Distribution and metabolism of leukotriene C4 after cisternal injection in guinea pigs

Following cisternal injection of [3H8]LTC4 into guinea pigs, leukotriene metabolites were identified in the brain, cerebellum, perilymph, blood, liver and kidneys. LTC4 was metabolized into LTD4 and LTE4 in the cerebrospinal fluid and LTE4 was transported into the blood for general circulation and uptake into the liver and kidneys. The excretion of LTE4 from CNS to blood seemed to be the rate-limiting step in the elimination of leukotrienes from the body. Leukotrienes were also transported into the perilymph. The conversion of LTC4 into LTD4 and LTE4 was lower in perilymph as compared to the cerebrospinal fluid, suggesting a rate limiting function of the cochlear aqueduct that can be defined as a cerebrospinal fluid-labyrinth barrier.     

Microbial oxidation of ebastine

The microbial oxidation of ebastine to carebastine was investigated. Among the 15 micro-organisms examined, only theCunninghamella strains showed the desired biotransformation.Cunninghamella blakesleeana oxidised the substrate within 7 days, via the intermediates alcohol and aldehyde, mainly to carebastine, the corresponding carboxylic acid. Optimisation of the culture conditions increased the yield from initially 10% up to a reproducible 40%. For the synthesis of carebastine a substrate concentration of 200 mg/l, a starting pH of 5.0 and the addition of 1% poly(vinyl alcohol) is favourable. The results achieved in experiments with shaking flasks are transferable to the fermentation scale and yielded 270 mg carebastine in a 3-l fermentation of 600 mg ebastine. The progress of the reaction was detected by TLC and HPLC, the products were identified by mass spectrometry and NMR.     

Xylitol production by immobilized recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a continuous packed-bed bioreactor

Continuous xylitol production with two different immobilized recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains (H475 and S641), expressing low and high xylose reductase (XR) activities, was investigated in a lab-scale packed-bed bioreactor. The effect of hydraulic residence time (HRT; 1.3-11.3 h), substrate/cosubstrate ratio (0.5 and 1), recycling ratio (0, 5, and 10), and aeration (anaerobic and oxygen limited conditions) were studied. The cells were immobilized by gel entrapment using Ca-alginate as support and the beads were treated with Al(3+) to improve their mechanical strength. Xylose was converted to xylitol using glucose as cosubstrate for regeneration of NAD(P)H required in xylitol formation and for generation of maintenance energy. The stability of the recombinant strains after 15 days of continuous operation was evaluated by XR activity and plasmid retention analyses. Under anaerobic conditions the volumetric xylitol productivity increased with decreasing HRT with both strains. With a recycling ratio of 10, volumetric productivities as high as 3.44 and 5.80 g/L . h were obtained with the low XR strain at HRT 1.3 h and with the high XR strain at HRT 2.6 h, respectively. However, the highest overall xylitol yields on xylose and on cosubstrate were reached at higher HRTs. Lowering the xylose/cosubstrate ratio from 1 to 0.5 increased the overall yield of xylitol on xylose, but the productivity and the xylitol yield on cosubstrate decreased. Under oxygen limited conditions the effect of the recycling ratio on production parameters was masked by other factors, such as an accumulation of free cells in the bioreactor and severe genetic instability of the high XR strain. Under anaerobic conditions the instability was less severe, causing a decrease in XR activity from 0.15 to 0.10 and from 3.18 to 1.49 U/mg with the low and high XR strains, respectively. At the end of the fermentation, the fraction of plasmid bearing cells in the beads was close to 100% for the low XR strain; however, it was significantly lower for the high XR strain, particularly for cells from the interior of the beads. (c) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Nutrient balances and phytoplankton dynamics in two agriculturally loaded shallow lakes

The impact of agriculture was estimated on two shallow, eutrophic lakes, Lake Kotojärvi and Lake Villikkalanjärvi in southern Finland. The main emphasis was on phosphorus and nitrogen budgets and on the phytoplankton dynamics. Special attention was paid to internal P loading and blue-green algal blooms. The mean Tot-P load from agricultural land was 1.2 kg ha^-1 a^-1 in both basins and Tot-N loads were 19 kg ha^-1 a^-1 in L. Villikkalanjärvi and 12 kg ha^-1 a^-1 in L. Kotojärvi. The Tot-P input to L. Kotojärvi was on an average 0.62 g m^-2 a^-1 (per lake surface area), and the Tot-N input 9.1 g m^-2 a^-1. The corresponding inputs to L. Villikkalanjärvi were 3.1 and 57 g m^-2 a^-1, respectively. The annual variation followed the runoff volumes. About half of the Tot-P and one third of the Tot-N load was retained in L. Kotojärvi. In L. Villikkalanjärvi the retention was only 24% for Tot-P and 19% for Tot-N. The difference was very probably due to a longer theoretical retention time in L. Kotojärvi. In L. Villikkalanjärvi the mean concentration of Tot-P was 120 µg 1^-1 and that of Tot-N 1700 µg 1^-1 and the corresponding figures in L. Kotojärvi 67 and 990 µg 1^-1, respectively. The mean chlorophyll a concentration was, however, higher in L. Kotojärvi (26 µg 1^-1) than in L. Villikkalanjärvi (20 µg 1^-1). This was probably due to an internal P load in L. Kotojärvi: in 1988 the internal load of dissolved P was estimated to be as much as twofold the external load. In L. Villikkalanjärvi the internal dissolved P load was only up to 50% of the external input. In L. Kotojärvi the high internal P load coupled with a low DIN:DIP ratio resulted in a strong blue-green algal bloom in the summer of 1988. In L. Villikkalanjärvi blue-green algae were observed only in small amounts. Even in August 1990, when the DIN:DIP ratio was low enough to favor the occurrence of blue-green algae, they contributed only up to 10–15% of the total phytoplankton biomass.     

