTRACT Intramuscular administration of a new steroidal anti-androgen, TSAA-291(16β-ethyl-17β-hydroxy-4-oestren-3-one), in doses of 0.05, 0.5 and 5 mg/kg body weight reduced the in vivo uptake of [3H]testosterone by the ventral prostate of castrated rats to 78, 59 and 37% of the control level, respectively. Analysis on subcellular fractions of the prostate by gel-filtration and sucrose density-gradient centrifugation followed by thin layer chromatographic identification of testosterone metabolites revealed that 5α-dihydrotestosterone(5α-DHT) which was found to be largely bound to macromolecules in the cytosol and nucleus was the predominant metabolite even in the presence of the anti-androgen, and radioactivities corresponding to the 5α-DHT-macromolecular complexes were decreased by the anti-androgen. TSAA-291 also inhibited the in vitro formation of the 5α-DHT-macromolecular complexes in both cytosol and nucleus from minced prostates incubated with [3H]testosterone. The importance of the findings is discussed in connection with the mode of anti-androgenic action of TSAA-291 in terms of the interaction with the androgen receptor.



1981 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kuriyama ◽  
H. Kanatani

Centrioles from spermatozoa of the starfish, Asterina pectinifera, were isolated and partially purified by solubilization of chromatin followed by sucrose density-gradient centrifugation. The ultrastructure of the isolated centriolar complex was investigated in whole mount preparations by electron microscopy. The complex unit was composed of a pair of centrioles and a pericentriolar structure, which associated with the distal end of the distal centriole by 9 spoke-like satellites extending radially to a marginal ring. Each satellite bifurcated at a dense node forming 2 fan-like shapes with a periodic striated pattern. The tubular structure of the centrioles easily disintegrated, leaving the pericentriolar structure or axonemal microtubules intact. The distal centriole in a spermatozoon served as an initiating site for flagellar microtubule assembly; that is, a number of “9 + 2′ axonemal tubules were observed adhering just beneath the distal end of the basal body. In experiments in vitro, polymerization of microtubule proteins purified from porcine brain was initiated by the structure at the ends of both proximal and distal centrioles, but not from the satellites or the marginal ring. Also, few if any microtubules were formed from the sides of each centriole, even in the presence of a high concentration of exogenous tubulin. On the other hand, centrioles of spermatozoa, when they were in mature ooplasm, could initiate the formation of sperm asters by microtubules. Therefore, centrioles in spermatozoa seem to be able to initiate microtubules in a 2 ways. A possible explanation of the difference between the 2 types of microtubule organization in vivo, i.e. in the sperm cell itself and in the ooplasm, it discussed.



2007 ◽  
Vol 405 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jørgen de Jonge ◽  
Johanna M. Leenhouts ◽  
Marijke Holtrop ◽  
Pieter Schoen ◽  
Peter Scherrer ◽  
...  

Reconstituted influenza virosomes (virus membrane envelopes) have been used previously to deliver pDNA (plasmid DNA) bound to their external surface to a variety of target cells. Although high transfection efficiencies can be obtained with these complexes in vitro, the virosome-associated DNA is readily accessible to nucleases and could therefore be prone to rapid degradation under in vivo conditions. In the present study, we show a new method for the production of DNA–virosomes resulting in complete protection of the DNA from nucleases. This method relies on the use of the short-chain phospholipid DCPC (dicaproylphosphatidylcholine) for solubilization of the viral membrane. The solubilized viral membrane components are mixed with pDNA and cationic lipid. Reconstitution of the viral envelopes and simultaneous encapsulation of pDNA is achieved by removal of the DCPC from the mixture through dialysis. Analysis by linear sucrose density-gradient centrifugation revealed that protein, phospholipid and pDNA physically associated to particles, which appeared as vesicles with spike proteins inserted in their membranes when analysed by electron microscopy. The DNA–virosomes retained the membrane fusion properties of the native influenza virus. The virosome-associated pDNA was completely protected from degradation by nucleases, providing evidence for the DNA being highly condensed and encapsulated in the lumen of the virosomes. DNA–virosomes, containing reporter gene constructs, transfected a variety of cell lines, with efficiencies approaching 90%. Transfection was completely dependent on the fusogenic properties of the viral spike protein haemagglutinin. Thus, DNA–virosomes prepared by the new procedure are highly efficient vehicles for DNA delivery, offering the advantage of complete DNA protection, which is especially important for future in vivo applications.



