Effect of isoprenaline on 85Sr accumulation in the myocardium of the adult rat

The administration of a single dose of isoprenaline to adult male rats stimulated 85Sr uptake by their blood, liver and myocardium. Whereas the 85Sr concentration in the blood and liver rose by only 36% and 42% respectively, the increase in the various compartments of the heart was 5-7 times this value. This finding is also documented by the increase in the ratio of the 85Sr concentration in the heart and blood. The increase observed in 85Sr accumulation in the myocardium is comparable to the repeatedly described changes which occur in radioactive calcium after the administration of isoprenaline.     

Effect of hypokinesia and muscle training on catecholamine levels of the myocardium of rats in postnatal ontogeny

Following muscular training and hypokinesia in postnatal ontogenesis (10 weeks) rats were examined by fluorometry for the content of catecholamines at rest and after extreme exertion (swimming). Regular muscular training led to an increase in catecholamine concentration in the myocardium. Hypokinesia decelerated catecholamine accumulation by the myocardium. A single extreme swimming exercise brought about a decrease in catecholamine concentration in the myocardium. The minimal adrenaline concentration was the same, being equal to 0.04 microgram/g crude tissue whatever the age and locomotion pattern.     

85Sr uptake by the chick embryonic heart: effect of high doses of isoproterenol.

The aim of the present study was to establish whether intraamnial administration of toxic doses of isoproterenol to chick embryos increases cardiac accumulation of strontium, the homologue element of calcium. It has been shown that the ability of embryonic tissues (blood, heart, and liver) to accumulate 85Sr decreases significantly during ontogeny. Administration of isoproterenol to chick embryos did not elevate the concentration of 85Sr in the heart. It seems, therefore, that isoproterenol-induced developmental changes in the chick embryonic myocardium are not necessarily due to intracellular calcium (as measured by 85Sr) overload.     

Water-soluble hippocampal proteins of the rat in early postnatal ontogeny

Using ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, studies have been made on protein extracts obtained at low ionic strength from hippocampal slices of rats within the 1st month of their postnatal life. Significant changes in fractional composition were found. To the end of the 2nd week, a reliable decrease in the relative content of low-acidic fractions was observed together with the increase in the content of those fractions which were eluted by a buffer with a higher molarity. In 3-week animals, the relative content of weak-acidic fractions decreases by 1 1/2 times, the difference being even more significant in adult animals. It is suggested that the observed redistribution of fractions within protein spectra is due to the appearance of the brain specific proteins.     

Changes in the renal corpuscles during early postnatal ontogeny of the rat (stereologic analysis)

Kidneys of 60 white rats at the age of 1-45 days of postnatal life have been investigated. Increase in size of the renal corpuscles during the developmental process is accompanied with certain changes in the form and variability of volumes in the structures studied. During early postnatal period, against the background of linear increase in the size of the renal corpuscles, the parameters of variability in volumes, form and in the total number of the renal corpuscles in the organ change non-linear. Stabilization moment of the total number (11-14 days) on the 8th-10th day outgoes that for the parameters of the form and variability of the renal corpuscle volumes.     

The development of the corticoliberin- and vasopressinergic elements of the rat hypothalamus during postnatal ontogeny

In 10--81-day and adult Wistar rats, neurosecretory cells were revealed which react with antisera to corticoliberin and vasopressin. Morphometric analysis of these cells in the supraoptic, paraventricular and anterior commissural nuclei shows that in the latter vasopressinergic cells develop somewhat later than in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei. Complete differentiation of neurosecretory cells in all the centres investigated is observed in 2-month animals. Studies were also made on the amount of corticoliberin- and vasopressinergic terminals in the external zone of the median eminence. Vasopressin-immunoreactive fibers are more numerous in young rats than in adult ones. Corticoliberin-positive neurosecretory fibers are more abundant in adult animals. Earlier development of vasopressinergic elements corresponds to a hypothesis of a more ancient origin of nonapeptidergic structures as compared to those producing liberins and statins.     

Effect of adrenal cortex hormones on the ultrastructure of rat dermal fibroblasts in postnatal ontogeny. Electron microscopy morphometric data

The effects of hydrocortisone and acetate deoxycorticosterone on the composition of the fibroblast population and the changes in their ultrastructure during the derma development in ontogenesis were studied using the electron morphometry. Hydrocortisone was shown to decrease in the derma of young animals the number of fibroblasts, which actively produce collagen, and to increase the number of fibrocytes and degenerating cells. Hydrocortisone reduced both in young and adult animals the total extent of the rough endoplasmic reticulum membranes, the total area of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complex cisternae at the fibroblast section, as well as the area of the cytoplasm. The introduction of acetate deoxycorticosterone increased insignificantly the number of fiblroblasts, which actively produce collagen, in the derma of 2 month old animals. Under its influence the ultrastructure of the fibroblasts changed reliably only at the later stages of ontogenesis. Both the corticosteroids changed the bulk ratios of various organelles in the fibroblast's cytoplasm.     

