Rapid induction of sodium appetite modifies taste-evoked activity in the rat nucleus of the solitary tract

Sodium-deprived rats develop a salt appetite and show changes in gustatory responses to NaCl in the periphery and brain stem; salt-sensitive neurons respond less to hypertonic NaCl than do corresponding cells in replete controls. By administering DOCA and renin, we generated a need-free sodium appetite quickly enough to permit us to monitor the activity of individual neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract before and after its creation, permitting a more powerful within-subjects design. Subjects received DOCA pretreatment followed by an intracerebroventricular infusion of renin. In animals that were tested behaviorally, this resulted in elevated intake of 0.5 M NaCl. In neural recordings, renin caused decreased responding to hypertonic NaCl across all neurons and in the salt-sensitive neurons that were most responsive to NaCl before infusion. Most sugar-sensitive cells, in contrast, gave increased phasic responses to NaCl. These results confirm that sodium appetite is accompanied by decreased responding to NaCl in salt-sensitive neurons, complemented by increased activity in sugar-sensitive cells, even when created rapidly and independently of need.     

Modulation of calcium mobilization in aortic rings of pregnant rats: Contribution of extracellular calcium and of voltage-operated calcium channels

Pregnancy is associated with decreased vascular responsiveness to vasopressor stimuli. We have tested the involvement of Ca2+ mobilization in myotropic responses of aortic rings obtained from pregnant and virgin rats. Contractions of the rings to phenylephrine, in the absence of calcium in the bathing medium, were lower in tissues from virgin than from pregnant rats. Concentration-response curves to CaCl2 that were measured after stimulation by phenylephrine in the absence of Ca2+ were shifted to higher levels of contraction. This was not observed when KCl was used to prestimulate the aorta. D-600, a phenylalkylamine calcium channel blocker, similarly inhibited these responses to CaCl2 in tissues from both pregnant and virgin animals. D-600 exerted a concentration-dependent inhibition of responses to phenylephrine and KCl. However, the calcium antagonist was less effective in aortic rings of pregnant than of virgin rats. Basal 45Ca2+ uptake was lower in aortic rings from pregnant than from virgin rats, and Bay K 8644 was unable to reverse this difference. The time course of basal and stimulated (KCl) 45Ca2+ influx was lower in aorta of pregnant rats at all times studied. Moreover, when the intracellular calcium pools were emptied with phenylephrine, the refilling of these pools was delayed in aortic rings of pregnant rats. These results indicate an altered extracellular calcium mobilization of aortic rings from pregnant rats. These changes may be due to a functional alteration of the voltage-operated calcium channels during pregnancy.     

Calcium stimulates ornithine decarboxylase activity in cultured mammalian epithelial cells

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity usually rises to a peak a few hours after a trophic stimulus. The stimulation of ODC has been shown to depend on extracellular calcium in several in vitro eukaryotic systems. We have investigated the effect of calcium concentration on ODC activity and have found that ODC is stimulated when CaCl2 alone is added to calcium-deprived cells. Epithelial cells from calf esophagus were cultured and grown until stratified. Replacement of medium with fresh serum-free medium resulted in stimulation of ODC activity, which peaked at 4 hours and declined to basal level by 10 hours. Subsequent depletion of Ca2+ either by addition of ethylene glycol bis (beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) or by replacement of medium with Ca2+-free medium, resulted in obliteration of ODC activity 4 hours later. Conversely, cultures in which medium was replaced with Ca2+-free medium and at 10 hours were repleted with Ca2+ (either by addition of CaCl2 or by replacement of medium with Ca2+-containing medium) exhibited a pronounced elevation of ODC activity 4 hours later. ODC activity peaked at 6 hours after the addition of CaCl2 and declined by 8 hours. The effect was elicited by a wide range of concentrations of added Ca2+ from 0.1 mM to 4.0 mM, but was maximal at 1.0 mM. ODC activity was totally abolished if either cycloheximide (10 micrograms/ml) or putrescine (10 mM) was added to cultures immediately prior to Ca2+ addition. Actinomycin D (2, 5, or 10 micrograms/ml) added 30 minutes before Ca2+ did not prevent the stimulation of ODC by added Ca2+. Stimulation by Ca2+ is dependent on (1) absence of Ca2+ during the initial 10-hour incubation and (2) duration of incubation in Ca2+-free medium prior to Ca2+ replenishment. The results indicate that Ca2+ can increase ODC in epithelial cells exposed to Ca2+-depleted medium and that the increase in ODC depends on protein synthesis but is not inhibited by actinomycin D.     

