A new isoflavone from soya beans

A new isoflavone was isolated from soya beans and shown to be 7,4′-dihydroxy, 6-methoxyisoflavone, for which the name glycitein is proposed.     

Somatosensory evoked potentials in the ventrolateral thalamus

Within the target area (VL) used for the stereotactic treatment of parkinsonian tremor and spasmodic torticollis, electrical stimulation as well as recording of somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) was performed. The effects of stimulation in the target area are facilitation of muscle tone showing some degree of somatotopic distribution. The recorded SEPs indicate a projection of an afferent system (probably of muscle afferents) to the target area. We assume that the target area is a relay station involved in the control of muscle tone. The interruption of muscle afferents in combination with the correct somatotopic localization of the lesion is important for the therapeutic efficacy in parkinsonian tremor and spasmodic torticollis.     

Purification and characterization of trypsins from the digestive tract of Locusta migratoria

Two trypsin-like enzymes were isolated from the digestive tract of the African migratory locust Locusta migratoria migratorioides. Primary purification was carried out on a DEAE-cellulose column, from which the two trypsins emerged in the anionic fraction. Further purification was achieved by affinity chromatography on a p-aminobenzamidine (PABA)-Sepharose column, which also separated the two trypsins (TLEAff.1. and TLEAff.2.), or by HPLC on an anion exchange column. The purity and homogeneity of the trypsins were demonstrated by electrophoresis of cellulose acetate strips and in polyacrylamide gels, with and without SDS. The molecular weights of TLEAff.1 and TLEAff.2, as determined by SDS-PAGE, were 17,000 and 24,000 respectively. The amino acid compositions of the locust trypsins were similar to those of trypsins from the digestive systems of other insects, which are characterized by the lack or low content of half cystines. The isoelectric points were 3.2 for TLEAff.1 and 3.5 fold for TLEAff.2. Since most of the locust trypsin comprised TLEAff.2, the latter served as the main object of this study. TLEAff.2 was unstable at low pH, differing in this respect from mammalian trypsins. The optimum activity was at pH 8.5-9.0. The Km and kcat, values were similar to those for bovine trypsin. Activation by substrate, a phenomenon in bovine trypsin, was also observed for TLEAff.2. The locust trypsin was full inhibited by the proteinaceous trypsin inhibitors Bowman-Birk (BBI) and Kunitz from soybeans, CI from chickpeas, chicken ovomucoid (COM), and turkey ovomucoid (TOM). It was inactivated by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) and tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK), indicating the involvement of serine and histidine in the active site.     

Exploring the utility of Deep Red Anthraquinone 5 for digital staining of ex vivo confocal micrographs of optically sectioned skin

We investigated the utility of the fluorescent dye Deep Red Anthraquinone 5 (DRAQ5) for digital staining of optically sectioned skin in comparison to acridine orange (AO). Eight fresh-frozen thawed Mohs discard tissue specimens were stained with AO and DRAQ5, and imaged using an ex vivo confocal microscope at three wavelengths (488 nm and 638 nm for fluorescence, 785 nm for reflectance). Images were overlaid (AO + Reflectance, DRAQ5 + Reflectance), digitally stained, and evaluated by three investigators for perceived image quality (PIQ) and histopathological feature identification. In addition to nuclear staining, AO seemed to stain dermal fibers in a subset of cases in digitally stained images, while DRAQ5 staining was more specific to nuclei. Blinded evaluation showed substantial agreement, favoring DRAQ5 for PIQ (82%, Cl 75%-90%, Gwet's AC 0.74) and for visualization of histopathological features in (81%, Cl 73%-89%, Gwet's AC 0.67), supporting its use in digital staining of multimodal confocal micrographs of skin.     

Activities of dehydrogenases of the pentose phosphate pathway and transketolase in transplanted mouse hepatomas with different growth rates and in organs of tumor carriers]

The activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and transketolase were studied in the cytoplasmic fractions of transplanted mouse hepatomas differing in their growth rates, and in the liver, spleen and cortical layer of kidneys of tumour carriers and normal mice. It was shown that transplantation of hepatomas changes the activity of the pentose phosphate pathway enzymes in tumour carrier tissues unaffected by neoplasm. Deviations from normalcy were mainly similar to those observed in the hepatomas. The changes in the enzymatic activities were especially well-pronounced in the mice having rapidly growing hepatomas. This may be due to a generalized effect of the tumour on the organism, which is concurrent with malignancy.