Cytologic characteristics and origin of naked nuclei in breast aspirate smears

To elucidate the origin of "naked nuclei" in breast aspiration smears, 17 cases of fibroadenoma were studied by light and electron microscopy. The ATPase reaction was also studied at both levels. The aspirates contained two types of naked nuclei: denuded degenerated nuclei and oval to spindle-shaped nuclei with very scanty cytoplasm. The cytoplasm of the latter was rich in free ribosomes and rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum but was devoid of cytoplasmic filaments and dense bodies. These cells were negative for ATPase activity. Stromal cells, not myoepithelial cells, characteristically demonstrated such cellular features in the aspirates and tissue sections studied. We conclude that most naked nuclei are derived from stromal cells.     

Mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation of Ca2+-dependent ATPase in rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum and the effect of poly L-lysine

We investigated the endogenous mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum from rabbit skeletal muscle. The autoradiogram obtained after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the [adenylate-32P]NAD-treated sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles revealed a major band corresponding to the MW 105 K Ca2+-dependent ATPase and other bands corresponding to proteins of MW 153, 60 and 38 K and those of 125 to 135 K range. The addition of poly L-lysine during the incubation led to an enhancement of the modification. Poly L-lysine is proving to be a pertinent tool for identifying acceptor proteins.     

Respiration-driven Na+ pump and Na+ circulation in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Sodium circulation in Vibrio parahaemolyticus was investigated. We observed respiration-driven Na+ extrusion from cells by using a Na+ electrode. The Na+ extrusion was insensitive to a proton conductor, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, and sensitive to a respiratory inhibitor, CN-. These results support the idea of the existence of a respiratory Na+ pump in V. parahaemolyticus. The respiration-driven Na+ extrusion was observed only under alkaline conditions.     

Augmentation of generation of human allospecific cytotoxic T lymphocyte by PPD in in vitro sensitization culture

Summary PPD augmented human lymphocyte blastogeneic response to allogeneic lymphocytes in the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and generation of human cytotoxic lymphocytes against allogeneic human lymphocytes in in vitro sensitization (IVS) culture. The augmenting effect of PPD in the MLR was unequivocally synergistic at its lower concentrations (0.05 and 0.01 g/ml). The augmentation of MLR was observed following addition of a supernatant of culture medium of lymphocytes which had been precultured with PPD for 24 h then washed free of PPD and recultured without PPD for another 24 h. PHA and Con A, in contrast, suppressed both MLR and the generation of alloreative cytotoxic cells. The alloreactive cytotoxic lymphocytes whose generation was augmented by PPD belonged to the SRBC-rosette forming fraction and passed through a nylon-wool column. The NK cell-like activities of the alloreactive cytotoxic lymphocytes were not augmented by PPD. Analysis of the alloreactive cytotoxic lymphocytes whose generation was augmented by PPD by competitive inhibition assay with unlabeled cells indicated that the same allogeneic lymphocytes used as sensitizing cells in IVS culture inhibited the cytotoxicity, while MOLT-4 cells, which are frequently used as target cells for the human NK-cell assay, did not. When lymphocytes with known HLA-A and HLA-B were used in the IVS culture and the cytotoxicity assay, PPD was found to augment the cytotoxicity only against the target lymphocytes that possessed the same HLA as the sensitizing lymphocytes in IVS.     

Role of Na+ and Li+ in thiomethylgalactoside transport by the melibiose transport system of Escherichia coli.

Thiomethyl-beta-galactoside (TMG) accumulation via the melibiose transport system was studied in lactose transport-negative strains of Escherichia coli. TMG uptake by either intact cells or membrane vesicles was markedly stimulated by Na+ or Li+ between pH 5.5 and 8. The Km for uptake of TMG was approximately 0.2 mM at an external Na+ concentration of 5 mM (pH 7). The alpha-galactosides, melibiose, methyl-alpha-galactoside, and o-nitrophenyl-alpha-galactoside had a high affinity for this system whereas lactose, maltose and glucose had none. Evidence is presented for Li+-TMG or Na+-TMG cotransport.     

Calcium sensitivity of mantle muscle of squid.

Ca2+-sensitivity of squid muscle proteins was studied by competition tests between squid actin and carp myosin on squid myosin B and by cross combination tests between squid myosin and actin and between carp myosin and squid thin filament fraction. The results suggest that the regulatory system of the squid mantle muscle is actin-linked as in skeletal muscle rather than myosin-linked. This view is supported by the presence of troponin-like components on SDS-disc electrophoresis of squid thin filament fraction.     

Hepatic and intestinal gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activity: its activation by chronic ethanol administration.

To study the effect of chronic ethanol administration on the activity of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGTP) in various tissues, female rats were pair-fed liquid diets with 36% of total calories either as ethanol or isocaloric carbohydrate (controls). Six weeks of ethanol feeding in an increase of cytochrome P450 content by 70%. Hepatic microsomal GGTP activity was more than doubled after ethanol feeding whether expressed per gram of liver or per mg of microsomal protein. Furthermore intestinal GGTP activity was significantly enhanced after ethanol, whereas there was no change in the enzyme activity in either kidney or pancreas. Phenobarbital administration to rats also resulted in an enahancement of GGTP activity in the liver but not in the intestine. These results suggest that enhanced hepatic and intestinal GGTP activities may contribute, at least partly, to increased serum GGTP activity frequently seen in alcoholics.     

Epidemiological study of chromium platers in Japan

A cohort study on platers in Tokyo was carried out using the records of the Tokyo Health Insurance Society of Plating Industry. The type of work and chromium-exposure history of each member of this society was investigated by a questionnaire sent to the manager of each factory. The recovery rate of the questionnaire was 70.5%. Survival information on retired subjects was obtained from the offices of Japanese family registration system (“koseki”). As the result, among 889 male chromium platers who were followed up from April 1, 1970 to September 30, 1976, 19 deaths were observed, but there were no cases of lung cancer. The observed number of deaths was only 50% of the expected number, which had been calculated using the annual male mortality by age of Tokyo. In contrast, a slightly higher number of deaths than expected (107%) was observed in the control group consisting of workers selected from the same factories as the chromium platers. Two types of possible error were considered in this study: the first is that deaths from the chromium-exposed group had been incorrectly assigned to the control group, and the second is that the 30% of nonresponders included a significant number of factories where chromium-related deaths had occurred. However, the response for surviving cases on the history of chromium handling is considered to be reliable. Thus it was decided to conduct a further study focusing on those workers alive on October 1, 1976.     

Extrusion of sodium ions energized by respiration and glycolysis in Escherichia coli.

Extrusion of sodium ion from cells of Escherichia coli was measured using an Na+ electrode. When oxygen was supplied to an anaerobic cell suspension, extrusion of Na+ was observed. The addition of glucose under anaerobic conditions also caused Na+ efflux. The extrusion of Na+ energized by respiration and glycolysis was completely inhibited by a proton conductor, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone. These observations are consistent with the view that Na+ transport occurs secondarily to H+ circulation. Interestgly, induction of the melibiose transport system, which is coupled to Na+, greatly enhanced Na+ transport activity.