Patterns of organelle distribution in mouse embryos during preimplantation development

We have evaluated the distribution of mitochondria and acidic organelles using, respectively, the specific vital fluorescent dyes rhodamine 123 and acridine orange during preimplantation embryonic development in the mouse. Under conditions used to visualize organelles in living embryos, staining with either dye was found to have no effect on either the rate or extent of in vitro development of five- to eight-cell embryos up to the blastocyst stage. Mitochondria were randomly distributed throughout the cytoplasm and located around nuclei in blastomeres of uncompacted embryos. During compaction, mitochondria initially reorganized to the blastomere cortex; however, these organelles were later confined to the perinuclear region in the trophectoderm (TE) of expanded blastocysts. Acidic organelles were randomly distributed in the cytoplasm of uncompacted embryos, but following compaction, they were concentrated in cortical and perinuclear locations. Moreover, in TE cells of expanded blastocysts, acidic organelles were found exclusively in a tight perinuclear pattern. Microtubules and microfilaments in TE cells were localized in fixed embryos stained with antitubulin antibodies and rhodamine phalloidin, respectively; these structures were found primarily in the cortical cytoplasm at areas of cell-cell contact and secondarily in a perinuclear location. Thus mitochondria and acidic organelles undergo stage-specific redistributions from a diffuse or cortical pattern at the eight-cell stage to a tight perinuclear localization in the TE. We conclude that the polarized distributions of some organelles and cytoskeletal proteins during compaction may not be reliable permanent markers of the mature TE.     

Comparative Trial of Nutrizym in Chronic Pancreatic Insufficiency

A cross-over trial of pancreatic replacement therapy was carried out in 12 adults with chronic pancreatic insufficiency. The standard enteric-coated preparation, Pancrex V forte, was compared with Nutrizym, which has an enteric-coated core of pancreatic extract and a shell of bromelains—a mixture of proteolytic enzymes derived from the stem of the pineapple.Nutrizym was significantly more effective than Pancrex V forte in improving fat absorption, and reduced faecal weight. Protein digestion was assessed by measuring the urinary excretion of hydroxyproline after a gelatin meal. Nutrizym produced an earlier and significantly higher peak in hydroxyproline excretion than Pancrex V forte, but the cumulative effect was similar. The value of bromelains was investigated by including a period on the Nutrizym core alone. This was similar to Pancrex V forte in improving fat absorption but had less effect on protein digestion, suggesting that the beneficial effect of Nutrizym compared with Pancrex V forte was due to the added bromelains, and not to differences in enzyme content or enteric coating.     

Sudden Death in a Young Asthmatic

A 14-year-old boy with severe asthma was treated with prednisone and disodium cromoglycate with considerable subjective improvement, though there was persistent airways obstruction. After several weeks'' freedom from symptoms he died in a severe attack of nocturnal asthma. Necropsy findings suggested that hypersecretion had been occurring in die medium-sized airways for several days before death.     

Discrimination of LH,FSH, TSH and ACTH in dissociated porcine anterior pituitary cells by light and electron microscope immunocytochemistry

Summary Using the PAP unlabelled antibody method, LH, FSH, TSH and ACTH were localized at light microscope level in cultured cells dissociated from the porcine adenohypophysis. Antisera were shown to be specific for the subunits of the porcine glycoprotein hormones by radioimmunoassay and absorption studies. Using these antisera, it was found that LH and FSH were contained within the same cell, with TSH in a separate cell. When absorbed with LH, anti-porcine ACTH stained a separate distinct population of ACTH cells.Adjacent ultra-thin sections stained with anti-pLH and anti-pFSH, and examined at electron microscope level, showed that the ovoid, 150–400 nm secretory granules of the LH/FSH gonadotrophs contained both LH and FSH.The authors gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance of Carole Smith and Adrian Walsh     

Evaluation of the forced expiration technique as an adjunct to postural drainage in treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Sixteen patients with cystic fibrosis were treated with conventional physiotherapy aided by an assistant. The results were compared with those produced by physiotherapy using the forced expiration technique cleared more sputum in less time than conventional physiotherapy. A sputum in less time than conventional physiotherapy. A second study showed that an assistant did not further improve the results obtained by the patient performing the forced expiration technique himself. These findings mean that patients with cystic fibrosis who have had to rely on the help of others for their home treatment may now perform more effective treatment without help. The forced expiration technique might also be helpful for patients with chronic bronchitis, asthma, or bronchiectasis.     

