alpha 1-Adrenergic-receptor responsiveness in skeletal muscle during dynamic exercise

Attenuation of sympathetic vasoconstriction(sympatholysis) in working muscles during dynamic exercise iscontroversial. One potential mechanism is a reduction in₁-adrenergic-receptorresponsiveness. The purpose of this study was to examine₁-adrenergic-receptor-mediated vasoconstriction in resting and working skeletal muscles by using intra-arterial infusions of a selective agonist. Seven mongrel dogswere instrumented chronically with flow probes on the external iliacarteries of both hindlimbs and a catheter in one femoral artery. Aselective ₁-adrenergic-receptoragonist (phenylephrine) was infused as a bolus into the femoral arterycatheter at rest and during exercise. All dogs ran on amotorized treadmill at two exercise intensities (3 and 6 miles/h).Intra-arterial infusions of the same effective concentration ofphenylephrine elicited reductions in vascular conductance of 76 ± 4, 76 ± 6, and 67 ± 5% (P > 0.05) at rest, 3 miles/h, and 6 miles/h, respectively. Systemic bloodpressure and blood flow in the contralateral iliac artery wereunaffected by phenylephrine. These results do not demonstrate anattenuation of vasoconstriction to a selective ₁-agonist during exercise anddo not support the concept of sympatholysis.

     

Bovine endothelial cells transformed in vitro by benzo(a)pyrene

A cloned strain of bovine vascular endothelial cells with a finite in vitro lifespan was treated with benzo(a)pyrene (BP) after approximately 75% of its lifespan was completed. Untreated cultures of this strain senesced upon serial subcultivation and contained large, nondividing cells. In three out of seven trials, BP treatment produced transformed cells appeared in the cultures concomitant with the senescence of the parent cells. All transformed cell lines examined exhibited indefinite lifespans and altered karyotypes. Two of the lines retained most of the characteristics of normal endothelial cells, except that one became aneuploid and the other polyploid, Neither of these lines formed tumors when inoculated into nude mice. The remaining two lines retained mostly diploid kayotypes, but a high percentage of cells contained Robertsonian translocations. In one line cell volume was markedly reduced. In addition, these lines grew in multilayers, were anchorage independent, and proliferated in medium containing 0.5% serum. When 10⁷ cells of these lines were injected into nude mice, tumors appeared within 1 week and were identified as malignant hemangioendotheliomas of bovine origin.     

Effect on linkage disequilibrium of selection for a quantitative character with epistasis

Summary Selection for a character controlled by additive genes induces linkage disequilibrium which reduces the additive genetic variance usable for further selective gains. Additive x additive epistasis contributes to selection response through development of linkage disequilibrium between interacting loci. To investigate the relative importance of the two effects of linkage disequilibrium, formulae are presented and results are reported of simulations using models involving additive, additive x additive and dominance components. The results suggest that so long as epistatic effects are not large relative to additive effects, and the proportion of pairs of loci which show epistasis is not very high, the predominant effect of linkage disequilibrium will be to reduce the rate of selection response.     

Isolation, identification, and characterization of histones from plasmodia of the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum using extraction with guanidine hydrochloride

Histones from plasmodia of the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum have been prepared free of slime by an approach to histone isolation that uses extraction of nuclei with 40% guanidine hydrochloride and chromatography of the extract on Bio-Rex 70. This procedure followed by chromatography or electrophoresis has been used to obtain pure fractions of histones from Physarum microplasmodia. Physarum microplasmodia have five major histone fractions, and we show by amino acid analysis, apparent molecular weight on three gel systems containing sodium dodecyl sulfate, mobility on gels containing Triton X-100, and other characterizations that these fractions are analogous to mammalian histones H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. Significant differences between Physarum and mammalian histones are noted, with histone H1 showing by far the greatest variation. Histones H1 and H4 from Physarum microplasmodia have similar, but not identical, products of partial chymotryptic digestion compared with those of calf thymus histones H1 and H4. Labeling experiments, in vivo, showed that histone H1 is the major phosphorylated histone and approximately 15 separate phosphopeptides are present in a tryptic digest of Physarum histone H1. The core histones from Physarum, histones H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, are rapidly acetylated; histone H4 shows five subfractions, analogous to the five subfractions of mammalian histone H4 (containing zero to four acetyllysine residues per molecule); histone H3 has a more complex pattern that we interpret as zero to four acetyllysine residues on each of two sequence variants of histone H3; histones H2A and H2B show less heterogeneity. Overall, the data show that Physarum microplasmodia have a set of histones that is closely analogous to mammalian histones.     

Identification of two distinct lactate dehydrogenases in Rhodospirillum rubrum

The activities of pyridine nucleotide-independent d- and l-lactate dehydrogenases were detected in membranes from Rhodospirillum rubrum grown under aerobic and phototrophic conditions. Crossed immunoelectrophoretic analysis revealed two antigenically distinct enzymes that were further distinguished by specificity for d- and l-stereoisomers of lactate and by the sensitivity of the d-lactate dehydrogenase to inhibition by oxamate and oxalate.     

