Circannual fluctuations of the serum cortisol in the European ground squirrel, Citellus citellus L

1. Serum cortisol levels were measured throughout an annual cycle in male European ground squirrels, Citellus citellus L. 2. A circannual rhythm of these levels in euthermic animals was found: the highest being in late October, November and December, the lowest in May, early October and March. 3. The levels varied in the hibernating period as well: strongly reduced during the first part (October-December) and significantly elevated in the second one (January-March). 4. A significant elevation of the cortisol levels was marked 18-20 hr after full arousal from hibernation in October.     

Ultrastructure of the developing pigment strand of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in relation to its role in solute transport

Summary The developing pigment strand of rice (Oryza sativa L.) was studied by conventional electron microscopy and also by use of thick sections post-fixed with zinc iodide and osmium (ZIO).When the rice caryopsis achieves maximum length, a suberised adcrusting wall layer is laid down over the original primary walls of the pigment strand. Concomitant with suberin deposition a proliferation of tubular endoplasmic reticulum occurs in the cytoplasm giving rise to numerous interconnected vesicles which bear ribosomes. The vesicles in the general cytoplasm retain their ribosomes while those close to the wall become smooth and contain an electron-opaque granular material which is eventually deposited to the outside of the plasmalemma. This granular material may be the precursor(s) from which suberin is polymerised. The suberised wall attains about six times the width of the original primary wall and plasmodesmata, which traverse both primary wall and suberised wall layers, become greatly elongated.Lipid bodies increase in both size and frequency during development, eventually coalescing to form a complete plug across the pigment strand and occluding the symplast of this tissue. The significance of these ultrastructural observations is discussed in relation to the previously demonstrated role of the pigment strand as a translocation pathway for water and assimilates during grain filling.Abbreviations ER endoplasmic reticulum - ZIO zinc iodide-osmium fixation     

Metabolism of palmitate in cultured rat Sertoli cells

Isolated rat Sertoli cells were incubated in the presence of [1-14C]palmitate at a cell concentration of 1.54 +/- 0.31 mg protein/flask (n = 7). The oxidation of palmitate was concentration dependent and maximal oxidation was obtained at 0.35 mM-palmitate. At a saturating concentration of palmitate the oxidation was linear for at least 6 h. About 65% of the total amount of palmitate oxidized during 5 h at 0.52 mM-palmitate (109 +/- 44 nmol/flask, n = 5) was recovered as CO2 and the rest as acid-soluble compounds. Almost all radioactive acid-soluble compounds which were secreted by the Sertoli cells were shown to be 3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate. The palmitate recovery in cellular lipids and triacylglycerols was 9.4 +/- 5.1 nmol/flask (n = 5) and 3.5 +/- 2.8 nmol/flask (n = 5) respectively. Addition of glucose had no significant effect on palmitate oxidation but caused a 9-fold increase in esterification of palmitate into triacylglycerols. We conclude that cultured rat Sertoli cells can oxidize palmitate to CO2 and ketone bodies and that fatty acids appear to be a major energy substrate for these cells.     

N.m.r. studies of metabolism in perfused organs

Several metabolites and intracellular pH in intact organs can be studied in a non-destructive manner by phorphorus nuclear magnetic resonance (31P n.m.r.). This possibility was demonstrated by us nearly five years ago. Since then we have developed the appropriate physiological techniques and improved the n.m.r. method for the study of animal hearts and kidneys. Here we described measurements aimed at clarifying three problesm. (1) Having measured the enzyme-catalysed fluxes between phosphocreatine and ATP by the method of saturation transfer n.m.r., we examine the relations between energy supply and heart rate in the isolated perfused rat heart. (2) We describe experiments to establish the validity of the perfusion model. For the first time, we report 31P n.m.r. measurements of an in vivo rat heart and compare the results with those obtained for the perfused rat heart. (3) Ischaemia and metabolism in rabbit kidneys is investigated to establish the relation between functional and metabolic recovery after a renal transplant operation.     

Sexual advertisement and immune function in an arachnid species (Lycosidae)

A simple version of the immunocompetence handicap hypothesizesthat through condition-dependence, the size of the sexual traitmay be positively related to immune function at the populationlevel. In the present study, we investigated the relationshipbetween sexual advertisement and immune function in a naturalpopulation of male wolf spiders, Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata (Araneae:Lycosidae). Males of H. rubrofasciata have a costly and condition-dependentacoustic signal, courtship drumming. In the mating season, malesdrum against dry leaves while wandering around the habitat searchingfor receptive females. Males increase their mating success byincreasing their drumming rate and mobility. We used drummingrate and mobility measured without female proximity as estimatesof sexual advertisement. As estimates of male immune function,we used encapsulation rate and lytic activity. Encapsulationrate is a common challenging technique, which measures immuneresponse against multicellular parasites. Lytic activity isa monitoring technique, which measures immune response againstpathogens. Our results show that males with higher drummingrate had higher encapsulation rate. This suggests that femalesmight use drumming rate as a signal for choosing males withgood immunocompetence. Moreover, our results show that maleswith higher mobility had higher lytic activity. As females aremore likely to encounter those males that have higher mobility,this might also select males with better immune function. Ourresults suggest that the immunocompetence handicap might workalso among spiders, although we could not assess the causalityof the relationship between sexual selection and immune functionin this correlational study.     

Correction of chromosomal point mutations in human cells with bifunctional oligonucleotides.

A sequence-specific genomic delivery system for the correction of chromosomal mutations was designed by incorporating two different binding domains into a single-stranded oligonucleotide. A repair domain (RD) contained the native sequence of the target region. A third strand-forming domain (TFD) was designed to form a triplex by Hoogsteen interactions. The design was based upon the premise that the RD will rapidly form a heteroduplex that is anchored synergistically by the TFD. Deoxyoligonucleotides were designed to form triplexes in the human adenosine deaminase (ADA) and p53 genes adjacent to known point mutations. Transfection of ADA-deficient human lymphocytes corrected the mutant sequence in 1-2% of cells. Neither the RD or TFD individually corrected the mutation. Transfection of p53 mutant human glioblastoma cells corrected the mutation and induced apoptosis in 7.5% of cells.