[Basic and clinical evaluation of EIA (pin immuno assay, PIA) kit for antithyroglobulin antibody (TGAb) and antimicrosomal (antiperoxidase) antibody (TMAb)]

Newly developed enzyme immunoassay kit (Pin Immuno Assay, PIA) for quantitative determination of serum antithyroglobulin antibody (TGAb) and antimicrosomal (-peroxidase) antibody (TMAb) was evaluated. The method utilizes the Sandwich ELISA principle with a unique micropin as solid phase coated with antigen. Reproducibilities assessed by intra- and interassay variation were less than 6.9% (CV) and 7.2% for TGAb or 4.2% and 6.0% for TMAb respectively. Changes in the first or second incubation time did not affect both TGAb and TMAb values. Upper normal limits obtained from 47 healthy subjects were 150 IU/ml for TGAb and 25 IU/ml for TMAb. Positive results in TGAb were obtained 60.0% in patients with Graves' disease and 80.0% in chronic thyroiditis and in TMAb 77.8% in Graves' disease and 66.7% in chronic thyroiditis. Patients with other autoimmune diseases such as SLE, RA were also found high incidence of positive results, 48.3% for TGAb and 65.0% for TMAb respectively. These results indicate that the nonradioisotopic assay technique for thyroid autoantibodies are useful in diagnosis of autoimmune diseases especially thyroid diseases.

[Determination of synephrine in Oriental pharmaceutical decoctions containing aurantii nobilis pericarpium by ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography. II]

A simple method using ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography was established for the rapid and precise determination of synephrine in thirty three species of oriental pharmaceutical decoctions containing Aurantii Nobilis Pericarpium. An ODS column and a mixed solvent system of water, acetonitrile, sodium dodecyl sulfate and phosphoric acid as a mobile phase were used for the separation. Synephrine was eluted without interference of other coexisting components within 15 min.

Cerebral blood flow and ischemia-induced neurotransmitter release in the striatum of aged spontaneously hypertensive rats

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

We found age-related vulnerability to cerebral ischemia in the hippocampus and striatum in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Further study revealed that ischemia-induced release of hippocampal taurine, an inhibitory amino acid, was reduced by 40% in aged rats compared with adult rats, which suggested an impaired inhibitory function against excitotoxicity in aged rats. The purpose of this study was to examine whether ischemia-induced neurotransmitter release is altered in the striatum of aged spontaneously hypertensive rats.

METHODS

Five adult (5-6 months) and five aged (18-22 months) female spontaneously hypertensive rats were subjected to 20 minutes of cerebral ischemia induced by bilateral carotid artery occlusions and 120 minutes of recirculation under amobarbital anesthesia (100 mg/kg i.p.). Cerebral blood flow was determined using the hydrogen clearance method, and extracellular concentrations of neurotransmitters were determined with the brain dialysis technique in the striatum.

RESULTS

During ischemia, cerebral blood flow in aged rats decreased to 8.7 +/- 1.2 (mean +/- SEM) mL/100 g per minute (11% of the resting), which was not different from 5.2 +/- 1.7 mL/100 g per minute (8% of the resting) in adult rats, and extracellular dopamine and amino acids (glutamate, aspartate, and taurine) increased by approximately 170- and 10-30-fold, respectively, and returned to baseline after 20-40 minutes of recirculation. These values of neurotransmitters, however, were not different between aged and adult rats during ischemia and reperfusion.

CONCLUSIONS

It is unlikely that a presynaptic mechanism is involved in age-related vulnerability in the striatum of hypertensive rats.

[Structure and function of the thyroid hormone receptor]

Cloning of the thyroid hormone receptor and its identification as a cellular counterpart of the viral oncogene v-erbA was a major breakthrough in the study of thyroid hormone action. However, contrary to our initial expectations, many astonishing findings which have accumulated since the receptor cloning, especially the presence of two receptor types, made the elucidation of the thyroid hormone action extremely complicated. In this paper, we mainly did a phylogenic comparison of the amino acid sequence between alpha- and beta-type receptor from Xenopus laevis to humans, hoping to obtain some clue to clarify the functional differences between these receptors. There are several consistent amino acid differences between alpha- and beta-receptor through species in the DNA binding domain, one of which is non-conservative and is located in the portion supposed to be critical to the protein-protein interaction. We believe that clarification of the physiological significance of the presence of two receptor types will facilitate the study of thyroid hormone action.

