Mechanism and regulation of thiamine pyrophosphokinase from parsely leaf.

Thiamine pyrophosphokinase (EC 2.7.6.2) from parsely leaf showed an absolute requirement for divalent cation such as Mg2+, Mn2+ and Co2+. The activation effect varied with the species and concentrations of such cations. When Mn2+ or Co2+ was used as cofactor, maximal activation was found at a lower level than ATP concentration, whereas the activation by Mg2+ increased hyperbolically with the concentration. Studies of initial velocity and product inhibition led to conclude that the kinase reaction obeys a sequential ordered Bi Bi mechanism; i.e. the enzyme combines in turns with MgATP and thiamine, followed by release of TPP and AMP. The inhibition type revealed for inorganic pyrophosphate was competitive with respect to thiamine with Ki of approximately 2.8 mM. On the other hand, thiamine monophosphate exhibited noncompetitive inhibition with Ki of 0.2 mM. The plots of the reaction rate against MgATP concentrations gave a sigmoidal curve. Addition of either AMP or GMP resulted in restoration of a depressed activity at low concentration of MgATP. The "allosteric" inhibition was also relieved by the addition of an excess amount of magnesium ions. These findings suggest that transphosphorylation is regulated by subcellular concentrations of metal ions relative to ATP or of the products involved in the thiamine biosynthesis.


Glycerolipid metabolism in cellular and subcellular fractions of fasted rat liver.

The effect of overnight fasting on glycerolipids of the rat liver organelles was studied. The concentration of microsomal phospholipids was markedly decreased by fasting, whereas that of mitochondria and whole liver increased significantly. The significant increase due to fasting in the activity of microsomal phosphorylcholine-glyceride transferase appeared to be responsible for the increased concentration of hepatic phospholipid. The incorporation by the liver slice of [1(-14)C] glycerol into PC3 in mitochondria was increased by fasting, while there was no difference in the microsomal fraction containing supernatant. The significant decrease in the relative proportions of oleic and linoleic acids and a significant increase in stearic and arachidonic acids in phosphatidylcholine were observed in the intact liver as well as its subcellular fractions. The possible relationship of these changes after fasting to the similarity in the incorporation pattern of [1(-14)C] glycerol into the molecular species of these glycerolipids was demonstrated.


Testosterone treatment of excessively tall boys.

Twenty-nine tall boys with a mean height prediction of 198 cm were treated for serious psychosocial reasons with high doses of a long-acting testosterone preparation (500 mg/m2/month). Their ages at the start of treatment ranged from 9.8 to 16.9 years, and the mean duration of treatment was 1.2 years. Bone age was assessed according to the Tanner-Whitehouse II (RUS) method, and height predictions were calculated using the age-specific regression equations of Tanner and colleagues. On the basis of bone age at the start of treatment, three groups were formed (bone age 12.1 to 14, 14.1 to 15, and greater than 15 years), and the results were assessed separately. In the whole series, adult height was reduced by 5.4 cm; the best results (8cm) were achieved in the youngest bone age group. Under treatment, bone maturation was accelerated (1.8 years per year) and growth velocity increased (youngest bone age group) or was normal (older bone age groups). Testicular volume remained prepubertal in young patients and decreased in older ones. After discontinuation of treatment, testicular volume and sperm count became normal again after a mean period of 1.5 years, but in a few cases recovery was slower. It is concluded that adult height in tall boys may be effectively reduced by testosterone, that the results are best if treatment is started in early puberty, and that the suppressing effects on pituitary and testicular function are fully reversible. Since the indication for treatment is a psychosocial one, the patients should be carefully selected, taking into account not only growth but also psychological and familial factors.


Childhood cancer in sibs.

Thirty-eight families with cancer in two or more children were identified from records of the Sidney Farber Cancer Center and the Children's Hospital, Boston. Neoplasms developed in one pair of identical twins and in 37 sets of sibs (2 with 4 affected sibs, 4 with 3, and 31 sib-pairs). Predisposition to cancer extended to their parents and other relatives, and subsequently to other sibs who were unaffected at the time of ascertainment of the cancer-prone families. Genetic susceptibility was suggested in individual families by parental consanguinity or by an inherited disorder predisposing to cancer, but in other instances no oncogenic factors were identified. Familial aggregates of childhood provide opportunities for etiologic study and cancer control.


The occurrence of hepatoma in the chronic form of hereditary tyrosinemia.

A 5 1/2-year-old child with hepatocarcinoma complicating hereditary tyrosinemia is presented. A review of the literature and an attempted follow-up of previously reported patients with the chronic form of hereditary tyrosinemia have disclosed 16 cases of hepatocarcinoma occurring in 43 patients surviving beyond 2 years of age (37%). This incidence is considerably higher than that generally given for the occurrence of hepatoma in adults with macronodular cirrhosis. Females and males are equally at risk. Additional factors beyond the development of cirrhosis are likely operative in the induction of hepatocarcinoma in patients with this metabolic disorder; those surviving beyond infancy are at considerable risk for the development of fatal hepatic neoplasms.


Noradrenergic subsensitivity and supersensitivity of the cerebral cortex after reserpine treatment.

Changes in the sensitivity of the cyclic adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate response of rat brain cerebral cortical slices to norepinephrine were measured in vitro after the rats received i.p. injections of reserpine (1 mg/kg). Subsensitivity was evident 1 hour after a single reserpine treatment compared with saline controls. However, if reserpine was injected daily for 4 days followed by 1 day without reserpine treatment, a supersensitive response to NE was shown compared to the controls. Mean pD2 values are presented to illustrate the shifts of the dose-response curves after reserpine treatment. The present work demonstrated the induction of noradrenergic sub- and supersensitivity to norepinephrine in rat cerebral cortical slices after acute and 4-day reserpine treatment, respectively.


Effect of ethanol on the water permeability and short-circuit current of the urinary bladder of the toad and the response to vasopressin, adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate and theophylline.

The effects of ethanol on the water permeability and short-circuit current of the isolated urinary bladder of the toad, Bufo marinus, were investigated. Ethanol alone did not alter the flow of water along an osmotic gradient. The increase in osmotic water flow caused by vasopressin, theophylline or cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate was inhibited by 4 to 40 mg per ml of ethanol in the mucosal or serosal bathing medium. The inhibition was more marked when ethanol was added to the serosal bathing medium, in spite of the increase in the osmotic gradient across the toad bladder caused by the ethanol. Ethanol had no effect on the increase in sodium transport (short-circuit current) due to vasopressin, although there was a significant inhibition of base-line short-circuit current. It is possible that the water diuresis due to ethanol may result in part from an inhibition of the effect of vasopressin on the collecting duct.


Effect of synaptic transmission blockade on morphine action in the guinea-pig myenteric plexus.

Morphine, which inhibits release of acetylcholine from neurons in the myenteric plexus, also inhibits the spontaneous electrical activity of some myenteric neurons. To determine whether morphine acts at a site presynaptic to these neurons, we investigated this morphine effect under conditions of synaptic transmission blockade. Synaptically driven action potentials evoked by point stimulation were recorded extracellularly, and it was shown that all synaptic responses were eliminated or greatly reduced in Ca-free, high-Mg Ringer's with ethylenebis [(oxyethylenenitrilo)]-tetraacetic acid (EGTA), suggesting that synaptic transmission was blocked. Under these conditions, the ability of morphine to inhibit spontaneous electrical activity was virtually unimpaired. Assuming a single locus of narcotic action in the myenteric plexus, it is unlikely, therefore, that the primary action of opiates is to stimulate release of an inhibitory transmitter, to prevent release of an excitatory transmitter or to block the postsynaptic receptor for an excitatory transmitter. Rather, opiates may raise the membrane threshold of a class of neurons. Electric field stimulation activates myenteric neurons, resulting in a morphine-sensitive release of acetylcholine and a contraction of the longitudinal muscle. The ability of field stimulation to induce contractions and of morphine to inhibit these contractions, was virtually unchanged when the only two known excitatory inputs to the cholinergic motor neuron were eliminated by receptor blockade. These observations, taken together, suggest that opiates act directly on the cholinergic motor neuron of the myenteric plexus.


Effects of external ions on the synaptic transmission from photorecptors to horizontal cells in the carp retina.

1. Intracellular recordings were made from cones and horizontal cells of the isolated carp retina and the mechanisms of synaptic transmission from cones of horizontal cells were studied by changing the ionic composition of the external medium. 2. Cones were depolarized and their light responses enhanced in low Ca high-Mg medium. In the same medium, in which chemical transmission is suposed to be blocked, horizontal cells were hyperpolarized and their light responses disappeared. 3. When the synaptic input was removed, the membrane potential of horizontal cells agreed well with Ek. 4. In Na-free medium both cones and horizontal cells were hyperpolarized and response disappeared. On reaplication of normal Ringer, horizontal cells showed a trenaient membrane potential reversal (inside positive), indicating that the horizontal cell has a high Na permeability under the influence of the endogenous transmitter. 5. Application of La produced little change in cones, while it strongly depolarized horizontal cells...


Neurotrophic regulation of dynamic properties of skeletal muscle: effects of botulinum toxin and denervation.

In order to determine the role of acetylcholine (ACh) transmission in neurotrophic regulation of dynamic properties of muscle, the effects of botulinum toxin treatment were compared with those of denervation. The extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus muscles of rats were either denervated or injected with botulinum toxin. At times up to 25 days the isometric properties of these muscles were determined. 2. Both botulinum treatment and denervation produced progressive slowing of the time to peak of the twitch (TPT) and half-relaxation time of the twitch (1/2 RT), which was more pronounced in the EDL than in the soleus. 3. Both treatments produced slowing of the relaxation curve following tetanic contraction, more marked in the EDL than in the soleus muscle. This indicates a slowing of relaxation, and suggests a prolongation of the active state of the muscle. 4. The maximum rate of rise of the tetanus did not change significantly in the EDL and soleus muscles after botulinum treatment or denervation. This suggests that there is no major change in the speed of contraction under conditions of botulinum treatment or denervation. 5. The changes produced by botulinum treatment and denervation were virtually identical in all parameters tested. This is interpreted meaning that cholinergic transmission (including muscle usage), or some other factor closely related to cholinergic transmission, accounts for the motor nerve's trophic influence in maintaining these dynamic properties of skeletal muscles.


The mechanisms of action of chloromercuribenzene-p-sulphonic acid as insulin secretagogue: fluxes of calcium, sodium and rubidium in islets exposed to mercurial and a membrane-active antagonist.

