Chromosome abnormalities in tuberous sclerosis

Summary In fibroblasts cultured from biopsies of the skin lesions of six patients with tuberous sclerosis (TS) there was a variable but consistent degree of karyotypic variation. Premature centromere disjunction (PCD) of all or part of the chromosomes, micronuclei, an increased incidence of breaks, dicentric chromosomes and the presence of polyploid metaphases were found in all cultures. The PCD was of the type encountered in Roberts syndrome and its frequency varied from 8% to 30%. In metaphases with PCD of one and of two chromosomes, the chromosome involved were identified, and chromosome 3 was involved 21 times among 59 chromosomes with PCD. Chromosome 3 tends to be preferentially involved in dicentric formation. In lymphocyte cultures from the same patients there were no metaphases with PCD, but there was a slight increase of breaks and the presence of dicentric chromosomes, also involving chromosome 3. Polyploid metaphases were increased in some of the cases. Karyotypic variation can be considered a cellular phenotypic characteristic of TS in fibroblasts cultured from the skin lesions, and its type indicates disturbances in the mechanics of centromere division and of chromosome distribution at cell division.     

Examination of the secondary structure of proteins by deconvolved FTIR spectra

Fourier transform ir (FTIR) spectra of 21 globular proteins have been obtained at 2 cm^?1 resolution from 1600 to 1700 cm^?1 in deuterium oxide solution. Fourier self-deconvolution was applied to all spectra, revealing that the amide I band of each protein except casein consists of six to nine components. The components are observed at 11 well-defined frequencies, although all proteins do not exhibit components at every characteristic frequency. The root mean square (RMS) deviation of 124 individual values from the 11 average characteristic frequencies is 1.9 cm^?1. The observed components are assigned to helical segments, extended beta-segments, unordered segments, and turns. Segments with similar structures do not necessarily exhibit band components with identical frequencies. For instance, the lower frequency beta-structure band can vary within a range of approximately 15 cm^?1. The relative areas of the individual components of the deconvolved spectra were determined by a Gauss–Newton, iterative curve-fitting procedure that assumed Gaussian band envelopes for the deconvolved components. The measured areas were used to estimate the percentage of helix and beta-structure for each of 21 globular proteins. The results are in good general agreement with values derived from x-ray data by Levitt and Greer. The RMS deviation between 22 values (alpha- and beta-content of 11 beta-rich proteins measured by both techniques) is 2.5 percentage points; the maximum absolute deviation is 4 percentage points.     

Production of specific antibodies to contractile proteins,and their use in immunofluorescence microscopy

Summary The injection of rabbits with insoluble or soluble G-actin from chicken smooth or striated muscle will produce antibodies that are equally reactive, and species and tissue non-specific in immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence and actin-activated Mg²⁺-ATPase^** inhibition test. These antibodies have been used for the identification of actin-containing fibrils in a variety of tissues. When G-actins from chicken smooth or striated muscle are immobilized by chemical linkage to Affi-Gel 702 microbeads, their immunogenicity is increased, but the antibodies obtained against them are species-specific and will only react with actin and actin-containing structures from chicken and are therefore limited in use. It is concluded from this work that insoluble G-actin is the preferable immunogen to obtain precipitating antibodies for wide use.Abbreviations ATPase Adenosinetriphosphatase - FITC Fluoresceinisothiocyanate - SDS Sodiumdodecylsulfate This paper is dedicated to Dr. Dorothy M. Needham, University of Cambridge, England, in honour of her eightieth birthday     

Effects of clozapine (Leponex) on sleep patterns in the cat.

This study examined the effects of clozapine on sleep-wakefulness profile in cats prepared for chronic recording of sleep. Clozapine in single dose (i.p.) of 5 mg/kg drastically reduced slow-wave sleep (SWS) and paradoxical sleep (PS), while wakefulness and drowsy pattern were increased. These changes lasted approximately 24 h and were followed by sleep recovery. PS had a priority of recovery. Some similarities between clozapine effects on sleep in cat and human were mentioned.     

