Angiotensin II stimulates the production of NO and peroxynitrite in endothelial cells

Angiotensin II(ANG II) produces vasoconstriction by a direct action on smooth musclecells via AT₁ receptors. Thesereceptors are also present in the endothelium, but their function ispoorly understood. This study was therefore undertaken to determinewhether ANG II elicits the release of nitric oxide (NO) from cultured rat aortic endothelial cells. NO production, measured by theaccumulation of nitrite and nitrate, was enhanced by10⁷ M ANG II. Thebiological activity of the NO released by ANG II action was evaluatedby measuring its guanylate cyclase-stimulating activity in smoothmuscle cells. The guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) content of smooth muscle cells was significantly increased byexposure of supernatant from ANG II-stimulated endothelial cells. Theseeffects resulted from the activation of NO synthase, as they wereinhibited by the L-arginineanalogs. These ANG II actions were mediated by theAT₁ receptor, as shown by theirinhibition by the AT₁ antagonistlosartan. The cGMP production by reporter cells was inhibited by thecalmodulin antagonist W-7, suggesting that ANG II activates endothelialcalmodulin-dependent NO synthase. This hypothesis is also supported bythe increase of intracellular free calcium induced by ANG II inendothelial cells. ANG II also stimulated luminol-enhancedchemiluminescence in endothelial cells. This effect was inhibited byN-monomethyl-L-arginine andsuperoxide dismutase, suggesting that this luminol-enhancedchemiluminescence reflected an increase in peroxynitrite production.Thus ANG II stimulates NO release from macrovascular endothelium, whichmay modulate the direct vasoconstrictor effect of ANG II on smoothmuscle cells. However, this beneficial effect may be counteracted bythe simultaneous production of peroxynitrite, which could contribute toseveral pathological processes in the vascular wall.

     

Hydrogénolyse de 3,6,8-trioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes par le complexe aluminohydrure de lithium-chlorure d'aluminium

Hydrogenolysis of 3,6,8-trioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes by the 1:1 lithium aluminum hydride-aluminum chloride complex leads, through the specific opening of the acetal function at C-5O-6, to 1,4-dioxanes bearing a hydroxymethyl group. The stereo-chemistry of the dioxanes obtained is discussed with emphasis on the intramolecular hydrogen bond.     

Une structure intermédiaire entre muscle lisse et muscle strié

Résumé Les éléments morphologiques apportés par la microscopie électronique montrent que le muscle du bulbe buccal de Ferrissia wautieri diffère du muscle strié squelettique par plusieurs caractères mais présente avec celui-ci des analogies structurales qui peuvent conduire à considérer le type de fibre musculaire étudié comme une structure intermédiaire entre la musculature lisse et la musculature striée.La répartition des deux types de filaments en faisceaux étroits plus ou moins anastomosés et la discontinuité des stries Z constituées de l'alignement des corps denses, rappellent les muscles cardiaques embryonnaires de certains Vertébrés. Le système T est réduit à l'ensemble des courtes invaginations du sarcolemme au niveau de chaque strie Z; tandis que le système L, très développé, semble établir des contacts étroits avec le milieu extra-cellulaire par l'intermédiaire de vésicules sous-sarcolemmales (diades).

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A type of musculature intermediary between smooth and striated muscular tissueThe muscle fibre of the buccal bulb in Ferrissia wautieri (Moll. Basomm. Ancylidae)

Summary Electron microscopical investigations show that the muscle of the buccal bulb of Ferrissia wautieri differs from the skeletal striated muscle in several of its characteristics, but exhibits structural analogies with the latter which can lead one to consider the type of muscle fibre studied as an intermediary structure between smooth and striated muscular tissue.The distribution of the two types of filaments in thin bundles, more or less anastomosed, and the discontinuity of the Z bands, which are made up from the alignment of dense bodies, are similar as in embryonic cardiac muscles of certain Vertebrates. The T system is reduced completely to short sarcolemmal invaginations at the level of each Z band, whilst the well-developped L system seems to make close contact with the extra-cellular region through cisternae beneath the sarcolemma (dyads).

Ce travail s'inscrit dans le cadre d'une étude plus générale portant sur le cycle biologique et l'écologie de Ferrissia wautieri. Il nous est agréable de remercier notre collègue Pavans de Ceccatty qui nous a guidés et aidés dans sa réalisation et a accepté de relire et de corriger le manuscrit.     

Antiserum Inactivation of Electrophoretically Purified M13 Diploid Virions: Model for the F-Specific Filamentous Bacteriophages

Antiserum inactivation experiments were carried out on electrophoretically purified diploid virions from a cross between two complementing amber mutants of phage M13. The total (homozygous plus heterozygous) diploid population, assayed on a permissive host where only one genome is needed for plaque formation, was inactivated at the same rate as haploids. Heterozygous diploids, assayed on a nonpermissive host, where both genomes are needed for plaque formation, were twice as sensitive as haploids and the total diploid population. These results have led us to propose a model for serum inactivation of the F-specific filamentous phages. According to this model, phage-neutralizing antibodies attach anywhere along the length of the phage and allow the phage to penetrate only up to the first bound antibody molecule.     

The biosynthesis of flavonoid pigments: On the incorporation of phloroglucinol and phloroglucinyl cinnamate into rutin in Fagopyrum esculentum

The problem of whether phloroglucinol is a direct biosynthetic precursor of flavonoids was reinvestigated. Phloroglucinol-2,4,6-¹⁴C was found to be incorporated into rutin in Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) but most of the activity was found in the sugar moiety, the remainder being approximately equally distributed among the A- and B-rings of the aglycone, quercetin. This indicates extensive degradation of the added phloroglucinol prior to its utilization in the biosynthesis of the flavonoid. The hypothesis of a bio-Fries rearrangement of phloroglucinyl cinnamate to a chalcone, and hence to flavonoids, was also eliminated by comparing the efficiency of incorporation of ¹⁴C-labelled phloroglucinyl cinnamate and those of labelled phloroglucinol and cinnamic acid.