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  • Articles  (173)
  • Development  (92)
  • calcium  (81)
  • Springer  (173)
  • 1995-1999  (134)
  • 1975-1979  (39)
  • Medicine  (173)
  • 1
    ISSN: 1436-6215
    Keywords: Strontium ; oraler Strontium-Test ; Calcium ; Absorption ; gesunde Probanden ; Strontium ; oral strontium test ; calcium ; absorption ; healthy volunteers
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Medicine
    Description / Table of Contents: Summary Intestinal strontium absorption has been discussed recently as an indirect measure for calcium uptake. Prerequisite for the clinical use of an oral strontium test is the availability of a reliable procedure including controlled strontium supply, sample pretreatment and analysis as well as the assessment of normal values. In the present study, a group of young females (n=33; 24.0 ± 2.7 y; BMI 21.5 ± 1.9) received an oral dose of 2.27 mmol strontium in a standardized breakfast that contained 0.625 mmol calcium. Before and 220 min after the bolus serum strontium concentrations were determined by means of atomic absorption spectrophotometry (coefficient of variation: within day 4.8 %, n=10; day-to-day 9.5 %, n=8). The error of the method was 2.7 %. Calculation of the fractional strontium absorption rate considered the respective distribution volume (extracellular fluid; either estimated using body weight or determined by means of bioimpedance analysis [BIA]). Average absorption rates were 13.3 ± 3.1 % and, considering BIA measurement 13.6 ± 2.6 %, respectively. Smoking, exercise and, use of oral contraceptives showed no effects. Our oral strontium test is characterized by excellent reliability, easy handling and low costs and, thus, is suitable for routine use.
    Notes: Zusammenfassung Die Erfassung der Strontiumabsorption wird heute als indirektes Verfahren zur Beurteilung der intestinalen Calciumabsorption diskutiert. Voraussetzung für die klinische Anwendung ist ein vertrauenswürdiges Testverfahren inclusive kontrollierter Strontiumgabe, Probenaufarbeitung und -analyse sowie die Erfassung von Normalwerten. Für unsere Studien wurde ein Kollektiv junger Frauen (n=33, 24,0 ± 2,7 Jahre; BMI 21,5 ± 1,9) herangezogen. Die Probandinnen erhielten eine Bolusgabe von 2,27 mmol Strontium zusammen mit einem Standardfrühstück (ca. 0,625 mmol Calcium). Vor und 220 min nach der Bolusgabe erfolgte die Bestimmung des Serum-Strontiumgehaltes mittels Atomabsorptionsspektrometrie. Der Variationskoeffizient der Methode lag innerhalb eines Tages bei 4,8 % (n=10) und von Tag zu Tag 9,5 % (n=8). Der Fehler der Methode betrug 2,7 %. Die Berechnung der fraktionellen Strontiumabsorptionsrate erfolgte unter Berücksichtigung des entsprechenden Verteilungsraumes (Extrazellulärflüssigkeit; Schätzverfahren über Körpergewicht bzw. Bioimpedanz-Analyse [BIA]). Die Strontiumabsorptionsrate lag im Mittel bei 13,3 ± 3,1 %, unter Berücksichtigung der BIA-Werte bei 13,6 ± 2,6 %. Rauchen, sportliche Aktivität bzw. Einnahme oraler Kontrazeptiva zeigten keinen Einfluß. Das hier vorgestellte Testverfahren ist aufgrund seiner hohen Vertrauenswürdigkeit und relativ einfacher Handhabung für Routine-untersuchungen geeignet.
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  • 2
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Key words Weakly electric fish ; Gymnotiformes ; Development ; Electric organ ; Electric organ discharge
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract I recorded the electric organ discharges (EODs) of 331 immature Brachyhypopomus pinnicaudatus 6–88 mm long. Larvae produced head-positive pulses 1.3 ms long at 7 mm (6 days) and added a second, small head-negative phase at 12 mm. Both phases shortened duration and increased amplitude during growth. Relative to the whole EOD, the negative phase increased duration until 22 mm and amplitude until 37 mm. Fish above 37 mm produced a “symmetric” EOD like that of adult females. I stained cleared fish with Sudan black, or fluorescently labeled serial sections with anti-desmin (electric organ) or anti-myosin (muscle). From day 6 onward, a single electric organ was found at the ventral margin of the hypaxial muscle. Electrocytes were initially cylindrical, overlapping, and stalk-less, but later shortened along the rostrocaudal axis, separated into rows, and formed caudal stalks. This differentiation started in the posterior electric organ in 12-mm fish and was complete in the anterior region of fish with “symmetric” EODs. The lack of a distinct “larval” electric organ in this pulse-type species weakens the hypothesis that all gymnotiforms develop both a temporary (larval) and a permanent (adult) electric organ.
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  • 3
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    Journal of comparative physiology 185 (1999), S. 361-365 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Key words Central pattern generators ; Development ; Homarus gammarus
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract We used the lobster Homarus gammarus to study the ontogeny of neural networks involved in rhythmic behaviours. Since in the adult the neural networks belonging to the stomatogastric nervous system and controlling the rhythmic movements of the foregut are well characterised, we have studied them during ontogeny. While this foregut develops slowly throughout embryonic and larval stages, the neuronal population of these motor networks is quantitatively established since the mid-embryonic period. Moreover, in the embryo, this neural population is organised into a single functional network that displays a unique motor output. By contrast, in the adult the same neuronal elements are organised into three neural networks that express independent motor programs. Our results indicate that the multiple adult networks are partitioned progressively from a single embryonic network during development.
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  • 4
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    Journal of comparative physiology 185 (1999), S. 367-372 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Key words Cortical magnification ; Somatosensory cortex ; Development ; Evolution ; Behavior
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) has a snout surrounded by 22 fleshy and mobile appendages. This unusual structure is not an olfactory organ, as might be assumed from its location, nor is it used to manipulate objects as might be guessed from its appearance. Rather, the star is devoted to the sense of touch, and for this purpose the appendages are covered with thousands of small mechanoreceptive Eimer's organs. Recent behavioral studies find that the star acts much like a tactile eye, having a small behavioral focus, or “fovea” at the center – used for detailed explorations of objects of interest. The peripheral and central nervous systems of the mole reflect these behavioral specializations, such that the small behavioral focus on the nose is more densely innervated in the periphery, and has a greatly enlarged representation in the somatosensory cortex. This somatosensory representation of the tactile fovea is not correlated with anatomical parameters (innervation density) as found in other species, but rather is highly correlated with patterns of behavior. The many surprising parallels between the somatosensory system of the mole, and the visual systems of other mammals, suggest a convergent and perhaps common organization for highly developed sensory systems.
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  • 5
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    Journal of comparative physiology 177 (1995), S. 577-590 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Metamorphosis ; Anuran ; Audiogram ; Development ; Midbrain
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract During metamorphosis, the lateral line system of ranid frogs (Rana catesbeiana) degenerates and an auditory system sensitive to airborne sounds develops. We examined the onset of function and developmental changes in the central auditory system by recording multi-unit activity from the principal nucleus of the torus semicircularis (TSp) of bullfrogs at different postmetamorphic stages in response to tympanically-presented auditory stimuli. No responses were recorded to stimuli of up to 95 dB SPL from latemetamorphic tadpoles, but auditory responses were recorded within 24 hours of completion of metamorphosis. Audiograms from froglets (SVL 〈 5.5 cm) were relatively flat in shape with high thresholds, and showed a decrease in most sensitive frequency (MSF) from about 2500 Hz to about 1500 Hz throughout the first 7–10 days after completion of metamorphosis. Audiograms from frogs larger than 5.5 cm showed continuous downward shifts in MSF and thresholds, and increases in sharpness around MSF until reaching adult-like values. Spontaneous activity in the TSp increased throughout postmetamorphic development. The torus increased in volume by approximately 50% throughout development and displayed changes in cell density and nuclear organization. These observations suggest that the onset of sensitivity to tympanically presented airborne sounds is limited by peripheral, rather than central, auditory maturation.
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  • 6
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    Journal of comparative physiology 185 (1999), S. 207-213 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Key words Honey bee ; Behavior ; Development ; Neurobiology ; Foraging
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Bees derived from artificially selected high- and low-pollen-hoarding strains were tested for their proboscis extension reflex response to water and varying sucrose concentrations. High-strain bees had a lower response threshold to sucrose than low-strain bees among pre-foragers, foragers, queens and drones. Pre-foraging low-strain workers showed ontogenetic changes in their response threshold to sucrose which was inversely related to age. High-strain foragers were more likely to return with loads of water compared to low-strain foragers. Whereas low-strain foragers were more likely to return with loads of nectar. Low-strain nectar foragers collected nectar with significantly higher sucrose concentrations than did the high-strain nectar foragers. Alternatively, low-strain foragers were more likely to return empty compared to high-strain foragers. These studies demonstrate how a genotypically varied sensory-physiological process, the perception of sucrose, are associated with a division of labor for foraging.
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  • 7
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    Journal of comparative physiology 179 (1996), S. 195-205 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Sensory ; Motor pattern ; Development ; Grasshopper ; Campaniform sensilla
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Campaniform sensilla monitor the forces generated by the leg muscles during the co-contraction phase of locust (Schistocerca gregaria) kicking and jumping and re-excite the fast extensor (FETi) and flexor tibiae motor neurones, which innervate the leg muscles. Sensory signals from a campaniform sensillum on the proximal tibia were compared in newly moulted locusts, which do not kick and jump, and mature locusts which readily kick and jump. The activity pattern of FETi during co-contraction was mimicked by stimulating the extensor tibiae muscle. Less force was generated and the spike frequency of the sensory neurone from the sensillum was significantly lower in newly moulted compared to mature locusts. Depolarisation of both FETi and flexor motor neurones as a result of sensory feedback was consequently less in newly moulted than in mature locusts. The difference in the depolarisation was greater than the decrease in the afferent spike frequency suggesting that the central connections of the afferents are modulated. The depolarisation could generate spikes in FETi and maintain flexor spikes in mature but not in newly moulted locusts. This indicates that feedback from the anterior campaniform sensillum comprises a significant component of the drive to both FETi and flexor activity during co-contraction in mature animals and that the changes in this feedback contribute to the developmental change in behaviour.
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  • 8
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    Journal of comparative physiology 181 (1997), S. 231-237 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Key words Motor pattern ; Motor neurone ; Insect ; Grasshopper ; Development ; Schistocerca gregaria
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract There is a change in the synaptic connections between motor neurones that underlie locust kicking and jumping during maturation following the adult moult. The fast extensor tibiae (FETi) motor neurone makes monosynaptic excitatory connections with flexor tibiae motor neurones that have previously been implicated in maintaining flexor activity during the co-contraction phase of jumping, in which energy generated by the muscles of a hind leg is stored. The amplitude of the FETi spike decreases when repetitively activated, and this decrement is larger in locusts immediately following the adult moult than in mature locusts. The decrement in␣the FETi spike is correlated with a greater decrease in the amplitude of the flexor excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) in newly moulted locusts and in turn with the failure of these locusts to kick or jump. The results presented here indicate that the developmental change in the connections between the motor neurones contributes to the change in behaviour following the moult.
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  • 9
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    Journal of comparative physiology 179 (1996), S. 185-194 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Chicks ; Refraction ; Development ; Schematic eye ; Ocular dimensions
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Ocular dimensions and refractive state data for chicks 0 to 14 days of age were obtained from 234 untreated control eyes of birds treated unilaterally in previous work involving various defocussing lenses and/or translucent goggles. Refractive state and corneal curvatures were measured in vivo by retinoscopy and ophthalmometry respectively. Intraocular dimensions were measured by A-scan ultrasonography, after which the eyes were removed, weighed and measured. In some cases (n=52) intraocular dimensions and lens curvatures were obtained from frozen sections of enucleated eyes. The hyperopia of hatchling chicks (+6.5+4.0 D) initially decreases rapidly and then more gradually to + 2.0 ± 0.5 D by 16 days. The distribution of refractive errors is very broad at Day 0, but becomes leptokurtotic, with a slight myopic skew, by Day 14. Corneal radius is constant for the first four days, possible as a result of pre-hatching lid pressure, and then increases linearly, as do all lens dimensions, axial diameter and equatorial diameter. Schematic eyes were developed for Days 0, 7, and 14.
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  • 10
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    Journal of comparative physiology 179 (1996), S. 169-184 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Electromyogram ; Kinematics ; Development ; Chicken ; Locomotion
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The large behavioral repertoire that spans the embryonic and postembryonic stages of development make chicks an ideal system for identifying patterns of muscle activity that are common to different behaviors and those that are behavior-specific. The main goal of this work was to identify the similar and dissimilar aspects of the recruitment patterns and the regulation of muscle activity during three distinct postembryonic behaviors: walking, swimming and airstepping. We identified two synergies that were common to each of these behaviors. The synergies were not disrupted by the absence of FT1 activity in airstepping. Within each synergy the recruitment time, recruitment order and duration of activity were not rigid, but varied according to the context-specific resistance that the leg encountered. Unlike the other muscles, FT2 activity was not recruited as part of the same synergy in each behavior. When weight-bearing contact with the substrate did not occur, as in swimming and airstepping, as well as in walking in chicks with deafferented legs, FT2 activity was not recruited as part of either synergy, but was recruited during the time between them. Although not identical, embryonic motility and hatching motor pattern both show the two synergies described for the postembryonic behaviors. Like the latter behaviors, the synergies tolerated the absence of activity from specific muscles. Thus, we suggest that the CNS produces different behaviors using many of the same muscles by organizing the patterned activity around two common synergies while permitting the different muscles that participate in a synergy to be modified in tandem or on an individual basis. Furthermore, the common synergies are established early during prenatal development in chicks.
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  • 11
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    Cellular and molecular life sciences 52 (1996), S. 831-833 
    ISSN: 1420-9071
    Keywords: Paramecium caudatum ; thigmotaxis ; Ja-value ; CNR ; calcium ; ruthenium red ; LaCl3 ; caffeine
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract To understand the role of calcium ions in thigmotaxis inParamecium caudatum, the effects of caffeine, ruthenium red and lanthanum (LaCl3) on thigmotaxis were examined. Thigmotaxis in the CNR mutant, which lacks voltage-dependent Ca2+-channels in the ciliary membrane, was also examined. Ruthenium red and LaCl3 suppressed thigmotaxis inP. caudatum, while caffeine enhanced it. The CNR mutant showed hardly any thigmotaxis. It can be thought that an increase in Ca2+ influx and the intraciliary concentration of Ca2+ ions induces thigmotaxis inParamecium.
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  • 12
    ISSN: 1432-0827
    Keywords: PTHrP ; Articular cartilage ; Chondrocyte ; Development
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine , Physics
    Notes: Abstract Expression and localization of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) in rat articular cartilage during fetal and postnatal periods were investigated by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. PHTrP displayed distinct distribution and intensity of staining at different ages. In fetal (18-day-old) and young (3-week-old) rats, articular chondrocytes expressed abundant PTHrP throughout the entire thickness of cartilage. In contrast, in 60-week-old rats, PTHrP was expressed in a few articular chondrocytes of superficial and middle layers. Regulation of PTHrP and PTH/PTHrP receptor mRNA was also studied in cultured rat articular chondrocytes. Northern blot analysis revealed that both transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), an important stimulator for chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, and 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) stimulated the expression of PTHrP mRNA with down-regulation of its receptor mRNA. In contrast, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) down-regulated the expression of receptor without changes of PTHrP mRNA level. These results suggest that the changes in abundance and localization of PTHrP and its receptor may be directly involved in the cell growth and differentiation of articular cartilage.
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  • 13
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    Immunogenetics 50 (1999), S. 336-343 
    ISSN: 1432-1211
    Keywords: Key words Amphibian ; Axolotl ; Ikaros ; Hematopoiesis ; Development
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  TheIkaros family of transcription factors plays an essential role in hematopoiesis. We report here the structure of cDNA clones encoding two Ikaros isoforms, Ik1 and Ik2, in the Mexican axolotl. The Ik1 cDNA sequence is very similar to that of the rainbow trout, chicken, and mammalian Ik1 sequences. However, a 96 base pair region which encodes the first N-terminal zing finger (F1) is lacking from axolotl Ik1, both in clones from a cDNA library and clones isolated from direct polymerase chain reaction products. A region corresponding to exon 3 is completely absent from the axolotl Ik2 sequence and thus the Ik1 and Ik2 isoforms possess the same number of zinc finger motifs. The structure of these five CC-HH motifs is very well conserved in the axolotl, including the structural deviations from its amino acid consensus composition which are identical in all species analyzed to date. The axolotl Ik1 3′ untranslated region sequence is very long (2538 bp) and contains two UA-rich motifs known as instability determinants and which could play a role in mRNA translational efficiency. Ikaros transcripts are first detected in the ventral blood island of stage 36 embryos, about 24 h before the first heartbeats (late tailbud stage), and then in the major lymphopoietic organs of the developing larvae. In situ hybridization demonstrates that Ikaros transcripts are abundant at the periphery of the thymus lobes, in the presumptive site of early thymocyte differentiation.
