Effects of surfactant proteins SP-B and SP-C on dynamic and static mechanics of immature lungs

Kobayashi, Tsutomu, Katsumi Tashiro, Ken Yamamoto, ShunichiNitta, Shigeo Ohmura, and Yasuhiro Suzuki. Effects of surfactant proteins SP-B and SP-C on dynamic and static mechanics of immature lungs. J. Appl. Physiol. 83(6):1849-1856, 1997.To investigate the effects of surfactantproteins B (SP-B) and C (SP-C) on lung mechanics, we compared tidal andstatic lung volumes of immature rabbits anesthetized with pentobarbitalsodium and given reconstituted test surfactants (RTS).With a series of RTS having various SP-B concentrations (0-0.7%)but a fixed SP-C concentration (1.4%), both the tidal volume with25-cmH₂O insufflation pressure and the static volume deflated to5-cmH₂O airway pressure increased, significantly correlating with the SP-B concentration: the former increased from 6.5 to 26.0 ml/kg (mean), and the latter increased from6.4 to 31.8 ml/kg. With another series of RTS having afixed SP-B concentration (0.7%) but various SP-C concentrations(0-1.4%), the tidal volume increased from 5.1 to 24.8 ml/kg,significantly correlating with the SP-C concentration, whereas thestatic volume increased from 3.4 to 32.0 ml/kg, the ceiling value, inthe presence of a minimal concentration of SP-C (0.18%). Inconclusion, certain doses of SP-B and SP-C were indispensable foroptimizing dynamic lung mechanics; the static mechanics, however,required significantly less SP-C.

     

Localization of flagellin genes on the physical map of Methanococcus voltae

Methanococcus voltae DNA, digested individually with the restriction enzymes ApaI, SacII, BamHI, or EagI, was resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis reproducing the previously published digestion patterns. Hybridization of a flagellin gene-specific probe to such gels dried down (unblots) resulted in the identification of one band per enzyme harboring the flagellin genes. These bands all overlapped, revealing that an approximately 15-kb BamHI/EagI DNA fragment should harbor the flagellin genes. Double digestion with BamHI and EagI resulted in the resolution of two bands in the 15-kb region of the gel. Separation of these two fragments prior to blotting and probing with a flagellar gene-specific probe revealed that one of these fragments possessed the flagellar sequences. The presence of an EagI restriction site in flaB3 localized the flagellin genes precisely at the junction of EagI fragments Ea2 and Ea5 at approximately the 1800-kb position of the physical map.     

An improved method for cell and spore counts during aerobic cultivation of crystal toxin producingBacillus sphaericus

Summary A simple improved method including sonication treatment is proposed to determine accurate cell and spore counts forBacillus sphaericus, a microorganism which can form cell aggregates. Sonication (10 watt power output) for 40 seconds after dilution of culture broth was effective in dispersing clumps of cells and spores without disruption. This improved method gave approximately 2 times higher cell and spore counts compared with the conventional counting methods (without sonication).     

A comparative dynamic study of the effectiveness of gastric cytoprotection by vitamin A, De-Nol, sucralfate and ulcer healing by pirenzepine in patients with chronic gastric ulcer (a multiclinical and randomized study)

The gastric cytoprotective effects of vitamin A, De-Nol and sucralfate were compared with the effectiveness of pirenzepine in healing ulcer in patients with chronic gastric ulcer. A total of 100 patients was randomized into different groups: the patients were treated with antacids, vitamin A (3 X 50.000 IU), De-Nol liquid (4 X 5 ml), sucralfate (4 X 1 g) or pirenzepine (3 X 50 mg). The treatment was continued for 4 weeks. At the beginning, 2 and 4 weeks after starting treatment the patients were subjected to endoscopy and the size of the ulcer was measured planimetrically. The ulcer-healing effect of De-Nol liquid was significantly better than that of the antacids (p less than 0.01). Ulcer size was reduced significantly in all groups (p less than 0.01), however, at the end of the study the gastric ulcers were smallest in the De-Nol treated group (p less than 0.001). The dynamics of ulcer healing in the second week was most favourable in the patients receiving vitamin A (p less than 0.01). The present data point to the cytoprotective effects of De-Nol liquid, vitamin A and sucralfate and to their ability of healing chronic gastric ulcers.     

Formation and regeneration ofHalobacterium spheroplasts

Spheroplasts ofHalobacterium cutirubrum were formed upon suspension of cell pellets in 0.1M MES buffer, pH 7.0, containing 0.5M sucrose, 0.25M NaCl, and 0.01M MgCl₂. The spheroplasts regenerated into rod-shaped bacteria when plated on a complex medium containing 15% (wt/vol) sucrose, undergoing several divisions as spherical bodies before the rod shape developed. The frequency of regeneration was approximately 5% of the total spheroplasts plated. The yield of regenerants was increased significantly (to approximately 35%) when bovine serum albumin was present in the spheroplasting buffer and dilution media. The conditions for spheroplast formation and regeneration inH. cutirubrum were also found effective forHalobacterium salinarium but not forHalobacterium halobium.NRCC Paper no. 23080.     

