SUCKLING IN THE GUINEA-PIG: THE EFFECTS OF PASSIVE IMMUNIZATION WITH AN ANTISERUM TO OXYTOCIN

1981 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. C. A. F. ROBINSON ◽  
J. A. PARSONS

Lactating guinea-pigs were passively immunized with an antiserum to oxytocin of high titre, specificity and avidity. Single i.v. injections of 0·1–0·4 ml antiserum produced high titres which decayed slowly (half-life ≃7 days). Passively administered antiserum was effective in vivo; the clearance of exogenous oxytocin from plasma was greatly slowed in immunized animals. Passive immunization with 0·4 ml antiserum reduced milk transfer to the litter during suckling episodes of 10 min, and overall litter growth rates were significantly decreased. Non-immune serum was without effect. Plasma neurophysin levels showed the same large rises during suckling in immunized animals, indicating that neurohypophysial activation was unimpaired. Despite the presence of high titres of antiserum, some milk transfer still occurred at milk ejection. In-vitro experiments showed that more than 25% of oxytocin remained free 20 s after mixing with plasma taken from passively immunized animals. It is probable that the antiserum in the circulation was unable to bind all the oxytocin released from the posterior pituitary gland before it reached the mammary gland.

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (19) ◽  
pp. 10310-10315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Te-Chia Wu ◽  
Ya-Fang Wang ◽  
Yi-Ping Lee ◽  
Jen-Ren Wang ◽  
Ching-Chuan Liu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In this study, we sought to determine whether intratypic and intertypic cross-reactivity protected against enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection in a murine infection model. We demonstrate that active immunization of 1-day-old mice with avirulent EV71 strain or coxsackie A16 virus (CA16) by the oral route developed anti-EV71 antibodies with neutralizing activity (1:16 and 1:2, respectively). Splenocytes from both EV71- and CA16-immunized mice proliferated upon EV71 or CA16, but not coxsackie B3 virus (CB3), antigen stimulation. Immunized mice became more resistant to virulent EV71 strain challenge than nonimmunized mice. There was an increase in the percentage of activated splenic T cells and B cells in the immunized mice 2 days after EV71 challenge. The CA16 immune serum reacted with EV71 antigens in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and neutralized EV71 but not CB3 or poliovirus at a titer of 1:4. Passive immunization with the CA16 immune serum reduced the clinical score, diminished the organ viral load, and increased the survival rate of mice upon EV71 challenge. CB3 neither shared in vitro cross-reactivity with EV71 nor provided in vivo protection after both active and passive immunization. These results illustrated that live vaccine is feasible for EV71 and that intertypic cross-reactivity of enteroviruses may provide a way to determine the prevalence of EV71.


1966 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 644-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Thorn

ABSTRACT A study was made of the release of vasopressin activity from groups of isolated posterior pituitary hemilobes of rats, incubated in media with different ionic compositions and with different drugs added to the medium. Nicotine, amyl nitrite and ATP, which have been reported to cause a large in vivo release of hormone had no significant releasing effect in vitro. Caffeine too did not cause any release of hormone activity. About 5% of the vasopressin activity extractable from the isolated posterior pituitary hemilobes was released during stimulation with a high concentration of potassium in the medium. No more than this percentage could be mobilized during such a stimulation, even after further subdivision of the posterior pituitary glands, prolongation of the stimulation period or after increasing the calcium concentration in the medium five-fold. No release into the medium of vasopressin binding protein could be demonstrated during stimulation of vasopressin release. The results seem to be in agreement with the hypothesis that the release of vasopressin is intimately associated with arrival of impulses to the nerve endings in the posterior pituitary gland and that it takes place from a small pool of readily available hormone, presumably by dissociation of the hormone from the carrier protein.


Parasitology ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Smith ◽  
J. A. Clegg ◽  
D. Snary ◽  
A. J. Trejdosiewicz

SUMMARYTwo hybridomas secreting monoclonal IgM antibody to Schistosoma mansoni have been isolated following fusion of spleen cells from Balb/c mice immunized with living S. mansoni and NS1 myeloma cells. One monoclonal IgM antibody (WP66.4) mediated about the same level of passive protection against a challenge infection as immune serum from mice with a chronic S. mansoni infection. The other monoclonal antibody (WP66.2) did not give a significant level of passive protection. This result indicates that the effective monoclonal antibody recognizes an antigen which may be a valuable candidate for experimental vaccination. In vitro one monoclonal antibody (WP66.4) caused a much higher level of complement-dependent cytotoxicity than the other (WP66.2), suggesting a possible mechanism for the effect observed in vivo. With indirect immunofluorescence both monoclonal antibodies reacted with surface determinants on living S. mansoni schistosomula, adult worms and miracidia but these determinants were not detected on cercariae or lung schistosomula. Neither monoclonal antibody cross-reacted with S. haematobium schistosomula or Fasciola hepatica metacercariae, indicating a possible use for these reagents in differential diagnosis of S. mansoni infections.


1968 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank S. LaBella

Investigations in the author's laboratory which bear upon several fundamental aspects of the mammalian neurohypophysis were reviewed and related to well-established or currently accepted concepts, (a) The separation of vasopressin-rich from oxytocin-rich neurosecretory granules (NSG) from posterior pituitary homogenates was achieved. (b) The hormone and amino acid composition of isolated NSG was found to be almost identical to that of the van Dyke protein, prepared by chemical extraction of posterior pituitary glands, indicating that the protein is synonymous with the NSG carrier protein to which vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) are bound. (c) Pinched-off nerve terminals (neurosecretosomes) were isolated from homogenates by centrifugation and shown to be metabolically and morphologically intact. The hexosemonophosphate shunt was highly active in the nerve terminals, where the peptide hormones are stored and secreted, but not in the cell bodies within hypothalamic nuclei, where they are synthesized. (d) Neurosecretosomes relatively enriched in VP were separated from those rich in OT by density-gradient centrifugation, providing support for the concept that a given neurohypophyseal neuron stores and secretes only one of the hormones. (e) Electron microscopy indicated that microvesicles, about 50 mμ in diameter, and called "synaptic" vesicles by some workers, are derived from membranes of depleted NSG and are not of the type that contain neurotransmitter. (f) Acetylcholine (ACh), choline acetyltransferase, and acetylcholinesterase were identified in the posterior pituitary gland and are present in about the same proportions but 1/5 to 1/10 the activity as in whole brain. ACh was found in the neurosecretosome and microvesicle centrifugation fractions. The three cholinergic components in the posterior pituitary are believed to be constituents, not of neurosecretory nerve endings which contain VP or OT, but of specific cholinergic neurons whose role in neurohypophyseal physiology remains to be elucidated. (g) VP and OT are generally released together from the gland in vivo and from posterior pituitary tissue or NSG in vitro. However, exceptions can occur both in vivo and in vitro in which one of the hormones is apparently released exclusively. Studies on the release of VP and OT in vitro show that the NSG–hormone complex is more labile in the case of OT than of VP, an observation that suggests a molecular basis for numerous in vivo findings in which a preponderance of OT over VP is secreted in response to a wide variety of stimuli.


2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Finot ◽  
Eric Chanat ◽  
Frederic Dessauge

AbstractIn vivo study of tissue or organ biology in mammals is very complex and progress is slowed by poor accessibility of samples and ethical concerns. Fortunately, however, advances in stem cell identification and culture have made it possible to derive in vitro 3D “tissues” called organoids, these three-dimensional structures partly or fully mimicking the in vivo functioning of organs. The mammary gland produces milk, the source of nutrition for newborn mammals. Milk is synthesized and secreted by the differentiated polarized mammary epithelial cells of the gland. Reconstructing in vitro a mammary-like structure mimicking the functional tissue represents a major challenge in mammary gland biology, especially for farm animals for which specific agronomic questions arise. This would greatly facilitate the study of mammary gland development, milk secretion processes and pathological effects of viral or bacterial infections at the cellular level, all with the objective of improving milk production at the animal level. With this aim, various 3D cell culture models have been developed such as mammospheres and, more recently, efforts to develop organoids in vitro have been considerable. Researchers are now starting to draw inspiration from other fields, such as bioengineering, to generate organoids that would be more physiologically relevant. In this chapter, we will discuss 3D cell culture systems as organoids and their relevance for agronomic research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 09 (06) ◽  
pp. E918-E924
Author(s):  
Tomonori Yano ◽  
Atsushi Ohata ◽  
Yuji Hiraki ◽  
Makoto Tanaka ◽  
Satoshi Shinozaki ◽  
...  

Abstract Backgrounds and study aims Gel immersion endoscopy is a novel technique to secure the visual field during endoscopy. The aim of this study was to develop a dedicated gel for this technique. Methods To identify appropriate viscoelasticity and electrical conductivity, various gels were examined. Based on these results, the dedicated gel “OPF-203” was developed. Efficacy and safety of OPF-203 were evaluated in a porcine model. Results  In vitro experiments showed that a viscosity of 230 to 1900 mPa·s, loss tangent (tanδ) ≤ 0.6, and hardness of 240 to 540 N/cm2 were suitable. Ex vivo experiments showed electrical conductivity ≤ 220 μS/cm is appropriate. In vivo experiments using gastrointestinal bleeding showed that OPF-203 provided clear visualization compared to water. After electrocoagulation of gastric mucosa in OPF-203, severe coagulative necrosis was not observed in the muscularis but limited to the mucosa. Conclusions OPF-203 is useful for gel immersion endoscopy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1165
Author(s):  
Wen-Tien Hsiao ◽  
Yi-Hong Chou ◽  
Jhong-Wei Tu ◽  
Ai-Yih Wang ◽  
Lu-Han Lai

The purpose of this study is to establish the minimal injection doses of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents that can achieve optimized images while improving the safety of injectable MRI drugs. Gadolinium-diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (Gd-DTPA) and ferucarbotran, commonly used in clinical practice, were selected and evaluated with in vitro and in vivo experiments. MRI was acquired using T1-weighted (T1W) and T2-weighted (T2W) sequences, and the results were quantitatively analyzed. For in vitro experiments, results showed that T1W and T2W images were optimal when Gd-DTPA-bisamide (2-oxoethyl) (Gd-DTPA-BMEA) and ferucarbotran were diluted to a volume percentage of 0.6% and 0.05%; all comparisons were significant differences in grayscale statistics using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). For in vivo experiments, the contrast agent with optimal concentration percentages determined from in vitro experiments were injected into mice with an injection volume of 100 μL, and the images of brain, heart, liver, and mesentery before and after injection were compared. The statistical results showed that the p values of both T1W and T2W were less than 0.001, which were statistically significant. Under safety considerations for MRI contrast agent injection, optimized MRI images could still be obtained after reducing the injection concentration, which can provide a reference for the safety concentrations of MRI contrast agent injection in the future.


2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun-Young Kim ◽  
Sang Soo Lee ◽  
Ji Hoon Shin ◽  
Soo Hyun Kim ◽  
Dong-Ho Shin ◽  
...  

1918 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 571-583
Author(s):  
Julia T. Parker

1. The livers of rabbits inoculated with cultures of Bacillus typhosus or Bacillus prodigiosus under certain conditions contain a toxic substance extractable with salt solution. When the toxic extracts are injected intravenously into normal rabbits the latter animals develop symptoms resembling those of anaphylactic shock and succumb. The lethal doses of the toxic extracts are far smaller than those of normal liver extract. 2. The livers of rabbits injected with typhoid antigen also yield a toxic extract. 3. Boiling as well as filtration through a Berkefeld filter only partially detoxicates the extract. 4. Tolerance to one to two lethal doses of the poisonous extracts can be induced by cautious immunization. 5. Rabbits actively immunized to Bacillus typhosus or Bacillus prodigiosus usually resist one lethal dose of the homologous liver poison; and animals tolerant to the typhoid liver poison resist one minimum lethal dose at least of Bacillus typhosus. 6. Typhoid immune serum is not detoxicating either in vivo or in vitro for the typhoid liver poison. 7. The liver poisons are specific, since rabbits actively immunized to either Bacillus typhosus or Bacillus prodigiosus withstand at least one minimum lethal dose of the homologous but not of the heterologous-liver poisons.


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