杏仁中央核损毁对缺钠大鼠钠欲行为启动和表达的影响

目的:探讨杏仁中央核(CeA)损毁对缺钠大鼠钠欲行为启动和表达的影响。方法:将18只成年雄性SD大鼠随机分为3组(n=6):双侧Ce A损毁组、假损毁组和不损毁组,手术恢复后给予大鼠14 d低钠饲料摄食以建立缺钠大鼠模型,运用单笼双瓶选择测试方法观察缺钠大鼠在24 h内5个不同时间段对0.3 mol/L NaCl和自由饮水的摄入情况。应用免疫荧光化学染色方法观察杏仁中央核损毁与否对缺钠或正常大鼠孤束核内醛固酮敏感神经元活动的影响。结果:低钠饮食14 d后,大鼠对0.3 mol/L NaCl 24 h内饮用量和偏爱率比低钠饮食前明显增加(P<0.01);杏仁中央核损毁后缺钠大鼠对0.3 mol/L Na Cl溶液的摄入量和偏爱率显著下降(P<0.01)。杏仁中央核损毁对低钠饮食诱发的大鼠孤束核内醛固酮敏感神经元活动增加没有影响。结论:低钠饮食诱导大鼠钠欲行为表达增加;杏仁中央核损毁压抑缺钠大鼠钠欲行为的表达,而对缺钠大鼠的钠欲行为的启动没有影响。     

The dependence of the salt appetite of the rat on the hormonal consequences of sodium deficiency

Richter's discovery of the salt appetite that follows adrenalectomy (1936) raised the question: how does the brain appreciate the need for sodium so that it can mobilize the search for and ingestion of salty substances? It remains unanswered. Recent work suggests that the answer may come from an understanding of the behavioral effects of the hormones of sodium conservation. Fluharty and I have found (Behavioral Neuroscience, 1983) that treatment of salt replete rats with low doses of both angiotensin (Ang II) and a mineralocorticoid (DOCA) evokes a rapid, reliable, and specific appetite for sodium solutions, and we have proposed that the hormones of renal sodium conservation are also the hormones for the behavioral defense against sodium deficiency. We can now report: That the same combined endocrine treatment will compel rats that do not need salt to search for it in a runway. That is, sodium replete rats that have been primed for 3 days with DOCA (500 micrograms/day), which does not produce an appetite for salt, and are then given a pulse intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of Ang II (60 ng), which by itself does not produce an appetite for salt, will run in an alleyway in order to ingest small drops of 3% NaCl. The hormones act together to make the rat avid for salt and their action is sufficient to drive it to seek salt at a distance and to ingest it at a concentration that untreated rats avoid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Low-dose furosemide modulates taste responses in the nucleus of the solitary tract of the rat

Taste-evoked neural responses in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST) are subject to both excitatory and inhibitory modulation by physiological conditions that influence ingestion. Treatments that induce sodium appetite predominantly reduce NST gustatory responsiveness to sapid stimuli. When sodium appetite is aroused with 10 mg of the diuretic furosemide (Furo), however, NST gustatory neurons exhibit an enhanced responsiveness to NaCl. In addition to inducing a sodium appetite, 10 mg Furo supports a conditioned taste aversion (CTA). A lower, 2-mg dose of Furo induces an equivalent sodium appetite, but not a CTA. To determine whether the anomalous electrophysiological results reflected the adverse effects of the 10-mg dose, we replicated the original experiment but instead used 2 mg of Furo. In chronically prepared, lightly anesthetized rats, the responses of 49 single NST neurons to 12 taste stimuli were recorded after subcutaneous injections of either 2 mg Furo or saline. There was no effect of treatment on NST neural responses to the four standard taste stimuli. In the NaCl concentration series, however, 2 mg Furo evoked significantly higher responses to the two highest concentrations of NaCl. There was no effect of treatment in the sucrose concentration series. Thus, unlike other methods that induce a sodium appetite, Furo increases NST neural responsiveness to NaCl. At least as far as the first central relay, sodium appetite apparently does not depend on specific changes in the sensory neural code for taste.     

