Activity lysosomal enzymes in rat skin fibroblasts after treatment with progesterone and new gestagen ABMP

The effects of a new synthetic gestagen 17α-acetoxy-3β-butanoyloxy-6-methyl-pregna4,6-dien-20-on (ABMP) and reference drug progesterone on rat skin fibroblasts were evaluated by variations in lysosomal enzyme activity (cathepsin D and β-glucosidase). Our results suggest that ABMP exhibits lysosomotropic properties, which depended on its concentration and time of treatment. The direct effect of progesterone on lysosomal enzyme activity in skin fibroblasts was compared to the influence of systemic treatment with gestagens on skin lysosomes. The data indicate that local application of gestagen preparations holds much promise for the therapy of skin diseases accompanied by increased proliferation (e.g. psoriasis). __________ Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 145, No. 1, pp. 50–52, January, 2008     

Reversible inactivation and reactivation of vaccinia virus by manipulation of viral lipid composition

The role of phospholipids in vaccinia virus was investigated by substituting viral lipids with specific phospholipids. Treatment of virus with sodium dodecyl sulfate, sodium deoxycholate, or Nonidet-P40 (NP-40) resulted in almost complete removal of viral lipid and led to inactivation of the virus. The inactivation induced by the former two was irreversible, but NP-40-treated virus was reactivated upon reassociation with phospholipids. Individual phospholipids, including phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, lysolecithin, sphingomyelin, and acyl bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate (ABMP), were tested for ability to reactivate NP-40-treated virus. Reactivation was induced only by PS. The infectivity of virus that had been treated with NP-40 and then with PS was unstable; the reactivated virus was inactivated within a short period. It was also very sensitive to trypsin. Treatment of NP-40-treated virus with mixtures of PS and ABMP yielded virus that was more resistant to spontaneous and trypsin-induced inactivation. Thus, PS appears to be an essential for infectivity and ABMP appears to play a supplementary role for maintenance of infectivity, perhaps by protecting against inactivating factors.     

A mouse plasma substance carrying beta2-microglobulin activity and lacking in H-2 alloantigenic activity.

A mouse plasma substance carrying beta-2-microglobulin activity and lacking in H-2 alloantigenic activity was separated from the blood plasma of A/J strain female mice. The plasma substance had a molecular size of about 300,000-400,000 daltons and an electrophoretic mobility of alpha-globulin. The plasma substance was split by papain digestion to a fragment of about 50,000-60,000 daltons that still carried beta2-microglobulin activity. The papain-split plasma substance was devoid of H-2 alloantigenic activities and Thy-1 and TL alloantigenic activities as well, but yet had a two-component structure that was similar to papain-solubilized H-2 molecules. It contained a 37,000-dalton component linked non-covalently to an 11,00-dalton component, i.e. mouse beta2-microglobulin. This plasma substance appears to be different from Ss protein or Slp protein, both found in mouse serum.     

A MOUSE PLASMA SUBSTANCE CARRYING β2-MICROGLOBULIN ACTIVITY AND LACKING IN H-2 ALLOANTIGENIC ACTIVITY*

A mouse plasma substance carrying β₂-microglobulin activity and lacking in H-2 alloantigenic activity was separated from the blood plasma of A/J strain female mice. The plasma substance had a molecular size of about 300,000–400,000 daltons and an electrophoretic mobility of α-globulin. The plasma substance was split by papain digestion to a fragment of about 50,000–60,000 daltons that still carried β₂-microglobulin activity. The papain-split plasma substance was devoid of H-2 alloantigenic activities and Thy-1 and TL alloantigenic activities as well, but yet had a two-component structure that was similar to papainsolubilized H-2 molecules. It contained a 37,000-dalton component linked non-covalently to an 11,000-dalton component, i.e. mouse β₂-microglobulin. This plasma substance appears to be different from Ss protein or Slp protein, both found in mouse serum.     

Developmental change of chironomid allergen during metamorphosis

The development of allergen during metamorphosis of chironomids, Chironomus yoshimatsui and Tokunagayusurika akamusi, was studied by means of ELISA inhibition with pooled serum containing high titer of specific IgE to each adult midge. Extracts of C. yoshimatsui larvae and pupae did not inhibit the specific IgE antibody to adult C. yoshimatsui. Mature adult C. yoshimatsui extract had about 10 times more inhibitory substance than the young adult. Hemoglobin, however, was degraded during the metamorphosis as measured by spectrophotometry and HPLC. The inhibitory substance against specific IgE antibody to adult T. akamusi was identified as highest in female body, less in egg, and even less in wing, leg and male body. The size of the substance in egg and female body was estimated at greater than 500 kD of molecular weight.     

