Metrizamide density gradients of sea urchin chromatin: fractions rich and poor in nascent DNA. (1/51)

A crude, lightly sheared chromatin preparation obtained from a mixture of [methyl-3H] thymidine pulse and [2-14C] thymidine long-labeled sea urchin embryos (swimming blastulae), was centrifuged in metrizamide to form an isopycnic gradient. The buoyant density of the 3H pulse labeled chromatin was slightly higher than that of the 14C labeled bulk chromatin. The 3H/14C ratios in the higher and lower density regions of the overlapping radioactivity peaks, indicated the presence of fractions rich and poor in nascent DNA in these two density regions. After 15 min chase, the difference disappeared, indicating that the chromatin fractions with nascent DNA have a half-life shorter than 15 min.  (+info)

Isopycnic centrifugation of sheared L-cell chromatin in metrizamide gradients. (2/51)

Isopycnic gradient centrifugation of L-929 cell chromatin in a 38% (W/V) metrizamide solution yields two distinct fractions. The fraction banding at a density of 1.24 gm/cm(2) (H chromatin) contains about 10% of the DNA present in the fraction banding at a density of 1.18 gm/cm(2) (L chromatin). Both fractions contain the same proportions of satellite to main band DNA's. Some differences can be seen in the DNA: protein ratios and types of proteins present in the H and L chromatin fractions.  (+info)

Isopycnic sedimentation of DNA in metrizamide: the effect of low concentrations of ions on buoyant density and hydration. (3/51)

Metrizamide, an inert, non-ionic organic compound, dissolves in water to give a dense solution in which DNA bands isopycnically at a density corresponding to that of fully hydrated DNA. Density-gradient centrifugation in solutions of metrizamide has been used to determine the effects of very dilute solutions of salts on the buoyant density of native and denatured DNA. It has been shown that the buoyant density of DNA is dependent on both the counter-cation and the anion present. Interpretation of the data in terms of the degree of hydration of the macromolecule indicates that (i), NaDNA is more highly hydrated than CsDNA; and (ii), the hydration of NaDNA varies with anion in the order sulphate< fluoride< chloride< bromide< iodide. It is suggested that isopycnic centrifugation in metrizamide is a simple method for determining the effects of salts (and other small molecules) on the hydration of nucleic acids under conditions of high ratios of salt to DNA (> 5 x 10(3) moles/mole) while high (0.999) water activity is maintained.  (+info)

A study of the interaction of histones with DNA using isopycnic centrifugation in metrizamide gradients. (4/51)

Isopycnic sedimentation in metrizamide gradients has shown that mouse-liver histones bind co-operatively to both homologous and bacterial DNA's. However, at low input ratios of histone to DNA, two types of stable complex are formed, depending on the histone concentration. One complex contains half as much histone as DNA while the other contains approximately equal amounts of histone and DNA. At high input ratios of histone to DNA extra histone is bound giving complexes containing up to twice as much histone as DNA. Poly-L-lysine and protamine were also found to bind co-operatively to DNA.  (+info)

Clinical significance of phenotypic features of blasts in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome. (5/51)

Knowledge of the blast phenotype in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) would be valuable, as in other malignancies, but remains sparse. This is mainly because MDS blasts are a minor population in clinical samples, making analysis difficult. Thus, for this blast phenotype study, we prepared blast-rich specimens (using a new density centrifugation reagent for harvesting blasts) from blood and marrow samples of 95 patients with various MDS subtypes and 21 patients with acute leukemia transformed from MDS (AL-MDS). Flow cytometry revealed that a high proportion of the enriched blast cells (EBCs) from almost all patients showed an immunophenotype of committed myeloid precursors (CD34(+)CD38(+)HLA-DR(+)CD13(+)CD33(+)), regardless of the disease subtype. The cytochemical reaction for myeloperoxidase was negative in 58% of the cases. Thus, the EBC phenotype is more immature in MDS than in de novo acute myeloid leukemia. MDS EBCs often coexpressed stem cell antigens and late-stage myeloid antigens asynchronously, but rarely expressed T- and B-lymphoid cell-specific antigens. Markers for myeloid cell maturation (CD10 and CD15) were more prevalent on EBCs from low-risk MDS (refractory anemia [RA] and RA with ringed sideroblasts), whereas markers for myeloid cell immaturity (CD7 and CD117) were more prevalent on EBCs from high-risk MDS (chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, RA with excess blasts [RAEB], and RAEB in transformation) and AL-MDS. A shift to a more immature phenotype of EBCs, accompanying disease progression, was also documented by sequential phenotyping of the same patients. Further, CD7 positivity of EBCs was an independent variable for a poor prognosis in MDS. These data represent new, valuable information regarding MDS.  (+info)