The involvement of intracellular calcium ion concentration and calmodulin in the 25-hydroxylation of cholecalciferol in ovine and rat liver

The effect of Ca2+ ion concentration on the 25 hydroxylation of tritiated cholecalciferol (3HD3) was investigated using homogenates of ovine liver from vitamin D replete sheep. A significant decrease in the production of 25 hydroxycholecalciferol (25OHD3) was observed when the concentration of Ca2+ in the homogenate was raised above 0.68 mmol/l by the addition of calcium gluconate. Similarly, a final concentration of 37 mumol EGTA/1 (equivalent to a Ca2+ concentration of 26.5 nmol/l) was associated with a 50% reduction of 25OHD3 production. That is, a broad bell-shaped relationship was observed between the production of 25OHD3 and the Ca2+ concentration in the homogenate. These changes in the rate of production of 25OHD3 were reproduced with hepatocytes from vitamin D replete rats, prepared by collagenase perfusion, using the drugs dantrolene sodium (DaNa) to reduce (ED50 = 57 mmol/l) and veratridine to increase (ED50 = 550 mmol/l) the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Hepatocytes from vitamin D replete rats also showed a reduction in 25 hydroxylation of D3 (ED50 = 6 ng/ml) in response to the addition of 1-25 dihydroxycholecalciferol (1-25 (OH)2D3). The calmodulin antagonists; W7, compound 48/80, trifluoperazine (TFP) and calmidazolium (R24571) were all found to effect a dose response inhibition of the 25 hydroxylation of cholecalciferol by homogenates of ovine liver. R24571 had a similar inhibitory effect (ED50 = 70 mumol/l) upon the 25 hydroxylase enzyme of rat hepatocytes. It is concluded that the 25 hydroxylation of cholecalciferol in liver of vitamin D replete rats and sheep is calcium sensitive and is reduced in the presence of increased concentrations of 1,25(OH)2D3. Calmodulin may also be involved in the regulation of hepatocyte 25-hydroxylase activity by Ca2+.     

Intracranial renin alters gustatory neural responses in the nucleus of the solitary tract of rats

Activation of the renin-angiotensin system in the brain is considered important in the arousal and expression of sodium appetite. To clarify the effects of directly activating this hormonal cascade, taste neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract of rats were tested with a battery of sapid stimuli after intracerebroventricular injection of renin or its vehicle. The rats were chronically prepared but lightly anesthetized during the recording procedure. Eighty-five taste neurons were tested: 46 after renin injections and 39 after vehicle. Neural activity was counted for 5.0-s periods without stimulation (spontaneous) and during stimulation with water and sapid chemicals. The averaged responses to each of the standard stimuli (0.1 M NaCl, 0.3 M sucrose, 0.01 M citric acid, and 0.01 M quinine hydrochloride) did not differ significantly between the two conditions. When the rats were tested with a concentration range of NaCl, however, after renin the average responses to the hypertonic 0.3 and 1.0 M stimuli were reduced to 74 and 70%, respectively, compared with those after vehicle injections. A similar tendency was evident for the subsample of neurons that responded best to NaCl, but the effect was smaller. These data are consistent with, but not as dramatic as, those reported after dietary-induced sodium appetite.     

The different roles of serum and calcium in the control of proliferation of BALB/c 3T3 mouse cells.

Proliferatively inactive BALB/c 3T3 mouse cells in dense cultures initiate a growth-division cycle upon exposure to fresh calf serum in a low-calcium (0.01 mM) medium. If these calcium-deprived cells are not supplied with calcium sometime during the first 10 hours after serum stimulation, they will rapidly return to a proliferatively inactive state without initiating DNA synthesis. The prereplicative development of such stimulated calcium-deprived cells appears to stop at an advanced stage, because addition of calcium as late as 10 hours after serum exposure rapidly initiates DNA synthesis, and enables the culture's DNA-synthetic activity subsequently to reach its peak value at the same time as in control cultures.     