Chloromercuribenzene-p-sulphonic acid (CMBS) is known to markedly stimulate insulin release and to enhance formation of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and monovalent cation permeability in the pancreatic islet cells. The effects on insulin release and cyclic AMP can be inhibited with 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (SITS). To elucidate the role of cationic fluxes in CMBS- induced insulin release, uptake of 22Na+ and 45Ca2+ as well as efflux of 86Rb+ were studied in islets exposed to 0-1 mM CMBS or 1-0 mM SITS or both. 2. The enhancing effect of CMBS on Na+ permeability, and probably also that on Rb+ permeability, was inhibited by SITS. 3. CMBS stimulated the rate of 45Ca2+ uptakes when the islets were incubated in a poly-anionic bicarbonate buffer but not when they were incubated in Tris buffer containing only Cl- as anion. In bicarbonate buffer, the enhancement of 45Ca2+ flux was observed both with the lanthanum method for measuring intracellular 45Ca2+ uptake and with a method estimating the total islet uptake. SITS had no significant effect on the CMBS-induced 45Ca2+ uptake. 4. Chromatography on Sephadex G-15 did not reveal any significant chemical interaction between 0-1 mM CMBS and 1 mM SITS. 5. The following hypothesis for the recognition of CMBS as insulin secretagogue is suggested: by increasing Na+ permeability more than K+ permeability, CMBS depolarizes the beta-cell, leading to initiation of insulin release by an ionic mechanism which may or may not involve a change in transmembrane Ca2+ fluxes. The marked intensity of the secretory response is due to the fact that CMBS also enhances cyclic AMP formation, potentiating the effect of the ionic mechanisms on the insulin discharge apparatus.


[Cerebral renin-like activity in different functional conditions (author's transl)].

Using the Boucher micromethod of determining renin activity in the frontoparietal cortex, brain stem, hypothalamus, hypophysis, and epiphysis rat tissue in different functional conditions, we have observed the following: 1 In rats previously treated with an I. V., injection of 1-1.5 ml 10% NaCl, an increase of renin-like activity was found in the cerebral cortex, brain stem and hypothalamus, whereas in the grandular tissue there was a significant decrease...


Steroid production by the isolated rabbit ovarian follicle.

Graafian follicles from New Zealand white rabbits were incubated at 37 degrees C for various periods of time with air as the gas phase. Media were changed every 15 min and stored at -15 degrees C until analysed for progestins, 17 beta-hydroxyandrogens and oestrogens using established radioimmunoassay procedures. At fixed times after the start of the incubations, media containing various test substances were added with subsequent replacement by medium alone. Addition of 5 mug LH/ml for 1 sec caused a dramatic increase in the synthesis and secretion of androgen with lesser increases in progestin and oestrogen. Puromycin and cycloheximide but not actinomycin D, inhibited LH-induced steroidogenesis. Cycli AMP, dibutyryl cycli AMP, cyclic CMP, 5'-AMP, and theophylline also caused an increase in androgen production which rapidly ceased when media without nucleotides were added. Sodium fluoride had no effect on steroidogenesis. From these data it was concluded that (i) the rabbit follicle is the major source of ovarian androgen; (ii) the binding of LH to the follicular cells is a rapid process; (iii) the events following LH binding do not require the presence of LH in the medium; (iv) cyclic nucleotides which may act as second messengers also stimulate steroidogenesis; (v) the effects of LH and cyclic nucleotides on steroidogenesis are different; and (vi) the action of LH on follicular steroidogenesis probably occurs in the translational level.


The sheep ovary: regulation of steroidogenic, haemodynamic and structural changes in the largest follicle and adjacent tissue before ovulation.

Important changes occur in the follicle that is destined to ovulate and also in the surrounding ovarian tissue of sheep during the 72 hr preceding ovulation. It is our purpose to describe the morphological and functional changes that take place in large follicles during the preovulatory period and to relate these to the local ovarian environment and general endocrine status prevailing at this time. A consideration of changes in the structure, blood supply and function of the ovaries in vivo, is followed by a discussion of the functional capacity of the individual ovarian components when isolated and studied in vitro. Against this background, the nature and sequence of events that occur in the preovulatory follicle and the mechanisms which regulate them will be discussed.


Coital exanthema in stallions.

Equine coital exanthema can be produced experimentally in stallions by inoculation with an equine herpesvirus (strain 65/61) and be transmitted during coitus with an infected mare. Serological responses to this infection include the production of complement-fixing and serum-neutralizing antibodies which reach maximum levels 14 to 21 days after infection. Complement-fixing antibodies decline rapidly and are usually not detectable by 60 days after infection, whereas serum-neutralizing antibody activity is maintained for at least 1 year. This disparity provides a useful method for the diagnosis of recent infections and estimation of the temporal incidence of infection in groups of mares. It seems likely that clinically normal carrier mares spread the virus on studs where the disease has previously not occurred.


Morphology and histochemistry of the endometrial cup.

The luminal and cut surface of endometrial cups were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The distribution of PAS-positive and lipid materials in cup tissue was studied and most of the lipid material was localized in the large polyhedral cup cells. The lipid droplets gave positive reactions for DNPH in the cholesterol test of Schultz. They also exhibited autofluorescence and were therefore considered to be steroidal in nature. The significance of this possibility, particularly with regard to maintenance of early pregnancy in the mare, is discussed.


Experimental studies on equine herpesvirus type 1 infections.

The EHV-1 viruses of fetal origin grew better and had a wider tissue culture host range than those isolated from horses with respiratory diseases. Comparisons of a fetal isolate (F/304) and a respiratory disease isolate (R/NM-3) in partly immune horses showed that the F/304 virus infected horses more readily, grew better in the nasopharynx, was more likely to cause abortion, and was excreted to a greater extent into the environment.


Specificity in enzyme inhibition. 3. Synthesis of 5-substituted 2,2-dimethyl-4-imidazolidinones as inhibitors of tyrosine decarboxylase and histidine decarboxylase.

2,2-Dimethyl-4-imidazolidinone derivatives of the alpha-amino acids DL-phenylglycine (1), DL-phenylalanine (2), L-tyrosine (3), L-histidine (4), and L-tryptophan (5) were prepared in order to assess their specificity in inhibiting amino acid decarboxylases. Treatment of th alpha-aminonitriles with acetone in the presence of base and heat or treatment of the alpha-amino amides with acetone gave the title compounds in 48-85% yield. The compounds afforded moderate ability to inhibit the decarboxylation of L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, or L-histidine in vitro, using crude enzymes. 3 was a better inhibitor of tyrosine decarboxylase (S. faecalis) than 2. 4 and 5 were comparable to 3 in inhibiting tyrosine decarboxylase. 4 was more selective in inhibiting purified histidine decarboxylase (Cl. welchii) than 5, which was inactive. 4 was inactive against fetal rat histidine decarboxylase in vitro.


Deviations from compositional randomness in eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteins: the hypothesis of selective-stochastic stability and a principle of charge conservation.

Eight proteins of diverse lengths, functions, and origin, are examined for compositional non-randomness amino acid by amino acid. The proteins investigated are human fibrinopeptide A, guinea pig Insulin, rattlesnake cytochrome c, MS2 phage coat protein, rabbit triosephosphate isomerase, bovine pancreatic deoxyribonuclease A, bovine glutamate dehydrogenase, and Bacillus thermoproteolyticus thermolysin. As a result of this study the experimentally testable hypothesis is put forth that for a large class of proteins the ratio of that fraction of the molecule which exhibits compositional non-randomness to that fraction which does not is on the average, stable about a mean value (estimated as 0.32 plus or minus 0.17) and (nearly) independent of protein length. Stochastic and selective evolutionary forces are viewed as interacting rather than independent phenomena. With respect to amino acid composition, this coupling ameliorates the current controversy over Darwinian vs. non-Darwinian evolution, selectionist vs. neutralist, in favor of neither: Within the context of the quantitative data, the evolution of real proteins is seen as a compromise between the two viewpoints, both important. The compositional fluctuations of the electrically charged amino acids glutamic and aspartic acid, lysine and arginine, are examined in depth for over eighty protein families, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic. For both taxa, each of the acidic amino acids is present in amounts roughly twice that predicted from the genetic code. The presence of an excess of glutamic acid is independent of the presence of an excess of aspartic acid and vice versa.


Influence of riboflavin on disturbances in trytophan metabolism and hepatoma production after a single dose of aflatoxin B1.

Female Wistar rats were given a single oral dose of aflatoxin B1, either alone or with a large amount of riboflavin. Biochemical and histologic studies were performed for 30 months. Nine animals of 19 in the aflatoxin-treated group and only 5 of 18 in the riboflavin-aflatoxin-treated group developed hepatomas. The number of rats was insufficient for tests of statistical significance to be fruitful. Urinary excretion of tryptophan metabolites was studied in aflatoxin- and riboflavin-treated rats after an oral administration of 10 mg tryptophan/100 g rat. Riboflavin did not affect the percentage of aflatoxin-treated animals with abnormal urinary excretion patterns, but did increase the magnitude of the disturbances in elimination of kynurenic and xanthurenic acids. The hepatic tryptophan-oxygenase activity was increased only in the two groups given riboflavin, and the levels of nucleic acids were the same in all groups.


Cell populations and known surface antigens of tumors induced by Abelson virus in pristane-primed BALB/c mice: an analysis by immunoelectron microscopy;.

When Abelson murine leukemia virus (MuLV-A) was inoculated into pristane-primed BALB/c mice, either plasmacytomas (PCT), lymphosarcomas, or their mixed form was induced with a shorter latent period than that for PCT induction in mice treated with pristane alone. All 3 neoplasms were designated Abelson's tumors. The morphology of the induced malignant cells and the presence of known surface antigens were analyzed by electron microscopy. The cell surface antigens (CSA) examined were PC1, X.1, Gross (GCSA), and Moloney (MCSA); viral envelope antigens (VEA) were xVEA, x1-VEA, sub-gsVEA, and MVEA. MuLV-A-pristane-induced PCT cells produced markedly fewer intracisternal type-A particles than did mineral oil-induced PCT cells. Most, if not all, mineral oil-induced PCT cells carried PC1 antigen and produced many extracellular type-C viruses carrying xVEA and x1-VEA, whereas Abelson's tumor cells had both a lower incidence and a smaller amount of PC1 and X.1 antigens and xVEA+ virus and lacked x1-VEA+ virus. In addition, most Abelson's tumors and their type-C viruses did not carry MCSA and MVEA ro GCSA and sub-gsVEA. All the macrophages in the PC1+ Abelson's tumors and many macrophages in PC1-Abelson's tumors contained various amounts of PC1 on their cell surfaces. For these reasons, Abelson's tumors were clearly distinct from pristane- or mineral oil-induced BALB/c PCT and from M-MuLV- ro G-MuLV-induced tumors.


