Effect of rhodium (III) complex on experimental carcinogenesis in the livers of rats treated with thioacetamide

Enzyme activities and protein content were determined in the cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions of liver homogenates obtained from Rh(III) complex-, thioacetamide- and thioacetamide + Rh(III) complex-treated rats. The Rh(III) complex administered to nonthioacetamide-treated rats produced no significant changes either in the enzymatic activities assayed or in the protein concentration. The Rh(III) complex administered to thioacetamide-treated rats produced significant restoration of the following altered values: cytosolic and mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase, glutamate dehydrogenase, NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase, and protein concentration. However, a further increase was produced in the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme. These increases can be interpreted in terms of an enhancement of the NADPH-dependent detoxifying processes and of nucleic acid synthesis and repair.     

How do food passage rate and assimilation differ between herbivorous lizards and nonruminant mammals?

Summary What digestive adaptations permit herbivorous nonruminant mammals to sustain much higher metabolic rates than herbivorous lizards, despite gross similarity in digestive anatomy and physiology? We approached this question by comparing four herbivorous species eating the same diet of alfalfa pellets: two lizards (chuckwalla and desert iugana) and two mammals (desert woodrat and laboratory mouse). The mammals had longer small and large intestines, greater intestinal surface area, much higher (by an order of magnitude) food intake normalized to metabolic live mass, and much faster food passage times (a few hours instead of a few days). Among both reptiles and mammals, passage times increase with body size and are longer for herbivores than for carnivores. The herbivorous lizards, despite these much slower passage times, had slightly lower apparent digestive efficiencies than the mammals. At least for chuckwallas, this difference from mammals was not due to differences in body temperature regime. Comparisons of chuckwallas and woodrats in their assimilation of various dietary components showed that the woodrat's main advantage lay in greater assimilation of the dietary fiber fraction. Woodrats achieved greater fiber digestion despite shorter residence time, but possibly because of a larger fermentation chamber, coprophagy, and/or different conditions for microbial fermentation. We conclude with a comparative overview of digestive function in herbivorous lizards and mammals, and with a list of four major unsolved questions.     

Influence of blood sera from dogs subjected to ischemia and recirculation on incorporation of14C-amino acids in vitro

Incomplete ischemia of the spinal cord was produced in dogs by 40 min occlusion of the abdominal aorta that was followed by 5–40 min of recirculation. Amino acid incorporation into ribosomes in vitro in the presence of venous blood sera was estimated. The most significant reduction in incorporation was produced by sera of the dogs following a short recirculation period (5–10 min). No significant changes were observed at the end of the ischemic period nor at longer periods of recirculation. The decrease in incorporation might be the consequence of inactivation or absence of a substance stimulating polypeptide synthesis in vitro, normally present in blood sera of intact dogs, that temporarily loses its activity during recirculation.     

Spontaneous binding ofYersinia enterocolitica to murine leukocytes

Twelve strains ofYersinia enterocolitica were examined for their ability to bind spontaneously to murine leukocytes. Each of eight HeLa cell invasive strains exhibited nonselective binding to peritoneal leukocytes, lymph node leukocytes, and thymocytes, whereas four noninvasive strains lacked binding properties. Like the HeLa cell invasion, the binding ofY. enterocolitica to leukocytes was much less efficient for bacteria grown at 37°C than for bacteria grown at 22°C. The binding properties were not influenced by the virulence plasmid that codes for Vwa⁺ phenotype. This leukocyte binding test is proposed as a simple assay for invasive properties ofY. enterocolitica.     

Developmental regulation of 16S acetylcholinesterase and acetylcholine receptors in a mouse muscle cell line

We have studied the appearance, distribution and regulation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) in a mouse skeletal muscle cell line (C2), that was originally isolated and described by Yaffe & Saxel [54]. In culture, cells from this line form spontaneously contracting myotubes, with overshooting action potentials that are TTX-sensitive. After fusion of myoblasts into myotubes, there was a dramatic increase in the amount of both AChE and AChR. Three forms of AChE, distinguished by their sedimentation on sucrose gradients, were synthesized: 4-6S, 10S, and 16S. The 4-6S and 10S forms appeared 1 day after the cells began to fuse, whereas the 16S form appeared only 2 days after fusion began. Maximal levels of the 16S AChE form (25-30% of the total) were obtained by reducing the concentration of horse serum in the fusion medium. Prevention of myoblast fusion by reducing the calcium levels in the medium decreased the total AChE by 70%, and only the 4-6S form was synthesized. Blocking spontaneous contractile activity of the myotubes by tetrodotoxin (TTX) led to a 50% reduction in all three esterase forms. Thus, the 16S, or endplate form of AChE is not specifically regulated by electrical or contractile activity in the C2 cell line. After fusion the number of AChRs increased rapidly for 3-4 days and then stabilized. Receptor clusters, ranging from 10-30 micron in length, appeared 1 day after myoblast fusion began. When cells were grown in medium containing reduced Ca2+, the total number of AChRs was decreased by 20-50%. Reduction of Ca2+ after myotubes and AChR clusters had formed resulted in dispersal of AChR clusters. Inhibition of muscle contractions with TTX did not affect the number of AChRs or their distribution.     