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  • 14
    ISSN: 1432-1211
    Keywords: Key words Axolotl ; Salamander ; Metamorphosis ; Development ; Class II
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Unlike most salamanders, the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) fails to produce enough thyroxin to undergo anatomical metamorphosis, although a “cryptic metamorphosis” involving a change from fetal to adult hemoglobins has been described. To understand to what extent the development of the axolotl hemopoietic system is linked to anatomical metamorphosis, we examined the appearance and thyroxin dependence of class II molecules on thymus, blood, and spleen cells, using both flow cytometry and biosynthetic labeling followed by immunoprecipitation. Class II molecules are present on B cells as early as 7 weeks after hatching, the first time analyzed. At this time, most thymocytes, all T cells, and all erythrocytes lack class II molecules, but first thymocytes at 17 weeks, then T cells at 22 weeks, and finally erythrocytes at 26–27 weeks virtually all bear class II molecules. Class II molecules and adult hemoglobin appear at roughly the same time in erythrocytes. These data are most easily explained by populations of class II-negative cells being replaced by populations of class II-positive cells, and they show that the hemopoietic system matures at a variety of times unrelated to the increase of thyroxin that drives anatomical metamorphosis. We found that administration of thyroxin during axolotl ontogeny does not accelerate or otherwise affect the acquisition of class II molecules, nor does administration of drugs that inhibit thyroxin (sodium perchlorate, thiourea, methimazole, and 1-methyl imidazole) retard or abolish this acquisition, suggesting that the programs for anatomical metamorphosis and some aspects of hemopoietic development are entirely separate.
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  • 15
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    European journal of clinical pharmacology 16 (1979), S. 211-215 
    ISSN: 1432-1041
    Keywords: fluoride ; bioavailability ; calcium
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary The effect of milk products on the gastrointestinal absorption of fluoride from sodium fluoride tablets was studied in five healthy subjects. Two different diets were tested: (1) 250 ml standardized milk (3% fat) and (2) 500 ml of milk, 3 pieces of white bread with cheese and 150 ml of yoghurt. The 100% bioavailability of sodium fluoride tablets during fasting was greatly decreased by coadministration of milk products: with Diet 1 the absolute bioavailability calculated from combined plasma and urine data was in the range 50–79% and with Diet 2 it ranged from 50–71%. It is suggested that the decreased bioavailability produced by dairy products should be taken into account when establishing fluoride dosage regimens for prophylaxis of caries.
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  • 16
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    Journal of comparative physiology 182 (1998), S. 343-349 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Key words Pacemaker ; Entrainment ; Ecdysteroids ; Prothoracicotropic hormone ; Development
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The paired prothoracic glands of the insect Rhodnius prolixus each comprise a group of about 200 structurally identical cells. The synthesis (and release) of steroid moulting hormones (ecdysteroids) by these glands is under circadian control in vivo. We monitored ecdysteroid synthesis by single glands during long-term incubations in vitro. Synthesis is rhythmic in vitro and persists in continuous darkness. Glands which are arrhythmic (from prolonged continuous light) respond to transfer to darkness in vitro with the initiation of a free-running circadian rhythm of ecdysteroid synthesis. Therefore, the glands possess a light-sensitive circadian oscillator. These properties are conventionally associated with nervous tissue of animals. It is suggested that rhythmicity is synchronized within the gland by the known structural and electrical coupling between its component cells. The glands share properties with known pacemakers such as the avian pineal. However, the glands in vivo receive input from both light cues and the cerebral neuropeptide, prothoracicotropic hormone. Rhythmic release of this neuropeptide is controlled by a second oscillator located in the brain. We conclude that the pacemaker in the endocrine system of R. prolixus comprises at least three oscillators, one in each prothoracic gland and one in the brain, which are coupled hormonally. We conclude that the prothoracic gland is an important component of the circadian system controlling development in R. prolixus and that peripheral endocrine glands may play a more active role in the generation of animal circadian organization than has been thought.
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  • 17
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: regucalcin ; calcium-binding protein ; insulin ; calcium ; gene expression ; rat liver
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The effect of refeeding on the expression of Ca2+-binding protein regucalcin mRNA in the liver of fasted rats was investigated. When rats were fasted overnight, the hepatic regucalcin mRNA level was reduced about 70% of that in feeding rats. Refeeding produced a remarkable elevation of hepatic regucalcin mRNA level (about 150–170% of fasted rats). Liver regucalcin concentration was appreciably increased by refeeding, although it was not altered by fasting. The oral administration of glucose (2 g/kg body weight) to fasted rats caused a significant increase in hepatic regucalcin mRNA level. Moreover, hepatic regucalcin mRNA level was clearly elevated by a single subcutaneous administration of insulin (10 and 100 U/kg) to fasted rats. The hormonal effect was not further enhanced by the simultaneous administration of calcium chloride (250 mg Ca/kg) to fasted rats, although calcium administration stimulated regucalcin mRNA expression in the liver. The present study suggests that the expression of hepatic regucalcin mRNA stimulated by refeeding is significantly involved in the action of insulin and/or calcium as stimulating factors.
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  • 18
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: calcium ; calcium channels ; smooth muscle ; sarcolemma ; coronary artery
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Tension generation and Ca2+ flux in smooth muscle varies depending upon the diameter of a vessel and its location. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine if the biochemical characteristics of the Na+−Ca2+ exchanger and the Ca2+ channel differ in sarcolemmal membrane preparations isolated from a large conduit vessel (thoracic aorta) or from large and small coronary arteries. We also investigated the possibility of differences between sarcolemmal membranes isolated from coronary arteries dissected from the right and left ventricles. The purification of the sarcolemmal membranes was of a similar magnitude amongst the different groups. Contamination of the sarcolemmal membranes with other membranous organelles was negligible and similar amongst the groups. The Km and Vmax of Na+-dependent Ca2+ uptake in sarcolemmal vesicles was similar amongst the groups. Calcium channel characteristics were examined by measuring [3H]PN200-110 binding to sarcolemmal vesicles. The right coronary artery membranes from both large and small caliber vessels exhibited a higher Kd and the small right coronary artery sarcolemmal preparation had a lower maximal binding density for [3H] PN200-110. The results suggest that the right coronary artery, and in particular the small diameter right coronary artery, possesses altered Ca2+ channel characteristics in isolated sarcolemmal membranes.
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  • 19
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 154 (1996), S. 123-132 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: rat pancreas ; cholecystokinin-octapeptide ; magnesium ; calcium ; secretion ; cyclic AMP
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract This study investigates the effect of magnesium (Mg2+) on the secretory responses and the mobilization of calcium (Ca2+) and Mg2+ evoked by cholecystokinin-octapeptide (CCK-8) in the exocrine rat pancreas. In the isolated intact perfused pancreas CCK-8 (10−10 M) produced marked increases in juice flow and total protein output in zero and normal (1.1 mM) extracellular Mg2+ [Mg2+]o compared to a much reduced secretory response in elevated (5 mM and 10 mM) [Mg2+]o Similar effects of perturbation of [Mg2+]o on amylase secretion and 45Ca2+ uptake (influx) were obtained in isolated pancreatic segments. In pancreatic acinar cells loaded with the fluorescent bioprobe fura-2 acetomethylester (AM), CCK-8 evoked marked increases in cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration [Ca2+]i in zero and normal [Mg2+]o compared to a much reduced response in elevated [Mg2+]o Pretreatment of acinar cells with either dibutyryl cyclic AMP (DB2 cAMP) or forskolin had no effect on the CCK-8 induced changes in [Ca2+]i. In magfura-2-loaded acinar cells CCK-8 (10−8 M) stimulated an initial transient rise in intracellular free Mg2+ concentration [Mg2+]i followed by a more prolonged and sustained decrease. This response was abolished when sodium Na+ was replaced with N-methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG). Incubation of acinar cells with 10 mM Mg2+ resulted in an elevation in [Mg2+]i. Upon stimulation with CCK-8, [Mg2+]i. decreased only slightly compared with the response obtained in normal [Mg2+]o. CCK-8 caused a net efflux of Mg2+ in pancreatic segments; this effect was abolished when extracellular sodium [Na+]o was replaced with either NMDG or choline. The results indicate that Mg2+ can regulate CCK-8-evoked secretory responses in the exocrine pancreas possibly via Ca2+ mobilization. Moreover, the movement of Mg2+ in pancreatic acinar cells is dependent upon extracellular Na+.
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  • 20
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 146 (1995), S. 179-186 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: Ca2+-ATPase ; calcium ; nuclear DNA ; DNA fragmentation ; regucalcin ; regenerating rat liver
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The alteration of calcium content, Ca2+-ATPase activity, DNA content and DNA fragmentation in the nuclei of regenerating rat liver was investigated. Liver was surgically removed about 70% of that of sham-operated rats. the reduced liver weight by partial hepatectomy was completely restored at 3 days after the surgery. Regenerating liver significantly increased Ca2+-ATPase activity and DNA content in the nuclei between 1 and 5 days after hepatectomy. The nuclear calcium content was clearly increased from 2 days after hepatectomy. The increase of Ca2+-ATPase activity in regenerating liver was clearly inhibited by the presence of trifluoperazine (10 μM), staurosporine (2.5 μM) and dibucaine (10 μM), which are inhibitors of calmodulin and protein kinase, in the enzyme reaction mixture. However, the nuclear enzyme activity in normal rat liver was not significantly altered by these inhibitors. Meanwhile, the increase of nuclear DNA content in regenerating liver was completely blocked by the administration of trifluoperazine (2.5 mg/100 g body weight), suggesting an involvement of calmodulin. Now, the nuclear DNA fragmentation was significantly decreased in regenerating liver, suggesting that this decrease is partly contributed to the increase in nuclear DNA content. The present study clearly demonstrates that regenerating liver enhances nuclear Ca2+-ATPase activity and induces a corresponding elevation of nuclear calcium content. This Ca2+-signaling system may be involved in the regulation of nuclear DNA functions in regenerating rat liver.
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  • 21
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 148 (1995), S. 67-72 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: regucalcin ; calcium ; protease ; calpain ; rat liver cytosol
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The increasing effect of regucalcin, isolated from rat liver cytosol, on neutral proteolytic activity in the hepatic cytosol was characterized. The proteolytic activity was markedly elevated by the addition of regucalcin (0.1–0.5 μM) in the absence of Ca2+. This increase was not significantly altered by the presence of diisopropylfluorophsophate (DPF;2.5 mM)—although DFP caused a significant decrease in the proteolytic activity. Regucalcin (0.25 μM) additively enhanced the dithiothreitol (DTT; 1.0 mM)—increased proteolytic activity, while the regucalcin or DTT effect was completely abolished by NEM (5 mM), indicating that regucalcin may act on the SH group in proteases. Also, regucalcin (0.25 μM) enhanced the effect of Ca2+ (10 μM) increasing liver proteolytic activity, suggesting that regucalcin does not influence on the active sites for Ca2+ in proteases. Moreover, the proteolytic activity of regucalcin (0.25 μM) was significantly decreased by the presence of calpastatin (24 μg/ml), an inhibitor of Ca2+-activated neutral protease (calpain). Now, regucalcin (0.25 μM) increased about 7-fold the activity ofm-calpain isolated from rabbit skeletal muscle. These observations demonstrate that regucalcin directly activates cysteinyl-proteases. Regucalcin may have a role as a potent proteolytic activator in the cytoplasm of liver cells.
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  • 22
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 149-150 (1995), S. 203-212 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: calcium ; mitochondria ; FAD-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase ; pyruvate dehydrogenase ; oxoglutarate dehydrogenase ; isocitrate dehydrogenase
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract In mammalian cells, increases in calcium concentration cause increases in oxidative phosphorylation. This effect is mediated by the activation of four mitochondrial dehydrogenases by calcium ions; FAD-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, NAD-isocitrate dehydrogenase and oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. FAD-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, being located on the outer surface of the inner mitochondrial membrane, is exposed to fluctuations in cytoplasmic calcium concentration. The other three enzymes are located within the mitochondrial matrix. While the kinetic properties of all of these enzymes are well characterised, the molecular basis for their regulation by calcium is not. This review uses information derived from calcium binding studies, analysis of conserved calcium binding motifs and comparison of amino acid sequences from calcium sensitive and non-sensitive enzymes to discuss how the recent cloning of several subunits from the four dehydrogenases enhances our understanding of the ways in which these enzymes bind calcium. FAD-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase binds calcium ions through a domain which is part of the polypeptide chain of the enzyme. In contrast, it is possible that the calcium sensitivity of the other dehydrogenases may involve separate calcium binding subunits.
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  • 23
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 158 (1979), S. 91-95 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: smooth muscle ; vascular ; ATPase ; calcium
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Densities of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-pump were compared in proximal and distal segments of pig left coronary artery using two biochemical methods: acylphosphate formation and immunoreactivity in Western blots, and a functional assay based on contraction to SR Ca2+-pump inhibitors. In the microsomes prepared from smooth muscle, the level of the 115 kDa SR Ca2+-pump acylphosphate was 7.1 ± 0.3 -fold greater in distal than in proximal segments. Similarly in Western blots using these microsomes, the reactivity of the 115 kDa band to an anti-SR Ca2+-pump antibody was 5.3 ± 0.8 -fold greater in distal than in proximal segments. Endothelium free coronary artery rings contracted to the SR Ca2+-pump inhibitors Cyclopiazonic acid (CPA, EC50 = 0.19 ± 0.06 μM) and thapsigargin (EC50 = 0.0095 ± 0.0035 μM). With 10 μM CPA, the force of contraction per tissue wet weight was 4.2 ± 0.5-fold greater in distal than in proximal rings, and with 1 μM thapsigargin it was 4.0 ± 1.0 -fold greater. The contractions produced by 60 mM KCl were used as a control. In contrast to the CPA and thapsigargin, the force per mg tissue weight produced by 60 mM KCl did not differ significantly between the proximal and distal segments. Thus, the results from the two biochemical methods and those from the contractility data were all consistent with the smooth muscle in the distal segments of the coronary artery containing a higher density of the SR Ca2+-pump than the proximal segments.
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  • 24
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 179 (1998), S. 99-110 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: diaphragm ; oxygen-derived free radicals ; respiratory muscle fatigue ; nitric oxide ; sarcoplasmic reticulum ; calcium
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    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract It is now recognized that respiratory muscle fatigue contributes to the development of respiratory failure in some patients with lung disease. This observation has prompted an examination into the mechanisms of development of muscle fatigue, with the understanding that an elucidation of these processes may lead to new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of these patients. A series of recent studies examining this issue have, moreover, discovered that oxygen-derived free radicals generated during strenuous contraction may modulate respiratory muscle contractile function and contribute to the development of muscle fatigue. The data supporting this concept include: (a) direct (e.g. EPR, ESR studies) and indirect (evidence of lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyl formation, glutathione oxidation) evidence that there is heightened free radical production in contracting muscle, (b) evidence that pharmacologic depletion of muscle antioxidant stores increases degree of muscle fatigue present after a period of exercise, and (c) evidence that administration of agents that act as free radical scavengers retard the development muscle fatigue. Free radicals may produce these changes in muscle force generating capacity by interacting with and altering the function of a number of intracellular-biophysical processes (i.e. sarcolemmal action potential propagation, sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium handling, mitochondrial function, contractile protein interactions).
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  • 25
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    Keywords: heart cells ; taurine ; β-alanine ; taurine-Na+ cotransport ; CBDMB ; Na+-Ca2+ exchanger ; calcium ; nucleus ; confocal
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
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    Notes: Abstract Recent studies in heart cells have shown taurine to induce a sustained increase of both intracellular Ca2+ and Na+. These results led us to believe that the increase in Na+ by taurine could be due to Na+ entry through the taurine-Na+ cotransporter which in turn favours transarcolemmal Ca2+ influx through Na+-Ca2+ exchange. Therefore, we investigated the effect of β-alanine, a blocker of the taurine-Na+ cotransporter and low concentrations of CBDMB (a pyrazine derivative, 5-(N-4chlorobenzyl)-2′,4′-dimethylbenzamil), a Na+-Ca2+ exchanger blocker on taurine-induced [Ca]i increase in embryonic chick heart cells. Using Fura-2 Ca2+ imaging and Fluo-3 Ca2+ confocal microscopy techniques, taurine (20 mM) as expected, induced a sustained increase in [Ca]i at both the cytosolic and the nuclear levels. Preexposure to 500 μM of the blocker of the taurine-Na+ cotransporter, β-alanine, prevented the amino acid-induced increase of total [Ca]i. On the other hand, application of β-alanine did not reverse the action of taurine on total [Ca]i. However, low concentrations of the Na+-Ca2+ exchanger blocker, CBDMB, reversed the taurine-induced sustained increase of cytosolic and nuclear free calcium (in presence or absence of β-alanine). Thus, the effect of taurine on [Ca]i in heart cells appears to be due to Na+ entry through the taurine-Na+ cotransporter which in turn favours transarcolemmal Ca2+ influx through the Na+-Ca2+ exchanger.