Effects of energy deprivation on the fly pupil mechanism: evidence for a rigor state

The energy dependence of the pupil pigment-migrations in the fly Musca domestica was studied in live animals, using optical techniques and nitrogen-gas induced anoxia. The results obtained can be summarized in 3 points:

1. Energy deficiency can make the pupil mechanism stop in any state, extreme or intermediate.
2. Anoxia induced during intermittent stimulation makes the pupil stop in the closed state (aggregated pigment granules).
3. During long-term anoxia the pupil very slowly opens (dispersal of pigment granules), irrespective of ambient intensity.

The slow anoxic opening (point 3) is more than 1000 times slower than that predicted for free diffusion of pigment granules in water. Assuming realistic values of cytoplasm viscosity, this implies that anoxia causes the pigment granules to attach to rigid structures in the cells, in analogy with the rigor state in anoxic muscles. The rigor phenomenon in the pupil mechanism prevents experimental discrimination between active and passive processes of pigment migration. Normal pupil opening has a time course which agrees reasonably with a passive diffusion process, but it is argued that an active transportation of granules away from the rhabdom is more likely in the dark adapted eye.     

The Effect of Transport Stress on Plasma Levels of Catecholamines,Cortisol, Corticosteroid-Binding Globulin,Blood Cell Count,and Lymphocyte Proliferation in Pigs

The effect of transport stress on the plasma levels of catecholamines, Cortisol, and corticosteroid-binding globulin were studied in 6 gilts. To assess the effect on immune status, white blood cells were also counted and the cell-mediated immunity was estimated. The adrenaline level increased significantly during transport, from a basal mean level of 0.03 ng/ml to a plateau level of 0.11 to 0.12 ng/ml. The noradrenaline level fluctuated, but not constantly, during transport. The mean plasma Cortisol level before loading was approximately 40 nmol/1 and rose immediately after the start of transport to 70 nmol/1 (p< 0.05) and to 87 nmol/1 (p< 0.01) within 10 and 30 min, respectively. After unloading the Cortisol level rapidly decreased and a minimum level was seen 4 h after the transport, whereafter the diurnal rhythm was resumed. The plasma corticosteroid-binding globulin level increased nonsignificantly during the day of transport, from 25 nmol/1 to a level of 34 nmol/1, and it continued to increase until a plateau level was reached on the second day after transportation. The total white blood cell number increased significantly (from 13.7 to 15.5 × 109 cells/1), the number of lymphocytes decreased significantly (from 8.4 to 7.0 × 109 cells/1), and the number of polymorphonuclear neutrophils increased significantly (from 4.3 to 7.2 × 109 cells/1) during transport. No significant variation in the proliferation response was seen in the whole blood cell cultures. The main results were the significant signs of simultaneous activity of both the adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla during transport.     

EPR and multi-field magnetisation of reduced forms of the binuclear iron centre in ribonucleotide reductase from mouse

Mouse ribonucleotide reductase is composed of a 1?:?1 complex of two homodimeric subunits and catalyses the first unique step on the biochemical pathway to DNA synthesis. The small subunit, protein R2, contains dinuclear iron-oxygen clusters and a tyrosyl free radical required for catalytic activity. We have studied the mixed valent and fully reduced forms of the diiron oxygen cluster from mouse R2 protein by low-temperature EPR. EPR signals of the mixed-valent states of proteins R2 reconstituted with ferrous iron and oxygen in normal and deuterated water, using the same buffers, show apparent g values of 1.92, 1.73, and 1.60 for the mixed-valent state in H₂O and 1.93, 1.73, and 1.62 in D₂O. These g values are typical for diiron-oxygen proteins, while the effect of D₂O is unprecedented for this class of proteins. We estimate the coupling constant J for the Heisenberg exchange (H?=?2J*S₁*S₂) to be J?=?–7.5±1?cm^–1 for the mixed-valent form. The diferrous R2 protein shows an integer spin EPR signal in the presence of azide or 20% glycerol. Variable temperature variable field saturation magnetisation measurements show that only in the azide-complexed R2 protein does a weak ferromagnetic coupling occur (J?=?0.26±0.05?cm^–1), while R2 protein in the absence or presence of 20% glycerol contains non-coupled mononuclear ferrous iron (S?=?2) sites.     

Transcription of a zebrafish gene of the hairy-Enhancer of split family delineates the midbrain anlage in the neural plate

her5 encodes a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) protein with all features characteristic of the Drosophila hairy-E(spl) family. her5 is expressed in a band of cells within the neural anlage from about 90% epiboly on to at least 36 h postfertilization (hpf). After completion of brain morphogenesis, her5-expressing cells are located in the caudal region of the midbrain, at the boundary with the rhombencephalon. Labelling of cells within the her5 expression domain in the neural plate by injection of fluorescein-dextran allows their labelled progeny to be localized in the 36-hpf-old embryo using an anti-fluorescein antibody. This shows that the her5 expression domain corresponds to the midbrain primordium, including both the tectum and the tegmentum, in the neural plate. A possible function for her5 in regionalization of the brain and/or control of the midbrain-hindbrain boundary is discussed.