Mucosal epithelial cells and Langerhans cells are targets for infection by the immunosuppressive type D retrovirus simian AIDS retrovirus serotype 1

Simian acquired immune deficiency syndrome (SAIDS) caused by the type D retrovirus SRV-1 results in opportunistic infections and a spectrum of oral lesions similar to those seen in humans with AIDS. To better understand the pathogenesis of these oral lesions we have retrospectively examined the oral mucosa from ten rhesus monkeys that died with SAIDS and prospectively examined the oral mucosa of ten additional animals inoculated with SRV-1 to determine at what time, and in what cells SRV-1 infection of the oral mucosa occurs. Using single and double label immunohistologic techniques, and electron microscopy we detected SRV-1 in clusters of oral epithelial cells and rare Langerhans cells as early as 1 month postinoculation.     

An overhanging 3'' terminus is a conserved feature of telomeres.

The reactivity of single-stranded thymidines with osmium tetraoxide was used to demonstrate the existence of a terminal overhang of the G-rich strand of telomeres from two distantly related eucaryotes, the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena spp. and the acellular slime mold Didymium spp. Conservation of a G-strand overhang at the molecular terminus of telomeres is consistent with our suggestion that an unusual DNA structure formed by the G-strand overhang is important for telomere function (E. Henderson, C. C. Hardin, S. K. Wolk, I. Tinoco Jr., and E. H. Blackburn, Cell 51:899-908, 1987).     

Patterns of energy storage in Pseudoboeckella poppei (Crustacea,copepoda) from two contrasting lakes on Signy Island,Antarctica

The copepod Pseudoboeckella poppei (Daday) (Calanoida, Centropagidae) was sampled from Sombre and Heywood Lakes on Signy Island, Antarctica (60° S, 45° W) between January 1984 and March 1985. Sombre Lake is clear and oligotrophic with little phytoplankton and a bottom sediment low in organic content. By contrast Heywood Lake is turbid and mesotrophic; a substantial phytoplankton develops in summer and the bottom sediments are comparatively rich in organics. Both lakes freeze over for much of the year, forcing the copepods to adopt a benthic feeding strategy over winter. Adult Pseudoboeckella feed on phytoplankton when this is available, but also on detritus, diatoms and short algal filaments stirred up from the sediment. In Heywood Lake, male copepods show a smooth seasonal trend in lipid content with lipid being synthesised in early summer and utilised in late summer and winter. The summer increase in lipid content is associated with an increase in dry weight. Female lipid contents show evidence of two peaks of egg production. In Sombre Lake both male and female copepods increase in size during summer and show a wider range of lipid contents than in Heywood Lake; it is likely that this is due to the poorer winter feeding conditions which necessitate the synthesis of a much larger store of reserves during the summer. In contrast to marine calanoid copepods, lipid stores are exclusively triacylglycerol with no trace of wax ester.     

Mating behavior of male deer ticksIxodes dammini (Acari: Ixodidae)

To analyze the sexual behavior of male black-legged deer ticks Ixodes dammini,we collected ticks infesting 202 white-tailed deer. On average, 17.7 males and 8.8 females infested each deer. Field-collected males copulated with a mean of 2.25 females, and virgin males mated with 2.4 females. On experimental hosts, males established sexual contact with feeding females and repelled other males, and about half remained paired after their mate detached. Engorged females continue to be receptive, and males mate more readily with them than with nonfed females. We conclude that male I. damminiare endowed with a repertoire of behaviors which favor an opportunistic mating before seeking a host and a preference for mating with feeding females on the host accompanied by tenacious mate guarding.     

Complications of Gastroesophageal Reflux

An edited summary of an Interdepartmental Conference arranged by the Department of Medicine of the UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles. The Director of Conferences is William M. Pardridge, MD, Professor of Medicine.Several specialists have recently recognized that gastrointestinal reflux causes complications resulting in significant disease. It causes discomfort, indigestion, esophagitis, Barrett''s esophagus, and carcinoma of the esophagus. Pediatricians attribute many early pulmonary problems, and even some sudden deaths in infants, to the reflux of gastric contents. Otolaryngologists now recognize that many cases of nonbacterial, nonspecific pharyngitis and laryngitis are due to the reflux of gastrc acid secretions. Contact granuloma and cancer of the larynx may, in some instances, be secondary to nocturnal reflux. Thoracic surgeons and pulmonologists believe chronic tracheobronchitis and some cases of pulmonary disease are attributable to recurrent bathing of the respiratory epithelium by aspirated gastric contents. An awareness of the many complications of gastrointestinal reflux should lead to a multidisciplined attack on the factors responsible for these diseases.     

