Effect of methallibure (ICI 33,828) on the pituitary-gonad and the pituitary-thyroid axes of the Indian garden lizard,Calotes versicolor (Daudin)

Summary The effect of methallibure (ICI 33,828) on the pituitary-gonad and the pituitary-thyroid axes of the Indian garden lizard, Calotes versicolor was studied. Following administration of methallibure B₂ (FSH) and B₃ (ICSH) cells of the pars distalis exhibited significant alterations with concomitant changes in the seminiferous tubules, and in the interstitial cells and epididymis respectively. B₁ (TSH) cells exhibited conspicuous hypertrophy and degranulation which was reflected in dramatic changes in thyroid morphology. The caudally localized acidophilic A₁ (PRL) cells also showed hypertrophy, hyperplasia and intense granulation. The rostrally located A₂ (STH) acidophils and the B₄ (ACTH) cells were unaffected by the treatment. The possible mode of action of this drug is discussed in the light of available literature.Supported by a grant from the University Grants Commission of India. The generous supply of methallibure by Dr. A.L. Walpole of the Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, England, through Professor C.J. Dominic, Banaras Hindu University, is gratefully acknowledged     

Scale-up of naringinase production process based on the constant oxygen transfer rate for a novel strain of Bacillus methylotrophicus

Naringinase bioprocess based on Bacillus methylotrophicus was successfully scaled up based on constant oxygen transfer rate (OTR) as the scale-up criterion from 5-L bioreactor to 20-L bioreactor. OTR was measured in 5 and 20-L bioreactor under various operating conditions using dynamic method. The operating conditions, where complete dispersion was observed were identified. The highest OTR of 0.035 and 0.04?mMol/L/s was observed in 5 and 20-L bioreactor, respectively. Critical dissolved oxygen concentration of novel isolated strain B. methylotrophicus was found to be 20% of oxygen saturation in optimized medium. The B. methylotrophicus cells grown on sucrose had maximum oxygen uptake rate of 0.14?mMol/L/s in optimized growth medium. The cells produced the maximum naringinase activity of 751 and 778?U/L at 34?hr in 5 and 20-L bioreactors, respectively. The maximum specific growth rate of about 0.178/hr was observed at both the scales of operations. The maximum naringinase yield of 160 and 164?U/g biomass was observed in 5 and 20-L bioreactors, respectively. The growth and production profiles at both scales were similar indicating successful scale-up strategy for B. methylotrophicus culture.     

Large-scale identification of proteins in human salivary proteome by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-mass spectrometry

Human saliva contains a large number of proteins and peptides (salivary proteome) that help maintain homeostasis in the oral cavity. Global analysis of human salivary proteome is important for understanding oral health and disease pathogenesis. In this study, large-scale identification of salivary proteins was demonstrated by using shotgun proteomics and two-dimensinal gel electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (2-DE-MS). For the shotgun approach, whole saliva proteins were prefractionated according to molecular weight. The smallest fraction, presumably containing salivary peptides, was directly separated by capillary liquid chromatography (LC). However, the large protein fractions were digested into peptides for subsequent LC separation. Separated peptides were analyzed by on-line electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using a quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometer, and the obtained spectra were automatically processed to search human protein sequence database for protein identification. Additionally, 2-DE was used to map out the proteins in whole saliva. Protein spots 105 in number were excised and in-gel digested; and the resulting peptide fragments were measured by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry and sequenced by LC-MS/MS for protein identification. In total, we cataloged 309 proteins from human whole saliva by using these two proteomic approaches.     

Ligh- and electron-microscopic immunocytochemistry of somatotropes in the anterior pituitary gland of European ferret,Mustela putorius furo

Light-microscopic immunocytochemistry of ferret anterior pituitary revealed the localization of somatotropes in the pars distalis, but no immunoreactive cells were detected in the pars tuberalis. Ultrastructural studies by superimposition immunocytochemistry and immuno-electron microscopy, clucidated the morphological heterogeneity of these somatotropic cells. They were classified into 2 subtypes on the basis of size of the secretory granules. Type-I cells with small granules (mean diameter, 192 nm), were considered to be the immature somatotrop, while Type-II cells, with comparatively larger secretory granules (mean diameter, 257 nm), were considered to be the matured form of Type-I cells and the typical somatotropic cell-type, and were much more predominant than the Type-I cells. The fact that Type-II cells had a distinct Golgi zone and many mitochondria, while in Type-I cells the intracellular organelles were generally less developed, supports this suggestion. In addition to these two extreme subtypes, several intermediate forms were also encountered that may represent different transitional phases during the conversion of Type I to Type II. Protein A-gold immuno-electron microscopy illustrated the specific localization of growth hormone over the granules, with no labelling over any other cytoplasmic organelles of the 2 somatotrope subtypes.     

