Über den tatsächlichen Orthophosphat- und N-Phosphorylkreatingehalt des Säugetierherzens

Summary 1. Cardiac ventricular muscle of adult, anesthetized, open-chest dogs, guinea pigs, and rabbits given artificial respiration was compressed by means of a pair of –190°C cold aluminum tongs in situ in 0.02–0.4 seconds to frozen plates 0.4–1.5 mm in thickness.2. Determinations of phosphates extracted from the finely powdered plates with 0° or –35°C cold perchloric acid yielded, among other results, the following values per gram of dog, guinea pig, and rabbit myocardium, respectively: 1.9, 2.0, and 1.9 moles of orthophosphate; and 12.8, 10.9, and 8.2 moles of N-phosphorylcreatine (labile phosphate). Bound creatine, analyzed in extracts of guinea pig and rabbit hearts, corresponded quantitatively to the labile phosphate.3. Cardiac muscle samples which were excised and immediately immersed in liquid air contained 3–4 times as much orthophosphate and only a little more than half as much phosphorylcreatine as the metal-cooled tissue. There was also less total acid-soluble phosphate present. The sum of orthophosphate and phosphorylcreatine and the amounts of 10-minute-phosphate and of total creatine were not significantly altered by excision and freezing in liquid air.4. The rapidly beating hearts contained per gram (a) less orthophosphate than is found in the resting skeletal musculature; and (b) as much as or more phosphorylcreatine than there exists, according to data in the literature, in certain types of skeletal muscle in the resting state.5. The problem of obtaining a warm-blooded heart, or a part of it, for analysis without inducing changes in chemical composition is considered in relation to the anatomy of the organ. The advantage is noted which the cooling tongs technique affords in this regard over other methods of tissue freezing.

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Vorläufige Mitteilung: Wollenberger, Krause u. Wahler (1958).     

Über Funktionsänderungen markhaltiger Kaltblüternerven nach Adrenalektomie und Zufuhr rindenwirksamer Steroide in Abhängigkeit von der Ionenverteilung

Ohne ZusammenfassungBenutzte Symbole und Abkürzungen NNR Nebennierenrinde - DOCA Desoxycorticosteronacetat - K _i intracelluläres Kalium (sinngemäß für Natrium) - K _a extracelluläres Kalium (sinngemäß für Natrium) - Q Ladung - E _m Membranruhepotential - _m Zeitkonstante der Membran - R _m Membranwiderstand - C _m Membrankapazität     

Homozygosity mapping of achromatopsia to chromosome 2 using DNA pooling

Achromatopsia is an autosomal recessive disease of the retina, characterized clinically by an inability to distinguish colors, impaired visual acuity, nystagmus and photophobia. A genome-wide search for linkage was performed using an inbred Jewish kindred from Iran. To facilitate the genome-wide search, we utilized a DNA pooling strategy which takes advantage of the likelihood that the disease in this inbred kindred is inherited by all affected individuals from a common founder. Equal molar amounts of DNA from all affected individuals were pooled and used as the PCR template for short tandem repeat polymorphic markers (STRPs). Pooled DNA from unaffected members of the kindred was used as a control. A reduction in the number of alleles in the affected versus control pool was observed at several loci. Upon genotyping of individual family members, significant linkage was established between the disease phenotype and markers localized on chromosome 2. The highest LOD score observed was 5.4 (theta = 0). When four additional small unrelated families were genotyped, the combined peak LOD score was 8.2. Analysis of recombinant chromosomes revealed that the disease gene lies within a 30 cM interval which spans the centromere. Additional fine-mapping studies identified a region of homozygosity in all affected individuals, narrowing the region to 14 cM. A candidate gene for achromatopsia was excluded from this disease interval by radiation hybrid mapping. Linkage of achromatopsia to chromosome 2 is an essential first step in the identification of the disease-causing gene.      

Differential increases of neurokinin B- and enkephalin-like immunoreactivities and their mRNAs after chronic haloperidol treatment in the rat.

Changes in neurokinin B-like immunoreactivity (NKB-IR) and neurokinin B mRNA were investigated after daily injection of haloperidol for 10 days on adjacent sections by means of immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization in the caudate putamen of the rat. In the dorsal striatum the number of NKB immunoreactive perikarya and the staining intensity of striatal efferents increased. The number of NKB mRNA-expressing cells (45%) and the grain density over single positive cells (37%) were significantly higher after the neuroleptic treatment. The levels for enkephalin mRNA were uniformly increased throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the caudate putamen (85%). A main difference to the enkephalin system was that the dorsal pallidum was nearly devoid of NKB-IR in untreated as well as in haloperidol-treated animals. The present data for the first time provide evidence for the regulation of the biosynthesis of NKB after pharmacological intervention.     