Sodium depletion activates the aldosterone-sensitive neurons in the NTS independently of thirst

Thirst and sodium appetite are both critical for restoring blood volume. Because these two behavioral drives can arise under similar physiological conditions, some of the brain sensory sites that stimulate thirst may also drive sodium appetite. However, the physiological and temporal dynamics of these two appetites exhibit clear differences, suggesting that they involve separate brain circuits. Unlike thirst-associated sensory neurons in the hypothalamus, the 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (HSD2) neurons in the rat nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) are activated in close association with sodium appetite (16). Here, we tested whether the HSD2 neurons are also activated in response to either of the two physiological stimuli for thirst: hyperosmolarity and hypovolemia. Hyperosmolarity, produced by intraperitoneal injection of hypertonic saline, stimulated a large increase in water intake and a substantial increase in immunoreactivity for the neuronal activity marker c-Fos within the medial NTS, but not in the HSD2 neurons. Hypovolemia, produced by subcutaneous injection of hyperoncotic polyethylene glycol (PEG), stimulated an increase in water intake within 1-4 h without elevating c-Fos expression in the HSD2 neurons. The HSD2 neurons were, however, activated by prolonged hypovolemia, which also stimulated sodium appetite. Twelve hours after PEG was injected in rats that had been sodium deprived for 4 days, the HSD2 neurons showed a consistent increase in c-Fos immunoreactivity. In summary, the HSD2 neurons are activated specifically in association with sodium appetite and appear not to function in thirst.     

Spontaneous release of transmitter from the growth cones of Xenopus neurons in vitro: the influence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions

To determine whether spontaneous release of transmitter from the growth cones of neurons exhibits properties similar to the spontaneous release which occurs from the neurons at the neuromuscular junction, release of transmitter from the growth cones of Xenopus neurons in culture was monitored in salines containing varying calcium and magnesium concentrations. Release was monitored by use of an outside-out piece of muscle membrane attached to a patch clamp electrode. Spontaneous release of transmitter from the growth cones in standard saline (2 mM CaCl2, 1 mM MgCl2) produces clusters of single-channel openings in the muscle membrane. Clusters are seen to consist of two types: a series of high-frequency channel openings, called "bursts," and clusters of low-frequency channel openings called "singles." The bursts were identified and examined for their possible relationship to MEPP-producing release, and the singles were identified and examined for their possible relationship to "leak" release of the neuromuscular junction. When the external saline contains high calcium (10 mM CaCl2, 1 mM MgCl2) or high magnesium (2 mM CaCl2, 9 mM MgCl2), the frequencies of both "bursts" and "singles" was greatly reduced. This reduction in release persists if the neurons are grown in the high-calcium or high-magnesium solutions. When the saline is a low-calcium solution (0 mM CaCl2, 3 mM MgCl2) the growth cones release transmitter at rates similar to those from standard saline. These results indicate that although the spontaneous release from the growth cone shares one characteristic with the leak release, neither the burst nor the singles release from the growth cones share exact relationship with either the MEPP producing release or the leak release. This suggests that further development of the mechanisms for spontaneous release of neurotransmitter occurs after nerve-muscle contact.     

Calcium rather than calcitonin is dominant to mediate gastric emptying in thyroidectomized rats

Both calcium and calcitonin are important in mediating gastrointestinal motility. Present study tried to study what was the dominant role of calcitonin or calcium replacement on the gastric emptying in thyroidectomized animals. Adult Sprague-Dawley male rats received thyroidectomy or sham operation and then housed for two weeks until motility study, which was conducted using radiochromium to measure gastric emptying. Before motility study these rats were i.p. injected with saline or human calcitonin in the doses of 0.1, 1 and 10 microgM/kg, respectively. Another group of thyroidectomized rats received i.v. infusion of saline or CaCl2 for 30 min before motility study. Among thyroidectomized rats, neither saline nor various doses of calcitonin treatment disturbed gastric emptying compared to this of sham operated rats. Thyroidectomy diminished plasma calcium level, however, additional calcitonin treatment did not restore the suppressed calcium level (P<0.01). Of rats following saline or CaCl2 infusion, thyroidectomy did not change gastric emptying, whereas CaCl2 infusion enhanced gastric emptying (P<0.05). In conclusion, exogenous calcium treatment further enhances gastric emptying in thyroidectomized rats, whereas calcitonin replacement has no effect on gastric emptying. We suggest that calcium rather than calcitonin is dominant to mediate gastric emptying.     

Enhancement by lactosucrose of the calcium absorption from the intestine in growing rats

The effects of dietary lactosucrose on calcium absorption from the intestine and calcium accumulation in bones were investigated in growing female rats. The apparent calcium-45 ((45)Ca) absorption, residual (45)Ca ratio in the body, and (45)Ca accumulation in the femur and tibia of lactosucrose-supplemented rats were significantly higher than in control rats 24 h after the administration of a (45)CaCl(2) solution.     

