The effect of bombesin on basal, alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine, haloperidol, morphine, bremazocine and stress-induced prolactin secretion

Intravenously administered bombesin lowered basal PRL levels in conscious male rats and prevented the morphine, bremazocine and stress-induced PRL secretion. The same dose of bombesin had no effect on PRL levels in alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine pretreated rats and did not affect haloperidol-stimulated PRL release. These results show that bombesin given intravenously acts as an inhibitor of PRL secretion and suggests that it does not act on the lactotrope itself but rather by an increase of the inhibitory dopaminergic tone.     

Antigen-specific,MHC-unrestricted T cells

The published record suggests that in the majority of cases the antigen is recognized by the T cell receptor (TCR) as a complex of a foreign antigen and amino acid residues contributed by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens, and the antigen-specific, MHC-restricted effector function is an unambiguous result of this process. Alternatively, the T cell receptor may recognize a particular conformational form of the antigen which is dictated by the allelic differences in the MHC, resulting also in MHC-restricted recognition. When, however, a T cell which phenotypically fulfills all the requirements necessary to perform antigen specific, MHC-restricted function, shows a lack of MHC restriction, there are two possible explanations: 1) In addition to the MHC-restricted, antigen-specific T cell receptor the cell expresses, or has newly acquired the expression of another, MHC-unrestricted (NK-like) receptor, or 2) The specific antigen recognized by the T cell receptor, is able to bind to the receptor and activate the T cell without being presented by the MHC molecule. While the first possibility has been extensively described in the literature as well as other articles in this issue, the second possibility has not been dealt with to the same extent and is the primary focus of this review.     

Dissociation of proteinase-inhibitor complexes by trichloroacetate

It was demonstrated that the addition of high concentrations of the chaotrope, sodium trichloroacetate, to proteinase assays provided for a dissociation of proteinase-inhibitor complexes. The complexes evaluated contained a heat-stable, polypeptide inhibitor of cysteine proteinases isolated from the cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum. The proteinases that were present in separate complexes included either D. discoideum proteinases or the plant proteinase papain. The general assay procedures described may be useful in detection of endogenous proteinase-inhibitor complexes in many systems.     

Synthetic tools for adrenocorticotropin receptor identification

Biotinylated photoaffinity derivatives of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) are potentially useful tools for the identification of ACTH receptors. The hormone can be attached covalently to its receptor by photoactivation, and the presence of biotin in the molecule facilitates isolation of the solubilized hormone-receptor complex on columns of immobilized succinoylavidin (Suc-avidin). Six photoprobes of ACTH1-24 have been prepared by reacting ACTH1-24, [25-biocytin]ACTH1-25 amide, and [25-dethiobiocytin]ACTH1-25 amide with either 4- or 5-azido-2-nitrophenylsulfenyl (4-NAPS and 5-NAPS, respectively) chlorides in acetic acid. The homogeneity of the photoprobes was carefully monitored by thin-layer chromatography and amino acid analyses of acid hydrolysates. The presence of underivatized starting material in the photoprobes was critically scrutinized by high-pressure liquid chromatography and was estimated to be less than 0.5%. Both the 4- and 5-NAPS derivatives stimulated maximal steroidogenesis (as compared with ACTH1-24) in calf adrenal cortical cells. However, the potencies of the two isomers differed significantly. The ED50 for steroidogenesis with 5-NAPS-ACTH1-24 was 100-fold greater than the standard (ACTH1-24) while that for 4-NAPS-ACTH1-24 was only approximately 7 times greater. Although 4-NAPS-ACTH1-24 was capable of stimulating maximal adenosine cyclic 3',5'-phosphate (cAMP) production, the 5-NAPS derivative was usually not. The level of stimulation with the 5-NAPS derivative varied considerably from cell preparation to cell preparation. ACTH1-24-induced cAMP production was inhibited by 5-NAPS-ACTH1-24 or 5-NAPS-[25-dethiobiocytin]ACTH1-25 amide.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Products of phospholipid metabolism in Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The products of phospholipid turnover in Bacillus stearothermophilus were determined in cultures labeled to equilibrium and with short pulses of [32P]phosphate and [2-3H]glycerol. Label lost from the cellular lipid pool was recovered in three fractions: low-molecular-weight extracellular products, extracellular lipid, and lipoteichoic acid (LTA). The low-molecular-weight turnover products were released from the cells during the first 10 to 20 min of a 60-min chase period and appeared to be derived primarily from phosphatidylglycerol turnover. Phosphatidylethanolamine, which appeared to be synthesized in part from the phosphatidyl group of phosphatidylglycerol, was released from the cell but was not degraded. The major product of phospholipid turnover was LTA. Essentially all of the label lost from the lipid pool during the final 40 min of the chase period was recovered as extracellular LTA. The LTA appeared to be derived primarily from the turnover of cardiolipin and the phosphatidyl group of phosphatidylglycerol. Three types of LTA were isolated; an extracellular LTA was recovered from the culture medium, and two types of LTA were extracted from membrane preparations or whole-cell lysates by the hot phenol-water procedure. Cells contained 1.5 to 2.5 mg of cellular LTA per g of cells (dry weight), over 50% of which remained associated with the membrane when cells were fractionated. Over 75% of the 3H label incorporated into the cellular LTA pool during a 90-min labeling period was released from the cells during the first cell doubling after the chase. Label lost from the lipid pool was incorporated into cellular LTA which was then modified and released into the culture medium.     

The Kinetics of Sodium Transport in the Toad Bladder : I. Determination of the transport pool

A compartmental model of toad bladder sodium content has been developed, whereby it is possible to measure the four unidirectional fluxes across the opposite faces of the transport compartment, as well as the amount of sodium in the compartment. ²⁴Na is added to the mucosal medium of a short-circuited bladder mounted between halves of a chamber in which the fluid is stirred by rotating impellers. After a steady state is reached, nonradioactive medium is flushed through both sides of the chamber, collected, and counted. The data from each chamber are fitted to sums of exponentials and interpreted in terms of conventional compartmental analysis. Three exponentials are required, with half-times of 0.2, 2.2, and 14.0 min. It is shown that the first of these represents chamber washout, the second the transport pool, and the third a tissue compartment which is not involved in active sodium transport and which does not communicate with the transport pool. The second compartment contains 10.5 µEq of sodium per 100 mg dry weight, an amount equal to approximately 30% of total tissue sodium. The results also indicate, as expected from electrophysiological data, that the mucosal-facing side of the transport compartment is over 10 times as permeable to sodium as the serosal, or pump, side.     

Observations and Comments Concerning the Isolation of Group B β-Hemolytic Streptococci from Human Sources

A marked increase in the isolation of Group B streptococci from patients in the University Hospital, Saskatoon, has been noted over the past four years, and no change in technical methods has been found to explain this increase. Group B streptococci have been isolated from 242 patients, in 53 of whom the streptococcus was considered the cause of the infection. Infections occurred predominantly in the urinary tract, female genital tract and upper respiratory tract. There was a low incidence of infections in newborn infants, and only four infections were in patients under 1 year old. Infections were more frequent in women than men and in patients over 40 years of age. No particular affinity of Group B streptococci for diabetics was demonstrated.