Aminoglutethimide effect on circadian rhythms in urinary variables in a patient with idiopathic hyperaldosteronism

Aminoglutethimide (AG: 750 mg/day) was administered to a patient with idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA) and circadian rhythms in urinary excretion of sodium (UNaV), potassium (UKV), aldosterone (AER) and 17-OHCS were analyzed by the single cosinor method. Urine was collected every 4h for 24h on the day before and on the 1st, 3rd and 7th day of AG administration, and above variables in each sample were determined. Circadian rhythms of 14 patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) who served as controls were also analyzed. In the present case, circadian acrophases in UNaV and AER studied before AG administration occurred at 22(19) and 07(05), respectively. They were similar to those of preoperative PA-patients. Circadian acrophase in UNaV occurred earlier with AG administration and on the 7th day it was at 14(05), a value similar to that of postoperative PA-patients. Circadian mesor in AER decreased remarkably from 4.1 to 0.6 micrograms/4h with AG administration, as did circadian mesor in UKV, whereas circadian mesor and acrophase in 17-OHCS did not change. Thus, the circadian characteristics in urinary variables in the present IHA-case were pathophysiologically similar to those of PA.     

Evaluation of the phagocytosis of microspheres in V79 cells by flow cytometry

Phagocytosis of microspheres in V79 Chinese hamster lung cells was investigated by flow cytometry. Fluorescent microspheres (1.8 micron diameter) were used as the ingesta. Change in the number of V79 cells containing fluorescent microspheres was measured as an index of phagocytic activity. With time there was a sigmoidal increase in cells containing microspheres. The phagocytosis of microspheres is partially explained by two parameters introduced to describe the sigmoidal curves.     

The role of introns in evolution

What are the roles of 'classical' introns in the evolution of nuclear genes, and what was the origin of these introns? Exon shuffling has been important in the evolution of cell surface and extracellular proteins, but the evidence for it in respect of intracellular proteins is weak. Intron distributions imply that some introns have been removed while others have been inserted in the course of evolution: ancestral patterns of introns may thus have been obscured. Recent evidence on the self-splicing and reverse-splicing abilities of Group II introns supports the hypothesis that these could have been the ancestors of classical introns.