Isradipine attenuates the ischemia-induced release of dopamine in the striatum of the rat

We examined the effect of isradipine, a blocker of L-type voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels (VSCCs), on the ischemia-induced release of dopamine in the rat striatum. Perfusion of 200 micrograms/ml isradipine in the striatum did not alter extracellular dopamine concentrations monitored by microdialysis. However, a marked increase (145-fold) in dopamine level during forebrain ischemia, developed by bilateral carotid artery occlusion, was attenuated significantly by 37% by isradipine whereas the intensity of ischemia, monitored by striatal blood flow, was unchanged. These results suggest that isradipine attenuates the ischemia-induced release of dopamine via blockade of L-type VSCCs on dopaminergic neurons.

Ischemia-induced changes in brain monoamine metabolism in aged spontaneously hypertensive rats

Effects of aging on monoamine metabolism in transient cerebral ischemia were studied using adult and aged female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Tissue monoamine contents in discrete brain areas were quantified after 20 min of cerebral ischemia with or without 30-min recirculation. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was determined with a hydrogen clearance method in separate experiments. Dopamine (DA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) contents in the striatum, nucleus accumbens and septum decreased in ischemic aged SHRs, compared with those in ischemic adult SHRs. After 30-min recirculation, DA contents were actually unchanged with inconsistently increased DOPAC levels. Ischemic CBF decreased to < 20% of the resting CBF in the striatum and cortex, which was not different between the two age groups of SHRs. These results indicate that aging is primarily responsible for more severely impaired DA metabolism during cerebral ischemia in aged SHRs.

Antagonism of ceruletide, a cholecystokinin analog, to the neurochemical effects of the non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists, phencyclidine and MK-801, on regional dopaminergic neurons in the rat brain

In the present study, we investigated the effects of ceruletide (CL), a cholecystokinin analog, on the neurochemical response to non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists, phencyclidine (PCP) and MK-801, of the dopaminergic neuron systems in the discrete regions of the rat brain. Systemically administered PCP (7.5 mg/kg, i.p.) or MK-801 (1.0 mg/kg, i.p.) produced significant increases in the tissue contents of dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid (HVA), in the prefrontal cortex, the nucleus accumbens and the olfactory tubercle but not in the nucleus caudatus putamen after 60 min. The effects of NMDA receptor antagonists in the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex were partially antagonized by pretreatment with CL (80 and 400 micrograms/kg, i.p., at 60 min prior to the drugs). While CL alone decreased the dopaminergic metabolism only in the nigrostriatal pathways in naive rats, the present results indicated that CL also attenuates the activities of the meso-limbic and meso-cortical dopaminergic neuron systems when these are enhanced by either PCP or MK-801.

Inhibition of ischemia-induced dopamine release by omega-conotoxin, a calcium channel blocker, in the striatum of spontaneously hypertensive rats: in vivo brain dialysis study

The effect of omega-conotoxin GVIA (CgTX), an N-and L-type voltage-sensitive calcium channel (VSCC) blocker, on the release of dopamine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in the striatum before and during transient cerebral ischemia in spontaneously hypertensive rats was studied using an in vivo brain dialysis technique. Continuous perfusion of CgTX in the striatum was started 20 min before ischemia and concentrations of dopamine and DOPAC in the dialysate were measured using HPLC with an electro-chemical detector. Before ischemia, both 10 and 100 microM CgTX significantly lowered the concentration of dopamine, to 49% of the basal values. DOPAC concentrations also decreased significantly, by 28 and 17%, respectively. Forebrain ischemia, produced by bilateral carotid artery occlusion, reduced striatal blood flow to less than 6% of the resting value in each group. During 20 min of ischemia, the vehicle group showed a marked increase in dopamine (175 times the basal concentration). In the 10 or 100 microM CgTX perfusion group, in contrast, dopamine release was significantly attenuated, to 38 or 29% of the vehicle group, respectively. DOPAC concentrations decreased during ischemia to 58% of the basal value in the vehicle group and 49% in both CgTX groups. These results indicate that the massive release of striatal dopamine during ischemia depends largely on the influx of extracellular calcium via CgTX-sensitive VSCCs.

Age-related vulnerability to cerebral ischemia in spontaneously hypertensive rats

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

We sought to determine the effects of aging on regional cerebral blood flow and ischemic brain damage in transient cerebral ischemia in rats.

METHODS

Five adult (5-6 months) and five aged (18-22 months) female spontaneously hypertensive rats were subjected to 20 minutes of bilateral carotid occlusion and 60 minutes of recirculation under amobarbital anesthesia (100 mg/kg i.p.). Regional cerebral blood flow in the hippocampus and striatum was measured using the hydrogen clearance method. Nine adult and 14 aged rats were subjected to 20 minutes of bilateral carotid occlusion or were sham-operated under ether anesthesia. Seven days after 20 minutes of cerebral ischemia, the rats' brains were perfusion fixed. Ischemic damage in the hippocampus and striatum was graded (0 [normal] to 3 [majority of neurons damaged]).

