Suppression of the development of uterine adenomyosis by danazol treatment in mice.

Inhibitory effects of danazol, an isoxazol derivative of synthetic steroid 17 alpha-ethinyl-testosterone, on the development of uterine adenomyosis, a pathological disorder of endometrial tissue defined as the presence of endometrial glands and stroma in the myometrium, were investigated in mice of SHN strain. Mice treated with 0.5 microgram danazol for 5 weeks during 4-9 weeks of age and killed at 21 weeks of age showed significantly lower incidence of the spontaneous development of adenomyosis than the age-matched intact control mice. The inhibitory effects of danazol were also evident in mice bearing pituitary isografts which were effective in inducing an early and a high incidence of adenomyosis. Furthermore, the treatment with danazol resulted in the decrease of serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and prolactin (PRL) associated with hypofunction of ovaries and persistent diestrus. These results support the usefulness of danazol for the clinical treatment of gynecological disorders except for hypofunction of ovaries.     

Decontamination ofFusarium mycotoxins,nivalenol, deoxynivalenol,and zearalenone,in barley by the polishing process

Korean dehusked and unhusked barley naturally contaminated withFusarium mycotoxins were polished using a Satake Grain Testing Mill. The pearled barley and bran fractions with different degrees of polishing were analyzed for nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) by gas chromatography with an electron capture detector, and for zearalenone (ZEN) by high-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. NIV was detected in all the pearled barley fractions, but DON and ZEN were not detected in ≥27 % pearled barley fractions from dehusked barley and ≥36% pearled barley fractions from unhusked barley. However, for all degrees of polishing, NIV, DON, and ZEN were detected in bran fractions. The levels of NIV, DON, and ZEN in the bran fractions increased several fold over the original barley. Polishing was effective in removing DON and ZEN from the naturally contaminated barley, but not NIV.     

Purification of monomeric agmatine iminohydrolase from soybean

Agmatine iminohydrolase (EC 3.5.3.12) was purified to homogeneity from the cytosol of soybean (Glycine max) axes by chromatographic separations on Sephadex G-25, Bio-rex 70, and agmatine-affinity columns. The enzyme was homogeneous by the criteria of analytical gel electrophoresis. Molecular weights estimated by Sephadex G-100 gel and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were 70,000, indicating that the soybean axes enzyme is a monomer, in contrast to the dimeric enzymes from corn and rice. The isoelectric point determined by gel electrofocusing was 7.5, higher than that of the corn enzyme (4.7). The optimal pH and temperature for activity were 6.5 and 50 degrees C, respectively. The enzyme has high specificity for agmatine, and the Km for agmatine was 2.5 x 10(-3) molar. The enzyme was sensitive to Cu2+ and also was inhibited by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate.     

Hybrid cytokines as hematopoietic growth factors.

A large body of in vitro and in vivo data suggests that combinations of cytokines provide the most effective mechanism for stimulating multilineage acceleration of hematopoiesis. Creation of a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)/interleukin 3 (IL-3) fusion protein has yielded a single therapeutic which has enhanced biological activity in comparison to the individual cytokines from which it is composed. In vivo studies with this fusion protein (PIXY321) suggest that it may provide a means to accelerate both neutrophil and platelet recovery in clinical settings in which hematopoiesis is suppressed. The biology of PIXY321 and the potential for other fusion proteins is discussed.     

Differentiation between thermophilic Campylobacter species by species-specific antibodies

P.L. GRIFFITHS. G.S. MORENO AND R.W. A. PARK. 1992. The four species of thermophilic camplyobacters, Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli, C. upsaliensis and C. lari , are difficult to distinguish from each other because of their lack of reactivity in many conventional biochemical and physiological tests. Those tests which do discriminate sometimes give discordant results. Species-specific antibody preparations (APs), capable of discriminating between the thermophilic campylobacter species by dot-ELISA, were raised by inoculation of mice with partially purified membrane protein. The APs produced were absorbed with cells of cross-reactive species and tested by dot-ELISA against reference and natural strains, the identities of which were confirmed by DNA/DNA hybridization. The results showed that such APs could be useful as an alternative to DNA/DNA hybridization for rapid species identification, for example in epidemiological surveys. Western blotting experiments with the APs showed that the specificity of the antibodies was not due to a single antigen.     

Identification of new urinary metabolites of trimeprazine in rats by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry

The metabolites of trimeprazine were identified in urine of rats by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry. After the oral administration of trimeprazine, the urinary metabolites were extracted with diethyl ether before or after hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase. The identified metabolites were N-demethyltrimeprazine, 3-hydroxytrimeprazine, N-demethyl-3-hydroxytrimeprazine and trimeprazine sulphoxide.     

Molecular Structure of Frizzled, a Drosophila Tissue Polarity Gene

The function of the frizzled (fz) locus is required to coordinate the cytoskeletons of pupal epidermal cells so that a parallel array of cuticular hairs and bristles is produced. We report here the molecular cloning and characterization of the fz locus. The locus is very large. Mutations that inactivate the gene are spread over 100 kb of genomic DNA. The major mRNA product of the gene is a 4-kb RNA that is encoded by 5 exons spread over more than 90 kb of genomic DNA. Conceptual translation of this mRNA indicates that it encodes an integral membrane protein that is likely to contain both extracellular and cytoplasmic domains.     

A new biosensor for specific determination of glucose or fructose using an oxidoreductase of Zymomonas mobilis

Cells of Zymomonas mobilis were permeabilized with toluene in order to utilize the enzymes, glucose-fructose oxidoreductase and gluconolactonase, inside the intact cells. Permeabilized cells were immobilized in a gelatin membrane, and a whole cell enzyme electrode was constructed by fixing the membrane on pH electrode. The biosensor developed was used for specific determination of glucose or fructose by detecting the production rate of hydrogen ion. Optimum conditions for biosensor response were pH 6.2 and temperature of 39 degrees C. The biosensor was highly specific and reproducible, and calibration curves for glucose and fructose were excellent, being linear up to 5 and 50 g/L, respectively.