[Significance of mean arterial blood pressure in the 2d trimester and the roll-over test for gestosis screening in normal, overweight and underweight primigravid patients]

Possibility of early diagnosis of pregnancy-induced hypertension via mean arterial pressure (MAP-2) and roll-overtest (ROT) was investigated in 80 normal, overweight or underweight primigravidae. The positive and negative predictability, the sensitivity, specificity and effectivity did not correspond to the efficiency of a good screening method. Obese primigravidae have more positive tests than normal. In the MAP-2 this was due to methodical errors, whereas in the ROT hydrostatic mechanisms interferet according to the overweight of the tested person. With these two screening tests, very early PIH diagnosis is generally not possible.

The effect of dexamethasone on albumin production by fetal rat hepatocytes in culture

Hepatocytes derived from 15 and 19-day gestation rats synthesize and secrete albumin during culture. Albumin secretion is maintained when the culture medium is supplemented with dexamethasone but declines in its absence. The fall in secretion rate correlates with the level of albumin messenger RNA in the respective cultures. Even when dexamethasone is present, the level of albumin production in 19-day gestation hepatocytes is 6 to 7 times greater than that observed in hepatocytes derived from 15-day gestation rats. Immunocytochemical studies were undertaken to establish whether the difference in secretion rate was due to a difference in the amount of albumin produced by all the hepatocytes of the respective cultures or whether there were fewer hepatocytes which were capable of synthesizing albumin in the less mature liver. The results indicate that albumin production is reduced in all hepatocytes when cultured in the absence of dexamethasone.

Ultrastructural indirect immunolocalization of transferrin in cultured rat hepatocytes permeabilized with saponin

Transferrin was localized in 48-hr cultured adult rat hepatocytes by indirect immunoperoxidase following paraformaldehyde--glutaraldehyde fixation and the use of saponin as a membrane permeabilizing agent. The protein, present in all the parenchymal cells in variable amounts, was found to be specifically located in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. These results are consistent with recent reports claiming that all adult hepatocytes may synthesize a given liver plasma protein at a given time. The procedure used in this study should be particularly useful for the detection of intracellular antigens in various intact cell types.

Amino acid sequence of crayfish (Astacus fluviatilis) trypsin If

The complete amino acid sequence of trypsin from the crayfish Astacus fluviatilis has been determined. The protein was fragmented with cyanogen bromide after S-carboxymethylation of the reduced disulfide bonds and by trypsin after S-carboxymethylation as well as after succinylation of lysine residues and aminoethylation of the reduced disulfide bonds. Peptides were purified by gel filtration and by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Stepwise degradation was performed in a spinning cup sequencer. The enzyme contains 237 amino acid residues and has a molecular weight of 25 030. In contrast to bovine trypsin, it contains three rather than six disulfide bonds which are paired in the same fashion as those in trypsin from Streptomyces griseus. The constituents of the active site of bovine trypsin are present in corresponding positions in the crayfish enzyme. Crayfish trypsin shows 43.6% sequence identity with the bovine enzyme as compared to 40.0% identity with the S. griseus enzyme. The present analysis affords the first detailed view into the evolution of trypsins at the invertebrate level.

Ultrastructural localization of transferrin synthesis in rat hepatocytes during prenatal and postnatal development

The synthesis of transferrin has been investigated in rat hepatocytes during pre- and postnatal development of the liver by ultrastructural immunoperoxidase cytochemistry. Transferrin was detected in fetal and postnatal hepatocytes on the rough endoplasmic reticulum and in the Golgi apparatus, but the amount and distribution of the protein varied according to the stage of the hepatocyte maturation. Between days 13 and 19 of gestation, nearly all hepatocytes exhibited transferrin. After day 20 of pregnancy more and more unstained hepatocytes were detected. Two periods (19th day of gestation and one day after birth) were characterized by an intense labeling of the Golgi apparatus; in contrast, only a small amount of transferrin was located in this organelle at other stages of the rat liver development. The accumulation of transferrin in the Golgi apparatus is interpreted as a transitory storage of the protein. Transferrin could be produced by immature as well as mature hepatocytes.

[Ultrastructural demonstration of transferrin synthesis in the adult rat liver]

An ultrastructural immunoenzymatic study allowed us to demonstrate in Rat adult hepatocytes the presence of transferrin on the rough endoplasmic reticulum and in the Golgi apparatus. Such localizations suggest that the different steps of transferrin synthesis could possibly be related topographically to them. These results further an approach to the problems of maturation and secretion of transferrin.

Demonstration of the simultaneous presence of transferrin, hemopexin and albumin in the same adult rat hepatocyte

The location of three plasma proteins (transferrin, hemopexin, and albumin) in hepatocytes was investigated in adult rats. The synthesis of transferrin anf hemopexin has been established by ultrastructural studies showing a labeling of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER). By using an indirect immunoenzymatic method with monospecific antibody solutions, the three proteins were detected in the same hepatocyte. The simultaneous presence of different plasma proteins in hepatocytes seems to point to the fact that the synthesis in these cells could be a non-specialized type.