RESULTS

After 20 minutes of bilateral carotid occlusion, striatal cerebral blood flow decreased to 9.1 +/- 1.5 and 3.9 +/- 2.0 ml/100 g/min in aged and adult rats, respectively, and hippocampal cerebral blood flow decreased to 8.6 +/- 2.4 and 5.7 +/- 2.4 in aged and adult rats, respectively. Although these ischemic cerebral blood flow values were not significantly different between the two age groups, scores for ischemic damage in the hippocampus CA-1 subfield and striatum were significantly higher in aged than in adult rats (p less than 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis' h test with Bonferroni correction).

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that aging may be a primary factor in the development of greater ischemic neuronal damage observed in aged hypertensive rats.

Growth stimulating activity secreted by human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells

In order to clarify the mechanism of rapid growth of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, growth stimulating activity produced by the cancer cells in culture was studied. A cell line (HTh7) established from a biopsy specimen of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma was used throughout the study. Growth stimulating activity was determined as an activity to increase 3H-thymidine incorporation in rat thyroid cell line (FRTL5). Conditioned medium of HTh7 cells contained significant growth stimulating activity for FRTL5 cells. The activity was separated into two fractions with heparin agarose gel: heparin-binding and heparin-non-binding. In the medium, the heparin-non-binding activity was much greater than the heparin-binding one. The heparin-non-binding activity was acid stable. It was partially purified with gel filtration in an acidic condition followed by reverse phase HPLC. In gel filtration with a Sephacryl S-200 column, the activity was eluted later than the elution volume of cytochrome c (MW 12400) as several separated peaks. In reverse phase HPLC, however, the activity in these peaks was eluted as a single peak. The retention time of the active peak was almost the same as that of recombinant IGF-I. When measured by specific RIAs, the conditioned media concentrated 20 times contained both 0.35 ng/ml of IGF-I and 5.21 ng/ml of IGF-II. As for the heparin-binding mitogenic activity, when applied to heparin affinity HPLC column and eluted with a linear gradient of NaCl, the activity came out as one major peak with approximately 1.0 M NaCl.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Measurement of anti-microsomal and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies by radioimmunoassay]

In this study, we measured anti-microsomal (same as anti-thyroid peroxidase) and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (anti-TPOAb and anti-TgAb) in sera by new RIA kits and compared with the conventional particle agglutination (PA) kits. Two of 80 normals (2.5%) showed anti-TPOAb positive activity (greater than or equal to 0.3 unit/ml), and 9 of same samples (11.3%) showed anti TgAb positive activity (greater than or equal to 0.3 unit/ml). Sixty of 67 patients with Graves' disease (89.6%), and 14 of 22 with Hashimoto's disease (63.6%) were anti-TPOAb positive, and 42 (62.7%), and 18 (81.8%) were anti-TgAb positive respectively. Samples of 5 non-autoimmune disease were all negative by TPOAb and TgAb assays, suggesting the high specificity of new RIA kits to the autoimmune thyroid diseases. The RIA and PA methods showed a good correlation (anti-TPOAb:rs = 0.9134, anti-TgAb:rs = 0.7016). However, several negative sera in PA assay showed positive values in the RIA, so it was showed that new RIA kits were more sensitive than the PA assays.

Characterization of receptors for insulin-like growth factors in human brain

The structural properties of receptors for insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) in human brain were studied. Brain membranes were incubated with 125I-IGF-I or II, cross-linked with disuccinimidyl suberate and subjected to electrophoresis under reducing conditions and autoradiography. Two proteins with apparent molecular weights of 120 and 220 kD were specifically labeled. The labeled proteins were immunoprecipitated with monoclonal antibody to type IIGF receptors, indicating that they represent alpha-subunit and its dimer of type IIGF receptor. The size of brain alpha-subunit was smaller than placental alpha-subunit (130 kD). Treatment with N-glycosidase F reduced the brain alpha-subunit from 120 to 95 kD and the placental alpha-subunit from 130 to 105 kD. Neuraminidase decreased the placental alpha-subunit from 130 to 125 kD, but it had no effect on the mobility of the brain alpha-subunit. Solubilized IGF-I receptors from placenta were retained by wheat germ agglutinin and concanavalin A columns, and eluted with the specific sugars. In contrast, solubilized IGF-I receptors from brain did not bind to these columns. These results indicate that human brains have only type IIGF receptors and that the molecular size of the alpha-subunit in brain receptors is smaller than in placental receptors. The size discrepancy may result from the differences in both protein and carbohydrate moieties.

