Resting Energy Expenditure in Obese African American and Caucasian Women

The prevalence of obesity among African American women approaches 50% and greatly exceeds rates for Caucasian women. In addition, black women lose less weight than white during obesity treatment and gain more weight when untreated. This study assessed resting energy expenditure (REE) and body composition in obese white (n=122) and black (n=44) women to explore the relationship between biological variables and these observed differences. REE and body composition were assessed by indirect calorimetry and densitometry, respectively, before weight loss. REE was significantly lower in black subjects (1637.6 ± 236.9 kcal/d) than in white (1731.4 ± 262.0) (p=0.04). REE remained significantly lower in blacks than whites after adjusting for body weight (p=0.02). REE, adjusted for fat-free mass, was also significantly lower in blacks than whites (p<0.0001), although the overestimation of fat-free mass by densitometry in blacks may have contributed to this finding. There were no differences between the groups in respiratory quotient. These results suggest that a decreased REE may exist in obese black women, and it may be related to the observed differences between black and white women in the prevalence of obesity and in the response to weight loss treatment. These crosssectional findings await confirmation in longitudinal studies.     

Separation of intact and damaged hepatocytes in sucrose following non-enzymatic liver perfusion

This study deals with isolation of rat hepatocytes by a non-enzymatic method and the separation of intact and damaged cells in sucrose medium. Low speed centrifugation in isotonic sucrose medium of a hepatocyte suspension obtained by mechanical desaggregation of liver pre-perfused with EDTA solution results in the formation of a cell pellet which contains two different layers. A darker layer contains hepatocytes with intact plasma membranes. Their respiratory activity and xenobiotic metabolism are close to those of the cells isolated by collagenase perfusion. The study of distribution of lipophilic cation tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP⁺) indicates a predominantly mitochondrial localization of TPP⁺ in the intact cells following non-enzymatic and collagenase isolation. Hepatocytes in the upper layer have damaged plasma membranes. As a result they lose the potential to accumulate TPP⁺, and have low rates of endogenous respiration and biotransformation activity. Addition of exogenous NADPH restores the capability to metabolize xenobiotics. Washing and incubation of these hepaticytes in an intracellular type medium results in restoration of uncoupler-stimulated oxygen consumption and generation of membrane potential in the presence of a succinate substrate. These properties are close to those of hepatocytes permeabilized by digitonin treatment. Thus, the procedure allows the simultaneous isolation of both intact and permeabilized hepatocytes with functionally active intracellular structures without the use of relatively expensive chemicals such as collagenase and Percoll.Abbreviations 4-OHBP 4-hydroxybiphenyl - BP biphenyl - BSA bovine serum albumin - DNP 2,4-dinitrophenol - EDTA ethylendiamintetraacetate - NADPH nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced - p-NA p-nitroanisole - p-NPh p-nitrophenol - TPP⁺ tetraphenylphosphonium     

苯并噻唑醌类化合物对呼吸链酶系的抑制作用

合成了2-氯-5-正十二硫烷基-6-甲基-4,7-苯并噻唑醌(2-Cl-DMMDBT)和2-氯-5-正丁烷氨基-6-甲基-4,7-苯并噻唑醌(2-Cl-BAMDBT)两种化合物,研究了它们对线粒体呼吸链酶系的抑制作用.结果表明:2-Cl-DMMDBT和2-C1-BAMDBT对琥珀酸氧化酶及泛醌氧化酶的电子传递活性均表现一定的抑制作用,而对细胞色素氧化酶无作用,说明二者的抑制作用发生在泛醌反应区.二者对NADH氧化酶的抑制行为略有不同,2-Cl-DMMDBT是一个逐渐加强的过程,最终可致酶活性完全抑制,而2-Cl-BAMDBT则表现为瞬间抑制.比较了2-Cl-DMMDBT和2-Cl-BAMDBT对琥珀酸氧化酶的抑制能力,长侧链的2-Cl-DMMDBT比短侧链的2-Cl-BAMDBT抑制能力强很多.     

棉铃虫的呼吸代谢

棉铃虫的耗氧量随着幼虫的生长发育而增加。当发育状态基本相同时,在同一龄期内,幼虫耗氧量与虫体鲜重呈直线相关;在不同龄期之间,耗氧量则与虫体鲜重的0.97次方成正比。幼虫的代谢速率随着龄期的增加而稳定地降低。在20—35℃范围内,温度每升高10℃,幼虫的代谢速率约增加一倍。蛹期的代谢速率呈典型的“U”形曲线变化。从卵期及幼虫期到蛹期的呼吸商变动在0.75—0.96之间。     

Cultivation of mosquito cell lines in serum-free media and their effects on dengue virus replication

Summary Seven mosquito cell lines from five species (Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Ae. pseudoscutellaris, Culex tarsalis, andToxorhynchites amboinensis) were adapted to three kinds of serum-free media (SEM), which were composed of equal volumes of tryptose phosphate broth and of either Leibovitz (L15) medium, Eagle’s minimum essential medium, or Medium 199 with Hanks’ salts. Population growth rates of the cells cultivated in the SMFs were generally slower than those of original cell cultures maintained in conventional media containing bovine sera. A karyological study showed a significant shift to heteroploidy in two of the four cell lines examined. Four SMF-adapted sublines were compared with parental cultures for replication of dengue viruses.Ae. aegypti RML-12,Ae. albopictus C6/36,Ae. pseudoscutellaris AP-61, andTx. amboinensis TRA-171 demonstrated different levels of alteration in virus replication ranging from lower titers (as inAe. albopictus C6/36) to comparable or higher titers (as inAe. aegypti RML-12) when they were simultaneously inoculated with four dengue serotypes. Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not constitute endorsement by the Public Health Service or by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.     

