Effect of cholesterol and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine enrichment on the kinetics of Na−Li exchange of human erythrocytes

Summary The effects of cholesterol loading and depletion and of a 10% replacement of native phosphatidylcholine by dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (di 16:0-PC) on kinetic properties of human red cell Na–Li exchange have been studied.Compared to control erythrocytes (cholesterol/phospholipid ratio (C/P=0.8–0.9)),V _max of phloretin-sensitive Li uptake and of Li efflux stimulated by extracellular Na (Na _o ) were reduced by 15–30% in cholesterol-loaded red cells (C/P=1.05–1.33). The apparentK _m values for external Li (Li _o ) and for internal Li (Li _i ) were decreased by about one-third in these cells. Cholesterol depletion (C/P=0.7) exerted opposite effects on the kinetics of Na _o -dependent Li efflux. On augmentingC/P from 0.66 to 1.0,V _max of Na _o -dependent Li efflux was reduced by about 30%; increasingC/P above 1.0 caused no further lowering ofV _max. Li leakage rates monotonically decreased over the whole range ofC/P ratios examined (0.66–1.3). This indicates that Na–Li exchange and Li leak are differentially affected by cholesterol.Incorporation of di 16:0-PC (replacement of 3% of total red cell phospholipids) caused similar kinetic alterations of Na–Li exchange as a rise in membrane cholesterol by 20–50%. Notably, selective incorporation of di 16:0-PC into the outer monolayer increased both intra- and extracellular Li binding affinities of Na–Li exchange and lowered its maximum velocity. Thus, both di 16:0-PC enrichment and cholesterol loading exerted an uncompetitive type of transport inhibition. The results are in agreement with the hypothesis that the kinetic alterations of red cell Na–Li exchange seen in a subgroup of essential hypertensive patients could be due to subtle changes in the molecular species composition of individual phospholipids.     

原发性高血压患者红细胞中存在抗高血压因子

本研究利用热处理和Sephadex G-150凝胶过滤层析等方法,从原发性高血压病患者(EHS)红细胞中部分纯化了抗高血压因子(AHF)。AHF具有热稳定性,分子量大于6kDa;能明显降低卒中易感型自发性高血压大鼠(SHR_(sp))血压,腹腔一次注入AHF(1.6mg/kg)30min后,SHR_(sp)收缩压从原来的27.6±0.7kPa降低到21.4±0.8kPa(p<0.001),4h后收缩压恢复至原水平。AHF能显著抑制自发性高血压大鼠(SHR)和肾性高血压大鼠(RHR)主动脉(A)及肠系膜动脉(MA)血管平滑肌(VSM)Ca~(2 )内流。且对MA Ca~(2 )内流的抑制作用强于A。以上结果表明:EHS红细胞中存在AHF,能显著降低高血压大鼠血压,其降压机制可能与其抑制VSM特别是小动脉VSM Ca~(2 )内流有关。     

不同来源的肾综合征出血热病毒对Vero细胞的致病变作用

前文报道,肾综合征出血热病毒76-118株能使Vero细胞产生病变。本文报道76-118株和另11株不同来源的肾综合征出血热病毒(H537、A9、H5、R178、HB55、R22、Z10,沟3、L99、A16和J10)对Vero细胞的致病变作用(CPE )。其中除沟3株外,大部分毒株在感染Vero细胞后的第一代即可见明显的CPE。CPE的特点与76-118株相似,主要是感染细胞粘聚、融合,形成网状结构。CPE能被特异性抗HFRS病毒血清和型特异性单克隆抗体所中和抑制,但不能被特异性抗呼肠孤病毒Ⅲ型免疫血清所中和抑制。HFRS病毒对Vero细胞的致病变作用,对进一步研究HFRS病毒的某些生物学特性及实验方法等均有重要意义。     

