Isolation and nucleotide sequencing of the complementary DNA for pig heart calpastatin have been completed. The amino acid sequence of 713 residues predicted from the nucleotide sequence contains five domains, each composed of approximately 140 amino acid residues. A unique N-terminal domain is followed by four mutually homologous domains. The best fit alignment of these four domains gives residue identities between any two domains of 22.5-36.0%. The analysis of the sequence similarities by several methods also suggests the existence of additional shorter repeats at intervals of 60-80 residues. The calculated molecular weight of pig calpastatin of 713 amino acid residues (Mr 77,122) is significantly lower than the value of purified pig heart calpastatin (Mr 107,000) estimated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS-PAGE). The expression of the calpastatin genes in Escherichia coli and the detection of the translation products of 713, 366, and 140 amino acid residues by the specific anti-calpastatin antibody indicate that the products always migrate considerably slow on SDS-PAGE, giving an average of 1.53 for the ratio of the molecular weight estimated by SDS-PAGE to the value calculated from the amino acid sequences. It is most likely that the discrepancy in the molecular weight is caused by an anomalous behavior of calpastatin in SDS-PAGE.

Various aromatic segments have been fused onto the porphyrin periphery to create porphyrinoids that have expanded p-conjugated networks and thus exhibit red-shifted absorption spectra. Fused coplanar porphyrin oligomers, represented by meso-meso, b-b, b-b triply linked porphyrin arrays (porphyrin tapes), are endued with more red-shifted absorption spectra and better nonlinear optical properties.These fused porphyrinoids have emerged as promising near-infrared (NIR) absorbing dyes, pointing to future applications such as conducting wire, NIR emitter, photovoltaics, and nonlinear optical materials.Developments of the fused porphyrinoid chemistry are reviewed in this feature article with focus on the synthesis, the relationships between their absorption spectra and molecular structures, and the applications in materials science.

The growth autonomy of human tumor cells is considered due to the endogenous production of growth factors. Transcriptional expression of candidates for autocrine stimulatory factors such as basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF), acidic FGF, and transforming growth factor type (3 were determined in human brain tumors. Basic FGF was expressed abundantly in 17 of 18 gliomas, 20 of 22 meningiomas, and 0 of 5 metastatic brain tumors. Northern Blot Analysis. Total RNA was isolated by the guanidinium thiocyanate/cesium chloride method (7). Poly(A)+ RNA was selected by oligo(dT)-cellulose affinity chromatography for bovine hypothalamus and human monocytes. Twenty micrograms of RNA was denatured in 1 M glyoxal/50% dimethyl sulfoxide, fractionated by electrophoresis in 1% agarose gels, and transferred to diazophenylthioether paper (Schleicher & Schuell). Before transfer, the gels were stained with ethidium bromide to verify the quality and quantity of RNA loaded. The following cDNA probes were used for hybridization; human basic FGF [a 0.4-kilobase (kb) BamHI fragment from pTB627 (8)], human acidic FGF [a 0.8-kb EcoRI/Bgl II fragment from pMJ23b (9)], and a chemically synthesized 51-mer oligonucleotide, corresponding to nucleotides 1826-1876 of human transforming growth factor type P1 (TGF-,p1) nucleotide sequence (10).Densitometric measurement of autoradiograms was performed by a Zeineh soft laser scanning densitometer (Biomed).In Situ Hybridization. Frozen sections were prepared from one piece of a glioblastoma sample, which was the same tumor used in immunohistochemistry. In situ hybridization was performed as described (11). Briefly, 6-Am-thick tissue sections were air dried on glass slides, which were treated with 0.05% poly(L-lysine) (Sigma), and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde. Slides were pretreated with 0.2 M HCl (10 min), 0.01% Triton X-100 (5 min), and 0.5 jg of proteinase K per Abbreviations: FGF, fibroblast growth factor; TGF-f3, transforming growth factor type f8. IlTo whom reprint requests should be addressed. 5710The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.

It is now widely accepted that factors other than androgen are crucial in the normal and abnormal growth of the prostate, including human benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Using a Northern blot analysis, we examined human normal and benign hyperplastic prostates for expressions of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF), acidic FGF, transforming growth factor type beta 2 (TGF-beta 2), TGF-beta 1, and epidermal growth factor (EGF). Basic FGF mRNAs were detectable in all the prostates examined. In addition, levels of basic FGF expression were significantly higher in BPH than in normal prostate. Acidic FGF transcripts were undetectable except in one case of BPH. Although both TGFs were expressed in all the samples, TGF-beta 2 showed significantly increased levels of expression in BPH as compared to those in normal prostate, while TGF-beta 1 did not. No EGF was expressed in any of the prostates examined. These findings suggest that specific growth factors (basic FGF and TGF-beta 2) produced locally in the prostate may be involved in BPH development.

β-to-β Directly linked cyclic Ni(II) porphyrin trimer, tetramer, and pentamer ([3]CP, [4]CP, and [5]CP) have been synthesized by reaction of a 2,12-diborylated Ni(II) porphyrin with Pt(cod)Cl2 followed by reductive elimination. The structures of these cyclic porphyrin arrays have been revealed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The strain energies of these cyclic oligomers are calculated to be 77, 57, and 47 kcal/mol for [3]CP, [4]CP, and [5]CP, respectively. Intramolecular excitation energy hopping was observed between the (3)(d,d) states of the Ni(II) porphyrins with rates of 3.0, 4.4, and 4.6 ps for [3]CP, [4]CP, and [5]CP, respectively, reflecting the close proximity of the Ni(II) centers.