The stimulatory effect of beta-endorphin on the plasma prolactin levels was diminished in the rats treated with 6-hydroxydopamine

Intraventicular injection of beta-endorphin (beta LPH_61^?91) in urethane anesthetized male rats led to a dose dependent increase of plasma prolactin levels. Intravenous injection of apomorphine completely abolished the stimulatory effect of beta-endorphin. Animals treated with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and 6-OHDA plus desmethylimipramine showed inhibition of beta-endorphin induced prolactin release. These results suggest that beta-endorphin presynaptically inhibits the activity of dopaminergic neurones, leading to the stimulation of plasma prolactin levels.     

Estimation of Type-Specific Neutralizing Antibody to Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in Uterine Cervical Cancer Patients by a New Absorption Method

A simple method of estimating type-specific neutralizing antibody to type 2 herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) was devised with the use of the microneutralization system. Serially diluted serum was mixed in the well with a constant amount of type 1 virus (HSV-1), and after 3 days' incubation at 37 C, the plate was irradiated with ultraviolet light. The absorbing HSV-1 consisted of culture fluid plus an extract of infected Vero cells not especially concentrated. The well then received indicator HSV-1 or HSV-2, and after being left at 37 C for 1 hr a suspension of dispersed Vero cells was dropped into the wells, following our standard neutralization procedure. Preliminary tests with rabbit antisera showed that even a low level of HSV-2 antibody was detected by this method, unless an exceptionally high titer of HSV-1 antibody originally coexisted with the HSV-2 antibody. Sera from acutely infected persons testified to the specificity of the antibody so detected. It was revealed by means of the new technique that the rate of HSV-2 antibody was significantly higher in uterine cervical cancer patients than in control women. There was no correlation between the clinical stage of cervical cancer and the presence of HSV-2 antibody.     

Structural characterization and dynamics of globotetraosylceramide in vascular endothelial cells under TNF-α stimulation

In several vascular inflammatory reactions (i.e. immunity and thrombosis) inflammatory mediators lead to the activation of vascular endothelial cells (EC). To date, a number of functional molecules induced on the surface of activated-EC have been identified. We report here that Globotetraosylceramide (Gb4), a glycosphingolipid expressed in EC, is a novel inducible molecule on EC activated by TNF-α. The cell surface expression of Gb4 is increased in a time-dependent manner under TNF-α stimulation, which shows distinct expression kinetics of major proteins induced by TNF-α on EC. MALDI-TOF-MS analysis revealed that the enhanced Gb4 predominantly contains C24:0 fatty acid in the ceramide moiety. Isolated caveolae/lipid raft-enriched detergent insoluble membrane domains in activated-EC predominantly contain this molecular species of Gb4. Gb4 containing C16:0 fatty acid in the ceramide moiety, which is known to constitute the major species of Gb4 in plasma, is also found as a major molecular species in EC. These observations indicate that Gb4, especially with very long fatty acid, is enhanced in EC during its inflammatory reaction, and suggest the potential utility of Gb4 as a biomarker for monitoring inflammation status of EC involving its related diseases.     

Stimulation of anaphylaxis in the mouse footpad by dietary fish oil fatty acids

The effect of fish oil-derived omega-3 (omega-3) fatty acids on anaphylaxis, Arthus and delayed type hypersensitivity reactions in mice has been investigated. Mice on a normal chow diet were fed eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid at a dose of 500 and 333 mg/kg/day, respectively, by a gastric tube over a period of 61 days. Control groups were given water, safflower oil or oleic acid. Anaphylactic and Arthus type reactions were induced in the mouse footpad using bovine serum albumin as an antigen. Carrageenin was utilized to produce a delayed type hypersensitivity reaction. The animals fed omega-3 fatty acids induced a more anaphylactic foodpad reaction. There was no significant effect of the diet on Arthus and delayed type hypersensitivity responses. There was no effect of the fish oil-supplemented diet on production of antibodies to bovine serum albumin. Synthesis of prostaglandin E2 by peritoneal macrophages was significantly inhibited in the animals fed omega-3 fatty acid-enriched fish oil, while leukotriene B4 production was not affected. These results suggest that a diet enriched in omega-3 fatty acids modulates production of arachidonic acid metabolites and this may influence anaphylaxis, but not Arthus and cellular mediated hypersensitivity responses.     

