Immunohistochemical localization in the rat brain of the precursor for thyrotropin-releasing hormone

A rabbit antiserum to a peptide sequence present in the precursor for thyrotropin-releasing hormone (proTRH), deduced from cloned amphibian-skin complementary DNA, was raised by immunization with the synthetic decapeptide Cys-Lys-Arg-Gln-His-Pro-Gly-Lys-Arg-Cys (proTRH-SH). Immunohistochemical studies on rat brain tissue showed staining of neuronal perikarya in the parvicellular division of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and the raphe complex of the medulla, identical to that already described for thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). Immunostaining was abolished by preincubation with proTRH-SH (10(-6)M) but not TRH (10(-5)M). Both TRH precursor and TRH were located in neurons of the paraventricular nucleus. However, in contrast to the findings for TRH, no staining was observed in axon terminals of the median eminence. These results suggest that a TRH precursor analogous to that reported in frog skin is present in the rat brain and that TRH in the mammalian central nervous system is a product of ribosomal biosynthesis.

Screening the in vitro sperm-immobilizing effect of some anticancer drugs

The in vitro sperm-immobilizing effect of seven anticancer agents, namely cyclophosphamide, 5-fluorouracil, cytarabine, mitomycin-C, 6-mercaptopurine, doxorubicin and vinblastine were screened with a transmembrane migration method. Only doxorubicin and vinblastine inhibited human sperm motility. Because colchicine, a microtubular inhibitor, had no sperm-immobilizing effect, we suggest that the sperm membrane is the site of action of these two anticancer drugs to inhibit human sperm motility.

Two plasminogen activators, streptokinase and urokinase, stimulate human sperm motility

The stimulatory effects of two plasminogen activators, namely streptokinase and urokinase, were measured with a trans-membrane migration method. Both drugs induced maximal motility increase at a concentration of 200 international unit/ml; the amplitude of maximal motility increase ranged from 17% to 19% of control. Although their stimulatory effects were much less than those of calcium regulating agents, the clinical application of these two drugs for improving the successful rate of artificial insemination deserves further investigation because the action site is seminal plasma rather than sperm.

Involvement of calcium in the caffeine stimulation of human sperm motility

The shape of the concentration-response curve and the amplitude of maximal motility increase for the stimulatory effect of caffeine on human sperm motility were similar to those of EGTA, a calcium chelator, and lanthanum chloride, a calcium entry blocker. On the other hand, the maximal motility stimulation induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP was similar to that induced by trifluoperazine, a calmodulin antagonist. The antagonism of A23187 on the motility-stimulating effect of EGTA and caffeine was competitive in nature, while that on cyclic AMP was non-competitive. We proposed that there could be two mechanisms for caffeine to stimulate sperm motility: at higher concentrations, caffeine modified calcium translocation; at lower concentrations, caffeine increased cyclic AMP level. The importance of calcium in the regulation of human sperm motility was reconfirmed in this study.

Structures of glycosphingolipids isolated from human granulocytes. The presence of a series of linear poly-N-acetyllactosaminylceramide and its significance in glycolipids of whole blood cells

Structures of glycolipids isolated from human granulocytes were elucidated by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry, methylation analysis, and exo- and endoglycosidase treatment. All neutral glycolipids, with saccharide residues ranging from 2 to 10, were found to have linear N-acetyllactosaminyl backbones. The majority of neutral glycolipids contain one or two fucosyl residues attached to N-acetylglucosamine residues through the Fuc alpha 1----3 linkage and were reactive with the monoclonal antibody specific to Gal beta 1----4(Fuc alpha 1----3)GlcNAc, the Lex structure. Their general structure can be expressed as follows: (formula; see text) where n = 0-3. Glycolipids containing sialic acid (gangliosides) were also found to have linear N-acetyllactosaminyl backbones with sialic acid joined to this backbone by either alpha 2----3 or alpha 2----6 linkage. The gangliosides have the following general structure: (formula; see text) where n = 0-3. The ceramide was composed of sphingosine with d18:1 as the long-chain base and C16:0 (as a major component) or C24:1 (as a minor component) fatty acid. Analysis of glycolipids isolated from granulocytes, erythrocytes, and whole blood cells revealed that, among the glycolipids prepared from the whole blood cells, dihexaosylceramide, lactoneotetraosylceramide, and the above described linear lactoneo series neutral glycolipids are present in granulocytes but barely present in erythrocytes.