A latent modeling approach to genotype-phenotype relationships: maternal problem behavior clusters, prenatal smoking, and MAOA genotype

This study illustrates the application of a latent modeling approach to genotype-phenotype relationships and gene × environment interactions, using a novel, multidimensional model of adult female problem behavior, including maternal prenatal smoking. The gene of interest is the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene which has been well studied in relation to antisocial behavior. Participants were adult women (N = 192) who were sampled from a prospective pregnancy cohort of non-Hispanic, white individuals recruited from a neighborhood health clinic. Structural equation modeling was used to model a female problem behavior phenotype, which included conduct problems, substance use, impulsive-sensation seeking, interpersonal aggression, and prenatal smoking. All of the female problem behavior dimensions clustered together strongly, with the exception of prenatal smoking. A main effect of MAOA genotype and a MAOA × physical maltreatment interaction were detected with the Conduct Problems factor. Our phenotypic model showed that prenatal smoking is not simply a marker of other maternal problem behaviors. The risk variant in the MAOA main effect and interaction analyses was the high activity MAOA genotype, which is discrepant from consensus findings in male samples. This result contributes to an emerging literature on sex-specific interaction effects for MAOA.     

Substance P variations in the hypothalamus of golden hamsters at different stages of the estrous cycle.

The changes in substance P concentrations in the hypothalamus of female golden hamsters were studied at the different stages of the estrous cycle. Substance P levels in the hypothalamus of hamsters were highest during estrus and lowest during diestrus I and proestrus. The concentrations of substance P during diestrus II were not significantly different from those observed during estrus. These results show that substance P levels in the hypothalamus of female hamsters undergo significant changes during the estrous cycle.     

Pre- and postweaning excretion of puberty-influencing chemosignals in house mice.

Pre- and postweaning excretion of urinary chemosignals that influence puberty in female house mice were tested. The dependent variable used to assess the effectiveness of urine samples collected from donor mice was the age of first vaginal estrus in young female mice. Preweaning excretion of the puberty-delaying chemosignal by females was affected by litter sex composition; this effect interacted with the age of the young donor females. In litters of all females, the substance occurred from about the age of 9 days and in litters with 6 females and 2 males the delay substance was released from about the age of 17 days. Grouping dams during gestation but not prior to conception resulted in excretion of the puberty-delaying substance in the female progeny from the age of 17 days or possibly earlier. Young male mice do not excrete the puberty-accelerating chemosignal prior to the age of puberty. However, giving young males injections of testosterone resulted in an earlier first excretion of the acceleratory signal, suggesting that the machinery for chemosignal production is operative prior to the time of sexual maturity. Caging young males with an adult female prior to puberty resulted in earlier excretion of the puberty-accelerating substance, while caging young males with adult males retarded excretion of the substance. The findings are discussed in terms of early hormone effects on behavior and with regard to consequences for the chemosignal systems in house mice.     

Adrenaline: occurrence in the bovine retina

Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrochemical detection, a substance corresponding to adrenaline was identified in crude perchloric acid extracts from bovine retina. The substance did not originate from exogenous contamination such as blood. Retinal tissues also contained phenylethanolamine-N-methyl-transferase (PNMT) activity and the retinal enzyme had a similar substrate specificity as purified bovine PNMT. The pigment epithelium/choroid complex also had PNMT activity and an analysis of extracts by HPLC revealed the presence of small amounts of adrenaline. The results suggest that adrenaline is of functional importance in the bovine retina.     

Relations between youth antisocial and prosocial activities

This study examines relations among antisocial and prosocial activities for boys and girls aged 10, 12, and 14 years. Antisocial activities included substance use and other deviant behaviors. Prosocial activities included physical activity, organized sports, organized nonsport activities, volunteer and religious activities. Household income and single-parent vs. two-parent family status were included as covariates. The sample comprised 356 youth (mean age = 12.06 years, 50% female, 73% White). A six-group (Age × Gender) multiple-sample structural equation model was employed to determine the existence of latent factors (substance use, deviant behaviors, prosocial activities) and relations among variables. Results showed a positive relationship among prosocial behaviors, and between substance use and other deviant behaviors. Organized sport and days of physical activity were inversely related to substance use. Higher income and living in a two-parent family were associated with less substance use and deviant behavior. There was little variation by gender and age.     

