Levels of paraoxonase and arylesterase activities and malondialdehyde in workers exposed to ionizing radiation

We examined levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) (an end-product of lipid peroxidation) and paraoxonase (PON1) (an antioxidant enzyme) activity and PON1 phenotypes in people who were exposed to ionizing radiation for different time periods and doses. A total of 78 individuals (mean age 34 +/- 7 years) were included in the study. Fifty-one of them were radiology workers whereas the control group was composed of 27 healthy volunteers who had never worked in a radiology-related job. Paraoxon was used as substrate for measurement of PON1 activity levels (basal and NaCl-stimulated). Phenylacetate was used as substrate for measurement of arylesterase activity levels. Cumulative levels of serum NaCl-stimulated PON1/arylesterase activities were utilized for phenotypic differentiation. In radiology workers, three different phenotypes were determined based on paraoxonase/arylesterase ratio. The ratios were 1.09 +/- 0.30 for AA (homozygote low activity); 2.91 +/- 1.07 for AB (heterozygote activity) and 4.97 +/- 1.21 for BB (homozygote high activity). There was a statistically meaningful negative correlation between serum MDA levels and PON1 activity levels in all phenotypes (p < 0.05). PON1 activity levels were found to be 25-35% lower in people who were exposed to long-term ( > 5 years) radiation compared to controls. There was no statistically significant correlation between serum arylesterase activity and MDA levels in these subjects (r = -0.185, p > 0.05). PON1 activity levels were decreased whereas serum MDA levels were increased in individuals exposed to radiation for a long period. PON phenotypes of people employed in jobs which expose them to radiation should be determined and based on these findings they should be advised to avoid risk factors inducing oxidative stress, such as smoking, and to consume foods rich in vitamins and trace elements to increase their antioxidant capacity.     

Genetics of the immune response of karakul sheep vaccinated with colibacillosis and salmonellosis vaccines. II. An analysis of the intensity of the immune response in 1st-generation hybrids

In experiments on hybrid karakul sheep immunized with E. coli and Salmonella vaccines immune response in hybrids F1, obtained from parents oppositely reacting to these vaccines, has been analyzed. The intensity of immune response in karakul sheep has been shown to be inherited as a dominant characteristic, not linked with sex, and regulated, seemingly, by a relatively small number of Ir genes. The content of EA- and EAC-rosetteforming cells does not depend on the intensity of immune response to any of the antigens.     

Additional studies of sheep haemopexin: genetic control, frequencies and postnatal development

This study presents evidence that sheep haemopexin phenotypes are genetically controlled by three alleles, HpxA, HpxB1 and HpxB2, of a single autosomal locus. Frequencies of two alleles, HpxA and HpxB (HpxB encompasses two isoalleles, HpxB1 and HpxB2), were studied in eight sheep breeds in Czechoslovakia. The frequency of the HpxA allele was highest (ranging from 0.81 in Merino to 1.0 in East Friesian sheep). Qualitative and quantitative changes in haemopexin during postnatal development were studied by starch gel electrophoresis and rocket immunoelectrophoresis respectively. In electrophoresis, 1- or 2-day-old lambs had two very weak zones corresponding in mobility to two slower zones of adult animals. Later, the third more anodic zone appeared and gradually increased in intensity. In 1-month-old lambs the patterns were practically identical with those of adult animals. Using rocket immunoelectrophoresis, the level of haemopexin shortly after birth was practically zero. It rose sharply till the sixth day of life; then the level continued to rise slowly till about 1 month of age. The mean haemopexin level in adult sheep was 64.5 +/- 18.26 (SD) mg/100ml serum, ranging from 30.5 to 116.5 mg/100ml.     

High levels of homocysteine and low serum paraoxonase 1 arylesterase activity in children with autism

Autism is a behaviorally defined disorder of unknown etiology that is thought to be influenced by genetic and environmental factors. High levels of homocysteine and oxidative stress are generally associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. The purpose of this study was to compare the level of homocysteine and other biomarkers in children with autism to corresponding values in age-matched healthy children. We measured total homocysteine (tHcy), vitamin B(12), paraoxonase and arylesterase activities of human paraoxonase 1 (PON1) in plasma and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity in erythrocytes from 21 children: 12 with autism (age: 8.29 +/- 2.76 years) and 9 controls (age: 8.33 +/- 1.82 years). We found statistically significant differences in tHcy levels and in arylesterase activity of PON1 in children with autism compared to the control group: 9.83 +/- 2.75 vs. 7.51 +/- 0.93 micromol/L (P < or =0.01) and 72.57 +/- 11.73 vs. 81.83 +/- 7.39 kU/L (P < or =0.005). In the autistic group there was a strong negative correlation between tHcy and GPx activity and the vitamin B(12) level was low or suboptimal. In conclusion, our study shows that in children with autism there are higher levels of tHcy, which is negatively correlated with GPx activity, low PON1 arylesterase activity and suboptimal levels of vitamin B(12).     

