The effects of polyamines on a residue-specific human plasma ribonuclease. (73/164)

A ribonuclease, purified some 2700-fold from human plasma, exhibited a strong predilection for the hydrolysis of internucleotide bonds containing cytidylic acid. Analysis of [3'-32P]- and [5'-32P]phosphoryl-terminal fragments obtained after enzymic digestion of rabbit liver and yeast RNA indicated that the nucleotide found at the 3' terminus of the fragments was invariably cytidylic acid. The nucleotide at the 5' terminus varied between cytidylic and uridylic acids in a ratio of 9:1. When characterized by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, approximately 70 per cent of the digest consisted of oligonucleotides from 4 to 8 nucleotides in length. Enzyme activity, when measured in low ionic strength buffer, could be increased severalfold above control levels by the addition of either of the polyamines, spermidine or spermine. These substances also restored nucleolytic activity to preparations inhibited by such ordered synthetic polyribonucleotides as polyguanylic acid. Estimations of the molecular weight of the enzyme, both by Sephadex gel filtration and sucrose density centrifugation, indicate that the weight may vary, depending on the presence or absence of certain cations. Of the cations examined, spermidine and spermine appear to have the greatest effect, causing an alteration in molecular weight from greater than 150,000 to approximately 32,000.  (+info)

Metabolomics in noninvasive breast cancer. (74/164)

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Kinetic mechanism and energetics of binding of phosphoryl group acceptors to Mycobacterium tuberculosis cytidine monophosphate kinase. (75/164)

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The role of Drosophila cytidine monophosphate-sialic acid synthetase in the nervous system. (76/164)

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Pharmacological inhibition of polysialyltransferase ST8SiaII modulates tumour cell migration. (77/164)

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Coincident start sites for divergent transcripts at a randomly selected CpG-rich island of mouse. (78/164)

We determined the nucleotide sequence of two HTF islands that were selected at random from mouse chromosomal DNA. Both were non-methylated, G + C rich, and contained CpG at close to the expected frequency. When used as probes, the two islands detected multiple transcripts in RNA from several mouse tissues. Cloned cDNAs for the major transcripts of one island (HTF9) were isolated and used to construct a transcriptional map. We found that HTF9 contains the origin of a pair of divergent transcripts that are probably messenger RNAs. The bidirectional promoter is different from those previously observed as the major transcription start sites for each orientation are coincident on opposite strands of the DNA. The results support the view that HTF islands often mark genes, and they suggest that bidirectional transcription may be a common feature of island promoters.  (+info)

Low fidelity of cell-free DNA synthesis by reverse transcriptase of human immunodeficiency virus. (79/164)

The fidelity of DNA synthesis by reverse transcriptases from human immunodeficiency virus and other retroviruses was compared by measuring the rates of misincorporation of dCMP in the place of TMP in cell-free DNA synthesis with polyadenylic acid as the template. The fidelity of human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase was found to be about one-third of that of the reverse transcriptases of other retroviruses.  (+info)

Detection of CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase activity in fractionated mouse liver. (80/164)

The finding that N-glycoloylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) in pig submandibular gland is synthesized by hydroxylation of the sugar nucleotide CMP-Neu5Ac [Shaw & Schauer (1988) Biol. Chem. Hoppe-Seyler 369, 477-486] prompted us to investigate further the biosynthesis of this sialic acid in mouse liver. Free [14C]Neu5Ac, CMP-[14C]Neu5Ac and [14C]Neu5Ac glycosidically bound by Gal alpha 2-3- and Gal alpha 2-6-GlcNAc beta 1-4 linkages to fetuin were employed as potential substrates in experiments with fractionated mouse liver homogenates. The only substrate to be hydroxylated was the CMP-Neu5Ac glycoside. The product of the reaction was identified by chemical and enzymic methods as CMP-Neu5Gc. All of the CMP-Neu5Ac hydroxylase activity was detected in the high-speed supernatant fraction. The hydroxylase required a reduced nicotinamide nucleotide [NAD(P)H] coenzyme and molecular oxygen for activity. Furthermore, the activity of this enzyme was enhanced by exogenously added Fe2+ or Fe3+ ions, all other metal salts tested having a negligible or inhibitory influence. This hydroxylase is therefore tentatively classified as a monooxygenase. The cofactor requirement and CMP-Neu5Ac substrate specificity are identical to those of the enzyme in high-speed supernatants of pig submandibular gland, suggesting that this is a common route of Neu5Gc biosynthesis. The relevance of these results to the regulation of Neu5Gc expression in sialoglycoconjugates is discussed.  (+info)