The sulfatides and some histochemical correlations of the lachrymal glands involved in salt secretion in Chelonia

Arylsulphatase A activity and sulphatide concentration in the female rabbit oviduct are under physiological hormonal influence

Oviduct samples of female rabbits in different phases of the reproductive cycle were analysed to establish the role of sex steroid hormones in the regulation of sulphatide concentration and arylsulphatase A activity. In addition to biochemical procedures, histochemical techniques were used to localize both enzyme activity and the natural substrate. The plasma concentrations of progesterone and 17 beta-oestradiol were determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The findings show that the parameters examined undergo considerable changes during the different phases of the reproductive cycle. Oestrogens exert an inducing action on arylsulphatase A activity, while progesterone inhibits it. Fluctuations of the catabolic arylsulphatase activity condition the sulphatide concentration, which reaches maximum values at the eighth post-ovulatory day when progesterone dominance is consolidated. In this phase of the reproductive cycle, thin-layer chromatography confirms the presence not only of larger quantities of sulphatides, but also of all other lipid fractions.

Arylsulphatase activity and cerebroside sulphates in the frog oviduct during the reproductive cycle

The presence of arylsulphatase A and cerebroside sulphates in different tracts of Rana esculenta oviduct during different phases of the reproductive cycle were investigated by histochemical and biochemical procedures. The results indicate that enzyme activity shows seasonal fluctuations connected with the phase of the sexual cycle. The concentrations of cerebroside sulphates (the natural substrates of arylsulphatase A) is related to the activity of this hydrolytic enzyme. The role of arylsulphatase A activity in regulating the substrate concentration, and particularly that of sulphatides, is discussed.

Arylsulphatases in the rabbit oviduct: postovulatory changes tested by histochemical and biochemical procedures

A histochemical and biochemical study of the activity of arylsulphatases A and B was carried out on the oviduct of female rabbits during the first days after mating. The histochemical results demonstrated that the ampullary and the isthmic epithelial cells have a positive reaction to the sulphatases during the whole of the postovulatory period tested. The enzymatic activity is mainly localized in the basal cellular cytoplasm. The biochemical results confirmed that both arylsulphatase A and B are active. Arylsulphatase A activity is more intense in the ampulla than in the isthmus and it increases during the whole of the postovulatory period; in the isthmus the activity increases up to 72 h, thereafter decreasing again. The arylsulphatase B activity is always lower than arylsulphatase A activity; maximum activity is reached between 66 to 72 h after mating. The arylsulphatase B is relatively higher in the ampulla than in the isthmus. The biological role of these enzymes is discussed in relation to the regulation of the sulphated glycoconjugates.

Enzymatic characterization of E.U.E. (embryonal human explants) cells adapted to hypertonic media

E.U.E. cells (general population) were submitted to biochemical and cytoenzymatic tests to compare the enzymatic profile of E.U.E. cells (controls) with that of E.U.E. adapted to hypertonic medium. The adapted cells are characterized by very high oxoreductase activity (LDH, HBDH, G-6-P DH) and very high alkaline-phosphatase activity. Clones derived from general population were also submitted to biochemical tests to characterize those more strictly related to the enzymatic profile of adapted cells. The profile of clone N. 13 resembles on this respect that of the adapted cells. The high redox activity is a prerequisite supporting energy supply for osmotic work. The increased activity of plasma membrane enzymes of the adapted cells is also demonstrable in cells exposed for short time to salinity.

Immunohistochemical localization of galactosyl and sulfogalactosyl ceramide in the brain of the 30-day-old mouse

We have used purified antibodies against galactosylceramide (galCb) and sulfogalactosylceramide (sulf) to study the topographical distribution of these two lipid haptens in the brain of the 30-day-old mouse. This study has been conducted, using the indirect immunofluorescence method, on cerebellum, brain stem and hemispherical tissue sections. Both haptens are present in the myelin sheaths and in the oligodendrocytes within the myelinated bundles. Cortical oligodendrocytes as well as some of the subependymal cells are also galCb-positive but sulf-negative. On the contrary, ciliated ependymal cells and subpial astrocytic processes (especially the Bergmann glia fibers in the cerebellum) are sulf-positive and galCb-negative. Astrocyte cell bodies and other astrocytic cell processes are devoid of both haptens. Lastly, some-sulf positive galCb-negative processes, as yet unidentified, were also found in the periaqueductal gray matter and in the nucleus interpeduncularis.

Biochemical and histochemical features of human cultured cells (EUE) adapted to hypertonic medium

EUE cells from a human heteroploid line cultured in hypertonic medium (0.274 M NaCl) modify their lipid pattern: sulfolipid concentration reaches 86 to 90 microgram/mg protein whilst it ranges between 19 to 32 microgram/mg in cells cultured in isotonic medium. Ganglioside concentration reaches 2.6 nmoles of sialic acid/mg protein (after 75 days) and 13 (after 85 days) in hypertonic saline medium. Whilst it is 0.5 in isotonic medium. Phospholipid concentration does not show any similar change. Cytoenzymatic analysis reveals that dehydrogenases (lactate, G-6-P dehydrogenases, tetrahydrofolate reductase and NADH diaphorase) appear strongly enhanced in cells grown on hypertonic medium. On the contrary higher acid phosphatase and ATPase activity was demonstrable in cells grown on isotonic medium. These results are similar (except for ATPase activity) to those observed in salt secreting glands involved in strong osmotic work. The results are discussed in relation to the problem of energy supply in cells performing osmotic work.