1970 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Smith ◽  
L. Martin ◽  
R. J. B. King ◽  
M. Vértes

1. A method is described for separating uterine epithelium that is 80% pure and connective-tissue stroma that is 60% pure. This was used to study the effects of steroid hormones on total and nuclear-protein synthesis in these tissues. 2. Oestradiol-17β given alone produces mitoses in the epithelium but not in the stroma. It stimulated incorporation in vitro of [14C]lysine into total protein, histones and acidic nuclear proteins to a greater extent in epithelium than stroma. Incorporation into acidic nuclear proteins was most markedly stimulated, reaching four to six times the normal value 4h after treatment, and then declining rapidly. This peak was only seen in epithelial preparations. 3. After pretreatment with progesterone, oestradiol-17β has the reverse effect, producing mitoses only in stroma. Progesterone alone had no effect on the amounts or rates of incorporation of [14C]lysine into stromal nuclear proteins, but changes after oestradiol-17β treatment were similar to those seen in epithelium with oestradiol-17β alone. In the epithelium, progesterone alone depressed incorporation into histones and acidic nuclear proteins, but did not abolish the subsequent response to oestradiol-17β. With this treatment there was a rapid, large and transient increase in incorporation into epithelial total protein not seen with oestradiol-17β alone. 4. Progesterone had no qualitative effect on the distribution of specific oestrogen-binding proteins, as judged by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. However, progesterone treatment increased the uptake in vivo of [6,7-3H]oestradiol-17β by stroma, and it is possible that this is important although the differences were not apparent after labelling in vitro.



Development ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 799-808
Author(s):  
E.K. Shibuya ◽  
Y. Masui

In amphibians, zygotes microinjected with cytosol of unactivated eggs are arrested at metaphase of mitosis. The factor responsible for this effect has been designated ‘cytostatic factor, (CSF)’. CSF is inactivated by Ca2+ addition to cytosols. During storage of the Ca(2+)-containing cytosols, a stable CSF activity develops. Therefore, the first Ca(2+)-sensitive CSF and the second Ca(2+)-insensitive CSF have been referred to as primary CSF (CSF-1) and secondary CSF (CSF-2), respectively. We have partially purified CSF-1, which had been stabilized with NaF and ATP, and CSF-2 from cytosols of Rana pipiens eggs by ammonium sulphate (AmS) precipitation and sucrose density gradient centrifugation or gel filtration, and investigated their molecular characteristics. CSF-1 was sensitive to protease, but resistant to RNAse, and inactivated within 2 h at 25 degrees C. CSF-1 could be sedimented in a sucrose density gradient from a fresh cytosol or its crude fraction precipitated at 20–30% saturation of AmS, showing the sedimentation coefficient 3S. When analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), all the proteins in partially purified CSF-1 samples entered the gel and were separated into numerous peptide bands. In contrast, CSF-2 was an extremely large molecule, being eluted from Sepharose columns as molecules larger than 2 × 10(6), and failed to enter the gel when analyzed by SDS-PAGE. It could be purified 40 times from cytosols. CSF-2 was a highly stable molecule, being neither inactivated nor dissociated at pH 11.5 or by 4M-NaCl and LiCl and 8 M-urea. It was also resistant to RNAse treatment. However, CSF-2 could be broken down into small peptides of variable sizes by trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, and papain, but not by S. aureus V8 protease, although it was less sensitive to proteases than CSF-1. The dose-dependency test showed that the activity of CSF-2 is independent of its concentration and that an amount of CSF-2 could cause cleavage arrest earlier when injected into a blastomere in a larger volume.



1973 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. I. P. MAINWARING ◽  
E. J. G. MILROY

SUMMARY A search has been conducted for specific androgen-binding proteins in soluble extracts of normal human prostate tissue and in surgical samples removed at retropubic prostatectomy for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Proteins with a particularly high affinity for a metabolite of testosterone, 5α-dihydrotestosterone, have been identified in studies on the binding of 3H-labelled steroids in vitro. The 5α-dihydrotestosterone-protein complexes have been partially characterized using sucrose density gradient centrifugation and gel-exclusion chromatography. The androgen receptors in the human prostate gland are remarkably similar to those previously described in the accessory sexual glands of experimental animals. These findings have been confirmed by the analysis of extracts of hyperplastic prostate glands labelled by the administration of [3H]testosterone in vivo. No attempt was made to correlate the degree of binding with the histological appearance of the specimens of hyperplastic prostate or to determine whether the receptors were principally present in the hyperplastic nodules. Such androgen-binding proteins were not present in serum, skeletal muscle or adipose tissue. The possible relevance of these findings to the onset of clinical disorders in the human prostate gland is briefly discussed.



