Effect of atropine on plasma gastrin and somatostatin concentrations during sham feeding in man

The purpose of these studies was to measure circulating gastrin and somatostatin concentrations during sham feeding in humans and to evaluate the effect of two doses of intravenous atropine on circulating concentrations of these peptides. Gastric acid and bicarbonate secretion and pulse rate were also measured. Sham feeding increased plasma gastrin concentrations by approximately 15 pg/ml but had no effect on plasma somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI). A small dose of atropine (5 micrograms/kg) augmented plasma gastrin concentrations during sham feeding significantly (P less than 0.01), but did not affect plasma SLI. Atropine also significantly inhibited gastric acid secretion and gastric bicarbonate secretion (by 62% and 52%, respectively), but pulse rate was not affected. A larger dose of atropine (15 micrograms/kg intravenously) suppressed plasma gastrin concentrations significantly compared to the smaller 5 micrograms/kg atropine dose (P less than 0.02), so that plasma gastrin concentrations when 15 micrograms/kg atropine was given were not significantly different from those during the control study. 15 micrograms/kg atropine reduced gastric acid and bicarbonate secretion by 81% and 66%, respectively, and also increased pulse rate by 15 min-1. These studies indicate that small doses of atropine enhance vagally mediated gastrin release in humans, probably by blocking a cholinergic inhibitory pathway for gastrin release. Although the nature of this cholinergic inhibitory mechanism is unclear, we found no evidence to incriminate somatostatin. Our finding that the larger dose of atropine reduced serum gastrin concentrations compared with the smaller dose suggests that certain vagal-cholinergic pathways may facilitate gastrin release.     

Radioimmunoassay for fibroblast growth factor (FGF): release by the bovine anterior pituitary in vitro

A radioimmunoassay (RIA) was developed to measure fibroblast growth factor (FGF) using antiserum generated against a synthetic replicate of [Tyr¹⁰]FGF(1–10). The antisera, previously shown to be capable of inhibiting the biological action of FGF on bovine aortic arch endothelial cells in vitro [1], are highly specific for the amino-terminus of FGF. In the RIA, the antisera recognize the decapeptide antigen [Tyr¹⁰]FGF(1–10) and the intact mitogen on an equimolar basis and show less than 0.01% cross-reactivity with N-acetyl-[Tyr¹⁰]FGF(1–10).

Bovine adenohypophysial cells maintained in primary monolayer culture release and ir-FGF which is indistinguishable from the intact mitogen in as much as it is retained on heparin-Sepharose affinity columns and shows a dose-dependent and parallel displacement in RIA. The release of ir-FGF by the bovine adenohypophysis can be increased with forskolin (10⁻⁵ M) or KCl (50 mM). Preincubation of pituitary cells with 17β-estradiol has no measurable effects on basal ir-FGF, but increases the release after KCl treatment 2–3-fold. These results show that ir-FGF can be released by the bovine adenohypophysis in vitro and lend credence to the hypothesis that FGF plays a physiological role in the homeostatic mechanisms regulating mesoderm-derived cell growth.     

In vitro regeneration of Ruscus hypophyllum L. plants

Callus cultures were established from stem explants of Ruscus hypophyllum on a modified basal medium of Murashige and Skoog (1962) supplemented with 1 mg l^-1 2,4-D+0.1 mg l^-1 BAP. The optimal 2,4-D concentration for promoting shoot bud formation and growth was 0.05 mg l^-1 along with 0.5 mg l^-1 BAP. Sixty percent of rootless shoots produced flowers on the regenerating medium. Rooting was induced when shoots were transferred to half strength MS inorganic salts supplemented with 2 mg l^-1 IBA. Eighty percent of plants transferred to soil have survived.     

In vitro translation of human pheochromocytoma messenger RNAs: characterization of tyrosine-hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase

mRNAs extracted from human pheochromocytoma were translated in vitro in a lysate of a rabbit reticulocytes. Two enzymes of the biosynthetic pathway of the catecholamines, tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH), were characterized as translation products after immunoprecipitation by specific antisera and electrophoretic analysis. The precursor of TH is a polypeptide having a molecular mass of 62,000 identical to that found for the mature protein. The molecular mass of the precursor of DBH 73,000 while that of the mature form is 79,000. TH and DBH have been translated from mRNAs having sedimentation coefficients of 22S and 25S, respectively.     