Response of C3H-AvyfB female mice to a low oncogenic, milk-borne mammary tumor virus.

When low oncogenic milk-borne mammary tumor virus (MTV) of strain DD was tested in C3H-AvyfB mice, as compared with the similar strain C3HfB, mammary tumors occurred with a higher incidence and at lower age in C3H-AvyfBfDD (with DD-MTV) than in C3HfBfDD (with DD-MTV), as observed in virgin females. Since the effect of breeding tended to mask any difference between the breeders, mammary tumor incidences were similar with a slightly higher age at tumor occurrence in the C3H-AvyfBfDD females. Thus the C3H-AvyfB virgins (with the Avy gene) were almost as susceptible to mammary tumors with the less potent DD-MTV as were C3HfB virgins with the more virulent C3H-MTV of strain C3H.


Type-C RNA viruses of the NIH nude mouse.

Several types of tumors from various species were propagated in NIH athymic nude mice. Subsequently, cell lines were established from the tumors and examined for evidence of type-C virus activity. Hybrid mice (NIH Swiss and BALB/c) harbored murine type-C viruses of three categories: N-tropic, B-tropic and X-tropic.


Attenuation of herpesvirus saimiri for marmosets after successive passage in cell culture at 39 degrees C.

A variant of Herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) stably attenuated for marmosets was isolated after serial passage of wild-type HVS in cell culture at 39 degrees C. Marmosets previously inoculated with attenuated virus experienced a significant delay in the development of lymphoma when challenged with wild-type HVS.


Tumor regression caused by endotoxins and mycobacterial fractions.

A transplantable hepatocarcinoma of guinea pigs was used as an experimental model for immunotherapy of cancer. Earlier work showed that complete regression of 6- to 7-day-old tumors could be obtained in about 60% of cases by inoculation of the tumors with live BCG or certain fractions of BCG attached to minute oil droplets and suspended in Tween-saline. One of the most essential fractions was P3, a nonsensitizing, nonantigenic trehalose mycolate related to, but not identical with, cord factor. We now report that oil-droplet preparations containing P3 and bacterial endotoxin (ET) produced cure rates of up to 90% in the same system. In addition, regression was faster than with BCG, and older tumors could be treated successfully. The most effective ET's were from rough strains of salmonellae, known as Re mutants, which could not synthesize and attach the polysaccharide portion of endotoxin.


Quantitative cloning of malignant human glioma cells by conditioned medium.

The use of conditioned medium (CM) obtained from monolayer cultures of human glioma cells induced colony formation from single glioma cells in culture. In contrast, no colonies were observed in cultures incubated with nonconditioned standard Eagle's basal medium. The number of colonies formed closely depended on the concentration of CM. The  glioma CM not only stimulated colony formation but also induced the formation of fibrillary cell extensions. Culture conditions influencing the production of colony-stimulating factors included cell density and duration of culture medium contact with glioma cells. The colony-stimulating activity (CSA) was stable after freezing and thawing, but decreased 30-40% when CM was exposed to temperatures over 66 degrees C for 30 minutes. In addition, the CSA was filtratable (0.45 mu), dialyzable, and passable through an Amicon PM10 filter, which indicated a molecular weight less than 10,000. The use of CM provided an improved method for quantitative assays of neural tumor cells, based on their colony formation in culture.


In vitro evaluation of cell-mediated immunity to Epstein-Barr herpesvirus by cell migration inhibition tests.

Migration of peripheral leukocytes in samples from sensitized [Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibody-positive] humans was greatly inhibited when challenged by antigen prepared from EBV-producing P3HR-1 cells but not by antigen prepared from EBV-nonproducing RAJI cells, EBV-negative human fibroblasts, or epithelial cells. Such inhibition was not observed when peripheral leuocytes from subjects or neonates not sensitized to EBV were challenged. Similar results were obtained in a two-stage test when the same leukocyte samples were challenged in vitro by antigen prepared from P3HR-1 cells and the cell-free supernatant was assayed for migration inhibition factor (MIF) in the guinea pig macrophage migration inhibition test; migration of guinea pig peritoneal exudate cells was greatly inhibited by the supernatant filtrates of leukocyte cultures only from subjects positive for EBV-antibody. Furthermore, this inhibitory effect was not observed if supernatant filtrates from leukocyte cultures challenged by antigens prepared from RAJI cells, fibroblasts, or epithelial cells were used. The EBV antigen transformed peripheral leukocytes and induced early antigen production in RAJI cells; however, a "killed" preparation (by UV irradiation) was sufficient for eliciting MIF production.


Natural and experimentally induced antibodies to defined mammalian type-C virus proteins in primates.

Using sensitive radiommunoprecipitation assays for highly purified type-C RNA tumor virus proteins, we found that 5 of 16 clinically normal gibbons (including 4 of 5 normal animals from a colony with 2 cases of lymphoma) and 4 of 4 experimentally inoculated gibbons formed antibodies to the major structural protein (p30) of gibbon ape leukemia virus (GaLV). An additional woolly monkey immunized with the closely related simian sarcoma virus also formed antibodies detectable with GaLV p30. Of 20 patients immunized with formalin-inactivated Rauscher murine leukemia virus (R-MuLV), 10 were previously reported to have antibodies to MuLV as determined by an internally labeled banded virus radioimmunoprecipitation assay. In comparison studies with purified R-MuLV proteins, 7 of 20 patients formed antibodies: 3/20 to R-MuLV p30 only, 1/20 to R-MuLV glycoprotein (gp) 70 only, and 3/20 to both p30 and gp70. Most responders were melanoma patients receiving immunotherapy with BCG. Additionally, rhesus monkeys produced antibodies to the endogenous cat virus RD114 and closely related endogenous baboon leukemia virus p30's. Thus these studies demonstrated the ability of primates (including humans) to form antibodies to well-characterized proteins from endogenous and exogenous type-C viruses and the potential utility of these assays for seroepidemiologic studies.


Induction of liver tumor in Sherman strain female rats by polychlorinated biphenyl aroclor 1260.

Sherman strain female rats (200) were fed 100 ppm of polychlorinated biphenyl (Aroclor 1260) for apporximately 21 months, and 200 female rats were kept as controls. The rats were killed when 23 months old. Twenty-six of 184 experimental animals and 1 of 173 controls had hepatocellular carcinomas. None of the controls but 146 of 184 experimental rats had neoplastic nodules in their livers, and areas of hepatocellular alteration were noted in 28 of 173 controls and 182 of 184 experimental animals. Thus the polychlorinated biphenyl Aroclor 1260, when fed in the diet, had a hepatocarcinogenic effect in these rats. The incidence of tumors in other organs did not differ appreciably between the experimental and control groups.


Intracisternal A and C particles in mouse neurons: a thin-section study of normal trigeminal ganglion and C1300 neuroblastoma.

Trigerminal ganglia of 4 adult albino mice of the NMRI outbred stock were examined by electron microscopy. In all animals, about 10% of the neurons contained intracisternal A particles. Isolated structures resembling intracisternal A particles could be detected in atleast 50% of the nerve cells and in a few Schwann cells. Budding at the cell surface and/or extracellular type-C particles were not observed. An intracerebrally transplanted mouse C1300 neuroblastoma was likewise studied. Most tumor cells exhibited large numbers of intracisternal A particles having the same ultrastructure as the particles in trigeminal neurons. In addition, budding and extracellular type-C particles were occasionally observed.


Post-traumatic blood lipid changes and fat embolism. Relation of post-traumatic blood lipid changes and fat embolism syndrome.

Serum cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, and lipoprotein levels were studied by electrophoresis in 43 trauma patients with multiple fractures of the lower extremities and pelvis. Ten healthy volunteers were used for control studies. The fat embolism syndrome was diagnosed in eight of the 43 patients. The lipid values of all the trauma patients were lower than the control values. A decrease in cholesterol and phospholipids was observed in the fat embolism patients during 4 days; these changes were not observed in the other  trauma patients. The triglycerides of all the trauma patients increased slowly over a period of 4 days. Changes in the lipoprotein fractions after the trauma were minor. An early increase in the alpha1 lipbrotein fraction was noted in the fat embolism patients simultaneously with a decrease in the pre-beta lipoprotein fraction; the values of the other trauma patients were at the control levels. Normalization was observed in 6 hours. The lipid concentrations of plasma and serum did not change with filtration with 1.2, 5, and 8mum Millipore filters. No differences were noted between the femoral and cubital vein samples.


The acute carpal tunnel syndrome: nine case reports.

Nine cases of acute carpal tunnel syndrome are reported. Etiologies include: bleeding secondary to chronic lymphatic leukemia; Colles' fracture of the wrist (2 cases); Epiphyseal fracture (Salter II) of the distal radius; Bleeding secondary to giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath; Unstable distal radio-ulnar joint; Displaced intra-articular fracture of the distal radius; Rheumatoid synovitis and vasculitis; Trans-scaphoid, perilunar fracture dislocation of the wrist. Early recognition of median nerve compression in the carpal tunnel is vital. The signs of median nerve compression should be looked for in all cases of wrist trauma. In our opinion, immediate surgical decompression is frequently indicated.


Inhibition of cellular protein synthesis by simultaneous pretreatment of host cells with fowl plague virus and actinomycin D: a method for studying early protein synthesis of several RNA viruses.

A method is described for analysis of viral protein synthesis early after infection when minute amounts of viral proteins are effectively concealed by large amounts of produced host-specific proteins. The method is superior to a radioimmune assay, since all virus-induced proteins can be measured independent of their immunological reactivity. Host-specific protein synthesis can be suppressed by infection with fowl plague virus. Addition of actinomycin C 1.25 h postinfection does not prevent this suppression, but it does block effectively the formation of fowl plague virus-specific proteins. Such cells synthesize only small amounts of cellular proteins, as revealed by polyacrylamide electrophoresis. They can be superinfected with several different enveloped viruses, however, without significant diminution of virus yeilds. In pretreated cells the eclipse is shortened for Semliki Forest virus, Sindbis virus, and vesicular stomatitis virus, but prolonged for Newcastle disease virus. The onset of protein synthesis, specific for the superinfecting virus, could be clearly demonstrated within 1 h after superinfection. At this time, in cells superinfected with Semliki Forest virus, great amounts of NSP 75 (nonstructural protein; molecular weight, 75 X 10(3)) and reduced amounts of the core protein C could be deomonstrated. The precursor glycoprotein NSP 68 is followed by a new polypeptide, NSP 65: three proteins with molecular weights exceeding 100 X 10(3) were observed which are missing later in the infectious cycle. Similar results were obtained after superinfection with Sindbis virus. The formation of a new polypeptide with a molecular weight of about 80 X 10(3) was detected. After superinfection with vesicular stomatis virus or Newcastle disease virus the formation of new proteins, characteristic for the early stage of infeciton, was not observed.


