Arylsulphatase activity in the oviduct of the frog Rana esculenta. I. Oestradiol-induced changes following ovariectomy and hypophysectomy

Sulfatides and arylsulfatase A activity in major salivary glands of hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) after adenocarcinoma induction in oral cavity

A biochemical study of sulfatides and arylsulfatase A (ASA) was carried out in the submandibular and sublingual glands of the male and female hamster Mesocricetus auratus after experimental induction of oral adenocarcinoma by 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA). Hamster experimental groups included control animals, animals treated with beta-carotene, animals treated with DMBA, and animals treated with DMBA plus beta-carotene. Oral cavity treatment with DMBA induced carcinogenesis in the buccal mucosa, but not in the major salivary glands, where nevertheless, the morphology and expression of both parameters examined changed. In fact, sulfatide concentrations and enzyme activity increased significantly, while in control and beta-carotene-treated hamsters they were similar in both glands and sexes. After administration of DMBA plus beta-carotene, sulfatide concentration decreased, as did ASA activity, slightly in the submandibular gland and remarkably so in the sublingual one of female hamsters. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis of lipid patterns, after DMBA treatment, revealed considerable differences, not only in sulfatides, but also in other lipid fractions, as well as between the two glands and two sexes. These findings show that oral cavity treatment with DMBA is not able to induce carcinogenesis in the major salivary glands examined; however, it does cause considerable metabolic changes.

Evaluation of leukocyte arylsulfatase-A activity in patients with breast cancer and benign breast disease

This study was planned to evaluate the feasibility of using the assay of leukocyte arylsulfatase-A (AS-A) activity as a non-invasive diagnostic tool in patients with benign and malignant breast disease. The leukocyte AS-A activity of a total of 81 women was analyzed, including 28 healthy women, 29 women with benign breast disease (BBD) and 24 patients with primary breast cancer (BC). The mean leukocyte AS-A activity in patients with BBD was slightly higher (14.3%) that observed in the healthy subjects, but the difference was not statistically significant. In patients with BC the enzyme activity was significantly higher than in the healthy subjects (60.3%, P<0.05) and in the benign group (40.2%, P<0.05). In addition, since no significant differences have been observed between premenopausal patients and their controls, it is suggested that the measurement of leukocyte AS-A activity may not be a reliable test for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant proliferation in mammary glands due to the possible interfering effect of gonadal hormones on AS-A activity. In contrast, since peri- and postmenopausal BC patients have negligible or no gonadal activity function, the elevation in the activity of leukocyte AS-A in these age groups of patients may only be expected to originate from malignant proliferation. Based on our results, it is concluded that in patients in whom high leukocyte AS-A activities were observed the possibility of the presence of malignancy might also be high. Therefore, this test might be valuable as a non-invasive biochemical technique in combination with other established markers for the identification of masses in the breast.

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.

Expression of acidic glycosphingolipids and arylsulphatase A activity in human pathological endometrium

Endometrium biopsic samples from women with cystic hyperplasia or adenocarcinoma were analysed by biochemical procedures to verify fluctuations in the acidic glycosphingolipid (sulphatide) concentration and arylsulphatase A (ASA) activity. Comparing the values of the considered parameters with those obtained in normal subjects, it was observed that ASA activity significantly increased in both pathologies; in contrast, sulphatide concentration underwent a non-significant decrease in hyperplasia and a statistically significant increase in neoplasia. The thin-layer chromatography (TLC) images revealed not only quantitative, but also qualitative differences in the lipid fractions. In fact, compared with controls, the sulphatides showed one more marked fraction in the neoplastic endometrium, and two fractions with different Rf values in the hyperplastic one. Moreover, two new unknown fractions also appeared in some subjects with cystic hyperplasia. The findings suggest the lipid metabolism undergoes considerable changes under the pathological conditions examined. The fluctuations observed, in particular, in the sulphatide concentration are believed to be related to changes in the biosynthetic and catabolic activities of the key enzymes directly involved in their metabolism, i.e. arylsulphatase A and sulphotransferase, which are regulated by sex hormones.

Changes induced by progesterone treatment in the sulphatides of the frog oviduct

Sulphatides have been studied by histochemical and biochemical procedures in the oviduct of the frog in different experimental conditions. In ovariectomized or hypophysectomized animals, compared to sham-operated, an increase in sulphatides was observed. The progesterone treatment did not significantly modify this lipid fraction in ovariectomized frogs, while in hypophysectomized frogs it induced a further increase. Densitographic profiles of the sulphatides, obtained by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and also recorded by Tesak equipment, were similar in ovariectomized or hypophysectomized frogs following hormone treatment because they showed three distinct fractions in both experimental groups of animals. The appearance of a third fraction never previously observed was probably induced by the progesterone treatment. Moreover, under the effects of this hormone, the phospholipid fractions (phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine) also showed different densitographic profiles.

Sialic acid and neuraminidase activity in the frog oviduct: comparative biochemical investigation in the different tracts during the reproductive cycle

1. A biochemical study was carried out on the protein-bound and lipid-bound sialic acid, and neuraminidase activity in the different tracts of the oviduct of the frog Rana esculenta during the reproductive cycle. 2. Plasma sexual steroids were also investigated by RIA. 3. Fluctuations in neuraminidase activity are related to that of glycoprotein sialic acid and plasma estradiol. Glycolipid sialic acid does not have a close relationship either with neuraminidase or plasma estradiol. 4. Very high plasma concentration of progesterone before ovulation and, on the contrary, its drop after ovulation were observed. 5. The results are discussed and hypotheses advanced to explain fluctuations of the studied parameters during the reproductive cycle.

Arylsulphatase activity in the oviduct of the frog Rana esculenta. II. Progesterone-induced changes following ovariectomy and hypophysectomy

The effects of progesterone treatment on arylsulphatase activity were studied histochemically and biochemically in the frog oviduct under different experimental conditions. In ovariectomized animals, the hormone induced a large increase in enzyme activity, while in hypophysectomized ones there was a large decrease in this activity. These results indicate that the facilitatory and inhibitory effects of progesterone on arylsulphatase activity are influenced by the presence in situ of the gonad. Hypotheses are advanced to explain different effects of the progesterone treatment.