Evaluation of the new DrySlide beta-lactamase test

Four hundred thirteen recent clinical isolates of Staphylococcus, Haemophilus, Moraxella, and Neisseria species were tested for beta-lactamase production using the Difco DrySlide beta-lactamase test. These results were compared with those of the BBL Cefinase reagent. Of the 413 isolates tested, 258 (62.5%) were beta-lactamase positive. There was 99.8% agreement between the two test methods; only one isolate of Staphylococcus aureus was DrySlide-negative and Cefinase-positive. The DrySlide beta-lactamase reagent is an accurate and convenient format for the evaluation of beta-lactamase activity in the clinical laboratory.

Microglial infection by a neurovirulent murine retrovirus results in defective processing of envelope protein and intracellular budding of virus particles

The observation of murine retrovirus infection of microglial cells in brain regions expressing spongiform neurodegenerative changes suggests that these cells may play an important role in pathogenesis. To evaluate this potential in vitro, murine microglial cells were infected in mixed glial cultures with the highly neurovirulent murine retrovirus, FrCasE. The microglia were then isolated from the mixed cultures on the basis of their differential adherence and shown to be approximately 98% pure. The infected microglia expressed viral envelope protein at the plasma membrane, while viral budding was primarily intracellular. Evaluation of the viral envelope protein by immunoblotting indicated that the immunoreactive species produced was exclusively a 90-kDa precursor protein. Very little of the envelope protein was associated with particles released from these cells, and viral titers in the culture supernatant were low. Interestingly, these cells were still capable of infecting permissive target cells when seeded as infectious centers. This partially defective infection of microglial cells suggests a potential cellular means by which a neurovirulent retrovirus could disrupt normal microglia and in turn central nervous system motor system functioning.

Biosynthesis and intracellular transport of a membrane glycoprotein (plgp57) of the prelysosome compartment

We have characterized the biosynthesis and intracellular transport of a membrane glycoprotein, designated plgp57, which is found predominantly in the prelysosome compartment (PLC) of Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells. In pulse-chase experiments, plgp57 was found to be initially synthesized as a 35 kDa precursor which was modified to yield a diffuse approximately 57 kDa mature form. Digestion with endoglycosidase H (endo H) demonstrated that the 35 kDa precursor contained three endo H-sensitive, high mannose-type oligosaccharides which became modified to endo H-resistant, complex-type sugars on the approximately 57 kDa mature form. Labelling cells in the presence of tunicamycin and treatment of the 35 kDa precursor with endo H revealed that plgp57 has a core protein of 24 kDa to which three N-asparagine-liked oligosaccharides are attached. Other experiments indicated that plgp57 could be differentially glycosylated on a common 24 kDa core protein in different cell types. The half-lives of the glycosylated and non-glycosylated forms of plgp57 were approximately 18 and approximately 13 h, respectively. Glycosylated and non-glycosylated plgp57 exhibited similar steady-state intracellular distributions, indicating that targeting of plgp57 to the PLC does not require carbohydrate address markers. Pulse-labeling of cells followed by organelle fractionation at various chase times revealed a t1/2 = approximately 1 h for the transit of newly synthesized plgp57 to the PLC. Finally, amino terminal sequencing of plgp57 revealed the similarity of this protein to the CD63/ME491 family of membrane glycoproteins.

Inhibition of protein synthesis separates autophagic sequestration from the delivery of lysosomal enzymes