肾综合征出血热病毒糖蛋白的提纯和鉴定

以感染肾综合征出血热病毒(HFRSV)的Vero E6细胞为材料,用免疫亲和层析结合制备聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(PAGE)从感染细胞中提纯了HFRSV两种糖蛋白。先用免疫亲和层析从感染细胞的粗制抗原中获得含有四种蛋白的混合液,用[~3H]-氨基葡萄糖在感染细胞中标记病毒糖蛋白,观察到[~3H]-氨基葡萄糖只结合入78K和57K的病毒蛋白。再用制备SDS-PAGE从HFRSV混合液中提纯78K和57K两种蛋白。实验证明这两种糖蛋白均具中和抗原决定簇,57K的糖蛋白尚具血凝活性,初步鉴定表明这两种糖蛋白相当于文献报道的HFRSV G_1和G_2。     

Increased Neopterin Levels in Brains of Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection

Postmortem levels of native neopterin (D-erythro-neopterin) were measured in cerebral cortical samples from 44 human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected and eight uninfected, nonneurological control patients. Cerebral cortical gray and white matter neopterin levels for the controls ranged from 0.5 to 7.2 pmol/mg of protein in contrast to neopterin levels in brains of the virus-infected patients, which frequently were more than threefold and occasionally more than 30-fold higher than mean control levels. Cortical neopterin levels did not correlate with severity of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome dementia complex, but subcortical levels correlated with the presence of active human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection, as reflected by pathological evidence of multinucleated giant cell encephalitis. Evidence of opportunistic cytomegalovirus infections in approximately 25% of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected patients was associated with enhanced levels of neopterin in frontal cortex.     

Effects of micronutrients on the growth form of two families of Pinus radiata (D.Don) seedlings

Micro-element deficiencies have been implicated in the development of poor stem form in Pinus radiata plantations. Cu, Mn and B have been implicated in previous studies as influencing tree form and/or the process of lignification in plants. Therefore an experiment was initiated to examine the individual and interactive effects exhibited by these trace elements on stem form and lignification.The investigation showed that Cu deficiency reduced both lignification and stem form in seedlings. Mn, competing with Cu for uptake, enhanced the symptoms of Cu deficiency. Boron addition did not alleviate the expression of deformity or increase levels of lignification. There was a clear family influence on the development of seedling stem form in response to variations in mineral nutrition.     

Selenium and blood pressure studies in young and adult normotensive,renal, and spontaneously hypertensive animals

With reports of either no change or reduction of blood pressure, the relationship between selenium and blood pressure has not been clear. Normal Se values are not available for the Sprague Dawley (SD) rat or in the young and adult rat with various models of experimental hypertension. This study measured serum Se levels in the young and adult normotensive (NT), Grollman renal hypertensive (RH), and Okamoto-Aoki spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR). The young animals have statistically significant (P<0.001) lower Se values as measured by the fluorometric method than those found at adulthood. Selenium levels were found to be altered in the adult SHR animals when compared with the RH and NT animals. The serum Se value for the normotensive SD rat was found to be 65.0±3.5 μg/dL, and for the two experimental models, 63.7±4.6 μg/dL for the RH, whereas the SHR level was elevated to 75.04±4.8 μg/dL (P<0.001). Elevated serum Se values in the adult SHR animals suggests an altered metabolism in SHR animals.     

DNA fork displacement rates in Bloom's syndrome fibroblasts

DNA fork displacement rates were measured in three lines of Bloom's syndrome cells and in a normal diploid fibroblast line. Fork displacement rates in Bloom's cells were approx. 55–65% of the rate in normal fibroblasts.     

A possible cause of non-disjunction of additional chromosome 21 in Down syndrome

Summary A possible cause of non-disjunction of chromosome 21 in Down Syndromes has been cytogenetically evaluated by examining the parents by Ag-staining technique. In all the cases studied so far, the contributing parents have active ribosomal cistrons on both chromosomes 21 i.e. both chromosomes are stained positively by silver staining. These results show that the active NORs might play an essential role in meiotic non-disjunction. Furthermore, the preliminary results demonstrate that the acrocentric associations of homologous and non-homologous nature involving chromosome 21 are the most frequent in the contributing parent which may further indicate the role of multiple cellular factors affecting the associations in promoting the non-disjunction in addition to active NORs. The possible mechanisms regarding the non-disjunction of chromosome 21 have been described.Presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, Norfolk, VA, USA