The incidence of injury presentations to emergency departments: what we don't know can hurt us

The incidence of injury presentations to emergency departments in the Republic of Ireland has not been established. Data were collected relating to all injuries that presented on every eighth day in July-December 2005 to the three hospitals in Cork City. In total, 2,967 injury presentations were recorded. The total, male and female age-adjusted rate of injury presentations was 11,322, 13,933 and 8,550 per 100,000, respectively. The peak male rate was among 15-29 year-olds (26,735 per 100,000), 2.5 times the female rate in the same age range (10,719 per 100,000). The peak female rate was among over 85 year-olds (18,543 per 100,000). Place of injury, activity at time of injury and underlying substance/object causing injury were unspecified for 44%, 46% and 43% of recorded injuries. Improving the recording of injury data needs to be prioritised in Irish emergency departments ideally in conjunction with the development of a national injury surveillance system.     

Elicitation of male mouse ultrasounds: Bladder urine and aged urine from females

Male mice (Mus musculus) emit ultrasonic courtship vocalizations in response to female mouse urine. Experiment 1 demonstrated that female bladder urine is an effective cue for ultrasound elicitation. Thus the ultrasound-eliciting factors in female urine appear to be produced prior to kidney filtration or during the filtration process itself. Experiment 2 demonstrated that externally voided female urine remained an effective cue for ultrasound-elicitation after one week of open-air ageing but appeared to lose some activity after one month. Thus the ultrasound-eliciting substance appears quite nonvolatile and environmentally stable.     

Substance P inhibits the acute stimulation of ganglionic tyrosine hydroxylase activity by a nicotinic agonist

Incubation of rat superior cervical ganglia with dimethylphenylpiperazinium (30 microM) for 30 min resulted in a two-fold increase in tyrosine hydroxylase activity. This effect was completely inhibited by substance P (30 microM) but not by substance P-free acid, kassinin or physalaemin. Neither of these four peptides alone produced any change in the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase. The IC50 for the inhibitory effect of substance P was approximately 3 microM. Substance P did not inhibit the stimulatory effects of bethanechol or vasoactive intestinal peptide on this enzyme activity. Thus substance P, acting at a site which has a different pharmacology than previously characterized substance P receptors, selectively inhibits nicotinic stimulation of tyrosine hydroxylase activity. These data raise the possibility that substance P may modulate the nicotinic regulation of catecholamine synthesis in sympathetic ganglia in vivo.     

Peripubertal stress of male,but not female rats increases morphine-induced conditioned place preference and locomotion in adulthood

Animal studies demonstrate that peripubertal social stress markedly increases the risk for subsequent substance use in adulthood. However, whether non-social stress has a similar long-term impact is not clear, and whether male and female animals show different sensitivity to peripubertal non-social stress has not been examined. In the present study, we addressed these issues by introducing two non-social stressors (elevated platform and predator odor 2,5-Dihydro-2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline) to male and female Wistar rats during adolescence (postnatal days 28–30, 34, 36, 40, and 42), then tested reward-related behaviors during adulthood, including morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP, 1 mg/kg morphine or 5 mg/kg morphine) and hyperlocomotor activity (5 mg/kg morphine). We found that adult male rats, but not females who were exposed to peripubertal non-social stressors showed enhanced morphine-induced CPP. Moreover, morphine-induced increase in locomotor activity was also significantly increased in adult male rats, but not in females. These results indicate that peripubertal exposure to repeated non-social stress may enhance sensitivity to the rewarding effects of opioids in adulthood in a sex-dependent manner, with males being even more sensitive than females in this regard.     

Placental opioid-enhancing factor (POEF): generalizability of effects.

A substance in amniotic fluid and placenta (POEF for Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor) has been shown to enhance opiate- or opioid-mediated analgesia in rats. Recent studies have only touched on the generalizability of the phenomenon. The present studies further tested the generalizability of the POEF effect: they examined sex specificity of the mechanism; whether POEF activity exists in afterbirth material of species other than the rat; whether POEF activity exists in tissue other than afterbirth material; whether POEF activity could be demonstrated after injection rather than ingestion of afterbirth material; and whether POEF enhances all opioid-mediated phenomena. We found that (a) POEF is effective in male rats as well as in female rats; (b) POEF activity exists in human and dolphin afterbirth material; (c) ingestion of pregnant-rat liver does not produce enhancement of opioid-mediated analgesia; (d) POEF does not seem to be effective when amniotic fluid is injected either IP or SC; and (e) POEF does not modify morphine-induced hyperthermia.     

