Effects of propylthiouracil on growth hormone and prolactin messenger ribonucleic acids in the rat pituitary

The effects of hypothyroidism induced by propylthiouracil (PTU) treatment on growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels were analyzed in adult female rat adenohypophyses by in situ hybridization histochemistry and Northern hybridization analyses. Twenty-eight days of PTU treatment produced a significant decrease in GH mRNA levels and a smaller decrease in PRL mRNA determined by both in situ hybridization histochemistry and Northern hybridization analyses. A combined procedure of in situ hybridization histochemistry followed by immunochemistry on the same sections revealed mammosomatotropic cells expressing GH mRNA and PRL protein in the same pituitary cells from all treatment groups. Cells expressing GH mRNA and thyroid-stimulating hormone protein were not detected by this method. Immunochemical staining revealed a decrease in GH cells and an increase in thyroid-stimulating hormone cells in hypothyroid rats. Cells expressing both GH and thyroid-stimulating hormone protein were not detected by immunostaining. These results indicate that hypothyroidism produces significant decreases in GH mRNA and also decreases PRL mRNA and that mammosomatotropic cells can be detected in pituitaries from normal and hypothyroid rats.

Limitations of the evolutionary parsimony method of phylogenetic analysis

Lake's evolutionary parsimony (EP) method of constructing a phylogenetic tree is primarily applied to four DNA sequences. In this method, three quantities--X, Y, and Z--that correspond to three possible unrooted trees are computed, and an invariance property of these quantities is used for choosing the best tree. However, Lake's method depends on a number of unrealistic assumptions. We therefore examined the theoretical basis of his method and reached the following conclusions: (1) When the rates of two transversional changes from a nucleotide are unequal, his invariance property breaks down. (2) Even if the rates of two transversional changes are equal, the invariance property requires some additional conditions. (3) When Kimura's two-parameter model of nucleotide substitution applies and the rate of nucleotide substitution varies greatly with branch, the EP method is generally better than the standard maximum-parsimony (MP) method in recovering the correct tree but is inferior to the neighbor-joining (NJ) and a few other distance matrix methods. (4) When the rate of nucleotide substitution is the same or nearly the same for all branches, the EP method is inferior to the MP method even if the proportion of transitional changes is high. (5) When Lake's assumptions fail, his chi2 test may identify an erroneous tree as the correct tree. This happens because the test is not for comparing different trees. (6) As long as a proper distance measure is used, the NJ method is better than the EP and MP methods whether there is a transition/transversion bias or whether there is variation in substitution rate among different nucleotide sites.

Detection of chromogranins A and B in endocrine tissues with radioactive and biotinylated oligonucleotide probes

We analyzed the distribution of chromogranins A and B in normal and neoplastic endocrine tissues with secretory granules using 35S-labeled and biotin-labeled oligonucleotide probes by in situ hybridization (ISH). Both radioactive and nonradioactive probes detected messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in frozen and paraffin tissue sections. Endocrine tissues with variable immunoreactivities for chromogranin A protein, such as small-cell lung carcinomas, neuroblastomas, insulinomas, and parathyroid adenomas, expressed the mRNA for chromogranins A and B in most cells. Some technical problems with the biotinylated probes included nonspecific nuclear staining and endogenous alkaline phosphatase, which was not completely abolished by levamisole pretreatment. A differential distribution of chromogranins A and B was seen in pituitary prolactinomas, which expressed abundant chromogranin B but not chromogranin A mRNAs, and in parathyroid adenomas, which expressed abundant chromogranin A but only small amounts of chromogranin B mRNAs. These results indicate that ISH can be used to detect chromogranins A and B in endocrine tissues with radioactive and biotinylated oligonucleotide probes and that the mRNAs for chromogranin A and B are demonstrable in some tumors even when the chromogranin proteins cannot be detected by immunohistochemistry.

Estrogen stimulates both prolactin and growth hormone mRNAs expression in the MtT/F4 transplantable pituitary tumor

The effects of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) on MtT/F4 pituitary tumor growth and on prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone mRNA expression were analyzed in F344 female rats. E2 (10 mg) stimulated pituitary PRL cell hyperplasia and PRL mRNA, but inhibited growth of the transplantable tumors. The expression of both PRL and growth hormone mRNA levels was increased in the MtT/F4 tumors. The effects of E2 on increasing PRL mRNA levels were more marked in the pituitary compared with the tumors. These results indicate that estrogens stimulate proliferation and PRL expression in the pituitary while inhibiting cell proliferation in the MtT/F4 tumor. E2 also stimulated both growth hormone and PRL mRNA expression in the MtT/F4 transplantable tumor.

