Karyometrische Untersuchungen an Gewebekulturen

Zusammenfassung Durch in bestimmten Zeitabständen aufgenommene Mikrophotographien einzelner Zellkerne von in vitro gezüchteten Osteoblasten und karyometrische Auswertung der so erhaltenen Filme haben wir das intermitotische Kernwachstum untersucht.Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wurde auch dem Studium der möglichen Methodefehler geschenkt.In einer ersten, verhältnismäßig kurz dauernden postmitotischen Phase nimmt der Zellkern sehr rasch an Größe zu und zwar oft in einzelnen Wachstumsschritten, denen jeweilen eine Volumenvergrößerung um den Faktor 2 entspricht. In einer zweiten, stundenlang dauernden Phase, in der das Kernvolumen verdoppelt wird, erfolgt das Wachstum viel weniger schnell, besonders langsam in der Mitte des Verdoppelungsschrittes (also nach einer Volumenzunahme um 2). Die Größenzunahme von Kernen und Nukleolen erfolgt in einzelnen Schüben starken Wachstums, unterbrochen von Perioden verlangsamten oder eingestellten Wachstums (Ruheperioden) und von vorübergehenden Wachstumsrückschlägen.Mit Unterstützung der Schweizerischen Akademie der Medizinischen Wissenschaften.     

Zur elektronenmikroskopischen Untersuchung der juxtaglomerulären Spezialeinrichtungen der Niere

Summary After a general view of the constituents of the juxtaglomerular apparatus of the kidney, the authors are presently publishing on this subject some of their preliminary findings which have been obtained with the aid of the electron microscope:The cells of the macula densa are distinguished from the other cells of the distal convoluted tubule by a lesser development of the infolded basal plasma membranes as well as that of the chondriome which is generally found in a circumand supranuclear position.The cells of Goormaghtigh are in a close topographical relationship with the macula densa, although separated from it by a basement membrane; they are integrated in a complex system of basement membranes.The epithelioid cells of the afferent arteriole contain, in addition to ribosomes and ergastoplasmic structures, vesicles of which the size and the contrast of the content are different. paraportal cells of Becher have not as yet been positively identified with the electron microscope.The intertubular space is poor in cells; the various interstitial cells, often rich in ergastoplasm, are yet to be studied in detail.

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Mit Unterstützung durch die Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche-Stiftung zur Förderung wissenschaftlicher Arbeitsgemeinschaften in der Schweiz.     

Constant amplitude of postsynaptic responses for single presynaptic action potentials but not bursting input during growth of an identified neuromuscular junction in the lobster, Homarus americanus

As lobsters grow from early juveniles to adults their body size increases more than 20-fold, raising the question of how function is maintained during these ongoing changes in size. To address this question we studied the pyloric 1 (p1) muscle of the stomach of the lobster, Homarus americanus. The p1 muscle receives multiterminal innervation from one motor neuron, the lateral pyloric neuron of the stomatogastric ganglion. Staining with antibodies raised against synaptotagmin showed that as the muscle fibers increased in length, the spacing between the terminal innervation increased proportionally, so the number of synaptic contact regions/muscle fiber did not change. Muscle fibers were electrically coupled in both juveniles and adults. The amplitude of single intracellularly recorded excitatory junctional potentials evoked by motor nerve stimulation was the same in both juveniles and adults. Nonetheless, the peak depolarizations reached in response to ongoing pyloric rhythm activity or in response to high-frequency trains of stimuli similar to those produced during the pyloric rhythm were approximately twofold larger in juveniles than in adults. This suggests that homeostatic regulation of synaptic connections may operate at the level of the amplitude of the single synaptic potential rather than on the summed depolarization evoked during strong rhythmic activity.     

Ephedrine plus caffeine causes age-dependent cardiovascular responses in Fischer 344 rats

Human consumption of ephedrine and caffeine in dietary supplements has been associated with a number of adverse effects including changes in the ECG, myocardial infarction, hyperthermia, and, in rare instances, death. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential mechanisms associated with the cardiotoxicity of combined ephedrine and caffeine ingestion. Seven- and fourteen-week-old Fischer 344 rats treated with ephedrine in combination with caffeine exhibited increases in heart rate (HR), temperature, and corrected QT interval. Of the 14-wk-old rats treated with 25 mg/kg ephedrine plus 30 mg/kg caffeine, 57% died within 3-5 h of treatment, whereas none of the similarly treated 7-wk-old rats nor any of the rats treated with vehicle died. One hour after treatment with this dose of ephedrine plus caffeine, 14-wk-old rats exhibited a larger increase in HR (as % increase over baseline) than 7-wk-old rats. Furthermore, the 14-wk-old rats that died had a higher HR and temperature than the 14-wk-old rats that lived. Histopathological studies suggested interstitial hemorrhage and myofiber necrosis in the 14-wk-old rats treated with the highest concentration of ephedrine and caffeine. This study showed enhanced susceptibility to ephedrine plus caffeine in 14-wk-old rats compared with 7-wk-old rats. The greater mortality in the 14-wk-old rats was associated with increases in body temperature, HR, and myocardial necrosis.     

Symbiotic phosphate transport in arbuscular mycorrhizas

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonize the root systems of most land plants and modulate plant growth by enhancing the availability of nutrients, mainly phosphorus, for plant nutrition. Recently identified genes encoding mycorrhiza-specific plant phosphate transporters have enabled fundamental problems in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis research to be addressed. Because phosphate transport is a key feature of this symbiosis, the study of phosphate transport mechanisms and their gene regulation will further our understanding of the intimate interaction between the two symbiotic partners.     

Epitope mapping of the outer surface protein A (OspA) of the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi using a panel of monoclonal antibodies and lanthanide competition fluoroimmunoassay

A panel of fourteen different monoclonal antibodies was used for detection and analysis of antigenic determinants located on the outer surface protein A (OspA) of the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is a causative agent of tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease). Two main and several minor partially overlapping antigenic determinants have been found on the surface of the OspA protein of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (strain 297) by lanthanide competition fluoroimmunoassay. One of the main antigenic determinants is located in the N- and the other in the C-half of the OspA molecule. The involvement of the OspA protein in intact Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (four bacterial strains have been analyzed: 297, B31, FR90-594, and CA90-742) is associated with retention of the above-mentioned two major antigenic determinants, but unlike the case of the isolated OspA they are partially overlapping with each other and with other antigenic determinants. The protein of the spirochete Borrelia afzelii (two bacterial strains have been analyzed: Ip-21 and Pko) contains only one antigenic determinant, which is the same as the main determinant of the OspA protein of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto located in the N-half of the OspA molecule.     

trEST, trGEN and Hits: access to databases of predicted protein sequences

High throughput genome (HTG) and expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences are currently the most abundant nucleotide sequence classes in the public database. The large volume, high degree of fragmentation and lack of gene structure annotations prevent efficient and effective searches of HTG and EST data for protein sequence homologies by standard search methods. Here, we briefly describe three newly developed resources that should make discovery of interesting genes in these sequence classes easier in the future, especially to biologists not having access to a powerful local bioinformatics environment. trEST and trGEN are regularly regenerated databases of hypothetical protein sequences predicted from EST and HTG sequences, respectively. Hits is a web-based data retrieval and analysis system providing access to precomputed matches between protein sequences (including sequences from trEST and trGEN) and patterns and profiles from Prosite and Pfam. The three resources can be accessed via the Hits home page (http://hits. isb-sib.ch).