To investigate the role of newly synthesized proteins during autophagic sequestration and degradation, the effects of protein synthesis inhibition on autophagic vacuole (AV) formation and degradation were analyzed. The inhibition of protein synthesis was found to separate autophagic sequestration from the delivery of lysosomal enzymes to (AVs). Pretreatment with cycloheximide for > or = 3 h caused a drastic inhibition of autophagy-induced degradation. Surprisingly, morphological analyses showed that the inhibition of protein synthesis for up to 12 h did not block the formation of nascent AVs; however, it did prevent their conversion into degradative AVs. Using immunoperoxidase cytochemistry with an antibody against cathepsin D and labeling of lysosomes with endocytosed colloidal gold, we found that the nascent AVs that formed during prolonged cycloheximide pretreatment had not received lysosomal markers. The inhibition of autophagic degradation and lysosomal enzyme delivery were rapidly reversed following the removal of cycloheximide. These results suggest that there is a fairly rapid turnover of protein(s) that are necessary for lysosomal fusion, but that the initial formation of AVs is independent of new protein synthesis for a long period of time.

Tubulation of Golgi membranes in vivo and in vitro in the absence of brefeldin A

Recent in vivo studies with the fungal metabolite, brefeldin A (BFA), have shown that in the absence of vesicle formation, membranes of the Golgi complex and the trans-Golgi network (TGN) are nevertheless able to extend long tubules which fuse with selected target organelles. We report here that the ability to form tubules (> 7 microns long) could be reproduced in vitro by treatment of isolated, intact Golgi membranes with BFA under certain conditions. Surprisingly, an even more impressive degree of tubulation could be achieved by incubating Golgi stacks with an ATP-reduced cytosolic fraction, without any BFA at all. Similarly, tubulation of Golgi membranes in vivo occurred after treatment of cells with intermediate levels of NaN3 and 2-deoxyglucose. The formation of tubules in vitro, either by BFA treatment or low-ATP cytosol, correlated precisely with a loss of the vesicle-associated coat protein beta-COP from Golgi membranes. After removal of BFA or addition of ATP, membrane tubules served as substrates for the rebinding of beta-COP and for the formation of vesicles in vitro. These results provide support for the idea that a reciprocal relationship exists between tubulation and vesiculation (Klausner, R. D., J. G. Donaldson, and J. Lippincott-Schwartz. 1992. J. Cell Biol. 116:1071-1080). Moreover, they show that tubulation is an inherent property of Golgi membranes, since it occurs without the aid of microtubules or BFA treatment. Finally the results indicate the presence of cytosolic factors, independent of vesicle-associated coat proteins, that mediate the budding/tubulation of Golgi membranes.

Adhesion of Golgi cisternae by proteinaceous interactions: intercisternal bridges as putative adhesive structures

We have investigated the nature of the component(s) responsible for holding the cisternal membranes of the Golgi complex into a stacked unit. Isolated Golgi complexes were treated with a variety of agents to induce the separation of intact Golgi stacks into single cisternal elements, i.e. “unstacking”, and the effects were analyzed and quantitated by electron microscopy. In control experiments, isolated, intact Golgi stacks were stable at 4 degrees C and 20 degrees C for > or = 1 h; however, some unstacking occurred at 32 degrees C. Treatment of intact Golgi stacks with a variety of proteolytic enzymes resulted in a time- and dose-dependent unstacking of the cisternae, although stacks were resistant to various other proteases. Following liberation from the stack, single cisternae remained flattened with dilated rims. The integrity of intact Golgi stacks was unaffected by treatment with various concentrations and combinations of monovalent and divalent cations, or chelators of divalent cations. Electron microscopic observations of tannic acid- or negatively stained Golgi complexes, revealed the presence of highly structured, intercisternal “bridges”. When seen within intact Golgi complexes, these bridges were only consistently found between closely apposed cisternae and were not observed on dilated rims or secretory vesicles. These bridges, on both intact stacks and physically disrupted cisternae, were rectangular, being approximately 8.5 nm in width, approximately 11 nm in height. Treatment with proteases under conditions that resulted in the with proteases under conditions that resulted in the unstacking of intact complexes also removed these bridge structures. These data show that proteinaceous components are responsible for holding Golgi cisternae together into a cohesive, stacked unit, and identify a candidate bridge structure that could serve this purpose.

