The depletion of tryptophan and serotonin in the brain of developing hyperphenylalaninemic rats is abolished by the additional administration of lysine

In suckling hyperphenylalaninemic (hyper-Phe) rats, all essential amino acids including tryptophan are depleted in the blood. The inadequate supply of Trp to the developing brain leads to a decline of Trp, of serotonin, and of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. The exhaustion of amino acids in both blood and brain can be restored by administration of Lys. Even though Phe is still elevated in blood and brain, Trp, serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, are no longer depleted in the brain. This observation contradicts the idea that the serotonin deficit in the developing hyper-Phe brain is caused by competitive uptake inhibition of tryptophan or by the interference of Phe metabolites with the formation of serotonin. Increased accumulation of all large neutral amino acids in peripheral tissues and an impeded intestinal amino acid transport in suckling hyper-Phe rats appear to be responsible for the deficient supply of other amino acids, including Trp, to the developing brain. The availability of Lys for developing extraintestinal tissues seems to be involved in the regulation of intestinal amino acid transport.     

Compensatory and adaptive changes in the small intestine and liver of rabbits after short-term cholesterol diet

Functional and morphological changes in the intestinal wall and liver were studied in rabbits on short-term cholesterol diet. It was established that with a rapid increase of cholesterol concentration in the general blood flow, the synthesis of high density lipoproteins in the intestinal wall was intensified. Enhanced hepatic elimination of cholesterol and chylomicrons from blood circulation contributes to cholesterol level stabilization in peripheral blood. With high density lipoprotein accumulation in the intestinal wall, cholesterol consumption did not change its concentration in the general blood flow. Structural changes in jejunal and liver mucosa were shown to depend on the degree of hypercholesterolemia and functional damage of these organs.     

Antigenic similarity of microorganisms to human group-specific blood factors and the immune response of persons with various ABO classifications

The isohemagglutination test with the introduction of the heat-stable fraction of microbial broth culture into the reacting system was used as a model of the antigen-antibody interaction. In the "A-anti-A" system the inhibition of isohemagglutination in the presence of staphylococcal allergen was observed. This inhibition was caused by the binding of the allergen with anti-A-antibodies, which was indicative of the antigenic similarity between staphylococcus and group-specific factor A. The influence of the similarity thus established on immune response was studied by the determination of antitoxic titers in 292 donors immunized with staphylococcal toxoid and in 86 patients with chronic hematogenic fistulous osteomyelitis with due regard of the ABO phenotype of the examinees. Subjects with group A(II) blood were found to have lesser antibody titers than those with blood of other groups and to be predisposed to the progressive course of staphylococcus-induced diseases.     

Cellular ultrastructure of the meningococcus when incubated in a continuous culture of human FL-line amnion

Some details of the ultrastructure of several meningococcal strains having had contacts with cells in continuous human amnion cell culture FL for 6 hours to 2 days have been defined with greater precision by means of electron microscopy. The study has shown that the contact of meningococci with the tissue culture is accompanied by the appearance of meningococcal forms with the defective cell wall, similar to L-forms: spheroplast, protoplast, gigantic cells and microcells, as well as budding variants. The meningococcal variants with the defective cell wall, appearing in the cell culture, and the forms occurring (in different proportions) in "ripe" meningococcal populations developing in the culture media for a long time and isolated from a human body have been found to have no essential differences in their fine structure. These data indicate that any external influences (meningococci are highly sensitive to such influences) produce sufficiently rapid changes, similar to L-transformation, in the fine structure of these microorganisms.     

Antigens associated with various cytotoxic activities of murine peripheral macrophages

BCG- or glucan-elicited murine peripheral macrophages released a cytotoxin in the presence of loach egg lectin, whereas proteose peptone-, glycogen-, or thioglycollate-elicited or resident macrophages did not. The macrophages that released cytotoxin coincided with those that showed lectin-dependent macrophage-mediated cytolysis (LDMC) in response to loach egg lectin. The cytotoxin released by BCG-elicited macrophages in response to loach egg lectin had a molecular weight of 55 K daltons. The macrophages that released cytotoxin and other cytotoxic macrophages such as those that showed LDMC- and antibody-dependent macrophage-mediated cytolysis (ADMC) were examined by using several antibodies to surface antigens of macrophages. The results showed that murine peripheral macrophages could be divided into three types. Resident macrophages (Type I) which had common macrophage antigens (Mac-1 and B12) showed only LDMC in response to wheat germ agglutinin. Some elicited macrophages (Type II) were asialo GM1-positive and showed both ADMC and LDMC in response to wheat germ agglutinin. Activated macrophages (Type III) showed LDMC in response to loach egg lectin and cytotoxin-release, but had no antigen detectable with monoclonal anti-macrophage antibody (C14). These three types of macrophages were clearly distinguished diagrammatically by their roof-shaped, rocket-shaped and irregular-shaped profiles of activities and antigens. These data suggest that several selected surface antigens of macrophages are associated with distinct cytotoxic stages of peripheral macrophages.     

Somatic embryogenesis from three commercially important inbreds of Zea mays

Zea mays (maize) genotypes B73, Mo17 and LH38 were evaluated for their capacity to undergo somatic embryogenesis. Over 1500 immature embryos (ie's) of B73, 2900 ie's of LH38 and 400 ie's of Mo17 were excised 10–17 days after pollination and plated on six different media. Overall response, reported as a percentage of the ie's plated that developed embryogenic callus, was 2.1%, 1.6% and 26% for LH38, B73 and Mo17, respectively. Best response on a given medium for each of these genotypes was 9.2% (LH38), 4.4% (B73) and 100% (Mo17). Other parameters examined for their effects on production of embryogenic callus included self vs. sib pollination, ear ranking (1st, 2nd or 3rd ear), and temperature shock, all of which had no significant effect. Plantlets regenerated from selected treatments of B73 have been grown to maturity, selfed or sibbed and seed collected for field evaluation.Abbreviations i.e. immature embryo - 2,4-D 2,4-di-chlorophenoxyacetic acid