To the blood test method

Myeloblasts are usually understood to be medullary cells, which are considered by some authors as normal preliminary stages of myelocytes, by others as pathological forms of the latter.

The Inhibition Effects of Shenmai Injection on Acetylcholine-Induced Catecholamine Synthesis and Secretion by Modulating Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Ion Channels in Cultured Bovine Adrenal Medullary Cells

Shenmai injection (SMI) has been widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in China. Cardiovascular disorders are often related to excessive catecholamine (CA) secretion. Here, we report the effects of SMI on CA secretion and synthesis in cultured bovine adrenal medullary cells. We found that SMI significantly reduced CA secretion induced by 300 μM acetylcholine (ACh). Cotreatment with SMI (10 μL/mL) and either of the ACh receptor α-subunit inhibitors, HEX (α3) or DhβE (α4β2), did not produce any further inhibition, indicating that SMI may play a role through α3 and α4β2 channels. Furthermore, SMI reduced tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity induced by ACh by inhibiting the phosphorylation of TH at Ser19 and Ser40. TH is phosphorylated at Ser19 by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) and at Ser40 by protein kinase A (PKA). KN-93 and H89, the antagonists of CaM kinase II and PKA, respectively, inhibited the ACh-induced phosphorylation at Ser19 and Ser40, and the addition of SMI did not augment the inhibitory effect. Taken together, our results show that SMI likely inhibits CA secretion by blocking TH activity at its Ser19 and Ser40 sites.

Establishment of Mimica gen. nov. to accommodate the anaxiferous species of the economically important red seaweed Eucheuma (Solieriaceae, Rhodophyta)

The taxonomy of the genus Eucheuma J. Agardh (1847) has long been considered as among the most challenging of commercially and economically important red seaweeds as it exhibits extreme polymorphism and highly plastic morphologies (Ganzon-Fortes et al. 2012). Efforts to clarify the taxonomy of these seaweeds were prompted by the development of a culture technology to support the growing demand for the carrageenans that they produce. Significant changes in the taxonomy and classification of eucheumatoid species were ushered in by the works of Doty & Norris (1985), who initiated discussion on the need to consistently identify the different species of Eucheuma, considering their practical importance for seaweed farmers, traders, and processors. At that time, only the genus Eucheuma was recognized, but distinct character differences had already been noted including their morphologies, anatomies (e.g., nature and arrangement of medullary cells), and carrageenan type, among others. Based on these attributes, Doty & Norris (1985) recognized four sections in Eucheuma: Eucheuma, Anaxiferae, Gelatiformia, and Cottoniformia. They explained that Weber-van Bosse (1928) was the first to use the term “Anaxiferae” in Eucheuma, when she recognized two sections, Axifera and Anaxifera. The latter was characterized by having fronds without a central axis, or core, of elongated cells, and the central region is composed of quite large cylindrical cells and more or less surrounded by “thylles”. The latter is defined as bubble-like outgrowths that develop from large inner primary medullary cells, somewhat similar to tyloses in flowering plants (Doty & Norris 1985). Weber-van Bosse (1928) included a total of 14 species in her section Anaxiferae, including eight that were newly described. She did not designate a type species for that section. Doty & Norris (1985) accepted Weber-van Bosse’s section Anaxiferae but with a significantly emended circumscription, defining it as thalli with the presence of whorls of spines on both the determinate and indeterminate branches and by the presence of mostly iota-carrageenan as the gel-wall matrix material. Also, axial hyphae or rhizoids are absent, and “thylles” are abundant and scattered in the medulla. Doty & Norris (1985) designated Eucheuma arnoldii Weber-van Bosse as the lectotype of the section.

Morphology and distribution of Laurencia sp.1 (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) from Myanmar

The plants of Laurencia sp. 1 were collected from Nyaw Byin (Lat. 13˚40′N, Long. 98˚00′E) to Sittwe (Lat. 20˚08′ N, Long. 92˚54′E) of Myanmar from 1987 to 2019. Laurencia sp.1 was characterized by the absence of corps en cerise within each superficial cortical cell, and lenticular thickenings in the walls of medullary cells, and the presence of secondary pit-connections between cortical cells, four pericentral cells per axial segment and tetrasporangia formed in the apical portion of the lateral axis with a parallel arrangement and cystocarps with one or more ostioles, based on the external and internal morphologies of both the vegetative and reproductive structures. The distribution and some ecological notes along with potential uses of this species were briefly described.