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  • 26
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 190 (1999), S. 185-190 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: calcium ; calcium wave ; calcium oscillation ; inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor ; ryanodine receptor ; excitation-concentration coupling
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    Notes: Abstract After the seminal work of Ebashi and coworkers which established the essential role of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in the regulation of skeletal muscle contraction, we have witnessed an explosive elongation of the list of cell functions that are controlled by the [Ca2+]i. In numerous instances, release of intracellular Ca2+ stores plays important roles in Ca2+ signalling which displays significant variation in spatio-temporal pattern. There are two families of Ca2+ release channels, ryanodine receptors and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors. These Ca2+ release channels are structurally and functionally similar. In particular, the activity of both types of channels is regulated by the [Ca2+]i. The [Ca2+]i dependence of the Ca2+ release channel activity provides both types of channels with properties of a Ca2+ signal amplifier. This function of the ryanodine receptor is important in striated muscle excitation-contraction coupling, whereas that of the IP3 receptor seems to be the basis of the generation of Ca2+ waves. Thus the wide variety of Ca2+ signalling patterns seem to be critically dependent on the [Ca2+]i dependence of the Ca2+ release channels.
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  • 27
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 190 (1999), S. 39-45 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: microcalorimetry ; calcium ; troponin C ; calmodulin ; parvalbumin
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Results of microcalorimetric titrations of calcium-binding proteins with calcium or magnesium have been reviewed and evaluated. Results were analyzed mostly in terms of heat capacity changes, which is most closely related to the structural changes of the molecule on metal binding. Two high-affinity sites of rabbit skeletal troponin C are distinguishable in terms of their affinity to calcium and associated enthalpy changes. Heat capacity changes on calcium binding to one of the two high-affinity sites is negative and is in the range ascribed to the ligand binding. In contrast, that to the other of the high-affinity sites is large and positive, indicating that a substantial area of hydrophobic groups become exposed to the solvent. In frog skeletal troponin C, the anomalous positive heat capacity changes occur in one of the low-affinity calcium-specific sites, so that this may be involved in the regulation of contraction. Unlike skeletal troponin C, both of the two high-affinity sites of cardiac troponin C show negative heat capacity changes. In calmodulin, heat capacity changes are positive but small, indicating that calcium binding may induce clustering of the hydrophobic residues on the surface of the molecule. In parvalbumins, heat capacity changes are negative, characteristic of most ligand binding.
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  • 28
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 149-150 (1995), S. 263-265 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: NO synthase ; toxic metals ; signal transduction ; calcium
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    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract This study was designed to evaluate thein vitro effects of transition heavy metal cations on activity of constitutive isoform of nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) in rat brain. NOS activity was determined in the cytosolic fractions of rat cerebral hemispheres by conversion of3H-L-arginine to3H-L-citrulline. Different concentrations of mercury (Hg2+), nickel (Ni2+), manganese (Mn2+), zinc (Zn2+), cadmium (Cd2+), lead (Pb2+) and calcium (Ca2+) were tested on NOS activity. While all the cations caused inhibition, there were differences in the apparent inhibition constants (Ki) among the cations. With the exception of calcium ion no other cation required preincubation with the enzyme preparation. These results indicate that while calcium ion modulate cNOS activity at regulatory site(s), inhibitory influence of toxic heavy metal cations may be exerted on the catalytic site(s) either by direct binding to it or by interfering with the electron transfer during catalysis.
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  • 29
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 168 (1997), S. 95-100 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: aluminium ; calcium ; brain ; neurodegenerative disease
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    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The present study investigates the possible effects of chronic aluminium exposure on the various aspects of calcium homeostasis in the primate central nervous system. Aluminium administration caused a marked decline in the activity of Ca2+ ATPase in the monkey brain. The total calcium content was also significantly raised following aluminium exposure. Concomittant to the increase in the calcium content, the levels of lipid peroxidation were also augmented in the aluminium treated animals, thereby further accentuating the aluminium induced neuronal damage. In addition, aluminium had an inhibitory effect on the depolarization induced 45Ca2+ uptake via the voltage operated channels. The results presented herein, indicate that the toxic effects of aluminium could be mediated through modifications in the intracellular calcium homeostasis with resultant altered neuronal function.
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  • 30
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    Keywords: nitric oxide ; endotoxin ; cardiomyocytes ; guanosine 3′, 5′-cyclic monophosphate ; calcium ; ADP-ribosylation ; phosphorylation
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    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract To evaluate the effects of the in vivo endotoxin treatment of the rat on (1) the contractile responses in the subsequently isolated papillary muscle to adrenergic and cholinergic agonists and (2) the biochemical parameters (cyclic GMP, nitric oxide synthesis, protein phosphorylation and ADP-ribosyslation) in the subsequently isolated cardiomyocytes. Following the in vivo endotoxin treatment (4 mg/kg i.p., 18 h), contractile responses to increasing amounts of isoprenaline or to increasing amounts of oxotremorine in the presence of a fixed amount of isoprenaline were determined in isolated papillary strips. Activities of nitric oxide synthase, guanylyl cyclase, as well as phosphorylation of phospholamban and troponin-inhibitory subunit, and pertussis toxin-catalyzed and endogenous ADP-ribosylations were determined in the intact cardiomyocytes and subcellular fractions. The increase in the force of contraction by isoprenaline was reduced, while its inhibition by oxotremorine was greater in the endotoxin-treated papillary strips. The activities of both nitric oxide synthase, primarily of the inducible form of the enzyme, and cytosolic guanylyl cyclase were higher while the phosphorylations of both phospholamban and troponin-inhibitory subunit were of lesser magnitude in the cardiomyocytes following the in vivo endotoxin treatment. Pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of the 41 kDa polypeptide, which is the alpha subunit of Gi, was also decreased. The results of the present study support the postulate that alterations in both the cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP signalling cascade contribute to the myocardial dysfunction caused by endotoxin and cytokines.
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  • 31
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    Keywords: taurine ; heart cells ; calcium ; sodium ; confocal microscopy ; nucleus ; fluo-3 ; sodium green ; Ca2+ overload
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    Notes: Abstract The effect of taurine on the different types of ionic currents appears to depend on [Ca]o and [Ca]i and may also vary accordingly to tissue or cell type studied. Using microfluorometry and Ca2+ imaging techniques, short-term exposure (5–10 min) of single heart cells to taurine was found to increase total intracellular free Ca2+ in a concentration-dependent manner. However, long-term exposure of heart myocytes to taurine was found to decrease both nuclear and cytosolic Ca2+ without significantly changing either nuclear or cytosolic Na+ levels, as measured by 3-dimensional Ca2+ and Na+ confocal imaging techniques. Long- term exposure to taurine was found to prevent cytosolic and nuclear increases of Ca2+ induced by permanent depolarization of heart cells with high [K]o. This preventive effect of taurine on nuclear Ca2+ overload was associated with an increase of both cytosolic and nuclear free Na+. Thus, the effect of long-term exposure to taurine on intranuclear Ca2+ overload in heart cells seems to be mediated via stimulation of sarcolemmal and nuclear Ca2+ outflow through the Na+-Ca2+ exchanger.
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  • 32
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    Keywords: mitochondria ; calcium ; permeability transition ; vasopressin ; glucagon ; thapsigargin ; protein kineses and phosphatases ; rat hepatocytes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Ca2+ functions as an intracellular signal to transfer hormonal messages to different cellular compartments, including mitochondria, where it activates intramitochondrial Ca2+-dependent enzymes. However, excessive mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake can promote the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), a process known to be associated with cell injury. The factors controlling mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and release in intact cells are poorly understood. In this paper, we investigate mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation in intact hepatocytes in response to the elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ levels ([Ca2+]c) induced either by a hormonal stimulus (vasopressin), or by thapsigargin, an inhibitor of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump. After stimulation, cells were rapidly permeabilized for the determination of the mitochondrial Ca2+ content (Ca2+_m) and to analyze the susceptibility of the mitochondria to undergo the MPT. Despite very similar levels of [Ca2+]c elevation, vasopressin and thapsigargin had markedly different effects on mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation. Vasopressin caused a rapid (〈 90 sec), but modest (〈 2 fold) increase in Ca2+m that was not further increased during prolonged incubations, despite a sustained [Ca2+]c elevation. By contrast, thapsigargin induced a net Ca2+ accumulation in mitochondria that continued for up to 30 min and reached Ca2+_m levels 10–20 fold over basal. Accumulation of mitochondrial Ca2+ was accompanied by a markedly increased susceptibility to undergo the MPT. Both mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation and MPT activation were modulated by treatment of the cells with inhibitors of protein kineses and phosphatases. The results indicate that net mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in response to hormonal stimulation is regulated by processes that depend on protein kinase activation. These controls are inoperative when the cytosol is flooded by Ca2+ through artificial means, enabling mitochondria to function as a Ca2+ sink under these conditions. (Mol Cell Biochem 174: 173–179, 1997)
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  • 33
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: heart ; calcium ; magnesium ; contractility ; dietary ; L-type calcium current
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract This study employs both dietary and physiological studies to investigate the relationship between calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) signalling in the mammalian myocardium. Rats maintained on a low Mg2+ diet (LMD; 39 mg Kg-1 Mg2+ in food) consumed less food and grew more slowly than control rats fed on a control Mg2+ diet (CMD; 500 mg Kg-1 Mg2+ in food). The Mg2+ contents of the heart and plasma were 85 ± 3% and 34 ± 6.5%, respectively relative to the control group. In contrast, Ca2+ contents in the heart and plasma were 177 ± 5% and 95 ± 3%. The levels of potassium (K+) was raised in the plasma (129 ± 16%) and slightly decreased in the heart (88 ± 6%) compared to CMD. Similarly, sodium (Na+) contents were slightly higher in the heart and lowered in the plasma of low Mg2+ diet rats compared to control Mg2+ diet rat. Perfusion of the isolated Langendorff's rat heart with a physiological salt solution containing low concentrations (0-0.6 mM) of extracellular magnesium [Mg2+]0 resulted in a small transient increase in the amplitude of contraction compared to control [Mg2+]0 (1.2 mM). In contrast, elevated [Mg2+]0 (2-7.2 mM) caused a marked and progressive decrease in contractile force compared to control. In isolated ventricular myocytes the L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L was significantly (p 〈 0.001) attenuated in cells dialysed with 7.1 mM Mg2+ compared to cells dialysed with 2.9 µM Mg2+. The results indicate that hypomagnesemia is associated with decrease levels of Mg2+ and elevated levels of Ca2+ in the heart and moreover, internal Mg2+ is able to modulate the Ca2+ current through the L-type Ca2+ channel which in turn may be involved with the regulation of contractile force in the heart.
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  • 34
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 177 (1997), S. 209-214 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: regucalcin ; calmodulin ; calcium ; cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase ; rat kidney cytosol
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The effect of regucalcin, a novel Ca2+-binding protein, on Ca2+/ calmodulin-dependent cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) phosphodiesterase activity in the cytosol of rat renal cortex was investigated. Regucalcin with physiologic concentration (10-7 M) in rat kidney had no effect on cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity in the absence of CaCl2 and calmodulin. However, the activatory effect of both CaCl2 (10 µM) and calmodulin (20 U/ml) on cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase was markedly inhibited by the addition of regucalcin (10-8 to 10-6 M) in the enzyme reaction mixture. The inhibitory effect of regucalcin on the enzyme activity was also seen in the presence of CaCl2 (5-50 µM) or calmodulin (5-50 U/ml) with increasing concentrations. The presence of trifluoperazine (10 µM), an antagonist of calmodulin, caused a partial inhibition of Ca2+ /calmodulin-dependent cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity. This inhibition was further enhanced by the addition of regucalcin (10-7 M). The inhibitory effect of regucalcin (10-7 M) was not seen in the presence of 20 µM trifluoperazine. Moreover, the activatory effect of calmodulin (20 U/ml) on cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase was not entirely seen, when calmodulin was added 10 min after incubation in the presence of CaCl2 (10 µM) and regucalcin (10-7 M). The present results demonstrates that regucalcin has an inhibitory effect on Ca2+ /calmodulin-dependent cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activation in the cytosol of rat renal cortex.
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  • 35
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 180 (1998), S. 53-57 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: diabetes ; cardiomyopathy ; lipids ; lipoprotein lipase ; calcium
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract It has been established that diabetes results in a cardiomyopathy, and increasing evidence suggests that an altered substrate supply and utilization by cardiac myocytes could be the primary injury in the pathogenesis of this specific heart muscle disease. For example, in diabetes, glucose utilization is insignificant, and energy production is shifted almost exclusively towards β-oxidation of free fatty acids (FFA). FFA's are supplied to cardiac cells from two sources: lipolysis of endogenous cardiac triglyceride (TG) stores, or from exogenous sources in the blood (as free acid bound to albumin or as TG in lipoproteins). The approximate contribution of FFA from exogenous or endogenous sources towards β-oxidation in the diabetic heart is unknown. In an insulin-deficient state, adipose tissue lipolysis is enhanced, resulting in an elevated circulating FFA. In addition, hydrolysis of the augmented myocardial TG stores could also lead to high tissue FFA. Whatever the source of FFA, their increased utilization may have deleterious effects on myocardial function and includes the abnormally high oxygen requirement during FFA metabolism, the intracellular accumulation of potentially toxic intermediates of FFA, a FFA-induced inhibition of glucose oxidation, and severe morphological changes. Therapies that target these metabolic aberrations in the heart during the early stages of diabetes could potentially delay or impede the progression of more permanent sequelae that could ensue from otherwise uncontrolled derangements in cardiac metabolism.
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 179 (1998), S. 135-145 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: calcium ; non-lysosomal proteases ; muscle damage ; neutrophils ; muscle regeneration
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract It is well established that periods of increased contractile activity result in significant changes in muscle structure and function. Such morphological changes as sarcomeric Z-line disruption and sarcoplasmic reticulum vacuolization are characteristic of exercise-induced muscle injury. While the precise mechanism(s) underlying the perturbations to muscle following exercise remains to be elucidated, it is clear that disturbances in Ca2+ homeostasis and changes in the rate of protein degradation occur. The resulting elevation in intracellular [Ca2+] activates the non-lysosomal cysteine protease, calpain. Because calpain cleaves a variety of protein substrates including cytoskeletal and myofibrillar proteins, calpain-mediated degradation is thought to contribute to the changes in muscle structure and function that occur immediately following exercise. In addition, calpain activation may trigger the adaptation response to muscle injury. The purpose of this paper is to: (i) review the chemistry of the calpain-calpastatin system; (ii) provide evidence for the involvement of the non-lysosomal, calcium-activated neutral protease (calpain) in the response of skeletal muscle protein breakdown to exercise (calpain hypothesis); and (iii) describe the possible involvement of calpain in the inflammatory and regeneration response to exercise.
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  • 37
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    Keywords: aortic cells ; steady state R-type Ca2+ channel ; ET-1 ; insulin ; calcium ; G-protein
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
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    Notes: Abstract In single rabbit aortic smooth muscle cells, and at a concentration known to induce a maximum sustained increase of intracellular Ca2+ via activation of the steady-state voltage dependent R-type Ca2+ channels, endothelin-1 (10-7 M) and insulin (80 μU/ml) were found to induce a sustained increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca]i) levels that was significantly attenuated by pre-treatment with either pertussis toxin (PTX), cholera toxin (CTX) or removal of extracellular Ca2+. However, both PTX and CTX failed to inhibit the sustained depolarization-evoked sustained Ca2+ influx and [Ca]i elevation via activation of the R-type Ca2+ channels. Moreover, ET-1 and insulin-evoked sustained increases in Ca2+ influx were not attenuated by the selective PKC inhibitor, bisindolylmaleimide (BIS), or the specific L-type Ca2+ channel blocker, nifedipine, but were completely reversed by the R-type Ca2+ channel blocker, (-) PN 200-110 (isradipine). These data suggest that both insulin and ET-1 activate the nifedipine-insensitive but isradipine-sensitive steady state voltage dependent R-type Ca2+ channels present on rabbit VSMCs and these channels are directly coupled to PTX and CTX sensitive G protein(s).
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  • 38
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: hyperosmolality ; hyperglycemia ; calcium ; smooth muscle cells ; diabetes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
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    Notes: Abstract Hyperglycemia and/or hyperosmolality may disturb calcium homeostasis in vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs), leading to altered vascular contractility in diabetes. To test this hypothesis, the KCl induced increases in [Ca2+]i in primarily cultured vascular SMCs exposed to different concentrations of glucose were examined. With glucose concentration in solutions kept at 5.5 mM, KCl induced a fast increase in [Ca2+]i which then slowly declined (type 1 response) in 83% of SMCs from non-diabetic rats. In 9% of non-diabetic SMCs KCl induced a slow increase in [Ca2+]i (type 2 response). Interestingly, under the same culture conditions KCl induced type 1 and type 2 responses in 47 and 35% of SMCs from diabetic rats. When SMCs from non-diabetic or diabetic rats were cultured in 36 mM glucose, KCl induced a fast increase in [Ca2+]i which, however, maintained at a high level (type 3 response). The sustained level of [Ca2+]i in the presence of KCl was significantly higher in cells cultured with 36 mM glucose than that in non-diabetic cells cultured with 5.5 mM glucose. Furthermore, the hyperglycemia-induced alterations in calcium mobilization were similarly observed in cells cultured in high concentration of mannitol (30.5 mM) or L-glucose, indicating that hyperosmolality was mainly responsible for the abnormal calcium mobilization in diabetic SMCs.
