Intramitochondrial factors controlling hepatic fatty acid oxidation at weaning in the rat

Fatty acid oxidation was studied in isolated liver mitochondria of rats during the suckling-weaning transition. The oxidation rate of oleyl-CoA and palmitoylcarnitine was reduced 2.5-fold in rats weaned on a high-carbohydrate diet compared to suckling rats, when acetyl-CoA produced by beta-oxidation was directed towards ketone-body synthesis. Weaning on a high-fat diet minimized this change. Channeling of acetyl-CoA towards citrate synthesis doubled the oxidation rate of both substrates in HC-weaned rats. Thus, in addition to changes in carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity, the beta-hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase pathway is also involved in the decreased fatty acid oxidation at weaning. This was confirmed by measurement of beta-hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase pathway activity.     

Pollen as a chronometer and sediment tracer,Burrinjuck Reservoir,Australia

Pollen analysis is widely used to reconstruct vegetation and land use histories, but can also provide sedimentological information. At Burrinjuck Reservoir, in south-eastern Australia, annual grass pollen peaks are used to distinguish each year's sediment, even when there are no visible laminations. In conjunction with other dating methods, this allows the determination of year by year influxes of all sediment components. Pollen grains in the Burrinjuck sediments are shown to be predominantly waterborne so that they can be used to trace sediment to its source in particular vegetation stands. Pollen concentration and the proportion of damaged pollen might also distinguish sediment eroded from topsoils and that from subsoils. Pollen analysis can thus be used to locate specific erosion events in both time and space.     

Root contribution to nitrate reduction in barley seedlings (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Summary The leaf and root nitrate reductase activities were measured in 7 day-old barley seedlings by anoxic nitrite accumulation in darkness, during 48h after the transfer from a N-starved medium to a 1.5 mM K¹⁵NO₃ medium. Thisin situ nitrate reduction was compared with the¹⁵N incorporation in the reduced N fraction of the whole seedlings.The nitrate reduction integrated fromin situ measurements was lower than the reduced¹⁵N accumulation. The rootin situ nitrate reductase activity seemed to account for only the third of the real root nitrate reduction, which may have been responsible for the overall underestimation. This discrepancy was partly explained by the ability of the root to reduce nitrite in an anoxic environment.These results suggest that, after correction of thein situ estimation of the nitrate reduction. the roots contribute to about 50% of the total assimilation.     

Complexes prepared from protein A and human serum,IgG, or Fcγ fragments: characterization by immunochemical analysis of ultracentrifugation fractions and studies on their interconversion

Summary Protein A of Staphylococcus aureus is an Fc receptor for IgG that has been used as a therapeutic reagent to treat cancer in humans and experimental animals. We used ultracentrifugation combined with analysis of isolated fractions by radioimmunoprecipitation and competitive radioimmunoassay with chicken antibodies that bind free protein A or protein A in complexes but do bind free immunoglobulin reagents to localize and characterize the types of complexes formed with different molar ratios of ¹²⁵I-protein A and human ¹³¹I-IgG alone or in serum, and ¹³¹1-Fc fragments. This approach offers a distinct advantage over direct counting of radioactivity in the fractions because resolution of complexes and free reagents is much improved. With excess ¹³¹I-IgG or ¹³¹1-Fc, all the ¹²⁵I-protein A is present only in complexes that contained 4 molecules of immunoglobulin reagent and 2 molecules of protein A (4:2 complexes), whereas with excess ¹²⁵I-protein A the stoichiometry of the complexes was 1:1. We have also shown the preformed 4:2 and 1:1 complexes will interconvert in the presence of added excess protein A or IgG, respectively, and that fresh IgG will exchange with IgG or Fc in preformed complexes. Because protein A has been found to elute from an immobilized reagent used in serotherapy of human cancer and is present in a large excess of IgG, the 4:2 complexes may play an active role in the tumoricidal or toxic reactions observed.Abbreviations SpA protein A of Staphyloccus aureus - VBS EDTA gel, 0.0055 M veronal buffered saline containing 0.01 M EDTA and 0.1% gelatin, pH 7.4 - PBS 0.01 M phosphate buffered saline, pH 7.4     

Effects of the removal of adherent and phagocytic cells on the spleen cell lymphoproliferative response of tumor-bearing mice

Summary Cell-mediated immunity was investigated in two BALB/c mouse tumor systems using the lymphoblastogenesis test with phytohemagglutinin as the mitogen. This lymphoproliferative response was quantitated using the Stimulation Index (SI). There was little evidence for suppressor cell activity in cell mixing experiments in which spleen cells from #51 cell-injected mice were mixed with spleen cells from normal mice. Following macrophage removal by Sephadex G-10 columns and carbonyl iron ingestion, there were no significant changes in the SI values for spleen cells from the #51 cell-injected mice. In contrast, spleen cells from mice injected with H238 cells, a herpes virus-transformed cell line, had a significantly lower SI value than that of normal mice. Suppressor cell activity was demonstrated in cell mixing experiments in which spleen cells from H238 cell-injected mice were mixed with normal spleen cells. Removal of adherent cells from spleen cells from H238 cell-injected mice by Sephadex G-10 columns restored the SI value to that of normal mice. An increased SI value was also seen after removal of phagocytic cells by carbonyl iron. These results suggested that cells with the functional properties of macrophages played an important part in the immunosuppression observed in the H238 tumor system. Comparison of the two macrophage depletion methods suggested that another cell population was also involved in the suppressive effect. Results of immunofluorescent techniques with anti-Lyt-1 and anti-Lyt-2 monoclonal antibodies show these cells to be Ly 1^–, Ly 2,3⁺ phenotypes of T-lymphocytes.     

