Determination of plasma leukotrienes in antigen-induced bronchoconstrictive guinea pigs.

Convenient extraction and radioimmunoassay methods for measurement of leukotrienes C4 and D4 (LTC4 and LTD4) in biological fluids are described. LTC4 or LTD4 in plasma was extracted with acetonitrile, and the extract was washed with dichloromethane then adjusted to pH 3.5 or 6.0, respectively. Each leukotriene was partially purified by using a C18-bonded silica cartridge and quantitated by radioimmunoassay. Amounts of LTC4 and LTD4 in the range of 0.025-1.6 ng could be assayed in plasma. This procedure was employed to examine the increase in plasma LTC4 (0.249 +/- 0.036 ng/ml) and LTD4 (1.399 +/- 0.235 ng/ml) of guinea pigs during intravenous challenge-induced anaphylactic bronchoconstriction, and the suppression of the increase of bronchoconstriction and leukotrienes by the administration of 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors such as E6080 (6-hydroxy-2-(4-sulfamoylbenzyl-amino)- 4,5,7-trimethylbenzothiazole hydrochloride), AA861 (2,3,5-trimethyl-6-(12-hydroxy-5,10-dodecadiynyl)-1,4-benzoquinone ) and phenidone. On the other hand, LTC4 and LTD4 were not detected in plasma after an inhaled challenge, though significant bronchoconstriction was provoked. It was concluded that the present study validates a new technique for quantitating plasma leukotrienes on the basis of pH and a suitable method for evaluating the pharmacological efficacy of 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors.     

Continuous spectrophotometric assays for dopamine beta-monooxygenase based on two novel electron donors: N,N-dimethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine and 2-aminoascorbic acid.

Based on the novel chromophoric electron donors, N,N-dimethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (DMPD) and 2-amino-2-deoxy-L-ascorbic acid (2-aminoascorbic acid), two sensitive, convenient, and continuous spectrophotometric assays for dopamine beta-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.17.1) are described. Both, DMPD and 2-aminoascorbic acid are kinetically and stoichiometrically well-behaved electron donors for dopamine beta-monooxygenase with kinetic parameters comparable to the most efficient physiological electron donor, ascorbic acid. During dopamine beta-monooxygenase turnover, DMPD is converted to its chromophoric cation radical which is stable under the standard assay conditions. The rate of the enzyme-dependent formation of DMPD cation radical under standard assay conditions could easily be followed at 515 nm with high accuracy and reproducibility. Similarly, dopamine beta-monooxygenase-mediated oxidation of 2-aminoascorbic acid results in the formation of the known, stable chromophoric product, 2,2'-nitrilodi-2(2')-deoxy-L-ascorbic acid (red pigment), which has a very strong absorption maximum at 385 nm. Both the above assays are superior to the existing assays in their convenience, reproducibility, and sensitivity for routine kinetic analysis of dopamine beta-monooxygenase and may be adopted as a simple color test for the enzyme. We propose that the above assays could also be adopted to design continuous and sensitive spectrophotometric assays for ascorbate oxidase, peptidyl alpha-amidating monooxygenase, and the chromaffin granule electron transport protein, cytochrome b561, due to their remarkable similarity to dopamine beta-monooxygenase in the chemistry of catalysis with regard to the electron donor.     

Preparation of eumelanin-related metabolites 5,6-dihydroxyindole, 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid, and their O-methyl derivatives

5,6-Dihydroxyindole (5,6DHI) and 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (5,6DHI2C) are ultimate precursors of the black melanin, eumelanin. These indolic metabolites and their O-methyl derivatives are excreted in urine of melanoma patients at high levels and of healthy persons at low levels. We describe here a simplified procedure for preparing milligram to subgram quantities of 5,6DHI and 5,6DHI2C and their O-methyl derivatives. Dopachrome generated in situ by ferricyanide oxidation of dopa at pH 6.5 underwent spontaneous decarboxylation to give 5,6DHI in 40% isolation yield, while treatment of dopachrome with alkali at pH 13 afforded 5,6DHI2C in 38% isolation yield. Two isomeric O-methyl derivatives of 5,6DHI were prepared by treatment with diazomethane, while those of 5,6DHI2C were prepared by treatment with diazomethane followed by alkaline hydrolysis of the methyl esters. 5,6DHI and 6-hydroxy-5-methoxyindole were also obtained by heating the corresponding carboxylic acids in decalin. 5-Hydroxy-6-methoxyindole and 6-hydroxy-5-methoxyindole-2-carboxylic acid could also be prepared by debenzylation of the commercially available O-benzyl derivatives.     

Automated Food-Procuring Movement-Related Neuronal Activity in the Basolateral Amygdala of the Rat

We studied the impulse activity of neurons of the basal and lateral amygdalar nuclei generated when experimental animals (rats) performed fast stereotyped food-procuring movements by the forelimb. Within the basolateral amygdala, there are neurons whose activity is related to different stages of getting off the food, and according to the characteristics of their spiking these neurons should be divided into a number of subpopulations. Activation forestalling the movement initiation by 0.5-1.0 sec was observed in most neurons of the basolateral amygdala; this is considered a manifestation of excitation related to a motivation component of the food-procuring behavior. Activation of amygdalar neurons following movement initiation can result from generation in this structure of additional excitation necessary for successful performance of a complete food-procuring motor cycle.     

Expression of a lipocalin in prokaryote and eukaryote cells: quantification and structural characterization of recombinant bovine beta-lactoglobulin.

In this paper we quantify and characterize the expression of recombinant beta-lactoglobulin (rBLG) in prokaryote and eukaryote cells. In Escherichia coli we used the pET26 vector, which permits the secretion of rBLG in periplasm. We studied the expression of rBLG in COS-7 cells and in vivo in mouse tibialis muscle. The expression of rBLG was measured by two immunoassays specific, respectively, for BLG in its native and denatured conformation. We observed that rBLG was essentially expressed in a denatured form in E. coli even in the periplasm, whereas rBLG in eukaryote cells was found in its native conformation.