3H-SCH 23390 binding sites in the rat substantia nigra: evidence for a presynaptic localization and innervation by dopamine

Chronic treatment with SCH 23390, a selective D-1 dopamine receptor antagonist, elicited a 32% increase in the density of 3H-SCH 23390 binding sites in nigral membrane preparations but failed to change the apparent KD of the ligand for its binding sites. Haloperidol, a D-2 dopamine receptor antagonist which blocks the dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase and (-) sulpiride, a selective D-2 dopamine receptor blocker, which does not block the dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase, failed to change both the Bmax and KD of 3H-SCH 23390 binding. Finally, the intrastriatal injection of kainic acid produced a marked decrease of both GAD activity and GABA content and 3H-SCH 23390 binding sites (65%) in the homolateral substantia nigra. The results show that in the rat substantia nigra most of the 3H-SCH 23390 binding sites have a presynaptic localization on the striato-nigral GABAergic afferent terminals and suggest that dopamine released from nigral dendrites exerts a tonic influence on these presynaptic D-1 dopamine receptors.     

Partial trisomies 13 and 22 due to nondisjunction of a maternal reciprocal translocation,t(13;22)(q22;q11)

Summary A family is reported in which the propositus has an extra G-like chromosome with an unusual G-banding pattern. Cytogenetic family studies showed that the mother is a carrier of a balanced reciprocal translocation t(13;22), which does not affect the size and morphology of the chromosomes involved. The propositus has a 47,XY,+der(22),t(13;22)(q22;q11) karyotype and is therefore partially trisomic for the distal third of the long arm of chromosome 13 and for a very small part of chromosome 22. The clinical findings are presented and compared with those of other reported cases of partial trisomies 13 and 22.     

Incorporation of (3H)thymidine stimulated by ultraviolet radiation into human fibroblast cultures.

We studied DNA repair synthesis after ultraviolet irradiation in human fibroblasts cultured in vitro by measuring the ultraviolet-stimulated incorporation of [3H]thymidine into cells in which the semi-conservative DNA replication was inhibited by hydroxyurea. Experiments performed with five fibroblasts lines derived from healthy donors showed a relatively fast initial process ( that is completed within 1 h for 100 erg/mm2 and within 2 h for 500 erg/mm2) and a subsequent slower process, evident between 2 and 6 h after irradiation. The repair capacity of normal cells is expressed by the difference between the values of incorporation (in presence of hydroxyurea) of irradiated and control cells. The pattern of repair was similar in all five cell lines: repair capacity was positive and the amount of repair synthesis increased with incubation time after UV irratiation. Similar experiments were performed with fibroblasts derived from five patients with the classical xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and from one patient with the De Sanctis-Cacchione syndrome. Normal and XP cells could be distinguished according to whether they displayed a positive or negative value of repair synthesis and/or according to the degree of the slope of the repair synthesis curve as a function of the incubation time after irradiation. We conclude that the technique used in our experiments can demonstrate in a rapid and simple way a defect in the repair capacity in fibroblast cultures; the data are in good agreement with those obtained in the same XP cell lines by other authors [9], who have measured unscheduled DNA synthesis in autoradiographs and repair replication after addition of BUdR.     

Selective breeding of high and Low antibody-responder lines of guinea pigs

High (H) and Low (L) antibody-responder lines of guinea pigs were produced by selective breeding for the character quantitative agglutinin responsiveness to optimal doses of sheep erythrocytes (SE) and chicken erythrocytes (CE). The non cross-reacting SE and CE were alternated with each generation in order to avoid the specific interference of maternally transmitted antibodies. The continuous distribution of the phenotypes in the foundation population (F₀) and the progressive interline divergence during eight consecutive generations of selective breeding demonstrates that the character investigated is submitted to polygenic regulation. The difference in the peak agglutinin titers between the H and L lines of the eighth generation (HF₈/LF₈) is eight fold. The mean heritability (h²) of the character investigated, measured from the interline divergence of the eight generations of selection is 0.18±0.04. The h² value was established by the linear regression of the cumulated response to selection (R) on the cumulated selection differential (S). The selective breeding has a nonspecific effect because it also modifies the antibody responsiveness to other immunogens, such as f and s antigens ofSalmonella typhimurium or human erythrocytes, that are immunologically unrelated to those used in the selection.     