Reduction of K+-Stimulated 45Ca2+ Influx in Synaptosomes with Age Involves Inactivating and Noninactivating Calcium Channels and Is Correlated with Temporal Modifications in Protein Dephosphorylation

The voltage-dependent calcium uptake in rat brain synaptosomes was measured under conditions in which [Ca2+]o/[Na+]i exchange was minimized to characterize the voltage-sensitive calcium channels from rats of different ages. In solutions of CaCl2 concentrations of less than 500 microM, the initial (5-s) calcium uptake declined by approximately 20-50% in 12- and 24-month-old rats relative to 3-month-old adults. Depolarization of synaptosomes from 3-month-old rats in a calcium-free medium or in the presence of 0.5 mM CaCl2 led to an exponential decline of the calcium uptake rate after 20 s (voltage- or voltage-and-calcium-dependent inactivation) to approximately 66 and 34% of the initial value with a t1/2 of 1.6 or 0.7 s, respectively. The presence of 1 microM nifedipine resulted in a 15-25% reduction of 45Ca2+ uptake rates, which appeared to affect noninactivating calcium channels, but addition of the calcium channel agonist Bay K 8644 was without effect. In 24-month-old rats, inactivation of 45Ca2+ uptake in calcium-free media was nondetectable, and in the presence of 0.5 mM CaCl2, the rate and extent of inactivation were also much lower than in 3-month-old animals (the t1/2 was 0.9 s, and the calcium uptake rate at 20 s was 55% of its initial value). Moreover, the presence of 1 microM nifedipine was without effect on initial calcium uptake or inactivation in synaptosomes from 24-month-old rats. These results indicate that the decrease in calcium channel-mediated 45Ca2+ uptake involves an inhibition or block of both dihydropyridine-resistant and -sensitive calcium channels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The calcium ionophore A23187 is a potent stimulator of the vitamin D3-25 hydroxylase in hepatocytes isolated from normocalcaemic vitamin D-depleted rats.

The role played by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] and/or by calcium on the C-25 hydroxylation of vitamin D3 (D3) was studied in hepatocytes isolated from D-depleted rats which were divided into four treatment groups: Group 1 served as controls, Group 2 received calcium gluconate, Groups 3 and 4 were infused with 1,25(OH)2D3 at 7 and 65 pmol/24 h x 7 days respectively. The treatments normalized serum calcium in all but the controls which remained hypocalcaemic, while serum 1,25(OH)2D3 remained low in Groups 1 and 2 but increased to physiologic and supraphysiologic levels in Groups 3 and 4. The data show that basal D3-25 hydroxylase activities were not significantly affected by any of the treatments. Addition of CaCl2, EGTA, or Quin-2 in vitro revealed that relative to basal values, EGTA strongly inhibited the enzyme activity in all groups (P less than 0.0001), except in G 1; Quin-2 and CaCl2 had no significant effect on the activity of the enzyme in any of the groups. Addition of 1,25(OH)2D3 or A23187 in vitro in the presence of CaCl2 revealed that 1,25(OH)2D3 did not significantly affect enzyme activity, while A23187 was found to stimulate its activity in vitamin D-depleted animals, but most specifically in Group 2 (P less than 0.001); low serum calcium (Group 1) dampened (P less than 0.01), and 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment in vivo totally blunted (P less than 0.001) the response to A23187. The data suggest that 1,25(OH)2D3 supplementation in vivo has per se little or no effect on the basal D3-25 hydroxylase activity. The data show, however, that the magnitude of the response to various challenges in vitro is greatly influenced by the conditioning in vivo of the animals. They also show that A23187 can be a potent stimulator of the enzyme activity, which allowed us to demonstrate a significant reserve for the C-25 hydroxylation of D3 which is well expressed in hepatocytes obtained from D-depleted calcium-supplemented rats.     

Intestinal calcium transfer and alkaline phosphatase activity in relation with vitamin D and glucide diet.