Fine structural analysis of the effect of trypan blue on the visceral endoderm of the mouse egg cylinder

The effects of a maternal injection of trypan blue on primitive streak mouse embryos were studied with electron microscopy. Commercial trypan blue was purified by descending paper chromatography, and pregnant females received an intraperitoneal injection of the collected blue fraction on the evening of the 7th day of gestation. Ultrastructurally, the changes in the visceral endoderm were apparent 10 min after the injection and included an increase in the number of fuzzy-coated vesicles in the apical cytoplasm. By 20 min the apical cytoplasm of the extraembryonic visceral endodermal cells was filled with many fuzzy-coated vesicles and numerous vacuoles of various size and electron density. 30 min after the injection, the extraembryonic visceral endodermal cells were relatively smooth lacking a microvillous border and evidence of endocytic activity was rare. Many embryonic visceral endodermal cells were observed in various stages of degeneration although the underlying embryonic ectoderm appeared unaffected. Morphologically, it appears that trypan blue exerts its first effect by altering the endocytic activity of the visceral endoderm.     

TNF deficiency fails to protect BAFF transgenic mice against autoimmunity and reveals a predisposition to B cell lymphoma

TNF is well characterized as a mediator of inflammatory responses. TNF also facilitates organization of secondary lymphoid organs, particularly B cell follicles and germinal centers, a hallmark of T-dependent Ab responses. TNF also mediates defense against tumors. We examined the role of TNF in the development of inflammatory autoimmune disorders resembling systemic lupus erythematosus and Sj?gren's syndrome induced by excess B cell-activating factor belonging to the TNF family (BAFF), by generating BAFF-transgenic (Tg) mice lacking TNF. TNF(-/-) BAFF-Tg mice resembled TNF(-/-) mice, in that they lacked B cell follicles, follicular dendritic cells, and germinal centers, and have impaired responses to T-dependent Ags. Nevertheless, TNF(-/-) BAFF-Tg mice developed autoimmune disorders similar to that of BAFF-Tg mice. Disease in TNF(-/-) BAFF-Tg mice correlates with the expansion of transitional type 2 and marginal zone B cell populations and enhanced T-independent immune responses. TNF deficiency in BAFF-Tg mice also led to a surprisingly high incidence of B cell lymphomas (>35%), which most likely resulted from the combined effects of BAFF promotion of neoplastic B cell survival, coupled with lack of protective antitumor defense by TNF. Thus, TNF appears to be dispensable for BAFF-mediated autoimmune disorders and may, in fact, counter any proneoplastic effects of high levels of BAFF in diseases such as Sj?gren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis.     

Polynuclear nickel (II) and copper (II) complexes of hexaazamacrocycles incorporating pairs of diethylenetriamine subunits separated by aromatic spacers

A series of Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes of the hexaaza macrocycles, 3,6,9,17,20,23-hexaazatricyclo[23.3.1.1^11,15]triaconta-1(29),11(30),12,14,25,27-hexaene (L¹) and 3,6,9,16,19,22-hexaazatricyclo[22.2.2.2^11,14]triaconta-1(26),11(29),12,14(30),24(28),25-hexaene (L²), have been prepared and the crystal structures determined for [Ni₂L¹(O₂CCH₃)₂(H₂O)₂](ClO₄)₂ (1), [Ni₂L²(DMF)₆](ClO₄)₄ · 2H₂O (2), {[Cu₂L²Br(O₂CCH₃)](ClO₄)₂}_n (3), [Cu₂L²(μ-CO₃)(H₂O)₂]₂(ClO₄)₄ · 8H₂O (4), [Cu₂L²(O₂CCH₃)₂](BF₄)₂ (5), and [Cu₂L¹(μ-imidazolate)Br]₂Br₄ · 6H₂O (6). In these complexes, two metal centers are bound per ligand; in 1 and 3-6, the N₃ subunits of L¹ or L² coordinate meridionally to the metal centers, whilst in 2, each N₃ subunit in L² adopts a facial mode of coordination. The binuclear cations in 1 and 2 have chair-like conformations, with the distorted octahedral Ni(II) coordination spheres completed by terminal water and a bidentate acetate ligand in 1 and three DMF ligands in 2. The Cu(II) centers in 3-6 generally reside in square planar environments, although a weakly binding ligand enters the coordination sphere in some cases, generating a distorted square pyramidal geometry. The binuclear [Cu₂L²]⁴⁺ units in 3, 4 and 5 adopt similar bowl-shaped conformations, stabilized by H-bonding interactions between pairs of amine groups from L² and a perchlorate or tetrafluoroborate anion. In 3, the binuclear units are linked through acetate groups, bridging in a syn-anti fashion, to produce a zig-zag polymeric chain structure, whilst 4 incorporates a tetrameric cation consisting of two binuclear units linked via a pair of carbonate bridges. Compound 6 features an imidazolate bridge between the two Cu(II) centers bound by L¹. Pairs of [Cu₂L¹(μ-imidazolate)]³⁺ units are then weakly linked through a pair of bromide anions.