Morphology and electrical properties of Schwann cells around the giant axon of the squids Loligo forbesi and Loligo vulgaris.

The first successful dye-fills of Schwann cells around the split giant axon of Loligo show them to be spindle-shaped cells ca. 600 microns long and 20 microns wide lying parallel to the axonal axis. There are some 50,000 Schwann cells per cm2 of axonal membrane. Only a small part (ca. 6% of each Schwann cell membrane) is in contact with the periaxonal space, the remainder is overlain by adjacent Schwann cells, or applied to the basal lamina. The mean membrane potential of the Schwann cells in artificial seawater (ASW) varies from around -40 mV in fresh split-axon preparations to around -60 to -70 mV after 1-2 h; this hyperpolarization is not seen in preparations dissected and maintained in Ca2(+)-free ASW. Electrical- and dye-coupling (abolished by prior octanol treatment) is present between Schwann cells, but is weaker in cells with lower (less negative) membrane potentials. The implications for potassium homeostasis around the axon are briefly discussed.     

The involvement of mycorrhizas in assessment of genetically dependent efficiency of nutrient uptake and use

This article summarises the way in which mycorrhizal infection of roots affects the mineral nutrition of plants and how the symbiosis may interact with the evaluation of efficiency of nutrient uptake and use by plants. A brief account of the processes of infection and the way they are affected by host genotype and environmental conditions is given and the relationships between this and mineral nutrition (especially phosphate nutrition) are outlined.The interactions between mycorrhizal infection and P efficiency are considered at two levels. Mycorrhizas may act as general modifiers of efficiency regardless of the extent to which the plants are infected and in some mycorrhiza-dependent plants infection may change the ranking of genotypes. The extent of infection is also under genetic control and shows considerable variability between genotypes in some species. This variation could be used in programs to select varieties in which infection is rapid and nutrient uptake from nutrient deficient or low input systems is, in consequence, increased.     

Plant invasions, interspecific hybridization and the evolution of new plant taxa

Interspecific hybridization between a native and an invading plant species, or two invading species, sometimes results in a new, sexually reproducing taxon. Several examples of such taxa have been confirmed by recent molecular and isozyme analyses. Further study of these new taxa, when recognized soon after their origin, should aim to elucidate the factors that influence their subsequent establishment and spread, thus leading to a better understanding of the processes that lead to successful speciation. Plant hybrids formed following a plant invasion provide great potential for the study of ‘evolution in action’.     

Plasminogen activator and collagenase production by cultured capillary endothelial cells

Cultured bovine capillary endothelial (BCE) cells produce low levels of collagenolytic activity and significant amounts of the serine protease plasminogen activator (PA). When grown in the presence of nanomolar quantities of the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), BCE cells produced 5-15 times more collagenolytic activity and 2-10 times more PA than untreated cells. The enhanced production of these enzymes was dependent on the dose of TPA used, with maximal response at 10(-7) to 10(-8) M. Phorbol didecanoate (PDD), an analog of TPA which is an active tumor promoter, also increased protease production. 4-O-methyl-TPA and 4α-PDD, two analogs of TPA which are inactive as tumor promoters, had no effect on protease production. Increased PA and collagenase activities were detected within 7.5 and 19 h, respectively, after the addition of TPA. The TPA-stimulated BCE cells synthesized a urokinase-type PA and a typical vertebrate collagenase. BCE cells were compared with bovine aortic endothelial (BAE) cells and bovine embryonic skin (BES) fibroblasts with respect to their production of protease in response to TPA. Under normal growth conditions, low levels of collagenolyic activity were detected in the culture fluids from BCE, BAE, and BES cells. BCE cells produced 5-13 times the basal levels of collagenolytic activity in response to TPA, whereas BAE cells and BES fibroblasts showed a minimal response to TPA. Both BCE and BAE cells exhibited relatively high basal levels of PA, the production of which was stimulated approximately threefold by the addition of TPA. The observation that BCE cells and not BAE cells produced high levels of both PA and collagenase activities in response to TPA demonstrates a significant difference between these two types of endothelial cells and suggests that the enhanced detectable activities are a property unique to bovine capillary and microvessel and endothelial cells.     

Attenuation of hypotensive effect of propranolol and thiazide diuretics by indomethacin.

