The alleged occurrence of adrenalin in the mealworm

Wense has reported the isolation of crystalline adrenalin from larvae of the beetle Tenebrio molitor. An attempt to repeat his procedures failed to yield any evidence of adrenalin. Analysis of mealworm extracts by paper chromatography and colorimetric means also yielded no indication of adrenalin, though adrenalin added to mealworms can be detected by these procedures in amounts less than 1 mg. per 100 gm. Mealworm extracts reveal on the paper chromatogram the presence of two other orthodiphenols, neither of which appears to be dopa but which may be 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, compounds recently isolated elsewhere from this organism.     

Metabolic actions of vasopressin,glucagon and adrenalin in the intact rat

Metabolic effects of vasopressin, glucagon and adrenalin were compared, in intact rats, especially in regard to time courses of effects.Hyperglycaemia was transient in response to vasopressin, prolonged following adrenalin, and, surprisingly, was not discernible after glucagon, except in response to a very large dose. Vasopressin decreased and adrenalin increased, the plasma free fatty acid concentration; both hormones decreased the triacylglycerol level. Muscle glycogen concentrations, measured in heart, diaphragm and skeletal muscle, exhibited small changes, with complex time courses, following hormone administration. Vasopressin brought about a rapid but transient activation of hepatic glycogen phosphorylase which resembled that due to adrenalin. The activation by glucagon of phosphorylase was greater and more prolonged, despite the absence of hyperglycaemia. In response to vasopressin, there was an increase in plasma insulin. Incorporation of ¹⁴C from [¹⁴C] glucose into glycogen or fatty acids was not influenced by vasopressin. Taken together, these results may be explained by rapid metabolic action of vasopressin on hepatic glycogenolysis, whereas adrenalin has multiple prolonged actions.     

ANALYSIS OF THE GEOTROPIC ORIENTATION OF YOUNG RATS. VII

The intraperitoneal injection of standard young rats of race A with 2/5 cc. of adrenalin chloride 1:50,000 results in increased speed of geotropically oriented creeping upon an inclined surface. It was expected that the effect of such increased frequency of stepping must be analogous to that due to imposition of added loads carried by the rats during geotropic progression. This is verified. The curve connecting θ with log sin α is distorted, under adrenalin, so as to be comparable to that obtained with an added mass of approximately 2.5 gm. upon the young rat''s saddle; the threshold slope of surface for orientation is accordingly lowered, from α = 20° to α = 12.5°; at the new threshold slope of surface the mean orientation angle θ is the same as in the absence of adrenalin at the corresponding threshold slope of surface. The total variation of performance is significantly increased in the injected rats, and at given slope of surface the variation is slightly increased. The proportionate modifiable variation of response is quite unaffected by the distortion of the θ – α curve, and is the same as in standard young A rats untreated or carrying additional loads. It is pointed out that for the consideration of the problem as to whether a given experimental treatment, or a given natural situation, affects in any way the variation of performance of a living system, it is necessary to obtain indices of variability which involve the expression of variation of performance as a function of measured conditions governing the performance.     

Metabolic actions of vasopressin, glucagon and adrenalin in the intact rat.

Metabolic effects of vasopressin, glucagan and adrenalin were compared, in intact rats, especially in regard to time courses of effects. Hyperglycaemia was transient in response to vasopressin, prolonged following adrenalin, and, suprisingly, was not discernible after glucagon, except in response to a very large dose. Vasopressin decreased and adrenalin increased, the plasma free fatty acid concentration; both hormones decreased the triacylglycerol level. Muscle glycogen concentrations, measured in heart, diaphragm and skeletal muscle, exhibited small changes, with complex time courses, following hormone administration. Vasopressin brought about a rapid but transient activation of heaptic glycogen phosphorylase which resembled that due to adrenalin. The activation by glucagon of phosphorylase was greater and more prolonged, despite the absence of hyperglycaemia. In response to vasopressin, there was in increase in plasma insulin. Incorporation of 14C from [14C]glucose into glycogen or fatty acids was not influenced by vasopressin. Taken together, these results may be explained by rapid metabolic action of vasopressin on hepatic glycogenolysis, whereas adrenalin has multiple prolonged actions.     

Regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase by Ca2+, 3'5' cyclic AMP and adrenalin in isolated rat kidney tubules.

