The Plastids and Pigments of Fresh and Dried Chinese Gooseberries (Actinidia chinensis)

The pericarp of Chinese gooseberries is green due to the presenceof low concentrations of chlorophylls. On a f. wt basis thereis about 1.5 times more tetrapyrollic pigments (chlorophyllsand related compounds) in the outer pericarp than in the innerpericarp, whereas the carotenoid pigment values only showed1.25 times more in the outer than in the inner part of the fruit.The drying of Chinese gooseberries at 40 °C for 40 h resultedin the loss of at least half the tetrapyrollic pigments andof carotenoids. Chlorophylls a and b were converted to chlorophyllides,pheophytins and pheophorbides. Chloroplasts in the outer pericarp are clustered closely aroundthe nucleus and have a well-defined grana and inter-granal membranesystem. In the inner pericarp the chloroplasts are again clusteredaround the nucleus and there is a proliferation of inter-granalmembranes. In dried tissue the limiting membrane of chloroplastswas completely dispersed whereas some of the internal membranesremained intact. Actinidia chinensis Planch., Chinese gooseberry, Kiwi fruit, pigments, chloroplast structure     

Purine metabolic enzymes in lymphocytes. I. Adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase activities in mouse lymphocyte subpopulations

The distribution of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) activities in lymphoid organs and lymphocyte subpopulations in mice, and the effect of phytohemagglutinin P (PHA-P) and concanavalin A (Con A) on the enzyme activities were studied. ADA activity was distributed equally in cells from all organs used and no mouse strain differences were observed. In contrast, PNP activity varied with the mouse strain, being highest in C57BL/6 mice and lowest in BALB/c mice, and with the organ in ICR mice, being high in peripheral blood lymphocytes and spleen lymphocytes, low in mesenteric lymph node cells and absent or very weak in thymus cells. T and B lymphocytes were prepared from spleen of ICR mice. High ADA activity was found in both T and B lymphocytes, whereas PNP activity in the T lymphocytes was about one-third of that in the B lymphocytes. PNP activity in thymus cells was increased to the normal level of T lymphocytes in the spleens by cultivation without stimulant. The development of PNP activity in thymus cells was partially inhibited by Con A but was not affected by PHA-P. ADA activity in thymus cells was enhanced by in vitro stimulation with PHA-P but not with Con A. In contrast, in spleen lymphocytes the development of ADA activity was enhanced by stimulation with PHA-P and Con A, and that of PNP activity was enhanced by PHA-P but not by Con A.     

Human dynein and sperm pathology

Human spermatozoa with normal structure and with different axonemal deficiencies (absence of axoneme, of arms, or of central structures) were studied by electron microscopy, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and ATPase activity measurements. Normal human sperm possess a complement of high molecular weight polypeptides with an electrophoretic migration similar to that of sea urchin and other mammalian sperm dyneins. Human high molecular weight bands are numbered one to four in order of increasing of electrophoretic mobility; all of them are absent in spermatozoa that lack axoneme. The absence of doublet arms, coincides with the absence of bands 2, 3, and 4; the absence of central structures coincides with a reduction in intensity of band 2. In the latter two abnormal conditions, band 1 has an increased intensity. The data are tentatively interpreted by attributing the polypeptides forming bands 3 and 4 to the arm structure, whereas band 2 is supposed to contain a mixture of polypeptides localized in the arms and in the central structures; these abnormal sperm contain modified polypeptides which gather in band 1. Histochemical ATPase stainings indicate that this enzyme is localized mainly in the doublet arms and, to a minor extent, in the central structures.     

Comparative incidence of reticuloendothelial tumors in C57BL mice after exposure to tritiated water

A total of 2,377 C 57 Bl/6M mice were assigned to control groups and experimental groups exposed to tritiated water administered as a pulse injection or in drinking water, at a dose of 1.0 microCi per injection or per ml of drinking water. Weanlings were observed for the duration of life span. Data analysis was based on two coefficient estimates (1) individual carcinogenic induction coefficient and (2) specific tumorigenic induction coefficient. The carcinogenic potency of tritium was found to be dual in nature in enhancing the absolute induction of lymphocytic lymphomas in both sexes as well as their relative induction in competition with reticulo-endothelial tumors of other types.     

Effect of adrenaline, glucagon and insulin on glucose metabolism in carp: influence of temperature]

In carps living since 4 months at 6, 20 or 30 degrees C, epinephrine or glucagon injections produce increase in plasma glucose but affect only slightly liver glycogen: lower is the temperature, slower and longer are the effect. Insulin injection induces more or less delayed hypoglycaemia according to temperature acclimatization; decrease in blood glucose is accompanied by a slight increase of glycogen in all tissues at 6 degrees C and on the contrary by a very strong depletion of this polysaccharide in liver and even heart at 20 and 30 degrees C.     

The Gut–Brain Axis and Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors in the Regulation of Epileptogenesis

Journal of Evolutionary Biochemistry and Physiology - A large proportion of patients with epilepsy suffer from pharmacoresistant forms of the disease, and this makes the search for new treatments...