Glucagon secretion by dispersed alpha cell enriched islets from streptozotocin treated hamsters in perifusion

Streptozotocin (70 mg/kg) was administered intravenously to female Syrian hamsters. The hamsters received insulin (5U/animal/day). Insulin treatment was withdrawn 3 days before sacrifice in one group, while another group was maintained on insulin until sacrifice. Ten to 14 days following streptozotocin administration the animals were killed, and the pancreatic islets isolated and subsequently dispersed. Islet DNA content was decreased while the glucagon content was elevated by streptozotocin treatment. The glucagon secretory responsiveness of the dispersed alpha cells of control animals was stimulated by glucopenia and decreased by glucose. Alpha cells of streptozotocin hamsters were not only suppressed but were actually stimulated by high glucose concentrations. Treatment with insulin in vivo but not in vitro, resulted in a restoration of the alpha cells responsiveness to glucose suppression. Dispersed alpha cells from control and streptozotocin treated animals were stimulated by arginine. Basal and total glucagon secretion was greatest in dispersed alpha cells from streptozotocin treated animals. We concluded: that the paradoxical response of alpha cells to glucose noted in diabetes is not due to short term insulin deprivation or the lack of morphologic contact with beta cells; that the alpha cells require and insulin stimulated islet metabolite and extra islet materials to respond appropriately to glucose; and that the alpha cells response to arginine is mediated independently of glucose regulation.     

Monoclonal antibodies to rabbit and pig zonae pellucidae distinguish species-specific and shared antigenic determinants

Monoclonal antibodies against rabbit or porcine zonae pellucidae (ZP) demonstrate species-specific and shared antigenic determinants. In addition, these antibodies are used to characterize the biochemical nature of these determinants. All of six monoclonal antibodies developed against porcine ZP react with porcine but not with rabbit ZP. Only one of seven monoclonal antibodies developed against rabbit ZP cross-reacts with porcine ZP. None of these antibodies recognized antigens associated with other tissues tested. High-resolution, two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) followed by immunoblotting was used to demonstrate that the cross-reactive antibody recognizes an antigenic determinant which is associated with the major low molecular weight glycoprotein of both the pig and rabbit ZP. Since this antibody recognizes all charge species of this glycoprotein, it is apparent that the antigenic determinant recognized by this antibody involves protein. Further studies demonstrate that proteolytic digestion of ZP will destroy the antigenic determinant while glycosidic digestion of ZP has no effect on antibody binding. Although polyclonal antibodies to this glycoprotein inhibit sperm from binding to the zona pellucida, this monoclonal antibody does not affect sperm binding. None of the species-specific antibodies recognize ZP glycoproteins following 2D-PAGE. This is a property typical of antibodies directed against conformational antigenic determinants. The presence of common as well as unique zona antigenic determinants could explain why ZP proteins induce heteroantibodies which result in infertility while alloimmunization has no effect on fertility.     

Mammalian lignans: possible involvement in endogenous digitalis activity

Lignans are natural products, some of which were recently discovered in animal urines, semen and blood plasma. We investigated the actions of animal lignans obtained by total synthesis or extracted from urines of pregnant women on Na+, K+-ATPase in human red cells and human and guinea-pig heart cell membranes. Some of the tested lignans (enterolactone, prestegane B and 3-O-methyl enterolactone) inhibited Na+, K+-pump activity in human red cells with IC50 ranging from 5 to 9 X 10(-4) M. The IC50 for ouabain (7 X 10(-7) M) was not modified by addition of lignans. Enterolactone inhibited Na+, K+-ATPase activity in human and guinea pig heart membranes. It also displaced [3H]-ouabain binding from human heart with IC50 = 1.5 X 10(-4) M. The apparent dissociation rate constants (kd) of [3H]-ouabain were not different in presence of digoxin or enterolactone. Enterolactone exhibited a poor cross reactivity against antidigoxin antibodies. The aglycones of the lignans studied here were slight inhibitors of the Na+, K+-ATPase. However, we cannot exclude that a glycosyl- (and/or butenolide-) derivative of enterolactone could be one "endogenous ouabain-like" factor.     

Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in fruit and vegetable juices

¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios from the juices of a number of fruits and vegetables were measured and found to be isotopically more enriched than the water in which they grew. Fast-growing high-water-content vegetables exhibited less enrichment than slower growing fruits such as apples, pears, and plums. ¹⁸O/¹⁶O measurements were also made on the water from various sections of several plants, and the enrichment was found to occur in the following order: leaves > fruit > stem ≥ ground water.

D/H and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O measurements were made on a series of grape juice samples and, when plotted against each other, gave a slope of 3.9, indicating that the physical process causing this enrichment was probably evaporation, i.e. evapotranspiration.