Sarcolemmal ATPase activities of the rat heart ventricle--dependence on age and sodium ion

Na-K-ATPase activity of the rat heart was similar throughout the postnatal growth when measured from crude unpurified fraction. Instead in the cardiac sarcolemmal fraction, isolated by hypotonic shock LiBr-treatment method, the activity was over two times higher in 10-day old neonates than in adult rats. The conflicting results are partly explained by different effects of the isolation procedure on neonatal and adult tissues. Na concentration for half-maximal activity of the Na-K-ATPase was similar in neonates (7.0 mM) and adults (6.4 mM). Ca-ATPase activity was not affected by Na concentration (2-100 mM) in the two age-groups studied.     

Distribution of laminin and types IV and III collagen in fetal,infant and adult human spleens

Summary The immunohistochemical distribution of the basement membrane (BM) proteins, laminin and type IV collagen, and interstitial type III collagen was investigated in 12 fetal spleens at the 15th–38th gestational weeks (g.w.) and in spleens of 8 infants from term to 4 years. The results were compared with the distribution of the same proteins in adult human spleen. BM proteins were found to be abundantly present in the red pulp of all spleens during the whole of development. The content of type III collagen gradually decreased with advancing age and, in adult spleen, there were only occasional positively staining fibers in Billroth's cords. This finding indicates that the composition of reticular fibers in the red pulp of spleen is different from the reticular fibers elsewhere in lymphoreticular tissue. Early signs of ring fiber formation in the walls of venous sinuses were detectable at the 15th–19th g.w., although their more complete development occurred relatively late from the 36th g.w. onwards. Ring fibers contained both laminin and type IV collagen in all the investigated spleens. They never stained for type III collagen. The developing white pulp was positive for BM proteins, but showed no staining for type III collagen at the 15th g.w. At later ages, the white pulp stained similarly for both BM proteins and type III collagen.     

Sex-related growth rate differences in mouse preimplantation embryos in vivo and in vitro

Sex-related growth rate differences in preimplantation mouse embryos were investigated. In experiment I, Day 3 embryos were recovered from reproductive tracts, classified according to developmental stage, and cultured for 24 hr in CZB medium containing glucose. Each embryo was then reclassified and stained for measurement of number of nuclei and finally sexed using the polymerase chain reaction. In experiment II, Day 4 embryos were recovered, classified, stained, and sexed as in experiment I immediately after recovery. Morphologically, there were no differences between the sexes in either of the experiments on Day 4. However, based on number of nuclei, the data showed that in vitro conditions support the development of male embryos to the blastocyst stage compared to female embryos. Furthermore, growth rate differences were observed in vivo on Day 3, as females compacted earlier than males. These results suggest that the increased cell proliferation in cultured male embryos is an artifact caused by the in vitro environment. The variation may be due to sex differences in embryonal energy metabolism during the preimplantation stage. The growth difference implies different in vitro requirements of male and female embryos. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A compound-heterozygous Marfan patient: two defective fibrillin alleles result in a lethal phenotype.

We describe here the identification of defined mutations in both alleles of the fibrillin gene (FBN1) in a compound-heterozygote Marfan syndrome (MFS) child who had a very severe form of MFS resulting in death from cardiac failure at the age of 4 mo. The nonconsanguineous parents were both affected with MFS. The father's heterozygous point mutation has earlier been reported to result in W217G substitution, the mother was here shown to carry a heterozygous point mutation resulting in G2627R substitution, and the child had inherited both these mutations. The mutant FBN1 alleles were demonstrated to be transcribed with equal efficiency compared with the normal alleles, but metabolic labeling of fibroblast cultures from the child and both parents showed reduced biosynthesis and secretion of profibrillin. Also, the respective amounts of fibrillin in cell-culture media and extracellular-matrix extracts were markedly diminished, particularly in the cell cultures from father and child. In addition, immunofluorescence analysis of the cell cultures of all three family members revealed a drastically reduced amount of microfibrils, and virtually no visible fibrils could be seen in the case of the compound-heterozygote child. These findings demonstrate incomplete dominance of fibrillin mutations and underline the fatal consequences of the complete absence of normal fibrillin molecules in the microfibrils.     

Growth of legionella and other heterotrophic bacteria in a circulating cooling water system exposed to ultraviolet irradiation

The effect of ultraviolet irradiation on the growth and occurrence of legionella and other heterotrophic bacteria in a circulating cooling water system was studied. Water of the reservoir was circulated once in 28 h through a side-stream open channel u.v. radiator consisting of two lamps. Viable counts of legionellas and heterotrophic bacteria in water immediately after the u.v. treatment were 0—12 and 0·7—1·2% of those in the reservoir, respectively. U.v. irradiation increased the concentration of easily assimilable organic carbon. In the u.v. irradiated water samples incubated in the laboratory the viable counts of heterotrophic bacteria reached the counts in reservoir water within 5 d. The increase in viable counts was mainly due to reactivation of bacterialcells damaged by u.v. light, not because of bacterial multiplication. Despite u.v. irradiation the bacterial numbers in the reservoir water, including legionellas, did not decrease during the experimental period of 33 d. The main growth of bacteria in the reservoir occurred in biofilm and sediment, which were never exposed to u.v. irradiation.     