For four weeks after weaning, rats were fed either on a diet without any calcium utilization factors (-D) or on the same diet with cholecalciferol (+D) or sorbitol (S). In the -D group, blood calcium levels decreased whilst alkaline phosphatase activities in blood and bone were increased. For +D and S groups, these parameters were normal. Using everted or in situ ligatured loops, calcium transfer from a CaCl2 + 45Ca solution was measured in the duodenum, the jejunum and in the ileum. Alkaline phosphatase activity from these regions was also measured. For the three diets and for all regions of the intestine, there was a good correlation between calcium transfer and phosphatase activity. These values were higher in the duodenum than in the ileum or jejunum, and also higher in the ileum in the +D group than in the -D and S groups although this was not significant. These low levels in the S group which were, sometimes, even lower than those seen in the -D group contrasted with blood and bone levels of alkaline phosphatase, which were normal for the S and +D groups. There was also a discrepancy between the low values found for both phosphatase activity and calcium transfer in rats S in the experiments where the calcium transfer assay was carried out in calcium solution and those found in experiments were both calcium and carbohydrate were present. In the latter, enhanced levels of intestinal phosphatase activity were observed, as well as a marked, albeit delayed, increase in intestinal calcium transfer. Onset latency and rapid offset are reminiscent of induction of bacterial enzymes by carbohydrates.     

Involvement of cAMP and cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the initiation of DNA synthesis by rat liver cells

Addition of calcium to calcium-deprived cultures of T51B rat liver cells caused brief bursts of cAMP production and cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity which were followed almost immediately by a stimulation of DNA synthesis. PKInh, a specific polypeptide inhibitor of the catalytic subunits of cAMP-dependent protein kinases, inhibited the DNA-synthetic response to calcium addition without stopping the preceding cAMP surge. Addition of cAMP to the calciumdeprived cultures increased protein kinase activity and stimulated DNA synthesis, both of which were inhibited by PKInh. DNA synthesis in these cultures was not stimulated by adding type I cAMP-dependent protein kinase holoenzyme to the calcium-deficient medium, but it was stimulated by type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase holoenzyme or the catalytic subunit from either type I or type II holoenzyme. The stimulatory actions of the type II holoenzyme or the catalytic subunits were inhibited by PKInh. Thus, a burst of cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity was ultimately responsible for the stimulation of DNA synthesis in calcium-deprived T51B cells by calcium or cAMP and it might also be involved in the events leading to initiation of DNA synthesis in many, if not all, normally cycling cells.     

Effect of long-term and short-term diabetes on the parathyroid hormone sensitive rat renal adenylate cyclase: correlation with vitamin D metabolism

In short-term experiments, male Wistar rats were made diabetic for 10 days with a single injection of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg body weight). One group of diabetic rats was treated with insulin for 3 days prior to sacrifice. In long-term experiments, vitamin D replete or vitamin D depleted rats were made diabetic for 6 weeks. Criteria for diabetes were loss of weight, glycosuria (Tes-Tape), and hyperglycemia. In long-term diabetic rats the activity of renal mitochondrial 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-(OH)D3) 1 alpha-hydroxylase was significantly decreased and that of 25-(OH)D3 24-hydroxylase increased. However, the parathyroid hormone (PTH) sensitive renal adenylate cyclase activity of diabetic rats was not different from that of the nondiabetic rats in either the vitamin D replete group or the vitamin D depleted group. On the other hand, the PTH-sensitive renal adenylate cyclase activity was significantly higher in short-term diabetic rats than in control and insulin-treated rats. These differences were observed at doses of 10(-8) to 10(-5) M of PTH. This study has demonstrated for the first time that there are differences in the PTH-sensitive adenylate cyclase response between long-term and short-term diabetic rats. The hypersensitivity to PTH of the renal adenylate cyclase observed in short-term diabetic rats probably represents a response to insulin deficiency during the early development of diabetes mellitus in the rats.     

Change in the activity of calcium ions during illumination of a suspension of visual cell outer segment fragments]

Changes in the activity of calcium ions in the medium containing outer fragments suspension of bovine eye retina rods have been studied by the method of calcium-selective electrodes. Illumination of the suspension increases calcium ion activity in the incubation medium. Photoinduced yield of calcium ions depends on Ca+2 concentration: it equals 0.11+/-0.015 M Ca2+/1m rodopsin in the medium containing 0.1 mM CaCl2 and 0.046+/-0.002Ca2+/1M rodopsin in the medium containing 0.05 mM CaCl2. In the medium containing more than 10(-4) M CaCl2 both an increase and a decrease of Ca2+ ions have been observed.