Chronic substance P (NK1) receptor antagonist and conventional antidepressant treatment increases burst firing of monoamine neurones in the locus coeruleus

The mechanism of action of conventional antidepressants (e.g. imipramine) has been linked to modulation of central monoamine systems. Substance P (NK1) receptor antagonists may have antidepressant and anxiolytic effects in patients with major depressive disorder and high anxiety but, unlike conventional antidepressants, are independent of activity at monoamine reuptake sites, transporters, receptors, or monoamine oxidase. To investigate the possibility that substance P receptor antagonists influence central monoamine systems indirectly, we have compared the effects of chronic administration of imipramine with that of the substance P receptor antagonist L-760735 on the spontaneous firing activity of locus coeruleus neurones. Electrophysiological recordings were made from brain slices prepared from guinea-pigs that had been dosed orally every day for 4 weeks with either L-760735 (3 mg/kg), imipramine (10 mg/kg), or vehicle (water), or naive animals. Chronic, but not acute, treatment with the substance P receptor antagonist L-760735, induced burst firing of neurones in the locus coeruleus. This effect resembles that of the conventional antidepressant imipramine. However, their effects are dissociable since, in contrast to chronic imipramine treatment, chronic L-760735 treatment does not cause functional desensitisation of somatic alpha2 adrenoceptors.The mechanism by which chronic substance P receptor antagonist or conventional antidepressant treatment influences the pattern of firing activity of norepinephrine neurones remains to be elucidated. However, an indirect action in the periphery or distant brain nuclei has been excluded by the use of the in vitro slice preparation, suggesting a local site of action in the locus coeruleus.     

Peripheral anosmia affects puberty-influencing chemosignals in mice: donors and recipients

A series of five experiments tested the effects of peripheral anosmia on both donors and recipients of urinary chemosignals that accelerate and delay puberty in female mice. Control tests determined that the manipulations, in and of themselves, did not bring about any changes in release or reception of the chemosignals. Rendering mice peripherally anosmic using a solution of zinc sulfate did result in effects on both donors and recipients. For donors, release of the substances in male urine, urine from females in estrus, or urine from pregnant or lactating females, all of which accelerate female puberty, were not influenced by peripheral anosmia. Peripheral anosmia did, however, bring about the cessation of release of the substance in the urine of grouped adult females that delays sexual maturation in conspecific females. Peripherally anosmic young female recipients of the chemosignals were accelerated in their sexual development when the treatment applied involved urine from pregnant or lactating females. However, the acceleratory effects normally produced by male urine or urine from females in estrus did not occur in peripherally anosmic young females. The substance in the urine of grouped adult females did not produce delays in puberty when the recipient females were rendered peripherally anosmic prior to urine treatment.     

A sexually dimorphic nucleus in the quail preoptic area

The cytoarchitectural analysis of the preoptic-anterior hypothalamic region of the Japanese quail reveals a sexual dimorphism in the total volume of the medial preoptic nucleus (significantly larger in males than in females). Different nuclei of the region (dorsal preopticus, suprachiasmaticus) do not show any statistically significant difference. The sex-related difference is more consistent comparing the distribution of dark volume. This last is due to a larger number of cells containing high amount of Nissl's substance in male than in female. Present findings represent the first example of sexual dimorphism in the avian hypothalamus.     

THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTAL MONITORING AND SUBSTANCE USE IN MEXICAN HERITAGE ADOLESCENTS IN THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES

The purpose of this study was to assess the combined effects of ethnic identification and perceived parental monitoring on the substance use of a sample of 162 male and 192 female Mexican heritage seventh grade adolescents. Parental monitoring predicted lower risk for substance use. An interaction of ethnic identification by parental monitoring was observed with parental monitoring exhibiting stronger effects in decreasing use of alcohol use among boys who scored low on ethnic identification. For girls, decreased substance use was predicted by stronger parental monitoring coupled with high ethnic identification. Results are discussed in terms of how the youth's ethnic identification is a distinct process from acculturation, and how ethnic identification may operate as an added protective factor in conjunction with parental monitoring, as protective factors against adolescent substance abuse.     

Substance P as a potent stimulator of sneeze responses in experimental allergic rhinitis of guinea pigs

Substance P was examined for sneeze-inducing activity and its involvement of sneeze responses in experimental allergic rhinitis. Substance P, dripped into a nostril of guinea pigs, at concentrations of 100 pM and above induced sneezing in a dose-dependent fashion. The activity of substance P was not affected by the previous subcutaneous injections of capsaicin that depleted substance P in nerve fibers. Histamine induced sneezing at concentrations of 30 mM and above and the activity was reduced by capsaicin treatment. The frequency of antigen-induced sneezing was proportional to the substance P content in nasal mucosa of sensitized guinea pigs treated with increasing doses of capsaicin; correlation coefficient 0.91. These results suggest that substance P plays an important role as a stimulator of sneeze responses in experimental allergic rhinitis in guinea pigs.