Specificity of maximal aerobic power.

Several types of work tasks are used to assess maximal aerobic power (MAP) in humans. Although it is well established that these work tasks may yield different absolute MAP values, little is known about the extent of the specificity of each MAP work task. 30 moderately active young men were tested at random for MAP with five commonly used work tasks: cycling supine, cycling sitting, alternate arm cranking standing, walking on a treadmill, and stepping on a bench. Statistical analyses show that these five tests do not give equal MAP means, equal variances or equal covariances. Various correlation techniques indicate, furthermore, that the common variance between the five aerobic power measurements is at best moderate. It was estimated that the overall common variance for Max ml O2 . kg-1 . min-1 reached about 50% of the total variance. The most efficient linear loading of each test in the first principal component could account only for 75% of the observed variance in MAP. It is concluded that these five work tasks do not yield parallel test forms, that the practice of transforming one MAP value into another should be abandoned, and that the practice of generalizing from one MAP value to a theoretical general MAP of the human body is not justified.     

Caspase-3 Activity in the Rat Amygdala Measured by Spectrofluorometry After Myocardial Infarction

Myocardial infarction (MI) has dramatic mid- and long-term consequences at the physiological and behavioral levels, but the mechanisms involved are still unclear. Our laboratory has developed a rat model of post-MI syndrome that displays impaired cardiac functions, neuronal loss in the limbic system, cognitive deficits and behavioral signs of depression. At the neuronal level, caspase-3 activation mediates post-MI apoptosis in different limbic regions, such as the amygdala – peaking at 3 days post-MI. Cognitive and behavioral impairments appear 2-3 weeks post-MI and these correlate statistically with measures of caspase-3 activity. The protocol described here is used to induce MI, collect amygdala tissue and measure caspase-3 activity using spectrofluorometry. To induce MI, the descending coronary artery is occluded for 40 min. The protocol for evaluation of caspase-3 activation starts 3 days after MI: the rats are sacrificed and the amygdala isolated rapidly from the brain. Samples are quickly frozen in liquid nitrogen and kept at -80 °C until actual analysis. The technique performed to assess caspase-3 activation is based on cleavage of a substrate (DEVD-AMC) by caspase-3, which releases a fluorogenic compound that can be measured by spectrofluorometry. The methodology is quantitative and reproducible but the equipment required is expensive and the procedure for quantifying the samples is time-consuming. This technique can be applied to other tissues, such as the heart and kidneys. DEVD-AMC can be replaced by other substrates to measure the activity of other caspases.     

Study of permeation and blocker binding in TMEM16A calcium-activated chloride channels

We studied the effects of mutations of positively charged amino acid residues in the pore of X. tropicalis TMEM16A calcium-activated chloride channels: K613E, K628E, K630E; R646E and R761E. The activation and deactivation kinetics were not affected, and only K613E showed a lower current density. K628E and R761E affect anion selectivity without affecting Na⁺ permeation, whereas K613E, R646E and the double mutant K613E + R646E affect anion selectivity and permeability to Na⁺. Furthermore, altered blockade by the chloride channel blockers anthracene-9-carboxylic acid (A-9-C), 4, 4''-Diisothiocyano-2,2''-stilbenedisulfonic acid (DIDS) and T16inh-A01 was observed. These results suggest the existence of 2 binding sites for anions within the pore at electrical distances of 0.3 and 0.5. These sites are also relevant for anion permeation and blockade.