Excitation of feline cutaneous mechanosensitive C-fiber sensory units by intraarterial administration of potassium ions

Response of low- and high-threshold mechanosensitive C fiber sensory units (MSU) in n. saphenus to close-arterial injection of potassium ions in subnoxious and noxious concentrations (SC and NC) were investigated in anesthetized cats. Two groups of high-threshold units were found: 1) MSU reacting to K⁺ at both SC and NC, but responding very differently to each of these concentrations and 2) MSU responding to NC only. Findings would indicate that high-rather than lowthreshold MSU participate in the perception of noxious stimuli. The possibility of differentiation between subnoxious and noxious stimuli by a proportion of high-threshold MSU is considered. High-threshold MSU discharges accompanying excitation of these units by subnoxious and noxious chemical stimuli are quantified.National Cardiology Research Center, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 147–154, March–April, 1988.     

Receptor-like cytokinin-binding protein(s) from barley leaves

Purified fractions of soluble proteins from barley leaves have been shown to contain specific binding sites fortrans-zeatin, a natural cytokinin. Such binding is very strong in vitro in concentrated solutions of some salts (ammonium sulfate or potassium phosphate) with optimum at pH 7–8 and temperature within the range 0–20°C. The cytokinin-binding sites have high affinity for zeatin (K_d1.5·10^–8 M) and low capacity corresponding to 1–1.5 pmol zeatin per milligram of initial soluble protein. Cytokinin binding is reversible; it is due to protein (or proteins) with molecular weight 40–45 kDa. This protein(s) does not bind³H-adenine and³H-abscisic acid. The ability of various compounds to displace³H-zeatin from its high-affinity binding sites is in strict accordance with their biological cytokinin activities. Other phytohormones as well as fusicoccin do not displace³H-zeatin from its binding sites. Specific zeatin binding is sensitive to heat, alkali, and pronase, but not to RNase treatment. The 150- to 200-fold purification of cytokinin-binding proteins was achieved by a combination of ammonium sulfate precipitation and Ultrogel AcA-54- and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The zeatin-binding protein(s) from barley leaves is suggested to take part in cytokinin action in vivo.     

A hypothalamic activator of calmodulin-dependent enzymes is thymosin β4 (1–39)

A new class of stimulators of basal activity of a number of calmodulin-dependent enzymes have been previously isolated from bovine hypothalamus. One of these stimulators, denoted as C₃, has been purified to homogeneity by reverse phase HPLC and tentatively identified as thymosin ₄ (1–39) by mass spectrometry and Edman microsequence analysis. The stimulating effect of C₃ on rabbit skeletal muscle MLCK basal activity was compared with that of thymosin ₁ and thymosin ₄ (16–38). Evidence is presented that all the indicated compounds are Ca²⁺-independent high-affinity MLCK stimulators. The potency of the stimulators in activating the enzyme was: C₃>₄>(CaM+Ca²⁺>₁.This revised version was published online in June 2005 with corrections to the author name Gurvits.     

Regulation of multiple forms of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase from bovine hypothalamus: New factors modulating enzyme activity

Studies of bovine hypothalamic cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) indicate the presence of several peaks of PDE activity, distinguishable by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, displaying different substrate specificities, kinetic behavior, and regulatory properties. Evidence is presented that chromatographically separated forms of PDE activity are subject to control by Ca²⁺-calmodulin, cyclic nucleotides, limited proteolysis, reagents affecting sulfhydryl groups, and neurohormone “C”—one of several new cardioactive compounds isolated from hypothalamic magnocellular nuclei of animals—in a complex substrate-specific and concentration-dependent manner. Of particular interest is the finding that each of the forms of cGMP PDE, being Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent, possesses sensitivity to activation by cAMP, especially under conditions favoring the oxidation of thiol groups of PDE, resulting in a loss in responsiveness of the enzyme to the activation by calmodulin. This effect appears to be relatively stable but readily reversible by sulfhydryl reducing reagents, which restore both the cGMP PDE sensitivity to competitive inhibition by cAMP and the responsiveness of the enzyme to activation by calmodulin. A reinterpretation of the regulatory properties of multiple forms of PDE is proposed. Special Issue dedicated to Dr. Eugene Kreps.     

Telomeres and P-element of Drosophila melanogaster contain sequences that replicate autonomously in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Summary We have isolated restriction fragments from a shotgun collection of Drosophila DNA which function as autonomously replicating sequences (ARS) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and hybridize with telomeric regions of the 2L, 2R, 4, and X chromosomes. In an independently obtained set of D. melanogaster clones five fragments hybridize in situ with telomeres and a number of internal sites. Two of them also contain ARSs. A Drosophila mobile P-element also possesses ARS activity in yeast.     