Redox interconversion of Escherichia coli glutathione reductase. A study with permeabilized and intact cells

Summary The redox interconversion of Escherichia coli glutathione reductase has been studied both in situ, with permeabilized cells treated with different reductants, and in vivo, with intact cells incubated with compounds known to alter their intracellular redox state.The enzyme from toulene-permeabilized cells was inactivated in situ by NADPH, NADH, dithionite, dithiothreitol, or GSH. The enzyme remained, however, fully active upon incubation with the oxidized forms of such compounds. The inactivation was time-, temperature-, and concentration-dependent; a 50% inactivation was promoted by just 2 M NADPH, while 700 M NADH was required for a similar effect. The enzyme from permeabilized cells was completely protected against redox inactivation by GSSG, and to a lesser extent by dithiothreitol, GSH, and NAD(P)⁺. The inactive enzyme was efficiently reactivated in situ by physiological GSSG concentrations. A significant reactivation was promoted also by GSH, although at concentrations two orders of magnitude below its physiological concentrations. The glutathione reductase from intact E. coli cells was inactivated in vivo by incubation with DL-malate, DL-isocitrate, or higher L-lactate concentrations. The enzyme was protected against redox inactivation and fully reactivated by diamide in a concentration-dependent fashion. Diamide reactivation was not dependent on the synthesis of new protein, thus suggesting that the effect was really a true reactivation and not due to de novo synthesis of active enzyme. The glutathione reductase activity increased significantly after incubation of intact cells with tert-butyl or cumene hydroperoxides, suggesting that the enzyme was partially inactive within such cells. In conclusion, the above results show that both in situ and in vivo the glutathione reductase of Escherichia coli is subjected to a redox interconversion mechanism probably controlled by the intracellular NADPH and GSSG concentrations.     

A new pollen type,C-banded and fluorochrome counterstained chromosomes,and evolution inGuatteria and related genera (Annonaceae)

Guatteria, Guatteriopsis, Guatteriella andHeteropetalum share the same conspicuous pollen type which is new for theSpermatophyta. It is zonoaperturate with a folded aperture region and an extremely reduced exine. First chromosome counts and karyotype analyses forGuatteriopsis (4 species investigated) andGuatteriella (1 species) are identical with those ofGuatteria (19 species seen): 2n = 28. The genome is characterized by diploidization and partly telocentric chromosomes. Sequentially Giemsa C- and fluorochrome banded chromosomes and interphase nuclei are described. The cuticular folding pattern is distinct forHeteropetalum only. Growth forms and ecology are reported for many species. The evolutionary pattern of theGuatteria group is discussed and compared with other genera and families.     

Effects of monovalent cations on red cell shape and size

Human erythrocytes were incubated in isotonic solutions of different monovalent cations. The apparent size of the red cells measured on scanning electron microscopic pictures decreases in the order Li⁺>Na⁺=K⁺>Rb⁺. These differences in size are abolished after pretreatment with trypsin, which removes a large part of the charges associated with membrane glycoproteins. Shape alterations are also observed. Normal biconcave shapes are visible after Na⁺ or K⁺ incubation, whereas Li⁺ leads to flabby, flattened cells with a certain tendency to crenation, and Rb⁺ causes more pronounced biconcavity with a certain tendency to cupping. The overall effects of pretreatment with trypsin are similar to those of Li⁺. Our results provide evidence that the electrostatic repulsion of glycoproteins and other charged membrane components may play an essential role in maintaining red cell shape.     

The human pronuclear ovum: Fine strcture of monospermic and polyspermic fertilization in vitro

The fine structure of pronuclear ova (monospermy and polyspermy) and one-cell embryos has been investigated in our IVF programme. Sixteen oocytes were collected at laparoscopy after appropriate hormonal stimulation and were matured and fertilized in vitro by methods that have given rise to normal pregnancies. Pronuclear ova showing monospermic fertilization had two vesicular pronuclei surrounded by aggregations of cellular organelles. The male pronucleus was closely associated with a sperm axoneme, while the female pronucleus was dismantling its envelope and condensing its chromatin ahead of its counterpart in late pronuclear ova. Each pronucleus had dispersed chromatin, dense compact nucleoli, and intranuclear annulate lamellae. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum, annulate lamellae, Golgi complexes, and mitochondria formed a conspicuous part of the perinuclear ooplasm. The one-cell embryos were either in syngamy or in the process of undergoing first cleavage. Positive evidence of cortical granule release and second polar bodies were detected in the perivitelline space. A block to polyspermy seemed to operate at the level of the inner zona. Dispermic and polyspermic ova had 3–16 pronuclei resembling those of monospermic ova and had sperm tails in the ooplasm. Sperm were also seen penetrating the inner zona and were occasionally found in the perivitelline space. Incomplete cortical granule release and early signs of cytoplasmic fragmentation were noted in polyspermic ova. Both normal and abnormal features of these ova are reported and compared with pronuclear structure in vivo and in vitro.     

Alterations in the structure of the electrical double layer adjacent to a charged membrane arising from electromagnetically induced changes in the activity of membrane bound enzymes

Electromagnetic fields of very low amplitude have been reported to influence a number of cellular functions. Many of these effects have a high degree of frequency specificity. Herein it is suggested that some of these reported results could be explained by a fieldinduced alteration in the enzymic activity of integral membrane proteins. It is shown that such a field-induced transition from an initial nonequilibrium steady-state to a final nonequilibrium steady-state can lead to an alteration in the concentration profiles of those charged species in the cell's ambient electrolyte that comprise the so-called electrical double layer. Examples of variations in the concentration profiles of those ions that react with a membrane-bound enzyme, as well as nonreacting ionic species, are given. The modulation of such effects by systematic variations in extracellular pH and ionic strength is discussed.