The balance between life and death of a cell regulates essential developmental processes in multicellular organisms. Apoptotic cell death is a complex, stepwise program involving multiple protein components that trigger and execute the demise of the cell. Of the many triggers of apoptosis, most are not well understood, but some key components have been identified, such as those of the Bcl-2 family, which function as anti-apoptotic or proapoptotic factors. Bax, a pro-apoptotic member of this family, has been shown to serve as a component of many apoptotic triggering cascades and its mechanism of action is the focus of intense study. Herein we discuss current, differing ideas on the function of Bax and its structure, and suggest novel mechanisms for how this death protein targets mitochondria, triggering apoptosis.

Schizosaccharomyces pombe gene encoding redox enzymes, such as thioltransferase (TTase) and thioredoxin (TRX), were previously cloned and induced by oxidative stress. In this investigation, their expressions were examined using $\beta$-galactosidase fusion plasmids. The expression of the two cloned genes appeared to be growth-dependent. The synthesis of $\beta$-galactosidase from the TTase-lacZ fusion was increased in the medium with the low glucose level, whereas it was significantly decreased in the medium without glucose or with galactose. It was also decreased in the nitrogen-limited medium. The synthesis of galactosidase from the TRX-lacZ fusion was unaffected by galactose or low glucose. However, it was lowered the absence of glucose. The synthesis of $\beta$-galactosidase from the TTase-lacZ fusion was shown to be enhanced in a higher medium pH. Our findings indicate that S. pombe TTase and TRX genes may be regulated by carbon and nitrogen sources, as well as medium pH.

Based on the currently proposed toxicity model for the different Bacillus thuringiensis Cry $\delta$-endotoxins, their pore-forming activity involves the insertion of the ${\alpha}4-{\alpha}5$ helical hairpin into the membrane of the target midgut epithelial cell. In this study, a number of polar or charged residues in helix 4 within domain I of the 65-kDa dipteranactive Cry11A toxin, Lys-123, Tyr-125, Asn-128, Ser-130, Gln-135, Arg-136, Gln-139 and Glu-141, were initially substituted with alanine by using PCR-based directed mutagenesis. All mutant toxins were expressed as cytoplasmic inclusions in Escherichia coli upon induction with IPTG. Similar to the wild-type protoxin inclusion, the solubility of each mutant inclusion in the carbonate buffer, pH 9.0, was relatively low When E. coli cells, expressing each of the mutant proteins, were tested for toxicity against Aedes aegypti mosquito-larvae, toxicity was completely abolished for the alanine substitution of arginine at position 136. However, mutations at the other positions still retained a high level of larvicidal activity Interestingly, further analysis of this critical arginine residue by specific mutagenesis showed that conversions of arginine-136 to aspartate, glutamine, or even to the most conserved residue lysine, also abolished the wild-type activity The results of this study revealed an important determinant in toxin function for the positively charged side chain of arginine-136 in helix 4 of the Cry11A toxin.

Ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17) is an essential enzyme for polyamine synthesis and growth in mammalian cells and plants. We compared the biochemical and immunological properties of rat and Nicotiana glutinosa ODC by cloning and expressing the recombinant proteins. The primary amino acid sequence between rat and N. glutinosa ODC had a 40% homology The molecular weight of the overexpressed rat ODC was 53 kDa, and that of N. glutinosa was 46.5 kDa. Adding 1 mM of putrescine to the enzyme reaction mixture inhibited both rat and N. glutinosa ODC activity to 30%. Agmatine had an inhibitory effect only on N. glutinosa ODC. Cysteine and lysine modifying reagents reduced both ODC activities, verifying the key roles of cysteine and lysine residues in the catalytic mechanism of ODC. ELISA was performed to characterize the immunological difference between the rat and plant ODC. Both the rat and N. glutinosa ODC were recognized by the polyclonal antibody that was raised against purified N. glutinosa ODC, but the rat ODC was 50-fold less sensitive to the antibody binding. These results indicate that even though both ODCs have the same evolutionary origin, there seems to be a structural distinction between the species.

Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) was purified to homogeneity from Morganella morganii starting with ammonium sulphate fractionation, followed by separation on DEAE-Sephadex A50, and G-100 Sephadex gel filtration. The enzyme was purified 133.3 fold and showed a final specific activity of 60 units/mg protein with a yield of 37%. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of the purified enzyme revealed it as a heterotetramer that consists of four subunits with close molecular weights (19.5, 19, 18, and 17.5 kDa). The molecular weight of the native enzyme was calculated to be 78 kDa, as determined by gel filtration, which approximated to that of the four subunits (74 kDa). The enzyme showed a maximum activity at pH 7.8 when incubated at $35^{\circ}C$. A Lineweaver-Burk analysis gave a Km of 5.0 uM and Vmax of 153.8 U/ml. The amino acid composition of the purified enzyme was also determined.

Osteoclasts, cells primarily involved in bone resorption, originate from the hematopoietic precursor cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage and differentiate into multinucleated mature forms. We developed an in vitro osteoclast culture system using embryonic chicken bone marrow cells. This culture system can be utilized in studies on the differentiation and function of osteoclasts. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) have been implicated in diverse cellular functions including proliferation, migration, and survival. Using the developed avian osteoclast culture system, we examined the involvement of these kinases in osteoclast differentiation by employing specific inhibitors of the kinases. We Found that the inhibition of the PI 3-kinase, p38, or ERK interfered with osteoclast formation, suggesting that the signaling pathways that involve these molecules participate in the process of chicken osteoclast differentiation.

A defect in uvsC of Aspergillus nidulans caused high methyl methansulfonate (MMS)-sensitivity, hyporecombination, and a lack of UV induced mutation. The uvsC gene of Aspergillus nidulans shares a sequence similarity with the RAD51 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, in vitro and in vivo tests were conducted in order to determine whether or not the UVSC protein had functional similarities to RAD51, the recombination enzyme in yeast. The purified recombinant UVSC protein, following expression in Escherichia coli, showed binding activity to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), when both ATP and magnesium are present. In addition, ATPase activity was also demonstrated and its activity was stimulated in the presence of ssDNA. The UVSC protein that was expressed under the ADH promoter in S. cerevisiae suppressed in part the sensitivity to MMS of the rad51 null mutant. Similarly, when the uvsC cDNA was expressed from the nmt promoter, the MMS sensitivity of the rhp51 null mutant of Schizosaccharomyces pombe was partially complemented. These results indicate that the A. nidulans UVSC protein is a functional homologue of the RAD51 protein.

The effects of regular endurance exercise, or acute-exercise and rest on the levels of lipids, carnitines and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I (CPT-I) were investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were exercise trained on a treadmill for 60 min per day for 60 days (long-term trained, LT), or non-trained for 59 days (NT) and exercised for 60 min on the 60th day. In NT rats, the levels of serum nonesterified carnitine (NEC), acidsoluble acylcarnitine (ASAC), and total carnitine (TONE) increased significantly during the post-exercise recovery period (PERP). In LT rats, ASAC, and TCNE, which increased right after the 60 min running session decreased to the levels of pre-exercise during the PERP. The levels of skeletal muscle ASAC in NT rats, which increased significantly by the acute-exercise, decreased to the pre-exercise levels during the PERP. However, the ASAC level in LT rats reached its peak at 4 h after running for 60 min. Liver triglyceride (TG) and total lipids (TL), which increased by the acute-exercise, decreased to the pre-exercise levels during the PERP in both NT and LT rats. CPT-I activity in NT rats increased significantly after 1 h of a 60-min exercise and slowly decreased to pre-exercise levels during the PERP. However, the CPT-I activity in LT rats, which increased significantly by the 60 min exercise, decreased slowly and reached its pre-exercise level within 8 h of the PERP. Northern blot analysis showed that the changes of CPT-I activities during the PERP coincided with changes in CPT-I mRNA levels. This study shows that both regular endurance exercise, and acute-exercise and rest, can influence differently the levels of carnitines, lipids and CPT-I in rats. The results suggest that regular endurance exercise, rather than the acute-exercise, can change effectively the distributions of carnitines, lipids and CPT-I in rats during exercise and rest.

