Effects of steroids on Tetrahymena.

Phagocytosis of Tetrahymena is inhibited by prednisolone-sodium-succinate and deoxy-corticosterone-glucoside, and stimulated by dexamethasone and prednisolone. Dexamethasone and estradiol enter the cells and are localized first in food vacuoles, and later on in the cytosol. They were never found in the nucleus. The demonstration by biochemical methods of a specific glucocorticoid binding protein failed in all three subcellular fractions examined.     

Complex genetic effect of B10.D2 (M504) (H-2dm1) mutation

Serological and capping experiments show that the strain B10.D2 (M504) carrying the mutant haplotypeH-2 ^dm1 has two molecules in the products of theD region: H-2D^dm1 and H-2L^dm1 which are detectable by anti-H-2.4 and by anti-H-2.28 sera, respectively. Both these molecules differ serologically from the H-2D^d and H-2L^d molecules of the original (nonmutant) strain B10.D2. A third molecule, different from H-2D and H-2L, was detected inH-2 ^d ,H-2 ^dm2 but not inH-2 ^dm1 products.     

Effect of239Pu on mouse hemopoietic stem cells in different types of bone marrow cavities

Summary Repopulative activity of hemopoietic stem cells of mice given i.v. 5 kBq²³⁹Pu/mouse (166.5 kBq/kg) was followed. The activity retained was measured in the whole mouse, the skeleton and the liver. Simultaneously average cumulative skeletal dose was calculated. Quantitative parameters of the stem cell compartment and the marrow cellularity were studied in variously arranged bones (femur, pelvis, lumbar vertebra) using the exocolonizing test and cytological techniques. The effects of radiation were most marked in lumbar vertebra, less serious changes were found in pelvis and only a moderate response was present in femur. The bone marrow hemopoiesis is damaged in various bone sites to different degrees and the percentage of cells at risk appears higher in trabecular than in cortical bone.     

Ultrastructure of the muscles of the dorsal diaphragm in Locusta migratoria

Summary The alary muscles of Locusta migratoria adults make up the major tissue of the dorsal diaphragm which separates pericardial and perivisceral sinuses in the abdomen. The alary muscles are striated with a sarcomere at rest measuring about 9 m. The Z-line has a staggered-beaded arrangement with A-bands and I-bands readily discernable. Thick myofilaments are surrounded by 10 or more thin filaments. The sarcoplasm has few mitochondria near the area of the Z-line, dyads are present and sarcoplasmic reticulum is poorly developed. Axons which innervate the alary muscle are either contained within invaginated folds of the sarcolemma of the muscle cells or the muscle cells send finger-like projections to envelop the axons. The synaptic terminals contain synaptic vesicles between 40 and 45 nm in diameter and a few electron-dense granules near or less than 170 nm in diameter. Away from synaptic terminals the axon profiles show few or no granules. The axons are accompanied everywhere by well-developed glial cells. This then is not typical neurosecretomotor innervation, however, the presence of electron-dense granules suggests the possibility of peptidergic neurotransmission.     

Regional distribution of membrane-bound γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity in mouse brain

Activity of membrane-bound -glutamyl transpeptidase (-GTP) was examined in various regions of mouse brain, in capillaries of the cerebral cortex and in telencephalic choroid plexuses. The level of activity in the capillaries was double and that of the choroid plexus nine times that of the -GTP activity found in the brain, septum, hippocampus, hypothalamus, thalamus, cerebellum, frontal cortex, pons, medulla oblongata, and amygdala. Histochemically the -GTP activity was demonstrated in the surface membranes of choroidal cells and in the endothelium of small capillaries.The activities of -GTP of cerebral cortex, choroid plexus, and capillaries from rabbit were 5–17 times greater than those from corresponding areas of mouse brain. While 30 mM methionine stimulated (in vitro) the enzyme from mouse brain, no such effect was observed with the enzyme activity from rabbit brain. The -GTP activity from the capillaries of cerebral cortex of both mouse and rabbit was not effected by the presence of methionine.These findings suggest existence of differences in the specificity of -GTP activity in these two species.     

Biopterin

An enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of 2-amino-6-(5'-triphosphoribosyl)amino-5- or 6-formamido-6-hydroxypyrimidine, but not of guanosine triphosphate, to quinonoid 6-(D-erythro-1'-2'-3'-trihydroxypropyl)dihydropterin triphosphate and formic acid has been purified to homogeneity from some mammalian brain and liver. The enzyme of a single strand is a basic protein of 9177 daltons consisting of 68 amino acid residues--except the enzyme from rat brain, which has one additional aspartic acid as residue 7. The enzyme possesses three free SH groups and, in its most active form, 1 mol of phosphate per mole of enzyme. Peptides isolated after hydrolysis with trypsin, chymotrypsin, or weak acid were separated by thin-layer chromatography and sequenced manually by Edman degradation. The complete sequence of the molecule was established as follows: (formula: see text)     

Effects of alkylating agents on lymphocytes from controls and from patients with Fanconi's anemia

Summary The frequency of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) and chromosome aberrations and the dynamics of cell division in peripheral blood lymphocytes of four patients with Fanconi's anemia were studied after in vitro exposure to alkylating agents TEPA and mitomycin.SCE frequency was significantly increased even after very low doses of mutagens, while chromosome aberrations were significantly increased only after high doses (0.160 g/ml mitomycin and 10^-5 M TEPA). The responses of Fanconi's anemia cells and control cells did not differ significantly. The increased frequency of both SCE and chromosome aberrations was accompanied by gradual delay of cell division, which was most conspicuous in cells from patients with Fanconi's anemia.     

Development of neurons containing acetylcholinesterase and cholinacetyltransferase in dispersed cell culture of rat cerebellum

Summary Cells from one-day-old cerebellum were grown for up to 30 days in dispersed cell culture. The characteristic neurons (deep cerebellar, Golgi and Purkinje cells) maintained their properties. It was found histochemically that some of the large cells display strong AChE activities in the perikaryon and in some processes, while biochemically the specific activities of the marker enzymes of the acetylcholine system, AChE (EC 3.1.1.7) and ChAc (EC 2.3.1.6), were increased and unchanged, respectively. During cultivation, the number of AChE-positive neurons increased. It can be inferred from these studies that, besides the AChE-positive (cholinoceptive) cells, ChAc-active (cholinergic) neurons (possibly Golgi II. type cells and some neurons in the deep cerebellar nuclei) are present in the cerebellum of the rat.     

ACTH radioimmunocytochemistry (RICH) on rat anterior pituitary cells

Summary Radioimmunocytochemistry (RICH) was applied to detect corticotrophs in adult rat pituitaries and 8-day-old anterior pituitary monolayers by incubating sections and cultures with ¹²⁵I-ACTH-anti ACTH immune complexes. After incubations autoradiography was made. In comparison, conventional immunostaining was carried out on adjacent sections and parallel cultures. It has been esteblished that RICH is suitable for detection of corticotrophs.     

A diploid form ofPhragmites communis,as a possible result of cytogenetical response to ecological stress

Phragmites communis Trin., a highly polymorphous and widely spread species has been described by several authors by the series of polyploidy ranging from triploid to octoploid forms (2n=36 to 96). The original spontaneous diploid form was not known. The present communication describes the experimental transplantation of a dwarf saline form into freshwater substrate conditions, including a new and extremely changed habitus of a sterile plant, the chromosome number of which has been determined as 2n=24.