Catecholamine-Sensitive Adenylate Cyclase in the White Perch (Roccus americanus) Retina: Evidence for β-Adrenergic and Dopamine Receptors Linked to Adenylate Cyclase

We have examined the catecholamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase in the retina of the white perch (Roccus americanus). Both dopamine and the beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol stimulate cyclic AMP accumulation in this retina, but serotonin, an indoleamine, and phenylephrine, an alpha-adrenergic agonist, had no effect. The stimulation of adenylate cyclase by isoproterenol is more potent and effective than that of dopamine. The effects of dopamine and isoproterenol are mediated via independent dopamine and beta-adrenergic receptors. Haloperidol, a dopamine antagonist, blocks the stimulatory effect of dopamine but not of isoproterenol. Conversely, propranolol, a beta-adrenergic antagonist, blocks the stimulatory effect of isoproterenol but not of dopamine. The effects of dopamine and isoproterenol are not additive. In fractions of purified horizontal cells we found evidence for dopamine receptors linked to adenylate cyclase but did not find evidence for the presence of cyclase coupled beta-adrenergic receptors. The cellular location of the beta-adrenergic receptors is unknown. Our findings demonstrate the existence of both beta-adrenergic and dopamine receptors coupled to adenylate cyclase in the white perch retina. However, we did not find either epinephrine or norepinephrine, endogenous ligands of the beta-receptor, to be present in retinal extracts subjected to HPLC.     

Biochemical Aspects of Chick Embryo Retina Development: The Effects of Glucocorticoids

In chick embryo retina during development, DNA synthesis and the activities of DNA polymerase, thymidine kinase, thymidylate synthetase, and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) declined in parallel from day 7 to 12. The administration in ovo of hydrocortisone reduced significantly, particularly at 8-10 days of incubation, both DNA synthesis and the four enzyme activities tested. The effect was dose dependent, reaching the maximum with 50-100 nmol of hydrocortisone, 8-16 h after treatment. The highest inhibition was found for ODC activity (70%), followed by thymidine kinase activity (62%) and DNA synthesis (45%), whereas activities of DNA polymerase and thymidylate synthetase were reduced only by 30%. The inhibitory effect was exerted by all the glucocorticoids tested, with dexamethasone and hydrocortisone being the most efficacious. The results support the view that glucocorticoids reduce the proliferative events in chick embryo retina, particularly at 8-10 days of embryonic life.     

Molecular genetic study of human arginase deficiency

We have explored the molecular pathology in 28 individuals homozygous or heterozygous for liver arginase deficiency (hyperargininemia) by a combination of Southern analysis, western blotting, DNA sequencing, and PCR. This cohort represents the majority of arginase-deficient individuals worldwide. Only 2 of 15 homozygous patients on whom red blood cells were available had antigenically cross-reacting material as ascertained by western blot analysis using anti-liver arginase antibody. Southern blots of patient genomic DNAs, cut with a variety of restriction enzymes and probed with a near-full-length (1,450-bp) human liver arginase cDNA clone, detected no gross gene deletions. Loss of a TaqI cleavage site was identified in three individuals: in a homozygous state in a Saudi Arabian patient at one site, at a different site in homozygosity in a German patient, and in heterozygosity in a patient from Australia. The changes in the latter two were localized to exon 8, through amplification of this region by PCR and electrophoretic analysis of the amplified fragment after treatment with TaqI; the precise base changes (Arg291X and Thr290Ser) were confirmed by sequencing. It is interesting that the latter nucleotide variant (Thr290Ser) was found to lie adjacent to the TaqI site rather than within it, though whether such a conservative amino acid substitution represents a true pathologic mutation remains to be determined. We conclude that arginase deficiency, though rare, is a heterogeneous disorder at the genotypic level, generally encompassing a variety of point mutations rather than substantial structural gene deletions.     