Analysis of tegumental surface proteins of Schistosoma mansoni primary sporocysts

Axenically transformed primary sporocysts of Schistosoma mansoni (NMRI strain) were labeled with 125I in an effort to identify sporocyst proteins exposed at the tegumental surface. Using the 125I activating reagent, 1,3,4,6-tetrachloro-3 alpha,6 alpha-diphenylglycoluril, in conjunction with SDS-PAGE and autoradiography, up to 12 bands were radiolabeled out of 60 components visualized by silver staining. Labeled proteins ranged in apparent Mr from greater than 200 to less than 12 kDa. Pronase treatment of living sporocysts after radioiodination removed all labeled material, suggesting that only surface proteins were being iodinated. Western blot analysis employing 5 monoclonal antibodies (MAB's) to sporocyst surface antigens revealed a wide range of reactivities which produced banding patterns closely reflecting autoradiograms of identical samples. The concomitant removal by Pronase of immunoreactive and radiolabeled surface proteins with identical Mr in the range of 90-130 kDa suggests that epitopes recognized by these antibodies are associated with these higher molecular weight surface proteins. However, although Pronase removes all labeled surface proteins, substantial nonradiolabeled, immunoreactive material with Mr less than 90 kDa still remains on enzyme-treated parasites. This indicates that MAB-reactive epitopes, in addition to their occurrence with surface proteins, are also associated with either unlabeled, protease-resistant surface components or internal antigens. The immunohistochemical localization of antibody-reactive material in gland-like structures within sporocysts supports an internal source for nonradiolabeled, immunoreactive components. Finally, the periodate sensitivity of the epitopes recognized by all tested MAB's suggests that carbohydrate moieties may represent a common and extremely immunogenic constituent of the sporocyst surface.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Effect of forskolin on collagen production in clonal osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells

The effect of forskolin on collagen production in osteoblasts was investigated by using clonal osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells cultured in a-minimum essential medium containing 0.1% bovine serum albumin. Forskolin increased the adenylate cyclase activity in membranes pelleted from homogenates of the cell line in a dose-dependent manner. The drug caused a 13-fold stimulation at 10(-4) M, indicating that the compound directly acts on adenylate cyclase, leading to an increase in the intracellular cAMP content of the cells. Collagen accumulation in the cultures was elevated by one-day treatment with 5 X 10(-5) M forskolin to about twice that in the controls. The stimulation was mainly due to an elevation in collagen synthesis but not to an inhibition of intracellular collagen degradation because forskolin dose-dependently increased collagen synthesis; it also significantly increased the amount of low-molecular-weight hydroxyproline found in the cultures. Cells treated with forskolin produced mainly type I collagen, as found in bone matrix in situ, with only small amounts of other types of collagen. Furthermore, forskolin time-dependently inhibited DNA synthesis in the cells, indicating that the increase in type I collagen synthesis by forskolin was not due to stimulated cell proliferation. These results suggest that cAMP is closely linked to the differentiation of osteoblasts in vitro.     