Genetic linkage analysis between protein polymorphisms and the FecB major gene in sheep

A genetically linked marker locus is sought for the Booroola gene (FecB), a major gene which confers increased prolificacy in sheep. We examined 18 polymorphic proteins in sheep and found 10 to be informative in half-sib families where the Booroola gene was segregating. Recombination was observed between each of the protein loci and the Booroola gene. The loci and exclusion distance for each (calculated as the recombination fraction where the lod score was equal to -2.0) are as follows: NADH diaphorase, DIA1 (9.2 cM); arylesterase, EsA (11.9 cM); haemoglobin beta chain, HBB (17.5 cM); leucine amino peptidase, LAP (19.7 cM); malic enzyme, ME1 (14.8 cM); ovine plasminogen antigen, OPA (12.6 cM); alpha-1-protease inhibitor, PI2 (5.7 cM), erythrocyte 'X' protein, Prot-X (25.3 cM); post transferrin, PTF (2.2 cM); transferrin, TF (33.8 cM).     

Effect of smoke inhalation on viscoelastic properties and ventilation distribution in sheep.

Smoke inhalation injuries are the leading cause of mortality from burn injury. Airway obstruction due to mucus plugging and bronchoconstriction can cause severe ventilation inhomogeneity and worsen hypoxia. Studies describing changes of viscoelastic characteristics of the lung after smoke inhalation are missing. We present results of a new smoke inhalation device in sheep and describe pathophysiological changes after smoke exposure. Fifteen female Merino ewes were anesthetized and intubated. Baseline data using electrical impedance tomography and multiple-breath inert-gas washout were obtained by measuring ventilation distribution, functional residual capacity, lung clearance index, dynamic compliance, and stress index. Ten sheep were exposed to standardized cotton smoke insufflations and five sheep to sham smoke insufflations. Measured carboxyhemoglobin before inhalation was 3.87 +/- 0.28% and 5 min after smoke was 61.5 +/- 2.1%, range 50-69.4% (P < 0.001). Two hours after smoke functional residual capacity decreased from 1,773 +/- 226 to 1,006 +/- 129 ml and lung clearance index increased from 10.4 +/- 0.4 to 14.2 +/- 0.9. Dynamic compliance decreased from 56.6 +/- 5.5 to 32.8 +/- 3.2 ml/cmH(2)O. Stress index increased from 0.994 +/- 0.009 to 1.081 +/- 0.011 (P < 0.01) (all means +/- SE, P < 0.05). Electrical impedance tomography showed a shift of ventilation from the dependent to the independent lung after smoke exposure. No significant change was seen in the sham group. Smoke inhalation caused immediate onset in pulmonary dysfunction and significant ventilation inhomogeneity. The smoke inhalation device as presented may be useful for interventional studies.     

Endotoxin-pretreated neutrophils increase pulmonary vascular permeability in dogs

Endotoxin causes pulmonary vascular neutrophil sequestration and injures the lung. Whether this is primarily due to a direct effect of endotoxin on the endothelium or is mediated by an action on the neutrophil is unclear. Canine neutrophils, isolated on plasma-Percoll gradients in vitro, were incubated with Salmonella enteriditis endotoxin, washed, and injected via wedged pulmonary arterial catheters into discrete lung zones of anesthetized dogs, whereas untreated neutrophils were administered into contralateral control lung zones. 113mIn-transferrin was administered intravenously 2 h before the animals were killed. Morphometry and extravascular protein accumulation were assessed at 4 h. Endotoxin treatment of neutrophils ex vivo induced a two- to three-fold increase in neutrophils in these lung zones (0.096 +/- 0.012 vs. 0.05 +/- 0.002 neutrophils/alveolar septal intercept, P less than 0.05). Extravascular-to-intravascular protein ratios in zones receiving endotoxin-treated neutrophils were significantly increased compared with control zones (0.146 +/- 0.02 vs. 0.079 +/- 0.02, P less than 0.05). Because complement fragments increase injury to endothelium in vitro, exogenous C5 fragments were administered to other dogs before administration of neutrophils but failed to significantly increase the extravascular protein signal (0.154 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.124 +/- 0.04). In summary, endotoxin treatment of neutrophils leads to neutrophil sequestration and increased pulmonary extravascular protein accumulation. C5 fragments failed to further enhance the protein accumulation. These data are consistent with an effect of endotoxin on the neutrophil to initiate neutrophil-endothelial interaction and subsequent lung injury.     

