呼吸链底物和抑制剂对线粒体内膜流动性的影响

用DPH和ANS标记大鼠肝线粒体内膜,以稳态荧光偏振法,研究了呼吸链底物和抑制剂对内膜流动性的影响。1.苹果酸+谷氨酸、琥珀酸分别为底物,均能引起内膜流动性增加。2.琥珀酸对含心磷脂的脂质体的膜流动性无影响。3.在鱼藤酮存在的条件下,苹果酸+谷氨酸对内膜流动性的增加作用消失,但琥珀酸的作用仍然存在。有氰化钾时则琥珀酸的作用消失。4.不论外加底物存在与否,鱼藤酮使内膜的流动性下降,而氰化钾则使之增加。抗霉素A亦可使内膜的流动性增加。上述结果表明:线粒体内膜流动性与其功能密切相关。电子沿呼吸链传递使线粒体内膜流动性增加,这种变化可能与呼吸链成分的氧化还原态有关。     

Slow potential changes due to transport number effects in cells with unstirred membrane invaginations or dendrites

Summary Many neurones are extremely invaginated and possess branching processes, axons and dendrites. In general, they are surrounded by a restricted diffusion space. Many of these cells exhibit large, slow potential changes during the passage of current across their membranes. Whenever currents cross membranes separating aqueous solutions, differences in transport numbers of the major permeant ions give rise to local concentration changes of these ions adjacent to the membranes, which will result in various electrical and osmotic effects. These transport number effects are expected to be enhanced by the presence of membrane invaginations. Dendrites are equivalent to reversed invaginations and there should be significant changes in concentrations of permeant ions within them. In general, the effects of such changes on the electrical response of a cell will be greater when the concentration of a major permeant ion is low. The effects have been modelled in terms of two nondimensional parameters: the invagination transport number parameter and the relative area occupied by the invaginations A. If these two parameters are known, the magnitudes and time course of the slow potential changes can immediately be estimated and the time course converted to real time, if the length of the invaginations (l) and ionic diffusion coefficient (D) within them are also known. Both analytical and numerical solutions have been given and predictions compared. It is shown that in the case of large currents and potentials the analytical solution predictions will underestimate the magnitudes and rates of onset of the voltage responses. The relative magnitude of the transport number effect within the invaginations (or dendrites) and other transport number contributions to slow potential changes have also been assessed and order-of-magnitude values of these are estimated for some biological data.     

Similarity of EPR Signal IIf rise and P-680+ decay kinetics in Tris-washed chloroplast Photosystem II preparations as a function of pH

The rise time, of Signal II_f and the decay time of P-680⁺ have been measured kinetically as a function of pH by using EPR. The Photosystem II-enriched preparations which were used as samples were derived from spinach chloroplasts, and they evolved oxygen before Tris washing. The onset kinetics of Signal II_f are in agreement, within experimental error, with the fast component of the decay of an EPR signal attributable to P-680⁺. The signal II_f rise kinetics also show good agreement with published values of the pH dependence of the decay of P-680⁺ measured optically (Conjeaud, H. and Mathis, P. (1980) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 590, 353–359). These results are consistent with a model where the species Z (or D₁) responsible for Signal II_f is the immediate electron donor to P-680⁺ in tris-washed Photosystem II fragments.     

Fluidity of detergent micelles plays an important role in muscarinic receptor solubilization

In order to find a suitable reagent for extracting the muscarinic receptor from rat brain membranes 14 different detergents were tested. Only the plant glycoside digitonin efficiently solubilized the receptor protein in its native form. At the same time microviscosity of detergent micelles was determined by measuring the fluorescence polarization of a hydrophobic fluorescent probe diphenylhexatriene incorporated into the micelles. In the case of digitonin the polarization value was close to the corresponding value obtained for rat brain membrane fragments, while for the other detergents studied it remained considerably lower. The results obtained indicate that the fluidity of detergent micelles may play an important role in retaining the active conformation of the solubilized muscarinic receptor.     

Calcium and magnesium induced changes in the relative fluidity of phosphatidylcholine liposomes

The effect of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ on relative fluidity of phosphatidylcholine liposomes was studied by measuring the degree of chlorophyll fluorescence polarization. An increase in the degree of fluorescence polarization was observed on incubation of liposomes with different concentrations of Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺. The results have been interpreted on the basis of increase in the size of liposomes which could be brought about by calcium or magnesium induced fusion of small unilamellar liposomes to form larger vesicles. Fusion of liposomes has also been confirmed by the experiments on efficiency of energy transfer from chlorophyll b to chlorophyll a, and transmission electron microscopy of liposomes before and after incubation with Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺.     