The use of metrizamide as a density-gradient medium in studies of rat-liver polysomes. (6/51)

The behaviour of rat liver cytoplasmic ribonucleoproteins in metrizamide has been studied to determine whether the iodinated compound would offer any advantage over other centrifugation media for studies of polysome structure and function. 1. Polysomes had a density of 1.295--1.300 g/cm3 in metrizamide gradients which was also the density of glycogen. However, the polysaccharide reached its equilibrium more rapidly than the polysomes. Thus a short centrifugation of a polysome suspension from non-starved rats over a 40% metrizamide cushion was sufficient to eliminate more than 85% of the glycogen with a polysome yield of about 75%. 2. Ribosomal subunits had neighbouring densities (1.23 and 1.20 g/cm3 for large and small EDTA-derived subunits; 1.23 and 1.21 g/cm3 for large and small KCl/puromycin-derived subunits, respectively). Polysomal messenger ribonucleoproteins were heterogeneously distributed (phi = 1.12 to 1.23 g/cm3) and overlapped with subunits in a similar manner as in sucrose gradients. 3. Analysis of a post-mitochondrial supernatant in metrizamide showed a clear separation of free polysomes, rough membranes and the soluble phase.  (+info)

Use of colloidal silica (Sepracell-MN) for enrichment of dendritic cells from human peripheral blood: comparison with other methods. (7/51)

Three methods are described for enrichment of dendritic cells from human peripheral blood. In method 1, mononuclear cells were incubated in plastic tissue culture flasks for two h. Nonadherent cells were removed. Adherent cells were washed to remove floating cells and incubated for 14 h at 37 degrees C in 5% CO2. Carbonyl iron was added, and the flasks were incubated for another 2 h. Nonadherent cells were subjected to centrifugation over metrizamide gradient. Phagocytic cells containing ingested carbonyl iron, small lymphocytes, and free carbonyl iron particles passed through the metrizamide, while the interface cell population was enriched for dendritic cells. The purity and yield of enriched dendritic cells were 52.8% and 0.05%, respectively. In method 2, adherent mononuclear cells were cultured overnight, and the released cells (released adherent cells) were centrifuged over metrizamide to separate low-density cells. Monocytes from this low-density cell population were removed by panning over human gamma globulin-coated plastic Petri dishes. In this method the average purity and yield of DC were 63.8% and 0.1%, respectively. In method 3, released adherent cells were treated with anti-CD5 and anti-CD14 monoclonal antibodies plus baby rabbit complement for 15 min, washed, and centrifuged with colloidal silica (Sepracell-MN). Centrifugation with Sepracell-MN was repeated three times. Low-density cells were panned twice over human gamma globulin-coated plastic Petri dishes. Nonadherent cells were highly enriched for DC. Contamination of T cells, B cells, and NK cells was undetectable by flow cytofluorometry. Contamination of monocytes was less than 2%. This method provided greater than 85.0% purity and 0.4% yield. This method (method 3) combines adherence, complement-dependent lysis, centrifugation with colloidal silica, and panning and provides the best yield and purity; it is therefore recommended for optimal purification of DC.  (+info)

Chromatin-like structures in polyoma virus and simian virus 10 lytic cycle. (8/51)

Nucleoprotein complexes containing viral DNA and cellular histones were extracted from nuclei of permissive cells infected with polyoma virus or simian virus 40 (SV40) and examined by electron microscopy. Polyoma and SV40 nucleoprotein complexes are almost identical. They appear as relaxed circular molecules consisting of 20 to 21 globular particles interconnected by thin filaments. Their contour length in 0.02 M salt is 2.7 times shorter than that of viral DNA form I obtained after dissociation of the proteins in 1 M NaCl. The nucleosomes have an average diameter of 12.5 nm. Each nucleosome contains 175 to 205 DNA base pairs condensed fivefold in length. The nucleosomes are regularly spaced on the circular molecule. The internucleosomal filaments are made of naked DNA, and each filament contains about 55 base pairs. The partial sensitivity of the nucleoprotein complex to cleavage by EcoR1 endonuclease suggests that the nucleosomes are not formed at specific sites on the viral genome. Faster sedimenting nucleoprotein complexes containing replicative intermediates were studied. Isopycnic centrifugation in metrizamide gradients in the absence of aldehyde fixation showed that these molecules conserved the same DNA-to-protein ratio as the form I DNA-containing complexes.  (+info)