Amino acid substitutions in malate dehydrogenases of piezophilic bacteria isolated from intestinal contents of deep-sea fishes retrieved from the abyssal zone

AbstractOur current understanding of the spectral sensitivities of the mysticete whale rod-based visual pigments is based on two species, the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) and the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) possessing absorbance maxima determined from difference spectra to be 492 and 497 nm, respectively. These absorbance maxima values are blueshifted relative to those from typical terrestrial mammals (≈500 nm) but are redshifted when compared to those identified in the odontocetes (479–484 nm). Although these mysticete species represent two of the four mysticete families, they do not fully represent the mysticete whales in terms of foraging strategy and underwater photic environments where foraging occurs. In order to better understand the spectral sensitivities of the mysticete whale rod visual pigments, we have examined the rod opsin genes from 11 mysticete species and their associated amino acid substitutions. Based on the amino acids occurring at positions 83, 292, and 299 along with the directly determined dark spectra from expressed odontocete and mysticete rod visual pigments, we have determined that the majority of mysticete whales possess deep-sea and pelagic like rod visual pigments with absorbance maxima between 479 and 484 nm. Finally, we have defined the five amino acid substitution events that determine the resulting absorbance spectra and associated absorbance maxima for the mysticete whale rod visual pigments examined here.

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Recombinant Variants of Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator Containing Amino Acid Substitutions in the Finger Domain

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1646342 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 68 (06) ◽

pp. 672-677 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hitoshi Yahara ◽

Keiji Matsumoto ◽

Hiroyuki Maruyama ◽

Tetsuya Nagaoka ◽

Yasuhiro Ikenaka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Plasminogen Activator ◽

Half Life ◽

Tissue Type ◽

Clot Lysis ◽

Amino Acid Substitutions ◽

Wild Type ◽

Plasma Clot ◽

Tissue Type Plasminogen Activator ◽

Type Plasminogen Activator

SummaryTissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is a fibrin-specific agent which has been used to treat acute myocardial infarction. In an attempt to clarify the determinants for its rapid clearance in vivo and high affinity for fibrin clots, we produced five variants containing amino acid substitutions in the finger domain, at amino acid residues 7–9, 10–14, 15–19, 28–33, and 37–42. All the variants had a prolonged half-life and a decreased affinity for fibrin of various degrees. The 37–42 variant demonstrated about a 6-fold longer half-life with a lower affinity for fibrin. Human plasma clot lysis assay estimated the fibrinolytic activity of the 37–42 variant to be 1.4-fold less effective than that of the wild-type rt-PA. In a rabbit jugular vein clot lysis model, doses of 1.0 and 0.15 mg/kg were required for about 70% lysis in the wild-type and 37–42 variant, respectively. Fibrinogen was degraded only when the wild-type rt-PA was administered at a dose of 1.0 mg/kg. These findings suggest that the 37–42 variant can be employed at a lower dosage and that it is a more fibrin-specific thrombolytic agent than the wild-type rt-PA.

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