Determination of 9α,11β-prostaglandin F2 by stereospecific antibody in various rat tissues

In view of the recent finding that prostaglandin D₂ is stereospecifically converted to 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂, an isomer of prostaglandin F₂α, a highly specific and sensitive radioimmunoassay for 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ was developed and applied to determine the content of this prostaglandin in various rat tissues. Antisera against 9α-11β-prostaglandin F₂ were raised in rabbits immunized with the bovine serum albumin conjugate, and [³H]9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ was enzymatically prepared from [³H]prostaglandin D₂. The assay detected 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ over the range of 20 pg to 1 ng, and the antiserum showed less than 0.04% cross-section with prostaglandin F₂α, prostaglandin F₂β and 9β,11β-prostaglandin F₂. To avoid postmortem changes, tissues were frozen in liquid nitrogen immediately after removal. The basal level of 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ was hardly detectable in various tissues of the rat examined, including spleen, lung, liver and brain; although it was found to be 0.31 ± 0.06 ng/g wet weight in the small intestine. During convulsion induced by pentylenetetrazole, enormous amounts of prostaglandin D₂ (ca. 180 ng/g wet weight) and prostaglandin F₂α (ca. 70 ng/g) were produced in the brain; however, 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ was detected neither there nor in the blood. This result demonstrates that the conversion to 9α,11β-prostaglandin F₂ is a minor pathway, if one at all, of prostaglandin D₂ metabolism in the rat brain.     

A deletion in a cis element of Foxe3 causes cataracts and microphthalmia in rct mice

The Rinshoken cataract (rct) mutation, which causes congenital cataracts, is a recessive mutation found in SJL/J mice. All mutants present with opacity in the lens by 2?months of age. The rct locus was mapped to a 1.6-Mb region in Chr 4 that contains the Foxe3 gene. This gene is responsible for cataracts in humans and mice, and it plays a crucial role in the development of the lens. Furthermore, mutation of Foxe3 causes various ocular defects. We sequenced the genomic region of Foxe3, including the coding exons and UTRs; however, no mutations were discovered in these regions. Because there were no differences in Foxe3 sequences between the rct/rct and wild-type mice, we inferred that a mutation was located in the regulatory regions of the Foxe3 gene. To test this possibility, we sequenced a 5' noncoding region that is highly conserved among vertebrates and is predicted to be the major enhancer of Foxe3. This analysis revealed a deletion of 22-bp located approximately 3.2-kb upstream of the start codon of Foxe3 in rct mice. Moreover, we demonstrated by RT-PCR and in situ hybridization that the rct mutant has reduced expression of Foxe3 in the lens during development. We therefore suggest that cataracts in rct mice are caused by reduced Foxe3 expression in the lens and that this decreased expression is a result of a deletion in a cis-acting regulatory element.     

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone in the dorsal vagal complex stimulates pancreatic blood flow in rats

Central administration of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) enhanced pancreatic blood flow in animal models. TRH nerve fibers and receptors are localized in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC), and retrograde tracing techniques have shown that pancreatic vagal nerves arise from the DVC. However, nothing is known about the central sites of action for TRH to elicit the stimulation of pancreatic blood flow. Effect of microinjection of a TRH analog into the DVC on pancreatic blood flow was investigated in urethane-anesthetized rats. After measuring basal flow, a stable TRH analog (RX-77368) was microinjected into the DVC and pancreatic blood flow response was observed for 120 min by laser Doppler flowmetry. Vagotomy of the several portions, or pretreatment with atoropine methyl nitrate or N(G)-nitro-l-arginine-methyl ester was performed. Microinjection of RX-77368 (0.1-10 ng) into the left or right DVC dose-dependently increased pancreatic blood flow. The stimulation of pancreatic blood flow by RX-77368 microinjection was eliminated by the same side of cervical vagotomy as the microinjection site or subdiaphragmatic vagotomy, but not by the other side of cervical vagotomy. The TRH-induced stimulation of pancreatic blood flow was abolished by atropine or N(G)-nitro-l-arginine-methyl ester. These results suggest that TRH acts in the DVC to stimulate pancreatic blood flow through vagal-cholinergic and nitric oxide dependent pathways, indicating that neuropeptides may act in the specific brain nuclei to regulate pancreatic function.     

Seed coat carotenoids of the cycad genera Dioon,Encephelartos, Macrozamia and Zamia: Evolutionary significance

Seed coat carotenoids of Dioon, Encephelartos, Macrozamia and Zamia with ranges in Africa, the West Indies, Australia and Mexico are simple mixtures which conform to the theoretical primitive angiosperm “magnolian pattern”. Lycopene is the principal pigment of Zamia while Encephelartos, Dioon and Macrozamia coats contain a mixture of the unsubstituted, mono-and di-hydroxy-β-carotenes. The evolutionary significance of these results is discussed.     

