Clinical, biochemical, and neuropathologic findings following transplantation of adrenal medulla to the caudate nucleus for treatment of Parkinson's disease

We transplanted autologous adrenal medullary tissue into the caudate nucleus of 3 patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. The 1st patient, a 59-year-old man with parkinsonian symptoms for 15 years, had mild improvement in his motor functioning after the operation. However, his postoperative course was characterized by prolonged drowsiness and complex visual hallucinations. The patient died suddenly 8 months after the transplant, and an autopsy revealed coronary atherosclerosis. Examination of the graft site showed necrotic adrenal medullary tissue surrounded by inflammatory cells. The 2nd patient, a 50-year-old man with a 21-year history of parkinsonian symptoms, improved the most after the procedure. The 3rd patient, a 43-year-old man with 12 years of parkinsonian symptoms, had mild improvement in his motor functioning. CSF homovanillic acid increased postoperatively in the 3 patients, but then returned to preoperative levels in all except the 2nd patient. The anatomic, neurochemical, and physiologic basis for the modest clinical improvement shown in these patients is not yet understood.

Purification and characterization of a 43-kDa transcription factor required for rat somatostatin gene expression

A 43-kDa DNA binding protein which recognizes the TGACGTCA element of the rat somatostatin promoter has been purified from rat brain. Purification of the protein involved initial separation of three sequence-specific binding activities, b1-b3, from each other using DEAE-Sepharose chromatography. The protein corresponding to the b2 complex was further purified to apparent homogeneity by two cycles of sequence-specific DNA affinity chromatography, yielding a single species with an apparent mass of 43,000 daltons on a silver-stained polyacrylamide gel. Sequence-specific DNA binding of this purified protein was demonstrated by Southwestern blotting, renaturation, and DNase I footprinting studies. The 43-kDa protein was phosphorylated on serine residue(s) by the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, as shown by phosphoamino acid analysis. Furthermore, the purified protein specifically stimulated transcription from the rat somatostatin promoter in an in vitro transcription system. These results indicate that this 43-kDa protein is a transcription factor required for somatostatin gene expression.

Three sequence-specific DNA-protein complexes are formed with the same promoter element essential for expression of the rat somatostatin gene

We identified three sequence-specific DNA-protein complexes which are formed after in vitro binding of nuclear extracts, derived from neuronal (CA-77, rat brain) or non-neuronal (HeLa) cells, to positions -70 to -29 of the rat somatostatin promoter. The protein(s) responsible for the formation of the three sequence-specific complexes was fractionated from rat brain whole cell extracts by DEAE-Sepharose chromatography. The critical contact residues of the factor(s) in each complex, as determined by methylation interference analyses, are located within positions -59 to -35, which is protected from DNase I digestion; these include the G residues of a TGACGTCA consensus also found in the cAMP-responsive human enkephalin (positions -105 to -76) and E1A-inducible adenovirus type 5 E3 (positions -72 to -42) promoters. Competition assays with these heterologous promoters reveal that the factor(s) of each complex displays approximately 50-fold greater affinity for the somatostatin promoter-binding site. Synthetic oligonucleotides spanning positions -70 to -29 of the somatostatin promoter and containing single-base substitutions of the G residues in the TGACGTCA consensus were utilized in competition assays. The G residues located in the center of the module are the most critical determinants in the formation of the three sequence-specific complexes. Deletions disrupting the TGACGTCA consensus abolish not only formation of the three complexes in vitro but also expression of the somatostatin promoter in vivo, suggesting that formation of one or more of these complexes is essential for transcription of the rat somatostatin gene.

Monitoring the arbitrary thickness of optical thin films and their error simulation: a method

This paper was the method of monitoring the absolute value for film layer transmittance to monitor the thickness of optical thin film. For this purpose, a 2S3G double-color three-path monitoring apparatus was built. Simulation analyses of monitoring errors have been conducted and a flow diagram is given. Using this method and apparatus, 9-, 15-, and 23-layer broadband neutral dichroic filters, cold light coatings, edge filters, and polarizers have been plated; good reproducibility and satisfactory results have been obtained, thereby achieving the preparation of the non-lambda/4 multilayer system

Preliminary studies on a lectin on the surface of adipocytes

A lectin-like component on the surface of porcine adipocytes was identified, chiefly by means of the cell adhesion and hemagglutination assays. This component, named porcine adipocyte lectin (PAL), was isolated with Triton X-100 solubilization followed by affinity chromatography. By SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, two hands of PAL stained with Coomassie blue were revealed with the apparent molecular weights of 112,000 and 89,000. Moreover, the glycoprotein nature of PAL, was demonstrated by periodic-Schiff reagent staining. PAL was able to recognize maltose, mannose and mannan and glycoproteins with analogous sugar structure in the presence of Ca. By the finding that adipocytes in suspension could be aggregated by adding PAL, the hypothesis was advanced that PAL may be involved in the recognition and adhesion of adipocytes in vivo.