Na+ K+ pump and passive K+ transport in large and small red cell populations of anemic high and low K+ sheep

Reticulocytes, isolated by centrifugal elutriation from massively bled sheep and identified by cytometric techniques, were analyzed with respect to their cation transport properties. In sheep with genetically high K+ (HK) or low K+ (LK) red cells, two reticulocyte types were distinguished by conventional or fluorescence-staining techniques 5-6 days after hemorrhage: Large reticulocytes as part of a newly formed macrocytic (M) erythrocyte population, and small reticulocytes present among the adult red cell population (volume population III of normal sheep blood, Valet et al., 1978). Although cellular reticulin disappeared within a few days, the M-cell population persisted throughout weeks in the peripheral circulation permitting a transport study of in vivo maturation. At all times, M cells of LK sheep had lower K+ and higher Na+ contents than M cells of HK sheep. Regardless of the sheep genotypes, M cells apparently reduced their volume during their first days in circulation; however, throughout the observation period, they did not attain that characteristic for adult red cells. Both ouabain-sensitive K+ pump and ouabain-insensitive K+ leak fluxes were elevated in M cells of both HK and LK sheep. The increased K+ pump flux was mainly due to higher K+ pump turnover rather than to the modestly increased number of pumps as measured by [3H]ouabain binding. In contrast, small reticulocytes enriched from separated volume population III cells by a Percoll-density gradient exhibited transport parameters close to their prospective mature HK or LK red cells. The data support the concept that the M cells derived from emergency reticulocytes while the small reticulocytes represented precursors of normal red cell maturation. The Na+ and K+ composition found in M cells of HK and LK sheep, respectively, suggest development of the LK steady state at or prior to the reticulocyte state, a finding consistent with that of Lee and Kirk (1982) on low K+ dog red cells.     

Annual variations in estrual behavior, rate and possibilities for ovulation in Peulh ewes from Niger

Annual variations in estrous and ovulation behavior were studied in 23 bicolored Peulh ewes for a period of 30 months. The percentages of estrus and ovulation shown over a year of observation were 76 and 86%, respectively. The average rate of ovulation was 1.3 +/- 0.04 (X +/- SEM). Reproductive activity was minimal from January to April, as the percentages of estrus and ovulation varied between 43.8 and 61% and between 53.1 and 86%, respectively. This period was marked by the advent of anestrus, interrupted frequently by silent and irregular ovulations. Anestrus lasted an average of 81.9 +/- 9.8 days (X +/- SEM). Reproductive activity was maximal from May to December, as the percentages of estrus and ovulation varied between 77 and 97% and between 87.5 and 100%, respectively. During this period ovarian activity was interrupted by prolonged diestrus which lasted an average of 24.9 +/- 3.3 days (X +/- SEM). The ovulation rate did not differ significantly (P greater than 0.05) between periods of minimal and maximal sexual activity. These results suggest that the reproductive potentialities of Peulh sheep on a good diet are comparable to those of certain ovine breeds in temperate zones. The results also suggest that anestrus in bicolored Peulh sheep is probably a different physiological process than the one observed in some breeds of sheep in which anestrus is marked by total ovarian inactivity.     

Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism and Plasma Lipid Levels in Native Mongolian Sheep

Apolipoprotein E (apoE) phenotypes were determined in 199 unrelated native sheep (Khalkhas line) of Central Mongolia, using a polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing-immunoblotting technique, and the plasma lipid levels in different phenotypes were assayed enzymatically. Twenty-eight phenotypes were identified in this sheep. In addition to all the previously detected seven apoE variants composing the phenotypes, four new variants were discovered, which were called E8, E9, E10, and E11. From the population data, these were found to be genetically controlled by four codominant alleles, designated APOE8, APOE9, APOE10, and APOE11, based on the same mode of inheritance as in the seven variants. These alleles were detected at a low frequency, in the range of 0.005 to 0.0126. The Khalkhas sheep differed most significantly from the Baruwal and Lampuchhre sheep of Nepal and the Vietnamese sheep with respect to the allele frequencies found in some Asian local sheep previously examined. Type 1/1 and/or 2/7 sheep had significantly higher plasma levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol than type 7/7 sheep (P < 0.05 and/or P < 0.02).     