Pesticide waste and chemical stockpiles are posing a potential threat to both Vie environment and human health. There is currently a great effort toward developing effective and economical methods for the detoxification of these toxic organophosphates. In terms of safety and economy, enzymatic biodegradation has been recommended as the most promising tool to detoxify these toxic materials. To develop an enzymatic degradation method to detoxify such toxic organophosphorus compounds, a gene encoding organophosphorus acid anhydrolase (OPAA) from genomic DNA of Alteromonas haloplanktis C was subcloned and expressed. The enzyme consists of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weight of 48 kDa. It demonstrates strong hydrolyzing activity on sarin, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Moreover, its high activity is sustained for a considerable length of time. It is projected that the recombinant OPAA can be applied as an enzymatic tool that can be used not only for the detoxification of pesticide wastes, but also for the demilitarization of chemical stockpiles.

The interaction of cytochrome c with binary phospholipid mixtures was investigated by solid-state $^2H$- and $^{31}P$-NMR. To examine the effect of the interaction on the glycerol backbones, the glycerol moieties of phosphatidylcholine (PC), and cardioliph (CL) were specifically deuterated. On the binding of cytochrome c to the binary mixed bilayers, no changes in the quadrupole splittings of each of the components were observed for the PC/PG, PE/CL and PE/PG liposomes. In contrast, the splittings of CL decreased on binging of protein to the PC/CL liposomes, although those of PC did not change at all. This showed that cytochrome c specifically interacts with CL in PC/CL bilayers, and penetrates into the lipid bilayer to some extent so as to perturb the dynamic structure of the glycerol backbone. This is distinctly different from the mode of interaction of cytochrome c with other binary mixed bilayers. In the $^{31}P$-NMR spectra, line broadening and a decrease of the chemical shift anisotropy were observed on the binding of cytochrome c for all binary mixed bilayers that were examined. These changes were more significant for the PC/CL bilayers. Furthermore, the line broadening is more significant for PC than for CL in PC/CL bilayers. Therefore, it can be concluded that with the polar head groups, not only CL but also PC are involved in the interaction with cytochrome c.

Surface plasmon resonance has been used for a biospecific interaction analysis between two macromolecules in real time. Determination of an antibody that is capable of specifically interacting with the native form of antigen is very useful for many biological and medical applications. Twenty monoclonal antibodies against the $\alpha$ subunit of E. coli DNA polymerase III were screened for specifically recognizing the native form of protein using surface plasmon resonance. Only four monoclonal antibodies among them specifically recognized the native $\alpha$ protein, although all of the antibodies were able to specifically interact with the denatured $\alpha$ subunit. These antibodies failed to interfere with the interaction between the $\tau$ and $\alpha$ subunits that were required for dimerization of the two polymerases at the DNA replication fork. This real-time analysis using surface plasmon resonance provides an easy method to screen antibodies that are capable of binding to the native form of the antigen molecule and determine the biological interaction between the two molecules.

Using the monomolecular film technique, we compared the interfacial properties of Staphylococcus simulans lipase (SSL) and Staphylococcus aureus lipase (SAL). These two enzymes act specifically on glycerides without any detectable phospholipase activity when using various phospholipids. Our results show that the maximum rate of racemic dicaprin (rac-dicaprin) hydrolysis was displayed at pH 8.5, or 6.5 with Staphylococcus simulans lipase or Staphylococcus aureus lipase, respectively The two enzymes interact strongly with egg-phosphatidyl choline (egg-PC) monomolecular films, evidenced by a critical surface pressure value of around $23\;mN{\cdot}m^{-1}$. In contrast to pancreatic lipases, $\beta$-lactoglobulin, a tensioactive protein, failed to inhibit Staphylococcus simulans lipase and Staphylococcus aureus lipase. A kinetic study on the surface pressure dependency, stereoselectivity, and regioselectivity of Staphylococcus simulans lipase and Staphylococcus aureus lipase was performed using optically pure stereoisomers of diglycerides (1,2-sn-dicaprin and 2,3-sn-dicaprin) and a prochiral isomer (1,3-sn-dicaprin) that were spread as monomolecular films at the air-water interface. Both staphylococcal lipases acted preferentially on distal carboxylic ester groups of the diglyceride isomer (1,3-sn-dicaprin). Furthermore, Staphylococcus simulans lipase was found to be markedly stereoselective for the sn-3 position of the 2,3-sn-dicaprin isomer.