Isolation and identification of adherent epimural bacteria during succession in young lambs

Successive changes in aerobic and anaerobic bacterial counts and changes in the generic composition of the epimural community in lambs from 1 to 10 weeks were determined. Bacterial culture counts revealed a predominantly anaerobic community, with the mean anaerobic count being 1.4 X 10(7) CFU/cm2 of tissue surface. The aerobic count was highest at 1 week of age and declined significantly thereafter to a mean of 1.8 X 10(4) CFU/cm2, thus representing only 0.13% of the mean anaerobic count after week 1. Of the 345 strains isolated anaerobically at 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 weeks of age, 47, 32, 12, 32, 2, and 5% were capable of growth in a partially reduced medium, indicating a reduction in the number of facultative anaerobes with time. The majority of isolated strains were identified as belonging to genera commonly isolated from rumen contents. In some instances, however, strains did not correspond to previously described species, and some genera were present in proportions different from those expected in rumen fluid. At three of the sampling times, one genus was dominant, constituting 45 to 55% of the isolates. These dominant isolates were Streptococcus bovis, Bacteroides sp., and an anaerobic Streptococcus sp. for weeks 1, 2, and 10, respectively. During the transition period (weeks 4 to 8), two or more groups were codominant.     

Natural purified porcine gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) stimulates exocrine pancreas secretion due to contamination with a cholecystokinin-like substance

The effects of purified natural gastric inhibitory polypeptide-enterogastrone III (GIP-EG III) and a fraction which is further purified by high pressure liquid chromatography (GIP-HPLC) were investigated on the endocrine and exocrine isolated perfused pancreas of rats. At the dose of 5 ng/ml used for both GIP preparations, only GIP-EG III significantly stimulated volume and amylase secretion of the exocrine pancreas. The response of insulin release to stimulation by GIP-EG III or GIP-HPLC was not significantly different. In the presence of cholecystokinin-octapeptide (CCK-8) at a concentration which gave half-maximal stimulation of amylase secretion, GIP-EG III almost doubled the response of the exocrine pancreas, whereas GIP-HPLC had no additional effect. CCK-8 alone significantly increased total insulin output under hyperglycemic conditions. We conclude that porcine GIP purified by gel chromatography contains a CCK-like substance which can be removed by further purification on high pressure liquid chromatography without affecting the insulinotropic activity. Some of the reported effects of GIP could be due to contamination.     

Phorbol esters activate proteoglycan metabolism in human colon cancer cells en route to terminal differentiation

Tumor-producing phorbol esters [e.g., 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)] induce changes in a human colon cancer cell line, VACO 10MS, that mimic terminal differentiation: a rapid blockade of DNA replication and cell division, a marked increase in cell adhesion properties with striking changes in morphology, and the acquisition of ion-transporting activities. The present report shows that the triggering of this terminal differentiation sequence by TPA is associated with a rapid release of heparan sulfate proteoglycans from the cell surface that is soon followed by an acceleration of proteoglycan synthesis. The activation of the release mechanism is independent of ongoing protein synthesis, whereas the resynthesis of the proteoglycans requires the production of new proteins. A persistent high rate of proteoglycan synthesis and release appears correlated with the progression of the colon cell into the terminal differentiation state. Bryostatin 1, an agent which has been shown previously to block the TPA-induced terminal differentiation of this cell line, also largely prevents the TPA effects on proteoglycan metabolism. Since both TPA and bryostatin 1 produce their effects through the activation of members of the protein kinase C class of enzymes, it is proposed that the differentiation state of these colon cancer cells may be regulated by a differential activation of isozymes or a ligand-directed phosphorylation of proteins that are involved in proteoglycan metabolism.     

Desmoplakins of Epithelial and Myocardial Desmosomes are Immunologically and Biochemically Related

Abstract. Guinea pig antibodies against desmoplakins from bovine muzzle epidermis showed specific reaction in several epithelial tissues with desmoplakin I (M_r 250,000) and desmoplakin II (M_r 215,000). By immunofluorescence microscopy, prominent punctate staining was observed in various lines of cultured epithelial cells, revealing desmosomal junctions at sites of established cell-to-cell contacts as well as hemidesmosomes and internalized desmosome-derived membrane domains. On frozen tissue sections punctate staining was observed along plasma membranes of epithelial cells, and electron microscopy using the immunoperoxidase technique revealed that the antibodies were specifically localized at the plaques associated with desmosomes and hemidesmosomes. Of a large number of non-epithelial cells examined positive staining was only observed on desmosome-like junctions of myocardial cells and Purkinje fiber cells. In both epithelial and myocardial tissues the antibodies showed a broad range of cross-reactivity between diverse vertebrate species such as man, cow, rodent, and chicken, indicating that desmoplakins contain determinants strongly conserved during evolution. When binding of these antibodies to cytoskeletal polypeptides separated by gel electrophoresis and blotted on nitrocellulose paper sheets was examined, specific reaction was noted with desmoplakin I and, to a variable degree, also desmoplakin II from various epithelial cells. Reaction was also observed with a myocardial polypeptide from bovine and human hearts which had a similar M_r value (250,000) and isoelectric pH range as desmoplakin I. We conclude that desmoplakins are the major proteins present in the desmosomal plaques of both epithelial and myocardial cells and that the desmoplakin polypeptides present in these two different cell types are very similar, if not identical.