The human serum paraoxonase/arylesterase polymorphism.

The heterozygous human serum paraoxonase phenotype can be clearly distinguished from both homozygous phenotypes on the basis of its distinctive ratio of paraoxonase to arylesterase activities. A trimodal distribution of the ratio values was found with 348 individual serum samples, measuring the ratio of paraoxonase activity (with 1 M NaCl in the assay) to arylesterase activity, using phenylacetate. The three modes corresponded to the three paraoxonase phenotypes, A, AB, and B (individual genotypes), and the expected Mendelian segregation of the trait was observed within families. The paraoxonase/arylesterase activity ratio showed codominant inheritance. We have defined the genetic locus determining the aromatic esterase (arylesterase) responsible for the polymorphic paraoxonase activity as esterase-A (ESA) and have designated the two common alleles at this locus by the symbols ESA*A and ESA*B. The frequency of the ESA*A allele was estimated to be .685, and that of the ESA*B allele, 0.315, in a sample population of unrelated Caucasians from the United States. We postulate that a single serum enzyme, with both paraoxonase and arylesterase activity, exists in two different isozymic forms with qualitatively different properties, and that paraoxon is a "discriminating" substrate (having a polymorphic distribution of activity) and phenylacetate is a "nondiscriminating" substrate for the two isozymes. Biochemical evidence for this interpretation includes the cosegregation of the degree of stimulation of paraoxonase activity by salt and paraoxonase/arylesterase activity ratio characteristics; the very high correlation between both the basal (non-salt stimulated) and salt-stimulated paraoxonase activities with arylesterase activity; and the finding that phenylacetate is an inhibitor for paraoxonase activities in both A and B types of enzyme.     

The effect of anti-VEGF therapy on immature myeloid cell and dendritic cells in cancer patients

Impairment of dendritic cells (DC), the most effective activators of anticancer immune responses, is one mechanism for defective antitumor immunity, but the causes of DC impairment are incompletely understood. We evaluated the association of impaired DC differentiation with angiogenesis-associated molecules D-dimer, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) in peripheral blood from 41 patients with lung, breast, and colorectal carcinoma. Subsequently, we studied the effect of administration of the anti-VEGF antibody (bevacizumab) on DC maturation and function in vivo. Compared with healthy volunteers, cancer patients had a bias toward the immunoregulatory DC2, had deficits in DC maturation after overnight in vitro culture, and had a significant increase in immature myeloid cell progenitors of DC (0.50 +/- 0.31% vs. 0.32 +/- 0.16% of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, respectively, P = 0.011). A positive correlation was found between the percentage of DC2 and PAI-1 (R = 0.50) and between immature myeloid cells and VEGF (R = 0.52). Bevacizumab administration to cancer patients was associated with a decrease in the accumulation of immature progenitor cells (0.39 +/- 0.30% vs. 0.27 +/- 0.24%, P = 0.012) and induced a modest increase in the DC population in peripheral blood (0.47 +/- 0.23% vs. 0.53 +/- 0.30%). Moreover, anti-VEGF antibody treatment enhanced allo-stimulatory capacity of DC and T cell proliferation against recall antigens. These data suggest that DC differentiation is negatively associated with VEGF levels and may be one explanation for impaired anticancer immunity, especially in patients with advanced malignancies.     

Genetic polymorphism in Spanish Merino sheep

A Spanish Merino sheep population is characterized, for the first time, according to its frequencies for a total of nine polymorphic loci: three blood group factor systems, A, B and C, and the following red cell or serum polymorphisms: haemoglobin (Hb), carbonic anhydrase (CA), 'X protein', transferrin (Tf), arylesterase (EsA) and albumin (Al). Another locus, amylase (Am), did not show polymorphism.     

Does diabetes mellitus affect diphenylhexatriene penetration into erythrocyte membrane ghosts?

Diphenylhexatriene transverse distribution has been studied in normal and diabetic erythrocyte membrane ghosts using fluorescence polarization and fluorescence quenching methods. Acrylamide quenched the fluorescence of diphenylhexatriene according to a dynamic mechanism in agreement with Stern-Volmer equation. Nonlinear least-squares analysis based on quenching results has shown greater accessibility of fluorophore to quencher molecules in diabetic ghosts (37.2 +/- 3.2% in normal vs. 67.5 +/- 6.4% in diabetic membranes). Steady-state fluorescence anisotropy measurements evidenced the lowered membrane lipid fluidity in diabetics (anisotropy values: 0.166 +/- 0.011 in normal subjects vs. 0.193 +/- 0.018 in diabetics). A model mechanism is proposed which attributes the lowered capacity of lipid bilayer in diabetes to the increased ordering and more compact structure of membrane phospholipids. The implications of the results for the resolving of steady-state anisotropy data are discussed.     