Ribonucleotide sequence homology among avian oncornaviruses.

RNA sequence relatedness among avian RNA tumor virus genomes was analyzed by inhibition of DNA-RNA hybrid formation between 3H-labeled 35S viral RNA and an excess of leukemic or normal chicken cell DNA with increasing concentrations of unlabeled 35S viral RNA. The avian viruses tested were Rous associated virus (RAV)-3, avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV), RAV-60, RAV-61, and B-77 sarcoma virus. Hybridization of 3H-labeled 35S AMV RNA with DNA from normal chicken cells was inhibited by unlabeled 35S RAV-0 RNA as effeciently (100%) as by unlabeled AMV RNA. Hybridization between 3H-labeled 35S AMV RNA and DNA from leukemic chicken myeloblasts induced by AMV was suppressed 100 and 68% by unlabeled 35S RNA from AMV and RAV-0, respectively. Hybridization between 3H-labeled RAV-0 and leukemic chicken myeloblast DNA was inhibited 100 and 67% by unlabeled 35S RNA from RAV-0 and AMV, respectively. It appears therefore that the AMV and RAV-0 genomes are 67 to 70% homologous and that AMV hybridizes to RAV-0 like sequences in normal chicken DNA. Hybridization between AMV RNA and leukemic chicken DNA was inhibited 40% by RNA from RAV-60 or RAV-61 and 50% by B-77 RNA. Hybridization between RAV-0 RNA and leukemic chicken DNA was inhibited 80% by RAV-60 or RAV-61 and 70% by B-77 RNA. Hybridization between 3H-labeled 35S RNA from RAV-60 or RAV-61 and leukemic chicken myeloblast DNA was reduced equally by RNA from RAV-60, RAV-61, AMV or RAV-0; this suggests that RNA from RAV-60 and RAV-61 hybridizes with virus-specific sequences in leukemic DNA which are shared by AMV, RAV-0, RAV-60, and RAV-61 RNA'S. Hybridization between 3H-labeled 35S RNA from RAV-61 and normal pheasant DNA was inhibited 100% by homologous viral RNA, 22 TO 26% BY RNA from AMV or RAV-0, and 30 to 33% by RNA from RAV-60 or B-77. Nearly complete inhibition of hybricization between RAV-0 RNA and leukemic chicken DNA by a mixture of AMV and B-77 35S RNAs indicates that the RNA sequences shared by B-77 virus and RAV-0. It appears that different avian RNA tumor virus genomes have from 50 to 80% homology in nucleotide sequences and that the degree of hybridization between normal chicken cell DNA and a given viral RNA can be predicted from the homology that exists between the viral RNA tested and RAV-0 RNA.


Origin of the polyoma virus-associated endonuclease.

Endonuclease activity can be found associated with highly purified preparations of polyoma virus. Evidence has been obtained that this enzyme is not an integral part of the virus but is contributed by the fetal calf serum used in maintenance of polyoma-infected cells. This finding is based on: (i) the lack of virion-associated endonuclease activity when virus is produced using serum-free media and (ii) the production of polyoma antibody which neutralizes fetal calf serum endonuclease activity.


Reactivity of avian RNA tumor viruses with lectins.

The infectivity of avian RNA tumor viruses was inactivated to varying degrees by treatment with either concanavalin A (Con A) or phytohemagglutinin but not by treatment with wheat germ agglutinin. In general, leukosis viruses reacted preferentially with Con A, whereas sarcoma viruses showed more affinity for phytohemagglutinin. In a more extensive study with subgroup A of Prague Rous sarcoma virus (PR-A), the effect of inactivation by Con A could be specifically prevented by the addition of alpha-methyl-D-mannoside, alpha-methyl-D-glucoside, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. These sugars were also capable of eluting [3H]glucosamine-labeled material from disrupted PR-A virus, which was bound to a Con A-sepharose affinity column. A major viral glycoprotein recovered from the column had the same mobility as gp85 in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and could be immunoprecipitated with anti-gp85 antiserum. These results suggest that the material reacting with Con A is present on the gp85 component of the viral glycoprotein. The diversity in the reactivity of the glycoproteins of transforming and nontransforming viruses with plant lectins is discussed.


5' nucleotide sequence of sindbis viral RNA.

The 5' sequence of Sindbis viral RNA is m (7)G(5') pppApUpGp...


Comparison of an avian osteopetrosis virus with an avian lymphomatosis virus by RNA-DNA hybridization.

Myeloblastosis-associated virus (MAV)-2(0), a virus which was derived from avian myeloblastosis virus and induced a high incidence of osteopetrosis, was compared with avian lymphomatosis virus 5938, a recent field isolate which induced a high incidence of lymphomatosis. The following information was obtained. (i) MAV-2(0) induced osteopetrosis, nephroblastoma, and a very low incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma. No difference was seen in the oncogenic spectrum of end point and plaque-purified MAV-2(0). (ii) 125I-labeled RNA sequences from MAV-2(0) formed hybrids with DNA extracted from osteopetrotic bone at a rate suggesting five proviral copies per haploid cell genome. The extent of hybridization of MAV-2(0) RNA with DNA from osteopetrotic tissue was more extensive (87%) than was observed in reactions with DNA from uninfected chicken embryos (52%). (iii) Competition of unlabeled viral RNA in hybridization reactions between the radioactive RNA from the two viruses and their respective proviral sequences present in tumor tissues showed that 15 to 20% of the viral sequences detected in these reactions were unshared. In contrast, no differences were detected in competition analyses of RNA sequences from the two viruses detected in DNA of normal chicken cells. (iv) MAV-2(0) 35S RNA was indistinguishable in size from avian lymphomatosis virus 5938 35S RNA by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.


Kinetics of cell fusion induced by a syncytia-producing mutant of herpes simplex virus type I.

We have isolated a number of plaque-morphology mutants from a strain of herpes simplex virus type I which, unlike the wild type, cause extensive cell fusion during a productive viral infection. After the onset of fusion, there is an exponential decrease in the number of single cells as a function of time after infection. At a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 3.8 plaque-forming units per cell, fusion begins 5.3 h after infection with the number of single cells decreasing to 10% of the original number 10.2 h after infection. As the MOI is gradually increased from 0.4 to 8, the onset of fusion occurs earlier during infection. However, when the MOI is increased from 8 to 86, the onset of fusion does not occur any earlier. The rate of fusion is independent of the MOI for an MOI greater than 1. The rate of fusion varies linearly with initial cell density up to 3.5 X 10(4) cells/cm2 and is independent of initial cell density at higher cell concentrations. To assay cell fusion we have developed a smiple quantitative assay using a Coulter counter to measure the number of single cells as a function of time after infection. Data obtained using a Coulter counter are similar to those obtained with a microscope assay.


Interferon treatment of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells: effects on exogenous mRNA translation and tRNA inactivation in the cell extract.

We reported earlier that in cell extracts that were prepared from interferon-treated Ehrlich ascites tumor cells and preincubated and passed through Sephadex G-25 (S60INT), the translation of exogenous mRNA (viral and host) was impaired and the impairment could be overcome to a large extent by adding a crude tRNA preparation from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells but not from Escherichia coli. We find now that the rate of inactivation of some tRNA's (especially those specific for leucine, lysine, and serine) but not those of many others is faster in S30INT than in corresponding extracts from control cells. This increased rate of tRNA inactivation may perhaps account for the need for added RNA to overcome at least partially the impairment of translation in S30INT. The relationship of the increased rate of tRNA inactivation to the antiviral effect of interferon is unclear. So far no significant difference has been detected in the amount of tRNA needed to overcome the impairment of encephalomyocarditis virus RNA translation in S30INT between tRNA from interferon-treated cells and tRNA from control cells. Futhermore, no difference was found in the rate of inactivation in S30INT between leucine-specific tRNA's from interferon-treated and from control cells. tRNA's specific for leucine and lysine were not inactivated (unless very slowly) during incubation under out conditions in an extract from interferon-treated (or from control) cells unless the extract had been passed through Sephadex G-25 or dialyzed. The translation fo exogenous mRNA was, however, impaired in an extract from interferon-treated cells that had not been passed through Sephadex G-25. This impairment was apparently not overcome by added tRNA.


Strand-specific transcription of polyoma virus DNA-early in productive infection and in transformed cells.

The DNA strand origin of nuclear and cytoplasmic polyoma-specific RNA in productively infected mouse cells and in a line of polyoma-transformed hamster cells was determined by hybridization of unlabeled RNA with radioactively labeled separated strands of polyoma DNA. Early in the productive cycle (10 h postinfection) nuclear viral RNA is complementary to only about 40% of the E strand of viral CNA. No RNA complementary to the L strand was detected even when the RNA was first self-annealed to enrich for possible minor species. Early cytoplasmic RNA is complementary to the same 40% of the E strand. Thus, only that part of the poloma genome which codes for early virual messenger RNA appears to be transcribed. Late in infection, nuclear viral RNA is complementary to most or all of the L strand and to at least 60% of the E strand. Late cytoplasmic viral RNA hybridizes to 40 to 45% of the E strand and 50 to 55% of the L strand. The transformed cell nuclear viral RNA is complementary to 60% of the E strand, whereas cytoplasmic RNA is complementary to 40% of the E strand and comprises the same polyoma-specific sequences as are found in RNA early in productive infection. No L strand transcripts could be detected. Thus, in the transformed cells and late in productive infection, viral RNA sequences in the cytoplasm are a specific subset of those in the nucleus.


Chromatin-like structures in polyoma virus and simian virus 10 lytic cycle.

Nucleoprotein complexes containing viral DNA and cellular histones were extracted from nuclei of permissive cells infected with polyoma virus or simian virus 40 (SV40) and examined by electron microscopy. Polyoma and SV40 nucleoprotein complexes are almost identical. They appear as relaxed circular molecules consisting of 20 to 21 globular particles interconnected by thin filaments. Their contour length in 0.02 M salt is 2.7 times shorter than that of viral DNA form I obtained after dissociation of the proteins in 1 M NaCl. The nucleosomes have an average diameter of 12.5 nm. Each nucleosome contains 175 to 205 DNA base pairs condensed fivefold in length. The nucleosomes are regularly spaced on the circular molecule. The internucleosomal filaments are made of naked DNA, and each filament contains about 55 base pairs. The partial sensitivity of the nucleoprotein complex to cleavage by EcoR1 endonuclease suggests that the nucleosomes are not formed at specific sites on the viral genome. Faster sedimenting nucleoprotein complexes containing replicative intermediates were studied. Isopycnic centrifugation in metrizamide gradients in the absence of aldehyde fixation showed that these molecules conserved the same DNA-to-protein ratio as the form I DNA-containing complexes.


