Revised Stereochemistry of So-Called Isoselagine and Spectroscopic Analysis of 6alpha-Hydroxylycopodine from Lycopodium serratum var. longipetiolatum

The structure of isoselagine, isolated from the Chinese medicinal plant LYCOPODIUM SERRATUM Thunb. var. longipetiolatum Spring, was shown to be identical with huperzine A ( 1) and to have an exocyclic double bond in the E -configuration from NOE data. In the process of extraction of isoselagine, we also isolated and identified another alkaloid, 6alpha-hydroxylycopodine (L. 20) ( 2) that was found to occur in this plant for the first time. The structure of L. 20 was previously determined mainly by the chemical means, and this is the first report on the analysis of its structure by (1)H- and (13)C-NMR with more advanced 2D-NMR techniques. The X-ray crystallography revealed the stereochemistry of 2 and confirmed its structure. The hemostatic properties of the isolated alkaloids were studied, but they showed no platelet aggregation activity.

Endothelin stimulates aldosterone secretion in vitro from normal adrenocortical tissue, but not adenoma tissue, in primary aldosteronism

In addition to vasoconstriction, endothelin (ET) has been reported to show various endocrine actions in animals. However, no data have emerged concerning the effect of ET on adrenal function in humans. We, therefore, investigated the effects of ET on aldosterone and cortisol secretion from adrenocortical tissues obtained from normal subjects (n = 6) and patients with primary aldosteronism (n = 5). Adrenal tissue slices were incubated at 37 C for 120 min in modified Krebs-Ringer solution containing glucose and HEPES. ET increased aldosterone secretion from normal adrenocortical tissue in a dose-dependent manner, with an ED50 of 0.036 nmol/L, although the maximum response was small compared with that to angiotensin-II. ET also stimulated aldosterone secretion from tissues adjacent to the adenoma, but not from the adenoma, in patients with primary aldosteronism. The effects of ET on aldosterone secretion were significantly suppressed by calcium channel blockade with nicardipine. ET did not affect cortisol secretion from the adrenal tissues. These results suggest that ET is one of the factors that regulates aldosterone secretion in humans.

[In vitro transformation of Syrian hamster embryo cells by four chemicals]

In this paper, the early passage diploid Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cells were used as the source of target. Four chemicals were appraised in SHE transformation test to determine whether they were carcinogens or not. They were (1) 2-benzoyl-hydrazono-1,3-diethiolane(BHD) (technical product); (2) isoprothiolane (pure product); (3) isoprothiolane (technical product); (4) benzene-abstracts from coal smoke of coke oven (benzene-abstracts). The results showed that morphological transformation was not observed when cells were not treated or treated with dimethyl sulfoxide, BHD, pure isoprothiolane and the technical product of isoprothiolane. The highest concentration had considerable cytotoxicity. In the groups of positive control (1.0 microgram/ml 3-methyl-cholanthrene, 10.0 micrograms/ml benzo (a) pyrene) and benzene-abstracts, we could observe colonies with random or criss-cross orientation and dense piling-up of cells. According to well known positive criteria, the benzene-abstracts can induce SHE cells morphological transformation. The other three chemicals can not induce SHE cells transformation.

The assay for thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin using cultured human thyroid cells and its clinical application

A new technique for the determination of the serum level of thyroid stimulating immunoglobulins (TSI) is described. TSI may be detected by measuring cyclic AMP increases in cultures of isolated thyroid epithelial cells in response to added normal or patient's serum. Our results showed that the serum level in the normal control group was mostly lower than 110%, however, in 9.1% of normal human sera, TSI showed a positive result. In abnormal position, activity of TSI was higher than 110% of the rate of the normal control group. The positive result was 86% and the serum TSI levels were 270 +/- 176.6% in patients with Graves' disease before receiving antithyroid drug. After treatment with antithyroid drugs from one to thirty months, the positive results dropped to 35% and the serum TSI level decreased to 117.0 +/- 113%, which was significantly lower than that in untreated patients. In conclusion, TSI can be detected in the majority of the sera in patients with Graves' disease using this technique. It is helpful to the diagnosis and treatment of the Graves' disease.