Oxidation of sulphide by cytochrome aa3

The effectiveness of H2S as an inhibitor of cytochrome c oxidase increase (Ki decreases) with sulphide concentration. A spectroscopic change in cytochrome aa3 is induced aerobically by sulphide at the same rate as that calculated for inhibition. The initial spectroscopic product is not inhibited, but an 'oxygenated' (oxyferri) form of the enzyme. Stoichiometric sulphide addition to cytochrome aa3 under anaerobic conditions produces another low-spin form of the enzyme; subsequent admission of oxygen gives rise to the 607 nm compound. At high enzyme levels sulphide itself acts as a substrate measured polarographically, with an oxygen uptake proportional to the amount of sulphide added. Binding of sulphide to ferric enzyme probably causes reduction at the oxygen-sensitive a3-Cu centre, which is followed aerobically by reoxidation to the oxyferri state via the 607 nm intermediate. A stable sulphide complex is formed only after the reduction of cytochrome a; but once formed this inhibited species is retained if cytochrome a is reoxidized.

Membrane immunoglobulins of spontaneous B lymphomas of aged BALB/c mice

Four cell lines derived from spontaneous BALB/c lymphoma tumors were analyzed with regard to the type of their membrane immunoglobulins (Ig). Using lactoperoxidase iodination of membrane proteins combined with immunoprecipitation and electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel, three of these cell lines (X16c, L10A and K46) were found to express the monomeric form of IgM and IgD as well as half molecules. One cell line (M12) lacked both IgM and IgD. The apparent mol. wt of the lymphoma micro chain was about 80 000 and exceeded the mol. wt. of 75 000 determined for micro chains secreted by myeloma cells. The mol. wt. of the delta heavy chain was found to be 66 000. Immunofluorescence showed that the L10A and X16c lines expressed lambda light chains on their cell surface. Another Ig-bearing cell line (K46) expressed both lambda and kappa chains. Thus, three out of the four B lymphomas examined expressed both IgM and IgD with light chains of the Lambda type. These results, together with our previous findings which demonstrate the presence of Ia and Fc receptors on the same cells, indicate that spontaneous B lymphomas in BALB/c mice are the malignant counterpart of mature B lymphocytes.

Alkaline phosphatase in adaptation to low dietary phosphate intake

Previous findings suggest that alkaline phosphatase (Alk Pase) may be involved in phosphate transport. Since phosphate reabsorption is enhanced in the kidney and duodenum of animals stabilized on a low-phosphorus diet (LPD), Alk Pase was measured in the kidney, small intestine, and other tissues in LPD rats. In particulate fractions from the renal cortex, intestine, renal medulla, liver, and heart ventricle from LPD rats the activity of Alk Pase was significantly increased but the activities of other plasma membrane enzymes were not different between control and LPD groups. The increased Alk Pase in the renal cortex was localized to the brush border of the proximal tubule histochemically and by measurement of Alk Pase in brush-border preparations. Also in the renal cortex, typical enzymes associated with mitochondria, lysosomes, and cytosol were unchanged with the exception of cytosolic adenosine 3',5' cyclic-monophosphate phosphodiesterase, which was increased in LPD rats. Alk Pase in the renal cortex and intestine may play a role in the enhanced phosphate reabsorption in LPD animals.

Insulin inhibition of hormone-stimulated protein kinase systems of rat renal cortex

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and glucagon increase the urinary fractional excretion of phosphate, but insulin administration is associated with a decreased fractional excretion of phosphate. It was the purpose of this study to determine whether insulin will antagonize the effects of PTH and glucagon on cAMP levels and protein kinase activation of rat renal cortex. In situ incubation studies were performed on rat renal cortical slices exposed to insulin, PTH, and glucagon. Insulin alone did not affect the tissue cAMP and cGMP levels or the state of protein kinase activation. Preincubation of slices with insulin, however, did significantly inhibit increases in protein kinase activation induced by both PTH and glucagon. Insulin also significantly inhibited PTH-stimulated increases in tissue cAMP levels, but did not blunt the elevations of cAMP levels induced by glucagon. Insulin (10(-9) M) had no effect on either the in vitro activity of adenylate cyclase, basal or PTH-stimulated, or on the activities of low Km cytosolic or membrane-bound cAMP phosphodiesterase. The data show that insulin antagonizes activation of protein kinase by both PTH and glucagon in renal cortex. Separate mechanisms are probably involved for PTH and glucagon interaction. The antiphosphaturic effect of insulin in vivo may result in part from this antagonism at the cellular level.

Effect of hippocampus extirpation in the rat on glutamate levels in target structures of hippocampal efferents

Twenty days after complete uni- or bilateral hippocampus extirpation in rats, a 25% decrease in glutamate concentration was observed in the septum. Glutamate content also decreased in other terminal structures of the hippocampo-subicular system, i.e. entorhinal cortex, nucleus accumbens septi, mammillary bodies and contralateral hippocampus. It is concluded that the fall in glutamate content which is absent in caudate nucleus is specific for target regions of the hippocampal efferents, adding further support to the suggested transmitter role of glutamate in the limbic system.

