Separation of Cl-Containing Chlorophylls by Column Chromatography

Using Toyopearl and cyclohexane: cyclohexanol solvent, fourCl-containing Chls were separated from ³⁶Cl-labeled cells ofthe blue-green, Plectonema boryanum. In normally grown cells,all four Cl-containing chlorophylls amounted to less than 1/2,000of the total Chi and about 1/50 of P700, values much lower thanpreviously reportedcontents of Chi RC I, and varied from algato alga. The level of Cl-containing Chi was markedly enhancedwhen the cells were poisoned with methyl viologen. These resultssuggests that these Cl-containing Chls are not related to thereaction center of PS I. (Received June 23, 1987; Accepted September 17, 1987)     

Postglacial environmental change of the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of central Japan

Downcore changes in microfossil assemblages and oxygen isotope ratios in three piston cores recovered from the Northwestern Pacific, off central Japan, show that the subtropical Kuroshio front was located to the south of C-4 core site (Lat. 33° N) during the last glacial. The front then advanced northward, passing over the C-4 site and the C-6 site (34.6° N) at about 13 ka and 10 ka, respectively, and reached the C-1 core site (36° N) at about 7 ka. After 5.5 ka it retreated to the area between the C-1 and C-6 sites. A brief but significant cold event, the readvance of the cold Oyashio Current, is recognized between 11 and 10 ka in the two northern cores, but the current did not reach the southern C-4 site. A contemporaneous cold event is known in the North Atlantic, and the cooling was probably a global phenomenon likely to be associated with lowering of sea level. Contamination of isotopically light water is apparent between 14 and 11 ka in the marked change in isotopic composition of benthic foraminifers. Oxygen isotope ratios of planktonic foraminifers show that prior to the advance of the Kuroshio front, the surface water at these core sites was isotopically lighter than the Kuroshio water at that time.     

Functional and phenotypic analyses of interleukin 2-activated tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

The tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were cultured with interleukin 2 (IL-2) to induce the activated killer cells possessing autologous tumor-killing activity, and analysed their cell surface phenotypes and assessed anti-tumor killing activity. Furthermore, the activated TILs were transferred into 7 patients adoptively resulting in complete remission in a patient with pancreatic cancer and partial remission in another patient with gastric cancer.The cytotoxic activities of activated TILs at 3 weeks-incubation was 72 ± 15, 42 ± 26, 27 ± 21 and 25 ± 15% against K562, Daudi, KATO-III and autologous tumor, respectively. The negative selection method, indicated that the killer cells recognizing autologous tumor cells consisted of CD4- or CD8-positive T lymphocytes and CD16- or CD56-positive natural killer cells. The activated TILs could not only lyse cultured tumor cell lines, but also autologous tumor cells.     

The promotive effect of interleukin 4 with interleukin 2 in the proliferation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from patients with malignant tumor

In adoptive immunotherapy, the number of effector cells is one of the major factors relating to the therapeutic efficacy. We demonstrated that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were stimulated to proliferate by incubation with interleukin 2 (IL-2) plus interleukin 4 (IL-4). TILs cultured with IL-2 plus IL-4 increased 3.1-fold more than TILs cultured with IL-2 alone. However, IL-4 did not alter the cytotoxic activity of TILs against autologous tumor cells and established tumor cell lines. It is suggested that IL-2 receptor is related to the mechanism of the proliferation of activated TILs cultured by combination with IL-2 and IL-4. Thus, the combination of IL-2 and IL-4 may increase the efficacy of adoptive immunotherapy using activated TILs.     

Immigration of the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, exhibiting various responses to density in relation to wing morphism

Considerable inherent variations in the relation between macropterous and brachypterous wing forms, and nymphal density were found in field populations of the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens Stål (Homoptera: Delphacidae), collected from various locations in Japan. When compared under uniform laboratory rearing conditions, most of the female populations exhibited higher ratios of macropters with increasing nymphal density, but some showed extremely high proportion of brachypters and the others were highly macropterous, over broad ranges of density. These results indicate the possibility that the planthoppers in Japan, which are known not to persist in winter, are derived from different migration sources.About ten generations of successive selection for brachyptery from a population showing usual density-dependent wing morphism generated populations similar to highly brachypterous ones mentioned above. Genetic analysis of the inheritance of wing morphism revealed that brachyptery in the females was controlled by a single pair of dominant alleles. However, in the males wing forms did not segregate so clearly in the crossing experiments. This suggests that wing morphism in N. lugens in under sex-limited inheritance.

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Einwanderung von Nilaparvata lugens mit unterscheidlicher Reaktion auf Populationsdischte bei der Flügelausbildung

Zusammenfassung In Feldpopulationen von Nilaparvata lugens Stål., welche in verschiedenen Regionen Japans gesammelt wurden, bestand in der Beziehung zwischen makropteren bzw. brachypteren Flügelformen und der Larvendichte eine beträchtliche Variation. Unter einheitlichen Zuchtbedingungen im Laboratorium stieg der Makropterenanteil bei den meisten Weibchenpopulationen mit steigender Temperatur; bei einigen Populationen hingegen war entweder der Brachypterenanteil oder der Makropterenanteil extrem hoch und zwar über weite Dichtebereiche. Dies deutet auf die Möglichkeit hin, dass die Zikade in Japan, wo sie bekanntlich nicht überwintert, jeweils aus verschiedenen Quellen einwandert.Wenn eine Population mit der üblichen dichteabhängigen Flügelausbildung 10 Generationen lang auf Brachypterie selektioniert wurde, entstanden Populationen, die den erwähnten hochbrachypteren Populationen aus dem Feld glichen. Die genetische Analyse der Vererbung der Brachypterie ergab, dass bei Weibchen ein einzelnes dominantes Allel verantwortlich ist. Bei Männchen dagegen trennten sich bei Kreuzungsexperimenten die Flügelformen nicht so klar. Dies deuted auf Unterschiede zwischen den Geschlechtern bei der Vererbung der Flügelformen.

