1,6-Diamino-2,5-anhydro-1,6-dideoxy-dl-glucitol and some derivatives thereof

1,6-Diamino-2,5-anhydro-1,6-dideoxy-dl-glucitol dihydrochloride and some derivatives were synthesized from 3,5-di-O-acetyl-1,6-dibromo-1,6-dideoxy-d-mannitol. Introduction of the 2,5-anhydro ring and subsequent replacement of the terminal bromine atoms by azide gave low yields of the diazide; therefore, a reverse reaction-sequence was applied. The azido groups were reduced with hydrogen sulfide-pyridine, and the amino groups formed were methylated by using formaldehyde-formic acid and subsequently treating with borohydride. According to ¹³C-n.m.r. investigations, the symmetrically substituted, 2,5-anhydroglucitol derivatives are present mainly in the ⁴T₃ [“north” (N) type of twist] conformation, whereas the analogous l-iditol derivatives mainly adopt the ³T₄ [“south” (S)] type. The different quaternary salts obtained on methylation of the corresponding 1,6-bis(dimethylamino)derivatives with methyl iodide (aiming at the structure of epi-muscarine) showed no muscarine-like, biological activity.     

Opposing effects of human peripheral blood lymphocytes on the growth of cultured leukemia cell lines

Natural killing of two human leukemia cell lines (K562 and Molt 4) in a soft-agar, clonagenic assay was shown to be the result of two opposite yet concurrent processes: target cell colony stimulation and inhibition. The stimulatory effect was demonstrable when the effector lymphocytes and target cells were separated in contiguous agar layers, suggesting mediation by a soluble factor. Similarly, stimulation occurred when the effector lymphocytes and target cells were combined at low effector-target cell ratios that do not favor direct cell contact. Target colony inhibition was found to be dominant when large E:T ratios were employed. Both target-effector binding and natural killing were significantly reduced in medium devoid of divalent cations.     

Synthesis of alpha and gamma interferons by a human cutaneous lymphoma with helper T-cell phenotype

A cloned human cutaneous lymphoma Hut102-B2 with helper T-cell phenotype (Leu1⁺, Leu2a^?, Leu3a⁺) was found to produce substantial quantities of interferon (IFN) on induction with the phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Whereas only trace amounts of IFN were secreted by Hut102-B2 cells spontaneously, up to 8000 laboratory units/ ml of IFN were synthesized under the optimal conditions of TPA induction. Characterization studies including neutralization by specific antisera to IFNs and determination of the activities in human and bovine cells disclosed that the IFN produced by Hut102-B2 cells exposed to TPA was a mixture of immune IFN (IFN-γ) and leukocyte IFN (IFN-α) made in approximately equal amounts in terms of antiviral activity.     

Activated T lymphocytes resist the toxic effects of the adenosine deaminase inhibitor, 2-deoxycoformycin

Tonsil lymphocytes from three adults and three children were examined for immunoglobulin (Ig) production before and after Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transformation. T-cell depletion was required to obtain cell lines from EBV-seropositive individuals. Cytoplasmic Ig was mainly IgG in adult lymphocytes before and after transformation; IgA and IgM were more prominent after than before. IgM and IgG predominated in lymphocytes of children before and after transformation; IgA was more prominent after than before. Cytoplasmic Ig of peripheral blood lymphocytes from these individuals was mainly IgM. Secreted Ig from tonsil lymphocytes was mainly IgA or IgG; after transformation IgM predominated with adult cell lines, and IgG or IgM with cell lines from children. IgE was consistently sparse in spite of ragweed and/or grass allergies of the adults.     

Surface antigen changes occurring in short-term cultures of activated human T lymphocytes: analysis by flow cytometry

Surface antigens of activated and cultured human T cells were studied using peripheral blood lymphocytes activated with conditioned medium from phytohemagglutinin-activated leukocytes and maintained in liquid culture for 2 weeks with conditioned medium containing Interleukin 2. The ensuing cell population was tested for kinetic changes in cell size and for the expression of surface antigens by immunofluorescence staining with a panel of monoclonal antibodies and analysis by flow cytometry. Upon activation, the cell population progressively increased in size to large blasts, with the rapid appearance on all of the large dividing cells of the antigen recognized by OKT9, the transferrin receptor. Cells within the population continued to express the common peripheral T-cell antigens bound by OKT3 and UCHT1, and also the antigen bound by 3A1, but never the antigen bound by OKT6, a thymic cell marker. From the time of activation an increasing proportion of the T cells, up to 80%, expressed the antigen detected with OKIa and FMC4, which recognise nonpolymorphic Ia determinants. This sequence of events was followed by a general decrease in size of the cell population, a process accompanied by further phenotypic changes. The percentage of cells expressing Ia antigens decreased, but most striking was the rapid change in the OKT4:OKT8 ratio of cells within the population, from 60:40 to 40:60. Thereafter the proportions of OKT4⁺ to OKT8⁺ cells within the cultures remained relatively stable and it is suggested that these data provide evidence for a possible change in phenotype of cultured human T lymphoblasts, from OKT4 to OKT8.     

布雷费尔德对真菌的进化观点在真菌分类中所起的影响*

布雷费尔德(O. Brefeld)虽对真菌纯培养方法的改进和真菌发育与生理知识作出了不少贡献,但他的主要贡献还是对真菌系统发育的观点。按照他的这种观点,卵菌不是真正的真菌,它应与粘菌一起排除在真菌之外,而真正的真菌应从接合菌开始。他并将子囊菌和担子菌分别分为半子囊菌和真子囊菌,半担子菌和真担子菌。     

Plant cell extension: structural implications for the origin of the plasma membrane

Abstract. The proposal that rapidly elongating plant cells cannot maintain plasma membrane synthesis by means of the normal endomembrane system has been examined in elongating segments of Avena sativa coleoptiles. Segments were sampled and fixed for electron microscopy, before and after elongation on auxin solutions. Mean cell extensions, cytoplasmic volumes, dictyosomc numbers, and vesicle sizes and numbers were determined. It was shown that there are sufficient dictyosomes present to sustain the vesicle production necessary for the observed plasma membrane extension.     

Desensitization of the D-2 dopamine receptor and the β2-adrenoceptor in the intermediate lobe of the rat pituitary gland

A D-2 dopamine receptor and a β₂-adrenoceptor occur in the intermediate lobe of the rat pituitary gland (IL). Exposure of intact IL tissue to a D-2 agonist diminished the ability of dopaminergic agonists [but not 5′-guanylyl imidodiphosphate (Gpp(NH)p)] to inhibit adenylate cyclase activity. Conversely, exposure of intact IL tissue to a β-adrenergic agonist diminished the ability of a β-adrenergic agonist (but not forskolin) to stimulate adenylate cyclase activity. Treatment of ovariectomized rats with 17β-estradiol desensitizes the β₂-adrenoceptor but not the D-2 receptor. Desensitization of the IL catecholamine receptors is discussed within the framework of a previously published “working model” of these receptors.