Analysis of concurrent glucose consumption by the hexose monophosphate shunt, glycolysis, and the polyol pathway in the crystalline lens

A method based on 13C-NMR spectroscopy is described, in which the metabolism of [13C2]glucose was assessed in intact rat lenses. By analysing the ratio of 13C3/(13C2 + 13C3) lactate, a quantitative measurement of the hexose monophosphate shunt (HMPS) activity could be derived. Similarly, measurements of the time-dependent increase of lactate and sorbitol permitted the determination of the activity of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway and the polyol pathway, respectively. This method offers significant advantages over other biochemical and spectroscopic methods and allows for the first time a direct correlation between the activities of the polyol pathway and the HMPS.

Water movement in the rabbit eye

The intraocular distribution of topically applied D2O was quantified using deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. D2O appeared in all tissues with the highest concentration in the aqueous humor (1.2 M); however, it rapidly dissipated from the eye. Surface coil NMR spectroscopy on D2O-treated eyes in vivo showed that the flow pattern was best described by a single exponential decay plus a constant. This suggests that the D2O flow consisted of a flow component representing vascular circulation (with a flow rate constant of 0.101 min-1), and a reservoir-like component. Topical D2O in conjunction with the surface-coil NMR technique can be used to examine the movement of water in the anterior segment of the living eye.

Design of biologically active, conformationally constrained GnRH antagonists

The introduction of conformational constraints into a flexible peptide hormone can be exploited to develop models for the conformation required for receptor binding and activity. In this review, we illustrate this approach to analog design using our work on antagonists of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Design of a conformationally constrained, competitive antagonist of GnRH, cyclo[delta 3,4 Pro-D4ClPhe-DTrp-Ser-Tyr-DTrp-NMeLeu-Arg-Pro-bet a Ala] led to the prediction of its bioactive conformation. Template forcing experiments show that this conformation is accessible to other active GnRH analogs. Two-dimensional NMR studies verified the predicted conformation in solution. The predicted binding conformation has recently been used to design two new analogs incorporating side chain-side chain linkages suggested by the conformational model: Ac-delta 3,4Pro-D4FPhe-DTrp-Dap-Tyr-DTrp-Leu-Arg-Asp-Gly- NH2 and Ac-delta 3,4Pro-D4FPhe-DTrp-Dap-Tyr-D2Nal-Leu-Arg-Pro-Asp -NH2. These analogs were synthesized and the one predicted to be most similar to the parent conformation had equivalent potency while the second, designed to refine the conformational hypothesis, was found to exhibit enhanced potency, thus confirming the original binding conformation hypothesis. These compounds and their derivatives now provide a new class of GnRH antagonists possessing both high biological potency and limited conformational flexibility, thus making them ideal for both biophysical and structure-activity studies.

Choroid plexus arteriovenous malformation in a full-term neonate. Case report

A full-term newborn infant with intracranial hemorrhage secondary to an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) of the choroid plexus is presented. Although angiography was not undertaken before surgery, a vascular nodule containing an AVM nidus was found in the hematoma wall. The authors stress that an AVM should be considered as a cause of intracranial hemorrhage and that the hematoma wall be searched thoroughly in neonates without predisposing factors.

[Local irritation studies of cefodizime sodium]

Four local irritation studies of cefodizime sodium (THR-221), a new developed cephem-type antibiotics, were carried out with NZW rabbits. 1. In eye irritation test, 25% THR-221 water solution had no irritancy on eye mucosa in rabbits. 2. In single injective intramuscular irritation study, regardless of solvents (water or 0.5% lidocaine), 25% THR-221 solution had irritancy equal to 0.75% acetic acid. But recovery process of the muscle injured with THR-221 was faster and better than with 0.75% acetic acid. 3. In five days injective muscular irritation study, the irritancy of 25% THR-221 water solution on the muscle was milder than that of CTT or CET. Histopathological damage with THR-221, necrosis/degeneration of muscle fibers and edema/hemorrhage in interstitium etc., were well recovered. 4. In vessel irritation study, 10% or more THR-221 water solution had irritancy on ear vessel. THR-221, as same as CTT, caused organized thrombi and inflammation at the surrounding area. The degree of irritation of 20% THR-221 solution was slightly stronger than that of 20% CET, but weaker than that of 20% CTT. 5. In a clinical phase, it is to be desired that THR-221 like as CTT or CET shall be avoided repeated intramuscular or intravenous injections at the same site.

A 10-year follow-up study of per oral glucose tolerance at annual physical examinations

In order to elucidate the factors influencing glucose intolerance. 100 g oral glucose tolerance tests serially performed at annual physical examinations over a 10-year period were studied. On the initial examination in 356 subjects, 44.8% were normal and 7.1% diabetic according to the criteria of 100 g OGTT recommended by the Japan Diabetes Society in 1970. For the 10-year follow-up study, the subjects were classified into 2 groups, 30s and 40s, by age at initial examination. The prevalence of obesity in the 30s group the at the 10th year was significantly higher than that of the 40s at the baseline (p less than 0.05). The rate of normal OGTT in the 30s group at the 10th year was significantly lower than that in the 40s group at the baseline (p less than 0.01). When compared with 119 age- and sex-matched employees of a certain bank, the incidence of diabetic OGTT was identical, but obesity was less prevalent in the 40s group from SONY. These results indicate that obesity increases the rate of glucose intolerance in subjects under 40 years of age, but in subjects aged 41 years and over diabetic predisposition appears to play an important role.

Actinides concentrations in human tissues

Fallout 239,240Pu concentrations in some autopsy tissues from the general population in Japan are described. Body burden and relative distribution among tissues of plutonium were obtained by extrapolating using the mass of relevant tissues of the normal Japanese adult. 239,240Pu-to-90Sr body burden ratio was obtained. ICRP models were used to estimate body burden and relative contribution of ingestion intake. Need for data on the intraskeletal distribution of fallout plutonium and more information on gastrointestinal absorption in man was stressed.

Influence of fucoidan on the intestinal absorption of iron, cobalt, manganese and zinc in rats

Fucoidan was extracted from the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum with boiling water and purified by repeated precipitation steps. Increasing doses of fucoidan (1.2--200 mg) were injected together with 360 nmol 59Fe-(FeCl3) or 60Co-(CoCl2) into tied-off jejunal segments of two groups of rats fed either a normal (160 mg Fe/kg) or a low iron diet (5 mg/kg). Fucoidan together with 360 nmol 54Mn-(MnCl2) or 65Zn-(ZnCl2) was administered in the same manner in rats fed a normal diet only. Fucoidan administered in doses above 30 mg decreased the absorption of iron, cobalt, manganese and zinc in normal rats, and the absorption of iron and cobalt in iron-deficient rats. This inhibitory effect of fucoidan on the absorption of heavy metals is apparently the consequence of the formation of metal complexes which are poorly absorbed from the intestinal lumen.