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Biomedical subjects

H Gainer

Publications and source records attributed to H Gainer.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1974

Transfer of newly synthesized proteins from Schwann cells to the squid giant axon.

The squid giant axon is presented as a model for the study of macromolecular interaction between cells in the nervous system. When the isolated giant axon was incubated in sea water containing [(3)H]leucine for 0.5-5 hr, newly synthesized proteins appeared in the sheath and axoplasm as demonstrated by: (i) radioautography, (ii) separation of the sheath and axoplasm by extrusion, and (iii) perfusion of electrically excitable axons. The absence of ribosomal RNA in the axoplasm [Lasek, R. J. et al. (1973) Nature 244, 162-165] coupled with other evidence indicates that the labeled proteins that are found in the axoplasm originate in the Schwann cells surrounding the axon. Approximately 50% of the newly synthesized Schwann cell proteins are transferred to the giant axon. These transferred proteins are soluble for the most part and range in molecular size from 12,000 to greater than 200,000 daltons. It is suggested that proteins transferred from the Schwann cell to the axon have a regulatory role in neuronal function.

Animals↗
PubMed1973

Pentobarbital: selective depression of excitatory postsynaptic potentials.

The effects of pentobarbital (Nembutal) on synaptic transmission and postsynaptic potentials were studied by the use of several invertebrate preparations. Pentobarbital selectively and reversibly depressed both excitatory postsynaptic potentials and sodium-dependent postsynaptic responses to putative excitatory transmitters without affecting either inhibitory postsynaptic potentials or chloride- and potassium-dependent postsynaptic responses to putative transmitters. A selective depression of postsynaptic excitatory events was also observed with other central nervous system depressants (ethanol, chloroform, chloralose, diphenylhydantoin, and urethane). The results suggest that central and peripheral depression observed during general anesthesia is due to a selective depression of excitatory synaptic events.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1969

Volume control by muscle fibers of the blue crab. Volume readjustment in hypotonic salines.

Single isolated muscle fibers from the walking legs of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus act as Boyle-van't Hoff osmometers with an osmotically inactive volume of 33 %. Fibers in hypotonic salines undergo a spontaneous volume readjustment toward the initial volumes of the cells found in isotonic salines. The volume readjustment is initiated by the increase in cell volume in hypotonic salines and appears to be dependent on the duration of exposure of the fiber to external sodium, the sodium concentration, and the pH of the external medium. The volume-readjusted cells continue to behave as osmometers, but with an increased relative osmotically inactive volume and a decreased internal resistivity. The decreases in cell volumes appear to be, in large part, due to losses of osmotically active nonelectrolytes from the cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1968

Permeability of alkali metal cations in lobster muscle. A comparison of electrophysiological and osmometric analyses.

Single muscle fibers from lobster walking legs are effectively impermeable to Na, but are permeable to K. They shrink in hyperosmotic NaCl; they swell in low NaCl media which are hyposmotic or which are made isosmotic with the addition of KCl. In conformity, the membrane potential is relatively insensitive to changes in external Na, while it responds according to the Nernst relation for changes in external K. When the medium is made isosmotic or hyperosmotic with RbCl the volume and membrane potential changes are of essentially the same magnitudes as those in media enriched with KCl. The time courses for attaining equilibrium are slower, indicating that Rb is less permeant than K. Substitution of CsCl for NaCl (isosmotic condition) produces no change in volume of the muscle fiber. Addition of CsCl (hyperosmotic condition) causes a shrinkage which attains a steady state, as is the case in hyperosmotic NaCl. Osmotically, therefore, Cs appears to be no more permeant than is Na. However, the membrane depolarizes slowly in Cs-enriched media and eventually comes to behave as an ideal Cs electrode. Thus, the electrode properties of the lobster muscle fiber membrane may not depend upon the diffusional relations of the membrane and ions, and the osmotic permeability of the membrane for a given cation may not correspond with the electrophysiologically deduced permeability. Comparative data on the effects of NH(4) and Li are also included and indicate several other degrees of complexity in the cell membrane.

Animals↗