Role of adrenergic innervation in experimental renal hypertension

Renal hypertension was induced by ligation of the aorta between renal arteries in rats sympathectomized with 6-hydroxydopamine. In the early phase, equally severe hypertension developed in the denervated group as compared to innervated controls. Later, blood pressure was lower in the denervated rats. Initially, increases in plasma renin were seen in both groups; the levels, however, were markedly lower in the denervated rats. Later, the renin levels were similar and not different from baseline. It is concluded that adrenergic neural activity is not essential in the development of renal hypertension; the maintenance of the chronic state, however, depends in part on adrenergic innervation.     

Inactivation of uridine nucleosidase in yeast. Purification and properties of an inactivating protein.

It has been previously demonstrated in our laboratory that uridine nucleosidase (EC 3.2.2.3) is subjected in yeast to inactivation. An inactivating fraction has been isolated and purified to homogeneity with a procedure which includes gel filtration, adsorption chromatography, and electrofocusing techniques. The molecular weight of the enzyme, estimated either by sodium dodecyl sulfate disc gel electrophoresis or by gel filtration is approximately 44,000. No quaternary structure was evidenced. The inactivating activity possesses proteolytic activity against casein and hemoglobin with pH optima of 2.5 and 3.2, respectively. The optimal pH for uridine nucleosidase inactivation is around 4.7. The inactivating activity as well as the proteolytic activity of the preparation can be inhibited by IA but not by IB2 and IC, yeast macromolecular inhibitors for proteinase A (EC 3.4.23.8), B (EC 3.4.22.9), and C (EC 3.4.12.8), respectively. The apparent isoelectric point is pH 4.03. The carbohydrate content is 8.5%. A comparison of the properties of the inactivating protein with those of known yeast proteinases leads to the conclusion that it is identical with the enzyme previously designated as proteinase A, which for the first time has been obtained homogeneous and characterized. It has been shown that proteinase A could play a physiological role in the uridine nucleosidase inactivation process when it is associated, as a complex, with proteinase B.     

Epicuticular waxes of two sorghum varieties

The epicuticular waxes of the two sorghum varieties Alliance A and SD 102 have been analyzed, after separation of the leaf blades from the sheaths. The major constituents were found to be free fatty acids but small amounts of esters, aldehydes, alcohols, n-alkanes and sterols were also detected. The typical chain lengths of aldehydes, free alcohols and free fatty acids were C₂₈ and C₃₀.     

Modeling growth and succinoglucan production by Agrobacterium radiobacter NCIB 9042 in batch cultures

Wild-type Agrobacterium radiobacter NCIB 9042 has been cultivated in batch cultures on a synthetic medium which was adapted for growth and succinoglucan production. Experiments were carried out in a 4-L stirred-tank aerated reactor. Glucose, biomass, polysaccharide, protein, and inorganic- and organic-nitrogen concentrations were measured, and oxygen consumption and CO(2) production rates were obtained by a gas-balance technique. Nitrogen balance shows that inorganic nitrogen is entirely recovered into proteins. The carbon balance is satisfied with in +/-5%. Stoichiometric equations for biomass growth and succinoglucan synthesis were established. The biosyntheticpolymer pathways including ATP and cofactor consumption were investigated. From previous studies, a (P/O) value of 1.66 is selected for oxygen sufficient cultures. The actual ATP requirements of 25.4 mmol ATP/g succinoglucan (38.5 mol ATP/mol succinoglucan), determined by a metabolic analysis, is 2.39 times the stoichiometric value. Experimental results were modeled by a system of differential equations. The exponential growth phase was described by a nitrogen-limited Monod equation. Subsequent succinoglucan synthesis followed a slightly modified Luedeking-Piret relation partitioning internal and external polysaccharide. Experimentally determined coefficients are compared with published results for continuous culture of A. radiobacter NCIB 11883.     

Preliminary study on the operating variables of SCP production from grape must

Summary The fermentation of grape must by Candida utilis ISS 28 was studied at different substrate concentrations, pH values, and nutrient supplementation in a shaken-flask fermenter, by using a composite design experiment.The experimental biomass yields were fitted to the only statistically significant factors with a mean standard error less than 8%, by using multiple regression analysis.Optimal conditions for maximum cell yield were established by plotting a series of loci at constant biomass yield and then verified experimentally, thus confirming the remarkable accuracy of the model     

The autonomic innervation of rat jugular vein

Summary The autonomic innervation of rat jugular vein was studied using glyoxylic acid fluorescence and acetylcholinesterase histochemical methods. The rat jugular vein is provided with both adrenergic and cholinergic nerve fibers organized in plexuses located at the adventitial-medial border. The existence of these nerve plexuses does not seem to support biochemical findings that suggest a lack of innervation in the rat jugular vein and which propose this blood vessel as a model for the analysis of drug-smooth muscle cell interaction without the interference of neuronal uptake mechanisms.     

Lysis of autologous human melanoma cells by in vitro allosensitized peripheral blood lymphocytes

Summary Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of melanoma patients were sensitized in vitro with lymphocytes of a single donor or with a pool of lymphocytes of 5–20 different donors. After 6–7 days, the cytotoxic activity of the sensitized PBL was tested against cultured autologous tumor cells and lymphocytes in a ⁵¹Cr-release assay. Tumor lysis was observed in 13 of 16 cases in which patients' PBL (Pt-PBL) were stimulated by a pool of allogeneic lymphocytes and in five out of seven cases when single sensitization was performed. In no case was lysis of autologous normal lymphocytes or blasts seen. Cultivation of Pt-PBL with irradiated autologous tumor cells never led to the induction of lymphocytes cytotoxic to melanoma cells. Lysability by pool-activated autologous Pt-PBL of fresh cryopreserved tumor cells was compared to that of short-term cultured tumor cells, and no significant differences were observed. Cold-target inhibition experiments indicated that the cytotoxicity of Pt-PBL was tumor-restricted since only autologous melanoma cells but not lymphocytes were able to inhibit the reaction. These results indicate that activation of Pt-PBL is necessary in order to elicit or amplify their antitumor activity.     

Inhibition of rabbit liver fructose 1,6-biphosphatase by AMP: effect of temperature and physiological concentrations of cations and anions

Turkey gizzard smooth muscle myofibrils, the actin of which is composed of 75% smooth muscle γ-isoactin and 25% nonmuscle β-isoactin, were separated into an actomyosin and a cytoskeletal fraction. Isoelectric focusing analysis of the actomyosin actin showed it was 80% γ-isoactin and 20% β-isoactin. It thus appears that the major actin in the tissue is also the major form involved in force generation. When the cytoskeletal material was extracted with low-ionic-strength solution for 18 h at 4 °C, the actin released was 95% γ and 5% β compared with the 75:25 ratio found in the original cytoskeletal material. The extracted material revealed the presence of F-actin filaments and high-molecular-weight aggregates. Little of the material was in a low-molecular-weight form. On the other hand, extraction of the cytoskeletal material with 0.6 m KI resulted in the two isoactins being extracted in the same proportions in which they were found in the original cytoskeletal material. However, when this KI-extracted material was subsequently chromatographed on Bio-Gel A-5m equilibrated with 0.6 m KCl, the γ-isoactin migrated predominantly as a very high molecular weight form while the β-isomer moved in the lower-molecular-weight range of the elution profile. This aggregation behavior displayed by the γ-isoactin was not observed with the γ-isoactin in the actomyosin fraction. These results show that the two gizzard isoactins in the cytoskeletal residue behave very differently in response to various extraction media, and are consistent with possible differential isoactin utilization in gizzard smooth muscle.