Nonspecific human lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity induced by immobilized IgG aggregate

Normal human lymphocytes were induced to lyse nonsensitized erythrocytes when concomitantly incubated on immobilized IgG aggregate with various erythrocyte target cells. These included ox, sheep, chicken, and human red blood cells. Only immobilized aggregate would initiate cytolysis. The IgG aggregate was prepared from normal, healthy adult donors and did not possess target cell specificity (e.g., human erythrocyte lysis was initiated by autologous IgG). Normal human lymphocytes could be induced to lyse the red blood cell targets only after a preincubation with adherent mononuclear cells; however, freshly prepared lymphocytes depleted of IgG-FcR^? cells were cytolytic. Cytolysis induced by immobilized IgG-aggregate can be distinguished from NCMC and ADCC by its requirement for immobilized IgG aggregate and the absence of target cell specificity in the IgG-aggregate preparation.     

Modulation of mononuclear phagocyte function by intravenous gamma-globulin

To assess the effects on mononuclear phagocyte function of i.v. gamma-globulin treatment in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, we examined in vivo and in vitro mononuclear phagocyte function in 11 patients before and after therapy. All patients, both splenectomized and non-splenectomized, demonstrated a prolongation of in vivo clearance of autologous IgG-sensitized erythrocytes (p less than 0.01). Concurrent in vitro assessment of blood monocyte function showed decreased IgG-sensitized erythrocyte (EA) rosette formation (mean +/- SD: 31.6% +/- 8.2 vs 24.5% +/- 9.5; p less than 0.03) and decreased affinity of Fc receptor-specific IgG oligomer binding (9.9 +/- 16.3 vs 1.8 +/- 2.1 X 10(8) M-1; p less than 0.008), but no consistent change in the estimate of the maximum number of binding sites. Phagocytosis of two different EA probes was decreased (EhuA:0.49 +/- 0.26 vs 0.25 +/- 0.14 erythrocyte/monocyte/hr; p less than 0.02, EoxA: 1.76 +/- 0.66 vs 1.27 +/- 0.67 erythrocyte/monocyte/hr, p less than 0.05). The change in in vivo mononuclear phagocyte system clearance was significantly correlated with the change in the association constant for oligomer binding (r = 0.98, p less than 0.05). These data demonstrate that i.v. gamma-globulin infusions induce alterations of mononuclear phagocyte function that are not dependent on the presence of autologous serum containing infusate. The change in apparent Fc receptor affinity rather than receptor number may reflect an altered Fc receptor population with different binding properties.     

Coculture of human endothelium and smooth muscle cells: functional heterogeneity of endothelial cells from zones with different susceptibility to atherosclerosis

Using co-culture technique and 3H-thymidine radioautography we have studied effects of human aortic endothelial cells (EC), isolated separately from zones of low (LP) and high (HP) probability of atherosclerosis of grossly normal and atherosclerotic aortas, on 3H-thymidine incorporation by human intimal smooth muscle cells (SMCs). It was found that EC activity depended on a zone of probability, from which the cells were isolated, and on the degree of atherosclerotic lesion. The first-passage ECs from grossly normal LP zones inhibited 3H-thymidine incorporation, compared to control, incubated without Ecs, SMCs (63.5 +/- 27.5%). Cells from HP zones of the same vessels were less active or stimulated SMC proliferation (99.4 +/- 42.9%). EC cultures obtained from both LP and HP zones of atherosclerotic vessels had, as a rule, no effect or increased 3H-thymidine incorporation by SMCs (100.3 +/- 19.8 and 124.1 +/- 20.1%). In contrast to morphologically heterogeneous primary and first-passage cultures obtained from high seeding density, EC monolayers obtained with a split 1:10 were composed predominantly of small mononuclear cells. These cultures effectively inhibited SMC DNA synthesis independently of a zone of probability and a degree of atherosclerotic lesion of aorta (60.4 +/- 10.0 and 51.5 +/- 12.7%). The obtained data suggest that EC morphological heterogeneity is accompanied by functional changes of cells and may be involved in atherosclerotic plaque formation.     