[Platelet functions in patients with acute myocardial infarction]

The changes of platelet functions including platelet membrane microviscosity (PMMV), plasma 5-HT, plasma TXB2 and 6-K-PGF1a were studied in 30 cases of AMI and 13 cases of unstable angina (UA), 20 normal subjects as control. After onset of AMI, PMMV, plasma 5-HT, 6-k-PGF1a all increased quickly, especially on the 1st day (P less than 0.001-0.01). During 3 weeks observation, only 6-K-PGF1a decreased to the normal level on 14th day. There were no obvious decrease of plasma TXB2, 5-HT and PMMV. It showed that in acute phase of AMI without intervention of any antiplatelet drugs the platelets were activated continuously. Plasma 5-HT was the most sensitive predictor for the severity of AMI as observed by the comparison between the cases with complications and serum peak CK greater than 1000 U/L, and those without complications and peak CK less than 1000 U/L (P less than 0.001-0.05). The great change of PMMV was a bad prognosis. In patients with UA, during acute myocardial ischemia, the platelets were also activated significantly, but the extent was not as high as that in AMI.

Variances of the average numbers of nucleotide substitutions within and between populations

Statistical methods for computing the variances of nucleotide diversity within populations and of nucleotide divergence between populations are developed. Both variances are computed by finding the phylogenetic relationships of the DNA sequences studied through the unweighted pair-group method or some other tree-making method. The methods developed are applicable to both DNA sequence and restriction-site map data.

Chromogranin A and B messenger ribonucleic acids in pituitary and other normal and neoplastic human endocrine tissues

The distribution of the messenger ribonucleic acids (mRNAs) for chromogranin A and B was analyzed by in situ hybridization in normal and neoplastic endocrine tissues using frozen and paraffin tissue sections. Combined in situ hybridization and immunochemical staining was also done on tissue sections from the same cases using a monoclonal antibody against chromogranin A (LK2H10). Most endocrine tumors expressed chromogranin A and B mRNAs as well as chromogranin A protein. Normal pituitary expressed chromogranin A and B mRNAs and chromogranin A protein in the anterior pituitary gland. Most of these cells were gonadotropic hormone-producing cells. Prolactinomas (5/5) did not express chromogranin A mRNA or protein, but contained chromogranin B mRNA. Null cell or nonfunctional adenomas (8/8) expressed chromogranin A and B mRNAs and reacted with antibody LK2H10. In some tumors such as Merkel cell carcinomas, insulinomas, and parathyroid adenomas, a stronger signal for chromogranin A mRNA was detected than for the immunoreactive proteins. These results indicate that in situ hybridization complements immunochemical techniques in the analysis of endocrine cells and neoplasms. The gene products for chromogranin A and B are widely distributed in many endocrine cells and tumors, but some neoplasms such as prolactinomas have a differential distribution of chromogranin A and B mRNA and proteins.

Effects of estradiol on prolactin and growth hormone messenger RNAs in cultured normal and neoplastic (MtT/W15 and GH3) rat pituitary cells

The effects of 17 beta-estradiol (E17 beta) on prolactin (PRL) cell proliferation and on the expression of PRL and growth hormone (GH) proteins and mRNAs were analyzed in cultured pituitary cells by immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization, and Northern blot hybridization studies. Three different cell cultures were used: (a) normal pituitary cells; (b) GH3 tumor cell line; and (c) MtT/W15, a transplantable PRL and GH-producing pituitary tumor. E17 beta (10(-7) M) caused a significant increase in PRL cell proliferation in normal pituitary [3.9 +/- 0.4 versus 7.7 +/- 0.9% (SEM) of immunostained PRL cells with thymidine incorporation] [P less than 0.01] but produced a significant decrease in PRL cell proliferation in MtT/W15 primary cell cultures [6.7 +/- 1.0 versus 3.7 +/- 0.8%] [P less than 0.05]. PRL mRNA was significantly increased in normal pituitary and in GH3 tumor cells by E17 beta treatment. There was a significant decrease in PRL mRNA and an increase in GH mRNA expression in cultured MtT/W15 tumor cells by immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization analyses. The percentage of cells producing both PRL and GH or mammosomatotropic cells analyzed by two different techniques declined after one week in culture in normal pituitary cells and in cultured MtT/W15 tumor cells after E17 beta treatment. These results show that E17 beta has a direct stimulatory effect on normal pituitary and GH3 cells and a direct inhibitory effect on MtT/W15 tumor cells with respect to cell proliferation and PRL hormone and mRNA expression.