The role of Mg2+ in the regulation of the structural and functional steady-states in rat liver mitochondria

A possible relationship between mitochondrial Mg²⁺ levels, structural configurations, and functional steady states has been studied in rat liver mitochondria. The results show that the concentration of mitochondrial Mg²⁺ in respiratory state 4 is definitely higher than in respiratory state 3. The metabolic transition from state 3 to state 4 and vice-versa is associated with reversible influx-efflux of about 10 nmol of Mg²⁺ per mg protein. The net uptake of this aliquot of Mg²⁺ is a necessary condition in order for the metabolic transition to state 4, both structurally and functionally, to occur. This process requires a threshold concentration of external Mg²⁺ greater than 5 mM. The phosphorylative mechanism does not appear to depend on the presence or absence of external Mg²⁺. The role of Mg²⁺ on the attainment and maintenance of the structural and functional steady state 4 seems to be correlated with its regulatory effect on the concentration of the mitochondrial P_i.     

不同来源的肾综合征出血热病毒对Vero细胞的致病变作用

前文报道,肾综合征出血热病毒76-118株能使Vero细胞产生病变。本文报道76-118株和另11株不同来源的肾综合征出血热病毒(H537、A9、H5、R178、HB55、R22、Z10,沟3、L99、A16和J10)对Vero细胞的致病变作用(CPE )。其中除沟3株外,大部分毒株在感染Vero细胞后的第一代即可见明显的CPE。CPE的特点与76-118株相似,主要是感染细胞粘聚、融合,形成网状结构。CPE能被特异性抗HFRS病毒血清和型特异性单克隆抗体所中和抑制,但不能被特异性抗呼肠孤病毒Ⅲ型免疫血清所中和抑制。HFRS病毒对Vero细胞的致病变作用,对进一步研究HFRS病毒的某些生物学特性及实验方法等均有重要意义。     

饮用水水源与自来水中病毒和指示细菌存在水平的比较研究

自来水中人肠道病毒的存在已引起人们极大的关切和忧虑。本文报道了武汉东湖水和以东湖为水源的自来水中病毒和指示细菌的存在水平。水源水经过预加氯消毒、絮凝沉淀、砂滤和最后加氯消毒处理而成的自来水中细菌总数检测范围是41—500/升,总大肠菌是2—13/升、粪大肠菌为0—4/升、大肠菌噬菌体是0—13.6PFU/升,平均2.48PFU/升,肠道病毒为0—78PFU/升,平均为6.7PFU/升。水源水经制水工艺处理去除指示细菌、大肠菌噬菌体和肠道病毒的效率分别为97.95—99.99％,90.63％和53.18％。这种结果说明自来水制水工艺能有效地降低指示细菌,大肠菌噬菌体,而去除肠道病毒效率较低,揭示肠道病毒对环境压专的耐受性明显地比指示细菌强。     

Luminol-dependent chemiluminescence in bovine eosinophils and neutrophils: Differential increase of intracellular and extracellular chemiluminescence induced by soluble stimulants

Luminol chemiluminescence was used to detect activation of the respiratory burst oxidase in bovine eosinophils and neutrophils. Extracellular and intracellular chemiluminescence were measured by supplementing the medium with horseradish peroxidase and catalase, respectively. Pure bovine eosinophils (> 90%), maximally stimulated with 1 nmol/l phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) showed ten times more extracellular luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (CL) than maximally stimulated pure bovine neutrophils (> 96%). Extracellular CL from eosinophils was preferably induced over intracellular CL by both PMA (27-fold difference) and platelet-activating factor (PAF) at 2 μmol/l (9-fold difference), but not by calcium ionophore A23187 (15 μmol/l). Time course information was used in the following experiments to distinguish between the mode of action of various stimulants. A progressively longer lag period was observed in eosinophil suspensions treated with decreasing doses of PMA, whereas platelet-activating factor induced a dose-dependent increase in the maximum response with no change in time to peak CL. The time course of extracellular CL was almost identical to intracellular CL for all stimulants tested, providing no evidence to suggest that extracellular CL stems from a different enzyme system than intracellular CL. Eosinophils generated most extracellular CL when stimulated with PMA, whereas neutrophils were most efficiently stimulated with A23187, which induced intracellular CL in eosinophils as well as in neutrophils. This accords with the greater tendency of neutrophils to ingest and kill microorganisms, whereas eosinophils are armed to destroy large extracellular targets.