Interactions of chloride and amiloride with the renal Na+/H/ antiporter

Amiloride is a reversible inhibitor of the Na+/H+ antiporter which acts at the external aspect of the transport system. The kinetics of inhibition of the Na+/H+ antiporter with amiloride have been controversial, with the usual finding of simple competitive inhibition, but with other reports of mixed and noncompetitive inhibition of the transporter by amiloride. The present experiments demonstrate that the chloride content of the external transport buffer affects the kinetics of amiloride inhibition. Either simple competitive or mixed inhibition by amiloride was observed in the same vesicle preparations depending on the presence of chloride or gluconate in the buffer. The effect of chloride on the inhibitory effect of amiloride was dependent on the concentration of chloride and amiloride. Similar effects were observed with more potent analogues of amiloride. These findings suggest that the external aspect of the antiporter has a site or sites at which the inhibitory effects of amiloride on the Na+/H+ antiporter can be modified by chloride, even though chloride has only slight effects on the kinetics of the Na+/H+ antiporter in the absence of amiloride.     

Physiology based simulation model of triangle shape recognition

The present paper considers the relation between the shape of a triangle and probability of its recognition. An effect of triangle size on perception of its shape is examined in the first experiment. In the second the loci of eye fixations during triangle recognition task are recorded and analysed. A simulation model of the recognition process is proposed. The model is based on two main assumptions: 1. an accuracy of shape processing is related to the cortical magnification factor, 2. a subject's response depends on actual position of eye fixation. The validity of the model is verified by comparing the theoretical and experimental response distributions. Some psychophysiological implications are then discussed.A partial report of this research was given at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (Pizlo and Gradus-Pizlo 1986)     

Blockage of tropoelastin secretion by monensin represses tropoelastin synthesis at a pretranslational level in rat smooth muscle cells.

The blockage of protein secretion in the R22 cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cell strain with monensin repressed tropoelastin gene expression at the mRNA level by ca. 50-fold as measured by biosynthetic pulse-labeling, in vitro translation, and hybridization with a tropoelastin genomic DNA probe. These results suggest that tropoelastin gene expression is autoregulated, and they represent the first reported effect of monensin on gene expression.     

Maternal Transfer and Protective Role of the Alternative Complement Components in Zebrafish Danio rerio

Embryos of most fish develop externally and are exposed to an aquatic environment full of potential pathogens, whereas they have little or only limited ability to mount an efficient and protective response. How fish embryos survive pathogenic attacks remains poorly defined. Here we demonstrate that the maternal immunization of female zebrafish with formalin-killed Aeromonas hydrophila causes a significant increase in C3 and Bf contents in the mother, a corresponding rise in the offspring, and induces a remarkable increase in the hemolytic activities in both the mother and offspring. In addition, the embryos derived from the immunized mother are significantly more tolerant to A. hydrophila challenge than those from the unimmunized fish, and blocking C3 and Bf activities by injection of the antibodies against C3 and Bf into the embryos render them more susceptible to A. hydrophila. These results clearly show that the protection of zebrafish embryos against A. hydrophila can be achieved by the maternally-transferred immunity of the complement system operating via the alternative pathway. This appears to be the first report providing in vivo evidences for the protective role of the alternative complement components in the early embryos of zebrafish, paving the way for insights into the in vivo function of other maternally-transferred factors in fish.     

Secondary conformational polymorphism of nucleic acids as a possible functional link between cellular parameters and DNA packaging processes

Circular dichroism and electron microscopy studies of various in vitro DNA packaging systems indicate that all the factors which induce and modulate the secondary conformation of DNA molecules are capable of eliciting nucleic acids condensation processes into tight, highly ordered tertiary structures as well as altering the extent of order and compactness within the resulting species. Specifically, such factors include the ionic strength, the presence of particular dehydrating agents and polyamines, as well as the pH values. It is proposed that slight alterations of these parameters induce the formation of short non-B-DNA segments that propagate as a perturbation along the B-DNA double helix. The structural fluctuations of the dsDNA molecules that result from the conformational discontinuities formed at the junction sites between the B motif and the conformationally altered segments alter the elastic response of the nucleic acids and facilitate cooperative condensation processes. Moreover, the type and frequency of the structurally modified clusters interspersed within the B conformation and determined by the environmental parameters are shown to provide a means for continuous regulation of the extent and mode of DNA packaging. The ionic strength and hydrophobic environment in the close vicinity of the DNA molecules are controlled and modulated in vivo by DNA-binding proteins such as histones and protamines; similarly, pH values and polyamine concentrations are constantly regulated in living systems. It is suggested, therefore, that the secondary structural polymorphism which characterizes the DNA molecules might display a regulatory role by acting as a functional link between cellular parameters and the extent, mode, and timing of nucleic acid packaging processes.