Role of virus inhibitory factor or interferon in the antitumoral effect of whole-body hyperthermia

The interferon inducing effect of hyperthermia was studied in normal and tumor-bearing mice. Circulating interferon was temporarily detected one day after subcutaneous transplantation of 1.6 X 10(6) Ehrlich's ascites tumor cells. Hyperthermia of 43.5 degrees C for 5 min did not induce the interferon formation in mice with or without subcutaneous tumor of the cells. These findings showed that the induction of interferon formation was not main cause of the hyperthermia-induced tumor inhibition.     

Disappearance of terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase in human malignant T-lymphoblasts treated with a human alpha interferon preparation

Human T-lymphoblastoid cell lines RPMI 8402, MOLT-3, and CCRF-CEM were treated with interferon (IFN) to determine if the treatment would result in the disappearance of cellular terminaldeoxynucleotidyltransferase (TdT), a possible differentiation marker for T-lymphocytes. Incubation of RPMI 8402 cells in the presence of IFN preparation caused a decrease in the number of TdT-positive cells and in TdT activity of the cell extract. The inhibition of cell multiplication was dose dependent. The anticellular effect of IFN preparation was cytostatic, not cytocidal. The IFN preparation modified neither the TdT content nor proliferation of MOLT-3 and CCRF-CEM cell lines. The effects of IFN preparation thus varied with the cell line.     

Anterograde Axonal Transport of Peptidylglycine α-Amidating Monooxygenase in Rat Sciatic Nerves

Axonal transport of peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) activity was studied in rat sciatic nerves from 12 to 120 h after double ligations. The anterograde axonal transport increased and reached a plateau between 48 and 72 h and then decreased. The flow rate was 100 mm/day, and the molecular mass of the active entity was 70 kDa, which was determined by gel filtration. In contrast, there was no evidence for significant retrograde axonal transport. Anterograde axonal transport of immunoreactive cholecystokinin, a carboxy-terminal-amidated putative neuropeptide, was also found. These results suggest that PAM is transported by a rapid axonal flow and may play a role as a processing enzyme during transport or in the terminals of rat sciatic nerves.     

Mitochondrial DNA haplogrouping of the brown bear,Ursus arctos (Carnivora: Ursidae) in Asia,based on a newly developed APLP analysis

Sequence analyses of the complete brown bear, Ursus arctos, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome have detected scattered single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that define distinct mtDNA haplogroups in phylogeographical studies. The degraded DNA in historical samples, such as stuffed or excavated specimens, however, is often not suitable for sequence analyses. To address this problem, we developed an amplified product length polymorphism (APLP) analysis for mtDNA‐haplogrouping U. arctos specimens by detecting haplogroup‐specific SNPs. We verified the validity and utility of this method by analysing up to 170‐year‐old skin samples from U. arctos specimens collected widely across continental Eurasia. We detected some of the same haplogroups as those occurring in eastern Hokkaido (Japan) and eastern Alaska in continental Eurasia (the Altai and the Caucasus). Our results show that U. arctos in eastern Hokkaido and eastern Alaska descended from a common ancestor in continental Eurasia, and suggest that U. arctos occupied several refugia in southern Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 111 , 627–635.     

Wavelength Effect on the Action of a N-Phenylimide S-23142 and a Diphenylether Acifluorfen-Ethyl in Cotyledons of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Seedlings

Specific wavelengths of light required for expression of phytotoxic activity of S-23142 (N-[4-chloro-2-fluoro-5-propargyloxy]phenyl-3,4,5,6-tetra- hydrophthalimide) and acifluorfen-ethyl (ethyl-5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitro benzoic acid) were determined in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings using the Okazaki Large Spectrograph. Leakage of amino acids from the cotyledons was measured as an indication of the phytotoxic activity. The wavelength effects showed common major peaks of activity at 550 and 650 nanometers and a minor peak at 450 nanometers for both herbicides, indicating a common primary photoreaction. Concomitant application of DCMU (3-[3,4-dichlorophenyl]-1,1-dimethylurea) with S-23142 had little influence on the effective wavelengths for S-23142 activity. Light of 450 and 650 nanometers was relatively less effective in achlorophyllous tissue grown in far red light than in green tissue. These results strongly suggest that the phytotoxic action of S-23142 and diphenylethers involves multiple photoreactions and that one of the photoreceptor pigments may be chlorophyll or its related pigment, although photosynthesis is not involved.