[DNA impulse cytophotometric studies of the modification of the proliferation behavior of the outer hair root sheath by topical glucocorticoid administration]

A corticoid preparation (C) was topically applied on the scalps of 47 healthy test persons for 7 or 14 days, resp. After this treatment, we plucked anagen hairs under standardized conditions both from the area treated with C and the contralateral, untreated area. The proliferative activity of plucked anagen hairs with root sheaths was analyzed by means of DNA flow cytometry. Already a 7 days treatment with topical C resulted in kinetic changes of the outer root sheath: The percentage of the cells in the G1/10-phase of the cell cycle was increased, whereas that of the cells in the S-phase and the G2+M-phase was decreased.

The first isolation of enantiomeric and meso-zeaxanthin in nature

Racemic mixtures of (3RS, 3'RS)-zeaxanthin were separated into the three optical isomers, (3R, 3'R)-zeaxanthin (1), (3R,3'S;meso)-zeaxanthin (2) and (3S,3'S)-zeaxanthin (3), by converting to their corresponding dibenzoates and by using HPLC on an optical resolution column Sumipax OA-2000. According to this procedure, it has been shown that only (1) is isolated from higher plants, shellfish, starfish, sea squirt, sea cucumber and then examined; on the other hand (1), (2) and (3) are isolated from zeaxanthin fraction of shrimp, fish and turtle examined. This is the first isolation of enantiomeric and meso-zeaxanthin in nature.

On the contractile response of fundus strip from rats to matrine, an alkaloidal component of Sophora flavescens

The administration of matrine, which has antiulcerogenic activity against stress ulcer, exhibited clear contraction on the preparation of the fundus strip of rats at high concentration (from 2 X 10(-4) g/ml). The contractile response of the fundus strip to matrine was not inhibited by treatment with tetrodotoxin, and was not modified with atropine at 10(-4) g/ml, while pretreatment of the fundus strip with antihistamines abolished or reduced the contractile response. The maximum contractile response of the fundus strip was not altered significantly by pretreatment of the rat with indomethacin.

In vitro effects of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone and estradiol on cell growth of human hair bulb papilla cells and hair root sheath fibroblasts

The influence of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (each 10 ng/ml up to 300 ng/ml) and estradiol (0.2 ng/ml up to 10 ng/ml) on the growth behaviour (cell count, [3H]thymidine uptake, cell doubling time) of subcultured human hair bulb papilla cells and hair root sheath fibroblasts was studied. Papilla cells and root sheath fibroblasts were isolated by microdissection from the same anagen hair follicles obtained from biopsies of androgen-sensitive scalp regions in 6 healthy male subjects. Dihydrotestosterone and testosterone concentrations above 30 ng/ml significantly reduced the growth of both cell types; lower doses had no effect. Estradiol had no distinct influence on the growth curves of either cell type up to 10 ng/ml, whereas higher concentrations significantly increased the growth of both cell types as shown by [3H]thymidine uptake. Papilla cells reacted more sensitively than root sheath fibroblast to dihydrotestosterone and testosterone, as shown by the growth curves, [3H]thymidine uptake, and cell doubling time.