The morphology but not the function of endosomes and lysosomes is altered by brefeldin A

Brefeldin A (BFA) induces the formation of an extensively fused network of membranes derived from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and early endosomes (EE). We describe in detail here the unaffected passage of endocytosed material through the fused TGN/EE compartments to lysosomes in BFA-treated cells. We also confirmed that BFA caused the formation of tubular lysosomes, although the kinetics and extent of tubulation varied greatly between different cell types. The BFA-induced tubular lysosomes were often seen to form simple networks. Formation of tubular lysosomes was microtubule-mediated and energy-dependent; interestingly, however, maintenance of the tubulated lysosomes only required microtubules and was insensitive to energy poisons. Upon removal of BFA, the tubular lysosomes rapidly recovered in an energy-dependent process. In most cell types examined, the extensive TGN/EE network is ephemeral, eventually collapsing into a compact cluster of tubulo-vesicular membranes in a process that precedes the formation of tubular lysosomes. However, in primary bovine testicular cells, the BFA-induced TGN/EE network was remarkably stable (for > 12 h). During this time, the TGN/EE network coexisted with tubular lysosomes, however, the two compartments remained completely separate. These results show that BFA has multiple, profound effects on the morphology of various compartments of the endosome-lysosome system. In spite of these changes, endocytic traffic can continue through the altered compartments suggesting that transport occurs through noncoated vesicles or through vesicles that are insensitive to BFA.

Susceptibility testing of clinical isolates of Methylobacterium species

Methylobacterium species represent a relatively new genus which is being increasingly isolated from cases of opportunistic infections. This study reports on 3 reference strains and 15 clinical isolates of Methylobacterium species. Susceptibility tests were performed by the agar dilution and commercial broth microdilution methods at both 30 and 35 degrees C. Readings were made at 24, 48, and 72 h. Incubation conditions of 48 h and 30 degrees C were found to be optimum. Both the agar dilution and broth microdilution methods gave equivalent results. Drugs tested and their MICs for 90% of isolates (in micrograms per milliliter) were as follows: amikacin, less than or equal to 1; gentamicin, 1; ciprofloxacin, 1; trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 2/38; ceftriaxone, 16; and ceftizoxime, 16. The majority of our isolates were resistant to six other beta-lactam drugs tested. Nine of the 15 Methylobacterium isolates were beta-lactamase positive.

Delayed detection of an increase in resistant Acinetobacter at a Detroit hospital

OBJECTIVE

To study an increase of antimicrobial-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and to assess reasons for the delayed detection of this increase.

DESIGN

Review of medical, laboratory, and infection control records. Plasmid profile analysis of available A baumannii isolates.

SETTING

A 340-bed trauma and intensive care hospital in Detroit, Michigan.

RESULTS

The number of hospitalized patients with resistant A baumannii increased during late 1989 and early 1990: 4 in September, 10 in October, 12 in November, 18 in December, and 23 in January (chi square for trend = 14.6, p = .0001). Forty-four (66%) of the 67 patients culture-positive for resistant A baumannii had respiratory tract colonization or infection. Of 11 resistant isolates, 6 had a similar plasmid profile and 5 had no plasmids. Under the hospital's targeted surveillance system, only positive cultures from blood or wounds were investigated; this largely respiratory increase of resistant A baumannii went unrecognized until January 1990.

CONCLUSIONS

Antimicrobial resistance in A baumannii is an important concern. Such resistance is not necessarily plasmid mediated. Targeted surveillance for this and other agents of nosocomial infection should be used with caution, particularly in hospitals with many debilitated patients.