Orientation of the complementary strands of polyoma virus DNA with respect to the DNA physical map.

The chemical polarities of the two strands of polyoma virus DNA with respect to the DNA physical map have been determined by hybridization of restriction endonuclease fragments specifically labeled with [125I]dCMP at their 3' termini to asymmetric polyoma complementary RNA (the product of in vitro transcription of viral DNA by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase). The orientations of the polyoma-specific stable RNA transcripts present in the cytoplasm of productively linfected mouse cells have been deduced from this result: the 5' ends of the early and late viral transcripts map very near the origin of viral DNA replication.


Growth of enveloped RNA viruses in a line of chinese hamster ovary cells with deficient N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase activity.

Sindbis and vesicular stomatitis viruses were grown in a line (termed 15B) of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells that is deficient in a specific UDP-N-acetyl-glucosamine:glycoprotein N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase. Both viruses replicated normally in the cell line, but the glycoproteins of the released virus migrated faster on sodium didecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels than did glycoproteins of virus grown in parent CHO cells. Digestion of the viral glycoproteins with Pronase followed by gel filtration demonstrated that the glycoproteins with Pronase followed by gel filtration demonstrated that the glycopeptides of Sinbis-15B virus were much smaller than the glycopeptides of Sindbis-CHO virus. In addition, Sindbis-15B viral glycopeptides but not Sindbis-CHO viral glycopeptides contained terminal alpha-mannose residues as shown by their susceptibility to alpha-mannosidase digestion. These findings demonstrate that the oligosaccharide units of the glycoproteins of vesicular stomatitis and Sinbis viruses are altered when the viruses are grown in 15B cells. We conclude that the N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase that is missing in 15B cells normally participates in the biosynthesis of the oligosaccharide units of the viral glycoproteins, and in the absence of this enzyme incomplete oligosaccharide chanis are produced. Viruses released from 15B cells appear to retain full infectivity; Sindbis-15B virus, however, showed a significant decrease in hemagglutination titer compared with that of Sindbis-CHO virus.


Transformation of hamster kidney cells by BK papovavirus DNA.

Supercoiled BK papovavirus DNA was shown to transform hamster kidney cells using the calcium phosphate co-precipitation technique. The transformed cells contained intranuclear T-antigen(s) and rescuable virus and produced progressively growing tumors when inoculated into hamsters. A novel finding was the production in tumor-bearing animals of antinuclear antibody, which reacted against normal, untransformed cells; in addition, tumor serum contained antibody against virus-specific T-antigen(s).


Studies on morphological transformation of BALB/3T3-derived clones by murine leukemia virus.

We have described a cell line, UC1-B, derived spontaneously from BALB/3T3 mouse embryo cells, which, unlike the standard BALB/3T3, are morphologically transformed and produce bizarre viral forms in response to murine leukemia virus. Although UC1-B and BALB/3T3 are morphologically similar, and both form contact-inhibited monolayers at confluence, the UC1-B cells are partially transformed because: they grow to a slightly higher saturation density than 3T3 cells, they grow in medium lacking serum growth factors, and they produce tumors in mice. Another clone, 12A-3, derived from BALB/3T3, also transforms and produces bizarre viral forms after infection with murine leukemia virus. Unlike UC1-B cells, the 12A3-8 cells are identical in growth properties to BALB/3T3; therefore, a partially altered morphology is not required for the induction of transformation by murine leukemia virus.


Identification of a precursor protein to the major glycoproteins of mouse mammary tumor virus.

Mouse mammary tumor virus-producing cultures of mouse mammary tumor cells synthesize a viral-related polypeptide of molecular weight of 73,000 (gp 73) which is rapidly labeled during a short pulse but disappears during the chase concomitantly with the appearance of label in the virion glycoproteins gp 49 and gp 37.5/33.5. The addition of the protein synthesis-inhibitor cycloheximide to the chase medium has little effect on this conversion. Treatment of the proposed precursor with alpha-chymotrypsin leads to the formation of a polypeptide of molecular weight 49,000, similar to the major virion glycoprotein. A comparison of tryptic digest maps of the glycoproteins involved supports the hypothesis that both the viral glycoproteins gp 49 and gp 37.5/33.5 are derived from gp 73.


Differential inhibition of vesicular stomatitis virus polypeptide synthesis by hypertonic initiation block.

Synthesis of the vesicular stomatitis virus membrane matrix protein and the glycoprotein is inhibited to a greater extent than the synthesis of the nucleocapsid protein, the nonstructural protein, and the large protein when the rate of peptide chain initiation is reduced by exposure of vesicular stomatitis virus-infected cells to hypertonic medium. It is concluded that the relative sensitivity of individual viral polypeptide synthesis to hypertonic initiation block is independent of the site of synthesis, i.e., whether on membrane-associated or free polyribosomes.


5'-terminal sequence of vesicular stomatitis virus mRNA's synthesized in vitro.

Unmethylated or methylated 12 to 18S mRNA's synthesized in vitro by the virion-associated RNA polymerase of vesicular stomatitis virus contain the 5'-terminal hexanucleotide sequence G(5')ppp(5')ApApCpApGp...or m 7G(5')-ppp(5')ApmApCpApGp..., respectively. The implication of these results in relation to the regulation of transcription in vesicular stomatitis virus is discussed.


Quantitative analysis of the rescue of RNA sequences by mammalian type C viruses.

The specificity and quantitation of the rescue of RNA sequences by mammalian type C viruses has been investigated. Type C virus can package with specificity only type C viral RNA. Type C viruses do not encapsidate with comparable efficiency either type B viral or cellular globin mRNA. Conversely, a non-type C mammalian retravirus, MP-MV, cannot encapsidate type C RNA. A revertant of Kirsten sarcoma virus (Ki-SV)-transformed nonproducer cells which fails to rescue biologically active Ki-SV after superinfection with helper virus had no detectable intracellular Ki-SV-specific RNA. The results suggest specific mechanisms by which type C viral proteins can package type C viral RNA and provide an approach to classifying RNA of potentially defective endogenous retraviruses as type C in origin.


High spontaneous mutation rate of an avian sarcoma virus.

Three genetically distinct types of chicken sarcoma virus Bratislava 77 (B77 virus) differing in their ability to infect duck cells were identified. B77 virus type I does not infect duck cells; B77 virus type II has a low efficiency of infection of duck cells; and B77 virus type III has a high efficiency of infection of duck cells. B77 viruses type I and III are produced by spontaneous mutation during the growth of B77 virus type II in chicken cells. The spontaneous mutation of B77 virus type II TO B77 virus type III occurs with a high rate (approximately 1 mutation per 50 infected cell generations), requires cell replication, and neither occurs during the synthesis of viral DNA on an RNA template nor during the transcription of progeny viral RNA from the provirus. The rate of spontaneous mutation of B77 virus type II to B77 virus type I is greater than the rate of spontaneous mutation of B77 virus type II to B77 virus type III.


Virus-dependent glycosylation.

The oligosaccharides of the membrane glycoproteins of Sindbis virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, and Rous sarcoma virus were compared on the basis of apparent size and sugar composition. It appears that each virus acquires a different set of oligosaccharides during growth in a single type of cell.


Fibrous histiocytoma of the bladder.

A case report of a fibrous histiocytoma of the bladder that presented as total, gross, painless hematuria with compression of the intramural ureter is described. Important pathologic aspects are presented and histiocytic tumors are discussed briefly. Any histiocytic tumor not related to a disease of lipid metabolism is rare and we have found no previous report of a fibrous histiocytoma of the bladder.


The stimulatory effect of the boiled supernatant on cyclic AMP formation in synaptosomes from rat cerebral cortex.

The effect of the boiled supernatant on synaptosomal adenyl cyclase activity of rat cerebral cortex was investigated. The boiled supernatant markedly increased the accumulation of cyclic AMP in synaptosomes when added to adenyl cyclase system by a mechanism presumably unrelated to inhibition of cyclic AMP phosphod iesterase or adenosine triphosphatase. Magnesium ion was required for synaptosomal adenyl cyclase activity and its stimulation by the boiled supernatant. The result discerned by doubl reciprocal plots showed an increase in Vmax value of adenyl cyclase by addition of the boiled supernatant without significantly altering the affinity for substrate. The enzyme activity was not stimulated by dopamine, histamine and serotonin in either the absence and presence of the boiled supernatant.


Effect of "drugs for liver disease" on hepatotoxic action of carbon tetrachloride. I. Changes of lysosomal enzyme levels and effect of protoporphyrin on the levels.

In order to clarify the action of drugs for liver disease, the effect of protoporphyrin (PP) on CCl4-induced liver injury was studied. Attention was given to the levels of lysosomal enzymes, some components of the liver, and inhibition of enzymes and lysis of lysosomal membranes by lipid peroxides. Administration of PP to CCl4-poisoned rats was found to prevent the decrease in lysosomal lipolytic enzyme level in the liver, but not in other enzyme levels tested. The inhibition of lipolytic enzyme by CCl4 administered may be partially involved in lipid accumulation in the liver. A dose of PP administered to CCl4-poisoned rats for 8 days depressed the neutral lipid content in the liver nearly to the control value. Methyl linoleate hydroperoxide (hydroperoxide) at a lower concentration of 10(-6)% inhibited the lipolytic enzyme acitivity by 30% and in concentrations ranging from 10(-4) to 10(-3)% inhibited beta-glucuronidase activity. Addition of PP to the medium containing 10(-6) to 10(-5)% hydroperoxide and alpha-tocopherol reduced the enzyme inhibition further than in the absence of PP. The hydroperoxide in concentrations varying from 10(-6) to 10(-3)% caused a partial lysis of liver lysosomal membranes, but addition of PP slightly reduced the damage by the hydroperoxide in concentration lower than 10(-5)%.


The effect of danazol in sexual precocity.

