IS THERE BIDIRECTIONAL TRANSPORT OF NORADRENALINE IN SYMPATHETIC NERVES?

The experiments were designed to detect somatopetal transport of [¹⁴C]noradrenaline in the postganglionic sympathetic nerves supplying the cat spleen and sheep eye. The animals were treated with nialamide to protect the radioactive noradrenaline, after uptake into the nerve terminals, from monoamine oxidase. In the spleen, the transmitter stores were labelled by infusion of [¹⁴C]noradrenaline into a branch of the splenic artery. The branches of the nerves to the infused and non-infused sides of the spleen were ligated in an attempt to arrest, distal to the constriction, any noradrenaline transported somatopetally in the axons from their terminals. After 24 hr, however, there was less radioactivity in the nerves distal compared to proximal to the constriction, despite heavier labelling of the terminal transmitter stores in the infused portion of the spleen. The proximal accumulation of radioactivity could be attributed to a somatofugal transport of [¹⁴C]noradrenaline. Experiments were also done on the intact sympathetic nerve supply of the sheep eye. The sympathetic nerve terminals in the smooth muscle of the left eye were heavily labelled 5 days after the injection of [¹⁴C]noradrenaline into the left vitreous humour. However, both superior cervical ganglia were only lightly labelled, and there was no significant difference in the radioactivity present in the two ganglia. The results provide no support for a bidirectional transport of noradrenaline in sympathetic nerves but are consistent with a somatofugal transport of the amine storage vesicles from their site of synthesis in the soma to the axon terminals.     

Transcription and Replication of Viral Deoxyribonucleic acid in Cells Coinfected with Adenovirus Types 2 and 12

The yield of infectious virus was determined for KB cells infected with both adenovirus types 2 (ad 2) and 12 (ad 12). It was found that the yield of the former was greatly reduced, whereas that of the latter was not affected significantly. The reduction in virus yield was accompanied by an inhibition of ad 2 virus-specific ribonucleic acid (RNA) and viral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis at various times after infection. On the other hand, the rate of synthesis of ad 12 virus-specific RNA and viral DNA was not inhibited, but advanced in time. The total amount of ad 12 viral DNA synthesized was not affected by coinfection with ad 2. These results suggest that ad 2 infection hastens the maturation of ad 12.     

Wall-softening enzymes in the gynoecium and pollen of Hemerocallis fulva

Summary Variations in extractable cellulase and pectinase were followed during development of Hemerocallis (day lily) flowers. A peak in cellulase activity occurs in the pistil just prior to anthesis, followed by a 62% diminution in the enzyme activity at the time of anthesis. Cellulase activity, per mg protein, is about twice as high in the upper (stigma) portion as in the middle and lower one-third of the pistil tissues. No pectinase activity was detected in the pistil at all stages of development. Extractable pectinase is present at a maximum level in the very young ovary; it decreases rapidly as the ovary develops. Cellulase remains at a moderate level of activity throughout the development of the ovary, except for an increase of about 50% at pollination. Soluble cellulase and pectinase are found in mature pollen. The changes in the cell-wall hydrolytic enzymes in the pistil were pollen-tube growth. It may also promote changes in the cell walls of the pistil cells, although metabolism of the middle lamella during pollen germination is primarily controlled by pollen pectinases.A contribution of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, Journal Series No. 3070.     

Purification, Ultrastructure, and Composition of Axial Filaments from Leptospira

The ultrastructure of three strains of water Leptospira was studied by negative staining, thin sectioning, and freeze-etching. The cells possessed a triple-layered sheath which covered two independent axial filaments, one inserted subterminally in each end of the cell. The protoplasmic cylinder was surrounded by a triple-layered cell wall and possessed ribosomes, lamellar structures, and a typical procaryotic nuclear region. The axial filament was comprised of several component structures. An axial fibril, with a diameter of 20 to 25 nm, consisted of a solid inner core (13 to 16 nm in diameter) surrounded by a coat. A terminal knob (40 to 70 nm in length) was connected to a series of disc insertion structures at the terminal end of the axial fibril. The axial fibril was surrounded by a helical outer coat (35 to 60 nm in diameter) which was composed of a continuously coiled fiber, 3 to 4 nm in diameter, embedded in an electron-dense material. A procedure for the purification of the axial fibrils was presented and their ultrastructural, physical, and chemical properties were determined. Similarities in ultrastructural, physical, and chemical properties were noted between the axial fibrils and bacterial flagella. A schematic model of the leptospiral axial filament is presented, and a mechanism is proposed for its function as a locomotor organelle.     