Growth of different types of muscle fibers of the soleus muscle during postnatal ontogeny in the rat

In order to study the development of the m. soleus muscle fibers during postnatal ontogenesis in the rat, methods for revealing ATPase activity of myosin at preincubation in acidic and alcaline medium and lactate dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase activity have been used. The m. soleus undergoes three stages of development. The first stage--from birth of the animal up to the 7th day. During this time the muscle is homogenous. The second stage is characterized by appearance of certain histochemical differences in the muscle fibers. The muscle becomes mixed. During the whole period (in males from the 7th up to the 175th, and in females from the 7th up to the 60th-70th day) transferring of glycolytic fibers into oxidative-glycolytic ones with their successive transformation into oxidative fibers is observed. During the third stage (in males older than 175, and in females older than 60-70 days) the m. soleus converts from the mixed into the homogenous one consisting of oxidative fibers.     

Effect of isoproterenol on phosphorylase activation in the hyperthyroid rat heart.

Pretreatment of rats for 3 days with triiodothyronine produced an increase in rate in the right atrium and a decrease in force of contraction in the right ventricle and Langendorff heart. Isoproterenol administration produced a time-dependent increase in rate and tension. The increase in rate was consistently greater in atria from hyperthyroid rats, and the increase in tension consistently greater in tissues from euthyroid rats. Isoproterenol also produced a time- and dose-dependent increase in phosphorylase a activity. In the isolated atria and ventricles enzyme activity was similar in the two groups. In the Langendorff hearts, however, there was an enhancement of the isoproterenol-induced increase in phosphorylase activity in hearts from hyperthyroid rats. Reduction of the coronary blood flow to the level found in euthyroid animals did not reduce the potentiation of phosphorylase activation found in hearts from hyperthyroid rats. It is concluded that the potentiation of phosphorylase activation in hearts from hyperthyroid rats is not due to the increase in coronary blood flow.     

The histoenzymic activity of gyrus cinguli in the course of postnatal ontogeny of the rat.

Histochemical investigations concerning the activity of several dehydrogenases and hydrolases in the area cinguli during postnatal ontogenic development of the rat were performed. Brain sections corresponding to the region of area cinguli, obtained from rats aged 1, 3, 8, 17, 40 and 60 days postnatal, were subjected to histochemical assays for various dehydrogenases, phosphatases and esterases. The developmental changes concerning histoenzymic reactivity of the callosal gyrus with regard to several respiratory and hydrolytic enzymes were assessed and described. Considerable differences in enzymic reactivity, appertaining particularly to the phosphatases and esterases, between the anterior and posterior parts of the callosal gyrus were found. The unusual enzymic reactivity of glial cells in the individual regions of the area cinguli has been pointed out.     

Protein kinase C activity and isoform expression during early postnatal development of rat myocardium

Total protein kinase C (PKC) activity, its isoform expression, and concentration and fatty acid (FA) composition of diacylglycerol (DAG) were determined in the left ventricular myocardium of the rat during early postnatal development (d 2, 3, 5, 7, and 10). PKC activity measured by the incorporation of ³²P into histone IIIS decreased between d 2 and 10 in the homogenate as well as in cytosolic, membrane (100,000g), and nuclear-cytoskeletal-myofilament fractions (1000g). Likewise, the expression of PKC isoforms (α, δ, and ε) determined by immunoblotting generally declined during the period analyzed, although with a variable pattern. In the membrane and nuclear cytoskeletal myofilament fractions, PKCδ and PKCε expression decreased markedly by d 3, returning to or close to the d 2 level immediately on d 5. PKCα expression in the membrane fraction remained almost unchanged by d 7, declining thereafter. PKCδ and PKCε were associated predominantly with particulate fractions, whereas PKCα was more abundant in the cytosolic fraction. DAG concentration exhibited a significant decline by d 5, consistent with the decrease in maximal PKC activity. The unsaturation index of FA in DAG tended to decrease on d 3 owing to the lowered proportion of all polyunsaturated FA of n−6 and n−3 series. These results demonstrate that the developmental decrease in PKC activity and expression in the rat myocardium is not linear and that subcellular localization of the enzyme exhibits isoform-specific day-by-day changes during the early postnatal period. These changes are compatible with the view that PKC signaling may be involved in the control of a rapid switch of myocardial growth pattern during the first week of life.     

Intracellular accumulation of isoproterenol enhances the lactate production in the perfused rat heart

Effects of intracellular accumulation of isoproterenol (ISO) on lactate production were examined in perfused rat heart. The lactate production during ISO perfusion in rat heart was increased and subsequent addition of an inhibitor of catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) further enhanced the production, and the enhanced production was significantly reduced by uptake2 inhibitor. The perfusion with ISO free-medium in the heart with high intracellular accumulation of ISO produced lactate more than that in the low intracellular accumulation. The present experiments demonstrated that the enhanced lactate production is accompanied by intracellular accumulation of ISO in the perfused rat heart, and suggested that the accumulated ISO may activate intracellular beta-adrenoceptors in the rat heart.     

Effect of prenatal hypoxia during organogenesis on albino rat behavior during postnatal period

The survival rate, physical development, and spontaneous behavior has been evaluated in pups of albino rats exposed to acute hypobaric hypoxia on the 9–10th day of gestation corresponding to the onset of organogenesis. Prenatal hypoxia increased the mortality among the offspring, delayed their physical development, and affected their spontaneous behavior up to the age of 2 months. The females exposed to intrauterine hypoxia proved to be more sensitive to hypoxia than males.