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Biomedical subjects

A Mauro

Publications and source records attributed to A Mauro.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1972

Effect of black widow spider venom on the lobster neuromuscular junctions.

The effect of black widow spider venom (BWSV) on the junctions of the lobster nerve-muscle preparation was studied by intracellular recordings. After application of BWSV both excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (epsp and ipsp) were augmented then suppressed. The frequency of miniature potentials was markedly increased by BWSV. Summated postsynaptic conductance changes appeared to be responsible for the membrane depolarization and the decrease in effective membrane resistance seen in the early stages of the venom action. In the later stages both excitatory and inhibitory "giant miniature potentials" were evoked. No discernible changes were found in the reversal potential of the epsp and ipsp and in the sensitivity of the postsynaptic membrane. The results indicate that BWSV has a presynaptic action at crustacean neuromuscular junctions.

Animals↗
PubMed1971

Magnetic anisotropy and the orientation of retinal rods in a homogeneous magnetic field.

The reported orientation of retinal rods in a homogeneous magnetic field can be explained by the magnetic anisotropy of oriented molecules in the disc membranes of the rods. The energy of a single rod as a function of orientation in the magnetic field, the time required for alingment of the rod in a viscous medium, and the fluctuations of orientation are calculated. Arguments that rhodopsin is the constituent responsible for the effect are given. The possibility of orientation due to inhomogeneity of the magnetic field is ruled out. The application of magnetic anisotropy as an experimental tool in biology is indicated.

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PubMed1971

Effects of calcium and magnesium on the frequency of miniature end-plate potentials during prolonged tetanization.

1. End-plate potentials (e.p.p.s) and miniature end-plate potentials (min.e.p.p.s) were recorded intracellularly from the cutaneous pectoris nerve-muscle preparation of the frog during prolonged stimulation at low frequencies (5/sec-50/sec).2. When Ca was present in the bathing solution, the quantum content of the e.p.p. and the frequency of occurrence of the min.e.p.p.s gradually increased during the period of stimulation. During the first few minutes of stimulation, the min.e.p.p. frequency increased linearly with time, and the rate of increase was dependent on the Ca concentration of the bathing solution. However, Mg had no effect on this Ca-dependent increase in min.e.p.p. frequency.3. A large maintained increase in min.e.p.p. frequency also occurred during prolonged stimulation in solutions that contained no added Ca and 1-2 mM-EGTA. Under these conditions the increase in min.e.p.p. frequency was dependent on the Mg concentration of the bathing solution and was exponential in time.4. It is suggested that the rise in min.e.p.p. frequency is caused by an accumulation of Ca or Mg ions in the nerve terminal, and it is suggested that these ions enter the terminal at relatively non-specific sites distinct from the Ca-specific sites that trigger the ;phasic' release of transmitter.

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PubMed1970

Subthreshold behavior and phenomenological impedance of the squid giant axon.

The oscillatory behavior of the cephalopod giant axons in response to an applied current has been established by previous investigators. In the study reported here the relationship between the familiar "RC" electrotonic response and the oscillatory behavior is examined experimentally and shown to be dependent on the membrane potential. Computations based on the three-current system which was inferred from electrical measurements by Hodgkin and Huxley yield subthreshold responses in good agreement with experimental data. The point which is developed explicitly is that since the three currents, in general, have nonzero resting values and two currents, the "Na" system and the "K" system, are controlled by voltage-dependent time-variant conductances, the subthreshold behavior of the squid axon in the small-signal range can be looked upon as arising from phenomenological inductance or capacitance. The total phenomenological impedance as a function of membrane potential is derived by linearizing the empirically fitted equations which describe the time-variant conductances. At the resting potential the impedance consists of three structures in parallel, namely, two series RL elements and one series RC element. The true membrane capacitance acts in parallel with the phenomenological elements, to give a total impedance which is, in effect, a parallel R, L, C system with a "natural frequency" of oscillation. At relatively hyperpolarized levels the impedance "degenerates" to an RC system.

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PubMed1969

The ventral photoreceptor cells of Limulus. I. The microanatomy.

The ventral photoreceptor cells of Limulus polyphemus resemble the retinular cells of the lateral eyes both in electrical behavior and in morphology. Because of the great size of the ventral photoreceptor cells they are easy to impale with glass capillary micropipettes. Their location along the length of the ventral eye nerve makes them easy to dissect out and fix for electron microscopy. Each cell has a large, ellipsoidal soma that tapers into an axon whose length depends upon the distance of the cell from the brain. The cell body contains a rich variety of cytoplasmic organelles with an especially abundant endoplasmic reticulum. The most prominent structural feature is the microvillous rhabdomere, a highly modified infolding of the plasmalemma. The microvilli are tightly packed together within the rhabdomere, and quintuple-layered junctions are encountered wherever microvillar membranes touch each other. Glial cells cover the surface of the photoreceptor cell and send long, sheet-like projections of their cytoplasm into the cell body of the photoreceptor cell. Some of these projections penetrate the rhabdomere deep within the cell and form quintuple-layered junctions with the microvilli. Junctions between glial cells and the photoreceptor cell and between adjacent glial cells are rarely encountered elsewhere, indicating that there is an open pathway between the intermicrovillous space and the extracellular medium. The axon has a normal morphology but it is electrically inexcitable.

