Cytogenetic study in spermatocytes of mice and Chinese hamsters after treatment with isoniazid (INH)

Summary Meiotic chromosomes of spermatocytes from INH-treated male mice and Chinese hamsters were analysed for chromosome aberrations in diakinesis-metaphase I and metaphase II. The experiments were performed in two laboratories while a third laboratory participated in the chromosome evaluation. No enhancement of chromosome aberrations could be observed after acute treatment of early primary spermatocytes or chronic treatment of spermatogonia with INH.     

Positional information in imaginal discs transformed by homoeotic mutations

Summary Mutations of the bithorax complex result in segmental transformations in the thorax and abdomen ofDrosophila. The haltere discs from larvae homozygous forbx ³ orpbx are transformed so that the discs contain cells that will produce wing cuticle as well as cells that produce haltere cuticle. The pattern regulation behavior of these discs has been examined. The fate maps of the two discs were established, and then the regulative behavior of a number of fragments from both types of mutant discs was established by culturing the fragments in vivo prior to metamorphosis. The most important conclusion from this work is that the cells producing, haltere cuticle and wing cuticle within the same disc share the same positional information and that they communicate during pattern regulation.     

Functional mosaicism of membrane proteins in vesicles of Escherichia coli.

Membrane vesicles of Escherichia coli prepared by osmotic lysis of lysozyme ethylenediaminetetracetate (EDTA) spheroplasts have approximately 60% of the total membrane-bound reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase (ED 1.6.99.3) and Mg2+-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) (EC 3.6.1.3) activities exposed on the outer surface of the inner membrane. Absorption of these vesicles with antiserum prepared against the purified soluble Mg2+-ATPase resulted in agglutination of approximately 95% of the inner membrane vesicles, as determined by dehydrogenase activity, and about 50% of the total membrane protein. The unagglutinated vesicles lacked all dehydrogenase activity and may consist of outer membrane. Lysozyme-EDTA vesicles actively transported calcium ion, using either NADH or adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) as energy source. However, neither D-lactate nor reduced phenazine methosulfate energized calcium uptake, suggesting that the observed calcium uptake was not due to a small population of everted vesicles. Transport of calcium driven by either NADH or ATP was inhibited by simultaneous addition of D-lactate or reduced phenazine methosulfate. Proline transport driven by D-lactate oxidation was inhibited by either NADH oxidation or ATP hydrolysis. These results suggest that the portion of the total population of vesicles capable of active transport, i.e., the inner membrane vesicles, are functionally a homogeneous population but cannot be categorized as either right-side-out or everted, since activities normally associated with only one side of the inner membrane can be found on both sides of the membrane of these vesicles. Moreover, the data indicate that oxidation of NADH or hydrolysis of ATP by externally localized NADH dehydrogenase or Mg2+-ATPase establishes a protonmotive force of the opposite polarity from that established through D-lactate oxidation.     

The quantitative production of interferon by mitogen-stimulated mouse lymphocytes as a function of age and its effect on the lymphocytes proliferative response.

Interferon production by mitogen-stimulated mouse spleen cells increases as the age of the cell donor increases and also varies with with the strain of the cell donor. Exogenous interferon added to mouse spleen cell cultures at dose levels known to be produced by the cells causes a reduction in the proliferative response of T cells to mitogen stimulation. Since the spleen cells from old mice respond poorly to mitogen stimulation, it may be possible that the interferon elaborated by these cells is adversely affecting the mitogen assay.     

Polyol accumulation by two filamentous fungi grown at different concentrations of NaCl

The accumulation of polyols by Aspergillus niger (van Tiegh) strain S 1 and Penicillium chrysogenum (Thom) strain S 30 was followed during growth in media of different concentrations of NaCl. The major polyols found were glycerol, erythritol and mannitol. The total polyol pool increased in both organisms in response to raised salinity, and the proportion of glycerol and erythritol was markedly enhanced at high salinity.     

A dimeric germacranolide and other sesquiterpene lactones from Mikania species

The investigation of two Mikania species, both previously placed in the genus Kanimia, afforded in addition to known compounds several new germ     

Aerobic and anaerobic metabolism during activity in small rodents.

Analysis of oxygen consumption and lactic acid formation during five minutes of maximal activity by the rodents Microtus montanus (Cricetidae) and Dipodomys merriami (Hetermyidae) indicates that: (1) anaerobiosis provides approximately 10% of total energy utilized during the 5-minute activity period; (2) anaerobiosis may account for as much as one-third of total energy utilized during the first 30 seconds of activity. In addition, these data indicate at least one species of lizard may be capable of a higher total rate of metabolism during "burst" activity than are the rodents investigated here.     

Parasympathetic denervation decreases muscarinic receptor binding in rat parotid.

After unilateral postganglionic parasympathetic denervation of rat parotid glands for 3, 6 or 16 days, the binding of [³H] quinuclidinylbenzilate, a potent and specific muscarinic antagonist, was decreased by 28–45%. The largest part of the decrease was already present at 3 days, and thus appeared to coincide with the loss of parasympathetic terminals (as shown by a 94% reduction in choline acetyltransferase activity). The decrease in binding was expressed as a reduced number of membrane sites, with no significant change in affinity, and could be accounted for only in part by a reduction in the size of denervated glands. The rapid loss of binding suggests the existence of muscarinic receptors on parasympathetic terminals. The clear absence of any receptor increases at longer periods of denervation, when parotid glands are reported to give supersensitive secretory responses, suggests that mechanisms other than receptor increases are important in denervation supersensitivity in exocrine glands.