Differential response to hepatic differentiation stimuli of amniotic epithelial cells isolated from four regions of the amniotic membrane

Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells (hAEC) isolated from term placenta are a promising source for regenerative medicine. However, it has long been debated whether the hAEC population consists of heterogeneous or homogeneous cells. In a previous study, we investigated the characteristics of hAEC isolated from four different regions of the amniotic membrane finding significant heterogeneity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hepatic differentiation capability of hAEC isolated from these four regions. Human term placentae were collected after caesarean section and hAEC were isolated from four regions of the amniotic membrane (R1-R4, according to their relative distance from the umbilical cord) and treated in hepatic differentiation conditions for 14 days. hAEC-derived hepatocyte-like cells showed marked differences in the expression of hepatic markers: R4 showed higher levels of Albumin and Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor (HNF) 4α whereas R1 expressed higher Cytochrome P450 enzymes, both at the gene and protein level. These preliminary results suggest that hAEC isolated from R1 and R4 of the amniotic membrane are more prone to hepatic differentiation. Therefore, the use of hAEC from a specific region of the amniotic membrane should be taken into consideration as it could have an impact on the outcome of therapeutic applications.     

Feeding and energy budget estimations inDaphnia obtusa

The reproductive and growth strategies ofDaphnia obtusa are discussed in terms of energy budget. The results obtained through feeding and life table experiments allow us to understand the role of biotic factors, such as competition and predation, in the evolution of life history traits.     

Lymphoid precursor cells adhere to two different sites on fibronectin

Several precursor lymphoid cell lines, blocked at specific stages of differentiation, adhere specifically to fibronectin in vitro. Whereas the Ba F3 cell line, which has both immunoglobulin heavy- and light-chain genes in germline configuration, interacts with the arg-gly-asp-containing cell-binding domain of fibronectin, the B-committed line PD 31, which is undergoing rearrangement of immunoglobulin light-chain genes, does not. Accordingly the Ba F3, but not the putative PD 31 surface fibronectin receptor, binds to an affinity matrix containing the 115-kD cell-binding domain of fibronectin. PD 31 cells recognize a different domain of the fibronectin molecule, which is contained within the carboxy terminal segment possessing a high-affinity binding site for heparin. A polyclonal antibody raised against the fibronectin receptor of mouse erythroleukemic cells inhibits adhesion of these lymphoid lines to fibronectin. It precipitates two major species of 140 and 70 kD from surface-radioiodinated Ba F3 cells and species of 140 and 120 kD from PD 31 cells. We propose that the two types of cells express different fibronectin receptors mediating substrate adhesion, and suggest that receptor(s) with different specificity might be expressed in the course of B cell maturation. Because we show that these adhesion properties are shared by normal bone marrow lymphoid precursors, we infer that these receptors may play a role in normal lymphopoiesis.     

Directional fixation of mutations in vertebrate evolution

Summary We have made pairwise comparisons between the coding sequences of 21 genes from coldblooded vertebrates and 41 homologous sequences from warm-blooded vertebrates. In the case of 12 genes, GC levels were higher, especially in third codon positions, in warm-blooded vertebrates compared to cold-blooded vertebrates. Six genes showed no remarkable difference in GC level and three showed a lower level. In the first case, higher GC levels appear to be due to a directional fixation of mutations, presumably under the influence of body temperature (see Bernardi and Bernardi 1986b). These GC-richer genes of warm-blooded vertebrates were located, in all cases studied, in isochores higher in GC than those comprising the homologous genes of cold-blooded vertebrates. In the third case, increases appear to be due to a limited formation of GC-rich isochores which took place in some cold-blooded vertebrates after the divergence of warm-blooded vertebrates. The directional changes in the GC content of coding sequences and the evolutionary conservation of both increased and unchanged GC levels are in keeping with the existence of compositional constraints on the genome.     