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  • 39
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: CGRP-1 receptor ; HEK-293 cells ; calcium ; cholera toxin
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a neuropeptide with diverse biological properties including potent vasodilating activity. Recently, we reported the cloning of complementary DNAs (cDNAs) encoding the human and porcine CGRP receptors which share significant amino acid sequence homology with the human calcitonin receptor, a member of the recently described novel subfamily of G-protein-coupled 7TM receptors. Activation of this family of receptors has been shown to result in an increase in intracellular cAMP accumulation and calcium release. In this study, we demonstrate that HEK-293 cells expressing recombinant CGRP receptors (HEK-293HR or PR) respond to CGRP with increased intracellular calcium release (EC50 = 1.6 nM) in addition to the activation of adenylyl cyclase (EC50 = 1.4 nM). The effect of CGRP on adenylyl cyclase activation and calcium release was inhibited by CGRP (8-37), a CGRP receptor antagonist. Both effects were mediated by cholera toxin-sensitive G-proteins, but these two signal transduction pathways were independent of each other. While cholera toxin pretreatment of HEK-293PR cells resulted in permanent activation of adenylyl cyclase, the same pretreatment resulted in an inhibition of CGRP-mediated [Ca2+]i release. Pertussis toxin was without effect on CGRP-mediated responses. In addition, CGRP-mediated calcium release appears to be due to release from a thapsigargin-sensitive intracellular calcium pool. These results show that the recombinant human as well as porcine CGRP receptor can independently increase both cAMP production and intracellular calcium release when stably expressed in the HEK-293 cell line.
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  • 40
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    Keywords: endothelin-1 ; ventricular cardiomyocytes ; contraction ; calcium ; heart failure
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    Notes: Abstract Endothelin (ET-1) is found at elevated concentrations in the plasma of patients with heart failure and in animal models of cardiomyopathy. The peptide is a potent positive inotropic agent, the effects of which are mediated by increases in cytosolic Ca2+ in cardiomyocytes. The object of this study was to investigate at the cellular level, the actions of ET-1 on contractile function and on Ca2+ currents in heart-failed ventricular myocardium. Male New Zealand White rabbits (8 wks) were treated with twice weekly injections of epirubicin (4 mg/kg/wk, n=7) or with saline (n=7) for 6 wks, followed by a washout period of 2 wks. Ventricular cardiomyocytes were isolated from rabbit hearts using Langendorff perfusion with collagenase; contractile function was examined using a video microscopy method, and L-type Ca2+ currents were recorded using a whole-cell patch-clamp technique. ET-1 produced a concentration-dependent increase in contractile response (% increase from basal value) to a maximum at 1 nM ET-1 of 69 ± 11% (mean ± S.D.) in control cardiomyocytes and 33 ± 6% in heart-failed cells. However, there was no significant change in the EC50 obtained with ET-1 for healthy (0.31 ± 0.1 nM) and for failed cardiomyocytes (0.24 ± 0.1 nM). The effects of ET-1 on L-type Ca2+ channels were similar with a peak amplitude at 1 nM ET-1 of −3.26 ± 0.8 ⋬ in control cardiomyocytes and −3.32 ± 0.9 nA in heart-failed cells. The attenuation of the contractile response to ET-1 in heart-failed cells may reflect a desensitization of ET receptors as a consequence of elevated circulating levels of ET and was not reflected by alteration of transmembrane Ca2+ conductance. It is probable, therefore, that multiple signalling pathways are involved in the actions of ET on ventricular myocardium.
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  • 41
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 163-164 (1996), S. 125-130 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: cardiac myocytes ; early after depolarisations ; delayed after depolarisations ; calcium ; sarcoplasmic reticulum ; noradrenaline
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract We investigated the effect of 10−8 M noradrenaline (NA) on [Ca2+], and electrical activity of single myocytes of guinea-pig ventricular myocardium loaded with Indo 1-AM. Membrane potential was recorded by means of the patch electrode and patch amplifier set to the current clamp mode. Cells were stimulated at a rate of 30/min by 3 ms pulses of the current injected through the recording electrode. Superfusion of NA resulted in slight shortening of action potentials (APs), increase in rate of rise and amplitude of the respective Ca2+ transients, and appearance of secondary Ca2+ transients of two kinds: 1. appearing before repolarisation of AP and decay of the preceding Ca2+ transient were completed and 2. appearing between the APs. We named them early after-transients (EAT) and delayed after-transients (DAT), respectively. Without any additional intervention EATS caused some prolongation of APs duration and DATs resulted in subthreshold delayed after-depolarisations (DADS). When sarcolemmal K+ conductance was decreased by tetraethylammonium (TEA) in the patch electrode or 20 μM BaCl2 in the Tyrode solution, EATs initiated early after depolarizations (EADs) and DATs initiated suprathreshold DADs triggering full-sized APs. Superfusion of 30.0 mM Na+ (replaced with LiCl) resulted in reduction of AP duration by -70% and appearance of DATs. Also, the frequent multiple oscillations of Ca 2+ concentration were often observed. Neither DATs nor the oscillations had any affect on electrical activity of the cells. Their electrogenicity could not be increased by TEA or 20.0 μM Ba2+. EATs and DATs and their respective EADs and DADs could not be initiated by NA or low Na+ superfusion in the cells pretreated with 2 × 10−7 M thapsigargin, a selective blocker of Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). We conclude that in contrast to the current hypothesis, EADs can be initiated by Ca2+ released early in the cardiac cycle from the overloaded SR, and that electrogenicity of both types of Ca2+ oscillations critically depends on the sarcolemmal K+ conductance.
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  • 42
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 187 (1998), S. 47-55 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: Mimosa pudica ; apyrase ; arabinogalactan ; calcium ; circular dichroism
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Mimosa pudica Linn leaves with pulvini contain unique isoforms (I and II) of apyrase enzyme (EC 3.6.1.5). The activity of isoform I depends on divalent cation Mn2+. This isoform is associated noncovalently with the polysaccharide, containing mainly of galactose and arabinose sugars. The apparent molecular mass of these 2 isoforms are 36 and 34 Kd respectively. The association of the polysaccharide with the isoform I has been found to be Ca2+ dependent which is endogenously present in this isoform. Removal of Ca2+ and polysaccharide from the enzyme (isoform I) leads to an inactivation. The enzyme activity can be restored when both Ca2+ and endogenous polysaccharide fraction were added at an optimal molar ratio of Ca2+:protein of 7:1. The endogenous polysaccharide can be replaced by the standard arabinogalactan. No other sugar or polysaccharide except the arabinogalactan can restore the apyrase activity. Calcium mediates a conformational change in the protein which helps in association of polysaccharide as evidenced from fluorometric and far UV-CD studies to restore the enzymic activity. Neither any interaction of the polysaccharide with the protein is detected in absence of Ca2+ nor the enzyme activity could be recovered under such condition.
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  • 43
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 187 (1998), S. 1-10 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: oxidant ; cardiovascular system ; signal transduction ; calcium ; mitogen activated protein kinases ; nuclear transcription factors ; tyrosine kinase ; protein kinase C ; superoxide ; hydrogen peroxide ; ischemia-reperfusion ; atherosclerosis ; phospholipases ; apoptosis ; antioxidant
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Although oxidants such as superoxide (O2.-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) play a role in host-mediated destruction of foreign pathogens yet excessive generation of oxidants may lead to a variety of pathological complications in the cardiovascular system. An important mechanism by which oxidants cause dysfunction of the cardiovascular system appears to be due to the increase in intracellular free Ca2+ concentration. Oxidants cause cellular Ca2+ mobilization by modulating activities of a variety of regulators such as Na+/H+ and Na+/Ca2+ exchangers, Na+/K+ ATPase and Ca2+ ATPase and Ca2+ channels that are associated with Ca2+ transport in the plasma membrane and the sarco(endo)plasmic reticular membrane of myocardial cells. Recent research have suggested that the increase in Ca2+ level by oxidants plays a pivotal role in indicing several protein kinases such as protein kinase C, tyrosine kinase and mitogen activated protein kinases. Oxindant-mediated alteration of different signal transduction systems and their interations eventually regulate a variety of pathological conditoins such as atherosclerosis, apoptosis and necrosis in the myocardium
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  • 44
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    Keywords: heart ; vascular endothelium ; vascular smooth muscle ; confocal microscopy ; pH ; calcium ; sodium ; voltage probe ; heart ; endothelin-1 ; Angiotensin II ; PAF ; nucleus ; mitochondria ; SR ; cardiomyopathy ; cells interaction ; R-type Ca2+ channel ; excitation-contraction coupling ; dystrophic mouse
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract In recent years, fluorescence microscopy imaging has become an important tool for studying cell structure and function. This non invasive technique permits characterization, localisation and qualitative quantification of free ions, messengers, pH, voltage and a pleiad of other molecules constituting living cells. In this paper, we present results using various commercially available fluorescent probes as well as some developed in our laboratory and discuss the advantages and limitations of these probes in confocal microscopy studies of the cardiovascular system.
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  • 45
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    Keywords: cyclosporin A ; mitochondrial permeability transition ; reperfusion injury ; cyclophilin ; oxidative stress ; calcium
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract When loaded with high (pathological) levels of Ca2+, mitochondria become swollen and uncoupled as the result of a large non-specific increase in membrane permeability. This process, known as the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), is exacerbated by oxidative stress and adenine nucleotide depletion. These conditions match those that a heart experiences during reperfusion following a period of ischaemia. The MPT is caused by the opening of a non-specific pore that can be prevented by sub-micromolar concentrations of cyclosporin A (CsA). A variety of conditions that increase the sensitivity of pore opening to [Ca2+], such as thiol modification, oxidative stress, increased matrix volume and chaotropic agents, all enhance the binding of matrix cyclophilin (CyP) to the inner mitochondrial membrane in a CsA-sensitive manner. In contrast, ADP, membrane potential and low pH decrease the sensitivity of pore opening to [Ca2+] without affecting CyP binding. We present a model of pore opening involving CyP binding to a membrane target protein followed by Ca2+-dependent triggering of a conformational change to induce channel opening. Using the ischaemic/reperfused rat heart we have shown that the mitochondrial pore does not open during ischaemia, but does do so during reperfusion. Recovery of heart during reperfusion is improved in the presence of 0.2 µM CsA, suggesting that the MPT may be critical in the transition from reversible to irreversible reperfusion injury. (Mol Cell Biochem 174: 167–172, 1997)
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  • 46
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: diabetes ; Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase ; calcium ; liver plasma membrane
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The alteration in calcium transport in the liver of rats with streptozocin(STZ)-diabetic state was investigated. STZ (6 mg/100 g body weight) was subcutaneously administered in rats, and 1 or 2 weeks later they were sacrificed by bleeding. STZ administration caused a remarkable elevation of serum glucose concentration. Liver calcium content was significantly increased by STZ administration. Hepatic plasma membrane (Ca2+-Mg2+)-ATPase activity was markedly elevated by STZ administration. This increase was completely abolished by the presence of staurosporine (10-7-10-5 M), an inhibitor of protein kinase C, in the enzyme reaction mixture, suggesting an involvement of protein kinase C signalling. Moreover, the STZ-induced increase in liver plasma membrane (Ca2+-Mg2+)-ATPase activity was significantly raised by the presence of okadaic acid (10-5 and 10-4 M). Meanwhile, the STZ-increased (Ca2+-Mg2+)-ATPase activity was not appreciably altered by the presence of anti-regucalcin IgG in the reaction mixture, indicating that the activatory protein regucalcin does not participate in the elevation of the enzyme activity. The present study demonstrates that STZ-induced diabetes causes the increase in hepatic plasma membrane (Ca2+-Mg2+)-ATPase activity of rats.
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  • 47
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 184 (1998), S. 393-400 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: ATP synthase ; phosphorylation potential ; cytosolic pH ; reperfusion damage ; calcium ; free radicals
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract A short period of ischemia followed by reperfusion produces a state of affairs in which the cells' potential for surviving longer ischemia is enhanced. This is called ischemic preconditioning. The effects of preconditioning are also related to the reperfusion damage which ensues upon tissue oxygenation. The role of the cellular energy state in reperfusion damage remains an enigma, although ischemic preconditioning is known to trigger mechanisms which contribute to the prevention of unnecessary ATP waste. In some species up to 80% of ATP hydrolysis in ischemia can be attributed to mitochondrial F1-F0-ATPase (ATP synthase), and a role for its inhibitor protein (IF1) in ATP preservation has been proposed. Although originally regarded as limited to large animals with a slow heart beat, inhibition by IF1 is probably a universal phenomenon. Coincidentally with ATPase inhibition, the decline in cellular ATP slows down, but even so the difference in ATP concentration between preconditioned and non-conditioned hearts is still small at the final stages of a long ischemia, when the beneficial effect of preconditioning is observable, although the energy state during reperfusion remains low in hearts which do not recover.
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  • 48
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    Keywords: calcium ; Ca2+-ATPase ; DNA fragmentation ; liver nuclei ; liver injury ; carbon tetrachloride
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    Notes: Abstract The alteration in calcium transport in the liver nuclei of rats orally administered carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) was investigated. Rats received a single oral administration of CCl4(5, 10, and 25%, 1.0ml/100 g body weight), and 5, 24 and 48 h later the animals were sacrificed. The administration of CCl4 (25%) caused a remarkable elevetion of calcium content in the liver tissues and the nuclei of rats. Liver nuclear Ca2+-ATPase activity was markedly decreased by CCl4 (25%) administration. The presence of dibutyryl cyclic AMP(10-4 and 10-3 M) or inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (10-6 and 10-5 M) in the enzyme reaction mixture caused a significant decrease in Ca2+-ATPase activity in the liver nuclei obtained from normal rat, while the enzyme activity was significantly increased by calmodulin (1.0 and 2.0 μg/ml). These signaling factor's effects were completely impaired in the liver nuclei obtained from CCl4 (25%)-administered rats. DNA fragmentation in the liver nuclei obtained from CCl4 -administered rats was significantly decreased by the presence of EGTA (2 mM) in the reaction mixture, suggesting that the endogenous calcium activates nuclear DNA fragmentation. The present study demonstrates that calcium transport system in the liver nuclei is impaired by liver injury with CCl4 administration in rats.
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  • 49
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 194 (1999), S. 159-164 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: free radicals ; ischemia-reperfusion ; sarcoplasmic reticulum ; Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase ; calcium
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Reactive oxygen species (ROS, free radicals) produced during cardiac ischemia and reperfusion can damage the contractile functions of arteries. The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ pump in coronary artery smooth muscle is very sensitive to ROS. Here we show that contractions of de-endothelialized rings from porcine left coronary artery produced by the hormone Angiotensin II and by the SR Ca2+ pump inhibitors cyclopiazonic acid and thapsigargin correlate negatively with the tissue weight. In contrast, the contractions due to membrane depolarization by high KCl correlate positively. Peroxide also produces a small contraction which correlates negatively with the tissue weight. When artery rings are treated with peroxide and washed, their ability to contract with Angiotensin II, cyclopiazonic acid and thapsigargin decreases. Thus, the SR Ca2+ pump may play a more important role in the contractility of the smaller segments of the coronary artery than in the larger segments. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that ROS which damage the SR Ca2+ pump affect the contractile function of the distal segments more adversely than of the proximal segments.
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  • 50
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 194 (1999), S. 173-177 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: calcium ; ATPase ; central nervous system ; phencyclidine ; inhibition ; in vitro ; in vivo
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Phencyclidine (PCP) is a potent psychotomimetic drug of abuse and has profound effect on the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS). Many of the CNS functions are known to be mediated by calcium (Ca2+). In the present study we have investigated the effects of PCP on Ca2+ ATPase activity in rat brain both in vitro and in vivo. For in vitro studies, synaptic membrane fractions prepared from normal rat brain were incubated with PCP at different concentrations (25-100 μM) before the addition of substrate. For n vivo studies, rats were treated with a single moderate dose of PCP (10 mg/kg, IP) and animals were sacrificed at 1,2, 6 and 12 h after treatment. Ca2+ ATPase activity in synaptic membrane fractions was assayed by estimation of inorganic phosphate. PCP inhibited the Ca2+ ATPase in vitro in a concentration dependent manner with significant effect at 50 and 100 μM. A significant time-dependent reduction of the Ca2+ ATPase activity was evident in vivo. As early as 2 h after the treatment of rats with PCP the ATPase activity was significantly reduced. The reduction of Ca2+ ATPase observed even at 12 h after treatment suggesting a prolonged presence of the drug in the brain tissue. Further, kinetic studies in vitro indicated PCP to be a competitive inhibitor of Ca2+ ATPase with respect to the substrate, ATP. The present findings indicate that PCP inhibits synaptic membrane Ca2+ ATPase thus altering cellular Ca2+ homeostasis in CNS which may partially explain the pharmacological effects of the drug and/or its neurotoxicity.
