Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure on Carcinogenic Properties of Epithelia

The relationship between chronic inflammation and cancer is well known. The inflammation increases the permeability of blood vessels and consequently elevates pressure in the interstitial tissues. However, there have been only a few reports on the effects of hydrostatic pressure on cultured cells, and the relationship between elevated hydrostatic pressure and cell properties related to malignant tumors is less well understood. Therefore, we investigated the effects of hydrostatic pressure on the cultured epithelial cells seeded on permeable filters. Surprisingly, hydrostatic pressure from basal to apical side induced epithelial stratification in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) I and Caco-2 cells, and cavities with microvilli and tight junctions around their surfaces were formed within the multi-layered epithelia. The hydrostatic pressure gradient also promoted cell proliferation, suppressed cell apoptosis, and increased transepithelial ion permeability. The inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA) promoted epithelial stratification by the hydrostatic pressure whereas the activation of PKA led to suppressed epithelial stratification. These results indicate the role of the hydrostatic pressure gradient in the regulation of various epithelial cell functions. The findings in this study may provide clues for the development of a novel strategy for the treatment of the carcinoma.     

Influence of the gut microflora on protein synthesis in tissues and in the whole body of chicks.

1. The influence of the gut microflora on protein synthesis in individual tissues and in the whole body of young chicks was investigated by the large-dose injection of [3H]phenylalanine. 2. Growth of germ-free chicks was significantly better than that of conventional controls. Wet weights of liver, spleen, duodenum, jejunum + ileum and caeca were heavier in conventional birds than in germ-free counterparts. 3. Fractional rates of protein synthesis were higher in jejunum + ileum and whole body of conventional birds than in those of germ-free birds. Amounts of protein synthesized were larger in liver, jejunum + ileum and caeca in the presence of the gut microflora. 4. When tissues were classified into gut + liver and the remainder of the carcass, in the presence of the gut microflora an enhanced protein synthesis in fractional and absolute rate was found in the gut + liver, which is in direct contact or in close association with micro-organisms, whereas virtually no effect of the gut micro-organisms was detected in the remainder of the carcass. 5. The contribution of protein synthesis of gut + liver to that of the whole body was larger in conventional chicks than in germ-free birds, whereas the reverse was true for the remainder of the carcass.     

Serologic dissection of HLA-D specificities by the use of monoclonal antibodies

To study the gene products of the HLA complex, we produced two monoclonal antibodies, termed HU-18 and HU-23. They were active in complement-dependent cytotoxicity and detected B-cell alloantigens encoded by a locus (or loci) linked to HLA. When three types of HLA-DR4 homozygous B-cell lines with different HLA-D specificities were tested for reactivity with HU-18 and HU-23, they displayed distinct reaction patterns depending on the HLA-D specificities they possessed: EBV-Wa (HLA-DYT homozygous), negative for both HU-18 and HU-23; KT2 and KOB (HLA-DKT2 homozygous), positive only for HU-18; and ER (HLA-Dw4 homozygous), positive for both. These differential reaction patterns were further confirmed by testing against a panel of 17 HLA-DR4-positive peripheral blood lymphocytes with known HLA-D specificities. Thus, these monoclonal antibodies allow us to identify HLA-DYT, HLA-DKT2, and HLA-Dw4 solely by serologic methods. This is the first clearcut serologic identification of these three HLA-DR4-associated HLA-D specificities, which have been indistinguishable by conventional serology and identified only by cellular techniques. It is hoped that immunochemical investigations using HU-18 and HU-23 will advance our understanding of the HLA-D region on a molecular level.     

Superinfection with R Factors by Transduction in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium

Superinfection immunity is found in the conjugal transfer of R factors between two fi(+) R factors and between two fi(-) R factors (fi = fertility inhibition), as we reported previously. In contrast, no reduction in the frequencies of transduction of an fi(+) R factor 222 was caused by the presence of fi(+) R factors in the recipients in transduction systems with phage P1kc in Escherichia coli K-12 and with phage P22 in Salmonella typhimurium LT-2. The absence of superinfection immunity in transduction may be due to the difference in the route of entry of the R factor. The frequencies of transduction of an fi(+) R factor were reduced, although slightly, by the presence of fi(-) R factors in the recipients. This reduction is probably due to host-controlled restriction of the entering fi(+) R factor by the fi(-) R factors in the recipients, since transduction of an fi(+) R factor by the transducing phage propagated on the strain carrying both fi(+) and fi(-) R factors was not reduced by the presence of homologous fi(-) R factors in the recipients. The fi(+) R factor 222, when transduced to the recipient strains carrying other R factors, recombined genetically at high frequencies with these resident R factors, regardless of their fi type.     