The β4Integrin Subunit Is Expressed in Mouse Fibroblasts and Modulated by Transforming Growth Factor-β1

Integrin β₄subunit is present in association with α₆chain on both normal and transformed epithelial cells. Recently α₆β₄heterodimer was found on the endothelium of medium-sized blood vessels and on immature thymocytes. In this report we show, by Northern blotting, indirect immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, and Western blotting, that β₄subunit is expressed also on cells of mesenchymal origin such as fibroblasts, myoblasts, and myotubes. Increased expression of α₆β₄has been related to the aggressive metastatic phenotype of human and murine carcinomas. The transforming growth factor β₁(TGF-β₁) has been found to modulate the expression of several integrins and intracellular matrix proteins, as well as to stimulate cell invasion and metastatic potential. To evaluate whether α₆β₄expression is modulated by TGF-β₁, we transfected 3T3 fibroblasts with an expression vector carrying the human TGF-β₁cDNA driven by the SV40 early promoter. We observed by indirect immunofluorescence a modification in the subcellular distribution of β₄subunit, which acquires a perinuclear localization. This finding suggests this integrin subunit correlates with the cytoskeletal reorganization induced by TGF-β₁.     

Impact of residue quality on the C and N mineralization of leaf and root residues of three agroforestry species

A laboratory incubation experiment with ¹⁵N labeled root and leaf residues of 3 agroforestry species (Leucaena leucocephala, Dactyladenia barteri and Flemingia macrophylla) was conducted under controlled conditions (25 C) for 56 days to quantify residue C and N mineralization and its relationship with residue quality.No uniform relation was found between the chemical composition of the above and below residues. The leucaena and dactyladenia roots contained more lignin (8 and 26% respectively) and less N (2.0 and 1.0% respectively) than the respective leaves (2 and 13% lignin and 2.9 and 1.4% N, respectively), whereas the differences between the lignin and N contents of the flemingia leaves and roots were not significant (4.6 and 3.0% lignin and 2.63 and 2.68% N, respectively). The leucaena leaves contained more polyphenols than the roots (6.4 and 3.6%), while the polyphenol content of the leaves and roots of the other residues was similar (5.0 and 5.1% for dactyladenia and 4.0 and 3.5% for flemingia).Three patterns of N mineralization could be distinguished. A first pattern, followed by residues producing the highest amounts of CO₂, showed an initial immobilization of soil derived N, followed by a net release of both soil and residue derived N after 7 days of incubation. A second pattern, followed by the flemingia leaf residues which produced intermediate amounts of CO₂ and had an intermediate quality, showed no significant immobilization of soil derived N, and significant mineralization of residue N. A third pattern, followed by both low quality dactyladenia residues, showed a low release of residue derived N and a continued inmobilization of soil derived N.Residue C mineralization was significantly (p<0.05) correlated with the residue lignin content, C-to-N ratio, and polyphenol-to-N ratio. The proportion of residue N mineralized (immobilized) after 56 days of incubation was significantly correlated with the residue N content (p<0.01) and the C-to-N ratio (p<0.05). The relations were quadratic, rather than linear. The ratio of the proportion of residue N mineralized (immobilized) over the proportion of residue C mineralized after 56 days was highly significantly correlated with the lignin content (p<0.01) and C-to-N (p<0.001), lignin-to-N (p<0.01), polyphenol-to-N (p<0.01) and (lignin+polyphenol)-to-N ratios (p<0.01) in a linear way. This indicates that due to the low availability of the residue C, relatively less N is immobilized for the very low quality residues ((lignin+polyphenol)-to-N ratio: 29.7) than for the residues with a relatively higher quality ((lignin+polyphenol)-to-N ratios between 3.3 and 12.5).     

Sex chromosome polymorphism and heterogametic males revealed by two cloned DNA probes in the ZW/ZZ fish Leporinus elongatus

In order to study the divergence of teleost sex chromosomes, subtractive cloning was carried out between genomic DNA of males and females of the rainbow trout (XX/XY) and of Leporinus elongatus (ZW/ZZ). Inserts cloned in a plasmid vector were individually tested on Southern blots of DNA of males and females for sex specificity. No sex-specific insert was obtained from trout, but two out of ten inserts cloned from L. elongatus showed sex-specific patterns in this species: one corresponds to a sequence present on both Z and W chromosomes, while the other is W specific. Sequences of these two inserts show neither clear homology with other known sequences, nor an open reading frame. They cross-hybridize with the genomic DNA of Leporinus friderici, but without sex-specific patterns. Twenty-four L. elongatus adults were sexed by gonadal observation, chromosomed examination and Southern hybridization with one or the other insert. Ten males and 11 females had chromosomes and hybridization patterns typical of their sex. One ZW female was recognized as a male with the W-specific probe. This was also the case for two unusual ZW males, one having a male hybridization pattern with the other probe. These three atypical individuals may result from single genetic exchanges between four regions of the Z and the W, giving rise to three atypical W chromosomes. Finding males with such atypical heterochromosomes in a female heterogametic species may indicate that a gradual transition occurs between the heterogametic systems.     

