Comparative zone electrophoresis of esterases of Staphylococcus species isolated from mammalian skin.

The electrophoretic mobilities of non-specific esterases in vertical polyacrylamide slab gels were determined for 184 strains of staphylococci, representing a total of 18 proposed species and subspecies. Markedly uniform esterase patterns were seen within species demonstrating a high degree of human host specificity, while those species demonstrating a wide host range were polytypic and often showed considerable polymorphism. The unique banding patterns found in several species indicate that this technique may serve as a valuable aid to existing taxonomic schemes. Starch gel electrophoresis of representative strains usually produced sharper esterase bands than were found with polyacrylamide electrophoresis. However, the additional molecular-sieving effect produced by the polyacrylamide gels differentiated esterases to a greater extent.     

Involvement of angiotensin-mediated renal vasoconstriction in renal hypertension

Systematic arterial blood pressure and renal vascular resistance were found to be significantly greater in morphine, chloraloseurethane anesthetized renal hypertensive dogs than in similarly treated normotensive dogs. A lower dose infusion of the angiotensin antagonist 1-sar-8-ala-angiotensin II in the concentration of 20 mμg/ml into the renal artery decreased renal vascular resistance in the hypertensive, but not in the normotensive animals. The subsequent administration of a higher dose (approximately 50 mμg/ml) of 1-sar-8-ala-angiotensin II produced a decrease in renal vascular resistance in the normotensives, but a still greater effect in the hypertensives. Systemic blood pressure was significantly decreased with the higher dose in the hypertensive, but not in the normotensive group. The results indicate the participation of angiotensin-mediated renal vasoconstriction in the increased renal resistance in the hypertensive animals.     

The effect of chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride on the isolated perfused rat liver.

The effects of chlordiazepoxide-hydrochloride (CDZ) on the isolated perfused rat liver were examined. CDZ administration decreased bile flow, biliary excretion of sulfobromophthalein (BSP) and hepatic uptake of BSP. The addition of CDZ to the perfusate of livers obtained from phenobarbital (Pb) pretreated rats led to 50% greater reductions in bile flow, concentration of BSP in bile and hepatic uptake of BSP. The adverse effects of CDZ on BSP excretion per g liver, however, did not appear to be enhanced by Pb pretreatment. The complex nature of the interrelationship of the effects of Pb and of CDZ on the control liver prevented differentiation of the role of CDZ from that of a metabolite on the adverse effect on liver function.     

The human embryonic myosin alkali light chain gene: use of alternative promoters and 3'' non-coding regions.

Recently we have found evidence that the human embryonic myosin alkali light chain (MLC1 emb) gene has two functional promoters and that its mRNAs exhibit heterogeneity in their 3'untranslated regions (UTR). To study this more in detail we have isolated and characterized the human MLC1emb gene. We focussed in particular on 2 kilobases of 5'flanking region and the alternative 3'UTRs. RNA primer extension and S1 mapping analyses revealed that the MLC1emb gene can indeed be driven either by a proximal or a distal promoter, both in fetal and adult cardiac tissue. These MLC1emb RNAs can contain either the proximal or distal 3'UTR. In contrast to this, in fetal as well as adult masseter muscle MLC1emb mRNA is predominantly transcribed from the proximal promoter and contains mainly the distal 3'UTR. These results explain the known heterogeneity of MLC1emb mRNAs. Finally, we present evidence that the murine MLC1emb gene also contains a functional distal promoter element which has hitherto been undetected.     

Onchocerca volvulus: application of the polymerase chain reaction to identification and strain differentiation of the parasite

Previous studies have demonstrated that the genome of Onchocerca volvulus contains a variable tandemly repeated DNA sequence family with a unit length of 150 bp. The variability of the 150-bp family has been exploited to develop O. volvulus strain and species specific DNA probes. Application of these DNA probes to the study of the epidemiologically most significant life cycle stages of the parasite has been confounded by several obstacles. These include the relative insensitivity of some of the DNA probes and the difficulty in releasing genomic DNA from infective larvae and skin microfilariae in a form that may be directly detected by hybridization to the probes. DNA sequence comparison of 18 known examples of the 150-bp repeat has been used to develop two populations of degenerate oligonucleotides. These oligonucleotides have been shown to support the amplification of the 150-bp repeat family from Onchocerca DNA, using the polymerase chain reaction. Both strain and species specific members of the repeat family are faithfully amplified, allowing characterization of a parasite on the basis of hybridization of the PCR amplification products to the previously developed DNA probes. This method is shown to be applicable to all diagnostically important forms of the parasite, including adults, infective larvae, and skin microfilariae. In addition, the method is capable of detecting O. volvulus infective larvae directly in extracts of blackfly vectors.     

Cytoskeletal organization following cannabinoid treatment in undifferentiated and differentiated PC12 cells.

Confocal microscopy in association with three-dimensional reconstruction was used to examine the changes in the microtubules and microfilaments following cannabinoid treatment of PC12 cells. Microtubules and microfilaments were disrupted in a dose-dependent manner following treatment with 10-30 microM delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). A disruption of microtubules and microfilaments was observed following treatment with 30 microM cannabidiol and cannabinol. The amount of microtubules and microfilaments was reduced in a dose-dependent manner following treatment with 10 and 20 microM THC. Cannabidiol and cannabinol reduced the amount of microtubules and microfilaments; however, the reduction was less than that observed with THC treatment. Following the addition of nerve growth factor, differentiated PC12 cells were generally more sensitive to cannabinoid treatments than undifferentiated cells. The possible mechanisms that may account for the changes in microtubules and microfilaments following cannabinoid treatment are discussed.     

Relative amounts of 1-O-alkyl- and 1-acyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine in stimulated endothelial cells.

The specific precursor for platelet-activating factor, 1-O-alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, constitutes 10 per cent of the 1-radyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholines in endothelial cells. Stimulation of endothelial cells results in accumulation of PAF and its sn-1-acyl- analog (acylPAF), with acylPAF the predominant product. Mass spectrometry confirmed these relative amounts and confirmed that stimulated endothelial cells accumulate 1-3 ng PAF per million cells. These data suggest that stimulated endothelial cells accumulate both PAF and acylPAF and that the PAF synthetic pathway in endothelial cells is not highly selective for the specific PAF precursor (1-O-alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine).     

Proinflammatory cytokines interact synergistically with epidermal growth factor to stimulate PGE2 production in amnion-derived cells

Recent evidence has implicated cytokines and growth factors in the initiation of parturition in women. In the present study, the amnion-derived cell line WISH was used to determine whether proinflammatory cytokines (interleukins 1β, 6, and 8, tumor necrosis factor-α, and granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor) could amplify epidermal growth factor-induced prostaglandin E₂ production. WISH cells were preincubated with cytokines (0.0001–10 ng/ml) for 60 min and then challenged with EGF (10 ng/ml) for 4 hrs after which PGE₂ production was measured by radioimmunoassay. EGF, IL-1β and TNF-α alone caused a dose-dependent increase in PGE₂ production, while IL-6, IL-8 and GM-CSF were ineffective over the dose range tested. When cells were preincubated with IL-1β or TNF-α, there was a dose-dependent potentiation of EGF-induced PGE₂ production that was greater than the sum of EGF alone and IL-1β or TNF-α alone. In each case, the minimum dose of IL-1β or TNF-α which amplified EGF-induced PGE₂ production was 0.1 ng/ml (p < 0.05, Student's t-test). These data show that low concentrations of IL-1β or TNF-α may serve to amplify EGF-mediated PGE₂ biosynthesis in amnion-derived cells and suggest that cytokines may modulate EGF function in responsivecells.