Renal pyruvate dehydrogenasea activity was measured in suspensions of kidney cortex tubules from fed rats after incubation with various concentrations of Ca2+, 3'5' cyclic AMP or adrenalin. At certain concentrations these agents all decreased pyruvate dehydrogenasea activity and increased glucose formation from pyruvate. There appeared to be some interdependence between the effects of Ca2+ and 3,5, cyclic AMP on pyruvate dehydrogenasea activity. Effects of adrenalin on pyruvate dehydrogenasea activity were no longer observed when palmitate was included in incubations. The possibility that regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenasea may indirectly contribute to the control of gluconeogenesis by influencing pyruvate metabolism is briefly discussed.     

THE ROLE OF GLUCOCORTICOID HORMONES IN THE CONTROL OF EPIDERMAL MITOSIS

It has previously been established that the epidermal chalone inhibits epidermal mitotic activity more powerfully in the presence of adrenalin, although adrenalin itself is not a mitotic inhibitor. It is now shown that in low concentrations hydrocortisone has little if any antimitotic activity, that when it is present together with chalone and adrenalin it does not markedly increase their antimitotic activity, but that it does act to prolong the mitotic depression which they induce. It is known that, without hydrocortisone, adrenalin rapidly escapes from epidermal cells so that the chalone action is weakened. It appears that the role of hydrocortisone may be to reduce the rate of adrenalin loss and thus to prolong the chalone-adrenalin activity. It is also shown that the rate of loss of adrenalin from epidermal cells is inhibited, though to a much lesser extent, in the presence of excess chalone.     

The involvement of protein kinases and protein phosphatases in signal transduction during neurotransmitter-induced stimulation of root water-pumping activity

In detached roots of etiolated maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings, neurotransmitters, adrenalin and noradrenalin, stimulated exudation by increasing the root pressure due to activation of its metabolic component. In these treatments, the osmotic pressure of the exudate was somewhat reduced. In contrast, a temperature coefficient Q₁₀ was increased, which as in accordance with the increase of the absolute value of the metabolic component and its proportion in the total root pressure. To obtain some information about transmitting the signals induced by adrenalin and noradrenalin action on water transport, we used two inhibitors of the most important and universal elements of signaling pathways, staurosporine (the inhibitor of protein kinases) and okadaic acid (the inhibitor of protein phosphatases). In control roots, staurosporine markedly slowed and okadaic acid accelerated exudation. In the presence of staurosporine in the incubation medium, a stimulatory effect of both neurotransmitters was completely abolished and the rate of exudation became even below the control value. Okadaic acid exerted an opposite action: it augmented markedly stimulatory effects of both neurotrasmitters. The data obtained indicated the involvement of protein kinases and protein phosphatases in transduction of signals induced by adrenalin and noradrenalin, which stimulated root water-pumping activity.     

Cellular Mechanism Underlying Formaldehyde-Stimulated Cl? Secretion in Rat Airway Epithelium

Background

Recent studies suggest that formaldehyde (FA) could be synthesized endogeneously and transient receptor potential (TRP) channel might be the sensor of FA. However, the physiological significance is still unclear.

Methodology/Principal Findings

The present study investigated the FA induced epithelial Cl^- secretion by activation of TRPV-1 channel located in the nerve ending fiber. Exogenously applied FA induced an increase of I _SC in intact rat trachea tissue but not in the primary cultured epithelial cells. Western blot and immunofluorescence analysis identified TRPV-1 expression in rat tracheal nerve ending. Capsazepine (CAZ), a TRPV-1 specific antagonist significantly blocked the I _SC induced by FA. The TRPV-1 agonist capsaicin (Cap) induced an increase of I _SC, which was similar to the I _SC induced by FA. L-703606, an NK-1 specific inhibitor and propranolol, an adrenalin β receptor inhibitor significantly abolished the I _SC induced by FA or Cap. In the ion substitute analysis, FA could not induce I _SC in the absence of extracelluar Cl^-. The I _SC induced by FA could be blocked by the non-specific Cl^- channel inhibitor DPC and the CFTR specific inhibitor CFTR_i-172, but not by the Ca²⁺-activated Cl^- channel inhibitor DIDS. Furthermore, both forskolin, an agonist of adenylate cyclase (AC) and MDL-12330A, an antagonist of AC could block FA-induced I _SC.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that FA-induced epithelial I _SC response is mediated by nerve, involving the activation of TRPV-1 and release of adrenalin as well as substance P.     