Circular deoxyribonucleic acid from Shigella dysenteriae Y6R

Circular deoxyribonucleic acid was isolated from Shigella dysenteriae Y6R and was found to consist of six species having molecular weights of 10(6), 1.3 x 10(6), 2.6 x 10(6), 3.8 x 10(6), 20 x 10(6), and 24 x 10(6) daltons. These size classes were partially resolved by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The minicircles (10(6) and 1.3 x 10(6)) were found to have a buoyant density in CsCl of 1.710 g/ml. The 3.8 x 10(6) dalton class had a density of 1.707 g/ml. The two largest species had a density of 1.702 g/ml. Two other strains, S. sonnei II and S. dysenteriae 60, also contained circular deoxyribonucleic acid.     

The complete heart-lead relationship in the einthoven triangle

The relationship between the source strength and the “manifest vector” in the Einthoven Triangle is derived for a line and a point dipole source and confirmed experimentally. The result permits the interpretation of the standard ECG leads in absolute terms and corrected for body size. The manifest vector is shown to be approximately times what it would be in an otherwise similar circular slab which circumscribes the triangle.     

Morphology and Reproductive Processes of the L Forms of Bacteria II. Comparative Study of L Forms and Mycoplasma with the Electron Microscope

Representative electron micrographs, from the study of eight strains of L forms and one strain of Mycoplasma, are presented. A- and B-type L forms were derived from two strains of Proteus, two other L forms were derived from a diphtheroid and from a staphylococcus strain, and two strains (designated as LX) were isolated from L forms derived from a group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus and from a staphylococcus. The Mycoplasma strain was isolated from goats. Sections were made of young colonies grown within agar and from parts of surface colonies embedded in the agar. B-type L colonies of Proteus were produced by inoculation of bacteria into media containing penicillin. The large bodies developing from the bacteria and the organisms in B-type L colonies of Proteus, like the parent bacteria, had a cell wall consisting of a plasma membrane and an outer cell wall. The loss of rigidity in the cell wall indicated an alteration in its structure. The A-type L cultures of Proteus consisted of irregular branching masses extending in several directions, of small dense organisms corresponding to the elementary corpuscles present in cultures of Mycoplasma, and of intermediary forms. In contrast to the B-type, all organisms in the A-type colonies were surrounded by a single unit membrane corresponding to the plasma membrane of bacteria. The structures inside the cell membrane, both in the A- and B-type, seemed to correspond to the structure of the parent bacteria, which contained ribosomes and threads of DNA. The elementary corpuscles formed chains and filaments, and, apparently, these corpuscles took part in the multiplication by gradual enlargement. The organisms seen in the cultures of all L forms and Mycoplasma studied, except in the B-type L forms of Proteus, corresponded in size, shape, and structure, as well as in the development of elementary corpuscles, to the organisms in the A-type L form of Proteus. In contrast to the spherical organisms usually seen in broth cultures, the organisms in young cultures of Mycoplasma, which were grown within the agar, were similar in morphology, as well as in the discernible structure of the organisms, to L forms. Significant morphological and structural differences were not apparent between the L forms and Mycoplasma (in cultures grown within agar media) under the conditions of this investigation.     

Cation Transport in Escherichia coli : VII. Potassium requirement for phosphate uptake

When Escherichia coli K-12 is grown in media containing limiting amounts of K, growth continues normally until all the extracellular K has been consumed. Thereafter the rates of growth, glucose consumption, and oxygen consumption decrease progressively, and the cell contents of K and P fall. These changes, referred to as K limitation, are all reversed by the addition of K. By specifically altering the ionic composition of the cells it was shown that these metabolic disturbances are not due to changes in the cell content of K or Na, but are directly related to the absence of K from the extracellular medium. The cell pool of inorganic P and the uptake of PO₄ from the medium are low in K-limited cells and are immediately stimulated by the addition of K, suggesting that the primary effect of K limitation is to inhibit PO₄ uptake. All the metabolic effects of K limitation can be attributed to inhibition of PO₄ uptake. The requirement of extracellular K for PO₄ uptake may be due to a coupling between the uptake of K and PO₄.