The effect of Danazol, a synthetic 2,3 isoxazol derivative of 17 alpha-ethinyl testosterone, was assessed in three girls and two boys with sexual precocity. Progression of sexual development ceased during administration of Danazol; the effect upon growth rate and skeletal maturation was equivocal. Serum estrogen and progesterone concentrations in the girls were lower during treatment; serum testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone levels in the boys were also lower. Serum and urinary luteinizing hormone concentrations were inconsistently suppressed. No effect upon follicle-stimulating hormone levels could be demonstrated. Although Danazol appears to inhibit sexual development, this study indicates that the pituitary-gonadal axis is not completely suppressed. Growth rate is not reverted to normal, and virilization may occur among girls. Because undesirable side effects may outweight desirable results, careful consideration is recommended before Danazol is prescribed in the management of sexual precocity.


Transmission of cytomegalovirus infection with renal allograft.

Fifty-four patients who received a renal allograft between October 1971 and October 1974 were followed prospectively to correlate pretransplant serum antibody to cytomegalovirus (CMV) with shedding of CMV following transplantation. Twenty-five of 54 patients had antibody demonstrable to CMV using immunofluorescent techniques, but only 20 of 54 using complement-fixing techniques. All 24 who had antibody and survived one month or longer, and seven of nine without antibody but who received a kidney from a seropositive donor shed virus after transplantation, whereas none of 12 individuals without antibody and who received a kidney from a seronegative donor (P less than 0.005) shed virus. Three of eight other seronegative patients for whom donor sera were not available for analysis shed virus. Viremia occurred in eight of ten individuals who developed new antibody after transplantation, versus seven of 24 with antibody prior to transplant (P less than 0.02), and virus shedding in seroconverters from other sites was significantly more persistent than in pretransplant antibody-positive patients. Thus, CMV infection was due either to reactivation of latent infection or was transmitted along with the renal allograft and manifested as a primary infection.


[Cataract by galactokinase deficiency (author's transl)].

In an infant with an inborn defect of the galactokinase, a diffuse turbidity of the lenses was observed before the onset of dietetic therapy at the age of 5 weeks. 2 1/2 years later, the lenses were almost clear, however, typical zonular opacities were revealed at the slit lamp.


[Lipid constellation in low density lipoproteins of primary type II hyperlipoproteinemia (author's transl)].

The lipid composition of purified low density lipoproteins (LDL) was investigated in normal subjects and in type II a and b hyperlipoproteinemia. A significant increase of ester cholesterol in LDL of type II a patients and a decrease of phospholipids in LDL of type II b patients as compared with normal controls, were encountered. The results are compared with other reports from the literature and discussed with regard to the disturbance of LDL metabolism in type II hyperlipoproteinemia.


Husbandry and observation methods of a breeding colony of marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) for behavioural research.

By allowing families to increase in size, co-operation between parents and adolescents in infant care was encouraged. Young adult pairs were subsequently created with these marmosets which had experience of handling infants to provide a stable basis for breeding 2nd and 3rd generation marmosets in captivity.


Diaphragmatic herniation of the liver in macaques demonstrated by intravenous hepatography.

A suspected diagnosis of diaphragmatic herniation of the liver in 2 monkeys (Macaca fascicularis and Macaca mulatta) was confirmed radiographically by using various contrast media. Experimental compound AG 60.99, which is selectively concentrated in the liver and spleen, allowed excellent visualization of these 2 organs and confirmed the presence of a portion of the liver in the right thorax. Cholografin Meglumine was subsequently utilized to determine the location of the gall bladder. Other potential uses for AG 60.99 were discussed.


Ultrastructural localization of peroxidatic catalase in human peripheral blood leukocytes.

Localization of peroxidatic catalase in human peripheral blood leukocytes was accomplished by the assessment of alkaline diaminobenzidine reaction in the cytoplasmic granules of normal and acatalasemic leukocytes. A modified cytochemical procedure of Novikoff and Goldfischer (Novikoff AB, Goldfischer S: J Histochem Cytochem 17:675, 1969) and of Fahimi (Fahimi HD:J Cell Biol 43:275, 1969) was employed to improve the specificity of alkaline diaminobenzidine test for catalase. Diaminobenzidine-positive reaction for peroxidative catalase was observed in large and medium-sized granules in the cytoplasm of normal neutrophils, but a striking and notable absence of this reaction was observed in acatalasemic neutrophils. The test for myeloperoxidase, with the diaminobenzide reaction performed at neutrality, disclosed positively stained granules in both normal and acatalasemic neutrophils. Similarities in size and configuration of the positively stained granules for these enzymes suggest that catalase is sequestered in organelles which may be primary or azurophilic granules. Myeloperoxidase has been shown to be localized in the primary granules by others. It is possible that catalase and myeloperoxidase may be sequestered together or separately in these granules, but the present data do not permit us to draw this distinction. The ultrastructural localization of peroxidatic catalase and myeloperoxidase has been attempted in eosinophils, lymphocytes, and platelets, and the observations are compared with those of neutrophilic granules. The localization of peroxidatic catalase in  monocytes could not be assessed satisfactorily because of the difficulties encountered in proper sampling of these cells.


Does myosin-substrate interaction in vitro result in a delocalized conformation change?

The effect of substrate on the far UV (185-250 nm) and near UV (250-325 nm) circular dichroism (CD) of myosin and heavy meromyosin (HMM) was studied. The following results were obtained with the addition of ATP (during various conditions of hydrolysis), ADP, and pyrophosphate: (1) no changes were observed in the far UV CD, (2) ATP and ADP perturbed the near UV CD only at spectral regions below 280 nm coinciding with the regions of their optical activity, (3) the optically inactive pyrophosphate caused no change in the near UV CD, and (4) myosin and HMM gave exactly the same results. These results suggest that myosin-substrate interaction in vitro does not result in a delocalized conformational change.


Surgical treatment for lung cancer with metastasis to mediastinal lymph nodes.

A series of cases of lung cancer were analyzed, with particular attention to the relationship between the presence of lymph node metastases and the prognosis for surgical intervention. The cases are classified into four clinical stages and a detailed classification of histologically proved lymph node metastasis and pleural involvement is presented. Results indicate that the presence of mediastinal lymph node metastasis, especially in cases with squamous-cell carcinoma and negative subcarinal lymph node, does not contraindicate surgical treatment.


The use of bronchoscopic sponge biopsy in the diagnosis of pulmonary neoplasms.

A modified method of transbronchoscopic sponge biopsy is presented a  series of 212 patients is discussed. A diagnostic accuracy rate of 89 per cent was obtained in the 159 cases of proved carcinoma. False-positive and false-negative results are discussed. This technique was found to be an easy, rapid, accurate, and inexpensive method of obtaining samples for cytologic evaluation in the preoperative work-up of patients with suspected pulmonary malignancies.


Carinal resection. A report of two cases and a description of the anesthetic technique.

Two cases of carinal tumor managed by resection and primary anastomosis are presented. Their course is discussed and a description of an anesthetic technique which obviates the need for cardiopulmonary bypass is presented. The principles of carinal surgery are discussed, emphasizing expert anesthesia and resection line control by frozen-tissue examination.


International arbovirus research.

International cooperation in arbovirus research became increasingly prominent shortly after it was found in the early 1940's, that antigenic relationships existed among certain viruses isolated in different areas of thw world. The interest of a number of scientists and of a private organization led to the establishment of an international information exchange and to the preparation of an international catalogue of arboviruses including certain other viruses of vertebrates. International cooperation was fostered by the interest taken in these agents by the World Health Organization and the creation by this agency of an international net of collaborating laboratories with assigned areas of the world. A number of recent problems have been revealed and solved, or partly solved by this international effort, among which are questions relating to: the Marburg agent disease, the existence of an antigenic relationship between rabies virus and some arboviruses, aspects of the ecology or viruses in the California, Uukuniemi and Kemerovo groups, as well as several unanticipated antigenic relationships among viruses. Numerous questions still remain the solution of which might be expedited by continued and increased cooperative international effort such as overwintering or survival of viruses under unfavorable circumstances, pathogenic potential for man and domestic animals of certain viruses, role on chronic illnesses, establishment of the etiology of certain diseases and investigations of the basic properties of viruses, particularly of the Bunyaviridae.


Tick-borne viruses associated with seabirds in North America and related islands.

About 18 tickborne viruses associated with seabirds are known from Canada, Mexico, the Antilles, and the United States, including its oceanic islands. Antigenic groups to which these viruses belong are Hughes, B, Sakhalin, Uukuniemi, Kemerovo, Nyamani and Quaranfil. Members of the last two groups are known in the Western Hemisphere only from Central Pacific Islands and may reflect intrusion of elements of the Australian Region. In the areas under discussion, antibody surveys have been minimal, but there is some indication of human exposure to agents of the Kemerovo group. Members of the Hughes, Nyamanini, and Quaranfil groups are all argasid tick viruses, largely tropical or subtropical in distribution, and associated particularly with gulls and terns (Laridae). The remainder, with the exception of Mono Lake (Kemerovo group, Chenuda Subgroup), which may be a virus of inland birds, are ixodid tick viruses associated mostly with seabirds of the polar or subpolar regions. All of these viruses are seen as acted upon by a common pattern of geographic and biotic factors that influences antigenic diversity of the virus and favors development of strong insular variants.


Tick-borne viruses in Finland.

Ixodes ricinus is the only one of six tick species reported from Finland found to carry viruses. It transmits tick-borne encephalitis and Uukuniemi viruses, and transmission of a Kemerovo group virus is suggested by antibody findings. Tick-borne encephalitis is common only in the SW-archipelago; it is also found near the SE-boarder but is very rare elsewhere. In contrast, Uukuniemi virus is common throughout the distribution area of I. ricinus, being commoner on the mainland than in the archipelago. Medium, large and small mammals participate in the cycle of tick-borne encephalitis virus, though birds are not excluded and apparently they act as host to the Uukuniemi virus. The encephalitis virus causes clinical illness in man, with cases limited mostly to the SW-archipelago; the disease is a relatively mild form of tick-borne encephalitis, with biphasic and meningeal symptoms dominating.


Comparative aspects of the replication of alphaviruses and poliovirus.

The replication of both alpha- and picornaviruses results in the production of plus-stranded viral progeny. Each of these two classes of virus devotes about the same amount of viral genetic information to structural proteins but the alphaviruses use more genetic information for non-virion proteins. This additional information may be required because the alphaviruses have a much broader host range. Alternatively, the additional information may be required for interrupted transcription that yields a subgenomic mRNA that encodes all of the alphaviral structural proteins. This subgenomic mRNA allows preferential synthesis of a precursor af all virion proteins. Cleavage of this precursor has been observed during in vitro protein synthesis and can be prevented by an appropriate temperature-sensitive mutation.


Translation of the genes for the structural proteins of alphaviruses.