Excitatory and inhibitory amino acid changes in ischemic brain regions in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Excitatory (glutamate, aspartate) or inhibitory amino acids (gamma-aminobutyric acid: GABA, taurine) and glutamine contents were examined in acutely induced cerebral ischemia in spontaneously hypertensive rats. At 20 min ischemia most of these amino acids remained unchanged, but glutamine significantly decreased by 14% in the CA3 hippocampal subfield. At 60 min ischemia glutamate significantly decreased by 14% in the CA3, aspartate by 17-26% in the CA3, cingulate cortex, septum and striatum. In contrast, GABA significantly increased by 48-106% in the cortices (frontal, parietal and cingulate), striatum and nucleus accumbens, but insignificantly in hippocampal subfields. Likewise, taurine increased in the parietal cortex and nucleus accumbens. Glutamine showed heterogeneous changes (increase in the nucleus accumbens and decrease in the CA3). Amino acid levels change during ischemia, but their changes are varied in each area, implying that different reaction of amino acids may explain the selective vulnerability to cerebral ischemia.

Striatal glutamic acid and gamma-aminobutyric acid in transient cerebral ischemia in spontaneously hypertensive rats

A massive striatal dopamine release (241-fold increase) was observed in a previous study during acute cerebral ischemia in rats. In this study, extracellular levels of glutamic acid (GLU), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and lactic acid were simultaneously determined using in vivo brain dialysis in the striatum of spontaneously hypertensive rats during cerebral ischemia and after recirculation. Extracellular GABA levels increased to 932 +/- 75% (mean +/- SEM) of the resting level and GLU increased to 390 +/- 63% during 20 min ischemia. Although ischemia-induced release of GLU and GABA was demonstrated in this study, the degree of increase was smaller than that of dopamine. These findings may be relevant to the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia in the striatum.

Changes in thyroglobulin release-stimulating activity (Tg-RSA) in immunoglobulin G from patients with Graves' disease during therapy with thionamide drug

We have reported previously a new method for detecting thyroglobulin release stimulating activity (Tg-RSA) by human thyroid monolayer cells in IgGs from Graves' patients. We report here changes in Tg-RSA in sera of patients during treatment with thionamide drug. Nineteen untreated patients had their Tg-RSA, TSAb, TBII and serum Tg concentration (STg) followed up. Before treatment, Tg-RSA and TSAb were positive in all 19 patients. Three of them were TBII negative. During treatment with thionamide, of 16 patients who had positive Tg-RSA, TSAb and TBII before treatment, 6 patients continued so during the period of observation. Of the remaining 10 patients, 8 became TBII negative. TSAb only was found negative in one patient and Tg-RSA only declined to negative in another patient. Three patients whose TBII was initially negative, were observed to be negative in all three indicators after treatment. STg was higher than normal in all patients before therapy and changes in Tg-RSA in almost all patients were parallel with those in STg during treatment. From the observation during treatment with thionamide, our results suggest that Tg-RSA in Graves' patients appears to have similar properties to TSAb.

Changes in GABA content and turnover in discrete regions of rat brain after systemic administration of caerulein

The effects of systemically injected caerulein, a cholecystokinin octapeptide analogue, on GABA content and turnover have been studied in various regions of rat brain. Caerulein decreased GABA levels in the nucleus accumbens, tuberculum olfactorium and substantia nigra and diminished GABA turnover rates in the striatum, nucleus accumbens and substantia nigra, as estimated from the rate of GABA accumulation after inhibition of GABA transaminase by aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA). These results indicate the effect of caerulein on the utilization of GABA in specific cerebral regions and suggest that the GABAergic system is involved in the mechanism of action of peripherally administered caerulein.

Behavioral sensitization to beta-phenylethylamine (PEA): enduring modifications of specific dopaminergic neuron systems in the rat