Analysis of the in vivo phosphorylation state of rabbit skeletal muscle glycogen synthase by fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry

The in vivo phosphorylation state of glycogen synthase was re-examined by fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry and a procedure in which phosphoserine residues are first converted to S-ethylcysteine. In animals injected with the beta-adrenergic antagonist propranolol, the phosphorylation sites in the N-terminal (N) and C-terminal (C) cyanogen bromide peptides were identified as the serine residues at N7, the region C28-C39, C42, C46 and C100. In animals injected with adrenalin, the phosphorylation of N7 increased from 0.6 to 0.8 mol/mol, the region C28-C39 from 0.7 to 1.2 mol/mol and C100 from 0.3 to 0.6 mol/mol. The phosphorylation states of C42 (0.7 mol/mol) and C46 (0.9 mol/mol) were unchanged. In addition, two further serine residues became phosphorylated at positions N10 (0.5 mol/mol) and C87 (0.5 mol/mol), which were not phosphorylated in the absence of adrenalin. Residues N10 and C42 have not been recognized as in vivo sites of phosphorylation previously. The results suggest that N10 is phosphorylated by a novel protein kinase which may be activated by cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase. The phosphorylation of C42 is likely to be catalysed by glycogen synthase kinase 3. The protein kinases responsible for phosphorylating N7, the region C28-C39, C46, C87 and C100 in vivo and the molecular mechanisms by which adrenalin inactivates glycogen synthase in vivo are discussed. Residue N3, a major site phosphorylated by casein kinase-I in vitro is not phosphorylated in vivo. This and other evidence indicates that casein kinase-I is not a glycogen synthase kinase in vivo.     

THE ACTIVITY OF PERIPHERALLY STORED NEUROHUMORS IN CATFISHES

1. Adrenalin when mixed with olive oil 1:100 and injected subcutaneously into a catfish will produce a marked pale spot and a general blanching of the whole fish. The general blanching will disappear in about a day. The pale spot may last 3 to 4 weeks. 2. Injections of adrenalin in oil 1:1000 to 1:10,000,000 cause the formation of only pale spots in catfishes. Adrenalin in oil 1:100,000,000 has no effect on the fish''s color. 3. Acetylcholine, though ordinarily more powerful than adrenalin, when mixed with oil is effective only in high concentrations 1:20 to 1:100. It then produces clusters of moderately dark spots. 4. The pale spot on a catfish due to adrenalin in oil may be temporarily obliterated by intermedin. It will return of itself, and this process may be repeated a number of times. The same is true of the dark spots produced by acetylcholine in oil when subjected to adrenalin. These observations indicate the subcutaneous storage of both adrenalin and acetylcholine in oil. 5. In the natural color changes in catfishes the nervous neurohumors, probably also adrenalin and acetylcholine, appear both to be stored in the fish''s lipoids and to serve thus as a means of lenghthening the times of initial color responses till these stores of neurohumors are exhausted.     

Effect of prostaglandin E2 on the development of myocardial damage in rats with various resistance to hypoxia

Experiments conducted on male rats with congenital high and low resistance to hypoxia (HH and LH, respectively) have revealed, that injection of prostaglandin E2 (PHE2) 15 min before the injection of adrenalin essentially decreases the activity of lipid peroxidation in myocardium as compared with animals which have been injected to only adrenalin. This modulative effect (PHE2) on the action of adrenalin was more pronounced in LH-rats. Consequently, the activity of the prostaglandin stress-limiting system determines to a great extent the organism resistance to hypoxia.     

Rapid Stress System Drives Chemical Transfer of Fear from Sender to Receiver

Humans can register another person’s fear not only with their eyes and ears, but also with their nose. Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to body odors from fearful individuals elicited implicit fear in others. The odor of fearful individuals appears to have a distinctive signature that can be produced relatively rapidly, driven by a physiological mechanism that has remained unexplored in earlier research. The apocrine sweat glands in the armpit that are responsible for chemosignal production contain receptors for adrenalin. We therefore expected that the release of adrenalin through activation of the rapid stress response system (i.e., the sympathetic-adrenal medullary system) is what drives the release of fear sweat, as opposed to activation of the slower stress response system (i.e., hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis). To test this assumption, sweat was sampled while eight participants prepared for a speech. Participants had higher heart rates and produced more armpit sweat in the fast stress condition, compared to baseline and the slow stress condition. Importantly, exposure to sweat from participants in the fast stress condition induced in receivers (N = 31) a simulacrum of the state of the sender, evidenced by the emergence of a fearful facial expression (facial electromyography) and vigilant behavior (i.e., faster classification of emotional facial expressions).     