1979 ◽  
Vol 181 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
M E Birnbaumer ◽  
W T Schrader ◽  
B W O'Malley

Chick oviduct progesterone-receptor proteins were treated in cytosol with the reversible cross-linking reagent methyl 4-mercaptobutyrimidate. The product of the reaction was a 7S complex that could be detected and recovered after sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation in 0.3M-KCl. The extent of the reaction was dependent on the concentration of methyl 4-mercaptobutyrimidate and independent of the presence of bound hormone, since unlabelled receptors could also be cross-linked. The cross-linking reaction required conditions in which the cytosol 6S complex was preserved. A Stokes radius of 7.3 nm was determined by gel filtration in Agarose A-1.5 m in 0.3 M-KCl. The sedimentation coefficient, which was also determined in 0.3 M-KCl, allowed us to calculate a mol. wt. of 228,000. We were also able to cross-link partially purified receptor forms isolated by using an Agarose A-15 m column. On reduction with beta-mercaptoethanol the complex broke down to 4S monomers that were identified by DEAE-cellulose and phosphocellulose chromatography, adsorption on DNA-cellulose and gel filtration in an Agarose A-1.5 m column. In most cases, A and B receptor proteins were released in equivalent amounts, implying that the cross-linked form was an A-B complex.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangshuang Wan ◽  
Guangzhong Song ◽  
Hui Hu ◽  
Yaqing Xu ◽  
Peng Zeng ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) has been primarily associated with the toxin B (TcdB), which can activate the intestinal immune system and lead to pathological damage. Even though the biological functions of intestine epithelial cell-derived extracellular vesicles (I-Evs) have been well documented, the role of I-Evs in the process of CDI is still unknown. Methods: I-Evs were isolated from mouse intestine tissues by ultracentrifugation protocol, identified by electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking, sucrose density gradient centrifugation, and western blotting. Intestinal pathological damage was measured after intraperitoneal injection of TcdB into mice. Results: We isolated I-Evs ranging from 100–200 nm in mean diameter, with a density of 1.09-1.17 g/mL. These I-Evs expressed the extracellular vesicle-associated specific surface markers, CD63 and TSG101. In vitro, 50 µg I-Evs decreased the expression of IL-6, TNF-a, IL-1β, and IL-22 induced by 0.8 ng/mL C. difficile TcdB, and increased expression of TGF-b1. In vivo, I-Evs also promoted regulatory T cell induction, which improved the survival rate of mice up to 80% relative to C. difficile TcdB mice, dependent on the TGF-b1 signalling pathway. Conclusion: As an emerging immunotherapy, I-Evs can reduce the intraperitoneal infection induced by C. difficile TcdB and improve survival in mice.



1978 ◽  
Vol 169 (2) ◽  
pp. 445-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Litwack ◽  
M H Cake ◽  
R Filler ◽  
K Taylor

Physical measurements were made on the cytosolic form of the liver [3H]dexamethasone receptor. These include a Stokes radius of 3.5 nm, determined by gel filtration, and sedimentation coefficients of 5.1 and 7-8S, by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. From these measurements, the following physical properties were calculated: apparent mol. wt. 78000 (the 5.1 S form); D app. 6.1 × 10(-7) cm2-S-1; f/fo 1.25; axial ratio 4.7; these indicate a globular protein. Measurements of sedimentation coefficient of cytosol steroid-receptor complexes previously subjected to various activating conditions gave different values and lead to the conclusion that the mechanism of activation in vitro enabling the steroid-receptor complex to bind to DNA is more complex than simple disaggregation to a uniform size.



1970 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald J. Chader ◽  
Claude A. Villee

The binding of [6,7-3H]oestradiol-17β to subcellular fractions of the hypothalamus and the cerebellum of the rabbit was studied in vitro. Uptake of steroid was higher in hypothalamic nuclei than in cerebellar nuclei. Lower binding was observed in other fractions of both tissues. After dialysis of the fractions, hypothalamic nuclei retained a high percentage of oestradiol whereas cerebellar nuclei lost most of the bound steroid. Supernatant fractions of both tissues retained a significant proportion of label after dialysis and after gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. No specific binding was observed in these fractions when subjected to sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. Purification of nuclei followed by incubation with labelled oestradiol in the absence of the supernatant fraction resulted in loss of binding of steroid by hypothalamic nuclei. Incubation of the purified hypothalamic nuclei with supernatant fraction maintained the binding specificity of hormone retention.



Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document