THE REPLICATION TIME AND PATTERN OF THE LIVER CELL IN THE GROWING RAT

Three-week-old male rats of the Wistar strain were given tritiated thymidine, 1 µc/gm body weight, intraperitoneally and were killed at intervals from 0.25 to 72 hours later. Autoradiographs were made from 5 µ sections, stained by the Feulgen method. The replication time and its component intervals were determined from the scoring of the labeling of interphase nuclei as well as of prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase nuclei. Absorption of the intraperitoneally injected label is rapid and is attended by "flash" labeling during interphase. The results show that at any one time about 4 per cent of the liver cells are synthesizing DNA preliminary to cell division. These cells alternate with waves of other cells and it is estimated that about 10 per cent of the liver cell population is engaged in cell duplication. The replication time is about 21.5 hours, and its component intervals occupy the following times: DNA synthesis, 9 hours; post-DNA synthesis gap, 0.50 hour; prophase, 1.3 hours; metaphase, 1.0 hour; anaphase, 0.4 hour; telophase, 0.3 hour; postmitosis gap, 9.0 hours. A group of liver cells has been recorded in at least 3 successive replication cycles.     

Morphological responses by Bosmina longirostris and Eubosmina tubicen to changes in copepod predator populations during a whole-lake acidification experiment

Changes in zooplankton populations during the experimental acidilicationof Little Rock Lake provided an opportunity to examine specificmechanisms underlying the morphological responses of bosminidsto changing predation pressure. Two large copepods, Epischuralacustris and Mesocyclops edax, disappeared from the lake'sacidified basin in 1986 and 1989, respectively, while a smallercopepod predator, Tropocyclops extensus, increased during laterstages of acidification. The two bosminid species showed distinctlydifferent responses coinciding with the changes in copepod predation.Bosmina longirostris exhibited a significant decrease in mucrolength with the decline of M.edax and E.lacustris. Its meanbody and antennule length, however, did not change. We suggestthat the decoupling of B.longirostris mucro length and antennulelength may have been related to the persistence of the smallercopepod predator, T.extensus. Eubosmina tubicen showed no apparentresponse to declines in M.edax and E.lacustris abundance ineither mean mucro, antennule or body length. Allometric analysesindicated, however, that mucro length was related to size-dependentcopepod predation for both B.longirostris and E.tubicen.     

A highly conserved nuclear gene for low-level phylogenetics: elongation factor-1 alpha recovers morphology-based tree for heliothine moths

Molecular systematists need increased access to nuclear genes. Highly conserved, low copy number protein-encoding nuclear genes have attractive features for phylogenetic inference but have heretofore been applied mostly to very ancient divergences. By virtue of their synonymous substitutions, such genes should contain a wealth of information about lower-level taxonomic relationships as well, with the advantage that amino acid conservatism makes both alignment and primer definition straightforward. We tested this postulate for the elongation factor-1 alpha (EF-1 alpha) gene in the noctuid moth subfamily Heliothinae, which has probably diversified since the middle Tertiary. We sequenced 1,240 bp in 18 taxa representing heliothine groupings strongly supported by previous morphological and allozyme studies. The single most parsimonious gene tree and the neighbor-joining tree for all nucleotides show almost complete concordance with the morphological tree. Homoplasy and pairwise divergence levels are low, transition/transversion ratios are high, and phylogenetic information is spread evenly across gene regions. The EF-1 alpha gene and presumably other highly conserved genes hold much promise for phylogenetics of Tertiary age eukaryote groups.      

Mesodern-inducing factors and mesodermal patterning

Identification of the signalling molecules involved in mesoderm formation in amphibian embryos still presents problems. None of the original candidates, such as activin, have been definitively ruled out, and the new factors, such as the nodal-related genes, have come on to the scene. Of the original candidates, activin has been definitively shown to act as a morphogen, whereas bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-4 has emerged as a ventral inducer and an inhibitor of neural differentiation. The effects of BMP-4 are antagonized by chordin, a molecule related to the product of the Drosophila gene short gastrulation.     

Role of lipoxygenase products in the effects of angiotensin II in the isolated aorta and perfused heart of the rat

The objective of this study was to determine whether arachidonate metabolites are involved in the vasoconstrictive effects of angiotensin II in rats. In the isolated perfused heart, dexamethasone (4 mg/kg) significantly suppressed the maximal decreases in coronary flow induced by angiotensin II and vasopressin (reference drug). In the heart, the nonselective lipoxygenase inhibitor nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA, 1 muM) markedly suppressed the angiotensin II-induced decreases in coronary flow. NDGA (10 muM) inhibited both angiotensin II- and methoxamine- (reference drug) induced contractions in aortic rings with (in the presence of L-NAME) and without endothelium. In the heart, the leukotriene synthesis inhibitor MK-886 (0.3 muM) significantly reduced the maximal effects to angiotensin II, but the leukotriene antagonist FPL 55712 (0.1 and 0.3 muM) had no effect. We conclude that in the isolated perfused rat heart angiotensin II-induced decreases in coronary flow are in part mediated by Hpoxygenase products, which might be derived from the 5-Hpoxygenase pathway, but are probably not leukotrienes. Furthermore, endothelium independent Hpoxygenase products mediate part of the contractile responses to angiotensin II in the isolated rat aorta.     

Phosphorylation from adenosine triphosphate of sodium- and potassium-activated adenosine triphosphatase. Comparison of enzyme-ligand complexes as precursors to the phosphoenzyme.

The relative effectiveness of the ligands Mg2+, Na+, and ATP in preparing sodium plus potassium ion transport adenosine triphosphatase for phosphorylation was studied by means of a rapid mixing apparatus. Addition of 2 mM MgC12, 120 mM NaC1, and 5 muM [gamma-32P]ATP simultaneously to the free enzyme gave an initial phosphorylation rate of about 0.3 mu mol-mg-1-min-1 at 25 degrees and pH7.4. Addition of Mg2+ to the enzyme beforehand, separately or in combination with Na+ or ATP, had little effect on the initial rate. Addition of Na+ only to the enzyme beforehand increased this rate 1.5- to 3-fold. Early addition of ATP 130 ms before Na+ plus Mg2+ increased the rate 6- to 7-fold. Early addition of Na+ plus ATP was most effective; it increased the rate about 10-fold. The data indicate that Na+ and ATP bind in a random order and that each ligand potentiates the effect of the other. The rate of dissociation of ATP from the enzyme was estimated by a chase of unlabeled ATP of variable duration. This rate was slowest in the presence of Mg2+ (k = 540 min-1), most rapid in the presence of Na+ (k = 2000 min-1), and intermediate (k = 1100 min-1) in the absence of metal ions. The effect of Na+ concentration on the rate of phosphorylation was estimated when Na+ with Mg2+ was added to the enzyme-ATP complex. The rate followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a maximum of 2.9 mu mol-mg-1 and a Km of 8 mM. The effect of Na+ concentration was also estimated on the increment in the rate of phosphorylation produced by the presence of Na+ with the enzyme-ATP complex beforehand. The increment followed the same kinetics with a maximum of 3.75 mu mol-mg-1-min-1 and a Km of 5.4 mM. In both cases estimation of the Hill coefficient failed to show cooperativity between binding sites for Na+. In contrast, the dependence of ouabain-sensitive ATPase activity on Na+ concentration in the absence of K+ indicated two sites for Na+ with apparent Km values of 0.16 and 8.1 mM, respectively.