The frequency-domain method reveals the dimeric structure of Na,K-ATPase

Lucifer yellow and lissamine rhodamine sulfonyl hydrazine were used as the donor and the receptor, respectively, for Förster energy transfer measurements to determine the location of the subunit in the native Na,K-ATPase from pig kidney. It was found that (1) the subunits are located in one functional complex, i.e., the dimer ()₂ appears to be the functional complex of Na,K-ATPase, and (2) the subunits in the functional enzyme complex in the membrane are not located next to each other but are rather well separated. The distance between fluorophores covalently attached to the subunits was found to be 5.3 nm.     

QUANTITATIVE CONVERSION OF THE (6–4) PHOTOPRODUCT OF TpdC TO ITS DEWAR VALENCE ISOMER UPON EXPOSURE TO SIMULATED SUNLIGHT

It has been found that the (6-4) photoproduct of thymidylyl-(3'----5')-deoxycytidine (TpdC) is converted quantitatively to a further photoproduct upon exposure to Pyrex-filtered medium pressure mercury arc light. Infrared UV, FAB MS, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and 31P NMR spectra were obtained for both the (6-4) product and its photolysis product. 1H NMR assignments were made on the basis of proton decoupling and homonuclear shift correlated experiments and 13C NMR assignments were made on the basis of proton-detected heteronuclear shift correlated experiments. The Dewar pyrimidinone structure was assigned to the photolysis product by analysis of the spectral data in comparison to those of the Dewar photoproduct of TpT and other Dewar pyrimidinones. The (6-4) product of TpdC is the second member of the class of (6-4) photoproducts that has been found to photoisomerize to its Dewar valence isomer upon exposure to wavelengths greater than 280 nm, the first being that of TpT (Taylor and Cohrs, 1987, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 109, 2834-2835). These results further support the proposal that all members of the (6-4) photoproduct class are converted to their Dewar valence isomers upon exposure to sunlight.     

Use of FITC as a Fluorescent Probe for Intracellular pH Measurement

Fluorescein Isothiocyanate (FITC) is widely used in biology and medicine as a fluorescent marker for labeling various proteins. Particularly fluorescence marking of antibodies could not be imagined without FITC. However, at the same time FITC displays pH-indicative properties. This paper evaluates the limits of the use of FITC as a pH indicator in biological material, namely, for intracellular and intraorganellar pH measurement.