Step response of lung surface-to-volume ratio by light-scattering stereology

By means of backscattered light from a pointlike source on the pleural surface, we investigated the dynamic behavior of the surface-to-volume ratio (S/V) in excised dog lobes subjected to small volume steps both in and out on both the inflation and deflation limb of standard pressure-volume maneuvers. The technique utilizes the established correlation of the pattern of backscattered light with morphometric mean linear intercept and is suitable for dynamic studies. We hypothesized that 1) there would be a difference in the timing of stress relaxation or recovery between alveolar septa and the fibromuscular tissue in the alveolar duct that would reveal itself as a temporally changing S/V after a step-volume change and 2) that geometric hysteresis (looping of S/V with volume), as seen with large volume excursion histories, would be similarly present in small tidal volume loops. Our experimental results contradicted both hypotheses. In particular, we found virtually no change in S/V after a step-volume change, even in the presence of substantial stress adaptation. In addition, when geometric hysteresis of small loops was present, it was always in the sense opposite to the geometric hysteresis of large loops. We conclude that 1) there is a functional "matching" of the stress-adaptive timing between alveolar septa and ductal mouths and 2) during small volume looping, the stress hysteresis (looping of stress with volume) in the ductal tissue may be larger than that of the septa, including surface tension.     

Performance of noncountermovement jump with both knee and hip joints fully extended

The relationships between neuromuscular performance and biomechanical variables were studied in maximum vertical jumps to examine the factors influencing the performance of a noncountermovement jump. Keeping their knee and hip joint fully extended, five healthy subjects performed four kinds of noncountermovement jumps and one countermovement jump, during which ankle joint angle, platform force, and surface electromyograms of a triceps surae muscle were recorded. In the four noncountermovement jumps, the magnitude of activation and force at the onset of a shortening contraction of the triceps surae muscle were controlled at four different levels. Performance parameters of the noncountermovement jumps, maximum angular velocity of the ankle angle and flight time, correlated with the platform force at the onset of the plantar flexion. Furthermore the integrated electromyograms of the triceps surae muscle before the plantar flexion were correlated with the maximum angular velocity of the ankle angle and the force at the plantar flexion onset. The findings suggest that the efficient utilization of the muscle characteristic contributes to an enhancement of the noncountermovement jump.     

Heptapeptide toxin production during the batch culture of two Microcystis species (Cyanobacteria)

Changes in the content of cyclic heptapeptide hepatotoxins called microcystins were investigated during batch culture of two Microcystis species using high performance liquid chromatography. After adsorption to ODS-silica gel cartridges and elution with methanol, the toxins were analyzed and quantified by HPLC. 35 μg per 100 mg dry cells of microcystin-RR, 34 μg of -YR and 43 μg of -LR were present at the beginning of the exponential growth phase of M. viridis. Microcystin-RR increased markedly towards the end of the exponential phase with the maximum content of 112 μg per 100 mg cells was measured at the late stage of the exponential phase. A remarkable increase of microcystin-YR from 130 μg per 100 mg cells to 1020 μg was observed during the exponential phase of a highly toxic strain of M. aeruginosa. However no clear differences were found in the pattern of change among the three toxins during the growth course.     

Lysosomal acid lipase deficiency in rats: lipid analyses and lipase activities in liver and spleen

We report the biological characterization of an animal model of a genetic lipid storage disease analogous to human Wolman's disease. Affected rats accumulated cholesteryl esters (13.3-fold), free cholesterol (2.8-fold), and triglycerides (5.4-fold) in the liver, as well as cholesteryl esters (2.5-fold) and free cholesterol (1.33-fold) in the spleen. Triglycerides did not accumulate, and the levels actually decreased in the spleen. Analysis of the fatty acid composition of the cholesteryl esters and triglycerides showed high percentages of linoleic acid (18:2) and arachidonic acid (20:4) in both organs, especially in the liver. No accumulation of phospholipids, neutral glycosphingolipids, or gangliosides was found in the affected rats. Acid lipase activity for [14C]triolein, [14C]cholesteryl oleate, and 4-methyl-umbelliferyl oleate was deficient in both the liver and spleen of affected rats. Lipase activity at neutral pH was normal in both liver and spleen. Heterozygous rats showed intermediate utilization of these substrates in both organs at levels between those for affected rats and those for normal controls, although they did not accumulate any lipids. These data suggest that these rats represent an animal counterpart of Wolman's disease in humans.     

Harderianization is another sexual dimorphism of rat exorbital lacrimal gland

The exorbital lacrimal glands (ELG) of rats were examined for both sexes to determine what degree of harderianization occurred as a function of age and after castration, and to investigate its time course and origin in ELG. Light microscopically, very small Harderian foci were seen in the ELG of both sexes at 3 weeks of age. As the male rats became older, the relative volume of the Harderian gland (HG) cells in the ELG increased. At age 6 months, the value was 1.25 +/- 0.31% in males and 0.13 +/- 0.05% in females (p less than 0.05). After castration, a significant decrease (0.21 +/- 0.01%, p less than 0.05) was observed in that of male ELG. In contrast, in female ELG, HG cells were inconspicuous and the relative volume of those did not vary during this experimental period or after castration. It appeared that the HG cells had developed from undifferentiated basal cells of the acini and the intercalated ducts in the ELG at age 2-6 months. Then, at age 22 months, they also probably developed from those of the excretory ducts of the ELG.     