Analysis by Polymerase Chain Reaction of α1 and α6 GABAA Receptor Subunit mRNAs in Individual Cerebellar Neurons After Whole-Cell Recordings

Abstract: With the use of the single-cell polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the GABA_A receptor subunit mRNA content was analyzed in granule and Purkinje neurons from rat cerebellar slices. We used an experimental protocol to assess simultaneously the presence of two subunits in each cell while electrophysiological recordings were performed with the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Based on a computer alignment of the nucleotide sequence corresponding to α1 and α6 GABA_A receptor subunits, homologous regions were identified that allowed coamplification of both mRNAs using a single primer combination. The presence of selective restriction sites within the targeted templates allowed us to identify which receptor subunit mRNAs were coamplified by performing restriction enzyme-mediated cleavage of the amplification products. In all Purkinje neurons assayed, α1 subunit mRNA but not α6 mRNA was detected. In contrast, among individual granule neurons we found a heterogeneous distribution of the mRNA for the α1 and α6 GABA_A receptor subunits. A comparison of the results of the PCR amplification and the analysis of GABA-mediated inhibitory synaptic currents does not allow us to identify kinetic characteristics of synaptic currents that clearly correlate with the presence or the absence of α6 subunit mRNA.     

Increasing infiltration and activation of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes after eliminating immune suppressive granulocyte/macrophage progenitor cells with low doses of interferon γ plus tumor necrosis factor α

By secreting granulocyte/macrophage colonystimulating factor (GM-CSF), metastatic Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC-LN7) tumors induce the appearance of myelopoiesis-associated immune-suppressor cells that resemble granulocytic-macrophage (GM) progenitor cells. The presence of these GM-suppressor cells in mice bearing LLC-LN7 tumors was associated with a reduced capacity of splenic T cells to proliferate in response to interleukin-2 (IL-2). Administration of low doses of 100 U interferon (IFN) plus 10 U tumor necrosis factor (TNF) to the tumor bearers, a combination treatment that we previously showed to diminish the presence of GM-suppressor cells synergistically, restored proliferative responsiveness of the splenic T cells to IL-2. These LLC-LN7-bearing mice were also examined for whether cells that phenotypically resemble GM-progenitor cells (ER-MP12⁺ cells) infiltrate the tumor mass. ER-MP12⁺ cells composed approximately 10% of the cells isolated from dissociated tumors of mice that had been treated with placebo or with either IFN or TNF alone, but IFN/TNF therapy markedly reduced the number of tumor-infiltrating ER-MP12⁺ suppressor cells. The IFN/TNF treatment to eliminate GM-suppressor cells and restore T cell responsiveness to IL-2 was next coupled with low dose IL-2 therapy (100 U twice daily). Addition of IL-2 to the treatment regimen did not significantly influence the effectiveness of the IFN/TNF treatment in eliminating GM-suppressor cells from the LLC-LN7 tumor mass. However, inclusion of IL-2 with the IFN/TNF treatment regimen enhanced the CD8⁺, but not the CD4⁺, cell content within the tumor, and diminished the number of metastatic lung nodules within the mice. When these tumors were excised, dissociated, and bulk-cultured with a low dose of IL-2, an increased level of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity was generated in the TIL cultures from mice that had received IFN/TNF plus IL-2 treatments. A lesser but detectable level of CTL activity was generated in TIL cultures from mice that were treated with only IFN/TNF, while no CTL activity was generated in tumor cultures from mice receiving only placebo or low-dose IL-2. These results suggest the effectiveness of IFN plus TNF therapy in restoring IL-2 responsiveness in mice bearing GM-suppressor cell-inducing tumors and at enhancing both the intratumoral CD8⁺ cell content and the generation of CTL activity in bulk cultures of these tumors.This study was supported by the Medical Research Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs, by grants CA-45080 and CA-48080 from the National Institutes of Health, and by the American Cancer Society, Illinois