Autophagic vacuoles rapidly fuse with pre-existing lysosomes in cultured hepatocytes

Autophagic vacuoles (AVs) arise when membranes of the ER sequester parts of the cytoplasm, forming a new, double-membraned vacuole, to which lysosomal enzymes are then delivered. To investigate the mechanism of lysosomal enzyme delivery to nascent AVs, amino acid (AA) starvation and glucagon treatment were used to induce autophagy in a cultured cell system using rat hepatocytes (Fu5C8 cells). The induction of autophagy was assayed using biochemical, morphometric and immunocytochemical techniques. In these cells, AA starvation resulted in a fivefold increase in total cellular proteolysis, and sixfold and 4.5-fold increases in the volume and surface densities of AVs, respectively. Using an antibody against the mannose 6-phosphate receptor (MPR) and two sizes of colloidal gold to label separately and track the endosomal and lysosomal compartments, the time course of endosomal and lysosomal fusion with AVs was analyzed in detail. On the basis of these experiments, we found that AVs rapidly fuse with pre-existing lysosomes, but seldom with a prelysosomal compartment (PLC). Using immunoperoxidase, staining for the MPR was infrequently observed in association with any AVs. However, at early times following the induction of autophagy (less than 2 h), many autophagic vacuoles stained positively for the lysosomal enzyme cathepsin D. Consistent with these results, treatment of cells with tunicamycin had no effect on autophagy-induced proteolysis. We conclude that lysosomal enzyme delivery to nascent AVs occurs primarily by the fusion of pre-existing mature lysosomes, with a much smaller contribution by MPRs or the PLC.

Nile red staining of lysosomal phospholipid inclusions

We have employed the fluorescent dye nile red to distinguish between normal cells and cells containing lysosomal accumulations of phospholipids. When fibroblasts from an individual with a genetic deficiency in lysosomal sphingomyelinase activity (Niemann-Pick disease) were stained with nile red and visualized by fluorescence microscopy, orange-colored inclusions were observed throughout the cytoplasm. The orange fluorescent bodies could be distinguished from the neutral lipid droplets that fluoresce a brilliant yellow-gold in the presence of nile red. These inclusions were also observed in alveolar macrophages obtained from rats treated with amiodarone, an antiarrhythmic agent known to produce lysosomal phospholipidosis. Flow cytofluorometric analysis revealed that staining of these phospholipid-rich macrophages with nile red can distinguish them from control alveolar macrophages. These results demonstrate that nile red can be employed for the rapid staining of cellular phospholipid inclusions.

Search for enteric microbial pathogens in patients with ulcerative colitis

Microbial pathogens were sought in faeces of patients with active ulcerative colitis and again after 3 months treatment. 64 patients were examined during their first episode of ulcerative colitis and 30 with relapse of chronic disease. At presentation, bacterial pathogens were not found; 1 patient had cryptosporidiosis. In 10 patients treatment appeared to result in some loss of colonisation resistance as evidenced by colonisation with beta-haemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, candida and Clostridium difficile. Unidentified cytotoxic activity was present in the faeces of 4 patients at presentation and 2 patients during or after treatment. We conclude that enteric infection is an uncommon finding in patients with active ulcerative colitis.

Brefeldin A causes a microtubule-mediated fusion of the trans-Golgi network and early endosomes

Brefeldin A (BFA) is a fungal metabolite that causes a redistribution of the stacked cisternae of the Golgi complex into the endoplasmic reticulum by inhibiting anterograde transport. We report that BFA also causes membrane tubules derived from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) to fuse with early endosomes. In the presence of BFA, a mannose-6-phosphate receptor (M6PR)-enriched tubular network rapidly forms from the TGN, not from the prelysosomal compartment, and can be labeled with endocytic tracers after only 5 min of uptake at either 20 degrees C or 37 degrees C, indicating that it is also functionally an early endosome. Formation of the TGN-early endosome network is microtubule dependent and may involve modification of membrane processes affected by microtubule-associated motor activity. Concomitant with the formation of the fused TGN-early endosome network, there is a greater than 5-fold increase in cell surface M6PRs. The data suggest that BFA has revealed a membrane transport cycle between the TGN and early endosomes, perhaps used for the secretion or delivery of molecules to the cell surface.

