Lipids of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea): a comparison between young adults and gravid worms

1. All major classes of lipids were found in the young adults in brain (22 days post-infection) and gravid Angiostrongylus cantonensis in lung of rats (34 days post-infection) comprising approximately 60% of phospholipids, 30% of neutral lipids and the rest, glycolipids. 2. The relative composition of phospholipids were quite similar between worms from the two different habitats, with phosphatidylcholine predominating. The glycolipid profiles were also similar. 3. More neutral lipids in the worms from brain existed as cholesterol and cholesterol esters than those from the lung. More than 20% of the fatty acids in these lipids of the brain were found as C10-C14 acids while oleic acid was the main component in the lung worm.     

Female sex steroid induced epithelial changes in the gallbladder of the ovariectomized Syrian hamster.

Ovariectomized Syrian hamsters treated by female sex steroids during a 1-month period show gallbladder surface epithelial changes in the fundic area consistent with apical bulging and decapitations of the epithelial cells. These events were detected in the infundibulum and the fundic or body regions of estrogen- and estrogen+progesterone-treated hamsters. In control hamsters, these events were restricted to the region in the vicinity of the bile duct. Following steroid treatment, intraluminal deposits detected resembled Ca-bilirubinate deposits described in previous studies while decapitations are similar to endometrial epithelium changes associated with hormonal physiological changes or treatments. Moreover some small electron-dense deposits are comparable to those found in human cholesterol gallstones. This report indicates that, besides an alteration in bile composition, cell fragments originating from the surface epithelium of the bile duct and/or of the gallbladder mucosal epithelium could participate in gallstone nucleation.     

Triiodothyronine effect on some parameters of carbohydrate metabolism in rat blood and liver. I. In vivo effect of triiodothyronine on liver glycogen content, blood metabolites and serum glycogenolytic activity

Short (7 days) T3-treatment has no influence on the plasma glucose and FFA concentration and blood lactate level, as well as on the hepatic glycogen content in the rats. The rise in T3 levels, observed in our study, was accompanied by a fall in T4 concentrations, indicating suppression of the endogenous T4 production. On the other hand, glycogenolytic activity of rat serum in vitro is the highest in the system: control liver slices-serum of rats pretreated with T3 as compared to the system: control liver slices-control serum. These observations may lead to conclusions, that serum of rats pretreated with T3 contains factors exhibiting the greater ability to mobilize glucose from liver slices than the control serum (euthyroid). The possibility, that pretreatment with T3 may cause a decrease in the number and/or affinity of beta-adrenergic receptors in the rat liver, is discussed.     

Effect of low ambient temperature on protein turnover and heat production in chicks

1. Effect of low ambient temperature on protein turnover in the liver and whole body was investigated in chicks together with the contribution of protein synthesis to the total heat production. 2. Both protein synthesis and degradation in the whole body were increased, the latter to a larger extent, at low ambient temperature (LT, 22 degrees C) compared with adequate temperature (AT, 30 degrees C). Liver protein synthesis was not significantly altered by the temperature treatment. 3. The total heat production of LT group was as high as 160% of the AT group. 4. The increased heat production due to enhanced whole-body protein synthesis accounted for only 1.4% of the heat increment in thermogenesis at low ambient temperature, suggesting that protein synthesis would contribute little, if any, to cold-induced thermogenesis in chicks.     

Radioimmunoassay of chenodeoxycholic acid-3-sulfate in urine

A sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the measurement of urinary total chenodeoxycholic acid-3-sulfate (SCDCA) was developed and the accuracy was confirmed. SCDCA bound to bovine serum albumin as the antigen and emulsified with Freund's complete adjuvant was injected into rabbits. The antiserum obtained was capable of binding 75% of [11,12-3H]SCDCA at 1:1000 dilution. The percentage of bound radioactivity decreased linearly with logarithmic increases in unlabeled SCDCA, from 8 to 200 pmol/ml. The antiserum showed an extremely high specificity for SCDCA (free and conjugated), and the values determined by RIA indicated a close correlation with those found by gas-liquid chromatography. The daily urinary SCDCA level was determined using SCDCA-RIA in 12 disease-free humans and 74 patients with chronic liver diseases. In the normal subjects the daily urinary SCDCA level was 0.74 +/- 0.83 mg/day and increased levels were evident in all groups with chronic liver diseases. The daily urinary SCDCA level corresponds closely with the extent of hepatic dysfunction.