Mechanism of resistance to the phosphaturic effect of the parathyroid hormone in the hamster

The effect of parathyroid hormone and calcitonin on the renal excretion of phosphate, calcium, and cyclic AMP was evaluated in the thyroparathyroidectomized hamster, a mammal apparently reisstant to the phosphaturic effect of parathyroid hormone. Parathyroid hormone did not increase phosphate excretion, although it decreased excretion of calcium and increased urinary excretion of cyclic AMP. This lack of a phosphaturic response to parathyroid hormone was not reversed by administration of 25-OH vitamin D or infusions of calcium or phosphate. Calcitonin, another potentially phosphaturic hormone, also vailed to increase phosphate excretion but markedly elevated urinary excretion of cyclic AMP. In hamsters pretreated with infusion of urinary ammonium chloride, which decreased plasma and urinary pH, both parathyroid hormone and calcitonin increased excretion of phosphate as well as that of cyclic AMP. Acetazolamide had no phosphaturic effect in ammonium chloride-loaded hamsters, and it decreased cyclic AMP and calcium excretion. Alkalinization of urine by acetazolamide did not prevent the phosphaturic effect of parathyroid hormone in ammonium chloride-loaded hamsters, but it blocked the increase in urinary cyclic AMP excretion. Parathyroid hormone and calcitonin both stimulated adenylate cyclase in a cell-free system (600-g pellet) from hamster renal cortex, elevated tissue cyclic AMP levels, and activated protein kinase in tissue slices from hamster renal cortex. In acid medium, the increase in cyclic AMP and activation of protein kinase in response to parathyroid hormone was diminished, but addition of acetazolamide restored responsiveness of both parameters to control values. Acetazolamide, on the other hand, did not influence adenylate cyclase or its response to parathyroid hormone or cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity. We conclude that the lack of a phosphaturic effect of parathyroid hormone and calcitonin in the hamster depends on steps in the cellular action of these hormones, steps that are sensitive to pH subsequent to cyclic AMP generation and protein kinase activation. In addition, acetazolamide may potentiate the phosphaturic effect of parathyroid hormone by promoting accumulation of cyclic AMP in tissue. Thus, the hamster is a particularly useful model for studies of syndromes in which there is renal resistance to phosphaturic hormones.

Influence of hippocampectomy on gastric ulcer in rats

Hippocampectomized male rats were prepared, and the incidence as well as severity of gastric ulceration upon restraint were compared with those of normal control animals and controls with localized damage to the cortex over the hippocampus. In another experiment, observations on gastric ulceration were made without restraint in hippocampectomized animals, normal controls, controls with cortical damage, vagotomized animals and animals that received hippocampectomy as well as vagotomy. Both in restrained and unrestrained states, the incidence of animals with ulcer as well as the number and the total area of ulcers per stomach were significantly larger in the hippocampal animals than they were in the other animal groups. Vagotomy abolished the effect of hippocampectomy upon gastric ulceration in the unrestrained state. We infer that the hippocampus helps to protect the stomach from ulceration partly by controlling vagal activity.

Influence of ginseng on mating behavior of male rats

Experiment on the mating behavior of male albino rats paired with receptive females established that in comparison with control animals, males under the influence of ginseng (a) began ejaculation earlier and repeated the action more often in a 45-minute observation period and (b) deposited more copulation plugs in 10 days. The data suggest that ginseng facilitates the mating behavior of male rats.

Effect of hippocampectomy on sleep patterns in cats

The study was planned to see if the hippocampus has an influence on fast wave sleep (FWS) as well as on slow wave sleep (SWS). From 8 male cats EEG, EMG and EOG were recorded for 24 h, first under normal conditions, secondly after cortical damage to the dorsal marginal portion of posterior ectosylvian gyrus, and thirdly following hippocampectomy done through the cortical damage. From the records, SWS, FWS and the sleep state (defined as a sequence of SWS or SWS-FWS phases between two successive waking states) were measured in terms of their occurrence, the mean duration and the total time they occupied in the day, night and 24 h. In addition, sleep sequences were classified according to the number of constituent sleep phases. Cortical damage did not affect SWS, FWS, or sleep state with regard to their occurrence, the mean duration, and the total time they occupied in 24 h. Nor did it affect the proportion of short and long sequences. The circadian variation of sleep was clearly retained. Hippocampectomy significantly reduced the total time occupied by sleep state, SWS and FWS, increased the occurrence of sleep state and SWS phase against decreased incidence of FWS phase, and reduced the mean duration of sleep state and SWS phase. Hippocampectomy also significantly increased the occurrence of sleep sequences with only one SWS phase at the cost of sequences with alternating SWS and FWS phases. Following hippocampectomy, the circadian variation of sleep was not only retained, but actually exagerated. The hippocampus in inferred to facilitate the FWS as well as the SWS phase of sleep.

The sodium and potassium concentrations in the uterine fluid of the rat at the time of implantation

Rat uterine fluid Na+ and K+ concentrations were calculated from the ratio of the Na+ and K+ concentrations in uterine washings, on the assumption that the sum of Na+ and K+ (mequiv./l) is the same in blood serum and in uterine fluid. Uterine fluid volumes were likewise calculated from the total quantity of Na+ and K+ washed out of the uterine horn.

The mean uterine fluid volume was 7·6 μl per horn and the mean potassium concentration was 45·8 mequiv./l on day 6 of normal pregnancy. Both oophorectomy alone on day 2 and oophorectomy followed by daily injections of progesterone, cause a marked reduction of the uterine fluid volume on day 6 of pregnancy. Oophorectomy on day 2 caused a significant reduction in the uterine fluid K+ concentration. Administration of high and low doses of progesterone after oophorectomy on day 2 of pregnancy resulted in uterine fluid potassium concentrations higher and lower, respectively, than the normal day 6 fluid.

It is postulated that a high uterine fluid K+ concentration is essential for blastocyst-endometrial contact preceding implantation and that this may be significant with regard to certain types of delayed implantation.