Studies on the mechanisms of somatostatin release after insulin induced hypoglycaemia in man

Insulin-induced hypoglycaemia, which stimulates gastric acid secretion, is associated with an increase in circulating somatostatin levels in man. In order to assess the mechanisms involved in this rise, six normal volunteers connected to a Biostator for continuous glucose monitoring were studied, on three separate occasions. On each occasion after basal blood sampling, 0.15 i.u./kg body weight of insulin was administered i.v. and further samples were obtained intermittently over 150 min. On one occasion, dextrose was infused by the Biostator to prevent hypoglycaemia, while on the other two, a constant infusion of either normal saline or the specific H2 antagonist cimetidine was administered. Insulin plus dextrose caused no significant changes in circulating somatostatin levels, whereas insulin plus saline was associated with a marked, sustained and significant rise in all subjects; insulin plus cimetidine also produced a rise but it was delayed; the area under the curve was significantly (P less than 0.05) greater with insulin plus saline than with insulin plus cimetidine. These results show that in man insulin itself does not stimulate somatostatin secretion directly, but indirectly via hypoglycaemia. Further, the inhibition of gastric acid secretion with cimetidine reduces somatostatin release during insulin-induced hypoglycaemia. This suggests that gastric acid may mediate somatostatin secretion associated with insulin-induced hypoglycaemia.

Distribution and characterisation of immunoreactive somatostatin in human gastrointestinal tract

Immunoreactive somatostatin (IRS) was measured in acid extracts of human gastrointestinal tissue. The highest levels were found in the duodenum, pancreas, jejunum and stomach with lower levels in the ileum and colon. In the antrum, pylorus, duodenum and pancreas the main peak of IRS (1.6K IRS) coeluted with synthetic somatostatin-14 on both gel filtration chromatography and HPLC. In the body of stomach, jejunum, ileum and colon, a large peak coeluting with synthetic somatostatin-28 (3.5K IRS) on both chromatographic systems was also identified, while minor peaks of IRS assigned molecular weights of 6000 (6K) and greater than 15 000 (15K) were seen in some extracts. The total IRS content and pattern of molecular forms were similar in tissues obtained from adults at surgery or rapid post mortem, and in tissue taken from human fetuses after prostaglandin termination of pregnancy. When tissues were divided into mucosal and muscle layers, greater than 90% of the IRS was in the mucosa with less than 10% in the muscle layer. In the muscle layer the IRS was almost entirely the 1.6K form in all tissues. Immunohistochemical studies showed the IRS in the mucosa to be localised in endocrine-type cells, while in the muscle layer the IRS is present in nerve fibres and neurones of the myenteric plexus. It is suggested that (1) different mechanisms may control the biosynthesis of somatostatin-14 and somatostatin-28 in mucosal cells in different parts of the gut, (2) different biosynthetic controls may operate in endocrine-like and neuronal cells in the same region of the gut.

Thermal and photolytic degradation studies of promethazine hydrochloride: a stability-indicating assay

A stability-indicating GLC method for the analysis of promethazine hydrochloride in polyethylene glycol delivery systems is reported. This method is capable of distinguishing the intact drug from its thermal and photodegradation products. A linear relationship between peak height ratio (promethazine-promazine) and promethazine concentration is found up to a concentration of 600 micrograms/ml. Kinetic studies were performed to determine the photolytic and thermal degradation rates of promethazine hydrochloride as a function of pH. The activation energies at pH 2.98, 3.94, and 5.12 were obtained from linear Arrhenius plots and were found to be 6601, 5888, 5570 cal/mole, respectively. The first-order rate constant increased with increasing pH. The photolytic degradation of promethazine hydrochloride does not follow simple first-order kinetics.

