Epididymal sarcoidosis: a report of two cases and a review of the literature

Two cases of epididymal sarcoidosis, presenting as scrotal masses, are described. Biopsies of the epididymis and scalene nodes established the diagnosis. The literature of epididymal sarcoid and its differential diagnosis is discussed.     

Alcohol production by selected yeast strains in lactase-hydrolyzed acid whey

Ethanol production by Kluyveromyces fragilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied using cottage cheese whey in which 80 to 90% of the lactose present had been prehydrolyzed to glucose and galactose. Complete fermentation of the sugar by K. fragilis required 120 hr at 30°C in lactase-hydrolyzed whey compared to 72 hr in nonhydrolyzed whey. This effect was due to a diauxic fermentation pattern in lactase-hydrolyzed whey with glucose being fermented before galactose. Ethanol yields of about 2% were obtained in both types of whey when K. fragilis was the organism used for fermentation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae produced alcohol from glucose more rapidly than K. fragilis, but galactose was fermented only when S. cerevisiae was pregrown on galactose. Slightly lower alcohol yields were obtained with S. cerevisiae, owing to the presence of some lactose in the whey which was not fermented by this organism. Although prehydrolysis of lactose in whey and whey fractions is advantageous in that microbial species unable to ferment lactose may be utilized, diauxie and galactose utilization problems must be considered.     

The influence of snow conditions on the date of breeding of wading birds in north-east Greenland

The young of wading birds that breed in some parts of the arctic hatch when their insect food supply is most abundant. This appears to be the ultimate factor determining the date of egg-laying. In various other arctic birds the date of breeding may be influenced, directly or indirectly, by the time at which snow or ice melts. The Joint Biological Expedition to N.E. Greenland 1974 studied Ringed plovers Charadrius hiaticula , Dunlins Calidris aplina , Sanderlings Calidris alba , Knots Calidris canutus , and Turnstones Arenaria interpres breeding in various areas within 80 km of each other.
In 1974 the thaw was two or three weeks later than normal in the region. The time at which snow cleared and the dates of breeding of the waders differed considerably between valleys: breeding was delayed in valleys that cleared late. In all areas egg-laying ceased early in July, probably because chicks hatching from eggs laid later would not be ready to migrate by the end of the summer. Hence the mean date and length of the egg-laying period were determined by the date of snow clearance from the breeding areas.
Studies of the potential food resources indicate that the waders in N.E. Greenland do not appear to time their breeding so that the young hatch at some peak of food abundance. Sufficient food resources are probably available over a long period of time.     

p-Aminobenzoate biosynthesis in Escherichia coli. Purification of aminodeoxychorismate lyase and cloning of pabC

p-Aminobenzoate, a component of the vitamin folate, is one of seven compounds derived from the aromatic precursor chorismate in Escherichia coli. Historically the gene products of pabA and pabB were assumed to be sufficient for de novo p-aminobenzoate biosynthesis. Recent studies, however, have shown that these proteins, as nonidentical subunits of a single enzyme, act on chorismate to form a diffusible intermediate, most likely 4-amino-4-deoxychorismate. This intermediate is then converted to p-aminodeoxychorismate lyase (Nichols, B. P., Seibold, A. S., and Doktor, S. Z. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 8597-8601). Here we describe partial characterization of the intermediate and the purification of aminodeoxychorismate lyase 4100-fold to near homogeneity. Further purification of this enzyme by high pressure liquid chromatography permitted isolation of a pure sample that yielded N-terminal sequence. A 64-fold redundant oligonucleotide probe was used to identify a lambda clone containing the gene encoding aminodeoxychorismate lyase. The aminodeoxychorismate lyase gene, designated pabC, was mapped to 25 min on the E. coli chromosome and lies on a 7.5-kilobase pair EcoRI fragment. A strain harboring a pACYC184 recombinant containing pabC overproduced aminodeoxychorismate lyase activity 77-fold.     

Early adaptations in blood substrates, metabolites, and hormones to prolonged exercise training in man.

This study was designed to investigate the effect of short-term, submaximal training on changes in blood substrates, metabolites, and hormonal concentrations during prolonged exercise at the same power output. Cycle training was performed daily by eight male subjects (VO2max = 53.0 +/- 2.0 mL.kg-1.min-1, mean +/- SE) for 10-12 days with each exercise session lasting for 2 h at an average intensity of 59% of VO2max. This training protocol resulted in reductions (p less than 0.05) in blood lactate concentration (mM) at 15 min (2.96 +/- 0.46 vs. 1.73 +/- 0.23), 30 min (2.92 +/- 0.46 vs. 1.70 +/- 0.22), 60 min (2.96 +/- 0.53 vs. 1.72 +/- 0.29), and 90 min (2.58 +/- 1.3 vs. 1.62 +/- 0.23) of exercise. The reduction in blood lactate was also accompanied by lower (p less than 0.05) concentrations of both ammonia and uric acid. Similarly, following training lower concentrations (p less than 0.05) were observed for blood beta-hydroxybutyrate (60 and 90 min) and serum free fatty acids (90 min). Blood glucose (15 and 30 min) and blood glycerol (30 and 60 min) were higher (p less than 0.05) following training, whereas blood alanine and pyruvate were unaffected. For the hormones insulin, glucagon, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, only epinephrine and norepinephrine were altered with training. For both of the catecholamines, the exercise-induced increase was blunted (p less than 0.05) at both 60 and 90 min. As indicated by the changes in blood lactate, ammonia, and uric acid, a depression in glycolysis and IMP formation is suggested as an early adaptive response to prolonged submaximal exercise training.     