Heterogeneity of Benzodiazepine Receptors: Experimental Differences Between [3H]Flunitrazepam and [3H]Ethyl-β-carboline-3-carboxylate Binding Sites in Rat Brain Membranes

Abstract: This study was designed to analyze possible differences in the binding of [³H]flunitrazepam ([³H]FNZP) and [³H]ethyl - β - carboline - 3 - carboxylate ([³H]β-CCE), to rat brain membranes, in various experimental conditions. In cerebral cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, and orain stem the number of binding sites for [³H]β-CCE was higher than for [³H]FNZP; both were displaced by clonazepam. Until the 7th day of postnatal brain development the numbers of [³H]FNZP and [³H]β-CCE sites were equivalent; but later on, the β-carboline sites increased to a higher level. Noradrenergic denervation by 6-hydroxydopamine was followed in the hippocampal formation. Already after 2 days, there was a decrease in [³H]FNZP sites, which reached 70% of control after 14 days. Similar results were obtained with DSP-4 denervation. This change was only in B_max and not in K_D, In contrast, the [³H]β-CCE sites did not change with denervation. Neonatal injection of l - 2,4,5 - trihydroxyphenylalamine or DSP-4 produced in the adult a decrease in [³H]FNZP sites in the cerebral cortex, in parallel with the noradrenergic denervation. On the other hand, there was an increase in the cerebellum and brain stem, in correspondence with the hyperinnervation by sprouting. In these rats, the number of sites for [³H]β-CCE did not change in the different brain regions. With 0.1% Triton X-100, applied to synaptosomal membranes, [³H]FNZP binding was reduced by 35%, while that of [³H]β-CCE was not significantly changed. These results suggest that there is heterogeneity of binding sites for benzodiazepine receptors in rat brain. A tentative interpretation of the experiments involving noradrenergic denervation and hyperinnervation, as well as those with Triton X-100, is that [³H]FNZP binds to pre- and postsynaptic receptors, while [³H]β-CCE binds mainly to postsynaptic benzodiazepine receptors.     

Different structure of polytene chromosomes ofPhaseolus coccineus suspensors during early embryogenesis

Summary The pattern of DNA and RNA puffs in pair VII of polytene chromosomes has been investigated in the suspensor ofPhaseolus coccineus during early embryo development. The pattern of³H-TdR and³H-U incorporation has been also detected. Collected data indicate that: 1. both heterochromatic regions, p₁₁ and q_(111+112), of chromosome pair VII, organize large DNA puffs; 2. DNA puffs of both regions are specific of different embryo differentiation steps; 3. a seasonal influence on the DNA puffing seems also to be present, as demonstrated by the comparison of the results collected in two different crops; 4. the incorporation experiment by³H-TdR evidences that not all DNA puffs show clustered labeling; 5. the RNA puffing of the two regions seems also to be specific of determined embryo stages.     

Glucosylation of Teichoic Acid: Solubilization and Partial Characterization of the Uridine Diphosphoglucose:Polyglycerolteichoic Acid Glucosyl Transferase from Membranes of Bacillus subtilis

Polyglycerolteichoic acid:glucosyl transferase (TAG transferase), one of the three enzymes involved in the pathway leading to the glucosylation of teichoic acid in Bacillus subtilis 168, was investigated. During the early stages of the growth of B. subtilis, TAG transferase is predominantly a soluble enzyme found in the cytoplasm. As growth proceeds, the amount of soluble enzyme decreases and the proportion of insoluble, membrane-bound TAG transferase increases, reaching a maximal value at the close of the logarithmic phase. Data are presented which suggest that these are two forms of the same enzyme, or have some common component. The effects of chaotropic agents, such as sodium trichloroacetate and sodium perchlorate, on the cytoplasmic membrane were also studied. These data show that such compounds can effectively remove the TAG transferase from the membrane in a water-soluble form. A study of some of the physical properties of this solubilized enzyme suggests that there is little difference between the two forms of the enzyme. Experiments are described which indicate that the glucosyl transfer by both the membrane-bound and soluble enzymes is not mediated by lipids.     

Nature of Escherichia coli B(P1) Yielder Cells at the Time of Infection with Restricted T1

In the infection of Escherichia coli B(P1) with restricted T1, it was shown that yielder cells consist of both special and nonspecial cells. Special or predetermined yielders occurred only among the earliest yielders. In most instances, yielder-cell formation was most easily explained by assuming that the first step was a chance escape of the restricted phage DNA from the degrading enzyme of the restricting cell.