内皮素－1对缺氧肺动脉平滑肌细胞的增殖作用

内皮素（ＥＴ）是至今所发现的最强的内源性血管收缩肽,近年来发现ＥＴ－１能促进血管平滑肌细胞增殖。本研究表明ＥＴ－１对缺氧培养的肺动脉平滑肌细胞（ＰＡＳＭＣ）有剂量依赖的增殖作用,缺氧可促进ＰＡＳＭＣ的ＤＮＡ合成且增加ＥＴ－１的丝裂原作用。ＥＴ－１的丝裂原作用主要由其Ａ型受体（ＥＴＲ＿Ａ）所介导,ＥＴＲ＿Ａ的特异拮抗剂ＢＱ１２３可显著抑制缺氧以及缺氧与ＥＴ－１协同所产生的增殖作用,而且发现ＥＴＲ＿Ａ在缺氧培养的ＰＡＳＭＣ中的表达显著高于常氧对照组ＰＡＳＭＣ。本研究表明ＥＴ－１参与了缺氧性肺动脉结构重组,而缺氧可增强ＰＡＳＭＣ对ＥＴ－１的增殖反应性。     

An immunohistochemical study of epithelial cells in the posterior lobe and pars tuberalis of the human adult pituitary gland

Summary Pituitary glands were examined using reference staining (hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid-Schiff and alcian blue) and the peroxidase-labeled antibody method, for 1) invading anterior cells in the posterior lobe, 2) intermediate colloid forming follicles, and 3) pars tuberalis cells.The results showed: 1) that the majority of cases possessed invading anterior cells of various amount. Most of these cells were positive for ACTH^1–18, ACTH^17–39 and -MSH. However, on a few occasions, scattered GH, PRL, FSH, FSH, LH and even TSH cells were also present. 2) Colloid forming follicular cells were mostly ACTH cells, but also contained occasional other hormone-secreting cells. Hormone negative cells were correlated with salivary type epithelium. Well established acinic type salivary glands and ciliated epithelium were negative for any hormones immunohistochemically. 3) Pars tuberalis cells were predominantly gonadotrophs but also included TSH and ACTH cells. Some cells appeared to contain both FSH and LH. When these cells underwent squamous metaplasia, they seemed to lose their hormone secreting activity.Part of this study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Cancer Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan     

Ultrastructural localization of gonadotrophic hormones in the porcine pituitary using the immunoperoxidase technique

Summary Using specific antibodies against subunits of porcine LH and FSH, the pituitary cells which produce these two gonadotrophins were identified in the porcine pituitary at the ultrastructural level using the immunoperoxidase technique. It was clearly shown that most of the gonadotrophic cells are responsible for the production of both FSH and LH. However, some cells, only positive for FSH or LH, indicate that the concentrations of FSH and LH vary from cell to cell. At the ultrastructural level, the FSH/LH cells contain one class of secretory granules strongly positive for both FSH and LH as well as large negatively stained dense bodies. These findings indicate that the one cell-one hormone concept may not apply to gonadotrophic hormones; a FSH/LH cell cannot be distinguished from a LH or a FSH cell without immunocytochemical identification of its hormonal content.Abbreviations p-LH porcine luteinizing hormone - p-LH porcine LH subunit - p-LH porcine LH subunit - p-FSH porcine follicule stimulating hormone - p-FSH porcine FSH subunit - b-TSH bovine thyrotropic hormone     

Fine structural criteria for identifying rat corticotrophs

Summary The fine structural characteristics of normal rat corticotrophs stained with anti-porcine ACTH^1–39 serum were studied. At the ultrastructure level immunoreactive corticotrophs appear to comprise four distinct cell types: (1) large stellate cells (Siperstein cells) containing granules (170–250 nm in diameter) arranged in a peripheral row and usually embracing an acidophil; (2) elongate spindle-shaped cells (Moriarty cells) in which the secretory granules (170–250 nm in diameter) are distributed in a row or in small clusters in the peripheral cytoplasm; (3) oval or polygonal cells filled only with small secretory granules (130–170 nm in diameter), resembling the acidophil of small granules type (Yoshimura et al. 1974); and (4) polygonal or stellate cells filled with secretory granules of varying diameters (180–300 nm in diameter) and occasionally embracing an acidophil. The first type is the most common, but the others are infrequent. It is concluded that the criteria of Siperstein and Miller (1970) do not necessarily include all categories of rat corticotrophs.     

Ultrastructural localization of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in the porcine gonadotropic cells

Summary The comparative ultrastructural localization of LH, FSH and GnRH clearly shows that the granules of the FSH/LH cells contain all three hormones. The separate storage of LH and FSH in a significant number of cells, which in the same granules also display GnRH, may suggest that LH-RH is also FSH-RH and may help to explain the non-parallel release of LH and FSH under some functional conditions.     