Immune function did not decline with aging in apparently healthy, well-nourished women

Nutrition plays a crucial role in immune function. Most studies on age-associated changes in immunocompetence in healthy adults did not examine the nutritional status of participants extensively. Inadequate nutritional status may confound the relationship of aging and immune response. The purpose of this study was to examine age-related changes in parameters of acquired and innate immunity in healthy and generally well-nourished older (62-88 years) versus younger (20-40 years) women. Subjects were screened for participation using the health criteria of the SENIEUR protocol as well as a number of nutrition criteria related to undernutrition, and protein, iron, vitamin B12, and folate status. Young and old women did not differ in total T (CD3+), T-helper (CD4+), or T-cytotoxic (CD8+) cell number. However, older women tended to have lower T-cell proliferation response to concanavalin A (P < 0.10) and significantly reduced response to phytohemagglutinin (P < 0.05). No age-related changes were noted in natural killer cell number or cytotoxicity. Phagocytosis and subsequent oxidative burst activity also did not differ between young and old women. Most immune parameters were not compromised with aging in this cohort of apparently healthy, well-nourished women. These findings highlight the importance of simultaneous examination of health and nutritional status in studies of immune function with aging.     

Selective inhibition of the transmembrane Ca conductivity of mammalian myocardial fibres by Ni,Co and Mn ions

Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology - According to earlier studies on mammalian papillary muscles, Ni and Co ions reduce the Ca dependent mechanical response whilst the action...     

Beta2-adrenergic receptors mediate the differential effects of catecholamines on cytokine production of PBMC.

We determined characteristics of beta2-adrenergic receptors (beta2R) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and cytokine production after mitogenic stimulation and coincubation with catecholamines. PBMCs were stimulated with interleukin-2 (IL-2), tetanus toxoid (TT), anti-CD3 antibody, or phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The cytokines interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), IL-4, and IL-6 were determined by ELISA following coincubation with high-dose (10(-5) M) and low-dose (10(-9) M) epinephrine (EPI) and norepinephrine (NE). Intracellular IFN-gamma and IL-4 were studied by FACS analysis. The beta2R density was investigated using a radioligand binding assay. The stimuli induced various cytokine profiles in PBMCs. Synthesis of IFN-gamma was induced by all mitogens and could be suppressed by catecholamines (26%-85% reduction). In PHA-stimulated PBMCs, IL-4 synthesis was decreased by high-dose catecholamines (24%-28% reduction). Adding a beta-blocking agent attenuated most catecholamine effects. A highly significant negative correlation between the density of beta2R with IFN-gamma and IL-6 levels of PHA-activated PBMCs (r = -0.88 to -0.96, p < 0.01-< 0.001) was observed. The results indicate that the density of beta2R on PBMC plays a role in mediating the differential catecholamine effects on cytokine production of PBMC. Furthermore, changes in cytokine expression induced by catecholamines favor Th2 responses.     

Kinetic fluorescence RT-PCR is highly sensitive for detection of germ-cell-tumor-specific transcripts in peripheral blood

The aim of our study was to determine whether conventional staging in patients with testicular germ-cell-tumors (GCT) could be supplemented by quantification of beta-human choriogonadotropin mRNA levels in peripheral blood using kinetic fluorescence RT-PCR. Blood samples from 41 patients with GCT of different clinical stages (CS) were pre-therapeutically examined by kinetic fluorescence RT-PCR with the LightCycler for beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-HCG) mRNA expression levels. The controls comprised of samples taken from patients 3 months after treatment, from patients with inflammatory testicular diseases or non-germ-cell-tumors and from healthy males (n=66). Six positive results [cut-off level: normalized beta-HCG mRNA (Nbeta-HCG) >400 relative gene expression (RGE)] were found in controls (specificity 90.9%, 95% CI: 76.9-97.3%). The overall ratio of positive PCR results in the group of GCT patients was 82.92% (34/41) (CS I 18/23, CS IIa-b 6/7, CS >IIb 10/11) (sensitivity 82.9%, 95% CI: 65.1-91.2%). The average Nbeta-HCG level in patients with clinical stage I tumors was 63772.0+/-125720.5 (mean +/- standard deviation) relative gene expression (RGE), 35076.0+/-52253.5 RGE in those with CS IIa-b tumors and 87298.3+/-120895.3 RGE in those with CS >IIb tumors. Kinetic fluorescence RT-PCR for tumor-specific gene products is, in contrast to qualitative RT-PCR, a promising approach to improve conventional staging in clinical low-stage testicular germ-cell-tumors. With high specificity, its sensitivity is higher than that of the corresponding serum tumor marker (82.92% vs 48.72%).