Effect of indomethacin, tiaprofenic acid and dicrofenac on rat gastric mucosal damage and content of prostacyclin and prostaglandin E2

Gastric ulcerogenicity and depletion of endogenous prostaglandins (PGs) content induced by tiaprofenic acid, dicrofenac and indomethacin were examined using the same antiinflammatory effective doses. Male Wistar rats were given each of these drugs intragastrically 24, 18, and 3 hrs before sacrifice in the following doses (mg/kg): indomethacin (0.8, 4 and 20); tiaprofenic acid (1.2, 6 and 30); dicrofenac (0.8, 4 and 20). Endogenous prostacyclin (PGI2) and PGE2 in fundic mucosa were determined by radioimmunoassay. The three compounds produced fundic mucosal lesions in a dose-dependent manner. However, tiaprofenic acid and dicrofenac were both less potent than indomethacin in producing gastric mucosal lesions at similar antiinflammatory doses. Mucosal PGE2 content was abolished by the three compounds in the following doses (mg/kg): indomethacin (4 and 20); tiaprofenic acid (6 and 30); dicrofenac (20). Mucosal PGI2 was maintained around 50% of the control value in rats given tiaprofenic acid in a dose of 6 mg/kg or dicrofenac in a dose of 4 mg/kg, while indomethacin in a dose of 4 mg/kg markedly reduced mucosal PGI2 to 17% of the control value. In larger doses, tiaprofenic acid and dicrofenac were also significantly less potent in reducing mucosal PGI2 than indomethacin. These results suggest that the difference in ulcerogenicity between indomethacin and the other two compounds was closely related to their potency in decreasing PGI2 in the gastric (fundic) mucosa.     

Phenotype character of the methylglyoxal resistance gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: expression in Escherichia coli and application to breeding wild-type yeast strains

The gene responsible for the methylglyoxal resistance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned, and its phenotypic characteristics were investigated. S. cerevisiae cells with the gene could accumulate large amounts of glutathione in the medium and should remarkably high resistance to various toxic compounds such as methylglyoxal, tetramethylthiuram disulfide, iodoacetamide, and heavy-metal ions. The gene was also expressed in Escherichia coli cells, and the resistance of E. coli cells to toxic compounds also increased as observed for S. cerevisiae cells. The phenotypic characteristics of the gene were applicable to the selection of the transformants of wild-type yeast strains having no genetic markers.     

Inactivation and sedimentation of mercury from organomercurials by Klebsiella pneumoniae

Abstract A susceptibility of 63 clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae to inorganic and organic mercuric compounds was determined. 18 of them were found to be resistant to fluorescein mercuric acetate (FMA) and merbromin (MB). Moreover, all the resistant strains inactivate the antibacterial effect of FMA. The changes in the amount of organic mercury at the time of inactivation of the drug and the structures of the end products were examined in detail with the plasmid-bearing strain JK9 and its transconjugants of Escherichia coli .
The results showed that FMA was inactivated by an intracellular enzyme produced inducively and was degraded to fluorescein (sodium salt, uranine), which led to the sedimentation of metallic mercury. The discovery of the genes conferring inducible organic mercury-inactivating enzymes determined by plasmids was the next step and their application in the recovery of metallic mercury from organomercurials is now imminent.     

Spider toxin (JSTX) on the glutamate synapse

A new neurotoxin (JSTX) was separated from spider (Nephila clavata, Joro spider) venom. JSTX irreversibly suppressed the excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and the glutamate potential in the lobster neuromuscular junction with high degree of specificity. The threshold concentration for suppressing EPSPs corresponds to a small fraction of the toxin in a venom gland, roughly estimated as low as 10(-10) M/l. 10(-10) M/l. In the giant synapse of squid stellate ganglion JSTX suppressed EPSPs without affecting the antidromic response. Glutamate-induced membrane depolarization was blocked by JSTX. In mammalian brain slice preparation, JSTX suppressed the orthodromic spike response but failed to affect on the antidromic spike in the hippocampal pyramidal neuron of CA1 and CA3 region. The above results strongly support the view that the squid giant synapse and synapses in the hippocampal pyramidal neuron are mediated by glutamate.     

Purification and characterization of a tuberculin-active substance from Mycobacterium bovis BCG

A new tuberculin-active substance, designated TAS-1D3, has been purified from the extract of Mycobacterium bovis BCG by precipitation at pH 4.2, ethanol fractionation, and column chromatography involving CM-cellulose, QAE-Sephadex A-25, Sephadex G-100, and Sephadex G-75. TAS-1D3 was homogeneous in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and positive in both Coomassie brilliant blue and periodic acid-Shiff staining, suggesting that TAS-1D3 is a glycoprotein. The molecular weight of TAS-1D3 was estimated to be 26,000 by gel filtration. In amino acid analysis, TAS-1D3 was distinctive in having proline as a dominant amino acid, and in that it lacked basic amino acids, sulfur-containing amino acids and aromatic amino acids. Moreover, TAS-1D3 was almost devoid of absorption at around 280 nm. In guinea pigs sensitized with BCG vaccine, the tuberculin activity of TAS-1D3 was about forty times more potent than that of purified protein derivative (PPD).     