Biosynthesis of lysosomal enzymes in cells of the End3 complementation group conditionally defective in endosomal acidification

Various aspects of lysosome biogenesis have been studied in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells of the End3 complementation group (designated G.7.1 cells), which display a temperature-sensitive defect in the acidification of endosomes, but not lysosomes. In G.7.1 and normal wild-type cells grown at the permissive temperature (34 degrees C), the lysosomal enzymes alpha-glucosidase and cathepsin D were synthesized as high-molecular-weight precursors that subsequently underwent intracellular proteolytic processing to yield lower molecular weight mature forms. The mature forms of the enzymes were retained in cells, and small amounts of each precursor were secreted. However, in G.7.1 cells grown at the restrictive temperature (41 degrees C), there was a massive and inappropriate oversecretion of lysosomal enzyme precursors, which resulted in very little of the mature forms being processed and retained by the cells. This mistargeting of lysosomal enzymes was not due to an absence of phosphorylated oligosaccharides on the enzymes, nor to a defect in mannose 6-phosphate (Man6P) receptors. However, it was found that whereas G.7.1 cells had the same number of cell surface Man6P receptors at 34 degrees C and 41 degrees C, the rate of accumulation and degradation of Man6P-containing ligands was about two to three times more rapid in cells maintained at the permissive temperature. There did not appear to be any gross changes in Golgi function as the oligosaccharides of alpha-glucosidase and the Man6P receptor were processed in a similar fashion at both 34 degrees C and 41 degrees C. In addition to these studies, electron microscopic observations revealed that at 41 degrees C, G.7.1 cells accumulated inclusion-type bodies reminiscent of those found in I-cell disease fibroblasts. Thus, the biochemical and electron microscopic results on G.7.1 cells provide further evidence that acidified endosomes are important for the biogenesis of lysosomes.

Identification of a membrane glycoprotein found primarily in the prelysosomal endosome compartment

Cells contain an intracellular compartment that serves as both the "prelysosomal" delivery site for newly synthesized lysosomal enzymes by the mannose 6-phosphate (Man6P) receptor and as a station along the endocytic pathway to lysosomes. We have obtained mAbs to a approximately 57-kD membrane glycoprotein, (called here plgp57), found predominantly in this prelysosomal endosome compartment. This conclusion is supported by the following results: (a) plgp57 was primarily found in a population of late endosomes that were located just distal to the 20 degrees C block site in the endocytic pathway to lysosomes (approximately 83% of the prelysosomes were positive for plgp57 but less than 5% of the early endosomes had detectable amounts of this marker); (b) plgp57 and the cation-independent (CI) Man6P receptor were located in many of the same intracellular vesicles; (c) plgp57 was found in the membranes of an acidic compartment; (d) immunoelectron microscopy showed that plgp57 was located in characteristic multilamellar- and multivesicular-type vacuoles believed to be prelysosomal endosomes; and (e) cell fractionation studies demonstrated that plgp57 was predominantly found in low density organelles which comigrated with late endosomes and CI Man6P receptors, and only approximately 10-15% of the antigen was found in high density fractions containing the majority of secondary lysosomes. These results indicate that plgp57 is a novel marker for a unique prelysosomal endosome compartment that is the site of confluence of the endocytic and biosynthetic pathways to lysosomes.

Impedance cardiography for cardiac output measurement: an evaluation of accuracy and limitations