Mimicry of isozyme adaptive advantage by gene association I. Relationship between Adh genotypes and body dimension in Drosophila cage populations: A multivariate analysis

Experiments are described that are to prove that the apparent selective responses at the Adh locus in Drosophila melanogaster are not independent from its genetic background and from the variation at the gene pool level brought about by the changes of selection pressure. The dynamics of allozyme frequencies were observed at the Adh locus, of five metric traits and of reproductive fitness in two synthetic populations of Drosophila melanogaster originated from the same cross between Canton and Oregon strains, homozygotes for different Adh alleles and reared at different temperature (25 °C and 28 °C), until all above mentioned characters showed no more variations. The results obtained by univariate and multivariate statistical analyses can be summarized as follows:

- Adh ^s allele frequency keeps high and reaches very similar values in spite of the different environmental temperatures, whose selective effects at the Adh locus are therefore unlikely;

- both populations evolve toward the stabilization of Adh frequencies and other characters with a process strictly dependent on the permanence of coadapted blocks of genes which were contributed to the F₂ generation by the parental Canton and which are identified phenotypically by the association of Adh ^s/s with short wing;

- at the stabilization point the flies classified on the basis of their Adh genotype exhibit different shapes, namely their metric phenotypes can be discriminated considering all the respective traits together by means of multivariate analyses.

Owing to the presence in the initial populations of heterosis and epistatic interactions between loci, the observed differences between Adh genotype groups should represent the outcome of selection upon coadapted blocks of genes rather than on individual loci. Therefore, these results are argued as further evidence that each Adh genotype can be associated to different gene arrangements and its adaptive value cannot be isolated from that of its genetic background.     

Structure of yolk granules in oocytes and eggs of Blattella germanica and their interaction with vitellophages and endosymbiotic bacteria during granule degradation

Oocytes and embryos of the cockroach Blattella germanica were examined by optical and electron microscopy to study yolk granule degradation during embryo development. During vitellogenesis, progressively larger yolk granules are formed in the ooplasm and by chorionogenesis, the mature granules are packed so tightly that their shape is highly distorted. Throughout ovarian development, endosymbiotic bacteria lie at the follicle cell/oocyte interface. Just prior to chorionogenesis the endosymbionts transit the oocyte plasma membrane and cluster at the periphery. Bacteria become more numerous over the ventral region of the egg by day 1 postovulation and begin to invade the interior of the yolk mass from the ventral periphery. At that time, lysis of the nearby yolk granules occurs while those in the central ooplasm remain intact and free of bacteria up to day 4. Vitellophages become evident by day 2 postovulation. These cells are also distributed over the egg's periphery but are most numerous in the ventral region. Vitellophages, in association with the endosymbionts, protrude toward the yolk granules and extend filo- and lamellipodia over the granule surface. Portions of the yolk granules are then engulfed and sequestered as large vacuoles in the vitellophage's cytoplasm. The vacuoles then become vesiculated. As embryo development proceeds, the vesiculated portions partition into smaller multivesicular bodies. This study describes the dynamics of yolk granule-vitellophage interaction in embryos of B. germanica and suggests that yolk utilization entails the cooperative efforts of both vitellophages and endosymbiont bacteria.     

Headspace gas composition in fourPrunus avium cultivars with differing photosynthetic capabilities

Summary Endogenous and exogenous volatile substances were analyzed during 30 days' incubation of four cultivars of thePrunus avium species grown in vitro on a proliferation medium. Cultivars Bigarreau Moreau and Bigarreau Burlat show photosynthetic capability at 35 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹; oxygen concentration slightly increased (22 to 24%), carbon dioxide was lowered to less than 300 μ·liter⁻¹, and low ethylene (0.8 to 1.2·liter⁻¹) accumulation was recorded. Quite different headspace evolution was observed during growth of cultivars Victoria and Casavecchia: a large oxygen concentration decrease was accompanied by a sharp carbon dioxide increase (19%) and ethylene boost (4 to 5 μl·liter⁻¹). The evolution of these gaseous metabolites has been correlated to photosynthetic incapability and respiratory stress responsible for leaf yellowing and tissue softening observed when acetaldehyde and ethanol started to form in cultivars Victoria and Casavecchia. Dry and fresh weight were measured, and no substantial difference was recorded among cultures with low and high photosynthetic capability. Evidence is reported that different genotypes within the same species may follow different metabolic pathways.