Removal of pleural liquid and protein by lymphatics in awake sheep

The contribution of the parietal pleural lymphatics to pleural liquid and protein removal is unclear. We asked two questions. What is the rate of removal of sterile, artificial hydrothoraxes in awake sheep? What percentage is removed through parietal pleural lymphatics? Three days after the placement of a rib capsule in 18 sheep, we instilled a 10 ml/kg 1.0 g/dl autologous protein solution with labeled albumin and erythrocytes through the capsule into the pleural space. Erythrocytes were used as a marker for lymphatic flow. We measured terminal pleural liquid volume and radioactivity at periods from 2 to 48 h. In three sheep, we obtained a third volume measurement at 6 h by the volume of dilution technique. We found that hydrothorax removal could be described by a linear function with a constant rate: 0.28 +/- 0.01 ml.kg-1.h-1 (mean +/- SE) for the grouped data, and 0.20, 0.28, and 0.31 ml.kg-1.h-1 for the individual sheep. At 24 h, erythrocyte clearance was 89 +/- 16% (mean +/- SD) that of liquid and albumin clearance. We conclude that in awake sheep with large hydrothoraxes, pleural liquid and protein are removed at a rate of 0.28 +/- 0.01 ml.kg-1.h-1 (mean +/- SE) and lymphatics are responsible for at least 89% of this removal.     

Evidence for a close link between the thyroid hormone transport system and the aromatic amino acid transport system T in erythrocytes

The transport of [125I]triiodothyronine ([125I]T3) and [3H]tryptophan ([3H]Trp) by washed rat erythrocytes was studied at 25 degrees C in the presence of leucine in order to block the neutral amino acid transport system L. Eadie-Hofstee plots of initial velocity data gave the following values of Km (micromolar) and Vmax (nanomole/min/10(8) cells): 0.122 +/- 0.007 and 0.140 +/- 0.021 for T3, and 558 +/- 28 and 17.4 +/- 2.3 for Trp (n = 5). The Trp transport system in rat erythrocytes is similar to the human erythrocyte aromatic amino acid-specific system T described by Rosenberg et al. (Rosenberg, R., Young, J. D., and Ellory, J. C. (1980) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 598, 375-384). Unlabeled aromatic amino acids (e.g. Trp, phenylalanine, tyrosine) competitively inhibited [125I]T3 uptake and unlabeled iodothyronine analogues (e.g. T3, D-T3, thyroxine, thyronine) competitively inhibited [3H]Trp uptake. The inhibition constants of these competitors measured with each labeled substrate were highly correlated. N-Ethylmaleimide irreversibly inhibited T3 and Trp transport and each substrate protected the transport system of the other from inactivation by N-ethylmaleimide. The Vmax of T3 and Trp transport by human erythrocytes were 500 and 120 times lower, respectively, than those of rat erythrocytes (0.30 and 126 pmol/min/10(8) cells, respectively). The T3 and Trp transport activities of sheep erythrocytes were undetectable. These results indicate that T3 and Trp either share a common multi-specific transport system or are transported by closely linked systems which interact in the erythrocyte membrane.     

A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for human serum paraoxonase concentration

Serum paraoxonase (PON) is associated with plasma high density lipoproteins, and prevents the oxidative modification of low density lipoproteins. We have developed a sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), using two monoclonal antibodies against PON, to measure serum PON concentration. The concentration of PON in healthy Japanese subjects was 59.3 +/- 1.3 microgram/mL (mean +/- SEM; n = 87). Serum PON concentrations in relation to the PON 192 genetic polymorphism were: 69.5 +/- 2.9 microgram/mL in the QQ genotype; 63.0 +/- 1.9 microgram/mL in the QR genotype; and 52.8 +/- 1.7 microgram/mL in the RR genotype. Concentrations were significantly lower in the RR than in the QQ genotype (P < 0.01). Serum paraoxonase specific activity was higher in RR than in QQ subjects (18.6 +/- 0.40 vs. 2. 56 +/- 0.05 nmol/min/microgram, P < 0.01), but arylesterase specific activity was unrelated to genotype. PON concentration was positively associated (P < 0.001) with both serum arylesterase activity and, after adjusting for the effect of the position 192 polymorphism, with serum paraoxonase activity. Subjects with angiographically verified coronary heart disease had significantly lower PON concentrations than the healthy controls (52.0 +/- 2.3 microgram/mL; n = 35, P < 0.01). This association was independent of the position 192 genotype. Our new ELISA should be of value for epidemiologic and clinical studies of serum PON concentration. immunosorbent assay for human serum paraoxonase concentration.