Repeated daily administration of an endogenous trace amine, beta-phenylethylamine (PEA), produces behavioral sensitization such that the intensity of PEA-induced stereotyped behaviors in rats increases gradually during the treatment, and a challenge injection with PEA reinstates the enhanced stereotypy even long after withdrawal. In the present study, we examined the neurochemical changes in the central dopaminergic neurons systems in the rat for 7 drug-free days after repeated treatment with PEA (50 mg/kg, IP day for 14 or 28 days). During withdrawal, a decrease in steady-state levels of tissue dopamine (DA) and its metabolite, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), was found in the mesolimbic DA nerve terminal areas of the rat brain receiving repeated PEA treatment. Fifteen minutes after challenge administration of PEA at varying doses from 6.3 to 75 mg/kg, the rats with repeated PEA treatment required smaller doses of PEA challenge than the rats with acute PEA treatment in order to obtain a significant decrease in striatal DOPAC content compared to the saline control in each treatment group. These results imply that the behavioral sensitization to PEA is accompanied by enduring modifications of the specific dopaminergic neuron systems in the rat brain. This suggestion was strongly supported by the results of the study using in vivo intracerebral dialysis, which indicated that 25 mg/kg PEA challenge elicited a remarkable increase in the extracellular DA concentrations in striatal perfusates collected from the PEA-pretreated rats, in accordance with the intensity of stereotyped behaviors. These findings argue that the hyper-responsiveness to PEA of the striatal dopaminergic neuron systems persists long after withdrawal from repeated treatment with PEA.

[A family of pseudocholinesterase deficiency (silent type II)]

We report here a case of pseudocholinesterase (E.C. 3.1.1.8) deficiency, silent type II. The proband was a 29-year-old healthy man. His parents were cousins. A family study revealed that 9 out of 17 members of family investigated (paternal side 6, maternal side 3) concentrations. Serum cholinesterase activity were correlated well with serum albumin concentrations in both healthy people and patients with chronic liver diseases. The ratio of cholinesterase activity to albumin concentrations in serum was found more useful to detect heterozygous pseudocholinesterase deficiency than the serum cholinesterase activity alone. Both the dibucaine number and the fluoride number were within normal range in all family who showed low cholinesterase activity in serum. The amount of immunoreactive substance in serum against anticholinesterase antibody was normal in the proband as well as his family, while it was about twice of the value expected from their activity in those who had low ratio of serum cholinesterase activity to albumin concentrations. These results altogether suggested that the proband was a case of homozygous pseudocholinesterase deficiency, silent type II.

[Roentgenologic evaluation of indrawn parietal pleura]

Among linear densities extending out from the lateral margin of a peripheral mass to the pleural surface, a thin line with a small triangular density at the pleural surface is considered to be contiguous layers of indrawn visceral pleura with a small amount of fluid between layers. We agree that the thin line represents contiguous layers of indrawn visceral pleura, but we believe that the triangular density at the pleural surface is not formed by a small amount of pleural effusion, but by indrawn parietal pleura accompanying extrapleural soft tissue of the chest wall. A trapezoid or a belt shaped soft tissue density between a peripheral mass contiguous to the visceral pleura and the chest wall are also signs of indrawn both visceral and parietal pleurae in the presence of adhesion of the pleura over the mass.

Involvement of brain stem noradrenergic neurons in the development of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats

This study attempted to investigate the possible involvement of the brain stem noradrenergic system in the development of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Steady-state norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentrations and norepinephrine turnover were determined in the individual brain stem nuclei using high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Decreased norepinephrine contents in the nucleus tractus solitarii in spontaneously hypertensive rats compared with Wistar-Kyoto rats at the age of 4, 8, and 16 weeks were demonstrated. In later stages (8 and 16 weeks), increased norepinephrine levels were observed in the nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis, the A1 and A5 areas. Norepinephrine turnover was not different between spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats in the nucleus tractus solitarii at the age of 4 and 16 weeks and increased in the nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis of spontaneously hypertensive rats at 16 weeks. Our results indicate that altered norepinephrine metabolism in the specific brain stem nuclei, especially the consistently decreased norepinephrine in the nucleus tractus solitarii of spontaneously hypertensive rats, contribute to the development of genetic hypertension.

Facilitatory effects of caerulein on hypothalamic defensive attack in cats

Effects of intraventricularly microinjected caerulein (0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 micrograms) on the thresholds for hypothalamically elicited defensive attack and influences of haloperidol (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) on the effects were studied in chronic cats. Directed attack and hissing were selected for threshold determination, and thresholds for these responses were measured under two situations: one with provocations by a human, and the other without such provocation. Results were as follows. (1) Caerulein lowered all thresholds in generally equal decrements and in a dose-related manner, accompanied by a general behavioral arousal. (2) Prior injection of haloperidol prevented the effects of caerulein, suggesting an antagonism-like interaction between haloperidol and caerulein. (3) Observed facilitatory effects of caerulein on the hypothalamic defensive attack were very similar to those observed with dopamine (DA) agonists such as methamphetamine and apomorphine and opposite to those with DA antagonists such as haloperidol and chlorpromazine. These findings suggest that caerulein exerts its facilitatory effects on the excitability of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus through its synergistic interaction with DA.