Studies with cyanidium caldarium,an anomalously pigmented chlorophyte

Summary Cyanidium caldarium, an alga found in acid hot springs troughout the world, has a morphology and developmental history resembling those of Chlorella, but contains C-phycocyanin and no chlorophyll other than chlorophyll a. The reasons for considering it to be a member of the Chlorophyta are reviewed. Cyanidium is also remarkable for its thermal and acid tolerance. It grows readily in the dark on sugar media. However, light is required for the formation of chlorophyll and phycocyanin except in occasional variant cells which can form limited amounts of these pigments in the dark. Light-grown Cyanidium carries out normal green plant photosynthesis but resembles the red and some of the blue-green algae in that chlorophyll-absorbed light is used with lower efficiency than that absorbed by phycocyanin.The possible significance of the unusual pigmentation of Cyanidium is discussed.Contribution no.23 from the Laboratory of Comparative Physiology and Morphology of The Kaiser Foundation.     

Human arterial smooth muscle cells in culture: Inverse relationship between proliferation and expression of contractile proteins

Summary Human arterial smooth muscle cells (hASMC) from explants of the inner media of uterine arteries were studied in secondary culture. We had previously found that these cells depend on exogenous platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) for proliferation in vitro. Deprivation of the serum mitogen(s) by culture in plasma-derived serum or bovine serum albumin (BSA) caused a true growth arrest that was reversible upon reexposure to the mitogen(s). When added to serum-containing medium, heparin caused a reversible growth arrest which could be competed for by increasing concentrations of serum. In the current study we used a set of smooth muscle-specific actin and myosin, antibodies to study the expression of contractile proteins in stress fibers under indirect immunofluorescence on hASMC in culture. Even in sparse culture, grwoth-arrested hASMC expressed stress fibers containing these actin and myosin epitopes. This was true irrespective of whether growth arrest was achieved by culture in media containing only BSA or a combination of heparin and whole blood serum. hASMC proliferating in whole blood serum in sparse culture did not express such strees fibers, as judged by immunofluorescent staining. This was true also for cells that were restimulated to proliferate in serum after a growth arrest. Utilizing a monoclonal antibody against a nuclear antigen expressed in proliferating human cells, we were able to demonstrate an inverse relationship between the expression of this antigen and the SMC-specific contractile proteins, respectively. Under these culture conditions, the reversible transition between defifferentiated and differentiated hASMC was almost complete and terminated about 1 wk after the change in culture condition. We conclude that hASMC in vitro respond, to exogenous PDGF by proliferation and dedifferetiation as a single population of cells. We also conclude that this modulation is reversible, because the cells become uniformly quiescent and differentiated when the mitogenic stimulus is blocked or removed. This study was supported by grants from the Swedish Medical Research Council (Project no. 4531 and 6816), the Swedish Association against Heart and Chest Diseases, the King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (grant HL 29873) and the Swedish National Board for Laboratory Animals.     

Assessment of temporal changes in pulmonary edema with NMR imaging

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI) parameters [longitudinal relaxation time (T1), transverse relaxation time (T2), and signal intensity] acquired at a magnetic field of 2.35 T were validated with a study of nine different phantom gel solutions. This technique was then applied to study 13 anesthetized supine cats, among which 10 had lung edema induced by oleic acid (0.075 ml/kg); the result was compared with postmortem analyses of lung water. Three animals (series A) were imaged until the edema was first visualized in NMRI, usually 15-20 min after oleic acid infusion. Another seven animals (series B) were imaged over 4-5 h. As lung water increased, so did the signal intensity. When edema first appeared, T1, T2, and the volume of the edematous region within the slice in the upper lobes showed no gravity-dependent differences; this was confirmed by postmortem measurements (series A) of lung water. With time, gravity-dependent regions displayed greater volumes of edematous regions and greater T1 values (P less than 0.01), suggesting a continued accumulation of lung water. In comparison, nondependent regions displayed constant volumes of edematous region and lesser T1 values (P less than 0.01), suggesting an increased protein concentration but no change in lung water. This study suggests the potential applicability of NMRI parameters in the assessment of pulmonary edema.     

Cardiovascular adaptations in Andean natives after 6 wk of exposure to sea level

Six male Quechua Indians (34.0 +/- 1.1 yr, 159.5 +/- 2.1 cm, 60.5 +/- 1.6 kg), life-long residents of La Raya, Peru (4,350-m altitude with an average barometric pressure of 460 Torr), were studied using noninvasive methods to determine the structural and functional changes in the cardiovascular system in response to a 6-wk deacclimation period at sea level. Cardiac output, stroke volume, and left ventricular ejection fractions were determined using radionuclide angiographic techniques at rest and during exercise on a cycle ergometer at 40, 60, and 90% of a previously determined maximal O2 consumption. Subjects at rest were subjected to two-dimensional and M-mode echocardiograms and a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram. Hemoglobin and hematocrit were measured on arrival at sea level by use of a Coulter Stacker S+ analyzer. After a 6-wk deacclimation period, all variables were remeasured using the identical methodology. Hemoglobin values decreased significantly over the deacclimation period (15.7 +/- 1.1 to 13.5 +/- 1.2 g/dl; P less than 0.01). The results indicate that the removal of these high-altitude-adapted natives from 4,300 m to sea level for 6 wk results in only minor changes to the cardiac structure and function as measured by these noninvasive techniques.