A Meaningful Attempt: Applying Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma to Induce Polarization of Macrophages

Macrophage polarization plays an important role in many macrophage-related diseases. This study was designed to preliminarily explore the effects of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma on the polarization direction and cell activity of macrophages with different phenotypes (ie, M0, M1, and M2). The M1 macrophage marker inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and M2 macrophage marker cluster of differentiation 206 (CD206) were detected by western blot (WB). The effects of DBD plasma on macrophage viability were analyzed by using a cell counting kit-8 detection kit. M0, M1, and M2 macrophages exhibited a decrease in iNOS expression and an increase in CD206 expression after the DBD plasma intervention. Additionally, the decrease in macrophage viability remained non-significant after initiating the intervention. DBD plasma can promote the transformation of M0 and M1 macrophages to M2 macrophages, and can further enhance the expression of the M2 macrophage phenotype marker CD206. Our study not only demonstrates the potential therapeutic value of DBD plasma for macrophage-related diseases, but it also provides a new direction for research to improve the treatment of macrophage-related diseases. © 2023 Bioelectromagnetics Society.     

Evaluation of Acetic Acid-Induced Chronic Gastric Ulcer Healing by Propionyl-L-Carnitine Administration

The aim of our study was to investigate the healing effect of propionyl-L-carnitine (PLC) on chronic gastric ulcers and its underlying mechanisms. This study included rats with gastric ulcers induced by applying serosal glacial acetic acid. These rats were then given either saline (vehicle) or PLC at doses of 60 and 120 mg/kg, administered orally 3 days after ulcer induction for 14 consecutive days. Our study found that treatment with PLC resulted in a reduction of the gastric ulcer area, a faster rate of ulcer healing, and stimulated mucosal restoration. Additionally, the treatment with PLC reduced the number of Iba-1+ M1 macrophages while increasing the number of galectin-3+ M2 macrophages, as well as desmin+ microvessels, and α-SMA+ myofibroblasts in the gastric ulcer bed. The mRNA expression of COX-2, eNOS, TGF-β1, VEGFA, and EGF in the ulcerated gastric mucosa was greater in the PLC-treated groups compared with the vehicle-treated rats. In conclusion, these findings suggest that PLC treatment may accelerate gastric ulcer healing by stimulating mucosal reconstruction, macrophage polarization, angiogenesis, and fibroblast proliferation, as well as fibroblast-myofibroblast transition. This process is associated with the upregulation of TGF-β1, VEGFA, and EGF, as well as modulation of the cyclooxygenase/nitric oxide synthase systems.     

Microfiltration of yeast suspensions with self-cleaning spiral vortices: possibilities for a new membrane module design

A novel method of producing controlled vortices was used to reduce both concentration polarization and membrane fouling during microfiltration of Saccharomyces cerevisiae broth suspensions. The method involves flow around a curved channel at a sufficient rate so as to produce centrifugal instabilities (called Dean vortices). These vortices depolarize the build-up of suspended particles such as yeast cells at the membrane-solution interface and allow for increased membrane permeation rates. Various operating conditions under which such vortices effectively reduced cake build-up of suspended particles such as yeast cells at the membrane-solution interface and allow for increased membrane permeation rates. Various operating conditions under which such vortices effectively reduced cake build-up during microfiltration of 0 to 0.55 dry wt% yeast broth were investigated. Flux improvements of over 60% for 0.25 dry wt% yeast broth for flow with over that without Dean vortices were observed. This beneficial effect increased with increasing retentate flow rate and increasing transmembrane pressure and decreased with increasing concentration of suspended matter. Similar behavior was observed whether the cells were viable of killed. the improvement in flux in the presence over that in the absence of vortices correlated well with centrifugal force or azimuthal velocity squared. The relative cake resistances increased with reservoir yeast concentration. These values with vortices increased from 62% to 75% of that without vortices with increasing yeast concentration. The ratio of the cake thicknesses in the limiting case (at high feed concentration) was 3.25. These results suggest that self-cleaning spiral vortices could be effective in maintaining good and steady microfiltration performance with cell suspensions other than those tested. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Cross-flow ultrafiltration of proteins through asymmetric polysulfonic membranes: I. Retention curves and pore size distributions

Flux and retention of 0.1%w/w aqueous solutions of several proteins [lysozyme, pepsin, bovine serum albumin (BSA), lipase, and gamma-globulin] with molecular weights of 14.6, 36, 67, 801 and 150 kDa are studied when they are tangentially filtered, with transmembrane pressure differences until 1 MPa and circulation velocities in the re-tentate loop from 0.04 to 1.98 m/s (laminar regime), through two asymmetric polysulfone commercial membranes (E-100 with a nominal pore size of 0.01 mum and E-500 with a nominal pore size of 0.04 mum). Results are analyzed with the film theory for the concentration-polarization phenomenon, obtaining the mass transfer coefficient along with the apparent and true retention coefficients for the cell used, as a function of the feed circulation velocity and the molecular weight of the solute. The standard retention curves lead to pore size distributions differing from the nominal ones. These differences can be attributed to the modifications of the membranes when they are in operational conditions, probably due to protein adsorption. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.