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PubMed1969

The ventral photoreceptor cells of Limulus. II. The basic photoresponse.

The ventral photoreceptors of Limulus polyphemus are unipolar cells with large, ellipsoidal somas located long both "lateral olfactory nerves." As a consequence of their size and location, the cells are easily impaled with microelectrodes. The cells have an average resting potential of -48 mv. The resting potential is a function of the external concentration of K. When the cell is illuminated, it gives rise to the typical "receptor potential" seen in most invertebrate photoreceptors which consists of a transient phase followed by a maintained phase of depolarization. The amplitude of the transient phase depends on both the state of adaptation of the cell and the intensity of the illumination, while the amplitude of the maintained phase depends only on the intensity of the illumination. The over-all size of the receptor potential depends on the external concentration of Na, e.g. in sodium-free seawater the receptor potential is markedly reduced, but not abolished. On the other hand lowering the Ca concentration produces a marked enhancement of both components of the response, but predominantly of the steady-state component. Slow potential fluctuations are seen in the dark-adapted cell when it is illuminated with a low intensity light. A spike-like regenerative process can be evoked by either the receptor potential or a current applied via a microelectrode. No evidence of impulse activity has been found in the axons of these cells. The ventral photoreceptor cell has many properties in common with a variety of retinular cells and therefore should serve as a convenient model of the primary receptor cell in many invertebrate eyes.

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PubMed1969

The ventral photoreceptor cells of Limulus. 3. A voltage-clamp study.

In the dark, the ventral photoreceptor of Limulus exhibits time-variant currents under voltage-clamp conditions; that is, if the membrane potential of the cell is clamped to a depolarized value there is an initial large outward current which slowly declines to a steady level. The current-voltage relation of the cell in the dark is nonlinear. The only ion tested which has any effect on the current-voltage relation is potassium; high potassium shifts the reversal potential towards zero and introduces a negative slope-conductance region. When the cell is illuminated under voltage-clamp conditions, an additional current, the light-induced current, flows across the cell membrane. The time course of this current mimics the time course of the light response (receptor potential) in the unclamped cell; namely, an initial transient phase is followed by a steady-state phase. The amplitude of the peak transient current can be as large as 60 times the amplitude of the steady-state current, while in the unclamped cell the amplitude of the peak transient voltage never exceeds 4 times the amplitude of the steady-state voltage. The current-voltage relations of the additional light-induced current obtained for different instants of time are also nonlinear, but differ from the current-voltage relations of the dark current. The ions tested which have the greatest effect on the light-induced current are sodium and calcium; low sodium decreases the current, while low calcium increases the current. The data strongly support the hypothesis that two systems of electric current exist in the membrane. Thus the total ionic current which flows in the membrane is accounted for as the sum of a dark current and a light-induced current.

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PubMed1966

Simple photoreceptors in Limulus polyphemus.

The "olfactory nerve," the endoparietal eye, and the rudimentary lateral eyes of Limulus (polyphemus) contain simple photoreceptor cells that duplicate many of the electrical responses of the retinular cells of the lateral eye; the responses are a receptor potential consisting of aninitial transient phase and a subsequent steady phase,low-amplitude fluctuations, and a small locally regenerative response to pulses of both light and current. Photic stimulation does not induce conducted action potentials, but does increase the membrane conductance. The receptor potentialrequires the presence of sodium ions in the external medium. Measurements of action and absorption spectra indicate a photopigment whose maximum absorption is of light with wavelength of 535 nanometers. The functional significance of these cells has not been ascertained.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in rat brain tumors transplacentally induced by ethylnitrosourea (ENU).

The immunohistochemical distribution of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in neoplastic lesions induced in the rat by ENU is reported. GFAP was present in hypertrophic reactive astrocytes, which were numerous in early neoplastic proliferations, in microtumors of the white matter, and in those collected at the periphery of large tumors. They were absent in cortical oligodendroglial foci and microtumors. No GFAP-positive cells were observed in hyperplasias of the white matter: astrocyte-like cells of large tumors were GFAP-negative. The significance of reactive astrocytes and the problem of the astrocytic component in transplacental ENU tumors are discussed.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Role for mouse macrophage IgG Fc receptor as ligand-dependent ion channel.

The interaction of ligands with the mouse macrophage Fc receptor which binds IgG2b and IgG1 immune complexes (FcR gamma 2b/gamma 1) triggers phagocytosis and secretion of various mediators of inflammation. FcR gamma 2b/gamma 1 has been purified using a monoclonal anti-FcR antibody, 2.4G2, and seems to be an integral membrane glycoprotein of molecular weight (Mr) 47,000-60,000 (ref. 6). Monoclonal antibody 2.4G2 is suitable as a tool for functional studies of FcR because it binds to a functional site of the receptor and induces cellular responses that are normally associated with the occupied receptor. We reported previously that binding of ligands to the macrophage FcR resulted in Na+/K+ ion fluxes through the plasma membrane, and that similar ion fluxes were observed in proteoliposomes containing reconstituted FcR. We have now incorporated FcR into planar lipid bilayers and report here that FcR gamma 2b/gamma 1 forms ligand-dependent cation-selective ion channels, with a conductance of 60 pS in 1 M KCl and an average open channel lifetime of 250 ms. The conductance decays to baseline levels within a few minutes. These results suggest a receptor-ionophore model for the signalling of phagocytosis and inflammatory responses.

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