Evidence that benzodiazepine receptors reside on cerebellar purkinje cells: Studies with “nervous” mutant mice

The age-related, regionally-specific loss of ³H-diazepam binding sites in nervous mutant mice paralleled the loss of cerebellar Purkinje cells. These results suggest that benzodiazepine receptors reside on cerebellar Purkinje cells.     

Stimulation by ATP of [3H]dopamine binding to synaptic membrane fractions of canine caudate nucleus

The rate of [³H]dopamine binding to crude synaptic membranes from canine caudate nucleus was considerably increased by 2 mM ATP, 5′-adenylylimidodiphosphate and GTP or by 1 mM 5′-guanylyl-imidodiphosphate, while strongly inhibited by 2 mM ADP and GDP. Half maximal concentrations of [³H]dopamine to bind to the membranes were 1.11 × 10^?7M and 8.75 × 10^?6M in the absence of 4 mM ATP, indicating a negative cooperativity of the dopamine receptor, and 9.25 × 10^?7 M in its presence. Hill coefficient was increased from 0.70 to 1.04 by addition of 4 mM ATP. The optimal concentration of ATP for [³H]dopamine binding was in the range of 0.5 to 5 mM.     

Pulmonary surfactant protein A modulates the cellular response to smooth and rough lipopolysaccharides by interaction with CD14.

Pulmonary surfactant protein A (SP-A) plays an important part in Ab-independent host defense mechanisms of the lung. In this study we investigated how SP-A interacts with distinct serotypes of bacterial LPS and modulates LPS-elicited cellular responses. SP-A bound to rough forms but not to smooth forms of LPS. In the macrophage-like cell line U937, SP-A inhibited mRNA expression and secretion of TNF-alpha induced by smooth LPS, but rough LPS-induced TNF-alpha expression was unaffected by SP-A. When U937 cells and rat alveolar macrophages were preincubated with SP-A, smooth LPS failed to induce TNF-alpha secretion, whereas rough LPS-induced TNF-alpha secretion was modestly increased. To clarify the mechanism by which SP-A modulates LPS-elicited cellular responses, we further examined the interaction of SP-A with CD14, which is known as a major LPS receptor. Western blot analysis revealed that CD14 was one of the SP-A binding proteins isolated from solubilized U937 cells. In addition, SP-A directly bound to recombinant soluble CD14 (rsCD14). When rsCD14 was preincubated with SP-A, the binding of rsCD14 to smooth LPS was significantly reduced but the association of rsCD14 with rough LPS was augmented. These results demonstrate the different actions of SP-A upon distinct serotypes of LPS and indicate that the direct interaction of SP-A with CD14 constitutes a likely mechanism by which SP-A modulates LPS-elicited cellular responses.     

Kinetic Studies on the Initial Crystallization Process of Lysozyme in the Presence of D2O and H2O

In the initial stages of the crystallization of egg-white lysozyme, monomeric lysozyme aggregates rapidly and forms a nucleus in the presence of high salt concentrations. The formation process of the aggregates was examined to make clear the difference between the situations in heavy water and in water at the same sodium ion concentration. The aggregation in both cases was observed at unsaturated and/or saturated lysozyme concentrations. The turbidity at 350 nm of lysozyme increased remarkably within 60 min under each experimental condition and showed no appreciable changes over 60 min. The increase of turbidity in H₂O was much slower than in D₂O at the same salt concentration (3%). Lysozyme showed a critical concentration for nucleus formation whose value in H₂O was lower than in D₂O at 3% salt concentration. There are two different aggregation models, depending on the concentration of lysozyme. However, similar results were not obtained at 3% sodium ions in H₂O. The initial aggregation rate was also dependent on the concentrations of both lysozyme and NaCI. Therefore, the effect of lysozyme concentration on the aggregation process in H₂O may be smaller than in D₂O.     

Tetradecanoylphorbol acetate and terbutaline stimulate surfactant secretion in alveolar type II cells without changing the membrane potential

Alveolar type II cells were isolated from adult rat lungs after tissue dissociation with elastase. The effect of known secretagogues on transmembrane potential was examined in freshly isolated cells (day 0 cells) and in cells after one day of primary culture (day 1 cells). Freshly isolated type II cells were incubated with 3,3'-dipentyloxacarbocyanine (di-O-C5(3)) or 3,3'-dipropylthiadicarbocyanine (di-S-C3(5)), dyes whose intracellular fluorescence intensity is a direct function of the cellular transmembrane potential. Fluorescence was continuously recorded by fluorescence spectrophotometry. Type II cells rapidly incorporated the dyes, and the addition of gramicidin (1 microgram/ml) depolarized the cells as indicated by a change in fluorescence. Neither 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) nor terbutaline plus 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), which stimulate surfactant secretion from isolated alveolar type II cells, changed the transmembrane potential. The lipophilic cation triphenylmethylphosphonium (TPMP+) was used to quantitate the transmembrane potential of type II cells cultured for one day. Addition of TPA or terbutaline plus IBMX induced surfactant secretion but did not alter the transmembrane potential. To study further the relationship of secretion to the transmembrane potential, secretion was also determined in the presence of high extracellular potassium which depolarizes the cells and in the presence of choline in place of sodium. High potassium enhanced the basal secretion of phosphatidylcholine from 1.8% to 3.4% (P less than 0.01, n = 7). Substitution of sodium chloride by choline chloride had no effect on basal secretion but enhanced TPA-induced secretion (P less than 0.01). We conclude that high extracellular potassium induces membrane depolarization and stimulates surfactant secretion, but TPA or terbutaline plus IBMX stimulates secretion without detectable membrane depolarization and stimulation of secretion by TPA does not require extracellular sodium.