The Effect of Sodium Alginate on the Absorption of Strontium and Calcium in Human Subjects

The effect of sodium alginate on the gastrointestinal absorption of the tracers strontium-85 and calcium-47 was investigated in 19 human subjects. The tracers were administered orally with 100 mg. of a calcium carrier—calcium chloride. At the same time, sodium alginate was given in a commercial jelly. The sevenday per cent retentions of tracers were measured with a whole-body counter. After one month, the experiments were repeated without alginate so that each subject acted as his own control. Fifteen volunteers were given 1.5 g. of alginate, two were given 3.0 g. and two 0.3 g. 1.5 g. of alginate reduced the absorption of strontium by a factor of two with no significant effect on calcium absorption. The smaller dose of alginate (0.3 g.) appeared to have no effect on strontium or calcium absorption and the larger dose (3.0 g.) had no greater effect than the 1.5 g. dose.     

Planar Cell Polarity: Keeping Hairs Straight Is Not So Simple

The fur on a cat''s back, the scales on a fish, or the bristles on a fly are all beautifully organized, with a high degree of polarization in their surface organization. Great progress has been made in understanding how individual cell polarity is established, but our understanding of how cells coordinate their polarity in forming coherent tissues is still fragmentary. The organization of cells in the plane of the epithelium is known as planar cell polarity (PCP), and studies in the past decade have delineated a genetic pathway for the control of PCP. This review will first briefly review data from the Drosophila field, where PCP was first identified and genetically characterized, and then explore how vertebrate tissues become polarized during development.     

Animal histo-blood group ABO genes.

Sequences homologous to the human histo-blood group ABO genes are present in the genomic DNA of various mammals. We have PCR-amplified, subcloned, and sequenced a portion of these genes from several species of primates and found high conservation of the nucleotide as well as the deduced amino acid sequences during evolution.     

Simultaneous monoamine histofluorescence and neuropeptide immunocytochemistry

Summary A method was developed that allows the analysis of neuropeptides and monoamines in a single tissue section by the application of the unlabeled antibody method for peptide staining to tissue sections freeze-dried for formaldehyde-induced monoamine histofluorescence. The hypothalamic magnocellular system of male albino rats served as a model for this study; neurons were stained with anti-neurophysin sera, which mark the vasopressin- and oxytocin-associated proteins. Neurophysin-containing perikarya appeared to be surrounded by catecholamine-containing varicosities. This phenomenon was seen to varying degrees within the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei. The juxtaposition of varicosities and peptidergic neurons suggests an afferent fiber-target neuron relationship that might favor a functional interaction between monoamines and neuropeptides.Supported by USPHS Grant and postdoctoral NS15816 (JRS) fellowship AG01575 (THM)     

Genomic organization of human histo-blood group ABO genes

We have isolated human genomic DNA clones encompassing 30 kbpof the histo-blood group ABO locus. The locations of the exonshave been mapped and the nucleotide sequences of the exon-intronboundaries have been determined. The human ABO genes consistof at least seven exons, and the coding sequence in the sevencoding exons spans over 18 kb of the genomic DNA. The exonsrange in size from 28 to 688 bp, with most of the coding sequencelying in exon 7. ABO genomic glycosyltransferase histo-blood group transfusion