The effect of exogenous hormone treatment on spermiation and vitellogenesis in the grey mullet, Mugil cephalus L.

The effects of mammalian gonadotropins, methyltestosterone and partially purified salmon gonadotropin on spermiation and oocyte maturation were studied in adult grey mullet. Methyltestosterone was a potent spermiating agent in both prespawning and spawning trials. The most effective dose was 5 mg/100 g body weight. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) was moderately effective at a dose rate of 20 IU/100 g body weight. Both hormones blocked resorption of milt in captive animals. The HCG, FSH/LH combination, Synahorin+mullet pituitary homogenate, and partially purified salmon gonadotropin were equally effective, at the doses used, in inducing oocyte maturation and preventing onset of atrophy before completion of vitellogenesis. Atrophy occurred in all experimental fish at mean oocyte diameter of 750 μ. The significance of this finding is discussed. (Oceanic Institute Contribution No. 98).     

Cytochemical localization of Na+-K+-ATPase in rat type II pneumocytes

The distribution of sodium-potassium-activated adenosinetriphosphatase (Na+-K+-ATPase) in the alveolar portion of rat lungs was examined by indirect immunofluorescence with the use of a mouse monoclonal anti-rat Na+-K+-ATPase and by ultrastructural cytochemistry using p-nitrophenylphosphate as substrate. The reaction was inhibitable by 10 mM ouabain or by the omission of K+ from the reaction mixture. Cysteine or levamisole was used to inhibit alkaline phosphatase activity. By immunofluorescence, staining was confined to cuboidal cells in alveolar spaces. These were tentatively identified as type II pneumocytes. By ultrastructural cytochemistry reaction product was present on the cytoplasmic side of the basolateral membranes of type II pneumocytes. No reaction product was observed in type I pneumocytes or in endothelium. These results indicate that type II pneumocytes contain more Na+-K+-ATPase, an enzyme important in vectorial electrolyte transport, than type I pneumocytes or endothelial cells. More sensitive methods, however, are required to determine the amounts and distribution of this enzyme in type I pneumocytes and pulmonary vascular endothelial cells.     

DNA Sequences from Formalin-Fixed Nematodes: Integrating Molecular and Morphological Approaches to Taxonomy

To effectively integrate DNA sequence analysis and classical nematode taxonomy, we must be able to obtain DNA sequences from formalin-fixed specimens. Microdissected sections of nematodes were removed from specimens fixed in formalin, using standard protocols and without destroying morphological features. The fixed sections provided sufficient template for multiple polymerase chain reaction-based DNA sequence analyses.     

Colorectal Cancers Mimic Structural Organization of Normal Colonic Crypts

Colonic crypts are stereotypical structures with distinct stem cell, proliferating, and differentiating compartments. Colorectal cancers derive from colonic crypt epithelia but, in contrast, form morphologically disarrayed glands. In this study, we investigated to which extent colorectal cancers phenocopy colonic crypt architecture and thus preserve structural organization of the normal intestinal epithelium. A subset of colon cancers showed crypt-like compartments with high WNT activity and nuclear β-Catenin at the leading tumor edge, adjacent proliferation, and enhanced Cytokeratin 20 expression in most differentiated tumor epithelia of the tumor center. This architecture strongly depended on growth conditions, and was fully reproducible in mouse xenografts of cultured and primary colon cancer cells. Full crypt-like organization was associated with low tumor grade and was an independent prognostic marker of better survival in a collection of 221 colorectal cancers. Our findings suggest that full activation of preserved intestinal morphogenetic programs in colon cancer requires in vivo growth environments. Furthermore, crypt-like architecture was linked with less aggressive tumor biology, and may be useful to improve current colon cancer grading schemes.     

Frequency of large granular lymphocytes in peripheral blood of healthy persons and breast cancer patients

Summary The frequency of large granular lymphocytes (LGL) in the peripheral blood of healthy persons (n=56) and breast cancer patients (31 cases with stage-I and -II disease and 42 cases with stage-III and -IV disease) was studied. The frequency of LGL in peripheral blood was significantly depressed in cancer patients, and particularly in patients with advanced breast cancer.     

Murine Cytomegalovirus m02 Gene Family Protects against Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Immune Surveillance

The murine cytomegalovirus m02 gene family encodes putative type I membrane glycoproteins named m02 through m16. A subset of these genes were fused to an epitope tag and cloned into an expression vector. In transfected and murine cytomegalovirus-infected cells, m02, m04, m05, m06, m07, m09, m10, and m12 localized to cytoplasmic structures near the nucleus, whereas m08 and m13 localized to a filamentous structure surrounding the nucleus. Substitution mutants lacking the m02 gene (SMsubm02) or the entire m02 gene family (SMsubm02-16) grew like their wild-type parent in cultured cells. However, whereas SMsubm02 was as pathogenic as the wild-type virus, SMsubm02-16 was markedly less virulent. SMsubm02-16 produced less infectious virus in most organs compared to wild-type virus in BALB/c and C57BL/6J mice, but it replicated to wild-type levels in the organs of immunodeficient gamma(c)/Rag2 mice, lacking multiple cell types including natural killer cells, and in C57BL/6J mice depleted of natural killer cells. These results argue that one or more members of the m02 gene family antagonize natural killer cell-mediated immune surveillance.     

Synthesis of N,N-Dialkylaniline-2′-deoxyuridine Conjugates for DNA-Mediated Electron Transfer Studies

Abstract

Syntheses of two analogs of deoxyuridine with N,N-dialkylaniline chromophores are reported. 5-[3-(N-methylphenylamino)propanoyl]-2′-deoxyuridine (1) and 5-[2-(4-N,N-dimethylaminophenyl)ethyl)]-2′-deoxyuridine (2) are prepared by palladium-mediated coupling. Preparation of 2 was facilitated by in situ transient O⁴-trimethylsilyl protection during alkynylation which suppressed secondary cyclization of the coupling adduct.     

Sampling for Explosives-Residues at Fort Greely,Alaska

Fort Greely, Alaska has an extensive complex of weapon training and testing areas located on lands withdrawn from the public domain under the Military Lands Withdrawal Act (PL106-65). The Army has pledged to implement a program to identify possible munitions contamination. Because of the large size (344,165,000 m²) of the high hazard impact areas, characterization of these constituents will be difficult. We used an authoritative sampling design to find locations most likely to contain explosives-residues on three impact areas. We focused our sampling on surface soils and collected multi-increment and discrete samples at locations of known firing events and from areas on the range that had craters, pieces of munitions, targets, or a designation as a firing point. In the two impact areas used primarily by the Army, RDX was the most frequently detected explosive. In the impact area that was also used by the Air Force, TNT was the most frequently detected explosive. Where detected, the explosives concentrations generally were low (<0.05 mg/kg) except in soils near low-order detonations, where the explosive-filler was in contact with the soil surface. These low-order detonations potentially can serve as localized sources for groundwater contamination if positioned in recharge areas.