Isolation ofAcholeplasma oculi from human amniotic fluid in early pregnancy

Acholeplasmas have been isolated from a variety of animals, insects, and plants, but onlyAcholeplasma laidlawii has previously been found in humans. We have isolatedAcholeplasma oculi in pure culture from the amniotic fluid of a woman at 19 weeks of gestation. The organism was positively identified by growth inhibition, epi-immunofluorescence, and arbutin hydrolysis. Demonstration of organisms directly in amniotic fluid by DNA fluorochrome and immunofluorescence staining provided additional evidence that the isolate was genuine and not a medium contaminant. The remainder of the pregnancy was unremarkable, and a full-term male infant was delivered without complications. Even though there is some evidence possibly associatingA. oculi with various diseases in livestock, the prevalence and significance ofA. oculi in humans has not been determined.     

Measurement of adrenolutin as an oxidation product of catecholamines in plasma

Using the reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with mobile phases composed of simple acids, we have developed an assay technique for the measurement of adrenolutin, one of the oxidation products of catecholamines, in rat plasma. Ion-pairing chromatography permits the separation and quantitation of plasma adrenolutin (M) in a linear manner. Sample preparation involved the precipitation of plasma proteins with perchloric acid and it is easier to handle a large number of samples at a time. However, we were unable to demonstrate the presence of adrenochrome, another oxidation product of catecholamines, in plasma since adrenochrome was rapidly destroyed in acid as well as in blood and was quickly changed, into adrenolutin. Adrenolutin peak in HPLC was confirmed by 1) the retention time; 2) co-injection of adrenolutin and; 3) the appearance of ³H-adrenolutin after injection of ³H-norepinephrine. Administration of different catecholamines as well as adrenochrome and adrenolutin in rats also increased the level of adrenolutin in plasma. Adrenolutin was found to be present in plasma in other species including dog, rabbit and pig. High level of adrenolutin, which may represent total concentration of aminolutin in plasma, suggests the presence of an efficient mechanism for the oxidation of catecholamines under in vivo conditions.     

Production ofd-mannitol fromd-aldopentoses by the yeastRhodotorula minuta

Rhodotorula minuta produced 16% ofd-mannitol and 3% ofd-arabinitol when cultivated ond-ribose, 4% of mannitol and 11% of arabinitol when grown ond-xylose, 5% ofd-mannitol and 5% ofd-arabinitol when grown ond-arabinose, and 5% ofd-mannitol and 6% ofd-arabinitol when cultivated ond-lyxose.     

Taq I-generated HLA-DQ αpolymorphism in Japanese patients with narcolepsy

Taq I-generated HLA-DQrestriction fragment length polymorphism was examined in Japanese patients with narcolepsy. All patients were DR2 positive and shared a 6.0 kb fragment, although this fragment was found only in 54 % of the healthy DR2-positive Japanese. This finding added the DQ gene to the list of candidates for the possible narcolepsy-susceptibility gene. In contrast, there was no complete association between narcolepsy and DXrestriction fragment length polymorphism. These findings suggest that a narcolepsy-susceptibility gene is located closer to the DQ locus than to the DX locus.     

A minority of 46,XX true hermaphrodites are positive for the Y-DNA sequence including SRY

Summary A total of 30 cases of 46,XX true hermaphroditism was analysed for Y-DNA sequences including the recently cloned gene for male testis-determination SRY. In 3 cases, a portion of the Y chromosome including SRY was present and, in 2 cases, was localised, to Xp22 by in situ hybridisation. Since previous studies have shown that the majority of XX males are generated by an X-Y chromosomal interchange, the Xp22 position of the Yp material suggests that certain cases of hermaphroditism can arise by the same meiotic event. The phenotype in the 3 SRY-positive cases may be caused by X-inactivation resulting in somatic mosaicism of testis-determining factor expression giving rise to both testicular and ovarian tissues. Autosomal or X-linked mutation(s) elsewhere in the sex-determining pathway may explain the phenotype observed in the remaining 27 SRY-negative cases.     

Gland formation induced in the allantoic and small-intestinal endoderm by the proventricular mesenchyme is not coupled with pepsinogen expression

Abstract. Allantoic and small-intestinal endoderms of chick and quail embryos were associated with the proventricular mesenchyme of chick embryos and then cultivated on chorioallantoic membrane. This resulted in the induction of complex glands, but the recombinates never produced embryo-specific pepsinogens; also, glandular cells developed a brush border, expressed sucrase antigen on their apical surface, and sometimes differentiated into goblet cells, thus indicating that both endoderms have the tendency to differentiate into an intestinal epithelium. In the recombinates composed of allantoic endoderm and proventricular mesenchyme, acid-protease activity was detected, but biochemical analysis revealed that this activity was not due topepsinogens. These results indicate that the gland formation induced in allantoic and small-intestinal endoderms by the proventricular mesenchyme is not accompanied by the expression of pepsinogens, suggesting that independent mechanisms are responsible for the morphogenesis and cyto chemical differentiation of the endoderm.