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  • 51
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    Keywords: ultraviolet radiation ; oxidative stress ; calcium ; phospholipase A2 ; thrombin ; V79 fibroblast
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    Notes: Abstract V79 fibroblasts were treated with ultraviolet (UV) C radiation alone as well as in conjunction with chronic oxidative stress. The effects of these treatments on calcium signaling were observed at 30 min post-irradiation. In the absence of extracellular calcium, thrombin released calcium from internal stores of UVC-irradiated V79 fibroblasts even after exposure to neomycin. In neomycin-treated control and chronic oxidative stress cells, no calcium release by thrombin was observed after chelation of external calcium. Calcium release by thrombin from internal stores of UV-irradiated and neomycin-treated cells was completely abolished by pretreatment with N-acetyl cysteine and dexamethasone. Cellular total soluble thiol content which is a good indicator of cellular reduced glutathione (GSH) level was significantly elevated 30 min after ultraviolet radiation, indicating an adaptive response after oxidative stress. Chronic oxidative stress alone resulted in a much smaller increase in GSH but chronic oxidative stress in conjunction with UVC produced a very prominent elevation in GSH levels. Our data suggest that thrombin can cause calcium release from internal stores of ultraviolet-irradiated fibroblasts which is independent of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate hydrolysis and is directly related to the level of oxidative stress. Involvement of phopholipase A2 and a role for its products as possible mediators of calcium release from intracellular stores, is strongly indicated.
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  • 52
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 197 (1999), S. 25-29 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: regucalcin ; anti-regucalcin antibody ; protein phosphatase ; calcium ; rat liver cytosol
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The effect of anti-regucalcin monoclonal antibody on neutral phoshatase activity in rat liver cytosol was investigated. Phosphotyrosine, phosphoserine, and phosphothreonine were used as the substrate toward phosphatase asssy. Liver cytosolic phosphatase activity with three phosphoaminoacids was significantly increased in the presence of anti-regucalcin antibody (100 and 200 ng/ml) in the enzyme reaction mixture with calcium chloride (0.1 mM) or EGTA (1.0 mM). The effect of anti-regucalcin antibody was completely abolished in the presence of exogenous regucalcin (1.0 μM), indicating the involvement of endogenous regucalcin. The anti-regucalcin anti body- increased phosphatase activity was not significantly altered in the presence of trifluoperazine (20 μM), an antagonist of calmodulin, or akadaic acid (10 μM), an inhibitor of protein phosphatase, although these inihibitors caused a slight decrease in liver cytosolic phosphatase activity. The effect of endogenous regucalcin might be not related to calmodulin, and it was insensitive to okadaic acid. The present findings suggest that endogenous regucalcin is involved in the regulation of protein phasphatase in rat liver cytoplasm.
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  • 53
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    Keywords: isolated cardiac mitochondria ; cyclosporin A ; calcium ; magnesium ; oxidative phosphorylation ; high energy phosphate production ; Krebs cycle intermediates
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract This study was designed to determine the effect of calcium and ADP-Mg on the oxidative phosphorylation in isolated cardiac mitochondria. The influence of cyclosporin A was also evaluated. The mitochondria were extracted from rat ventricles. Their oxidative phosphorylations were determined in two respiration media with different free Ca2+ concentrations. Respiration was determined with palmitoylcarnitine and either ADP- or ADP-Mg. With elevated free Ca2+concentrations and ADP-Mg, the transition state III to state IV respiration did not occurred. The ADP:O ratio was reduced. The phenomenon was not observed in the other experimental conditions (low free Ca2+ concentration with either ADP- or ADP-Mg or elevated free Ca2+ concentration with ADP-). Uncoupling was allied with a constant AMP production, which maintained an elevated ADP level in the respiration medium and prevented the return to state IV respiration. It was also observed in a respiration medium devoid of free Ca2+ when the mitochondria were pre-loaded with Ca2+. Uncoupling was inhibited by cyclosporin A. Furthermore, the Krebs cycle intermediates released from14C-palmitoylcarnitine oxidation revealed that succinate was increased by elevated free Ca2+ and ADP-Mg. Succinate is a FAD-linked substrate with low respiration efficiency. Its accumulation could account for the decreased ADP:O ratio. The Ca2+- and ADP-Mg-induced uncoupling might be partly responsible for the mechanical abnormalities observed during low-flow ischemia. (Mol Cell Biochem 000: 000-000, 1999)
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  • 54
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    Keywords: Salmonella typhimurium ; diarrhoea ; porins ; calcium ; protein kinase C ; free radicals
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Attachment of Salmonella typhimurium to epithelial surfaces elicit significant alterations in different cell signalling events which lead to the development of disease. The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of immunization of rats with porins, on gut physiologic markers following challenge with S. typhimurium. Male albino Wistar rats were immunized with purified porins and challenged by intragastric infection with S. typhimurium. Electrolyte transport, levels of different second messengers and inflammatory mediators were studied. A net absorption of transepithelial fluxes of Na+ and Cl- in immunized-challenged group and secretion in infected group was found. Ca2+ and 3-O-methyl-D-glucose fluxes did not show any change. Significant increase in the levels of [Ca+]i, cAMP, membrane form of protein kinase C, prostaglandins, NADPH oxidase, Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, total oxygen free radicals, reactive nitrogen intermediates, citrulline and lipid peroxidation was found in the infected group. However, in the immunized-challenged group, the values of all the parameters were found to be almost the same as that of control as well as immunized groups. Na+, K+-ATPase and calmodulin levels were unaltered in all the groups of animals. The results of this study thus suggest that immunization of rats with purified Salmonella porins followed by subsequent challenge with the organism might be helpful for the prevention of multiple physiologic derangements in isolated ideal cells.
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  • 55
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 151 (1995), S. 39-47 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: 7B2 ; calcium ; protein aggregation ; secretogranins ; protein sorting
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract To study the behavior of the neuroendocrine polypeptide 7B2 in the presence of calcium, various fragments of this molecule were produced inEscherichia coli as fusion proteins to glutathione S-transferase (GST). Addition of millimolar concentrations of Ca2+ to purified preparations of hybrid molecules carrying the N-terminal segment of 7B2 induced precipitation in a manner dependent on protein and cation concentrations. This precipitation occurred at pH 7.5 but not at pH 5.2. It was augmented by 4 and 8 mM ATP, and reduced by 12 and 24 mM ATP. ADP had a similar but weaker effect. Calcium failed to cause precipitation of GST alone or of GST fused to the C-terminal peptide 7B2156–186. However, when the latter protein was mixed with a GST protein carrying a short fragment of the N-terminal region of 7B2, both proteins were precipitated by calcium. Except for the pH dependence, the behavior of 7B2 fusion proteins in the presence of calcium and adenosine nucleotides are reminiscent of those exhibited by chromogranins and secretogranins, which, like 7B2, are acidic proteins found in the secretory granules of a variety of neuroendocrine cells. As suggested for other granins, this property may underlie the segregation of 7B2 fragments into secretory granules.
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  • 56
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 151 (1995), S. 55-60 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: regucalcin ; calcium ; gene expression ; kidney damage ; rat kidney cortex
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The alteration of Ca2+-binding protein regucalcin mRNA expression in the kidney cortex of rats administered cisplatin and cephaloridine, which can induce kidney damage, was investigated. Cisplatin (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/100 g body weight) or cephaloridine (25, 50 and 100 mg/100 g) was intraperitoneally administered in rats, and 1, 2 and 3 days later they were sacrificed. The alteration in serum findings after the administration of cisplatin (1.0 mg/100 g) or cephaloridine (50 and 100 mg/100 g) demonstrated chemically induced kidney damage; blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration increased markedly and serum inorganic phosphorus or calcium concentration decreased significantly. Moreover, the administration of cisplatin (1.0 mg/100 g) or cephaloridine (100 mg/100 g) caused a remarkable increase of calcium content in the kidney cortex of rats, indicating kidney damage. The expression of regucalcin mRNA in the kidney cortex was markedly reduced by the administration of cisplatin or cephaloridine in rats, when the mRNA levels were analyzed by Northern blotting using rat liver regucalcin cDNA (0.9 kb). The mRNA decreases were seen with the used lowest dose of cisplatin or cephaloridine. The present study clearly demonstrates that the mRNA expression of Ca2+-binding protein regucalcin in the kidney cortex of rats is decreased by chemically induced kidney damage.
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  • 57
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    Keywords: hyperthyroid heart ; high energy phosphates ; oxidative metabolism ; cardiac work ; calcium ; 31P-NMR spectroscopy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The effect of calcium activation on energy production was investigated in isolated perfused hearts from rats treated with triiodothyronine (T3) during 15 days (0.2 mg/kg/day) and in hearts of rats allowed to recover after T3-treatment during 15 days. Changes in phosphorylated compound concentrations were followed in the isolated hearts perfused with a glucose-pyruvate medium by 31P-NMR spectroscopy, when the external calcium concentration was increased from 0.5–1, 1.5 and 2 mM. As expected, T3-treatment resulted in the hypertrophy of the heart (50% increase in HW/BW) that was nearly reversible 15 days after discontinuation of the treatment. When compared to controls, creatine, phosphocreatine (PCr) and glycogen contents were lower (58, 24 and 17% decrease respectively) in the hypertrophied hearts and higher (10, 14 and 18% respectively) after regression of hypertrophy. Intracellular pH, ATP, inorganic phosphate concentrations and the phosphorylation potential were not altered under T3-treatment and after regression of hypertrophy, while calculated free ADP concentration was lower in hypertrophied hearts (control: 40±2 μM, T3-treatment: 21±1 μM, regression: 37±1 μM). Increasing the calcium concentration induced a similar increase in left ventricular developed pressure in the three groups of hearts, with inorganic phosphate concentration increasing with cardiac work. The PCr concentration slightly decreased while the ATP concentration did not change. In spite of different initial PCr concentrations, the evolutions of PCr and Pi concentrations for each stepwise increase in external calcium were similar in the three groups. It is concluded that, in spite of the well-known decrease in efficiency induced by the drug, the mechanisms of PCr (ATP) production ramain able to respond to an acute moderate increase in energy demand provoked by a physiological stimulus. This adaptation also persists after the treatment when the energy metabolism balance is apparently improved.
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  • 58
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 151 (1995), S. 149-155 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: SERCA2 ; ATPase ; calcium ; transport ; vascular
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Pig coronary artery cultured smooth muscle cells were skinned using saponin. In the presence of an ATP-regenerating system and oxalate, the skinned cells showed an ATP-dependent azide insensitive Ca2+-uptake which increased linearly with time for 〉1 h. The Ca2+-uptake occurred with Km values of 0.20±0.03 μM for Ca2+ and 400±34 μM for MgATP2−. Thapsigargin and cyclopiazonic acid inhibited this uptake with IC50 values of 0.13±0.02 and 0.56±0.04 μM, respectively. These properties of SR Ca2+-pump are similar to those reported for membrane fractions isolated from fresh smooth muscle of coronary artery and other arteries. However, optimum pH of the uptake in the skinned cells (6.2) was lower than that reported previously using isolated membranes (6.4–6.8).
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 154 (1996), S. 113-121 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: heart cells ; nucleus ; calcium ; R-type channel ; excitation-contraction coupling ; pacemaker activity ; Fura-2 ; Fluo-3 ; confocal microscopy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract In the present study, Fluo-3 Ca2+ measurement and confocal microscopy techniques were used in order to localize cytosolic [ ]c and nuclear [ ]n free Ca2+ distribution in resting and spontaneously contracting single heart cells from 10-day-old chick embryos. In resting single cells, the concentration of Ca2+ in the cytoplasm was lower than that in the nucleus. Increasing cytosolic free Ca2+ from 100–1600 nM gradually increased [Ca2+]n with a maximum capacity near 1200 nM. Results from Fura-2 microfluorometry and Fluo-3 confocal microscopy suggest a potential cross talk between the increase of cytosolic free Ca2+ and the uptake and release of Ca2+ by the nucleus during spontaneous contraction of single myocytes. Calcium waves in spontaneously contracting cells were found to spread from one cell to the next with the nucleus acting as a fluorescent beacon in which Ca2+ levels remained elevated for several milliseconds even after cytosolic Ca2+ had returned to near basal values. These results strongly suggest that the nucleus plays a negative and positive feedback role in controlling cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration during excitation-contraction coupling in heart cells.
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  • 60
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: calcium ; calcium transport ; brain ; calcium-regulating hormone ; calcium-antagonist ; energy dependency
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The characterization of calcium accumulation in the brain of rats administered orally calcium chloride solution was investigated. Rats received a single oral administration of calcium (15–50 mg/100 g body weight), and they were sacrificed by bleeding-between 15 and 120 min after the administration. The administration of calcium (50 mg/100 g) produced a significant increase in serum calcium concentration and a corresponding elevation of brain calcium content, indicating that the transport of calcium into the brain is associated with the elevation of serum calcium levels. The increase in brain calcium content by calcium administration was not appreciably altered by the pretreatment with Ca2+ channel blockers (verapamil or diltiazem with the doses of 1.5 and 3.0 mg/100 g). In thyroparathyroidectomized rats, the administration of calcium (50 mg/100 g) caused a significant increase in brain calcium content, indicating that calcium-regulating hormones do not participate in the brain calcium transport. Now, brain calcium content was clearly elevated by fasting (overnight), although serum calcium level was not significantly altered. Calcium administration to fasted rats induced a further elevation of brain calcium content as compared with that of control (fasted) rats. The fasting-induced increase in brain calcium content was appreciably restored by refeeding. This restoration was also seen by the oral administration of glucose (0.4 g/100 g) to fasted rats. The present study demonstrates that serum calcium is transported to brain, and that the increased brain calcium is released promptly. The release of calcium from brain may be involved in energy metabolism, and this release may be weakened by the reduction of glucose supply into brain. The finding suggests a physiological significance of energy-dependent mechanism in the regulation of brain calcium.
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  • 61
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: hydroxyl radical ; oxidant ; hydrogen peroxide ; smooth muscle tissue ; mitochondria ; calcium
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract We sought to investigate the mechanism(s) by which the oxidant H2O2 stimulates Ca2+ release from mitochondria of bovine pulmonary vascular smooth muscle tissue and to test the hypothesis that hydroxyl radical is involved in this phenomenon. Treatment of the smooth muscle tissue with 1 mM H2O2 dramatically stimulated hydroxyl radical generation as measured by methane (CH4) production by GLC using dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as the substrate. Pretreatment of the mitochondria with the hydroxyl radical scavanger dimethylthiourea (DMTU) prevented the increase in CH4 production caused by H2O2. In the absence of EGTA, H2O2 caused stimulation of Ca2+ release from mitochondria occurred with a lag time of about 4 min. Addition of EGTA to Ca2+ loaded mitochondria resulted an immediate loss of Ca2+ and that has been found to be augmented by H2O2. The release of Ca2+ by H2O2 did not appear to occur with concommitant increase in sucrose entry into, K+ release from, and swelling of mitochondria when the Ca2+ cycling was prevented by EGTA. These observations suggested that H2O2-mediated Ca2+ release from bovine pulmonary vascular smooth muscle tissue mitochondria occurred (i) through the involvement of hydroxyl radical; (ii) via specific pathway(s); and (iii) did not appear to happen primarily via nonspecific ‘pore’ formation.
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  • 62
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 173 (1997), S. 169-175 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: regucalcin ; calcium-binding protein ; calcium ; nuclear RNA synthesis ; regenerating ratliver
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The effect of regucalcin, a Ca2+-bindingf protein isolated from rat livercytosol, on ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis in the nuclei of normal ratliver and of regenerating rat liver was investigated. The liver weight at 1day after partial hepatectomy was increased about 50% of that ofsham-operated (control) rats. Calcium chloride (1.0-20 µM Ca2+ asfinal concentration) was added into the reaction mixture of nuclear RNAsynthesis. RNA synthesis was established by incorporation of [3H]-uridine5'-triphosphate (UTP) into the nuclear RNA. Addition of Ca2+ (5 and 10µM) caused a significant increase of RNA synthesis in the nuclei fromcontrol rat liver. Such effect of Ca2+ was potentiated in the nuclei ofregenerating liver; nuclear RNA synthesis was increased about 2 fold by the1.0 and 2.5 µM Ca2+ addition. The stimulatory effect of Ca2+ wassignificantly inhibited by the presence of a-amanitin (10-8 M), an inhibitorof RNA polymerase II. The presence of regucalcin (0.25 and 0.5 µM)significantly inhibited RNA synthesis in the nuclei from control rat liverand from regenerating rat liver. The inhibitory effect of regucalcin wasremarkable in the presence of EGTA (0.5 mM), and it was weakened by theaddition of Ca2+ (5 µM). Such regucalcin effect was not seen in thepresence of a-amanitin. The presence of anti-regucalcin IgG in the reactionmixture significantly increased RNA synthesis in the nuclei from control ratliver, indicating that the endogenous regucalcin may be involved in nuclearRNA synthesis. The present resuits demonstrate that regucalcin can inhibitnuclear RNA synthesis in rat liver. Regucalcin may have an inhibitory rolein the regulation of liver nuclear RNA synthesis.
