Characterization of angiotensin II receptors in the rat fetus

The presence of AII receptors during early and late embryonic development was studied by binding of 125I[Sar1, Ile8] AII to whole mouse blastocysts and membrane-rich fractions from rat conceptuses, 7 to 21 days in gestation. In early mouse embryos there was no detectable binding under a variety of experimental conditions. However, in late gestation rat fetuses, specific and high affinity binding was observed, with a concentration of sites similar in membranes from whole and eviscerated fetuses. Using less than 100 micrograms of membrane protein, binding was time and temperature dependent, maintaining equilibrium from 30 to 120 min at 23 degrees C and it was enhanced by addition of Mg+2 up to 5 mM, EGTA 2 mM and dithiothreitol up to 2.5 mM. Scatchard analysis of the binding data indicated Kd values ranging between 0.7 and 0.9 nM. Binding was first detectable at day 10 (14.3 +/- 2.3 fmol/mg), increasing to 104 +/- 16, 2,625 +/- 168, 5,993 +/- 152 and 5,902 +/- 92 by days 12, 15, 18, and 21 of gestational age, respectively. Since the functional significance of these binding sites depends on the availability of the agonist ligand, acid extracts from eviscerated 10-day-old fetuses were analyzed for the presence of AII. Measurement of AII by radioimmunoassay revealed immunoreactive AII-like material (845 pg/g of tissue), with an elution pattern identical to that of AII standard in a Sephadex G-50 column. This material was bioactive, as demonstrated by its ability to displace 125I[Sar1, Ile8]AII from adrenal glomerulosa membranes, an effect which was abolished by pretreatment of the extract with AII antibody.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Properties and regulation of high-affinity pituitary receptors for corticotropin-releasing factor

Specific receptors for corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) were identified in the rat anterior pituitary gland by binding studies with 125I-Tyr-CRF. Binding of the labeled CRF analog to pituitary particles was rapid and temperature-dependent, and reached steady state within 45 min at 22 degrees C. The CRF binding sites were saturable and of high affinity, with dissociation constant (Kd) of 0.76 X 10(-9) M. Pituitary binding of 125I-Tyr-CRF was inhibited by CRF, Tyr-CRF and the active 15-41 fragment of CRF, but not by the inactive 21-41 CRF fragment and unrelated peptides. The binding-inhibition potencies of the CRF peptides were similar to their activities as stimuli of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) release. The high-affinity CRF sites were markedly reduced in adrenalectomized rats, and this change was reversed by dexamethasone treatment. These data indicate that the high-affinity CRF sites demonstrated in the anterior pituitary are the functional receptors which mediate the stimulatory action of the peptide on ACTH release, and that CRF receptors are down-regulated during increased secretion of the hypothalamic hormone.     

Structural patterns of Lepidoptera galls and the case of Andescecidium parrai (Cecidosidae) galls on Schinus polygama (Anacardiaceae)

Journal of Plant Research - Gall anatomical and metabolic peculiarities are determined by the feeding habit of the gall inducer, but develop under the constraints of the host plants. The chewing...     

Vascular implications of Dasineura sp. galls' establishment on Peumus boldus stems

• Some chewing larvae are capable of inducing galls in the host vascular cylinder, e.g. Dasineura sp. (Cecidomyiidae) on Peumus boldus stems. Due to the medicinal and economic importance of P. boldus, the anatomical and functional implications of establishment of Dasineura sp. on P. boldus stems were investigated. We asked if establishment of Dasineura sp. in P. boldus stems induces abnormalities at the cellular and organizational level of the vascular system that increase during gall development in favour of the hydric status of the gall.
• Anatomical alterations induced in the stems during gall development were determined. Cytohistometric analyses in mature galls were compared to non-galled stems, and water potential and leaf area of non-galled stems were compared with galled stems.
• Dasineura sp. establishes in the vascular cambium, leading to delignification and rupture of xylem cells, inhibiting formation of phloem and perivascular sclerenchyma. Gall diameter increases together with larval feeding activity, producing a large larval chamber and numerous layers of nutritive tissue, vascular parenchyma, and sclerenchyma. These anatomical alterations do not affect the leaf area of galled stems but favour increased water flow towards these stems.
• The anatomical alterations induced by Dasineura sp. in P. boldus stems guarantee water and nutrient supply to the gall and larva. After the inducer exits stems, some host branches no longer have vascular connections with the plant body.

     

Study of messenger-like RNA extracted from HeLa cells polysomes. II. Identification of the types of RNA eluted from methylated albumin kieselguhr columns.

Together with the elution pattern of pure messenger RNA molecules of various origin, the labelling kinetics of rapidly labelled heterogeneously sedimenting RNA (HSRNA) extracted from polysomes of HeLa cells have been studied by chromatogrphy on columns made of methylated bovine serum albumin adsorbed on kieselguhr. HSRNA is eluted within three peaks-IP, Q2P and TDP-following in that order the increase of NaC1 concentration in the eluting buffer. Besides peak TDP which results from an experimental artefact, our data suggest that the appearance of peaks IP and Q2P reflects the absence and presence respectively of polyadenylic acid stretches in these molecules. Within peak Q2P, the critical factor affecting the order of elution is the size of the polyadenylic acid stretch.     

Developmental changes in brain angiotensin II receptors in the rat.

AII binding and distribution were measured in rat brain during development by autoradiographic techniques using radioiodinated [Sar1,Ile8]AII. At all ages, from 2 days to 7 weeks, binding was present in the circumventricular organs, and areas related to pituitary hormone secretion and modulation of sympathetic activity. At early stages of development, AII binding was transiently expressed in a number of motor- and sensory-related areas. These findings support a role for AII in the control of water intake and autonomic activity at all stages of development, and suggest that the peptide may be involved in the maturation of neuronal function during development.     

The influence of the slowing of Earth's rotation: A hypothesis to explain cell division synchrony under different day duration in earlier and later evolved unicellular algae

Every year the Earth's rotation period is reduced, mainly due to the tidal drag of the moon. The length of day increases continuously by about 1 h every 200 million years. The period of rotation around the Sun remains constant; hence, the length of the year remains constant, so years acquire progressively fewer days. Many unicellular algae show rhythmicity in their cell division cycle. If primitive algae evolved under a shorter day duration, then it is possible that the early-evolved algae had to synchronize their cell division cycle to shorter lengths of day than did later-evolved algae. We tested this hypothesis by growing Cyanobacteria, Dinophyceae, Prasinophyceae, Bacillariophyceae and Conjugatophyceae (evolutionary appearance probably in this order) at 8∶8 h light-dark cycles (LD), 10∶10 LD, and 12∶12 LD, at 20 or 27°C. Cyanobacteria synchronized their cell division cycles optimally at 8∶8 h LD, Dinophyceae and Prasinophyceae at 10∶10 h LD, and Conjugatophyceae and Bacillariophyceae at 12∶12 h LD. The synchrony of cell division was scarcely affected by temperature. Results suggested that the early evolved unicellular autotrophic organisms such as the Cyanobacteria synchronized their cell division cycle under a shorter day duration than later-evolved unicellular algae, and these traits may have been conserved by quiescent genes up to the present day.