The compositional distribution of coding sequences and DNA molecules in humans and murids

Summary The compositional distributions of coding sequences and DNA molecules (in the 50-100-kb range) are remarkably narrower in murids (rat and mouse) compared to humans (as well as to all other mammals explored so far). In murids, both distributions begin at higher and end at lower GC values. A comparison of homologous coding sequences from murids and humans revealed that their different compositional distributions are due to differences in GC levels in all three codon positions, particularly of genes located at both ends of the distribution. In turn, these differences are responsible for differences in both codon usage and amino acids. When GC levels at first+second codon positions and third codon positions, respectively, of murid genes are plotted against corresponding GC levels of homologous human genes, linear relationships (with very high correlation coefficients and slopes of about 0.78 and 0.60, respectively) are found. This indicates a conservation of the order of GC levels in homologous genes from humans and murids. (The same comparison for mouse and rat genes indicates a conservation of GC levels of homologous genes.) A similar linear relationship was observed when plotting GC levels of corresponding DNA fractions (as obtained by density gradient centrifugation in the presence of a sequence-specific ligand) from mouse and human. These findings indicate that orderly compositional changes affecting not only coding sequences but also noncoding sequences took place since the divergence of murids. Such directional fixations of mutations point to the existence of selective pressures affecting the genome as a whole.     

Persistence of the control of the fluctuations of heart rate in the anesthetized and pithed adult rat. Effect of enteraminergic drugs]

Spontaneous fluctuations in heart rate were analyzed by spectral analysis in the ether anesthetized and pithed adult rat. In order to investigate the changes in the spectral pattern of the fluctuations, the selective 5HT-2 and -3 isoreceptor blockers ritanserin and BRL 43694A were used. In both the experimental conditions, ritanserin blockade led to dose-dependent increased fluctuations in HR low and high frequencies. In both the anesthetized and pithed rats, the low frequency range HR fluctuations were drastically reduced by BRL 43694A.     

Phenylarsine oxide induces the cyclosporin A-sensitive membrane permeability transition in rat liver mitochondria

This paper reports an investigation on the effects of the hydrophobic, bifunctional SH group reagent phenylarsine oxide (PhAsO) on mitochondrial membrane permeability. We show that PhAsO is a potent inducer of the mitochondrial permeability transition in a process which is sensitive to both the oxygen radical scavanger BHT and to cyclosporin A. The PhAsO-induced permeability transition is stimulated by Ca²⁺ but takes place also in the presence of EGTA in a process that maintains its sensitivity to BHT and cyclosporin A. Our findings suggest that, at variance from other known inducers of the permeability transition, PhAsO reacts directly with functional SH groups that are inaccessible to hydrophilic reagents in the absence of Ca²⁺.     

Chromosome banding and genome compartmentalization in fishes

The diploid chromosome number of the Chinese raccoon dog varies from 54 (no B chromosomes) to 58 (4 B chromosomes). The B chromosomes are totally heterochromatic. An electron microscopic study was made of the synaptonemal complexes (SC) in spermatocytes of these animals. The SC karyotype consists of 27 regular chromosome pairs (autosomes and the sex chromosomes) plus the B chromosomes. The Bs pair effectively with one another at pachytene, but the SC axes of the B chromosomes are much denser than those of the A chromosomes. Depending on the number of Bs, both bivalents and multivalents have been observed. When three B chromosomes are present in a cell, parallel alignment of all three SCs can be seen. Formation of multivalents indicates high homology among these supernumerary heterochromatic chromosomes. Fusiform bulges are found along unpaired regions of all chromosomes which are particularly pronounced in diplotene.     

Hemodynamic effects of cardiac cycle-specific increases in intrathoracic pressure

Changes in intrathoracic pressure (ITP) can influence cardiac performance by affecting ventricular loading conditions. Because both systemic venous return and factors determining left ventricular (LV) ejection may vary over the cardiac cycle, phasic increases in ITP may differentially affect preload or afterload if delivered at specific points within the cardiac cycle. We studied the hemodynamic effects of cardiac cycle-specific increases in ITP (pulses) delivered by a high-frequency jet ventilator in an acute closed-chested canine model (n = 11), using electromagnetic flow probes to measure biventricular stroke volume. Measurements were taken during a control condition after the induction of acute ventricular failure (AVF) by propranolol hydrochloride and volume infusion. ITP was independently varied without changing lung volume by the inflation of thoracoabdominal binders. Although synchronous pulses had minimal hemodynamic effects in unbound controls, binding pulses timed to occur in early diastole resulted in decreases in LV filling pressure and left ventricular stroke volume (SVlv) (P less than 0.05). In the AVF condition, pulses increased LV performance, evidenced by increases in SVlv (P less than 0.01), despite decreases in LV filling pressure (P less than 0.05). This effect is maximized by binding and by timing the pulses to occur in systole. We conclude that cardiac cycle-specific increases in ITP can significantly affect cardiac performance. These effects appear to be related to the ability of such timed pulses to selectively affect LV preload and afterload.