A complex pattern of H2A phosphorylation in the mouse testis

Phosphorylation of H2A histones in mouse testis was examined using testis tubule cultures labeled with 32PO4. Histones were analyzed by two systems of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, followed by autoradiography of the gels. Of the 32PO4 detected in histones, 95% was incorporated by certain modified forms of the H2A variants H2A.1 and H2A.X. Phosphorylation sites were mapped to N- and C-terminal regions of the modified variants by SDS gel electrophoresis and autoradiography of peptides generated by cleavage of in vitro-labeled proteins with N-bromosuccinimide. Incorporation rates differed for N- and C-terminal regions from different modified forms, demonstrating a complex pattern of H2A phosphorylation in the mouse testis.     

A cluster of nine tRNA genes between ribosomal gene operons in Bacillus subtilis.

A cluster of nine tRNA genes located in the 1-kb region between ribosomal operons rrnJ and rrnW in Bacillus subtilis has been cloned and sequenced. This cluster contains the genes for tRNA(UACVal), tRNA(UGUThr), tRNA(UUULys), tRNA(UAGLeu). tRNA(GCCGly), tRNA(UAALeu), tRNA(ACGArg), tRNA(UGGPro), and tRNA(UGCAla). The newly discovered tRNA gene cluster combines features of the 3'-end of trnI, a cluster of 6 tRNA genes between ribosomal operons rrnI and rrnH, and of the 5'-end of trnB, a cluster of 21 tRNA genes found immediately 3' to rrnB. Neither the tRNA(UAGLeu) gene nor its product has been found previously in B. subtilis. With the discovery of this new set of tRNA genes, a total of 60 such genes have now been found in B. subtilis. These known genes account for almost all of the tRNA hybridizing restriction fragments of the B. subtilis genome. The 60 known tRNA genes of B. subtilis code for only 28 different anticodons, compared with a total of 41 different anticodons for 78 tRNA genes in Escherichia coli. This may indicate that B. subtilis does not need as many anticodons because of more flexible translation rules, similar to the situation in Mycoplasma capricolum.     

Synthesis and assembly of the synaptic cleft protein S-laminin by cultured cells.

S-laminin, a homologue of the B1 chain of laminin, is concentrated in a subset of basal laminae (BLs), including the BL at the skeletal neuromuscular junction and bears an adhesive site for motoneuron-like cells. Here, we have begun to characterize the native form of the protein. We show that several muscle- and glia-like cell lines synthesize and secrete S-laminin as well as the A, B1, and B2 subunits of the conventional laminin trimer. Experiments using subunit-specific antibodies showed that S-laminin is complexed with the A and B2 subunits of laminin but not with B1, suggesting that S-laminin replaces B1 to form a novel laminin-like trimer. Comparison of material precipitated by different antibodies provided evidence for two immunochemically distinct forms of S-laminin, both of which associate with B2 and A-like subunits. Analysis of tunicamycin-treated cells indicated that N-linked glycosylation is required neither for the selective association of S-laminin with B2 and A subunits nor for the distinction between two forms of S-laminin. Finally, a full-length S-laminin cDNA was constructed and transfected into muscle and non-muscle cells. S-laminin was detected intracellularly in both cell types, in extracellular matrix of muscle cells, and in two immunochemically distinct forms. Thus, the cDNA contains sufficient information to permit assembly, secretion, and post-translational modification of S-laminin.     

A mechanism for the development of Clara cell lesions in the mouse lung after exposure to trichloroethylene.

Female CD-1 mice exposed to trichloroethylene (6 h/day) at concentrations from 20-2000 ppm developed a highly specific lung lesion after a single exposure, characterised by vacuolation of the Clara cells, the number of cells affected increasing with increasing dose level. At the highest dose levels pyknosis of the Clara cells was apparent. After 5 days of repeated exposures the lesion had resolved but exposure of mice following a 2-day break resulted in recurrence of the lesion. The changes in mouse lung Clara cells were accompanied by a marked loss of cytochrome P-450 activities. No morphological changes were seen in the lungs of rats exposed to either 500 or 1000 ppm trichloroethylene. Isolated mouse lung Clara cells were shown to metabolize trichloroethylene to chloral, trichloroethanol and trichloroacetic acid. Chloral was the major metabolite. Trichloroethanol glucuronide was not detected. In comparative experiments using mouse hepatocytes the major metabolites were trichloroethanol and its glucuronide conjugate. The activity of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase was compared in mouse lung Clara cells and hepatocytes using two phenolic substrates and trichloroethanol. Hepatocytes readily formed glucuronides from all three substrates whereas Clara cells were only active with the two phenolic substrates. The three major metabolites of trichloroethylene, chloral, trichloroethanol and trichloroacetic acid were each dosed to mice and of these metabolites, only chloral had an effect on mouse lung causing a lesion (Clara cell) identical to that seen with trichloroethylene. It is proposed that the failure of Clara cells to conjugate trichloroethanol leads to an accumulation of chloral which results in cytotoxicity. The known genotoxicity of chloral suggests that this lesion may be related to the development of lung tumours in mice exposed to trichloroethylene by inhalation.