Three-Dimensional Labeling Program for Elucidation of the Geometric Properties of Biological Particles in Three-Dimensional Space

For all biological particles such as cells or cellular organelles, there are three-dimensional coordinates representing the centroid or center of gravity. These coordinates and other numerical parameters such as volume, fluorescence intensity, surface area, and shape are referred to in this paper as geometric properties, which may provide critical information for the clarification ofin situmechanisms of molecular and cellular functions in living organisms. We have established a method for the elucidation of these properties, designated the three-dimensional labeling program (3DLP). Algorithms of 3DLP are so simple that this method can be carried out through the use of software combinations in image analysis on a personal computer. To evaluate 3DLP, it was applied to a 32-cell-stage sea urchin embryo, double stained with FITC for cellular protein of blastomeres and propidium iodide for nuclear DNA. A stack of optical serial section images was obtained by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The method was found effective for determining geometric properties and should prove applicable to the study of many different kinds of biological particles in three-dimensional space.     

Age-dependent aluminum accumulation in the human aorta and cerebral artery

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of aluminum (Al) accumulation in the human aorta and cerebral arteries. The Al contents in the aortae and in the cerebral arteries from 23 human subjects was determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrophotometry (ICP-AES). The subjects' age range was 45–99-yr-old; 15 of the subjects were males and 8 were females. Al was detected in twelve aortae and in six cerebral arteries, when the entire specimen was analyzed. Two specimens where Al was found in the cerebral arteries contained no Al in the aorta. No relationship to the subject's sex was found. When related to age, two groups were established. Group L (45–75 yr old) and group H (>75 yr old), which exhibited aortal Al concentrations of 33.3 and 72.7%, respectively. When the aortic wall was dissected into the tunica intima, media, and adventitia, Al was found mainly in the tunica media. In the aorta, significant relationships were found between Al and phosphorus (P) levels (r=0.801,p<0.01) and between Al and calcium (Ca) (r=0.661,p<0.05). We have concluded that Al accumulation is age-dependent and that it occurs both in the aorta and in the cerebral artery. In the aorta, accumulation occurs mainly in the tunica media. Both P and Ca appear to enhance aortal Al accumulation.     

Urocystis tranzscheliana,a newly recorded smut fungus onPrimula sieboldii from Japan

A smut fungus onPrimula sieboldii was newly found in Japan and identified asUrocystis tranzscheliana by comparative morphology. This species causes systemic infection ofP. sieboldii and produces sori in its ovaries.Contribution No. 121, Laboratories of Plant Pathology and Mycology, Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Tsukuba.     

Stable isotopic structure of aquatic ecosystems

Isotopic, biogeochemical and ecological structure can provide a new dimension for understanding material flows, and the simultaneous function and structure of an ecosystem. Distributions ofδ ¹³C andδ ¹⁵N for biogenic substances in the Nanakita river estuary involving Gamo lagoon in Japan were investigated to construct isotope biogeochemical and ecological structure for assessing fate and transfer of organic matter, and food web structure. The isotopic framework of the ecosystem was successfully described in aδ ¹⁵N–δ ¹³C map. In this estuary the variations of isotope ratios of biogenic substances were clearly explained by the mixing of land-derived organic matter, and marine-derived organic matter. A trophic-level effect of¹⁵N enrichment was clearly observed. Organisms were classified into three groups depending upon the contribution of land-derived organic matter in a food chain. Almost all biota except mollusca in the lagoon depend on organic matter of marine origin. The contributions of both land and marine organic matter were comparable for mollusca in the lagoon.     

Lattice population dynamics for plants with dispersing seeds and Vegetative propagation

The population dynamics of plants in a lattice structured habitat are studied theoretically. Plants are assumed to propagate both by producing seeds that scatter over the population and by vegetative reproduction by extending runners, rhizomes, or roots, to neighboring vacant sites. In addtion, the seed production rate may be dependent on the local density in the neighborhood, indicating beneficial or harmful crowding effects. Two sets of population dynamical equation(s) are derived: one based onmean-field approximation and the other based onpair approximation (tracing both global and local densities simultaneously). We examine the accuracy of these approximate dynamics by comparing them with direct computer simulation of the stochastic lattice model. Pair approximation is much more accurate than mean-field approximation. Mean-field approximation overestimates the parameter range for persistence if crowding effects on seed production are harmful or weakly beneficial, but underestimates it if crowding effects are highly beneficial. Dynamics may show bistability (both population persistence and extinction) if the effect of crowding is strongly beneficial. If there is a linear trade-off between seed production and vegetative reproduction, the equilibrium abundance of the population may be maximised by a mixture of seed production and vegetative reproduction, rather than by pure seed production or by pure vegetative reproduction. This result is correctly predicted by pair approximation but not by mean-field approximation.