Carbohydrate distribution and cellular injuries in acid rain and cold-treated spruce needles

Summary The cellular structures of acid rain-irrigated needles of several provenances of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) seedlings were studied after winter experimental freezing. Frost injuries and recovery were characterized by visual damage scoring and classification of mesophyll cell alterations, also using histochemical methods for carbohydrate fluorescent staining. The treatment with-30° C during the late dormancy period was sufficient to cause significant injuries and intracellular degradation in the tissues of the green needles. The most affected seedlings in terms of visual injury scoring were found among those treated with clean water or at pH 3, while freezing injury, defined as an occlusion of phenolic substances in the central vacuole of the mesophyll cells, was most abundant in the needles from spruces irrigated either with clean water or at pH 4 or pH 3. Electron microscopy revealed the details of the injury, e. g. thinning out of the cytoplasm and chloroplast stroma, darkening of the chloroplasts and eventually swelling of the chloroplasts and protoplast. PAS and ConA reactions in the needle tissue revealed intense starch accumulation in the mesophyll and transfusion tissues as early as in March, with a tendency to increase, especially in the untreated needles during the recovery period. Plasma membrane disturbances were indicated by histochemical identification of callose deposits in the mesophyll cell walls, these being most abundant in the acid rain-treated needles. All these findings suggest that freezing at –30° C was more deleterious to the seedlings pretreated with acid or clean water than to those not given additional irrigation.     

Competitive Mating Success and Attractiveness of Sterile and Fertile Males of Drosophila montana

The attractiveness and the mating success of fertile (normal and brownie, br) and sterile (rudimentary testis, rt) Drosophila montana males were studied in female-choice experiments (one female + two males). The normal males courted the sterile rt males nearly as much as they courted the females, while they courted other males less frequently. The females required a long courtship with the rt males and accepted them as their mating partner less often than normal males. The courtship behaviour of normal, br and rt males was recorded in single pair situations with a normal female. The courtships of the males of all types proceeded in a similar manner, but the successful courtships of the rt males included more licking and touching than those of the normal and br males. The licking and touching periods are probably the critical phases at which the females are able to detect differences in male fertility.     

Variation in life history responses of Daphnia to toxic Microcystis aeruginosa

Three clones of Daphnia pulex and two clones of Daphnia longispinawere exposed to toxic Microcystis aeruginosa for 21 days ina lifetable experiment. The growth and reproduction of individualdaphnids were followed daily to study the long-term effectsof toxic Microcystis. Exposure to Microcystis increased mortality,decreased growth, delayed maturation and decreased offspringproduction, indicating nutritional deficiency and toxic effects.We found variation in life history responses between speciesand among clones. Our results suggest that toxic cyanobacteriamay act as a modifying agent in zooplankton communities at boththe species and clonal level.     

Stimulation of myometrial and decidual prostaglandin production by amniotic fluid from term,but not midtrimester pregnancies

The effect of amniotic fluid obtained from second trimester (16–20 wks) and term pregnancies (38–41 wks) on the production of PGE and F by human amnion, decidua and myometrium at term was determined using tissue slices incubated in vitro. Midpregnancy amniotic fluid neither inhibited nor stimulated the prostanoid production by any of the tissues. In contrast, term amniotic fluid obtained before as well as after the onset of labor markedly increased the production of both PGE and PGF in decidua and myometrium from levels in Krebs solution. The prostanoid production (PGE + PGF) in amnoin was not significantly increased but the proportion of PGF was raised during incubations in term amniotic fluid. In decidua and myometrium the increase in PGE and PGF production in term amniotic fluid was approximately 200 and 400 percent respectively, from control values in Krebs solution. We propose that the stimulatory activity in term amniotic fluid in responsible for the accelerated synthesis of prostaglandins after of membranes, which is reflected in raised PGF metabolite levels in maternal circulation. It may also be the reason for the rise in amniotic fluid prostaglandin levels around the 35th week of gestation, and perhaps for the onset of labor.     

Reaction of forest soil microflora to environmental stress along a moderate pollution gradient next to an oil refinery

Twenty-five study sites were established along a 57-km-long transect in order to estimate the impact of an oil refinery, mainly emitting sulphur dioxide (24000 t yr⁻¹), on forest soil (F/H-horizon) chemistry and microbiology. The study demonstrated the existence of a pollution gradient which was best represented by the logarithm of the concentration of vanadium in the analyzed F/H soil layer. Of the soil microbial characteristics measured, including length of fungal hyphae, soil respiration, microbial biomass C and N, and percentage mass loss of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) needle litter, only fungal hyphal length was suppressed by the pollution load. No reduction in basic cations (Ca, Mg, K, and Na) in the F/H-horizon, or enrichment of soluble aluminum in the F/H-horizon of the Scots pine forest could be detected to result from the deposition.