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  • 63
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 149-150 (1995), S. 175-182 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: rat pancreas ; cholecystokinin ; magnesium ; calcium ; acetylcholine ; amylase secretion
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Application of either acetylcholine (ACh, 10−5 M) or cholecystokininoctapeptide (CCK-8, 10−8 M) to the isolated rat pancreas elicited large increases in amylase secretion, radiolabelled45Ca2+ influx and cytosolic free calcium [Ca2+]i levels in zero and normal (1.1 mM) extracellular magnesium [Mg2+]o. Elevated [Mg2+]o significantly (p〈0.001) reduced the secretagogueevoked secretory responses and Ca2+ mobilisation. Stimulation of pancreatic segments with either ACh (10−5 and 10−6 M) or CCK-8 (10−8 and 10−10 M) resulted in marked elevation in Mg2+ concentration in effluent samples (net efflux). On removal of either ACh or CCK-8, Mg2+ concentration returned to resting level. In pancreatic acinar cells loaded the flourescent dye magfura, ACh and CCK-8 evoked marked reduction in cytosolic free Mg2+ concentration [Mg2+]i compared to the resting value of 0.82±0.03 mM (n=50) in normal medium in the absence of secretagogues. In elevated [Mg2+]o (10 mM) medium, [Mg2+]i rises to 0.98±0.04 mM (n=6). Addition of CCK-8 led to only a small reduction in [Mg2+ i in elevated [Mg2+]o. In Mg2+ loaded pancreatic acinar cells, Mg2+ is released in a time dependent manner and this efflux of Mg2+ was sensitive to sodium, extracellular amiloride (1 mM), dinitrophenol (10 mM) and lidocaine (1 mM). The results indicate that Mg2+ is acting as an intracellular messenger to regulate the mobilisation of Ca2+ which in turn mediates enzyme secretion.
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  • 64
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 176 (1997), S. 317-326 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: calcium ; metabolism ; glucose ; hypoxia ; rat brain
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract In a previous communication we reported that glucose deprivation from KHRB medium resulted in a marked stimulation of Ca2+ uptake by brain tissue, suggesting a relationship between glucose and Ca2+ homeostasis in brain tissue [17]. Experiments were carried out to investigate the significance of glucose in Ca2+ transport in brain cells. The replacement of glucose with either D-methylglucoside or 2-deoxyglucose, non-metabolizable analogues of glucose, resulted in stimulation of Ca2+ uptake just as by glucose deprivation. These data show that glucose metabolism rather than glucose transfer was necessary to stimulate Ca2+ uptake in brain tissue. Inhibition of glucose metabolism with either NaF, NaCN, or iodoacetate resulted in stimulation of Ca2+ uptake similar to that produced by glucose deprivation. These results lend further support for the concept that glucose metabolism is essential for Ca2+ homeostasis in brain. Anoxia promotes glucose metabolism through glycolytic pathway to keep up with the demand for ATP by cellular processes (the Pasteur effect). Incubation of brain slices under nitrogen gas did not alter Ca2+ uptake by brain tissue, as did glucose deprivation and the inhibitors of glucose metabolism. We conclude that glucose metabolism resulting in the synthesis of ATP is essential for Ca2+ homeostasis in brain. Verapamil and nifedipine which block voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, did not alter Ca2+ uptake stimulated by glucose deprivation, indicating that glucose deprivation-enhanced Ca2+ uptake was not mediated by Ca2+ channels. Tetrodotoxin which specifically blocks Na+ channels, abolished Ca2+ uptake enhanced by glucose deprivation, but had no effect on Ca2+ uptake in presence of glucose (controls). These results suggest that stimulation of Ca2+ uptake by glucose deprivation may be related to Na+ transfer via Na-Ca exchange in brain.
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    Molecular and cellular biochemistry 201 (1999), S. 159-167 
    ISSN: 1573-4919
    Keywords: phospholipases A1, A2 and C ; Ureaplasma urealyticum ; calcium ; plasma membrane ; phospholipids ; pH ; detergents
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The presence of endogenous phospholipase A (PL-A) activity of U. urealyticum hydrolyzing the acyl ester bond and phospholipase C (PL-C) activity hydrolyzing the phosphodiester bond is primarily localized in the membranes of ureaplasmas. Characterization of the membrane PL-A and PL-C activity in exponential growing cells of serovars 3, 4, and 8 was investigated. The pH optimum was about 8.5-9 for phospholipase A1 (PL-A1) in the three serovars. A more acidic pH optimum of 6 was observed for phospholipase A2 (PL-A2) enzymes in serovars 3 and 4. However, a very significant stimulation of PL-A2 activity in serovar 8 occurred around pH 7. The specific activity of PL-A2 was always 50-100 fold higher than PL-A1 activity in the pH range studied. Ca2+ ions only slightly stimulated PL-A1 activity in all 3 serovars. PL-A2 activity was stimulated about 6-fold from 0.5-0.8 mM Ca2+ ion concentrations for serovar 3 and 12-fold for serovar 8. Only lower concentrations (0.2-0.4 mM) of calcium stimulated PL-A2 activity in serovar 4. EDTA inhibition corresponded to Ca2+ stimulation for PL-A2 activity for serovars 3 and 8. A general stimulation of PL-A2 activity by diethyl ether was evident but the degree of stimulation varied with the serovar. Sodium deoxycholate enhanced PL-A activity of serovars 4 and 3, but partially inhibited that of serovar 8. PL-A activity in the three serovars were not significantly affected by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, a marker of -SH groups in the enzyme. All 3 serovars were inactivated by heat. A broad pH optimum for PL-C activity was evident around 7-8. Diethyl ether enhanced PL-C activity of serovar 8. Sodium deoxycholate and heat were inhibitory to PL-C activity. The results demonstrate that the major characteristics of ureaplasma membrane bound PL-A and PL-C are basically similar to those of other mollicutes and bacteria. However, the major differences in the specific characteristics of specially PL-A1 and PL-A2 suggest that the ureaplasma phospholipases are unique enzymes different from the phospholipases of bacteria. Both the PL-A and PL-C enzymes function over the broad range at which ureaplasma can grow, pH 5-9 essential for survival. The ureaplasma PL-As are also markedly different from one serovar to another. This variation in specific activity could contribute significantly to differences in virulence among serovars in specific host milieus. There is significant variation from acidic pH of the vagina and alveolar surface of the lung to a more neutral pH of the endometrium and placenta. There are marked differences in calcium concentrations under specific circumstances in various host tissues. Thus the differences in specific activity among the phospholipases of the serovars of U. urealyticum may be of physiological importance in interactions with host tissues and pathogenesis of disease.
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    Cell & tissue research 296 (1999), S. 111-119 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Synovial joint ; Development ; Hyaluronan ; BMP ; GDF-5 ; Antagonists
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The synovial joint arises from an initial condensation of cells that subsequently develops into distinct skeletal structures, separated by the joint. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and growth and differentiation factors (GDFs) have a fundamental role during skeletogenesis, including joint formation. Development of the joint appears to be dependent on the differential expression/activity of the related BMP and GDF subfamilies. Gdf-5 is expressed in the developing joints and is necessary for the formation of some joints. In contrast, recent data has shown that antagonism of the BMP family is crucial for joint formation. Here, we review mechanisms of how BMP signalling may be antagonised/modified. We also describe the expression of Bmp-2 and Bmp-4 together with two BMP antagonists, chordin and noggin, during chick joint development. Finally, we discuss possible mechanisms of how a joint forms and the evidence that the joint is a ’signalling centre’ that may coordinate the development of adjacent skeletal structures.
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  • 67
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    Keywords: Submandibular gland (mice) ; Sex-dimorphism ; Amylase ; Development
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary The submandibular glands of developing and mature Strong A mice were studied by light and electron microscopy. The glands of both sexes show the same cell types during development, but during maturation the glands display a degree of sex-dimorphism. Striated ducts, which differentiate from the larger intralobular ducts present in the neonatal gland, first appear by 5 days of age and reach their mature condition by 20 days of age. Granular convoluted tubule cells, which differentiate from striated duct cells, are first seen at 15 days of age in both sexes. Subsequently, they show a more rapid development in males than in females, and are dimorphically represented by 20 days of age. Intercalated ducts in the neonatal gland contain nongranular and granular cells. With maturation the number of granular cells decreases, apparently due to their conversion into the nongranular type, with their eventual disappearance from the glands of adult males. Their retention in adult females further defines the sexual dimorphism shown by these glands. Amylase activity in gland homogenates is first detectable at 20 days of age in both sexes. During development the male glands show a rapid rise in levels of amylase activity, whereas female glands show a more gradual rise. In mature animals, male glands have higher levels of amylase activity than female glands. The developmental and adult status of amylase activity parallels that of the granular convoluted tubules.
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    Cell & tissue research 159 (1975), S. 195-204 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Subcommissural organ ; Neurons ; Development ; Rabbit
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary Neurons which initially lie in the basal region of the subcommissural organ (SCO) were investigated in 20 rabbit fetuses from day 15 to 30 of gestation, and in eight neonatal, 4 and 8 day old rabbits. These SCO-associated neurons, first observed on day 17 of gestation, develop into (1) a rostral mesodiencephalic nerve cell group situated in an area dorsal to the rostral-most part of the SCO and (2) a more caudal layer of single neurons extending throughout the length of the SCO. The present findings are discussed in relation to recent histochemical studies that demonstrated AChE-positive neurons in the pineal complex and subcommissural area of frogs and to recent fluorescence microscopic studies in fetal and adult rats in which a 5-HT system is known to extend from the nucleus raphe dorsalis (B7) along the SCO to the pineal stalk and habenular region. The term “SCO-associated neurons” is a purely morphological way of describing the neurons in question as the neural interconnections of these neurons are still a matter of speculation.
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  • 69
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Neuromuscular junctions ; Rete synapticum ; Development ; Antheraea ; (Lepidoptera) ; Trophic action ; Ultrastructure
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary The ultrastructure of neuromuscular connections on developing dorsolongitudinal flight muscles was studied in the moth Antheraea polyphemus, Undifferentiated membrane contacts between axon terminals and muscle-fiber anlagen are present in the diapause pupa. They persist during the period of nerve outgrowth, which probably provides a pathway of contact guidance. By the 4th day of adult development some of these contact areas have differentiated into structures similar to neuromuscular junctions although differentiation of muscle structure does not start earlier than the eighth day. Dense-cored vesicles are abundant in many axon terminals at the beginning of development. They later decrease in number quite rapidly. The significance of the above-mentioned early junctions, their possible mode of action and the role of the dense-cored vesicles are discussed. It is proposed that they exercise a stimulating (trophic) influence on the growth of the undifferentiated muscular tissue. The imaginai neuromuscular junctions are formed during the second half of adult development. Clusters of vesicles and electron-dense depositions along the inner face of the axolemma seem to initiate junction formation. Glial processes then grow between axoand sarcolemma and divide the large contact area into several small segments. Mutual invaginations and protrusions of the sarcolemma and the glial cell membrane subsequently form an extensive “rete synapticum.” Six days before eclosion the glial and sarcoplasmic parts of the rete synapticum are similar in size. Up to eclosion, all glial processes shrink and increase in electron density. Most of the observations are discussed also in relation to findings in vertebrates.
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  • 70
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Ovary, dog ; Corpus luteum ; Development ; High voltage electron microscopy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary The transition from ovarian granulosa to lutein cell during the estrus cycle of 60 pregnant and non-pregnant beagle bitches was analyzed by light and electron microscopy (both 100 and 1000 KV). Early proestrus was characterized by a gradual rise in serum estrogen levels, hyperplasia of the granulosa cells, the accumulation of follicular fluid, and the development of tortuous intercellular channels. During the second half of proestrus, serum estrogen levels continued to rise, but growth, division, and differentiation of the granulosa cells was minimal. Estrus was marked by the first acceptance of the male and a well-defined LH peak In the subsequent 24 hour period, the granulosa-lutein cells hypertrophy rapidly and develop a large Golgi apparatus, small profiles of granular endoplasmic reticulum, numerous microfilaments, and large gap junctions between the cells. Mitochondria also proliferate, enlarge, and elongate, but retain lamelliform cristae. Luteinization of the cells and progesterone secretion begin just after ovulation which in turn occurs about 24 hours after the LH peak. On the third and fourth day of estrus, numerous small vesicles of agranular endoplasmic reticulum fill the cytoplasm and the mitochondria swell up and round off. The vesicles rapidly fuse into whorled and flattened cisternae or anastomosing tubules of agranular endoplasmic reticulum, while the mitochondria develop tubulovesicular cristae. These structures gradually become organized with respect to the basal lamina. The Golgi apparatus is centered over the pole of the nucleus that faces the pericapillary space. Stacked and whorled cisternae of agranular ER develop in the lateral margins and avascular end of the cell while mitochondria and tubular elements of agranular ER predominate in the central medial and most basal portions of the cytoplasm. Microfilaments are ubiquitous and appear to be instrumental in this orientation process. The cell surface develops three distinct regional specializations that coincide with the underlying cellular compartment: interconnecting pleomorphic folds fill the pericapillary space; long tenous microvilli project from the lateral cell surface and form tortuous intercellular channels and canaliculi; and large gap junctions form along the margins of the cell furthest removed from the basal lamina. By the sixth day of estrus, the granulosa-luteal cell transition is nearly complete and serum progesterone levels are on the rise.
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    Cell & tissue research 176 (1977), S. 167-178 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Intestine (rat) ; Development ; Isolated cells ; Enzymes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary A modification of Weiser's (1973) cell isolation method was used in order to study the developmental pattern of various intestinal enzyme activities in villus and crypt cells of normal rats from 5 days after birth until 8 weeks. Alkaline phosphatase and enterokinase activities were always located in the upper villus zone during postnatal development. Enterokinase activity was higher in the upper villus cells during the third week of life than after this period. Aminopeptidase activity was located in the crypt cells during the first week, its maximum activity remained in this area until the third week. At this time, sucrase activity appeared in the crypt cells, then aminopeptidase and sucrase activities rose to the villus zone during the fourth week. Amylase activity was detected along the entire crypt-villus axis 5 days after birth, reaching maximum activity in crypt cells at the end of the first week and in the upper villus cells after the fourth week. In contrast with the other enzymes studied almost all amylase activity was soluble in the youngest animals whereas at weaning most of the activity appeared in a particulate form in the villus cells. But in the crypt cells the ratio between particulate and soluble form remained unchanged until the adult stage. Various hypotheses are advanced to explain the patterns of evolution of the different enzymes.
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    Cell & tissue research 167 (1976), S. 265-288 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Myelinated fibres ; Visual cortex ; Stereology ; Development ; Electron microscopy ; Cat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary With the aid of stereological procedures the development of myelinated nerve fibres (MF) was quantitatively investigated in electron micrographs of the visual cortex from animals of different ages: 36 days-old, the age at which fibres first appear, through adulthood. A short description of tissue treatment, methods and qualitative results is given. The following quantitative results are presented: 1. Myelinization begins at about the 36th day postpartum and is not completed by the 164th day. At this time a lack of about 20% MF can be observed. 2. The average diameter of MF decreases from 1.3 μm to 0.8 μm from day 36 to adulthood. 3. The first MF appear near the border of the album. 4. Beginning with the 55th day, small MF arise in layer I, showing two periods of growth. 5. The maximum MF density in the region of layer IV corresponds to the strip of Baillarger. Other aspects of visual cortex development are dealt with in the Discussion. The following conclusions can be drawn: a) The growing of inand output-MF is completed first. b) The development of the internal connecting systems in layers I and IV begins a little later and is completed by the 5th month. c) The MF in layers II and III appear after the 4th month. Kaes (1907) has also described a continuation of MF growth in man lasting into the twenties.
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  • 73
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Olfactory organ ; Development ; Melanotaeniidae ; Scanning and transmission electron microscopy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary The development of the olfactory organ in the rainbow fish, Nematocentris maccullochi, was studied using scanning and transmission electron microscopy; it was compared with the developmental process in other teleosts, especially in the closely related atherinids and cyprinodonts. The formation of the nares parallels that in atherinids, salmonids, cyprinids and heterosomats, but differs from that found in cyprinodonts. Another ontogenetic feature in which the olfactory organs of the rainbow fish and also of atherinids differ from those of cyprinodonts, is the occurrence of transitory kinociliary cells which disappear during the postlarval period. The divergent evolutionary pathways are discussed with reference to experimental investigations. During development, ciliated and microvillous receptor cell types occur. At the primary larval stage ciliated receptor neurons are exclusively present. At a later stage the microvillous type develops and becomes equal in frequency. Thus, the microvillous receptor represents a separate type of olfactory neuron and is not a progenitor of the ciliated receptor cell.
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  • 74
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    Cell & tissue research 296 (1999), S. 131-139 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Limb ; Development ; Myogenesis ; Vertebrate ; Transcription factors ; Somites
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Limb development has become one of the model systems for studying vertebrate development. One crucial aspect in limb development is the origin, differentiation and patterning of muscle. Much progress has been made in recent years towards understanding this process. One of the general observations is that the genes involved in limb muscle development appear to be very similar to those involved in muscle development in other regions of the embryo. In this review, we summarize some of the genes and mechanisms that regulate limb muscle development and discuss various avenues along which a deeper understanding can be gained of how muscle cells originate and differentiate in different tissues during vertebrate development.