Characterization of a chloroplast DNA sequence from Chlorella ellipsoidea that promotes autonomous replication in yeast

Summary An EcoRI 2.7 kbp fragment from Chlorella ellipsoidea chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) cloned in YIp5 was shown to promote autonomous replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The fragment was localized in the small single copy region close to the inverted repeat. The ARS activity (autonomously replicating sequences in yeast) was found to be confined within a subclone of a ca. 300 bp HindIII fragment. Sequence analysis of this fragment revealed its high AT content and the presence of several direct and inverted repeats and a few elements that were related to the yeast ARS consensus sequence. Electron microscopic studies revealed that this sequence did not coincide with the primary replication origin of chloroplast DNA. The functioning of this sequence as a possible origin of plasmid replication in vivo is discussed. This is the first report on Chlorella cpDNA sequence. re]19850821 rv]19851211 ac]19851216     

Immunohistochemical detection of bromodeoxyuridine in formalin-fixed tissues

Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) immunohistochemistry has recently been introduced for the visualization of DNA-synthesizing nuclei. In order to detect the BrdUrd incorporated into nuclear DNA in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, we tested several different pretreatment procedures including digestion with proteinase and hydrolysis with HCl, prior to immunoperoxidase staining. In order to determine the optimal conditions for detecting nuclear BrdUrd, mice were given BrdUrd and 3H-thymidine simultaneously, and the autoradiographic and immunohistochemical results obtained in BrdUrd-stained sections were compared. It was found that digestion with 0.05% proteinase at 37 degrees C for 20 min and hydrolysis with 1N HCl at 37 degrees C for 20 min was sufficient to detect BrdUrd immunoreactivity in 3H-thymidine-labelled nuclei, the results being virtually unaffected by the orders in which the two pretreatments were performed. Our method extends the range of application for BrdUrd immunohistochemistry in cell-kinetic studies.     

Quantitative detection of DNA damage in the neuronal cells of the cerebellum and cerebrum by the analysis of Feulgen hydrolysis curves

Summary Touch smears of the cerebellum and cerebrum of ageing rats were fixed with methanol, hydrolyzed with 2N HCl at various temperatures and for various periods, and stained with pararosaniline-Schiff reagent. The hydrolysis curves were determined by fluorescence cytophotometry and were computer fitted to the Bateman function to determine the kinetic parameters, the initial yield of apurinic acid or single-stranded DNA (y ₀), and the rate constants for depurination or denaturation (k ₁) and depolymerization (k ₂). The values for k ₁ (1/k ₁ is correlated with the degree of chromatin condensation) and k ₂ (which reflects the degree of DNA instability) steadily increased with age. The values for y ₀, which may indicate the degree of DNA denaturation or damage present before acid hydrolysis, also increased with age in both the cerebellum and cerebrum; however, this value was lower in the cerebellum untill 15 weeks, with the situation being reversed after 35 weeks, the cross-over time being at about 25 weeks. The values of lnk ₁ and lnk ₂ were plotted as the function of the reciprocal of the absolute temperature (T) (Arrhenius plot) for both the cerebellum and cerebrum of 15- and 74-week-old rats, and the activation energies (E) for depurination and depolymerization were calculated from the slopes. In particular, the values of E for k ₂ decreased much more quickly with age and were smaller in cerebellum. In conclusion, the degree of DNA damage and DNA instability steadily increases in both the cerebellum and cerebrum of ageing rats, and this process is much faster in the cerebellum.In honour of Prof. P. van Duijn     

Neuromedin K: a novel mammalian tachykinin identified in porcine spinal cord

A new peptide, designated "neuromedin K" has been discovered and isolated from porcine spinal cord by using bioassays for a tachykinin-like effect on the contractility of smooth muscle preparation from guinea-pig ileum. Porcine neuromedin K has been identified by microsequencing as: Asp-Met-His-Asp-Phe-Phe-Val-Gly-Leu-Met-NH2. The sequence thus determined has been confirmed by synthesis. Neuromedin K has been found to have not only a remarkable sequence homology to kassinin and substance P, but also a prompt stimulant activity on guinea-pig ileum in a manner similar to that of substance P, suggesting that neuromedin K may be involved in neural transmission.