Selective destruction of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors by neuraminidase

The responses of isolated frog skin to 5-hydroxytryptamine (increased active sodium transport and decreased passive chloride permeability) are diminished by incubation with the enzymes neuraminidase and N-acetylneuraminic acid aldolase but only in the absence of Ca²⁺ and presence of EDTA. The responses induced by oxytocin, adrenalin and aldosterone are unaffected by enzyme treatment.     

The effect of the delta-sleep peptide on the adrenaline level in rat tissues under normal conditions and during cold stress

Adrenalin content in the brain, liver and adrenal glands under the effect of cold stress grows by 314, 500 and 56% as compared to the control. A single administration of the delta-sleep inducing peptide (DSIP) in a dose of 12 microgram/100 g to intact animals makes the adrenalin content in the brain higher 1, 3, 6 and 24h after administration; two and three days later the adrenalin content in the brain does not change. The amount of adrenalin in the liver of the same animals increases 1, 3, 6 h and 1, 2, 3 days after DSIP administration. Intraperitoneal administration of DSIP induces an increase of the adrenalin level in the adrenal glands of rats an hour and a day after administration. Two days later the level of adrenaline decreases by 41%; 3, 6 h and 3 days after DSIP administration the content of adrenaline remains unchanged. As a result of the DSIP administration in a dose of 12 micrograms/100 g to the animals in the state of cold stress, the content of adrenalin increases in the rat brain by 129, in the liver--by 300, adrenal glands--by 44% as compared with the control.     

Molecular evidence for the existence of natural hybrids in the genus Zygosaccharomyces

26S rDNA D1/D2 sequencing was used to characterise a number of food-associated Zygosaccharomyces rouxii strains held at the National Collection of Yeast Cultures. In the course of this study, four strains (NCYC 1682, NCYC 3042, NCYC 3060 and NCYC 3061) were identified which appeared, based on their D1/D2 sequences, to belong to a novel Zygosaccharomyces species. However, subsequent sequence analysis showed that NCYC 1682, NCYC 3060 and NCYC 3061 possess two highly divergent copies of the nuclear-encoded ADE2, HIS3 and SOD2 genes, indicating these three strains are in fact hybrids. NCYC 3042, however, does appear to represent a novel species which may be hypothesized to have crossed with Z. rouxii and given rise to hybrid strains. Additional approaches to define precise taxonomic status and mechanisms of hybrid genome formation amongst yeast species are discussed.     

Selective cleavage of glycosidic linkages: Studies with the O-specific polysaccharide from Shigella dysenteriae type 3

Treatment of the O-specific polysaccharide from Shigella dysenteriae Type 3 with hydrazine in the presence of hydrazine sulphate resulted in quantitative N-deacetylation with the formation of a modified polysaccharide containing free amino groups. Oxidation of the modified polysaccharide with periodate did not destroy the 2-amino-2-deoxygalactose residues, thus indicating that they were substituted at position 3. Acid hydrolysis of the modified polysaccharide afforded 3-O-(2-amino-2-deoxy-β-D-galactopyranosyl)-D-galactose, which was identified as the N-acetyl derivative. Deamination of the modified polysaccharide with nitrous acid cleaved the 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-galactopyranosyl linkages to give a pentasaccharide as the major product, which appeared to be the modified chemical repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide.     

Proteomic analysis of whey and casein proteins in early milk from the marsupial Trichosurus vulpecula,the common brushtail possum

Whey and casein proteins representing the first and second halves of the early lactation phase in the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) have been compared by two dimensional gel electrophoresis. Nine components of whey were differentially expressed during early lactation, including proteins identified as cathepsin B, clusterin, late lactation protein, lysozyme, ganglioside M2 activator and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin. A major novel protein, termed very early lactation protein (VELP), was identified in whey. Partial amino acid sequence data obtained from VELP did not appear to match any other reported protein sequence. VELP was shown to be an acidic glycoprotein of 20–30 kDa which exists as a homodimer. In the casein fraction, κ-casein appeared to be differentially post-translationally modified during early lactation and fragments of β-casein were relatively more abundant at the earlier lactation stage.