The Kubicek thoracic cylinder model of impedance cardiography (IC) for measuring beat-by-beat stroke volume (SV) was evaluated in controlled studies using the electromagnetic flowmeter (FM) as the reference technique. Assuming the validity of the Kubicek equation for stroke volume calculation, IC stroke volume was found to be a linear function of EM values at any one haematocrit over a wide range of SV, but the slope of the relationship fell as haematocrit fell. Experiments using the same equation in dogs, in which blood resistivity in vivo (rho tau) was made the dependent variable, and the EM-derived value was used for stroke volume, showed that rho tau was almost constant over a wide range of haematocrits. These findings were supported by studies in man and rabbit where Fick and thermodilution-derived values were used for stroke volume. When these data were applied to normotensive and hypertensive human subjects with normal hearts and lungs in controlled studies at rest, during tilting, with drug therapy and on exercise, IC measured stroke volume and cardiac output with a variability at least as good as the 9-11% acceptable for clinical use. This conclusion applied to thoracic configurations of different sizes and shapes from adult man to the neonate. In chronic disease states, while assessments of relative changes are valuable, absolute data are questionable. Further research is required under these conditions, as it is also for other models of IC, which are based on different assumptions.

Sprouting of GABAergic and mossy fiber axons in dentate gyrus following intrahippocampal kainate in the rat

The present study examined the bilateral synaptic rearrangements of presumed gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) inhibitory axons and mossy fiber (presumed excitatory) recurrent collaterals following intrahippocampal kainic acid (KA) injection. Glutamate decarboxylase immunoreactivity (GAD-IR) was used to study inhibitory axon terminal sprouting, following 0.5 microgram KA/0.2 microliter injected unilaterally into the posterior hippocampus of rats (n = 16), with survival periods of 14, 28, and 120 days. The age-matched control animals (n = 9) received intrahippocampal 0.2 microliter saline (sham, n = 4) or no injection (normal, n = 5). To study mossy fiber synaptic rearrangements, 0.5 microgram KA/0.2 microliter volumes were injected unilaterally into the posterior hippocampus of rats (n = 10), with survival periods from 14, 28, and 120 days, and Timm sulfide-stained tissue sections were compared to age-matched sham (n = 4) or normal controls (n = 4). At 14 through 120 days after posterior KA injection, GAD-IR puncta were significantly increased in the ipsi- and contralateral inner molecular layers (IML) of the fascia dentata (FD) when compared to sham or normal controls. KA lesion also induced mossy fiber recurrent collateral sprouting into the ipsi- and contralateral FD IMLs. The loss of both the commissural and ipsilateral associational afferents to the FD apparently induced sprouting into their ipsi- and contralateral termination zones by granule cell mossy fibers and GAD-IR axons, thus establishing an abnormal circuitry near the observed pathology in the kainate model of epilepsy. Although reactive synaptogenesis of mossy fibers producing monosynaptic excitation may be one mechanism for KA epileptogenicity, the concurrent sprouting of GABAergic terminals in the same IML zone of the FD suggests that anomalous inhibitory synapses may contribute to chronic KA hippocampal hyperexcitability.

Cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptors are concentrated in trans Golgi elements in normal human and I-cell disease fibroblasts

The distribution of cation-independent (CI) mannose 6-phosphate (Man6P) receptors for lysosomal enzymes within the Golgi complexes of human fibroblasts has been investigated. In normal skin fibroblasts, CI Man6P receptors were localized by immunocytochemistry to cisternal elements of the Golgi complex which were found on only one side of the stack. A similar distribution of receptors was seen in fibroblasts from patients with mucolipidosis II (I-cell disease fibroblasts), cells which cannot construct Man6P residues on newly synthesized lysosomal enzymes and thus lack endogenous ligands for Man6P receptors. This receptor-enriched cisternae appeared set apart from the Golgi stack proper, could often be seen to extend from one apparently separate Golgi stack to another, had protrusions and vesicles with clathrin-like coats, and morphologically resembled the trans Golgi network (reticulum). Treatment of both cell types with the carboxylic ionophore, monensin, before fixation and immunostaining, resulted in the generation of dilated vacuoles on one side of the Golgi stack which contained immunoreactive Man6P receptors. The remaining, flattened Golgi cisternae were uneffected by the monensin treatment and did not exhibit any immunoreaction product. Fibroblast membranes were fractionated by sucrose-gradient centrifugation to partially separate Golgi membranes into cis, medial, and trans elements, and the results indicated that membranes enriched in Man6P receptors from both normal and I-cells migrated with markers of trans Golgi membranes and not with markers of cis or middle elements. It is concluded that Man6P receptors reside concentrated in trans Golgi cisternae, probably within elements of the trans Golgi network, in both normal and I-cell disease fibroblasts. Also, because no difference was seen between normal and I-cell disease fibroblasts, the trans Golgi must serve as a reservoir for Man6P receptors whether or not the receptors are involved in the transport of newly synthesized lysosomal enzymes in human fibroblasts.