Synthesis of the structural proteins of Semliki Forest virus by a cell-free system derived from mouse L-cells and programmed by intracellular 26S RNA is described. This polycistronic RNA is translated in vitro into several discrete polypeptides. The identity of these polypeptides as the structural proteins of the virus was established by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoprecipitation and tryptic peptide mapping. Studies using formyl--e135S]methionyl-tRNAf as precursor, and using diphtheria toxin and NAD to inhibit elongation, showed that 26S RNA contains only a single initiation site at, or near, the 5' end of the core protein cistron. Experiments in infected cells under conditions of synchronous initiation revealed that the order of the structural protein genes in 26S RNA is core-E3-E2-E1 in the 5' leads to 3' direction.


[Surgical treatment of malformations of the hand (author's transl)].

The frequency of malformations of the hand is estimated at 0.5 percent of live births. The course of early developmental processes makes early correction advisable. Knowledge of the special anatomy and mastery of the microsurgical operation techniques makes this possible. The main indications and methods that hve been tested are discussed.


[Carcinochemotherapy in pediatric surgery (author's transl)].

One hundred sixteen children with malignant tumors were treated by surgery and additional chemotherapy from 1969 to 1974. The chemotherapy was standardized as far as possible for the commonest tumors of childhood (neuroblastoma, Wilm's tumor rhabdomyosarcoma, osteosarcoma). The results are presented in detail.


[Juvenile tonsillectomy and leukemia].

Among 305 children with leukemia, between one and fourteen years old, authors found 8 and in a comparative group ("individual matched pairs") 40 children with removed tonsils. The difference (2.62% tonsillectomized children in the leukemia-group, 13.11% in the comparative group) is highly significant. The frequency of tonsillectomy in childhood in Germany corresponds to the percentage of 13.11%. It has to be discussed, if there exists a causality between the state of the tonsils and the frequency of leukemia in childhood. The authors suggest further investigations of this highly interesting subject.


Uptake and metabolism of exogenous eicosa-8,11,14-trienoic acid in minimal deviation hepatoma 7288 C cells.

Minimal deviation hepatoma 7288 C cells were cultured in Swim's medium containing 10% serum for 48 hr. The growth medium was replaced with serum free media containing different concentrations of [1-14C] eicosa-8,11,14-trienoic acid and the cells were incubated for 24 hr. Incorporation into cell lipids, oxidation to CO2, and desaturation to arachidonic acid were studied. The oxidation of the acid was very low. It was preferentially incorporated into the polar lipids of the cell. The incorporation depended on the number of cells and fatty acid concentration. Saturation of the cells with the acid was reached when 144.7 nmoles per mg of cellular protein were incorporated. The acid was desaturated readily to arachidonic acid. The nmoles of eicosatrienoic acid converted to arachidonic acid per mg of cellular protein were hyperbolic function of the acid incorporated. Maximal desaturation, 23 nmoles per mg of cellular protein, was reached when the cells were saturated with the acid. The calculations of the desaturation capacity and of the endogenous pool of eicosatrienoic acid available for desaturation in the cell are discussed.


Hepatoma, host liver, and normal rat liver phospholipids as affected by diet.

Individual phospholipid classes derived from hepatoma, host liver, and normal liver of rats maintained on chow and fat free diets were examined in detail and the sphingomyelin and phosphoglyceride structures compared. The concentration of hepatoma spingomyelin was higher while phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, and diphosphatidylglycerol were only one-fourth to one-half normal liver concentrations, irrespective of diet. Hepatoma phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidyl-serine, and phosphatidylinositol contained higher percentages of 18:1 and, except phosphatidylinositol, much lower percentages of most polyunsaturated fatty acids than liver. The 1-position of host liver phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, normal liver phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, and hepatoma phosphatidylcholine from animals on both diets had the same approximate fatty acid composition, but the percentage of 16:0 in hepatoma phosphatidylethanolamine was reduced dramatically. The low percentage of 16:0 at the 1-position of both phosphatidylethanolamine and triglycerides suggests that the 1-position fatty acids of these two classes may have a similar origin. The fat free diet reduced the percentage of 18:2 in liver diphosphatidylglycerol 3-fold and the decrease was offset by increased percentages of 16:1 and 18:1; whereas the very low percentage of 18:2 in hepatoma diphosphatidylglycerol was offset by increased percentages of 18:0 and 16:0. Liver phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylcholine from the animals fed the fat free diet contained the highest percentage of 20:3, which replaced 20:4. Hepatoma sphingomyelin contained a much higher concentration of 24:0 and 24:1 than liver. The hepatoma sphingomyelin also contained a C-24 dienoic acid, which was not detected in host and normal liver. Host liver contained a higher percentage of 22:6 than normal liver. The diglycerides derived from host liver PC contained a significantly higher percentage of carbon number 38 than normal liver. Diglycerides derived from hepatoma phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine exhibited a 1-random-2-random distribution of fatty acids, whereas diglycerides from liver phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine showed pairing of specific fatty acids.


Hepatoma, host liver, and normal rat liver lipids: distribution of isomeric monoene fatty acids in individual lipid classes.

Monoenoic acid fractions were isolated from phosphatidycholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, triglycerides, and cholesteryl esters of hepatoma 7288CTC, host liver, and normal liver from animals maintained on chow and fat free diets. Hexadecanoate (16:1), octadecenoate (18:1), and eisosenoate (20:1) fractions were analyzed quantitatively for their isomeric composition. The fat free diet had little or no effect relative to the chow diet on the isomeric composition of 16:1, 18:1, and 20:1 from any lipid class in either heptoma, host liver, or normal liver. Host livers were reduced in palmitoleic acid, and oleic and eicos-11-enoic acids were increased relative to normal liver. The 16:1 fraction from triglyceride of normal liver, host liver, and hepatoma contained 90, 80, and 75% palmitoleic acid, respectively. The 20:1 fraction from triglycerides of normal liver, host liver, and hepatoma contained ca. 55, 70, and 60% eicos-11-enoic acid, respectively, with the remainder consisting of eicos-13-enoic acid. The proportion of vaccenic acid in the 18:1 fraction was 60, 50, 20, and 25% for phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, triglycerides, and cholesteryl esters, respectively, with oleic acid making up the balance. In contrast, all hepatoma lipid classes exhibited the same proportion of oleic (70%) and vaccenic (30%) acids. These data appear to be the first to demonstrate lipid class specificity for isomeric octadecenoic acids in normal liver and the loss of this specificity in a neoplasm.


Lipid and lipoprotein measurements in a normal adult American population.

From a parent population of 774, a subpopulation of 160 normal adults ages 27-66 was randomly selected, 20 from each decade and sex. A detailed comparison was made by analytic ultracentrifugation and complete agarose gel electrophoresis on serum and the 1.006 g/ml top and bottom preparative ultracentrifuge lipoprotein fractions. The latter was internally standardized by total lipid and plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride determinations giving normal reference lipoprotein values. The reading procedure allowed the identification and quantification of floating beta and sinking pre-beta. In the subpopulation, there were two of the former and 13 of the latter. For large scale clinical application of such quantitative lipoprotein electrophoresis full automation of the microdensitometry and calculations will be required.


Effects of dietary triglyceride on the properties and lipid composition of plasma lipoproteins: acute experiments in rats fed safflower oil.

Male rats were administered 1.5 ml safflower oil by gastric intubation 0, 4, and 8 hr after a 16 hr fast. Plasma, liver, and adipose tissue were collected 16 hr after the last fatty meal. Rats fasted for 16 hr served as controls. Following fat feeding, the fatty acid composition of the very low density lipoprotein, triglyceride, and hepatic triglyceride were similar, as were the percentages of 18:2 in the very low density lipoprotein and hepatic cholesteryl esters. The phospholipids of liver and plasma lipoproteins were similar in the control groups, except that more 16:0 was present in the plasma lipoproteins. After fat feeding, the plasma lipoproein phospholipids were enriched with 18:2 more than were the hepatic phospholipids. Furthermore, the percentage of 18:2 in phospholipid was much less than in triglyceride or cholesteryl esters. Clearly, esterified lipids of liver and plasma lipoproteins (very low density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, and high density lipoprotein), and to a lesser extent, adipose tissue, were enriched with 18:2 derived from dietary triglyceride fatty acid even 16 hr after the terminal meal. A major proportion of the very low density lipoprotein isolated by ultracentrifugation in zonal rotors from plasma of fat fed animals had a faster rate-zonal mobility than did the very low density lipoprotein isolated from plasma of control animals. The very low density lipoprotein isolated from plasma of fat fed rats contained fewer moles of phospholipids, cholesterol, and cholesteryl esters, relative to triglyceride than did the very low density lipoprotein from plasma of animals not receiving safflower oil. The molar ratio triglyceride:phospholipid:cholesterol:cholesterol esters in the very low denity lipoprotein was 100:42.0:22.1:44.5 in the control group and 100:35.4:17.8:19.5 in the fat fed animals. It is postulated that an important biochemical mechanism by which dietary triglyceride fatty acids consumed by the animal over a long period of time alter plasma concentrations of triglyceride, phospholipids, and cholesterol esters is the directive influence of plasma free fatty acid, derived from dietary triglyceride, on the secretion of very low density lipoprotein lipids by the liver.


Synthesis of cholesterol esters in the plasma and liver of sheep.

A study was made with sheep on the formation in vitro of long chain fatty acid esters of cholesterol by the lecithin-cholesterol-acyltransferase system present in the plasma and the acyl CoA-cholesterola cyltransferase system present in the liver. The rate of cholesterol esterification in the plasma was 0.024 mumoles/ml/hr. The relative pattern of fatty acids esterified during incubation of the plasma remained constant over the 8 hr period of incubation and was similar to the fatty acids in the plasma cholesteryl esters before incubation began and to the fatty acids in the 2-position of the plasma lecithin. The predominant cholesteryl esters synthesized contained monoenoic and dienoic fatty acids. Unlike the bovine, there was no apparent discrimination in favor of the 18:2 containing species of plasma lecithin as donors of fatty acids. This difference could be accounted for by the similarity in the 18:2 content of the phospholipids present in the high density (density greater than 1.062 and less than 1.21) and the low density (density greater than 1.006 and less than 1.063) lipoprotein fractions of the sheep plasma. The possibility of some discrimination against 20:4 during cholesterol ester synthesis in the plasma of the sheep cannot be excluded. In the liver, the predominant cholesteryl esters synthesized contained saturated and monoenoic fatty acids; cholesteryl linoleate was synthesized to a very much less extent. There was considerable similarity between the composition of the unesterified fatty acid fraction of the liver before incubation began and the fatty acid composition of the cholesteryl esters synthesized during incubation. Addition of sonicated suspensions of free fatty acidsaltered markedly the fatty acid pattern of the cholesteryl esters synthesized by the liver slices. From the evidence presented it is concluded that the cholesteryl esters in sheep plasma are syntheized mainly by the plasma lecithin-cholesterol-acyltransferase system. The results are discussed in relation to cholesterol esterification systems demonstrated in the plasma and liver of monogastric animals.