Decreased transport of D-glucose and L-alanine across brush-border membrane vesicles from small intestine of rats treated with mitomycin C

To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the dysfunctions of intestinal absorption induced by antitumor drugs, the effect of pretreatment with mitomycin C on sodium gradient-dependent D-glucose and L-alanine transports was studied in rat brush-border membrane vesicles. 24, 48, 96, or 120 h following a single intravenous injection of mitomycin C, brush-border membrane vesicles were prepared from rat small-intestines. The uptake of D-glucose and L-alanine was shown to be Na+ gradient-dependent even in the case of vesicles obtained from mitomycin C-treated rats, but uptake rates measured at 15 s and magnitude of overshooting effect in uptake of both solutes were decreased in vesicles maximally from 48 h mitomycin C-treated rats. The rate of D-glucose uptake calculated at 15 s recovered to the control level in vesicles prepared at 96 h and 120 h after mitomycin C-treatment, indicating that the effect of mitomycin C on Na+ gradient-dependent D-glucose transport would be fully reversible. Tracer exchange experiments under Na+ and D-glucose equilibrated conditions indicated that the Na+/D-glucose transporters were similarly operative in the vesicles from control and 48 h mitomycin C-treated rats. Rates of 22Na+ uptake measured at 15 s in vesicles from 48 h mitomycin C-treated rats, however, were increased. The increased permeability to Na+ might bring about a more rapid dissipation of the Na+ gradient in these vesicles and this would secondarily cause the decrease in Na+-dependent D-glucose uptake in vesicles from mitomycin C-treated rats.     

The usefulness of CHAPS as a non-cytotoxic stabilizing agent in purification of growth factors

Among several detergents, a zwitterionic detergent, 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate (CHAPS), was found to be least cytotoxic for cultured mammalian cells. CHAPS improved the activity recovery and elution profile of crude and purified fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) during chromatographies. Diluted preparations of FGFs were stabilized by CHAPS against the loss during storage. Amino acid sequence analysis was not disturbed by CHAPS. CHAPS was removable by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. These results indicate that CHAPS is useful as a non-cytotoxic stabilizing agent in purification of various kinds of bioactive polypeptides.Abbreviations -MEM Alpha Modification of Eagle's Minimal essential medium - CHAPS 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate - CHAPSO 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-2-hydroxy-1-propane sulfonate - CS Calf Serum - EGF Epidermal Growth Factor - FGF Fibroblast Growth Factor - HPLC High-Performance Liquid Chromatography - NGF Nerve Growth Factor - NOG 1-O-n-octyl--D-glucopyranoside - NP-40 Nonidet P-40 - PBS Phosphate-Buffered Saline - SB 12 3-(dodecylmethylammonio)-1-propane sulfonate - SDS Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate - TGF- and Transforming Growth Factor type and      

Induction of interdigitating reticulum cell-like differentiation in human monocytic leukemia cells by conditioned medium from IL-2-stimulated helper T-cells

Monocytic leukemia (MoL) cells were obtained from the peripheral blood of a patient in whom the leukemic cells infiltrating various lymphoreticular organs exhibited features intermediate between interdigitating reticulum cells (IDC) and ordinary phagocytic macrophages, whereas the leukemic cells in the peripheral blood were essentially monocytic and lacked such features. Peripheral blood CD4+ T-cells were established as an interleukin-2-dependent T-cell line. When the MoL cells were exposed for a few days to conditioned medium from the T-cell line, they extended several dendritic cytoplasmic projections and became intensely positive for HLA-DR antigen, cytoplasmic S-100β protein, and CD1 antigen. Functionally, the conditioned medium significantly down-regulated Fc-mediated and Fc-independent phagocytic activities, and the levels of lysosomal enzymes such as lysozyme and nonspecific esterase in the MoL cells. Moreover, the conditioned medium significantly up-regulated the accessory cell function of the MoL cells as measured by the primary allogenic mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR). Furthermore, the conditioned medium significantly down-regulated the expression of CD14 antigen. Biochemical analysis indicated that the factor responsible for these changes is a protein which is distinct from known human cytokines and whose molecular weight is approximately 31 kDa. These findings suggest that IDC are closely related the monocytic lineage and that helper T-cells play an important role in constructing the microenvironment of T-lymphoid tissues which is necessary for the differentiation and maturation of IDC.