损毁和刺激垂体对大鼠痛阈的影响

采用局限性损毁和刺激垂体的方法,以行为测痛为指标,观察大鼠垂体在痛觉调节中的作用以及地塞米松（Ｄｅｘ）对其影响。实验结果显示,损毁垂体中间叶（ＩＬ）及邻近的前叶（ＡＬ）,大鼠痛阈明显低于手术前的痛阈（Ｐ＜０．０１）。电刺激垂体的上述同样部位,大鼠痛阈明显高于手术基础值及自身假刺激值（Ｐ＜０．００１）。经Ｄｅｘ处理的动物,电刺激垂体不再引起痛阈升高。结果表明,大鼠垂体ＩＬ及靠近ＡＬ与痛调节有关,这种     

Fluorometric estimation of surface potential change associated with chemotactic stimulation in Tetrahymena pyriformis

For the quantitative estimation of surface potential change in intact cells a method was devised with the use of fluorescent probes, 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) and N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine (NPN). Estimated values in liposomes were compared with changes in the zeta potential determined from electrophoresis. Both values agreed within the experimental variation, showing the usefulness of the method. The method was also applied to Tetrahymena pyriformis, which exhibits chemotaxis to various chemical stimuli. The surface potential change was observed when the cell was stimulated not only by inorganic salts but also by electrically neutral, hydrophobic compounds. The surface potential started to change in accordance with the depolarization of the membrane potential, except for the case of K⁺. Changes in the surface potential of T. pyriformis in response to Ca²⁺ and K⁺ were compared with those in the membrane potential. The quantitative contribution of the surface potential to cell depolarization associated with chemoreception is discussed.     

Interactions between immature porcine Leydig and Sertoli cells in vitro

Summary Interactions between Leydig and Sertoli cells, as well as a stimulatory effect of FSH on Leydig cell activity, have been reported in many studies. In order to investigate these interactions, the ultrastructure of immature pig Leydig cells under different culture conditions has been studied. When cultured alone in a chemically defined medium, there is a marked regression of the Leydig cell smooth endoplasmic reticulum and a swelling of the mitochondria. Addition of FSH or hCG does not prevent these phenomena. Co-culturing of Leydig cells with Sertoli cells from the same animal maintains the smooth endoplasmic reticulum at the level seen in vivo and in freshly isolated Leydig cells. The addition of FSH to the co-culture stimulates its development and increases Leydig cell activity, as assessed by an increase in hCG binding sites and an increased steroidogenic response to hCG. These results suggest that Sertoli cells exert a trophic effect on Leydig cells, and that the stimulatory effect of FSH on Leydig cell function is mediated via the Sertoli cells. These results reinforce the concept of a local regulatory control of Leydig cell steroidogenesis.Post-Doctoral fellow supported by CIRIT, Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain     

The human genome contains multiple sequences of varying homology to mouse mammary tumour virus DNA

Sequences related to the mouse mammary tumour virus (MuMTV) DNA were isolated from a genomic library of human DNA by screening under conditions of relaxed stringency. It is estimated that there are in the order of 50 MuMTV-like sequences per haploid genome and that the homology between the different human sequences and MuMTV varies by 15%.     

Localization of retinoic acid-binding protein in nuclei

Retinoic acid-binding component has been detected in the nuclei of chick embryo skin. The physicochemical properties of this macromolecule are in agreement with the properties of the retinoic acid-binding protein isolated from tissue cytosol. Although no binding protein could be detected in normal colon or lung tissue, nuclei isolated from a transplantable colon tumor and Lewis lung carcinoma contained this protein.     

Antigen of "serum sickness" type of heterophile antibodies in human sera: indentification as gangliosides with N-glycolylneuraminic acid.

Antigen of “serum-sickness” type of heterophile antibodies in pathologic human sera was purified from equine and bovine erythrocyte stroma. The chemical nature of this antigen was glycosphingolipids with N-glycolylneuraminic acid. The antigen of equine erythrocytes was identified as hematoside with N-glycolylneuraminic acid, GlNeu(α, 2–3)Gal(β, 1–4)Glc(β,1-1) ceramide and the antigen of bovine erythrocytes was N-glycolylneuraminyl-paragloboside, GlNeu (α,2–3)Gal(β,1–4)GlcNAc(β,1–3)Gal(β,1–4)Glc(β,1-1) ceramide. The results indicate that “serum-sickness” antibodies react with a common disaccharide moiety of non-reducing end of the both glycosphingolipids.     

Phospholipid composition and external labeling of aminophospholipids of human En(a−) erythrocyte membranes which lack the major sialoglycoprotein (glycophorin a)

Erythrocytes of the rare human blood group En(a?) lack the major sialoglycoprotein, glycophorin A, and the cell population heterozygous for the En(a) antigen contain half the normal amount of glycophorin A. With such cells we have studied whether glycophorin A influences the phospholipid composition and the availability of aminophospholipids to external labeling reagents. We here demonstrate that the amounts of all phospholipids are closely similar in normal and variant membranes. However, using the amino-reactive reagent trinitrobenzenesulfonate, we show that phosphatidylethanolamine is more easily labeled in intact En(a?) cells as compared to normal cells, whereas phosphatidylethanolamine shows an intermediate labeling in En(a) heterozygous cells.     

The depolarization-induced release of cholecystokinin C-terminal octapeptide (CCK-8) from rat synaptosomes and brain slices

Studies on the subcellular distribution of immunoreactive cholecystokinin (CCK) in homogenates of rat cerebral cortex showed that approximately 95% was associated with particulate fractions, including presynaptic terminals (synaptosomes). Chromatography of extracts of tissue and medium from incubated synaptosomes revealed that this material was almost exclusively in the form of COOH-terminal octapeptide (CCK-8), very little CCK-33 being present. There was a wide range of CCK-8 concentrations in synaptosomes from different brain regions (cortex > striatum ? hypothalamus > brain stem). Cerebral cortex synaptosomes were incubated in vitro and showed a complex pattern of CCK-8 release with varying concentrations of tissue: amounts in the medium rose rapidly with increasing synaptosome concentrations, then fell to a plateau at higher tissue values. A mechanism for the rapid disposal of extracellular CCK-8 was associated with synaptosomal fractions. Depolarization-induced (high K⁺) release of CCK-8 was observed with cortex and corpus striatum synaptosomes. A rapid and reversible enhancement of CCK-8 release from cortex slices was observed in response to elevated K⁺. Veratrine also released CCK-8 from cortex slices, although this was not reversible. Stimulus-induced release of CCK-8 from synaptosomes and slices required extracellular Ca²⁺. The storage, release and degradation of CCK-8 by nerve-endings suggest a synaptic function for this peptide.     

The amphipathic membrane proteins associated with gangliosides: The Paul-Bunnell antigen is one of the gangliophilic proteins

Two amphipathic protein fractions soluble in organic solvents as well as in water have been isolated from the ganglioside fraction of bovine erythrocyte membranes by successive chromatography in chloroform-methanol mixture on DEAE-Sephadex, silicic acid, and α-hydroxypropylated Sephadex G50 (LH60) columns. These two fractions contained a similar low molecular weight protein but with distinctively different amino acid composition. One of these proteins has been characterized by having a strong Paul-Bunnell antigen activity and had a binding affinity to ganglioside. A similar protein without Paul-Bunnell antigen activity was isolated as the major ganglioside-associated protein.