Naltrexone partially inhibits the estrogen-induced increase in prolactin secretion and anterior pituitary weight

The effects of naltrexone, a specific opiate antagonist, on stimulation by estradiol benzoate (EB) of prolactin (PRL) release and anterior pituitary (AP) weight, were studied in gonadectomized female and male Sprague-Dawley rats. One week after castration, rats were injected for 10 days once daily with 2 μg EB alone, or together with twice daily injections of 2 mg naltrexone/kg body weight (BW). Blood was collected for radioimmunoassay of PRL by orbital sinus puncture on days 0 and 6, and by decapitation on day 11, at which time the AP was quickly removed, weighed and assayed for PRL.Serum PRL concentrations and AP weights were significantly increased by EB administration. These effects of EB were partially but significantly inhibited by naltrexone. These results suggest that endegenous opiates may be involved in the estrogen-induced rise in serum PRL and increase in pituatary weight.     

Influx of γ-Aminobutyric Acid and α-Aminoisobutyric Acid into Mouse Cerebrum Slices Incubated in a Pyruvate Medium with or without Added Glucose or Glucose Analogues Compared with Influx from a Glucose Medium

Concentrative influx of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) into incubated mouse cerebrum slices is decreased when pyruvate is substituted for glucose. Influx of GABA from pyruvate medium is not increased by presence of glucose, 2-deoxy-d -glucose (2-DOG), or 3-O-methyl-d -glucose (3-O-MeG). Influx of AIB is restored to the rate from glucose medium if 2-DOG is present initially, but is not restored if 2-DOG is added with AIB. Influx is not restored if 3-O-MeG is present initially, but is restored if 3-O-MeG is added with AIB. Influx is restored if glucose is present initially or is added with AIB.     

Scanning and transmission electron microscopy of the squamose gill-filament epithelium from fresh- and seawater adaptedTilapia

Synopsis The architecture of the gill structure of variousTilapia species was studied in relation to their adaptability to hypersaline media. Using SEM and EM, it was shown that the squamose epithelial cells of the gills have species-typical patterns of ridges on their outer surfaces. These have previously been misinterpreted by other authors as microvilli or stereocillia. The ridges are more dense and better developed in euryhaline species, likeT. zillii, and less so in stenohaline species likeSarotherodon niloticus. Comparing freshwater and seawater-adapted individuals ofT. zillii, S. niloticus, S. galflaeus, andTristramella sacra, it was shown that in fresh water the surface cells are slightly swollen, extending over the openings of the chloride cells. During adaptation to sea water, these ridges become higher and denser and the cell surface shrinks, exposing the underlying orifices of the apical crypts of the chloride cells. The more euryhaline the species, the less change there is in the ridge pattern of the cells during passage from fresh to sea water. This evidence implicates the gill epithelium, together with the chloride cells, in the process of osmoregulation.     

A comparison of the inhibitory effects of melatonin and indomethacin on platelet aggregation and thromboxane release

Collagen-induced platelet aggregation and thromboxane release is inhibited, in a concentration response relationship, by preincubation of gel-filtered platelets with melatonin in the concentration range 430 nM – 4.3 mM. Inhibition of platelet aggregation and thromboxane release also occurs in the presence of indomethacin (4.3 nM – 4.3 mM), a known potent inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis. Arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation and thromboxane release was inhibited in the presence of 4.0 mM melatonin. We therefore propose that inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis maybe the mechanism by which melatonin expresses its activity. Its antigonadotropic activity may result from inhibition of PGE₂ synthesis in the hypothalamus and median eminence.     

Detection of the associated state of membrane proteins by polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis with non-denaturing detergents Application to band 3 protein from erythrocyte membranes

Polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis was carried out in micellar solutions of various detergents which differ in degree of potency to denature proteins. From the application of this method to band 3 protein from erythrocyte membranes, it was suggested that the procedure was useful in studying the molecular state of membrane proteins.The electrophoretic behaviors of human and bovine band 3 protein did not show any species specificity in either a denature state and a state resembling the native state. As well as in nonionic detergent solutions, the dimeric and tetrameric structures of bovine band 3 protein were preserved in sodium deoxycholate solution, in which protein complexes maintained in nonionic detergent solutions are frequently dissociated. Even in dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide solution, which is a denaturant for water-soluble proteins, part of the band 3 protein was still present as the oligomer. The results suggest that the oligomeric form of band 3 protein is the stable structure and that the dimer and tetramer possibly coexist in membranes.     

Schistosoma mansoni, NIH-Sm-PR-2 strain, in non-susceptible Biomphalaria glabrata: protection by Echinostoma paraensei

Sullivan J. T., Richards C. S., Lie K. J. and Heyneman D. 1981. Schistosoma mansoni, NIH-Sm-PR-2 strain, in non-susceptible Biomphalaria glabrata: Protection by Echinostoma paraensei. International journal for Parasitology11:481–484. Among seven inbred genetic stocks of Biomphalaria glabrata that are non-susceptible for the NIH-Sm-PR-2 strain of Schistosoma mansoni (PR-2), five stocks revert to nearly complete susceptibility when first infected with Echinostoma paraensei. These include both stocks in which PR-2 sporocysts are normally destroyed within 3–7 days, and stocks in which sporocysts often survive undeveloped for at least 3 weeks. Hence, these five stocks are resistant to but physiologically suitable for the development of PR-2. Of the two remaining stocks, one remains partly non-susceptible to PR-2, since less than 50 % of echinostome-infected snails revert to susceptibility, while the other stock remains completely non-susceptible to PR-2 following echinostome infection, due perhaps to a high level of residual resistance and/or unsuitability.     