Quantitative evaluation of the spermicidal potencies of vaginal contraceptives with a transmembrane migration method

The spermicidal potencies of four vaginal contraceptives, namely Delfen cream, Samtol tablet, Lorophyn suppository and Ortho-Gynol jelly were compared using a transmembrane migration method which measured the proportion of sperm that moved from a semen-drug mixture across a Nuclepore membrane with 5 micron pores into phosphate buffer. The concentration-response curves of all preparations were parallel. The maximal dilutions that decreased sperm motility to 50% of control for Delfen, Samtol, Lorophyn and Ortho-Gynol were 240, 160, 75 and 35 respectively. The trans-membrane migration method is a simple, reproducible and quantitative test for evaluating the spermicidal potencies of vaginal contraceptives.

Evidence for direct production of somatostatin-14 from a larger precursor than somatostatin-28 in a phaeochromocytoma

Gel-filtration chromatography of an acid-extract of a phaeochromocytoma, under dissociating conditions, revealed 4 peaks of immunoreactive somatostatin (IRS) of approx. 8-10 kilodaltons (K), 6K, 3.5K and 1.6K as detected by an antiserum (R9) directed against the central region of tetradecapeptide somatostatin (S14). The 3.5K and 1.6K forms of IRS co-eluted with synthetic cyclic S28 and S14 respectively on reversed phase HPLC. Using another radioimmunoassay for the 1-14 sequence of S28 (N-peptide) a peak of immunoreactive N-peptide (IRN) with a molecular weight of approx. 4500 was observed. The antiserum (N3) used in the N-peptide assay was raised against N-Tyr N-peptide and cross-reacts less than 5% with synthetic S28. Two peaks were further characterised by partial tryptic digestion and gel-filtration chromatography. The 3.5K IRS peak was partially converted to a 1.6K IRS form together with an approximately equimolar amount of IRN with apparent molecular weight of 2500. This 2.5K IRN co-eluted both with N-Tyr N-peptide and with the IRN generated by tryptic digestion of synthetic cyclic S28. No IRN peak of this size was observed in the original extract. Tryptic digestion of the 6K IRS peak generated 3.5K and 1.6K IRS and 2.5K IRN. These results suggested that (1) this human phaeochromocytoma contains IRS very similar to the known structure of ovine and porcine S28 and S14. (2) The 6K IRS is composed of an unknown peptide sequence attached via trypsin-susceptible bond to the N-terminus of S28. (3) In this tumour S14 is being generated directly from 6K IRS and not via S28.

Identification of somatostatin in the human placenta

High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), gel chromatography and radioimmunoassay (RIA) were applied to the identification of cyclic somatostatin in human placental tissue. Methanol extracts of the placenta were treated with acetic acid and chloroform, purified on an octadecylsilane column, fractionated on HPLC and gel filtration, and assessed by RIA. It is concluded that human placental somatostatin is similar or identical to cyclic somatostatin on other tissue.

High-density and low-density lipoproteins and prevalence of vascular disease in diabetes mellitus

The prevalence of vascular disease among 154 diabetic patients was analysed in relation to the serum concentrations of individual lipoproteins. Overal the presence of vascular disease (59 cases) was positively associated with serum cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol but negatively associated with high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The negative relation between HDL and vascular disease was not observed in all subgroups of diabetics. We conclude that there may be no overriding association between HDL and vascular disease in diabetics as proposed for some non-diabetic populations.

Calvarial-scalp compensator for radiotherapy

A universal compensator for megavoltage cobalt-60 radiotherapy of the skull was constructed and applied to clinical radiotherapy use. This compensator allows the skull to be treated with a more uniform dose.