Sources,fates, and impacts of nitrogen inputs to terrestrial ecosystems: review and synthesis

The relative importance of nitrogen inputs from atmospheric deposition and biological fixation is reviewed in a number of diverse, non-agricultural terrestrial ecosystems. Bulk precipitation inputs of N (l–l2 kg N ha^–1 yr^–1) are the same order of magnitude as, or frequently larger than, the usual range of inputs from nonsymbiotic fixation (< 1=" –=" 5=" kg=" n=">^–1 yr^–1), especially in areas influenced by industrial activity. Bulk precipitation measurements may underestimate total atmospheric deposition by 30–40% because they generally do not include all forms of wet and dry deposition. Symbiotic fixation generally ranges from 10–160 kg N ha^–1 yr^–1) in ecosystems where N-fixing species are present during early successional stages, and may exceed the range under unusual conditions.Rates of both symbiotic and nonsymbiotic fixation appear to be greater during early successional stages of forest development, where they have major impacts on nitrogen dynamics and ecosystem productivity. Fates and impacts of these nitrogen inputs are important considerations that are inadequately understood. These input processes are highly variable in space and time, and few sites have adequate comparative information on both nitrogen deposition and fixation.

Mediated uptake of folate by a high-affinity binding protein in sublines of L1210 cells adapted to nanomolar concentrations of folate

An L1210 cell line (JT-1), which can grow in medium supplemented with 1 nM folate, has been isolated. These cells exhibit a slower growth rate than folate-replete parental cells and have a lower ability to transport folate or methotrexate via the reduced folate transport system. Measurements at nanomolar concentrations of folate revealed that the adapted cells have acquired a high-affinity folate-binding protein. Binding to this component at 37 degrees C was rapid and reached a maximum value after 30 min which corresponded in amount to 0.23 +/- 0.3 pmol/mg protein, and excess unlabeled folate added 30 min subsequent to the [3H]folate led to a rapid release of the bound substrate. Radioactivity bound to or released from the cells after 30 min at 37 degrees C remained as unmetabolized folic acid. Binding was also rapid at 0 degrees C but uptake at the plateau was only one-half the value obtained at 37 degrees C. Half-maximal saturation of the binding component (KD) occurred at a folate concentration of 0.065 nM at pH 7.4, while the affinity for folate decreased 30-fold when the pH was reduced to 6.2 (KD = 2.0 nM). 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate was also bound by this component (Ki = 13 nM at pH 7.4) but with a much lower affinity than for folate, while progressively weaker interactions were observed with 5-formyltetrahydrofolate (Ki = 45 nM) and methotrexate (Ki = 325 nM). When the same adaptation procedure was performed with limiting amounts of 5-formyltetrahydrofolate, two additional cell lines, JT-2 and JT-3, were isolated which expressed elevated levels of the folate-binding protein. The binding activity of the latter cells was 0.46 and 1.4 pmol/mg protein, respectively. When the level of binding protein was compared in cells grown at different concentrations of folate, an increase in medium folate from 1 to 500 nM caused a sevenfold reduction in binding activity in the JT-3 cell line, while these same growth conditions had no effect on binding by the other cells. These results indicate that L1210 cells adapted to low concentrations of folate or 5-formyltetrahydrofolate contain elevated levels of a high-affinity binding protein and that this protein is able to mediate the intracellular accumulation of folate compounds. L1210 cells thus appear to have two potential uptake routes for folate compounds, the previously characterized anion-exchange system and a second route mediated by a high-affinity binding protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Contraceptive potential of antibodies to the zona pellucida

The notion of a contraceptive vaccine based on gamete-specific surface antigens was first proposed over a decade ago, as the result of in-vitro and in-vivo studies, and in recent years has been the subject of intensive research. In particular, the zona pellucida has attracted much attention as a potential target for immunological intervention in the fertilization process. Such is the rapidly-expanding nature of research into the biochemical and biological characterization of this structure, that a review of the implications for the development of a contraceptive vaccine seems timely.