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Photoirradiation of benzene solutions containing 1-diarylvinylidene-2,2,3,3-tetramethylcyclopropanes (2a−d) afforded rearranged products 1,2,3-butatrienes (3a−d) in good to high yields. Photorearrangement from 2,2,3-trimethyl and 2,2- and 2,3-dimethyl derivatives 2e−g also proceeded, but the rates of the rearrangement were lower than those of 2a−d. A singlet mechanism is proposed for this photorearrangement, where alkyl migration occurs from 1,3-biradical intermediates generated via the homolysis of the C1−C2 bond. Generation of diarylvinylidene carbenes from 1,3-biradicals might be competitive with the formation of 3.

Hemagglutinating activity in perivitelline fluid of the horseshoe crab embryo dramatically increases during the third and fourth molt of the embryo. A 27-kDa lectin, which we named tachylectin-P (TL-P), was newly identified in perivitelline fluid of the horseshoe crab Tachypleus tridentatus. TL-P preferentially agglutinated human A-type erythrocytes, and the activity was inhibited by N-acetyl group-containing monosaccharides. The amino acid sequence analysis indicated that TL-P is almost structurally the same as a hemocyte-derived lectin with no hemagglutinating activity, tachylectin-1 (TL-1), and that 218 out of 221 amino acid residues in total were conserved between the two lectins. Despite the high sequence similarity, biological and biochemical characteristics of TL-P differed from those of TL-1: (i) unlike TL-1, TL-P agglutinates several animal-derived erythrocytes; (ii) unlike TL-1, TL-P has no significant affinity for bacterial lipopolysaccharides or antibacterial activity; (iii) Based on apparent molecular masses determined by gel filtration, TL-P forms a dimer in solution, while TL-1 is present as a monomer; (iv) and TL-P interacts with endogenous proteins of 13 and 14 kDa present in the perivitelline fluid; however, neither has any affinity for TL-1. We propose that TL-P may have an important role in completing embryonic development by interacting with endogenous glycoproteins or N-acetylhexosamines.

The amylase‐producing ability of the intestinal microflora in cultured specimens of ayu, carp, channel catfish, Japanese eel and tilapia was determined. Mean viable counts of aerobes and anaerobes ranged from 1·1×106to 3·7×108cfu g−1and from 1·3×103to 1·6×108cfu g−1, respectively. Aeromonasspp. and Bacteroidaceae were predominant in four to five fish species. Of 206 strains examined, 65 (31·6%) produced ≥0·01 U amylase ml−1. The percentage of producers differed among families and genera of bacteria and fish species. While 56% of the anaerobes produced amylase, only 20% of the aerobes did. More than 50% of Aeromonas, Bacteroidaceae and Clostridiumstrains produced amylase efficiently while Acinetobacter, coryneforms, Enterobacteriaceae, Moraxella, Plesiomonasand Streptococcusstrains did not. High amylase production (≥0·05 U ml−1) was found in 12 strains, 11 from Aeromonasand one Pseudomonas. The percentage of high amylase producers in Japanese eel was lower than the other four fish (2–30%). These results strongly suggest that the amylase produced by the intestinal microflora play an important role in the digestion of starch in freshwater fish to some extent.

The skeletal muscle of Japanese quails with acid maltase deficiency (AMD) was studied morphologically at various developmental stages, from the 16th embryonal day up to 3 months after hatching. Membrane-bound glycogen particles began to appear in the affected skeletal muscle at the 16th embryonal day. In normal embryonic muscles, a certain amount of free glycogen particles was observed but they were not membrane-bound. Therefore, this is the earliest morphological event in the muscle of Japanese quails with AMD. In muscle at 3 weeks after hatching, the initial focal degeneration of myofibrils was recognizable but it was not associated with autophagic vacuoles. Quails with AMD developed muscle weakness and difficulty in lifting their wings at about 3 months after hatching: then numerous autophagic vacuoles were present. The formation of large autophagic vacuoles followed by fiber loss and fatty replacement seemed ot contribute to the progressive muscle weakness. The study of Japanese quail with AMD will greatly facilitate the elucidation of the pathogenetic mechanism and is also a useful model for therapeutic trials in human AMD.

A single direct injection of a local anesthetic, 0.5% bupivacaine hydrochloride (BPVC) (Marcaine), into rat soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles produced massive fiber necrosis with extensive phagocytosis followed by rapid regeneration, predominantly in the soleus. Since the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) was functionally disturbed by BPVC administration as confirmed by an in vitro study, the sarcolemmal lysis seen in the early phase of degeneration was not assumed to simply results from direct damage to the plasma membrane caused by BPVC. The extracellular fluid containing a high concentration of calcium (Ca) ions then permeated into the sarcoplasm through the defective membrane resulting in hypercontracted myofibrils. Selective damage to the Z-line, an early sign of muscle degeneration, was shown by electron microscopy and SDS gel electrophoresis (preferential loss of a-actinin). Administration of leupeptin, a thiol protease inhibitor, proved to be ineffective in inhibiting the necrotic process, because the BPVC induced muscle fiber breakdown was probably too acute and fulminant to demonstrate the inhibitory effect upon the degenerative process. Well preserved satellite cells, peripheral nerves, and acetylcholinesterase activity, and the absence of fibrous tissue proliferation in this system may be responsible for the extremely rapid regeneration with complete muscle fiber type differentiation. Since the sequence of fiber breakdown induced by BPVC administration was similar to that of progressive muscular dystrophy, this chemical will be one of the most useful tools for studying the pathophysiology of fiber necrosis and regeneration in diseased muscle.

For the purpose of observing the therapeutic benefit of protease inhibitors for progressive muscular dystrophy, a large quantity of doses of leupeptin of 10 mg/kg/day and 50 mg/kg/day were administered i.p. to male chickens afflicted with hereditary muscular dystrophy (line 413) for 4 months starting on the 7th day ex ovo. No clinical improvement was identified in physical ability as a result of the examination by flip test, and creatine kinase (CK) values. The number of necrotic fibers in the pectoralis superficialis (PS) muscle which is known to be preferentially damaged in dystrophic chicken, did not decrease significantly in the birds treated with 10 mg leupeptin/kg/day (number of necrotic fibers; 47.7/mm2) and 50 mg/kg/day (46.4/mm2) as compared to that of the untreated ones (43.2/mm2). A morphometric analysis of fiber diameter distribution also showed no statistical difference between the treated and untreated birds.

An electron-microscopic study on dystrophic chicken white muscle, posterior latissimus dorsi (PLD), was performed with histochemical identification of three fiber types of ßR (red), aR and aW (white) fibers to evaluate the pathophysiology in fiber necrosis. As seen in histochemically stained sections, vacuolar formation in the cytoplasm, an outstanding pathologic feature in chicken dystrophy, was recognized in the aW fibers by electron microscopy. The vacuole was membrane-bound and thought to originate from coalescence or dilatation of extensively proliferated sarcotubular system. There was evidence of a delay in fiber type transformation from aR to aW in dystrophic white muscle, while the initial pathologic event of sarcotubular system proliferation might be expressed only after muscle fibers had attained histochemical characteristics of aW fibers. Localized myofibrillar degeneration was encountered in the vicinity of the vacuole with focal membrane defect. An influx of extracellular fluid through the vacuolated sarcotubular system into the sarcoplasm may activate certain proteases, such as calcium-dependent protease because the extracellular fluid contains high concentration of calcium ion. The activated protease then degrades structural protein, especially Z-line protein, followed by fiber necrosis with phagocytosis.

Autophagy is an intracellular process for bulk degradation of cytoplasmic components. We recently found a protein conjugation system essential for autophagy in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The C-terminal glycine of a novel modifier protein, Apg12p, is conjugated to a lysine residue of Apg5p via an isopeptide bond. This conjugation reaction is mediated by Apg7p, a ubiquitin activating enzyme (E1)-like enzyme, and Apg10p, suggesting that it is a ubiquitination-like system (Mizushima, N., Noda, T., Yoshimori, T., Tanaka, Y., Ishii, T., George, M. D., Klionsky, D. J., Ohsumi, M. , and Ohsumi, Y. (1998) Nature 395, 395-398). Although autophagy is a ubiquitous process in eukaryotic cells, no molecule involved in autophagy has yet been identified in higher eukaryotes. We reasoned that this conjugation system could be conserved. Here we report cloning and characterization of the human homologue of Apg12 (hApg12). It is a 140-amino acid protein and possesses 27% identity and 48% similarity with the yeast Apg12p, but no apparent homology to ubiquitin. Northern blot analysis showed that its expression was ubiquitous in human tissues. We found that it was covalently attached to another protein. This target protein was identified to be the human Apg5 homologue (hApg5). Mutagenic analyses suggested that this conjugation was formed via an isopeptide bond between the C-terminal glycine of hApg12 and Lys-130 of hApg5. These findings indicate that the Apg12 system is well conserved and may function in autophagy also in human cells.

Of the 3,048 diagnostic muscle biopsies processed by the National Institute of Neuroscience, Tokyo, over 12 years, 41 cases carried the clinical diagnosis of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. We have analyzed all 41 cases for dystrophin content in muscle by both immunofluorescence and immunoblot. We identified five male patients with an abnormal dystrophin pattern diagnostic of Becker muscular dystrophy, and two female patients with dystrophin patterns consistent with a manifesting carrier of Duchenne muscular dystrophy diagnosis. Thus, 17 of our limb-girdle patients showed a dystrophinopathy, indicating that they in fact had a disorder related to Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy. Misclassification of isolated male limb-girdle patients was 31 (4/13), while misclassification of isolated female limb-girdle patients was 13 (2/15). Using multiplex polymerase chain reaction analyses of small amounts of muscle biopsy DNA confirmed a dystrophin gene deletion in all five male Becker dystrophy patients identified. This study emphasizes the clinical overlap between limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and dystrophinopathies, and reinforces the necessity of dystrophin protein and gene studies for the accurate clinical diagnosis of isolated cases of muscular dystrophy.

Immunoblot characterization and immunofluorescence localization of dystrophin are presented for 76 human patients with various neuromuscular diseases. Normal dystrophin (shown by immunoblotting) was invariably visualized as a continuous, peripheral membrane immunostaining of myofibers. Biochemical abnormalities of dystrophin (either lower or higher molecular weight dystrophin) resulted in patchy, discontinuous immunostaining, suggesting that the abnormal dystrophin proteins are not capable of creating a complete membrane cytoskeleton network. There was a very strong correlation of clinical diagnoses with the type of dystrophin abnormality; all Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient muscle contained no detectable dystrophin, Becker muscular dystrophy patient muscle had clearly abnormal dystrophin, and unrelated diseases showed normal dystrophin. However, a single patient of five carrying the diagnosis of Fukuyama dystrophy showed no detectable dystrophin and thus appeared to be a Duchenne dystrophy patient by the biochemical assays. We know of no other case of a patient with a disease thought to be unrelated to Duchenne/Becker dystrophy yet demonstrating dystrophin deficiency. Based on the data presented, we conclude that immunofluorescence is the best technique for the detection of female carriers of Duchenne dystrophy, whereas immunoblotting appears superior for the prognostic diagnosis of Becker muscular dystrophy.