     

Fetus-in-fetu: report of a case

A 5 month-old female was brought to our clinic because of diarrhea and abdominal distension. A plain radiograph demonstrated a mass with a vertebral column in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. At operation a mass was found to be retroperitoneal, well encapsulated, and connected to the abdominal aorta of the host by two small vessels; no other connections and adhesions were seen between the mass and the host. The ovaries, uterus, and other pelvic and abdominal viscera of the host were normal. The mass was diagnosed as a fetus-in-fetu. The fetus-in-fetu, encapsulated with an amniotic capsule, was covered with skin and had a top with long hair, two protuberances, an amniotic hernial sac, upper limbs with syndactylic fingers, a gluteal region, and lower limbs with polysyndactylic toes. A brain mass and a spinal cord were identified in the cranial cavity and the vertebral canal. Several spinal ganglia and a nerve plexus were found. A noselike structure, upper lip, maxillalike bone with teeth, tonguelike structure, intestines, ribs, bones of the extremities, and skeletal muscles were also identified. A cloacalike cyst was observed to have an opening in the external female genitalia. Microscopically, a small number of motor neurons were seen in the brain mass and the anterior horn of the spinal cord. In the spinal ganglia, ganglion cells were differentiated. The submucosal and myenteric plexuses were seen in the intestinal wall. Well-differentiated muscle fibers were often accompanied with myelinated nerve fibers. Hematopoiesis was observed in the cranial bone marrow. The presence of the sex chromatin was confirmed in the nuclei of motor neurons and polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Thus, the present fetus-in-fetu, which was connected to the abdominal aorta of the host by two vessels, was a monozygotic twin which developed within its own amniotic cavity.     

Level of translatable messenger RNA coding for argininosuccinate synthetase in the liver of the patients with quantitative-type citrullinemia

Summary The translation activity of mRNA coding for argininosuccinate synthetase in total RNA extracted from the liver of three patients with quantitative-type citrullinemia was determined using a cell-free translation system. In two patients, the hepatic content of the enzyme was about 20% of the control value, whereas translatable mRNA level for the enzyme was similar to or slightly lower than those of control livers. In the third patient, the enzyme content was about 50% of the control value, and mRNA activity for the enzyme was low normal. These results indicate that at least in the first two patients, the decrease in the enzyme protein is due either to increased degradation of the enzyme or to decreased translation in the patient's liver.     

Alterations in migrating cranial neural crest cells in embryos of mice fed retinoic acid

Alterations in migrating neural crest cells induced by all-trans retinoic acid (RA) were studied morphologically and immunohistochemically in the cranial portion of 8-day-old mouse embryos which were derived from dams given 60, 40 or 0 mg kg of RA and killed 2 to 8 h later. Additionally, the embryos exposed to 4 mg/kg of actinomycin D (AD) on day 8 of gestation for 5 h were examined similarly. Light microscopy revealed that RA was cytotoxic and caused the appearance of pleomorphic nuclei, extra-large nucleoli and cytoplasmic budding which replaced lamellipodia and spike-like projections. Electron microscopy revealed pleomorphic nuclei containing nucleoli with major granular portions frequently surrounded with heterochromatin, monosomes, and phagosomes. A monosomal distribution pattern was different from that seen in the neural crest cells exposed to AD. The latter showed incomplete polyribosomal dispersion with fewer nucleolar components. Fewer neural crest cells with choline acetyltransferase-like immunoreactivity were detected in RA- and AD-exposed embryos than in the controls. These findings suggest that excess RA inhibits acetylcholine synthesis of the migrating neural crest cells, in a manner different from AD, and that it enhances phagocytosis. These phenomena modify the characteristics of neural crest cells resulting in craniofacial malformations.     

Relationship between cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and amylase release in rat parotid acinar cells following muscarinic stimulation.

Carbachol (CCh), a muscarinic-cholinergic agonist, increased both cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and amylase release in rat parotid acinar cells or acini in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment of acinar cells with the intracellular Ca2+ antagonist, 8-(N,N-diethylamino)octyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate (TMB-8), or the intracellular Ca2+ chelator, 1,2-bis(O-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N'N'-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA), strongly attenuated the increases in [Ca2+]i evoked by CCh, but amylase release from acini was not significantly suppressed by the treatment with TMB-8 or BAPTA. Low concentrations (0.02-0.5 microM) of ionomycin, a Ca2+ ionophore, caused increases in [Ca2+]i comparable to those induced by CCh, but the same concentrations had only a little effect on amylase release. The protein kinase C activator, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), stimulated amylase release in quantities similar to those induced by CCh, although TPA alone did not cause any change in [Ca2+]i. Combined addition of TPA and ionomycin potentiated only modestly amylase release stimulated by TPA alone. Staurosporine, a protein kinase C-inhibitor, similarly inhibited both the CCh- and TPA-induced amylase release. These results suggest that an increase in [Ca2+]i elicited by CCh does not play an essential role for inducing amylase release in rat parotid acini. Amylase release by muscarinic stimulation may be mediated mainly by activation of protein kinase C.