Corticosteroidogenesis in the hypertrophic adrenal gland produced by betamethasone 17, 21-dipropionate in the rat fetus

Betamethasone 17, 21-dipropionate (BMDP), a potent glucocorticoid, produces adrenal hypertrophy in the rat fetus. The present study was performed to investigate the possible alterations of corticosteroidogenesis due to endogeneous substrates or exogenous pregnenolone in the incubation of homogenates of fetal hypertrophic adrenals caused by BMDP given to pregnant rats at day 19 of pregnancy.The corticosteroidal products and those levels per mg homogenate in an incubate of the hypertrophic adrenal homogenate did not differ from those of a normal adrenal. No accumulations of abnormal precursors or intermediates were found in the incubates of the hypertrophic adrenals. It is concluded from these findings that no qualitative alterations in the pathway of corticosteroidogenesis occurred in the hypertrophic adrenal glands caused by BMDP in the rat fetus. When the calculation was done per adrenal gland, the content of corticosterone in the incubate of the homogenate of the hypertrophic adrenal was remarkably higher than that found in a normal gland. This finding was compatible with the significant increase of the plasma corticosterone concentration in the fetuses with the adrenal hypertrophy caused by BMDP.     

Changes in the size of the nucleoli of the Purkinje cells in the canine cerebellum in the postresuscitation period

The changes in the size of Purkinje cell (PC) nucleolus in the lateral and medial cerebellum zones were studied in dogs with different degree of neurologic status recovery after clinical death of various etiology and duration. PC always possess one nucleolus in the control and experimental groups. In the case of complete neurologic status recovery of animals the area of PC nucleolus increases in both zones studied, irrespective of the cause of clinical death. In the case of neurologic disorders the increase in PC nucleolus area is clearly expressed only in the medial zone of the cerebellum, being insignificant in the lateral zone. It is suggested that adaptive characteristics of PC are distinct in the two compared zones, which leads to greater PC vulnerability in the lateral zone during deep hypoxia.     

Functional characteristics of yeast cells in nutrient aqueous solution enriched with ortho-H2O isomers

It has been experimentally established that cultivation of yeast cells in depleted, dietary or normal nutrient aqueous solutions enriched with ortho-H₂O spin isomers is accompanied by an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the cells and an increase in their biomass. It has been revealed that the rate of metabolic processes and biological activity depends on the quality of nutrition and enhances in time in both nutrient solutions. In contrast, the reproductive function and the rate of cell division are insusceptible to the components of nutrition, but intensified in a solution enriched with ortho-H₂O similar to retardation of aging. The observed effects are discussed in assumption that an increase of a portion of ortho-H₂O molecules occurs in the neighborhood of water channels in the cell membrane that let through only monomers of H₂O and determine the rate vicinity of metabolic processes.     

Humoral immunity of persons inoculated with cultured antirabies vaccines according to abridged schedules

The production of virus-neutralizing antibodies in high titers has been found to occur in persons immunized with tissue-culture rabies vaccines, concentrated and non concentrated, intramuscularly in a dose of 1 ml in accordance with reduced immunization schedules.     

Hexameric purine nucleoside phosphorylase II from Escherichia coli K-12. Physico-chemical and catalytic properties and stabilization with substrates

Some properties of hexameric purine nucleoside phosphorylase II (EC 2.4.2.1) from Escherichia coli K-12 were studied. The enzyme obeys the Michaelis-Menten kinetics with respect to purine substrates (Km for inosine, deoxyinosine and hypoxanthine are equal to 492, 106 and 26.6 microM, respectively) and exhibits negative kinetic cooperativity towards phosphate and ribose-1-phosphate. The Hill coefficient is equal to approximately 0.5 for both substrates. Hexameric purine nucleoside phosphorylase II is not a metal-dependent enzyme; its activity is inhibited by Cu2+, Zn2+, Ni2+ and SO4(2-). The enzyme is the most stable at pH 6.0; it contains essential thiol groups. All substrates partly protect the enzyme against inactivation by 5.5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) and heat-inactivation and, with the exception of phosphate-against inactivation by p-chloromercuribenzoate. Hypoxanthine, especially in combination with phosphate, afford the best protection against inactivation.     

The augmentation of tumor-specific immunity using haptenic muramyl dipeptide (MDP) derivatives

Summary A new haptenic compound, a muramyl dipeptide (MDP) derivative (designated as L4-MDP-ONB) cross-reactive with Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) was synthesized. The cross-reactivity of L4-MDP hapten to BCG was demonstrated from the following evidence; (a) lymph node cells from BCG-primed C3H/HeN mice exhibited appreciable L4-MDP-specific proliferative responses to the in vitro stimulation of L4-MDP-modified syngeneic cells (L4-MDP-self); (b) inoculation of L4-MDP-self into footpads of BCG-primed C3H/HeN mice elicited ample delayed type-hypersensitivity (DTH) responses in vivo as measured by footpad swelling; and (c) BCG-primed mice contained L4-MDP-reactive helper T cell activity which functions to augment the generation of effector T cell responses to cell surface antigens. This crossreactivity between L4-MDP hapten and BCG as measured by the helper T cell activity was applied to enhanced induction of tumor-specific immunity. When BCG-primed C3H/HeN mice were immunized with L4-MDP-modified syngeneic X5563 tumor cells, these mice could generate augmented tumor-specific in vivo protective (tumor neutralizing) immunity as well as in vitro cytotoxic T cell responses. These results indicate the effectiveness of L4-MDP hapten in augmenting tumor-specific immunity. The present approach is discussed in the context of potential advantages of this new hapten for its future application to clinical tumor systems.