Stimulation of non-specific resistance to tumors in the mouse using a poly(maleic-acid-styrene)-conjugated neocarzinostatin

Summary The development of non-specific resistance to tumors following stimulation with poly(maleic-acid-styrene)-conjugated neocarzinostatin (SMANCS), a polymer-conjugated derivative of neocarzinostatin, was investigated in mice. The growth of syngeneic solid tumors (Meth-A fibrosarcoma and RL 1 leukemia) inoculated into BALB/c mice was suppressed after one treatment with SMANCS at doses ranging from 0.14 mg/kg to 3.4 mg/kg i.v. 24 h before tumor implantation. Since previously observations concerning SMANCS have shown that it disappeared within 1.5 h after i.v. administration in mice and that it was inactivated quickly in plasma, SMANCS evidently inhibited tumor growth by mediating non-specific resistance. In addition, the non-specific resistance to tumors stimulated by SMANCS could be passively transferred to untreated mice by serum which was shown to contain interferon (IFN) from 12 h to 20 h after SMANCS administration. However, the resistance was not produced by serum prepared from mice at 8 h or 32 h after administration presumably because of the observation that the interferon activity was only demonstrated from 12 h to 28 h after SMANCS stimulation. When the serum specimens were treated with anti-IFN- antiserum, the antitumor activity of the sera was abrogated. However, no significant change was detected in the antitumor activity of the specimens following treatment with anti-IFN-/ antiserum. Treatment of mice with SMANCS and anti-IFN- antiserum together resulted in the elimination of the non-specific resistance to tumors. The IFN induced in the sera of mice by SMANCS was shown to be 57% IFN- and 41% IFN-/. Half of the interferon produced in SMANCS-stimulated mice could be eliminated by treatment with anti-IFN-, and treatment of SMANCS-stimulated mice with both anti-IFN- and anti-IFN-/ antisera resulted in a total absence of detectable interferon. These findings suggest that while the administration of SMANCS induces both IFN- and IFN-/ production, in this case, it is only the former which mediates the non-specific resistance to tumors.     

Covalent structure of a low-molecular-mass protein, meleagrin, present in a turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) ovomucoid preparation

A low-molecular-mass protein, tentatively named meleagrin, was isolated from a commercial preparation of turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) ovomucoid. This 40-amino acid protein contains 3 disulfide bonds and high concentrations of aromatic residues (2 tryptophans and 3 tyrosines). It lacks threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, and arginine residues. The complete amino acid sequence was determined to be the following: less than Glu-Val-Leu-Lys-Tyr-Cys-Pro-Lys-Ile-Gly-Tyr-Cys-Ser-Ser-Lys-Cys-Ser-Lys- Ala- Glu-Val-Trp-Ala-Tyr-Ser-Pro-Asp-Cys-Lys-Val-His-Cys-Cys-Val-Pro-Ala-Asn- Gln-Lys - Trp. One of the three disulfide bonds exists between Cys12 and Cys28, and the two others links Cys32-Cys33 with Cys6 and Cys16. The amino acid sequence of meleagrin shows a strong homology to a similar basic protein, cygnin (Simpson, G.R. & Morgan, F.J. [1983] Int. J. Pep. Protein Res. 22, 476-481), of a rather distantly related aves, black swan (Cygnus atratus), suggesting some vital role of this protein in avian eggs. Similarity to a part (exon 9) of transferrins was also recognized.     

Purification and characterization of the active serine: pyruvate aminotransferase of rat liver mitochondria expressed in Escherichia coli

In the previous study (Oda, T., et al. (1985) Eur. J. Biochem. 150, 415-421), we isolated a cDNA clone which expressed in Escherichia coli a specific size of product having the activity of rat liver serine:pyruvate aminotransferase (SPTm). This specific product (SPT10) was purified to homogeneity through three different column chromatographies. The amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme agreed with those predicted from the nucleotide sequence of cDNA and showed that SPT10 consists of the whole amino acid sequence of mature SPTm and several extra amino acid residues at the N-terminus. The catalytic and physical properties of SPT10, such as substrate specificity, Km for alpha-keto acids, electric charge, and quaternary structure, were all very similar to those of SPTm. Using several cDNA clones which lack a 5'-terminal sequence corresponding to a portion of the N-terminal amino acid sequence of SPTm, we examined the expression profile of the specific product in bacteria transformed with each cDNA clone. The products encoded by these cDNAs were segregated into inclusion bodies and were neither catalytically active nor easily solubilized by sonication. In contrast, the inclusion bodies were not formed in the bacteria transformed with the cDNA clone for SPT10.