Influence of mature and immature myeloid cells on lymphocyte reactivity in chronic myelocytic leukemia

Summary Earlier studies have shown anergy in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and it is known that myeloid cells influence lymphocyte responses. Therefore, lymphocytes from CML patients who had received no cytostatics for 2 weeks were stimulated in 89 tests with PHA and ConA. In 39 control tests, normal lymphocytes were used.Lymphocytes from CML patients were significantly less (p<0.05) markedly stimulated than normal ones. Lymphocytes from CML patients with more than 10×10⁹ white blood cells (WBC) per liter blood were inhibited to a greater degree than those from patients with a normal WBC count.When normal lymphocytes were stimulated with PHA in the presence of mononuclear cells from the blood of CML patients (mostly leukemic myelocytes), their response was significantly (p<0.05) inhibited. Inhibition with leukemic myelocytes was significantly (p<0.05) greater than that with mature granulocytes from CML patients. The latter did not seem to have an inhibitory effect.We suggest that patients with manifest CML are anergic to some extent because leukemic myelocytes have a suppressor effect.Visiting scientist and Anna Villa Rusconi Fellow, on secondment from Institute of Medical Pathology, University of Ferrara, Italy     

Myocardial uptake kinetics of tocainide enantiomers in the isolated perfused rabbit heart

The extent of myocardial accumulation of tocainide, administered as single enantiomers and as well as racemate, was determined in the isolated, spontaneous beating rabbit heart. The heart was retrogradely perfused at a constant rate and fractions of the perfusate were collected during and after infusion. Kinetic parameters for myocardial accumulation and disposition of tocainide were indirectly determined from drug concentration/time course in the outflow perfusate. No stereoselectivity in myocardial accumulation was observed. A two compartment model with mean half-lives for distribution and elimination of 0.60 and 3.78 min, respectively, was fitted to the accumulation and disposition data. At steady-state, tocainide enantiomers were accumulated about three times in the myocardium relative to the perfusion liquid. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Synthesis and evaluation of azaproline peptides as potential inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase IV and prolyl oligopeptidase

Summary A series of azaproline dipeptides with various N-substituents were synthesized as possible active-site-directed inhibitors of two proline-specific serine proteases, dipeptidyl peptidase IV and prolyl oligopeptidase. Compounds with semicarbazide, carbazate, acylhydrazine and sulphonylhydrazine structures were tested. Some compounds show moderate activity, i.e., in the millimolar range.     

Occurrence of α-acetolactate decarboxylases among lactic acid bacteria and their utilization for maturation of beer

Summary Acetolactate decarboxylase activity has been detected among three genera, nine species and 263 strains of lactic acid bacteria tested in the course of a screening for acetolactate decarboxylases amenable for use in brewing as maturation aid. Streptococcus diacetylactis strain FD-64-D was found to generate a decarboxylase exhibiting a satisfactory activity and an excellent stability at the pH prevailing in beer and wort. This decarboxylase could not be solubilized but enzymatically active, freeze-dried cells were effective for satisfactory flavour maturation of beer although difficulties were encountered during attempts to remove the applied cell material by filtration of the beer. Lactobacillus casei DSM 2547 was likewise found to produce a decarboxylase exhibiting a satisfactory activity and stability at the low pH of beer and which, in addition, was readily solubilized. A method has been developed for pilot scale production of preparations of this decarboxylase suitable for use in brewing.Abbreviations DSM Deutsche Sammlung von Microorganismen - EDTA Ethylene diaminetetra-acetic acid     

Tetrahymena. Adaptation to high iron

Fe-starved ciliates Tetrahymena thermophila cease to multiply at Fe(III) concentrations above 10 microM in a synthetic nutrient medium lacking a good iron chelator such as citrate. If, however, the Fe(III) concentration is gradually increased over a series of subcultivations the cells will tolerate up to 300 microM Fe(III). Our experiments rule out the possibility of genetic selection of Fe-tolerant clones and suggest a physiological type of adaptation.     

Nucleotide sequence of a 1.1 kb fragment of the pea chloroplast genome containing three tRNA genes, one of which is located within an open reading frame of 91 codons.

The nucleotide sequence of a 1082 bp fragment from the pea (Pisum sativum) chloroplast genome is presented. This fragment contains genes for tRNAGlu, tRNATyr and tRNAAsp as well as an open reading frame (ORF) of 91 codons on one strand and two ORFs of 52 and 59 codons on the complementary strand. The tRNAAsp gene is located entirely within the ORF of 91 codons. The first 366 bp of the fragment correspond to 376 bp at one end of a recently published (1) sequence from the broad bean (Vicia faba) chloroplast genome. These regions contain the tRNAGlu and tRNATyr genes, which are identical and separated by 60 bp in both species. These two genes are probably cotranscribed. The intergenic regions in the corresponding segments from the two species are, except for a 10 bp deletion in the pea sequence, 94% homologous.     

Nodular pulmonary amyloidosis.

An elderly man had a 10-year history of multiple pulmonary nodules that he had refused to have investigated. He died of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. At autopsy the nodules were shown to consist of amyloid. There was no evidence of systemic amyloidosis.     

The transformation of the synaptonemal complex into the “elimination chromatin” in Bombyx mori oocytes

In Bombyx mori oocytes the synaptonemal complexes are retained in modified form from pachytene to metaphase I. At the end of pachytene the length and width of the lateral components of the complex increase, whereafter the complexes become compacted during later stages of the meiotic prophase. Ultimately, at metaphase I the modified synaptonemal complexes of individual bivalents fuse to form a more or less continuous sheet between the homologous chromosomes. This sheet corresponds to the structure historically known as the elimination chromatin. It is concluded that in the absence of crossing over and chiasma formation in Bombyx mori females the retainment and subsequent modification of the synaptonemal complex has evolved as a substitute mechanism to ensure regular disjunction of the bivalents.     

Influence of some gastrointestinal hormones on adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity in vitro: Evidence of a stimulatory effect of pancreozymin and gastrin

At concentrations corresponding to the levels usually reported in the blood of different species in the fed state, gastrin and pancreozymin but not secretin and vasoactive intestinal peptide, stimulate the lipoprotein lipase activity of adipose tissue from fasted rats. The enzyme response to gastrin is, like that to insulin, dependent on the presence of glucose and is not additive with the enzyme response to insulin. On the contrary, the effect of pancreozymin on lipoprotein lipase is glucoseindependent and is additive with the enzyme response to insulin. Both the effects of gastrin and pancreozymin depend on protein synthesis as shown by their suppression by cycloheximide. With isolated fat cells, gastrin increases both the releasable and non-releasable lipase activities whereas pancreozymin increases almost exclusively the non-releasable activity. The mechanisms and the possible physiological significance of these findings are discussed in relationship with the influence of insulin and the nutritional state on adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase.