scholarly journals Molecular organization of rat prolactin granules: in vitro stability of intact and "membraneless" granules

1975 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 246-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Giannattasio ◽  
A Zanini ◽  
J Meldolesi

Studies carried out on a number of secretory cell systems suggest that the specific cytoplasmic granules in which the secretion products are stored before their release are complex organelles which can possess a distinct molecular organization. For instance, it has been reported that in some granules the segregated secretion products are organized into crystalline structures (1-3) or large intermolecular aggregates (4-8). It is likely that all phenomena of this type are favorable to the economy of the cell, in the sense that they reduce the energy required for storage of the secretion products. The prolactin (LTH) granules of the rat pituitary possess a number of morphological features which strongly suggest that the molecules(s) of their content might be arranged in a relatively stable structure. Thus, these granules are remarkably polymorphic in shape, and their membrane is usually separated from their content by a clear space. Furthermore, identifiable LTH granules devoid of their membrane are often seen in the pericapillary space, suggesting that upon discharge by exocytosis they are dissolved only slowly (9). However, no studies specifically concerned with the mechanisms of LTH storage have been reported so far. In order to obtain some information on this question, we have studied the behavior of isolated granule fractions incubated in vitro under a variety of carefully controlled experimental conditions.

1975 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
MRIDULA CHOWDHURY ◽  
EMIL STEINBERGER

SUMMARY A method has been developed for studying biosynthesis of FSH in the rat pituitary in vitro. Anterior pituitary glands were incubated with [3H]leucine; a specific and sensitive immunoprecipitation technique was used to isolate FSH from the pituitary homogenate. Total FSH content of the samples was measured by a double-antibody radioimmunoassay technique. Using this technique, a comparative study of LH and FSH synthesis in the same pituitary of adult male rats incubated for various intervals (0·5–6 h) was done. Increased incorporation of [3H]leucine into both LH and FSH with time was noted. The rate and amount of [3H]leucine incorporation into FSH was found to be higher than that into LH, indicating that either the rate of FSH synthesis is higher than that of LH or FSH has more leucine residues than LH. Greater susceptibility of LH to degradation by endogenous proteases during dialysis may also reflect less incorporation of [3H]leucine into LH. This method provides a reliable tool for evaluating FSH synthesis under various experimental conditions.


1987 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Malaise ◽  
M. T. Hazee-Hagelstein ◽  
A. M. Reuter ◽  
Y. Vrinds-Gevaert ◽  
G. Goldstein ◽  
...  

Abstract. Thymopoietin and thymopentin are well characterized polypeptides influencing immunoregulation by several mechanisms. Proposed as a therapy in diseases with major immune abnormalities such as rheumatoid arthritis, thymopentin improved within 2 weeks some clinical parameters as pain and joint swelling. The hypothesis that this spectacular effect could be mediated through interactions with anti-inflammatory (ACTH) and pain relieving (β-endorphin) hormones producing cells was tested on the rat isolated pituitary cell model. Thymopentin and thymopoietin can enhance in vitro the levels of ACTH, β-endorphin and β-lipotropin in a time- and dose-dependent fashion for physiological concentrations ranging from 10−12 to 10−8 mol/l. The action on pituitary cells was restricted to those molecules as no changes occurred in LH, FSH, GH, TSH and PRL levels, after otherwise identical experimental conditions.


2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (S1) ◽  
pp. S59-S73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michèle Lieberherr ◽  
Giulia Cournot ◽  
Simon P. Robins

These guidelines review the relevant literature on the way plant phyto-oestrogens act on bone and the responsiveness of different bone cell systems to phyto-oestrogenic compounds. The primary emphasis is on the experimental conditions used, the markers available for assessing osteoblast and osteoclast function, and their expected sensitivity. Finally, we assess the published results to derive some general recommendations forin vitroexperiments in this area of research.


Author(s):  
T. G. Merrill ◽  
B. J. Payne ◽  
A. J. Tousimis

Rats given SK&F 14336-D (9-[3-Dimethylamino propyl]-2-chloroacridane), a tranquilizing drug, developed an increased number of vacuolated lymphocytes as observed by light microscopy. Vacuoles in peripheral blood of rats and humans apparently are rare and are not usually reported in differential counts. Transforming agents such as phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen induce similar vacuoles in in vitro cultures of lymphocytes. These vacuoles have also been reported in some of the lipid-storage diseases of humans such as amaurotic familial idiocy, familial neurovisceral lipidosis, lipomucopolysaccharidosis and sphingomyelinosis. Electron microscopic studies of Tay-Sachs' disease and of chloroquine treated swine have demonstrated large numbers of “membranous cytoplasmic granules” in the cytoplasm of neurons, in addition to lymphocytes. The present study was undertaken with the purpose of characterizing the membranous inclusions and developing an experimental animal model which may be used for the study of lipid storage diseases.


Author(s):  
D. Chrétien ◽  
D. Job ◽  
R.H. Wade

Microtubules are filamentary structures found in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, where, together with actin and intermediate filaments, they form the components of the cytoskeleton. They have many functions and show various levels of structural complexity as witnessed by the singlet, doublet and triplet structures involved in the architecture of centrioles, basal bodies, cilia and flagella. The accepted microtubule model consists of a 25 nm diameter hollow tube with a wall made up of 13 paraxial protofilaments (pf). Each pf is a string of aligned tubulin dimers. Some results have suggested that the pfs follow a superhelix. To understand how microtubules function in the cell an accurate model of the surface lattice is one of the requirements. For example the 9x2 architecture of the axoneme will depend on the organisation of its component microtubules. We should also note that microtubules with different numbers of pfs have been observed in thin sections of cellular and of in-vitro material. An outstanding question is how does the surface lattice adjust to these different pf numbers?We have been using cryo-electron microscopy of frozen-hydrated samples to study in-vitro assembled microtubules. The experimental conditions are described in detail in this reference. The results obtained in conjunction with thin sections of similar specimens and with axoneme outer doublet fragments have already allowed us to characterise the image contrast of 13, 14 and 15 pf microtubules on the basis of the measured image widths, of the the image contrast symmetry and of the amplitude and phase behaviour along the equator in the computed Fourier transforms. The contrast variations along individual microtubule images can be interpreted in terms of the geometry of the microtubule surface lattice. We can extend these results and make some reasonable predictions about the probable surface lattices in the case of other pf numbers, see Table 1. Figure 1 shows observed images with which these predictions can be compared.


1977 ◽  
Vol 16 (04) ◽  
pp. 157-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Schümichen ◽  
B. Mackenbrock ◽  
G. Hoffmann

SummaryThe bone-seeking 99mTc-Sn-pyrophosphate compound (compound A) was diluted both in vitro and in vivo and proved to be unstable both in vitro and in vivo. However, stability was much better in vivo than in vitro and thus the in vitro stability of compound A after dilution in various mediums could be followed up by a consecutive evaluation of the in vivo distribution in the rat. After dilution in neutral normal saline compound A is metastable and after a short half-life it is transformed into the other 99mTc-Sn-pyrophosphate compound A is metastable and after a short half-life in bone but in the kidneys. After dilution in normal saline of low pH and in buffering solutions the stability of compound A is increased. In human plasma compound A is relatively stable but not in plasma water. When compound B is formed in a buffering solution, uptake in the kidneys and excretion in urine is lowered and blood concentration increased.It is assumed that the association of protons to compound A will increase its stability at low concentrations while that to compound B will lead to a strong protein bond in plasma. It is concluded that compound A will not be stable in vivo because of a lack of stability in the extravascular space, and that the protein bond in plasma will be a measure of its in vivo stability.


1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (02) ◽  
pp. 71-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Glatz ◽  
S. N. Reske ◽  
K. G. Grillenberger

Summary Aim: One therapeutic approach to rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory arthropathies besides surgical removal of inflamed synovium is radiation synovectomy using beta-emitting radionuclides to destroy the affected synovial tissue. Up to now the major problem associated with the use of labeled particles or colloids has been considerable leakage of radionuclides from the injected joint coupled with high radiation doses to liver and other non target organs. In this study we compared 188Re labeled hydroxyapatite particles and 188Re rhenium sulfur colloid for their potential use in radiation synovectomy. Methods: To this end we varied the labeling conditions (concentrations, pH-value, heating procedure) and analyzed the labeling yield, radiochemical purity, and in vitro stability of the resulting radiopharmaceutical. Results: After optimizing labeling conditions we achieved a labeling yield of more than 80% for 188Re hydroxyapatite and more than 90% for the rhenium sulfur colloid. Both of the radiopharmaceuticals can be prepared under aseptic conditions using an autoclav for heating without loss of activity. In vitro stability studies using various challenge solutions (water, normal saline, diluted synovial fluid) showed that 188Re labeled hydroxyapatite particles lost about 80% of their activity within 5 d in synovial fluid. Rhenium sulfur colloid on the other hand proved to be very stable with a remaining activity of more than 93% after 5 d in diluted synovial fluid. Conclusion: These in vitro results suggest that 188Re labeled rhenium sulfur colloid expects to be more suitable for therapeutic use in radiation synovectomy than the labeled hydroxyapatite particles.


1981 ◽  
Vol 45 (03) ◽  
pp. 290-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H Levine ◽  
Danielle G Sladdin ◽  
Norman I Krinsky

SummaryIn the course of studying the effects on platelets of the oxidant species superoxide (O- 2), Of was generated by the interaction of xanthine oxidase plus xanthine. Surprisingly, gel-filtered platelets, when exposed to xanthine oxidase in the absence of xanthine substrate, were found to generate superoxide (O- 2), as determined by the reduction of added cytochrome c and by the inhibition of this reduction in the presence of superoxide dismutase.In addition to generating Of, the xanthine oxidase-treated platelets display both aggregation and evidence of the release reaction. This xanthine oxidase induced aggreagtion is not inhibited by the addition of either superoxide dismutase or cytochrome c, suggesting that it is due to either a further metabolite of O- 2, or that O- 2 itself exerts no important direct effect on platelet function under these experimental conditions. The ability of Of to modulate platelet reactions in vivo or in vitro remains in doubt, and xanthine oxidase is an unsuitable source of O- 2 in platelet studies because of its own effects on platelets.


1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (05) ◽  
pp. 0975-0980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Gálvez ◽  
Goretti Gómez-Ortiz ◽  
Maribel Díaz-Ricart ◽  
Ginés Escolar ◽  
Rogelio González-Sarmiento ◽  
...  

SummaryThe effect of desmopressin (DDAVP) on thrombogenicity, expression of tissue factor and procoagulant activity (PCA) of extracellular matrix (ECM) generated by human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultures (HUVEC), was studied under different experimental conditions. HUVEC were incubated with DDAVP (1, 5 and 30 ng/ml) and then detached from their ECM. The reactivity towards platelets of this ECM was tested in a perfusion system. Coverslips covered with DD A VP-treated ECMs were inserted in a parallel-plate chamber and exposed to normal blood anticoagulated with low molecular weight heparin (Fragmin®, 20 U/ml). Perfusions were run for 5 min at a shear rate of 800 s1. Deposition of platelets on ECMs was significantly increased with respect to control ECMs when DDAVP was used at 5 and 30 ng/ml (p <0.05 and p <0.01 respectively). The increase in platelet deposition was prevented by incubation of ECMs with an antibody against human tissue factor prior to perfusion. Immunofluorescence studies positively detected tissue factor antigen on DDAVP derived ECMs. A chromogenic assay performed under standardized conditions revealed a statistically significant increase in the procoagulant activity of the ECMs produced by ECs incubated with 30 ng/ml DDAVP (p <0.01 vs. control samples). Northern blot analysis revealed increased levels of tissue factor mRNA in extracts from ECs exposed to DDAVP. Our data indicate that DDAVP in vitro enhances platelet adhesion to the ECMs through increased expression of tissue factor. A similar increase in the expression of tissue factor might contribute to the in vivo hemostatic effect of DDAVP.


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