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    Cell & tissue research 168 (1976), S. 549-559 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Hypothalamic-hypophysial-adrenal axis ; Rat ; Development ; Ultrastructure
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary The adrenal glands of decapitated and encephalectomized fetal rats were investigated electron microscopically and compared to those of normal intact fetal rats. Although the adrenal cortices did not show three zones (zona glomerulosa, fasciculata, and reticularis) on the 16.5th day of gestation when the decapitation or encephalectomy was carried out in utero, the zonation was recognized in fetuses operated on the 21.5th day of gestation. The same was true for normal control fetuses. However, cytoplasmic characteristics suggesting steroidogenesis in the cortical cells were reduced to various degrees in the encephalectomized or decapitated fetuses, especially in the latter ones. The change in cytoplasmic appearance was more conspicuous in the inner portion of the cortex. This result suggests that for the maintenance of normal adrenocortical function the hypothalamus may be indispensable even during the prenatal life of rats.
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    Cell & tissue research 296 (1999), S. 19-25 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key wordsHoxA ; HoxD ; Limb ; Development ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Homeobox genes located in the 5’ part of the HoxA and HoxD complexes are required for proliferation of skeletal progenitor cells of the vertebrate limb. Specific combinations of gene products determine the length of the upper arm (genes belonging to groups 9 and 10), the lower arm (groups 10, 11 and 12) and the digits (groups 11, 12 and 13). In these different domains, individual gene products quantitatively contribute to an overall protein dose, with predominant roles for groups 11 and 13. Quantitative reduction in the gene dose in each set results in truncations of the corresponding anatomical regions. The physical order of the genes in the HoxA and HoxD complexes, as well as a unidirectional sequence in gene activation, allow for completion of the process in a precise order, which in turn makes possible the sequential outgrowth of the respective primordia. While the skeletal patterns of upper and lower limb are relatively stable throughout the tetrapods, more variation is seen in the digits. Molecular analysis of the underlying regulatory processes promises further exciting insights into the genetic control of development, pathology and the course of evolution.
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    Cell & tissue research 296 (1999), S. 103-109 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key wordsgli3 ; Ωtalpid ; extra-toes ; Sonic hedgehog ; Retinoic acid ; Development ; Birth defects
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Recent evidence indicates that many molecules involved in generating and patterning the limbs also play a role during craniofacial morphogenesis. On the surface, this is an unexpected finding given that these regions of the body have separate evolutionary origins, are composed of different embryonic tissues, and are quite dissimilar in their anatomy. Results from several experiments involving Sonic hedgehog and retinoic acid point to a remarkable conservation of the signaling pathways mediated by these morphogens across multiple organ systems. Moreover, mutants such as the extra-toes and doublefoot mouse, and the talpid chicken also provide insights on common developmental processes that underlie the formation of the limbs and face. The identification of highly conserved aspects of morphogenesis is important for understanding fundamental mechanisms of development, as well as for revealing the common denominator of countless birth defects and providing new strategies for their prevention and cure.
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  • 78
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    Cell & tissue research 198 (1979), S. 247-260 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Tight junctions ; Development ; Mesothelium ; Mouse embryo ; Freeze-fracture
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary The peritoneal mesothelium of mouse embryos (12 to 18 day of gestation) was studied by freeze-fracture and in sections in order to reveal the initial formation of the tight junctions. Freeze-fracture observations showed three types of tight junctions. Type I consists of belt-like meshworks of elevations on the P face and of shallow grooves on the E face. No tight junctional particle can be seen either on the elevations or in the grooves. Type II shows rows of discontinuous particles on the elevations on the P face. Type III consists of strands forming ridges on the P face. On the E face, the grooves of Type II and III appear to be narrower and sharper than those of Type I. Quantitatively, Type I junctions are most numerous during the early stages (day 12–13) of embryonic development, while Type III junctions become more common in the later stages, and are the only type seen by day 18. Observations on sections, however, fail to distinguish between the three types. The results suggest that an initial sign of tight junction formation is close apposition of the two cell membranes in the junctional domain, without tight junctional particles. Later, the particles appear to be incorporated in the tight junctions and the strands form by fusion of the particles.
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  • 79
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    Cell & tissue research 189 (1978), S. 203-217 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Astrocytes ; Development ; Phagocytosis ; Neuroplasticity ; Ultrastructure
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Summary Previous studies have demonstrated that astrocyte processes are responsible for a spontaneously occurring phagocytosis of boutons on cat spinal motoneurons during the second postnatal week. In the present investigation, the astrocytes and the astrocyte processes in contact with the motoneurons were studied qualitatively and quantitatively during the early postnatal period. It could be concluded that the cells responsible for the phagocytosis of boutons are immature astrocytes. These cells were present not only during the period of phagocytosis but also prior to this period. The type of process responsible for the phagocytosis was present not only during the period of phagocytosis but also prior to and after that period although the relative contribution of such processes to the glia-covered membrane area of the motoneurons was reduced in the older animals. On the basis of these results, the possible specificity of the immature astrocyte as the element responsible for the phagocytosis of boutons during normal development is discussed.
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  • 80
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words: Amphibia ; Development ; Hypothalamus ; Pituitary ; Proopiomelanocortin ; Toad ; Bufo japonicus (Anura)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract. The role of the posterior hypothalamus in the development of the epithelial hypophysis was studied in Bufo embryos. In animals from which the central part of the neural plate (NP) had been surgically removed at the open neurula stage, the infundibulum did not develop, and the epithelial hypophysis was formed away from the normal site without morphological connection with the brain. Immunoreactive MSH cells and ACTH cells, i.e., the pituitary POMC cells, were not detected in any of the surgically treated animals, while other types of secretory cells (PRL, GH, TSH and GTH cells) were invariably present. In view of the fact that POMC cells originate in the anterior neural ridge, and not in the neural plate, the embryonic brain seems to exert an inductive influence upon the primordial pituitary POMC cells. Since these cells differentiate in a tail graft, isolated from the brain at a later stage (tail-bud stage), the inductive stimuli must be conveyed from/via the posterior hypothalamus to the pituitary anlage between the open neu-rula and the tail-bud stages.
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  • 81
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words: Neuropeptide Y ; Brain ; Pituitary ; Development ; ontogenetic ; Frog ; Rana esculenta (Anura)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract. The immunohistochemical localization of neuropeptide Y (NPY)-like peptide has been investigated in the peripheral terminal nerve, brain and pituitary of the frog, Rana esculenta, during development. Soon after hatching, a rather simple NPY-immunoreactive (-ir) neuronal system is present, with elements located mainly in the diencephalon. When hind limbs appear and develop, the NPY-neuronal system undergoes considerable elaboration and NPY-ir perikarya appear in several regions of the telencephalon (dorsal, medial, and lateral pallium; medial septum; medioventral telencephalon; anterior preoptic area), diencephalon (ventromedial, central and posterior thalamic nuclei; suprachiasmatic nucleus; infundibulum), mesencephalon (anteroventral mesencephalic tegmentum), and rhombencephalon (central grey; area of the cerebellar and vestibular nuclei). The frequency of NPY-ir neurons increases during larval development, and then decreases in the anterior preoptic area during the metamorphic climax. Dense plexuses of NPY-ir fibers are formed in several brain areas. NPY-ir fibers are found in the peripheral terminal nerve, and ir-neurons through its course along the ventromedial surface of the olfactory bulbs. NPY-ir fiber projections to the median eminence and pars intermedia derive mainly from the ventral infundibular group of NPY-ir neurons, with a contribution from the suprachiasmatic group of NPY neurons. NPY and carboxyl terminal flanking peptide of proneuropeptide Y coexist in the same neurons throughout the brain. The ontogenetic pattern of NPY-ir neuronal system in the brain of Rana esculenta is remarkably different than that reported for Xenopus laevis.
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  • 82
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words: Melanin-concentrating hormone ; Immunocytochemistry ; Development ; ontogenetic ; Sparus auratus (Teleostei)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract. The development of the hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) system of the teleost Sparus auratus has been studied by immunocytochemistry using an anti-salmon MCH serum. Immunoreactive perikarya and fibers are found in embryos, larvae, and juvenile specimens. In juveniles, most labeled neurons are present in the nucleus lateralis tuberis; some are dispersed in the nucleus recessus lateralis and nucleus periventricularis posterior. From the nucleus lateralis tuberis, MCH neurons project a conspicuous tract of fibers to the ventral hypothalamus; this penetrates the pituitary stalk and reaches the neurohypophysis. Most fibers end close to the cells of the pars intermedia, and some reach the adenohypophysial rostral pars distalis. Immunoreactive fibers can also be seen in extrahypophysial localizations, such as the preoptic region and the nucleus sacci vasculosi. In embryos, MCH-immunoreactive neurons first appear at 36 h post-fertilization in the ventrolateral margin of the developing hypothalamus. In larvae, at 4 days post-hatching, perikarya can be observed in the ventrolateral border of the hypothalamus and in the mid-hypothalamus, near the ventricle. At 26 days post-hatching, MCH perikarya are restricted to the nucleus lateralis tuberis. The neurohypophysis possesses MCH-immunoreactive fibers from the second day post-hatching. The results indicate that MCH plays a role in larval development with respect to skin melanophores and cells that secrete melanocyte-stimulating hormone.
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  • 83
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words: Subcommissural organ ; Development ; Serotonin (5 ; HT) ; Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) uptake ; Glial markers ; Meriones shawi (Rodentia)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract. Many studies have emphasized species differences in the serotoninergic innervation and phenotypic characteristics of the subcommissural organ in mammals. The post-natal distribution patterns of serotonin-containing fibers, the onset of gamma-aminobutyric acid uptake, and glial markers have been studied in the subcommissural organ of the semi-desertic rodent, Meriones shawi, by using immunohistochemical and autoradiographic techniques. Abundant serotoninergic fibers can be observed in the subcommissural organ of the newborn Meriones, some of them running among the ependymocytes and reaching the apical part of this organ. During the first 2 post-natal weeks of development, the subcommissural organ displays a progressive increase of serotonin fiber density throughout the organ, including the apical part. The existence of a dense serotonin-containing basal plexus concomitantly with a high apical innervation in this organ is a specific characteristic of Meriones. Ependymocytes of this organ have the ability to take up gamma-aminobutyric acid at birth. This uptake decreases and completely disappears from the 2nd week. The reappearance of gamma-aminobutyric acid accumulation in ependymocytes of the adult subcommissural organ after destruction of the serotonin innervation by a neurotoxin (5–7 dihydroxytryptamine) suggests an inhibitory effect of the serotonin innervation on this accumulation. Immunohistochemical studies of the phenotype of the ependymocytes with respect to glial markers during ontogeny show the transitory expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein, the presence of vimentin and the absence of S100 protein expression. No correlation has been found between the serotonin innervation and the expression of the glial markers.
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  • 84
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Cysteine protease ; Development ; Artemia franciscana (Crustacea)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Encysted embryos and larvae of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana contain a cysteine protease which represents over 90% of the protease activity in these organisms. We have used immunocytochemical methods to determine the localization and potential role of the cysteine protease in development of young larvae. In prenauplius larvae, there is intense staining for the protease on the basal side of the epidermal layer in the posterior region and diffuse staining for the protease throughout the embryo. In first instar larvae, cysteine-protease staining becomes intense in the midgut-forming area where a reticulum-like pattern emerges in cells with an abundance of yolk platelets. Cysteine-protease staining in second instar larvae becomes intense in the apical side of epidermal cells and in the basal and apical zones of midgut cells. Subcellular localization of the protease in the epidermis and midgut of young larvae using immunogold electron microscopy suggests that most is located in the cytosol and extracellular matrix adiacent to these cells. Addition of cysteine-protease inhibitors to the growth medium, especially the fluoromethyl ketone Z-Phe-Ala-CH2F, inhibits growth and segmentation of the thorax. Collectively, these observations suggest that the major cysteine protease in embryos and larvae functions in yolk utilization, as a hatching enzyme, in apolysis during the molt cycle, and as a digestive enzyme when the swimming larvae begin to feed.
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  • 85
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    Cell & tissue research 282 (1995), S. 93-108 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Development ; ontogenetic ; Gastrointestinal tract ; Cytodifferentiation ; Smooth muscle ; Interstitial cells ; Enteric nervous system ; NADPH/NADH-diaphorase ; Dog
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The development of the canine proximal colon from the completion of organogenesis through 43 days after birth was studied using light microscopy, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. During this period the tunica muscularis increased in thickness from 42±6 μm in animals midway through the gestation period to 317±29 μm in animals 25–30 days old. This increase in thickness resulted from an increase in the number and size of smooth muscle cells in the circular and longitudinal muscle layers. The cross-sectional thickness of the circular muscle layer increased from 10±2 smooth muscle cells midway through the gestation period to 92±7 cells in animals 25–30 days old. The longitudinal layer increased in thickness from 1.5±1 cells in animals midway through the gestation period to 44±2 cells in animals 25–30 days old. Smooth muscle cells from both layers also increased in diameter and length. Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical studies suggested that many of the smooth muscle cells were undergoing development throughout the fetal period. Midway through the gestation period, the circular layer was positive for desmin-like immunoreactivity (D-LI), while both the circular and longitudinal layers were positive for vimentinlike immunoreactivity (V-LI). By birth, V-LI was suppressed in the circular and longitudinal layers, and both layers expressed D-LI. The enteric nervous system was already established midway through the gestation period, and submucosal and myenteric ganglia could be identified, although the chemical coding and mature morphology of neurons were incomplete. NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons, indicating the expression of nitric oxide synthase, developed by the time of birth. Interstitial cells of Cajal (IC) could not clearly be identified midway through gestation, however, potential precursors to ICs were observed. Several classes of ICs were identifiable at birth.
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  • 86
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Spleen ; Fetus ; Development ; Extracellular matrix ; Immuno-electron microscopy ; Transmission electron microscopy ; Human
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The distribution of the extracellular matrix proteins types III pN-collagen and IV collagen, laminin and tenascin was investigated in fetal, infant, and adult human spleens by using immuno-electron microscopy. The presence of type III pN-collagen was assessed by using an antibody against the aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen. All the proteins other than type III pN-collagen were found in reticular fibers throughout development. In the white pulp of the fetus aged 16 gestational weeks, only an occasional type III pN-collagen-containing fibril was present, although type III pN-collagen was abundant in the reticular fibers of the red pulp. Conversely, in adults, most of the reticular fibers of the white pulp, but not of the red pulp, were immunoreactive for type III pN-collagen. Ring fibers, the basement membranes of venous sinuses, were well developed in both infant and adult spleens. The first signs of their formation could be seen as a discontinuous basement membrane, which was immunoreactive for type IV collagen, laminin, and tenascin in the fetus aged 20 gestational weeks. Intracytoplasmic immunoreactivity for all the proteins studied was visible in the mesenchymal cells of the fetus aged 16 gestational weeks and in the reticular cells of the older fetuses, which also showed labeling for type IV collagen and laminin in the endothelial cells. The results suggest that proteins of the extracellular matrix are produced by these stationary cells.
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  • 87
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words: Neuropeptide Y ; Gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) endocrine system ; Development ; ontogenetic ; Vitellointestinal duct ; Pancreas ; exocrine ; Pancreas ; endocrine ; Immunocytochemistry ; Scyliorhinus torazame (Elasmobranchii)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract. This immunocytochemical study was carried out to elucidate the ontogenetic development of neuropeptide Y-like-immunoreactive cells in the gastroenteropancreatic endocrine system of the cloudy dogfish, Scyliorhinus torazame. Immunostained cells first appeared in the pancreas of the embryo at the 15-mm stage, and were also detected in the vitellointestinal duct of the yolk stalk at the 20-mm stage. These cells were polymorphic, with occasional processes that were sometimes directed toward the vascular wall or into the cavity of the vitellointestinal duct. At the 34-mm stage, immunostained cells could also be found in the proximal part of the spiral intestine and, by the 74-mm stage, immunopositive cells were present in the gastric mucosa. In the gut and pancreas, the cells gradually increased in number with development, whereas in the vitellointestinal duct and internal yolk sac, they decreased and seemed to disappear following hatching. Thus, in juveniles, the distribution of the neuropeptide Y-like-immunoreactive cells in the gastroenteropancreatic endocrine system had attained that of adults. Electron-microscopic immunocytochemistry demonstrated that, in the labeled cells of the vitellointestinal duct, the neuropeptide Y-like antigen was located in cytoplasmic granules, as in the cells of the gut and pancreas.
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  • 88
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    Cell & tissue research 291 (1997), S. 43-56 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Optic axons ; Axon navigation ; Growth cones ; Development ; Mammals
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Optic axons were labelled with horseradish peroxidase to establish the presence of side branches and examine their distribution and morphology in the developing optic nerve of the quokka wallaby, Setonix brachyurus, the cat and rat at stages when axon numbers are at their peak. In each species, three quarters of the axons were essentially straight and lacked side branches. The remaining axons took significantly longer paths and bore side branches, mostly at points where axons undulated or changed direction. Side branches occurred at intervals of 28–43 µm, had lengths of 2–3 µm and were usually simple rather than branched. A minority (1%) of the axons crossed diagonally between fascicles and two thirds of these had more side branches (interval: 10–18 µm) on the interfascicular portion than were found on the forward-directed axons. A small number of axons (0.01%) doubled back to grow retrogradely towards the eye, these axons also bore relatively more side branches (interval: 8–22 µm), especially at points where the axons changed direction. Ultrastructural reconstruction showed that side branches resembled small axonal profiles and constituted 2% of the total axon number. It is suggested that side branches are involved in the fine-tuning of growth cone navigation. Most side branches are lost by adulthood, indicating their transient nature. The absence of retrogradely-directed axons from adults suggests that cells with such axons are removed by naturally occurring cell death.