Prosocial effects of entertainment television in India

The study examines the prosocial effects of Hum Log (We People), India's 1st long running television soap opera. Hum Log was a prosocial TV program that was designed to promote women's status in Indian society. Regression analysis was used to measure the degree to which exposure to Hum Log affected viewers' (1) awareness of certain prosocial beliefs promoted by the series, (2) level of TV dependency, (3) involvement with the characters of Hum Log, and (4) adherence to 3 prosocial beliefs promoted by Hum Log. Exposure to Hum Log was positively associated with viewer's awareness of the program's prosocial messages, TV dependency, and involvement with TV characters in the series. Viewers who were more exposed to Hum Log were also more likely to believe in women's equality and women's freedom of choice, but not in family planning. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of present and future research on the use of prosocial TV programs for development in Asia.

Effect of dietary fat content on the bioavailability of a sustained release quinidine gluconate tablet

Quinidine gluconate 324 mg sustained release tablets (Quinaglute) was administered as a single dose to 15 healthy male subjects following an overnight fast, immediately following a high fat (HF) breakfast or immediately following a low fat (LF) breakfast. Serum samples were obtained over a 48 h period and analyzed for quinidine content using a high performance liquid chromatographic assay. Under the conditions of the study, both the rate and extent of quinidine bioavailability was significantly affected by food. The extent of bioavailability was statistically significantly greater (p less than 0.05) following both the HF and LF meals as compared to that in the fasted state. Rate of bioavailability was significantly enhanced following the LF meal as compared to that of the other two treatment groups. Although peak concentrations were greater and time to peak concentrations somewhat later following the HF meal versus those under fasting conditions, these differences were not statistically significant. In addition, the characteristics of the serum concentration-time profile (as defined by the number, magnitude, and time of occurrence of the multiple absorption maxima) was unique for each of the three treatment groups. Possible mechanisms underlying these results are explored.

GABAergic neurons are spared after intrahippocampal kainate in the rat

The present study used Nissl stains and glutamate decarboxylase immunoreactivity (GAD-IR) to quantify the acute and chronic toxicity of kainic acid (KA) on focal and remote hippocampal principal neurons (i.e., pyramidal and granule cells) and on putative inhibitory neurons (GAD-IR or GABAergic) following intrahippocampal KA administration. Concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.25 or 1.5 micrograms KA/0.2 microliters were injected unilaterally into the posterior hippocampus of rats (n = 32), with survival periods of 1, 3, 5, 14, 21, 30 and 60 days. The age-matched control animals (n = 10) received an intrahippocampal injection of 0.2 microliter saline (sham control, n = 4) or no injection (normal, n = 6). The ipsilateral (KA+) cell counts demonstrated a selective vulnerability of CA3 and CA4 pyramidal neurons which was maximal at 14 days and unchanged to 60 days. However, in the same region, putative inhibitory (GAD-IR) neurons were resistant to the neurotoxic effects of KA. Contralateral (KA-) pyramidal cell and GAD-IR neuron densities were equivalent to controls. The present data demonstrate a selective resistance to KA by GABA neurons compared to the vulnerability of pyramidal neurons. Because GABA neurons are relatively spared in the KA focus, loss of GABAergic inhibitory neurons is probably not a mechanism for the seizure sensitivity in the KA model.