Kinetics of drug-DNA interaction. Dependence of the binding mechanism on structure of the ligand

Kinetic and equilibrium studies of the binding of several phenanthridines and acridines to DNA have been performed to investigate the physical processes underlying the direct ligand transfer mechanism of drug-DNA interaction· Substitution of the 6-phenyl ring of dimidium with a p-carboxyl residue, or complete removal of either the 6-substituent or the 3-amino group, does not prevent the phenanthridine chromophore from transferring directly between binding sites. Loss of the aromatic ring increases association rate constants three- to ninefold and enhances dissociation rates by factors of up to 12; the rates of direct transfer and dissociation from site 1 are the most perturbed. The presence of a phenyl ring stabilizes the site 1 complex and lowers the binding constant to site 2. Introduction of the p-carboxyl group does not affect the equilibrium distribution of bound forms but produces equivalent increases (2·5-fold) in forward and reverse rate constants for binding to site 1 and for the direct transfer step. The 3-amino group greatly stabilizes the site 1 complex. Its removal accelerates all kinetic processes except for the reverse transfer step; the transfer rate is enhanced 25-fold and binding to site 2 is increased 12-fold. The dissociation rate from site 1 rises by a factor of 45 and that from site 2 by a factor of 5·8.10-Methyl-9-aminoacridine binds via the direct transfer pathway with rate and equilibrium constants similar to those of the 3-desamino derivative of ethidium. This compound provides the first fully characterized example of an acridine that utilizes bimolecular transfer. By contrast, rivanol (6,9-diamino-2-ethoxyacridine) interacts with DNA via a two-step sequential mechanism analogous to that seen with proflavine, yet its intrinsic association constant is three times higher. This results from tighter ‘external’ attachment to the helix, together with a decrease in equilibrium constant for the insertion step, which is markedly slower than that of proflavine. There appears to be a simple relation between the apparent enthalpy of binding and the number of extracyclic amino substituents on the intercalating chromophore.We propose that the two bound forms that participate in direct ligand transfer represent molecules intercalated via one or other of the grooves of DNA, and that the transfer pathway corresponds to exchange of drug between the wide groove of one helix and the narrow groove of another. The ability to form strongly bound complexes at the surface of the helix appears to play a major role in determining the mechanism of ligand binding.     

Role in hemolysis of the interaction of tellurium compounds with glutathione

We have shown that tellurite and tellurate require the interaction with reduced glutathione (GSH) to hemolyze human erythrocytes. The study of the nature of this interaction is the main object of this paper. The degree of hemolysis was determined by the method of Angelone. The addition of extracellular 1 mM GSH or cysteine increased the rate of hemolysis. Concanavalin A (0.3 mg/mL) and/or 4 mg/mL adenosine did not affect the hemolysis by 0.1 mM tellurite. One tenth to 1 mM 4-acetamido-4′-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2′-disulfonate (SITS) inhibited this hemolysis by 60–100%. Millimolar GSH released this inhibition. Incubation of 0.1 mM tellurite with 1 mM GSH for 90 min at 37°C, produced a hemolytic agent when prepared and tested under nitrogen, but one that was not active when prepared in air. The hemolysis byp-hydroxymercuribenzoate orp-hydroxymercuriphenylsulfonate did not involve GSH. Scanning electron micrographs showed a sphero-echinocyte transformation, in the pre-hemolytic stage, with all the agents tested. The rate of penetration of tellurite plays a role in determining the rate of hemolysis, as shown by the effect of SITS. The release by GSH of the inhibition by SITS poses questions concerning the site of action and cell membrane penetration of the hemolytic agent. Telluride or some intermediate in the interaction of GSH with tellurite is the actual hemolytic agent.     

A model for population regulation with density- and frequency-dependent selection

The life-cycle of a species with separate generations is divided into a reproduction phase and a growing-up phase. In the reproduction phase we assume random mating and selection due to genotype differences in fecundity of the parents and viability of the offspring. During the growing-up phase we assume a (deterministic) death process in continuous time with death rates for the genotypes which increase linearly with the genotype population sizes.In the absence of genotype differences the model gives logistic population regulation. With genotype differences the model generalizes the usual separate generations selection patterns. In addition to these we exhibit cases with three polymorphic equilibria or with a stable cycle.     

Electrokinetic study of the reactions of peritoneal macrophages and eosinophils with IgG immune complexes

Electrophoretic light scattering (laser Doppler electrophoresis) has been employed to study the effects of guinea pig IgG immune complexes on the electrophoretic mobility distributions of guinea pig resident peritoneal cells. The resident population of cells is composed of macrophages (approximately 75%) and eosinophils (approximately 25%). These cells were separated according to the well-established method of Boyum. Populations of resident macrophages, eosinophils, and the unfractionated samples were incubated with soluble immune complexes, antigen alone, or antibody alone. The mean mobility of the resident macrophages decreased approximately 60% when incubated in the presence of immune complexes, although no effect could be discerned in the presence of antigen or antibody alone. The width of the resulting macrophage mobility distribution was larger than that of the control distributions, with a broad shoulder on the high-mobility side, indicating a heterogeneous response of the macrophages to the immune complexes. Eosinophils react in two distinct fashions. One population of eosinophils is present near the control experiments. The second population reacts in a manner very similar to that of macrophages. This suggest that at least two populations of eosinophils are present in the unstimulated guinea pig peritoneal cavity. Results that are intermediate between these two cases are found when unfractionated samples are studied.