Synergistic Effect of Prostaglandin E2 and Ouabain on Catecholamine Release from Cultured Bovine Adrenal Chromaffin Cells

We recently reported that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) stimulated phosphoinositide metabolism in cultured bovine adrenal chromaffin cells and that PGE2 and ouabain, an inhibitor of Na+,K+-ATPase, synergistically induced a gradual secretion of catecholamines from the cells. The effect on catecholamine release was specific for prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and PGE2 among prostaglandins tested (E1 = E2 greater than F2 alpha greater than D2). The release evoked by PGE2 plus ouabain was greatly reduced in Na+-depleted medium and not observed in Ca2+-free medium. Here we examined the synergistic effect of PGE2 and ouabain on the release with specific reference to ion fluxes. Regardless of the presence of PGE2, ouabain stimulated the release in a dose-dependent manner with half-maximal stimulation at 1 microM, and omission of K+ from the medium, a condition which suppresses the Na+,K+-ATPase activity, also enhanced the release from chromaffin cells exposed to PGE2. Ouabain induced a continuous accumulation of 22Na+ and 45Ca2+, as well as secretion of catecholamines. Although PGE2 itself showed hardly any effects on these cellular responses, PGE2 potentiated all of them induced by ouabain. The time course of catecholamine release was correlated with that of accumulation of 45Ca2+ rather than with that of 22Na+. The release evoked by PGE2 and ouabain was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by amiloride and the analogue ethylisopropylamiloride, inhibitors of the Na+,H+-antiport, but not by the Na+-channel inhibitor tetrodotoxin nor by the nicotinic receptor antagonist hexamethonium. Ethylisopropylamiloride at 1 microM inhibited PGE2-enhanced accumulation of 22Na+ and 45Ca2+ and release of catecholamine by 40, 83, and 71%, respectively. Activation of the Na+,H+-antiport by elevation of the extracellular pH from 6.6 to 8.0 increased the release of catecholamines linearly. Furthermore, PGE2 induced a sustained increase in intracellular pH by about 0.1 pH unit above the resting value, which was abolished by amiloride or in Na+-free medium. These results taken together indicate that PGE2 activates the Na+,H+-antiport by stimulating phosphoinositide metabolism and that the increase in intracellular Na+ by both inhibition of Na+,K+-ATPase and activation of Na+,H+-antiport may lead to the redistribution of Ca2+, which is the initial trigger of catecholamine release.     

Comparative photosynthetic studies of Ecklonia cava (Laminariales,Phaeophyta) bladelets with and without zoosporangial sori

Photosynthetic rates were compared between Ecklonia cava bladelets with and without zoosporangial sori sampled from the subtidal zone (about 5 m deep) in Nabeta Bay, Shimoda, Japan. Photosynthetic rates of bladelets were lower in the sorus portion than in the non-sorus portion on the basis of area, dry weight and chlorophyll a. Respiration rates were higher in the sorus portion than in the non-sorus portion on the basis of area and chlorophyll a, whereas they were almost the same on a dry weight basis. The differences were mainly due to a large difference in dry weight per unit bladelet area between the sorus and the non-sorus portion. Light compensation points were higher in the sorus portion than in the non-sorus portion.     

Covalent cross-linking of prostaglandin E receptor from bovine adrenal medulla with a pertussis toxin-insensitive guanine nucleotide-binding protein

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) specifically bound to 100,000 X g pellet prepared from bovine adrenal medulla, and [3H]PGE2-bound proteins were solubilized with 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonic acid. The dissociation of bound [3H]PGE2 from the proteins was enhanced by GTP. [3H]PGE2-specifically bound proteins were adsorbed onto a wheat germ agglutinin column and GTP treatment decreased the amount of [3H]PGE2 retained on the column. When [3H]PGE2-bound proteins were cross-linked in the membrane by dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) and solubilized, bound [3H]PGE2 was no longer dissociated by GTP treatment, suggesting that cross-linking produced a stable and high-affinity complex of PGE receptor with a GTP-binding protein. Covalent cross-linking of the complex was attested by adsorption of dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate)-treated [3H]PGE2-bound proteins to GTP-Sepharose, and co-elution of [35S]guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) binding activity and immunoreactivities of alpha o and beta subunits of a GTP-binding protein. The cross-linked [3H]PGE2-bound complex was eluted as an apparently single radioactive peak at the position of Mr = 200,000 by gel filtration. These results have demonstrated that PGE receptor is a glycoprotein with an approximate Mr of 110,000, assuming that the Mr of the GTP-binding protein is 90,000. PGE2 neither activated nor inhibited adenylate cyclase activity, and pertussis toxin (islet-activating protein) did not affect PGE2 binding and its GTP sensitivity. These results suggest that the PGE receptor may be functionally associated with a pertussis toxin-insensitive GTP-binding protein and is not coupled to the adenylate cyclase system in bovine adrenal medulla.     

Stress-induced factors involved in flower formation in Lemna

At a concentration equivalent to 0.3–1 μ M , the norepinephrine solution in which the drought-stressed plants of Lemna paucicostata 441 were immersed for 2 h, induced flowering in L. paucicosrata 151. Not only drought stress but also osmotic stress, 5 min on 0.5 M mannitol solution, and heat stress, 5 min on 45–55°C hot water, were effective in producing or releasing a factor capable of activating norepinephrine. Such a putative factor has been designated as factor C, The first supernatant obtained after immediate centrifugation of the homogenate of the plants had only weak factor C activity, hut the second supernatant, obtained after a 30-min incubation of the suspension of the first pellet, showed high factor C activity. The water in which Lemna plants subjected to both drought and heat stresses had been immersed for 2 h. showed flower-inducing activity even in the absence of added norepinephrine.