The effects of 100 mg indomethacin daily for three weeks on blood pressure and urinary excretion of prostaglandin F2 alpha were studied in a double-blind, placebo-controlled comparison of two groups of patients with essential hypertension, eight receiving propranolol and seven thiazide diuretics. Compared with placebo, adding indomethacin to the patients'' established antihypertensive treatment increased blood pressure by 14/5 Hg supine and 16/9 mm Hg erect in the patients receiving propranolol, and by 13/9 mm Hg supine and 16/9 mm Hg erect in the patients receiving thiazide diuretics (all p less than or equal to 0.05). The excretion of the major urinary metabolite of prostaglandin F2 alpha was reduced by 67% in the propranolol-treated patients and by 57% in those receiving a thiazide diuretic. Body weight increased by 0 . 8 kg (propranolol) and 1 . 1 kg (thiazide diuretic) when indomethacin was given, but there were no significant changes in creatinine clearance, urinary sodium excretion, or packed cell volume in either treatment group. These results suggest that products formed by the arachidonic acid cyclo-oxygenase contribute to the regulation of blood pressure during treatment with both propranolol and thiazide diuretics. Inhibition of the cyclo-oxygenase with indomethacin partially antagonises the hypotensive effect of these drugs.     

Ontogeny of murine T lymphocytes: I. Maturation of thymocytes induced in vitro by tumor necrosis factor-positive serum (TNF+)

One question which is unresolved in developmental immunology is whether cortical thymocytes are the precursor cells which give rise to medullary thymocytes and peripheral T cells. Cortical thymocytes display a characteristic surface antigen phenotype (high TL and Thy-1, low H-2, no Qa-2, no Qa-3), are agglutinated by peanut agglutinin (PNA), and are unresponsive to concanavalin A (Con-A). The functionally more mature medullary thymocytes express a surface phenotype more closely resembling peripheral T cells (no TL, low Thy-1, high H-2, and some Qa-2), are not agglutinated by PNA, and are responsive to Con-A. An in vitro induction system has been devised in which mouse thymocytes undergo quantitative changes in surface antigens in less than 24 hr and increase their mitogen response to Con-A. The phenotypic changes are characterized by a decrease of TL and Thy-1 and an increase in H-2, Qa-2, and Qa-3. Studies in which thymocytes were fractionated on BSA gradients and by PNA agglutination demonstrate that the inducible cells have the properties of cortical thymocytes. Our data show that a subpopulation of cortical thymocytes can acquire phenotypic characteristics similar to medullary thymocytes and peripheral T cells.     

Dissociation of intracellular lysosomal rupture from the cell death caused by silica

The relationship between intracellular lysosomal rupture and cell death caused by silica was studied in P388d(1) macrophages. After 3 h of exposure to 150 μg silica in medium containing 1.8 mM Ca(2+), 60 percent of the cells were unable to exclude trypan blue. In the absence of extracellular Ca(2+), however, all of the cells remained viable. Phagocytosis of silica particles occurred to the same extent in the presence or absence of Ca(2+). The percentage of P388D(1) cells killed by silica depended on the dose and the concentration of Ca(2+) in the medium. Intracellular lyosomal rupture after exposure to silica was measured by acridine orange fluorescence or histochemical assay of horseradish peroxidase. With either assay, 60 percent of the cells exposed to 150 μg silica for 3 h in the presence of Ca(2+) showed intracellular lysosomal rupture, was not associated with measureable degradation of total DNA, RNA, protein, or phospholipids or accelerated turnover of exogenous horseradish peroxidase. Pretreatment with promethazine (20 μg/ml) protected 80 percent of P388D(1) macrophages against silica toxicity although lysosomal rupture occurred in 60-70 percent of the cells. Intracellular lysosomal rupture was prevented in 80 percent of the cells by pretreatment with indomethacin (5 x 10(-5)M), yet 40-50 percent of the cells died after 3 h of exposure to 150 μg silica in 1.8 mM extracellular Ca(2+). The calcium ionophore A23187 also caused intracellular lysosomal rupture in 90-98 percent of the cells treated for 1 h in either the presence or absence of extracellular Ca(2+). With the addition of 1.8 mM Ca(2+), 80 percent of the cells was killed after 3 h, whereas all of the cells remained viable in the absence of Ca(2+). These experiments suggest that intracellular lysosomal rupture is not causally related to the cell death cause by silica or {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"A23187","term_id":"833253","term_text":"A23187"}}A23187. Cell death is dependent on extracellular Ca(2+) and may be mediated by an influx of these ions across the plasma membrane permeability barrier damaged directly by exposure to these toxins.