Changes in plasma gonadotropin concentrations and urethral closure pressure in the bitch during the 12 months following ovariectomy

Urinary incontinence due to acquired urethral sphincter incompetence is a common side effect of spaying, for which the underlying cause remains unknown. Spaying not only results in a significant reduction in the urethral closure pressure within 1 year but also in an increase in the plasma gonadotropin concentrations. To investigate the possible link between the post-ovariectomy changes in plasma gonadotropins and in urethral closure pressure, gonadotropin and urodynamic measurements were performed in 10 Beagle bitches before and for a period of 1 year after spaying. Plasma gonadotropin concentrations rose quickly after ovariectomy and peak levels were seen within 3-5 weeks, followed by a sharp drop until week 10. A steady increase was observed subsequently until week 42, when a plateau was reached. One year after spaying, the mean FSH concentration was 75.3 +/- 32.1 ng/ml, a 17-fold increase, and the LH was 8.3 +/- 3.8 ng/ml, an eightfold increase over the pre-spaying values. Ten months after spaying, the mean urethral closure pressure (9.7 cm H2O) was significantly reduced when compared to the mean pre-operative value of 15.4 cm H2O. However, there was no clear relationship between the gonadotropin concentrations and the urethral closure pressure. From these results it seems unlikely that chronically elevated gonadotropins are the underlying cause for reduced urethral closure pressure after spaying resulting in urinary incontinence.     

Complement receptors in HIV infection

Similar to other pathogens, HIV can directly activate the complement pathway even in the absence of antibodies. During and after seroconversion, HIV-specific antibodies enhance the activation of complement and increase deposition of complement fragments on virions dramatically. However, even in the presence of HIV-specific antibodies, no or only poor lysis occurs. HIV has adapted different protection mechanisms to keep complement activation under the threshold necessary to induce virolysis. In addition to its own envelope proteins, the viral envelope contains membrane-anchored host molecules. Among those are complement regulatory proteins that remain functionally active on the surface of HIV and turn down the complement cascade. In addition, serum proteins with complement regulatory activities become secondarily attached onto the virus, thereby enhancing the protection of HIV against complement-mediated damage. Therefore, opsonised virions accumulate in HIV-infected individuals, which subsequently interact with complement receptor (CR) expressing cells. This review is mainly focused on these interactions, which result either in infection of CR-positive cells with high efficiency, or retention of viral particles on their surface via CRs, thereby promoting transmission of virus to other permissive cells.     

The stress hormone corticosterone in a marine top predator reflects short‐term changes in food availability

In many seabird studies, single annual proxies of prey abundance have been used to explain variability in breeding performance, but much more important is probably the timing of prey availability relative to the breeding season when energy demand is at a maximum. Until now, intraseasonal variation in prey availability has been difficult to quantify in seabirds. Using a state‐of‐the‐art ocean drift model of larval cod Gadus morhua, an important constituent of the diet of common guillemots Uria aalge in the southwestern Barents Sea, we were able to show clear, short‐term correlations between food availability and measurements of the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) in parental guillemots over a 3‐year period (2009–2011). The model allowed the extraction of abundance and size of cod larvae with very high spatial (4 km) and temporal resolutions (1 day) and showed that cod larvae from adjacent northern spawning grounds in Norway were always available near the guillemot breeding colony while those from more distant southerly spawning grounds were less frequent, but larger. The latter arrived in waves whose magnitude and timing, and thus overlap with the guillemot breeding season, varied between years. CORT levels in adult guillemots were lower in birds caught after a week with high frequencies of southern cod larvae. This pattern was restricted to the two years (2009 and 2010) in which southern larvae arrived before the end of the guillemot breeding season. Any such pattern was masked in 2011 by already exceptionally high numbers of cod larvae in the region throughout chick‐rearing period. The findings suggest that CORT levels in breeding birds increase when the arrival of southern sizable larvae does not match the period of peak energy requirements during breeding.