Calcium antagonists in prevention of hypertension and stroke in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats

To investigate the effect of Calcium antagonists (Ca-An) with different tissue specificity in the development of hypertension and stroke in salt-loading SHRSP, three experiments were conducted. In experiment I (1), 50 8-week-old male SHRSP were divided into three groups and given nifedipine (NF, 32 mg/kg/day), menidipine (MN 32 mg/kg/day) and placebo (control group) respectively. In the control group 83.3% (15/18) died of stroke and 17 showed renal vascular sclerosis. Their average lifespan was 84 days. NF and MN significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP), and no stroke of renal vascular sclerosis developed. In experiment I (2), 54 7-week-old male SHRSP were divided into three groups (18 in each group). They were treated with nimodipine (NM) 20 mg/kg/day, 2 mg/kg/day and placebo respectively. NM (20 mg/kg/day) markedly lowered SBP and postponed the onset of stroke. Only 11% died in 17 weeks. NM (2 mg/kg/day did not lower SBP but postpond the onset of stroke. In experiment II (1), 29 10-week-old female SHRSP were divided into three groups: Group A was given NF 32 mg/kg/day, group B was parathyroidectomized (PTX) and group C served as control. PTX group did not lower SBP but could postpone the onset of stroke. In experiment II (2), 33 male SHRSP were divided into three groups and ticated as described above in experiment II (1) (11 in each group). Seven weeks after the experiment, the brain blood flow of NF group was significantly greater (67.5%) than that of the control and PTX groups. In experiment III, 27 7-week-old male SHRSP were divided into three groups as described above in experiment I (2).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The use of restriction fragment length polymorphisms for prenatal diagnosis: the estimation of diagnosable rate of multiple genetic markers and its use in detecting beta-thalassemia in a Chinese population

As a codominant genetic marker, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) has been widely applied to the prenatal diagnosis of some genetic diseases. To evaluate the usefulness of the genetic markers in prenatal diagnosis, a parameter, the diagnosable rate or the proportion of diagnosable matings, is estimated when two or more genetic markers are used. The assessment is based on the distribution of haplotypes. By using the data of the distribution of haplotypes of beta-A (normal) and beta-T (beta-thalassemia) chromosomes in a Chinese population and the formula given, it is easy to calculate the different diagnosable rates of all the combinations of seven given genetic markers. The results could help us to find an appropriate combination of genetic markers in prenatal diagnosis and, therefore, makes it possible to obtain a sufficiently high diagnosable value with a limited number of genetic markers.

Variability of urinary sodium and potassium excretion in north Chinese men

Variability of urine sodium (Na), potassium (K) and sodium/potassium (Na/K) excretion was studied in a sample of 50 employed normotensive male health professionals aged 27-50 in Beijing, China. Six 24-h urine specimens were collected from each participant during night-time (12-h) and daytime (12-h) fractions. The estimated ratio of intra- to inter-individual variances was 2.12 for night-time and 1.48 for 24-h urine Na, and 1.85 and 1.54, respectively, for urine K. Based on these values, six night-time and four 24-h urine specimens are necessary to reduce to 15% the diminution of a correlation between urine Na and another physiological variable. The corresponding numbers are five and four, respectively, for urinary K measurement. These data suggest that the ratio of within-person variation to between-person variation in Na excretion is smaller in these Chinese men than in Americans. The dietary Na intake of Chinese men can therefore be characterized with fewer urine specimens than are required for western populations. Night-time urinary Na and K showed good concordance with those from 24-h specimens in distinguishing high or low Na and K intake. These findings indicate that in large-scale epidemiological studies, overnight specimens may be adequate for classifying individuals with regard to Na and K intake.