Filaments and rod-shaped tubulated bodies in the endothelia of anterior cerebral arteries in young rats

Summary Endothelia of the anterior cerebral arteries in rats aged 1 to 3 days were studied. Thin (about 50–90 Å) and thick (about 100–110 Å) filaments are present in the endothelia. Numerous spherical- or rod-shaped bodies, measuring approximately 0.07 to 0.3 m in diameter and up to 0.6 m in length occur in the endothelial cells. These bodies contain a tubular structure. The diameter of the individual tubules is about 200 Å. The present observations suggest that spherical- or rod-shaped inclusions are first synthesized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum and thereafter these materials are transported into the Golgi complex for maturation. A small number of the inclusions, however, may originate directly from the rough endoplasmic reticulum and not pass through the Golgi apparatus.A part of this study was demonstrated at the 70th Versammlung der Anatomischen Gesellschaft in Düsseldorf, April, 1–5, 1975The author thanks Mr. Tatsuro Fukushima for preparation of photographs     

The Effect of Cyclohexyladenosine on the Penischemic Increases of Hippocampal Glutamate and Glycine in the Rabbit

We investigated the ability of N6-cyclohexyladenosine (CHA), a potent and selective agonist of the adenosine A1 receptor, to attenuate elevations of levels of extracellular hippocampal glutamate and glycine that result from episodes of transient global cerebral ischemia (TGCI). A total of 30 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to receive 0 (n = 5), 0.1 (n = 8), 1.0 (n = 6), 10 (n = 6), or 100 (n = 5) microM CHA. The drug was dissolved in artificial CSF (vehicle) and administered via a microdialysis probe placed stereotactically into the dorsal hippocampus. A second microdialysis probe placed into the contralateral hippocampus of each animal was perfused with vehicle alone. Ten minutes of TGCI was induced by neck tourniquet inflation and deliberate hypotension from 0 to 10 min. Microdialysis samples were collected as follows: every 20 min preischemia (at -80, -60, -40, -20, and 0 min); every 5 min during ischemia and in the immediate reperfusion period (at 5, 10, 15, and 20 min); and every 20 min for the remainder of the reperfusion period (at 40, 60, and 80 min). Samples were then analyzed for their concentration of glutamate and glycine by HPLC. Following 10 min of ischemia, glutamate levels increased to a peak of 3.28 +/- 0.55 times baseline and returned to preischemic levels by 40 min, i.e., during reperfusion. Glycine concentrations increased to 5.41 +/- 0.91 times over baseline and remained elevated for the duration of the study.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Regional and Temporal Alterations in Ca2+/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II and Calcineurin in the Hippocampus of Rat Brain After Transient Forebrain Ischemia

We have investigated regional and temporal alterations in Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) and calcineurin (Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase) after transient forebrain ischemia. Immunoreactivity and enzyme activity of CaM kinase II decreased in regions CA1 and CA3, and in the dentate gyrus, of the hippocampus early (6-12 h) after ischemia, but the decrease in immunoreactivity gradually recovered over time, except in the CA1 region. Furthermore, the increase in Ca2+/calmodulin-independent activity was detected up to 3 days after ischemia in all regions tested, suggesting that the concentration of intracellular Ca2+ increased. In contrast to CaM kinase II, as immunohistochemistry and regional immunoblot analysis revealed, calcineurin was preserved in the CA1 region until 1.5 days and then lost with the increase in morphological degeneration of neurons. Immunoblot analysis confirmed the findings of the immunohistochemistry. These results suggest that there is a difference between CaM kinase II and calcineurin in regional and temporal loss after ischemia and that imbalance of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphorylation-dephosphorylation may occur.     

Expression of a novel nuclear protein is correlated with neuronal differentiation in vivo

We report the production of a monoclonal antibody (MAb 526) that recognizes a novel, developmentally regulated nuclear protein expressed in neurons throughout the rat nervous system. Analysis of whole brain and cell nuclear extracts by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting determined that MAb 526 recognizes a single nuclear protein (np) of apparent molecular weight 42 kD, designated np526, as well as a slightly larger (ca. 44 kD) cytoplasmic protein. Light microscopic immunocytochemistry showed np526 to be present in neurons of all types throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. Nuclei of both fibrous and protoplasmic astrocytes were also immunoreactive, but oligodendrocyte nuclei were negative. Positive, but highly variable immunocytochemical staining of nonneural cell nuclei in a variety of other tissues was also observed. Electron microscopic (EM) immunocytochemistry using pre-embedding peroxidase methods revealed that np526 is associated with euchromatin or with the edges of condensed chromatin bundles in neurons, indicating that it is likely to be a chromosomal protein. Most interestingly, the expression of np526 was found to be developmentally regulated in brain. Immunocytochemical analysis of the developing cerebral cortex from embryonic day (E) 16 to postnatal day (P) 4 and cerebellum from P4 to P18 revealed that np526 first appears in central neurons following the cessation of mitosis and that the intensity of nuclear staining increases during subsequent neuronal maturation. To our knowledge, np526 is the first presumptive chromosomal protein whose expression has been precisely correlated with the early postmitotic differentiation of mammalian neurons.     

An analog of ACTH/MSH (4–9), ORG-2766, reduces cerebral uptake of morphine

The uptake of morphine was significantly reduced in most regions of the brains of conscious, unrestrained rats within 10 minutes after treatment with an analog of ACTH/MSH (4–9), ORG-2766. The effect was most obvious in regions with significant densities of enkephalin receptors, namely basal ganglia, hippocampus and cortex. The results explain, in part, how some fragments and analogs of ACTH/MSH may antagonize behavioral actions of morphine, even though some of these peptides lack significant opiate receptor binding properties. We believe that this effect of ORG-2766 is related to an action on the permeability characteristics of the brain microvasculature. The underlying mechanism is unknown.