13C-NMR of double and triple bond carbon atoms of unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters

The carbon magnetic resonance spectra of many fatty acid methyl esters with cis and trans double bonds and triple bonds at various positions and in many different combinations have been investigated.The influence of the ester group on double and triple bonds in the fatty acid chain depends strongly on the positions of these bonds. For a given position the influence is constant, even if one or more other double or triple bonds are present.Together with the evaluated chemical shift parameters for the effects of double and triple bonds on each other, complete assignments are possible and spectra of various types of unsaturated esters can be predicted with high accuracy (±0.1 ppm).     

An ultrastructural examination of everted rat jejunum

Male, albino, Sprague-Dawley rats were sacrificed by cervical separation. Segments of jejunum were excised, everted and examined with the electron microscope. Examination of tissue fixed immediately after eversion revealed the following changes as compared to non-everted segments fixed $\text{in}$$\text{situ}$ and $\text{in}$$\text{vitro}$: 1) an increase in the length of microvilli from (mean ± S. E.) 0.991 ± 0.011μ for normal tissue to 1.389 ± 0.023μ for everted tissue, 2) an increase in width of microvilli from (mean ± S. E.) 0.089 ± 0.001μ for normal tissue to 0.097 ± 0.001μ for everted tissue, 3) an increase in length and number of lateral membrane interdigitations, and 4) the appearance of intercellular “lakes” in the lateral spaces. The above changes are in those structures hypothesized to be involved with salt and water transport across epithelia and may reflect altered transport rates $\text{in}$$\text{vitro}$ as compared to $\text{in}$$\text{vivo}$.     

Sesquiterpenes of thalloid liverworts of the genera Conocephalum,Lunularia, Metzgeria and Riccardia

Thalloid liverworts of orders Metzgeriales and Marchantiales elaborate essential oils distinguishable from those of the Jungermanniales by the absence of β-barbatene and anastreptene. Riccardia sinuata elaborates a novel tricyclic exomethylene sesquiterpene of as yet undetermined structure. Conocephalum conicum elaborates cadinene-type sesquiterpenes. β-Cadinene from the latter species is clearly enantiomeric to the same product from vascular plants.     

Evidence for resegmentation in the formation of the vertebral column using the novel approach of retroviral-mediated gene transfer

We have examined the somitic cell contribution to the vertebral column of the chick by genetic labeling of sclerotomal cells in early development. Single somites of embryonic Day 2 embryos were filled with retroviral particles containing the lacZ transducing vector BAG. After a further 14 or 17 days of incubation the embryos were fixed and the vertebral column was sectioned and stained histochemically for the lacZ gene product beta-galactosidase. Cells staining for the enzyme were found exclusively on the injected side of two vertebral segments; the staining was largely restricted, however, to the caudal half of the more rostral segment and the rostral half of the next more caudal segment. No embryos were observed with labeling in less than two vertebral segments. Moreover, labeled cells were not uniformly distributed within the labeled region of each vertebra; the neural arch, for example, usually contained a higher proportion of labeled cells than did the centrum. These observations support the concept of resegmentation, whereby a vertebra forms from sclerotomal cells derived from two consecutive somites resulting in a vertebral column shifted by one half segment with respect to the segmented boundaries of the somites. The quantitative distribution of labeled cells in the vertebrae also suggests that sclerotomal cells populate the region of a future vertebral segment in an orderly fashion dependent on when the cells migrate from the somite.     

A simple method for the release of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides from a glycoprotein purified by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

A simple method for the release of oligosaccharides from glycoproteins separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) has been developed. Asialo-alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, which was tritiated at the nonreducing terminal D-galactopyranosyl residue by reduction with sodium borotritide after incubation with D-galactose oxidase, was used as a model compound. After electrophoretic separation of the glycoprotein, oligosaccharides were released by the use of a gas-phase hydrazinolysis apparatus. In the first method, the gel was stained with Coomassie Blue and the glycoprotein together with the gel was directly subjected to gas-phase hydrazinolysis after removal of water in a P2O5 desiccator. The recovery of released oligosaccharides was 25.9 +/- 2.4%, based on the amount of the glycoprotein loaded on the gel within the range of 3.5-28.5 micrograms. In the second method, the glycoprotein was electroblotted onto an Immobilon transfer membrane and was visualized by staining with Coomassie Blue. A small piece of the membrane with the corresponding band was cut out, dried in a desiccator and subjected to gas-phase hydrazinolysis. In this case, the recovery of released oligosaccharides was 15.2 +/- 1.0%. These procedures, particularly the first one, should be widely applicable for the isolation of oligosaccharides from glycoproteins separated by SDS-PAGE.