Viral stimulation of choline phosphotransferase in spleen microsomes.

Choline phosphotransferase and phosphatidyl ethanolamine methyltransferase enzymatic activities (nmoles phosphatidyl choline/min/mg protein) have been determined in spleen microsomes of Rauscher virus infected balb/c male mice at 5, 10, 14, and 21 days following inoculation of the virus. There is a significant stimulation of the choline phosphotransferase activity in the virus infected spleens with the peak of activity at about 10 days of viral infection. The specific activity of choline phosphotransferase is 10 times that of the phosphatidyl ethanolamine methyltransferase at 10 days of viral infection. There is a 51-fold increase over controls for the total microsomal choline phosphotransferase at 14 days of viral infection and only an 18-fold increase over controls for the phosphatidyl ethanolamine methyltransferase activity. There is a significant (P less than 0.001) increase over controls in the concentration of total phospholipid-P, phosphatidyl choline-P, and phosphatidyl choline-P fractions as separated by argentation chromatography of microsomes from spleens of mice infected with Friend virus of Rauscher virus for 14 days. The choline phosphotransferase and phosphatidyl ethanolamine methyltransferase specific activities in liver microsomes of 14 day Friend and/or Rauscher virus are unaltered during viral infection.


Effect of diet on fatty acids in the lipoprotein cholesteryl esters of type IIa and normal individuals.

Four normal and two individuals with type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia were placed on the National Heart and Lung Institute Type IIa Diet (less than 300 mg of cholesterol per day, high polyunsaturated, low saturated fat diet) for 1 week and on a normal diet the following week. Plasma samples were obtained and the cholesterol contents of plasma and of very low density, low density and high density lipoproteins determined. The cholesteryl esters in one type IIa and two normal individuals were identified. The cholesteryl esters in type IIa very low density lipoproteins from blood drawn 45 min after the last meal in each dietary period, contained less 18:2 than from the normal. After the first dietary period, the very low density lipoprotein cholesteryl ester 18:2 content for the type IIa was 37.2M% and for the normals, 54.7M%. After the second dietary period, the corresponding values were 49.7M% and 56.7M%. Fasting samples had lower 18:2 contents in the low density lipoproteins from the Type IIa subject following both dietary periods and in the high density lipoproteins following the Type II diet.


Adaptation of skeletal muscle to endurance exercise.

Skeletal muscle adapts to endurance excerise, such as long distance running, with an increase in the capacity for aerobic metabolism. This is reflected in an increased capacity of whole homogenates and of the mitochondrial fraction of muscle to oxidize pyruvate and long chain fatty acids. Underlying this increase in the ability to obtain energy by respiration is an increase in the levels of a number of mitochondrial enzymes. These include the enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation, the enzymes of the citric acid cycle, the components of the respiratory chain that link the oxidation of succinate and NADH to oxygen, and coupling factor 1. These increases in mitochondrial enzyme activity appear to be due to an increase in enzyme protein as evidenced by a doubling of the concentration of cytochrome c and a 60% increase in the protein content of the mitochondrial fraction skeletal muscle. Electronmicroscopic studies suggest that increases in both the size and number of mitochondria are responsible for the increase in mitochondrial protein. An alteration in mitochondrial composition also occurs, with some mitochondrial enzymes increasing 2-fold, others increasing only 35% to 60%, while others, including mitochondrial alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase and adenylate kinase do not increase at all. As a result of these and other exercise induced biochemical adaptations skeletal muscle tends to become more like heart muscle in its enzyme pattern.


The influence of physical activity on ligaments and tendons.

Using either a bone-ligament-bone or a muscle-tendon-bone preparation, numerous investigators have demonstrated that the usual site of separation is in the transitional zone between the ligament (or tendon) and bone; hence, the term junction strength or load at separation is used to describe functional changes in these preparations. Junction strength is decreased with inactivity (immobilization) and increased with chronic activity (training) provided that the exercise program is of an endurance nature. Training also increases junction strength in thyroidectomized and hypophysectomized rats. Besides in junction strength, training results in heavier ligaments and higher ligament weight/length ratios. However, water content, collagen concentrations/dry weight or collagen concentration per weight/length unit are not significantly influenced by repeated bouts of exercise. Although immobilization is associated with lower elastic stiffness values (kg/mm), training appears to have little influence on this measure in normal animals. Rats and dogs with surgically repaired ligaments are weaker and the strength results are markedly lower if the leg is immobilized. Exercise training improves the repair strength of ligaments but does not result in normal values twelve weeks after the surgery. Exogenous administration of ICSH or testosterone results in higher repair strength whereas TSH,  thyroxine, ACTH and growth hormone decreases this measure. It was concluded that the mechanical stress produced by chronic exercise is an important determination of the strength of repaired ligaments and of the junctions between ligaments (or tendons) and bones.


Glucocorticoid therapy.

1. There is a poor relationship between the circulating half-life a glucocorticoid and either its potency or its duration of action. Many actions of a glucocorticoid have unequal durations. The duration of action varies with the dose. 2. The presence of biological activity as a glucocorticoid depends on the presence of a hydroxyl group at carbon number 11. Cortisone and prednisone, which are 11-keto compounds, must be converted to 11-beta-hydroxyl compounds to be effective. This reaction may be impaired in the presence of liver disease. 3. Iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome differs from spontaneous Cushing's syndrome in several respects, possibly because in the former ACTH is suppressed but in Cushing's syndrome associated with bilateral adrenal hyperplasia ACTH levels are elevated...


Increased bone mineral content in young adults with familial hypophosphatemic vitamin D refractory rickets.

Seven adults with familial hypophosphatemia have been investigated by histologic and radiographic examination of bone, and estimates of bone mineral status by in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA). Histological examination showed severe osteomalacia and osteosclerosis in all cases. Radiography showed skeletal deformities and other sequelae of severe rickets of childhood in five of the seven cases, with, in addition, thickened well-mineralized bones; the other two showed normal radiographs. IVNAA measurements showed that the first five had greater than normal bone calcium and that the other two had normal values. Thus, in all cases there is a greater than normal total bone tissue (osteoid and mineralized bone together). The quantitative body calcium measurements show clearly that osteosclerosis occurs in familial hypophosphatemia, confirming the opinions based on histological and radiological data. Although there has been occasional reference to this sclerosis in the literature, up to the present it has received little attention.


Effects of reduced ATP concent on hepatic responses to glucagon.

Expression of the glycogenolytic action of glucagon in liver requires ATP for cAMP formation and for several subsequent phosphorylation reactions. To assess the extent to which ATP availability is rate-limiting to this hormonal action, responses to glucagon of intact liver and of liver with marked reductions in ATP content induced by ethionine was examined in female Wistar rats in vivo and in vitro. Compared to values in quick-frozen liver samples from control rats, basal hepatic ATP was 75% lower and cAMP, two fold higher in rats treated with ethionine. Activation of glycogen phosphorylase and inactivation of glycogen synthetase, phosphorylation reactions which require ATP and are initiated by cAMP, were also evident in basal liver samples from ethionine-treated rats. These hepatic alterations were associated with portal glucose and insulin levels which were significantly lower and portal glucagon levels which were four fold higher than values in controls. In ethionine-treated rats, glucose infusion decreased hepatic cAMP content and phosphorylase activity and increased synthetase activity. This and other observation suggested that the higher cAMP and the altered enzyme activities seen in vivo after ethionine administration were mediated by the hyperglucagonemia and/or by other endogenous glycogenolytic stimuli, and accordingly implied that liver remained responsive to such stimuli despite reduced ATP. Pharmacologic doses of exogenous glucagon clearly increased cAMP in vivo and in vitro in livers with decreased ATP. However, the lower ATP of liver exposed to ethionine was associated with a significantly blunted cAMP response to maximal glucagon stimulation. By contrast, alterations in phosphorylase and synthetase activities were not similarly blunted, suggesting that the smaller increases in cAMP seen in liver with reduced ATP content were adequate for the expression of these actions of the hormone. It is concluded that the actions of glucagon to increase cAMP and to activate phosphorylase and inactivate synthetase are not abolished by marked reductions in hepatic APT.


[Change in the activity of the enzymatic systems of Bacillus anthracoides spores during germination and under the action of Ca hypochlorite].

The activity of the enzymes of the citric acid cycle, glycolysis, and hexose monophosphate pathway was studied during germination of the spores of Bacillus anthracoides and upon their treatment with calcium hypochlorite. No activity of isocitrate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was found in the extracts of the vegetative cells, contrary to the spores and initiated spores. The activity of other enzymes changes but slightly in the course of germination of the spores. Treatment of the spores with calcium hypochlorite inhibited their initiation and germination and the activity of several enzymes, especially malate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, and fumarase.


[Inorganic pyrophosphate synthesis by the mitochondria of the yeast-like fungus Endomyces magnusii coupled with the work of the respiratory chain].

The synthesis of inorganic pyrophosphate by the mitochondria of Endomyces magnusii was found to be coupled with respiration. The mitochondria of E. magnusii can utilize the energy of the phosphoanhydride bond of inorganic pyrophosphate for the synthesis of ATP. The study with inhibitors suggests the participation of inorganic pyrophosphatase and ATPase in this process.


[Dynamics of plasma corticoid levels following intranuscular or intravenous ACTH-stimulation in children and adults (author's transl)].

Following ACTH-stimulation, in 40 patients plasma corticoid levels (CPB-technique) were determined every 15 min for three hours to demonstrate the period of maximal increase. There was no significant difference in the increase of plasma cortisol following intravenous or intramuscular injection of ACTH (beta1-23). Peak values were reached at 60 min (65.2 +/- 3.2 mug/100 ml). This is considered to be the right moment for blood sampling when using a short ACTH-test.


[Morphology and incidence of membranous structures related to endoplasmic reticulum].

Morphology and occurrence of so called tubuloreticular (TRS) and undulating membraneous structures (UMS) connected with the membranes of the endoplasmatic reticulum are described in physiological and pathological conditions. It is established that TRS and UMS represent a cytoplasmatic inclusion of similar type, although of different structures. Occurrence of UMS in human lung-tissue culture, and in transplantable chicken hepatoma induced in a hepatic tumour by MC-29 virus was observed.