On the use of adenovirus dodecahedron as a carrier for glycoconjugate vaccines

Glycoconjugate Journal - Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) have been used as immunogenic molecules in numerous recombinant vaccines. VLPs can also serve as vaccine platform to exogenous antigens, usually...     

A new species of the genus Cirrhimuraena (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from the Bay of Bengal,India

A new species of the genus Cirrhimuraena (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), Cirrhimuraena indica sp. nov., is described based on eight specimens collected from the Paradip (Odisha) and Petuaghat harbours (West Bengal) along the Bay of Bengal. The species is distinct in having the upper jaw fringed with 16–17 cirri before posterior nostril and 4–5 in between the anterior and posterior nostrils on the side; dorsal fin originates above the level of gill opening, predorsal length is 9.3–10.9 in total length; the head is relatively large, the length is 9.3–9.8 in total length; no infraorbital pores are observed between the nostrils; teeth are numerous, small, conical and in bands on each jaw; pores are present before the gill opening 10–11 and before anus 47–48; pectoral-fin length is 2.4–2.8 in head length; predorsal vertebrae are 8–10, pre-anal vertebrae 43–47 and total vertebrae 164–169. In the maximum likelihood tree analysis for COI gene, the new species belongs to the same clade as the other congener of Cirrhimuraena chinensis and is separated from the species morphologically and genetically.     

Targeting RET to induce medullary thyroid cancer cell apoptosis: an antagonistic interplay between PI3K/Akt and p38MAPK/caspase-8 pathways

Mutations in REarranged during Transfection (RET) receptor tyrosine, followed by the oncogenic activation of RET kinase is responsible for the development of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) that responds poorly to conventional chemotherapy. Targeting RET, therefore, might be useful in tailoring surveillance of MTC patients. Here we showed that theaflavins, the bioactive components of black tea, successfully induced apoptosis in human MTC cell line, TT, by inversely modulating two molecular pathways: (i) stalling PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway that resulted in mitochondrial transmembrane potential (MTP) loss, cytochrome-c release and activation of the executioner caspases-9 and -3, and (ii) upholding p38MAPK/caspase-8/caspase-3 pathway via inhibition of Ras/Raf/ERK. Over-expression of either constitutively active myristoylated-Akt-cDNA (Myr-Akt-cDNA) or dominant-negative-caspase-8-cDNA (Dn-caspase-8-cDNA) partially blocked theaflavin-induced apoptosis, while co-transfection of Myr-Akt-cDNA and Dn-caspase-8-cDNA completely eradicated the effect of theaflavins thereby negating the possibility of existence of other pathways. A search for the upstream signaling revealed that theaflavin-induced disruption of lipid raft caused interference in anchorage of RET in lipid raft that in turn stalled phosphorylation of Ras and PI3Kinase. In such anti-survival cellular micro-environment, pro-apoptotic signals were triggered to culminate into programmed death of MTC cell. These findings not only unveil a hitherto unexplained mechanism underlying theaflavin-induced MTC death, but also validate RET as a promising and potential target for MTC therapy.     

Abundant Intracellular IgG in Enterocytes and Endoderm Lacking FcRn

FcRn, a non-classical MHCI molecule, transports IgG from mother to young and regulates the rate of IgG degradation throughout life. Brambell proposed a mechanism that unified these two functions, saying that IgG was pinocytosed nonspecifically by the cell into an FcRn-expressing endosome, where, at low pH, it bound to FcRn and was exocytosed. This theory was immediately challenged by claims that FcRn specificity for ligand could be conferred at the cell surface in neonatal jejunum. Assessing Brambell''s hypothesis we found abundant nonspecifically endocytosed IgG present in the cytoplasm of FcRn^−/− enterocytes. Further, IgG was present in the intercellular clefts and the cores of FcRn^+/+ but not FcRn^−/− jejunum. FcRn specificity for ligand could be determined within the cell.     

Role of alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in modulating the molecular mechanism adopted by melanocytes of Bos indicus under UVR stress

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Ultraviolet radiations (UVR) are responsible for a wide variety of acute and chronic effects on the animal skin. However, the effect of UVR-induced oxidative...