The bark of Ulmus darvidiana var. japonica Nakai (UDN) has been used for a long time to cure inflammation in oriental medicine. In the present study, two types of extracts, Ulmus water-eluted fraction (UWF) and Ulmus ethanol-eluted fraction (UEF), were prepared from the UDN stem bark, and employed to test the extracts to see if they had anti-oxidative properties against hydroxyl radicals that could alter immune reactivity in mouse immune cells. Deoxyribose assay, DNA nicking assay, and glucose/glucose oxidase assay showed that both fractions had scavenging activity against oxygen free radicals at 50 mg/ml. In addition, hydroxyl radical-mediated apoptosis in mouse thymocytes was not protected by UEF treatment, but the apoptosis was protected by UWF at the same concentration. DNA synthesis and cytokine production that were induced in splenocytes by mitogens (Concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide) were reduced by the addition of both fractions. These results indicate that both extracts that were prepared from the UDN stem bark have anti-oxidative activities, anti-apoptotic effects, and inhibitory effects on DNA synthesis and cytokine production in mouse immune cell cultures.

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, EC 4.1.1.17) is the first and key enzyme in eukaryotic polyamine biosynthesis. The cDNA encoding ornithine decarboxylase from Nicotiana glutinosa was cloned ($GeBank^{TM}$ AF 323910) and expressed in E. coli. Site directed mutagenesis were performed on several highly conserved cysteine residues. Among the mutants, C115A showed significant changes in the kinetic properties. The $K_m$ value of the C115A mutant was $1790\;{\mu}M$, which was 3-fold higher than that of the wild-type ODC. There was a dramatic decrease in the $k_{cat}$, values of the C115A mutant, compared to that of the wild-type ODC, which had a $k_{cat}$ value of $77.75\;s^{-1}$. C115A caused a shift in the optimal pH from 8.0 to 8.4. Considering these results, we suggest that cys-115 is involved in the catalytic activity of N. glutinosa ODC.

We examined the effect of CsCl and spermine on the induction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key enzyme in polyamine synthesis form Glycine max axes. Transcription of the ODC gene was induced by 0.1 and 1 mM of CsCl, and the amount of putrescine was increased 3.5-fold by 1 mM CsCl treatment. Spermine also induced the expression of the ODC gene in a die dependent manner. However, CsCl provoked an increase in the active phosphorylated ERK (pERK), a central element of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. Our data demonstrates an interaction between the ODC induction and the MAPK signaling pathway, and suggests that the latter may be involved in cell signaling in salt-stressed plants.

STATs are proteins with a dual function: signal transducers in the cytoplasm and transcriptional activators in the nucleus. Among the six known major STATs (STAT1-6), STAT3 has been implicated in the widest range of signaling pathways that regulate cell growth and differentiation. As a part of our on-going investigation on the pleiotropic functions of STAT proteins, we examined the role of STAT3 as a molecular adaptor that links diverse cell growth signaling pathways. We observed that STAT3 can be specifically activated by multiple cytokines, such as IL-3, in transformed fibroblasts and IL-4 or IFN-$\gamma$ in primary immune cells, respectively. The selective activation of STAT3 in H-ras-transformed NIH3T3 cells is associated with an increased expression of phosphoserioe STAT3 in these cells, compared to the parental cells. Notably phosphoresine-STAT3 interacts with oncogenic ras, shown by immunoprecipitation and Western blots. The results suggest the role of STAT3 in rasinduced cellular transformation as a molecular adaptor linking the Jak/STAT and Ras/MAPK pathways. In primary immune cells, IL-4 and IFN-$\gamma$ each induced (in addition to the characteristic STAT6 and STAT1 homodimers) the formation of STAT3-containing complexes that bind to GAS probes, which correspond to the $Fe{\varepsilon}$ Rll and $Fe{\gamma}$ RI promoter sequences, respectively. Since IL-4 and IFN-$\gamma$ are known to counter-regulate the expression of these genes, the ability of STAT3 to form heterodimeric complexes with STAT6 or STAT1 implies its role in the fine-tuned control of genes that are regulated by IL-4 and IFN-$\gamma$.