Mitochondrial monoamine oxidase activity and serotonin content of rat brain following gamma-irradiation

It is shown that gamma-irradiation of albino rats with a dose of 30 Gy leads to pronounced phase changes in monoaminoxidase activity and serotonin content in rat brain at early times after whole-body exposure. There is a similar direction of changes in the activity of the enzyme and in the content of the substrate adequate to the latter.     

Microwave effects on energy metabolism of rat brain

Rat brain was exposed to 591-MHz, continuous-wave (CW) microwaves at 13.8 or 5.0 mW/cm² to determine the effect on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced (NADH), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and creatine phosphate (CP) levels. On initiation of the in vivo microwave exposures, fluorimetrically determined NADH rapidly increased to a maximum of 4.0%–12.5% above pre-exposure control levels at one-half minute, then decreased slowly to 2% above control at three minutes, finally increasing slowly to 5% above control level at five minutes. ATP and CP assays were performed on sham- and microwave-exposed brain at each exposure time. At 13.8 mW/cm², brain CP level was decreased an average of 39.4%, 41.1%, 18.2%, 13.1%, and 36.4% of control at exposure points one-half, one, two three, and five minutes, respectively, and brain ATP concentration was decreased an average of 25.2%, 15.2%, 17.8%, 7.4%, and 11.2% of control at the corresponding exposure periods. ATP and CP levels of rat brain exposed to 591-MHz cw microwaves at 5 mW/cm² for one-half and one minute were decreased significantly below control levels at these exposure times, but were not significantly different from the 13.8 mW/cm² exposures. For all exposures, rectal temperature remained constant. Heat loss through the skull aperture caused brain temperature to decrease during the five-minute exposures. This decrease was the same in magnitude for experimental and control subjects. Changes in NADH, ATP, and CP levels during microwave exposure cannot be attributed to general tissue hyperthermia. The data support the hypothesis that microwave exposure inhibits mitochondrial electron transport chain function, which results in decreased ATP and CP levels in brain.     

Thyroxine effects on polyamine metabolism in rat cerebellum and brain cortex during postnatal development

Polyamine content, ODC and SAMDC activities have been assayed in cerebellum and brain cortex of hyperthyroid rats during postnatal development. Daily thyroxine treatment induced ODC and SAMDC biosynthesis in early periods of postnatal life in both cerebellum and brain cortex. In addition, in comparison to controls an increase in spermidine and spermine content was shown to occur in hyperthyroid rats. A functional correlation between polyamine content and nucleic acids could explain a correlation between polyamine biosynthesis and morphofunctional maturative processes in the brain.     

The effect of low levels of carbon dioxide on metabolism of Mus musculus

• 1.1. In this study we measured the metabolic response of individual mice to low concentrations of carbon dioxide in air (0.14 to 1.7%). Both oxygen consumption (V_o2) and carbon dioxide (V_o2) were determined, and the respiratory quotient (R) was calculated.
• 2.2. V_o2 was significantly reduced at levels of 0.14 to 0.50% CO₂ in the air. At 0.23% for example, V_o2 dropped from 3.11 ± 0.6 to 1.26 ± 0.69 cc O₂/g × hr. R increased from 0.7 to 1.0 and higher throughout the 6-hr testing period, which consisted of 1.5 hr of exposure to 0.0% CO₂, 1.5 hr of exposure to a test gas and a repetition of 1.5 hr each of baseline and test exposures.
• 3.3. We conclude that low levels of CO₂ such as mice might encounter in a nest, burrow or even metabolic chamber may effect a feedback mechanism which acts to decrease metabolism.

     

Change in monoamine content and monoamine oxidase activity in brain structures during experimental allergic encephalomyelitis]

The serotonin, noradrenaline, adrenaline concentration in the blood, cerebrospinal fluid and some brain structures, and tissue monoaminoxidase activity (MAO) were investigated in dogs during experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. During the perparalytic period there was a tendency to reduction of the serotonin concentration and to the elevation of the catecholamine content. The stage of clinical manifestation of encephalomyelitis was accompanied by reduction of the serotonin level in the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres, and by genralized inhibition of the adrenergic structures. In this case the MAO activity displayed no significant change; this permitted to consider the disturbance of the monoamine synthesis as a result of immune aggression, as a possible cause of inhibition of the monoaminergic system.     

Effect of silver ion, carbon dioxide, and oxygen on ethylene action and metabolism

The relationship between ethylene action and metabolism was investigated in the etiolated pea seedling (Pisum sativum L. cv. Alaska) by inhibiting ethylene action with Ag⁺, high CO₂, and low O₂ and then determining if ethylene metabolism was inhibited in a similar manner. Ag⁺ (100 milligrams per liter) was clearly the most potent antiethylene treatment. Ag⁺ pretreatment inhibited the growth retarding action of 0.2 microliters per liter ethylene by 48% and it also inhibited the incorporation of 0.2 microliters per liter ¹⁴C₂H₄ into pea tips by the same amount. As the ethylene concentration was increased from 0.2 to 30 microliters per liter, the effectiveness of Ag⁺ in reducing ethylene action and metabolism declined in a similar fashion. Although Ag⁺ significantly inhibited the incorporation of ¹⁴C₂H₄ into tissue metabolites, the oxidation of ¹⁴C₂H₄ to ¹⁴CO₂ was unaffected in the same tissue.     