Activity of central neurons of the electroreceptor system ofGlyptosternum reticulatum

Two types of electroreceptive neurons — tonic and phasic — were found in acute experiments with extracellular recording of unit activity from the lateral lobes of the medulla in the Turkestan catfishGlyptosternum reticulatum. Tonic neurons were more sensitive to the potential gradient in water (the threshold for most neurons was 1–6 µV/cm) than phasic neurons, they possessed spontaneous activity (mean frequency 4–10 spikes/sec), and their response characteristics depended significantly on the intensity and duration of stimulation. Phasic neurons had no spontaneous activity; their sensitivity was about one order of magnitude lower than that of the tonic neurons, and the response was independent of the parameters of the stimuli. The probable mechanisms of differentiation of neurons into two types, with a possible link with the characteristics of the receptor formations or with the functional organization of the corresponding brain centers, are discussed.     

Kinetics of the sodium current through EDTA-modified calcium channels of the molluscan neuron somatic membrane

The kinetics of the slow current carried by sodium ions through potential-dependent calcium channels after addition of EDTA to calcium-free external solution was investigated in experiments by the intracellular dialysis method on isolatedHelix pomatia neurons. The activation kinetics of this current was similar to that of the calcium current and could be described by the use of the square of the activation variable m in Hodgkin-Huxley equations. The decay (inactivation) kinetics of the induced sodium current during prolonged depolarization is biexponential in character. It is suggested that decay of the sodium currents takes place as a result of two independent processes: potential-dependent inactivation with a time constant τ_h～1 sec, taking place as far as a certain steady-state level h_∞, and a decrease in current connected with Na⁺ accumulation inside the cell during passage of the current and a consequent change in the sodium electrochemical potential (τ_c～10 sec). It is concluded that modification of the calcium channels, so that they acquire the ability to conduct sodium, has no significant effect on the gating mechanisms responsible for opening and closing of the channels.     

二氧化硫对墨西哥豆瓢虫的影响

空气污染对害虫的影响,国内尚无研究报道。本文报道了作者在美国农业研究中心植物胁迫实验室进行的部分工作。实验结果表明,在0.30ppmSO_2的作用下,墨西哥豆瓢虫(Epilachna varivestis)的取食量和蛹重增加;与未受污染的寄主植物相比,豆瓢虫偏食受污染的植物;而且有嗜食含较高糖分寄主植物的倾向;在污染空气中长成的成虫可消耗更多的植物物质。     

Organization of neurons forming descending corticohypothalamic pathways

Retrograde horseradish peroxidase axonal transport techniques were used for quantifying the spatial organization of cortical neurons constituting descending fiber systems running to hypothalamic structures. This revealed the diversity of corticohypothalamic connections: the prefrontal cortex exerts a more marked effect on the hypothalamus than other cortical regions of the limbic system. Corticohypothalamic cells form neuronal groups at different frontal levels of the prefrontal cortex and cingulate gyrus; shape and orientation of cell groups are determined by the topography of predominant axonal systems travelling to the hypothalamus. Various forms of cell combinations occur within neuronal populations. Neuronal arrays may underlie the organizational principle of direct corticohypothalamic pathways.A. M. Gor'kii Medical Institute, Ministry of Public Health of the Ukrainian SSR, Donetsk. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 435–441, June–July, 1990.     

Potential role of altered calcium conductance at the onset of intensified spinal reflex after severing the sciatic nerve

The action of substances either increasing or inducing penetration of calcium ions through neuronal membranes on monosynaptic reflex discharges in the ventral horns (MR VH) were investigated in white rats between 5 and 7 days after severing the sciatic nerve. Systemically administered imidazole and 4-aminopyridine were used for the former and verapamil for the latter purposes. Effects of denervation and either imidazole or 4-aminopyridine administration were found to be synergistic; these interventions all led to a considerable increase in MR VH. Verapamil, on the other hand, reduced MR VH amplitude and raised the threshold for triggering these on both the operated and contralateral side. It is suggested that the early intensification of MR VH after severing the nerve is partly due to increased voltage-dependent calcium currents resulting from a reduced cyclic adenosine monophosphate level at presynaptic terminals of the reflex arc investigated.Medical Institute, Ministry of Public Health, Dnepropetrovsk. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 826–832, November–December, 1990.