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  • 89
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Calbindin D28k ; Circumvallate papilla ; Taste buds ; Development ; Degeneration ; Regeneration ; Immunohistochemistry ; Rat (Sprague Dawley)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  The distribution of calbindin D28k (CB)-like immunoreactivity (-LI) in the circumvallate papilla (CVP) was examined during development and regeneration following bilateral crush injury to the glossopharyngeal nerve in the rat. In the adult CVP, CB-like immunoreactive (-IR) nerve fibers were observed in the subgemmal region and some penetrated into the taste buds. CB-LI was also detected in the cytoplasm of the spindle-shaped gustatory cells in the lower half of the trench epithelium, which contained numerous synaptic vesicles and bundles of intermediate filaments. These CB-IR gustatory cells made synapse-like contacts with CB-IR nerve terminals. Some CB-IR nerve terminals made contacts with the gustatory cells negative for CB-LI. At least three developmental stages were defined with regard to the developmental changes in the distribution of CB-LI: (1) Stage I (embryonic day (E) 18–postnatal day (P)5): CB-IR nerve fibers appeared in the lamina propria just beneath the newly-formed CVP at E18, but the gustatory epithelium of the CVP contained no CB-IR structures. Taste buds with taste pores appeared at P1. (2) Stage II (P5–10): thin CB-IR nerve fibers began entering the trench epithelium, but no CB-IR cells were observed. (3) Stage III (P10–adult): in addition to the intragemmal and perigemmal CB-IR nerve fibers, very few CB-IR cells appeared in the taste buds around P10, and their numbers increased progressively. The changes in the distribution of taste buds and CB-LI following glossopharyngeal nerve injury were similar to those observed during development. On post-operative day (PO) 4, the taste buds and CB-IR cells decreased markedly in number. These CB-IR cells became round in shape, and the number of CB-IR nerve fibers decreased markedly. On PO8, both taste buds and CB-IR cells disappeared completely. The regenerated taste buds were first observed on PO12, increased rapidly in number by PO20, and increased slowly thereafter. CB-IR nerve fibers accumulated at the subgemmal region and began penetrating into the trench wall epithelium around PO16. CB-IR cells appeared between PO20 and PO24, and their numbers increased progressively and reached the normal level on PO40. The topographical localizations of the taste buds and CB-IR cells during development and regeneration were comparable to those of normal animals. The delay of the time courses for appearance of CB-IR nerve fibers and CB-IR cells compared to the appearance of taste buds during development and regeneration suggests that CB in the gustatory epithelium may participate in the survival of the taste bud cells rather than in the induction of the taste buds.
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  • 90
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words CNTF ; Photoreceptor ; Retina ; Development ; Differentiation ; Rat (Sprague Dawley)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  The development of photoreceptors in the mammalian retina is thought to be controlled by extrinsic signals. We have shown previously that ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) potently inhibits photoreceptor differentiation in cultures of rat retina. The present study analyzes which developmental processes are affected by CNTF. Rod differentiation as determined by opsin and recoverin immunocytochemistry was effectively blocked by CNTF and leukemia inhibitory factor, but not by other neurotrophic agents tested. CNTF did not influence proliferation, cell death, or survival, and had no effect on the downregulation of nestin immunoreactivity in progenitor cells. Opsin-positive rods could be reverted to an opsin-negative state initially, but became unresponsive to CNTF later. No compensatory increase in the number of other cell types was observed. Application of neutralizing antibodies against CNTF revealed that rod development was partially blocked by an endogenous CNTF-like molecule in control cultures. Our results suggest that CNTF can act as a specific negative regulator of rod differentiation. Its action on photoreceptor precursor cells could serve to synchronize the maturation of photoreceptors, which are born over an extended period of time. Together with other stimulatory signals, CNTF may thus control the temporally and numerically correct integration of photoreceptors into the retinal network.
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  • 91
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words: Kidney ; Development ; Vascular system ; Endothelium-detecting antibodies ; Rabbit
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract. Kidney function depends on a well-developed vascular system. Any impairment of the blood supply disturbs the integrity and function of the organ. The differentiation of renal vessels has been investigation for many years, but little is known about the relationship between nephrogenesis and vessel development. In the present work the spatial organization of the differentiating vessels was analyzed in precisely oriented tissue sections and in optical sections acquired by laser scan microscopy. Developing vessels as well as small capillaries were visualized with two endothelium-detecting antibodies. Small vessels running in parallel towards the organ capsule were detected in numerous cortico-medullary-oriented tissue sections. Cross-sections of the nephrogenic zone showed a regularly arranged network, which was composed of cells detected by both monoclonal antibodies. Parts of this network were localized in regions of the nephrogenic zone which have been assumed to be free of vessels or vessel-like structures for a long time. These results were confirmed by the laser-scan-microscopic analysis of complete cortex explants. The extraordinarily regular arrangement of the endothelial network in the nephrogenic zone allowed us to reconstruct the developing vascular system. The results presented here underline the close relationship between nephrogenesis and vessel development.
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  • 92
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words D-aspartate ; Development ; Glutamate ; Retina ; Glutamate transporter (GLAST) ; Rat (Wistar)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  The patterns of expression of the glutamate transporter GLAST were compared with the patterns of uptake of exogenous D-aspartate, which is a substrate for all glutamate transporters. At postnatal day 0, fine radial processes and end feet of presumptive Müller cells were weakly immunoreactive for GLAST. At postnatal day 3, intense labelling was associated with astrocytes enveloping newly formed blood vessels on the vitread surface of the retina. Between postnatal days 7 and 10, there was a rapid increase in the intensity of labelling in the Müller cells but clear stratification of GLAST-immunoreactive processes in the inner plexiform layer was not observed until postnatal day 14. By comparison, D-aspartate uptake was initially associated with a wide variety of cellular elements including most neuroblasts, presumptive Müller cells, and astrocytes associated with blood vessels but was absent from the somata of many neurons in the ganglion cell layer and amacrine cell layer. There was a gradual contraction in the numbers of cells that were able to take up D-aspartate, such that, by adulthood, uptake was restricted mainly to Müller cells and astrocytes. We conclude that, during early retinal development, the low levels of GLAST expression by Müller cells permit D-aspartate, and by inference, glutamate, to permeate the retina freely, thus allowing uptake by other glutamate transporters on other cell types. As the retina matures, increased expression of GLAST by Müller cells restricts the access of D-aspartate to other cellular compartments in the retina. This changing pattern of spatial buffering of glutamate by GLAST probably has significant implications regarding our understanding of the role of glutamate during processes such as retinal synaptogenesis.
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  • 93
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Prostate ; Lacrimal gland ; Androgen-regulated gene expression ; Development ; In situ hybridisation ; Cystatin-related protein ; Prostatic-binding protein ; Rat (wistar)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  The expression of cystatin-related protein (CRP) and of the C3-component of prostatic-binding protein (PBP) during postnatal development of the rat was studied by Northern blotting, dot blot and in situ hybridisation, and by radioimmunoassay or immunoblotting. In intact male rats, very little or no PBP-C3 could be detected in the prostate at 10 days, but at 20 days there was already strong expression. By in situ hybridisation, the first expression of C3 mRNA was observed at 13 days in the prostate and at 22 days in the lacrimal gland. For CRP, this occurred at 16 and 22 days, respectively. Neither CRP nor C3 was expressed in prepubertal male rats castrated at day 1 or day 10 or in female rats. Androgen treatment of intact male animals did not advance the expression of both mRNAs in the prostate, but did so in the lacrimal gland with first expression of C3 at 19 instead of 22 days and of CRP at 13 instead of 22 days. Identical values were obtained in female rats. Androgen treatment of castrated adult male rats resulted in a more rapid and homogeneous secondary induction. Positive immunostaining for the androgen receptor (AR) was observed in the lacrimal gland at 7 days, but its concentration, estimated by immunoblotting, was still low at 10 days. Maximal levels, reached at 30 days, were markedly higher in male than in female rats. In conclusion, CRP and C3 are induced by androgens in prepubertal rats. The time point of induction, however, is probably determined by other tissue and differentiation-dependent factors in addition to androgens and the AR.
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  • 94
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Neurite outgrowth factor ; Immunoglobulin superfamily ; Extracellular matrix ; Development ; Oncogenesis ; Kidney ; Nephroblastoma ; Domestic fowl
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Gicerin, a cell-adhesion molecule belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily, has both homophilic and heterophilic binding activities to neurite outgrowth factor, an extracellular matrix molecule in the laminin family. Gicerin is thought to play a role in the normal development of chicken kidney, because it is expressed abundantly in the embryonic organ and only slightly in the mature organ. In this study, we have examined the adhesive activity of gicerin in the kidney to characterize its function in organogenesis. We have also examined the function of gicerin in chicken nephroblastomas (“embryonic nephromas”), which show various structures resembling those in embryonic kidneys. Immunohistochemically, the expression patterns of gicerin and neurite outgrowth factor in nephroblastomas are similar to those of embryonic kidneys. Cell-aggregation assays have shown that primary culture cells from both embryonic kidneys and nephroblastomas have strong aggregation activities, and that each aggregation is partially inhibited by gicerin antibody. In contrast, cells from adult kidney exhibit weak aggregation activity that is not inhibited by the antibody. In addition, ligand blot analysis has revealed that gicerins in embryonic kidney and nephroblastoma bind to purified neurite outgrowth factor, whereas extracts from adult kidney show no positive reaction. These findings suggest that the homophilic and heterophilic adhesive activities of gicerin are involved in the formation of both normal kidney and nephroblastoma.
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  • 95
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Actin expression ; Monoclonal antibodies ; Development ; phylogenetic ; Branchiostoma lanceolatum (Acrania)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Actin is a highly conserved cytoskeletal protein that is ubiquitous in all eukaryotes. Little is known about actin expression in amphioxus, the closest living relative of the vertebrates. In the present study, involving Western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence, we report the characterization and localization of various actin isoforms in amphioxus (Branchiostoma lanceolatum) tissues. Three antibodies against vertebrate actins were used: a polyclonal antibody recognizing β-cytoplasmic actin (anti-β actin), a monoclonal antibody against sarcomeric actins (anti-αSR-1), and a monoclonal antibody specific for α-smooth actin (anti-αSM-1). Western blot analysis of amphioxus extracts immunodecorated with these antibodies showed a 43-kDa-positive band co-migrating with respective controls. The amphioxus isoactin expression patterns recognized by these antibodies were similar to those of vertebrates, i.e., anti-β actin showed positive staining mainly in non-muscle cells, anti-αSR-1 labelled dorsolateral myotomal muscles, and anti-αSM-1 stained ventral muscles. These results demonstrate that at least two muscle actins are present in amphioxus, suggesting that muscle actin gene duplication events began before vertebrate divergence from the amphioxus lineage.
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  • 96
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Atrial natriuretic factor ; Brain ; Development ; Rana esculenta (Anura)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Immunocytochemical distribution of the atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) has been studied in the brain and pituitary of the anuran Rana esculenta during development and in juvenile animals. Using human ANF and rat α-ANF antisera, immunoreactive cell bodies and nerve fibers were revealed in stage II–III tadpoles and in successive larval stages. Soon after hatching, stages II–III, the ANF-like-immunoreactive elements were confined to the preoptic area-median eminence complex. During successive stages of development, new groups of ANF-immunoreactive cell bodies appeared. In larval stage VI, immunoreactive perikarya were found in the rostral part of the anteroventral area of the thalamus and numerous ANF-like-immunoreactive cells appeared in the pars distalis of the pituitary. In larval stages XIV and XVIII, the distribution of ANF immunoreactivity was virtually similar. The ANF-immunoreactive cells in the preoptic nucleus and in the pituitary pars distalis were comparatively more abundant than in stage VI. During the metamorphic climax (stages XXI–XXII), a new group of ANF-immunoreactive cell bodies appeared in the rostral part of the ventrolateral area of the thalamus. During this stage, ANF-immunoreactive fiber projections were found in the pars intermedia for the first time. However, the pars distalis cells were very weakly immunofluorescent. The pattern of ANF immunoreactivity in the brain of juvenile animals was very similar to that described for stages XXI and XXII, whereas the pars distalis cells showed no immunoreactivity. It is conceivable that, early during development, ANF-related peptides may be involved in the regulation of pituitary secretion by means of autocrine mechanisms or may act as a classic pituitary hormone.
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  • 97
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Adrenomedullin ; Pancreas ; Development ; Immunocytochemistry ; Colocalizations ; Rat (Sprague Dawley)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Adrenomedullin is an α-amidated 52-amino acid peptide involved in many physiological actions, among others the regulation of insulin secretion. Using immunohistochemical methods, we found that adrenomedullin immunoreactivity first appears at day 11.5 of embryonic development in the rat, coinciding with the appearance of pancreatic glucagon. The early appearance of adrenomedullin in the developing pancreas may indicate an active involvement in either the morphogenesis of the organ or its endocrine/paracrine/autocrine hormone regulation during intrauterine life. We also investigated the pattern of colocalizations of adrenomedullin with the other pancreatic hormones. At some point during development all the cell types express adrenomedullin, progressively evolving towards the adult pattern where only the pancreatic polypeptide cells contain a strong immunoreactivity for adrenomedullin. At this point the remaining cells of the islet are, in general, weakly stained. This sequential and time-dependent expression of adrenomedullin suggests a tight regulation similar to that observed for other modulatory substances responsible for embryonic morphogenesis.
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  • 98
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words: VEGFR-2 ; VEGFR-3 ; Angiogenesis ; Endothelial cells ; Blood vessels ; Lymphatic vessels ; Development ; Quail embryo
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract. We have studied the expression of Quek1 and Quek2 (VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3, respectively) in quail embryos from day 2 to day 16 by in situ hybridization with digoxigenin-labelled riboprobes on whole-mounts and paraffin sections. Parallel sections were also stained with the QH1 antibody to detect all endothelial cells and with an antibody against α-smooth-muscle-actin to reveal the media of blood vessels. Quek1/VEGFR-2 is a marker of blood-vascular and lymphatic endothelial cells throughout development. In 2-day-old embryos, it is expressed in the intra-embryonic vascular plexus, in cells (most probably angioblasts) located in the paraxial head mesoderm and in the somites, and caudo-laterally from Hensen’s node. Thereafter, until about day 9, Quek1 is expressed in all endothelial cells. Cells positive and negative for Quek1 can later be found within the same vessel. Quek1 is additionally expressed in lymphatic endothelial cells. Occasionally, some non-endothelial cell types express Quek1. Quek2/VEGFR-3 is also a marker of endothelial cells; however, its expression pattern differs from that of Quek1. In 2-day-old embryos, Quek2 is expressed in the notochord and the intra-embryonic vascular plexus. Whereas all endothelial cells are Quek2-positive in 3-day-old embryos, expression is subsequently reduced to a subset of endothelial cells: arteries become Quek2-negative and then expression of Quek2 is limited to a few vessels that appear to be lymphatic. Endothelial cells of lymph nodes and the periaortal lymphatic vessels are Quek2-positive in later stages. A few non-endothelial cells express Quek2.
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  • 99
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words Axonal mRNA ; Neuropeptide ; Olfactory pathway ; Development ; Mouse (CD1)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  During development of the olfactory pathway, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) expression is regulated both temporally and spatially. We had previous evidence that between E13 and E19 CGRP mRNA was present at the level of olfactory axons but the resolution of light-microscope in situ hybridization did not permit the axons to be distinguished from the closely apposed ensheathing cells. In this study, the localization of CGRP mRNA was studied at early developmental stages (E13–15) through in situ hybridization at the transmission electron-microscope (TEM) level. CGRP transcripts were observed exclusively in axons and not in ensheathing cells. The distribution of transcripts in the axons suggests that they are associated with intermediate filaments rather than microtubules. In addition, a careful ultrastructural analysis provided evidence that polysomes and membrane-bound ribosomes are present in such axons, suggesting that the peptide could be synthesized locally.
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  • 100
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Cell & tissue research 289 (1997), S. 211-221 
    ISSN: 1432-0878
    Keywords: Key words: Serotonin ; Transporter ; [3H]citalopram ; Autoradiography ; Brain ; Development ; Mouse (NMRI)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract. The prenatal development of the serotonin transporter was analyzed in mouse brain and spinal cord by autoradiographic localization of [3H]citalopram binding. Transporter expression started at embryonic day (E) 12 in two discontinuous bands in the anterior and posterior brainstem. Labeling extended cranially and caudally, reaching the basal diencephalon at E 13, the septal complex at E 15, and the cerebral cortex at E 16. The caudal extension of the labeling descended at the ventrolateral margin of the spinal cord and reached lumbar levels at E 14. At E 17–E 18, [3H]citalopram binding emerged in the striatum, amygdaloid area, ventrobasal thalamus, paraventricular and periventricular hypothalamic nuclei, and substantia nigra. The overall spatiotemporal expression pattern of the serotonin transporter in the mouse agrees with data on the immunohistochemical localization of serotonin in the rat embryo. These results suggest that serotonergic fibers have the equipment to engage in transmitter reuptake long before synapse formation, and that transporter expression might represent a prerequesite for the developmental functions exerted by serotonin.
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