Responses of sub-arctic dwarf shrubs to low oxygen and high carbon dioxide conditions

Arctic plants can experience prolonged periods of ice encasement in winter, leading to hypoxia which may cause damage to plants and reduce subsequent summer growth. Further, high CO₂ concentrations, which can occur when plants respire within ice, may cause additional injury, as has been shown to occur in crops. The tolerance of arctic plants to these within-ice atmospheric conditions has previously remained unknown, yet this knowledge is essential for understanding icing impacts on plant community structure and productivity – especially given that icing events are predicted to increase in frequency as a result of climate change. Using a unique field chamber experiment, this study quantified the responses of three widespread sub-arctic dwarf shrubs, Empetrum nigrum and Vaccinium vitis-idaea (both evergreen) and V. myrtillus (deciduous), to 14 days hypoxia and high CO₂ in winter in a factorial field experiment in northern Sweden. Growth, phenology and mortality responses were used to quantify impacts in the following spring supported by electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll fluorescence to assess leaf damage in the two evergreens. Overall, all species showed high resistance to 14 days of hypoxia with no indications of damage. Increased CO₂ did lead to 33% lower bud dormancy in E. nigrum and 70% greater shoot mortality in V. vitis-idaea indicating that these species might be negatively affected by increased occurrences of ice encasement, through elevated CO₂ levels. Despite these responses, effects of high CO₂ were rare overall. Given that the impacts of hypoxia and high CO₂ were considerably less than reported for species in temperate habitats, this suggests a moderate to high degree of tolerance to short periods of icing among these species. If these results apply to longer periods of ice encasement, increasing frequency of icing may only have some species specific impacts without being a major environmental threat to arctic dwarf shrubs.     

Cardiovascular effects of hyperbaric oxygen with and without addition of carbon dioxide

It is commonly believed that during hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment, in spite of the vasoconstriction induced by the increased O2 content in the breathing gas, the elevated carrying capacity of O2 in the arterial blood results in augmented O2 delivery to tissues. The experiments described here tested the hypothesis that HBO treatment would be more efficient in delivering O2 to poorly perfused tissues if the vasoconstriction induced by elevated O2 could be abolished or attenuated by adding CO2 to the breathing gas. Organ blood flow (QOBF), systemic hemodynamics, and arterial blood gases were measured before, during and after exposure to either 300 kPa O2 (group 1) or 300 kPa O2 with 2 kPa CO2 (group 2), in awake, instrumented rats. During the HBO exposure the respiratory frequency (fb) fell (4 breaths x min(-1) x 100 kPa O2(-1)), with no changes in arterial CO2 tension (PaCO2), but when CO2 was added, fb and PaCO2 increased. The left ventricular pressure (LVP) and the systolic arterial pressure (SBP) increased. The maximum velocity of LVP (+dP/dt) rose linearly with LVP whether CO2 was added or not (r2 = 0.72 and 0.75 respectively). Similarly, the cardiac output (Qc) and heart rate (fc) fell, while the stroke volume (SV) was unaltered, independent of PaCO2. There was a general vasoconstriction in most organs in both groups, with the exception of the central nervous system (CNS), eyes, and respiratory muscles. HBO reduced the blood flow to the CNS by 30%, but this vasoconstriction was diminished or eliminated when CO2 was added. In group 2, the blood flow to the CNS rose linearly with increased PaCO2 and decreased pH. After decompression fc and SBP stayed high, while Qc returned to control values by reducing the SV; CNS blood flow remained markedly elevated in group 2, while in group 1, it returned to control levels. We conclude that the changes in fc, Qc, LVP, dP/dt, SBP and most QOBF values induced by HBO were not changed by hypercapnia. Blood flow to the CNS decreased during HBO treatment at a constant PaCO2. Hypercapnia prevented this decline. Elevated PaCO2 augmented O2 delivery to the CNS and eyes, but increased the susceptibility to O2 poisoning. A prolonged suppression of O2 supply to the CNS occurred during the HBO exposure and in air following the decompression in the absence of CO2. This suppression was offset by the addition of CO2 to the breathing gas.     

Effects of carbon dioxide and oxygen on the regulation of photosynthetic carbon metabolism by ammonia in spinach mesophyll cells

Photosynthetic carbon metabolism of isolated spinach mesophyll cells was characterized under conditions favoring photorespiratory (PR; 0.04% CO₂ and 20% O₂) and nonphotorespiratory (NPR; 0.2% CO₂ and 2% O₂) metabolism, as well as intermediate conditions. Comparisons were made between the metabolic effects of extracellularly supplied NH₄⁺ and intracellular NH₄⁺, produced primarily via PR metabolism. The metabolic effects of ¹⁴CO₂ fixation under PR conditions were similar to perturbations of photosynthetic metabolism brought about by externally supplied NH₄⁺; both increased labeling and intracellular concentrations of glutamine at the expense of glutamate and increased anaplerotic synthesis through α-ketoglutarate. The metabolic effects of added NH₄⁺ during NPR fixation were greater than those during PR fixation, presumably due to lower initial NH₄⁺ levels during NPR fixation. During PR fixation, addition of ammonia caused decreased pools and labeling of glutamate and serine and increased glycolate, glyoxylate, and glycine labeling. The glycolate pathway was thus affected by increased rates of carbon flow and decreased glutamate availability for glyoxylate transamination, resulting in increased usage of serine for transamination. Sucrose labeling decreased with NH₄⁺ addition only during PR fixation, suggesting that higher photosynthetic rates under NPR conditions can accommodate the increased drain of carbon toward amino acid synthesis while maintaining sucrose synthesis.