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Biomedical subjects

H J Jacob

Publications and source records attributed to H J Jacob.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Genetic mapping of a gene causing hypertension in the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat.

The stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP) is a well-characterized model for primary hypertension in humans. High blood pressure in SHRSP shows polygenic inheritance, but none of the loci responsible have previously been identified. To locate genes controlling this quantitative trait, we mapped a large collection of DNA polymorphisms in a cross between SHRSP and the normotensive WKY strain. Here we report strong genetic evidence that a gene, Bp1, having a major effect on blood pressure maps to rat chromosome 10 with a LOD score of 5.10 and is closely linked to the rat gene encoding angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), an enzyme that plays a major role in blood pressure homeostasis and is an important target of anti-hypertensive drugs. We also find significant, albeit weaker, linkage to a locus, Bp2, on chromosome 18. We discuss the implications of genetic dissection of quantitative disease-related phenotypes in mammals.

Animals↗

Two-phase in vitro culture of explanted chick embryos.

The present study describes a method of culturing chick embryos together with their surrounding area vasculosa on two different culture media in succession. Embryos in the 2nd day of incubation (stages 13, 14, 15 according to Hamburger and Hamilton, 1951) were explanted from the yolk with the aid of a ring of filter paper and transferred dorsal side up to a silicone culture dish containing the first culture medium (89.5% L-15, 10% fetal calf serum, 0.5% Antibiotics). The paper ring was clamped onto the wall of the culture dish by a steel ring so that the embryo was fixed for the culture period. After 4 +/- 1, 8 +/- 1, 12 +/- 1 hrs, the embryos were taken from the culture dishes and transferred to others containing a yolk-albumen mixture as culture medium; 81.2% of embryos survived the first phase of culture. On the second medium 50.3% of explanted embryos were still alive at stage 20 (HH), and 7.9% of them reached the 5th day of development (St 25 HH). The average length of survival in vitro was found to be influenced by both the length of the first culture phase and the stage at which embryos were explanted. This culture method may be useful for teratological tests, since in the first phase of culture, concentrations of test substances and the time of exposure can be exactly adjusted, and in the second phase, the embryo is allowed to develop quite normally, under conditions similar to those in ovo.

Animals↗

The role of fibronectin and laminin in development and migration of the avian Wolffian duct with reference to somitogenesis.

It has been suggested that matrix molecules like fibronectin and laminin influence the differentiation and migration of embryonic cells. We investigated the role of these two glycoproteins in somitogenesis as well as in the differentiation and migration of the avian Wolffian (pronephric and mesonephric) duct. At first, we described essential steps in the development of these two organ anlagen by light microscopy, SEM and TEM. To localize fibronectin and laminin more exactly in the actual stages, we used the indirect immunoperoxidase reaction at the light microscopic level and the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique at the ultrastructural level. Fibronectin was found at the surface of the unsegmented paraxial mesoderm, increasing in the cranial direction, and in the basal laminae of somites and Wolffian duct. The mesenchymal tip of the duct contains a moderate amount of fibronectin. In the two investigated organ anlagen, laminin was found mainly in the basal laminae. The role of fibronectin and laminin was investigated further by using synthetic peptides that mimic the main cell binding domain of either fibronectin or laminin, and that competitively inhibit their cell surface receptors. Thus, the pentapeptides GRGDS, YIGSR, and for control, SHLVE were micro-injected under the ectoderm of 2-day-old embryos. After treatment with GRDS, the Wolffian duct and the segmental plate are more compact. The rounded cells exhibit only short processes and narrow intercellular spaces. At the side of injection the duct shows a delay in migration. After treatment with YIGSR the Wolffian duct migrated laterally over the somatopleure. The basal laminae seem to be incomplete. SHLVE had no effect. Our results suggest that fibronectin is a prerequisite for the migration of the Wolffian duct, and that laminin probably plays a role in guiding the duct. The epithelialization during somitogenesis and differentiation of the duct is a more complex process involving also fibronectin and laminin.

Animals↗

Vascular tone influences arterial pressure lability after sinoaortic deafferentation.

Sinoaortic deafferentation (SAD) results in increased variability of arterial pressure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of nonneurogenic, peripheral vasomotor mechanisms to this arterial pressure lability. In rats with SAD, ganglionic blockade combined with either captopril or a V1-vasopressin receptor antagonist reduced the high lability. Under these conditions, continuous infusions of phenylephrine and the endogenous vasoconstrictors angiotensin II, epinephrine, and vasopressin increased lability, suggesting that the level of vascular tone is important for maintaining lability. Hemodynamic changes in individual vascular beds did not correlate with pressure lability; however, the sum of the changes in resistance, an estimate of changes in total peripheral resistance, was significantly correlated. These results suggest that 1) direct actions of endogenous vasoconstrictors can induce marked variations of arterial pressure, presumably by sustaining a high background of vascular tone, and 2) variations in resistance of individual vascular beds do not account for the lability of arterial pressure evoked by infusion of vasoconstrictors. We conclude that vascular tone of neural and/or humoral origin is critical for the generation of fluctuations in arterial pressure associated with deafferentation of baroreceptors.

Afferent Pathways↗

Pathophysiology of vascular smooth muscle in renin promoter-T-antigen transgenic mice.

The pathophysiological consequence of targeted production of SV-40 T-antigen to renin-expressing cells in the kidney of transgenic mice is reported. A histopathologic analysis of the kidney from adult transgenic mice (12-16 wk old) revealed the presence of severe vascular lesions manifested by marked atypical hyperplasia of vascular smooth muscle. The levels of plasma renin, kidney renin, and kidney renin mRNA were examined in 6- and 9-wk-old transgenic mice and were found to be significantly lower than their age-matched non-transgenic littermates and were nonresponsive to captopril treatment. However, there was no significant difference in conscious mean arterial pressure between transgenic and non-transgenic mice. The levels of renal renin mRNA in transgenics and nontransgenic littermates were compared throughout ontogeny and were found to be equal in newborns, elevated 3- to 5-fold in 1-wk-old transgenics, and yet decreased 10-fold by 6 wk of age in transgenic mice. Expression of the transgene in the kidney exhibited the proper developmental pattern and was properly restricted to juxtaglomerular cells in neonatal mice. Nevertheless, in adult mice, T-antigen-containing cells were found throughout the entire renal arterial tree. The observed ability of renal vascular cells to be recruited to express both renin and T-antigen suggests a mechanism that can explain the development of the renal pathology in these mice.

Animals↗

Renin promoter SV40 T-antigen transgenic mouse. A model of primary renal vascular hyperplasia.

Transgenic mice containing a ren-2 promoter T-antigen fusion construct (TAG+) develop renal vascular hypertrophy and hyperplasia associated with markedly suppressed renal renin mRNA, renal renin content, and plasma renin concentration. These animals are normotensive. In the present study, the renal and cardiovascular systems are characterized, revealing some surprising findings. Not only are the TAG+ mice normotensive in the face of pronounced renal pathology but also in the presence of an increase in plasma volume. These data raise interesting questions about blood pressure physiology and renal function of the TAG+ mice. Blood nitrogen urea of the TAG+ animal was markedly elevated and plasma creatinine level was in the normal range, indicating prerenal azotemia without renal failure. These findings are consistent with impaired renal perfusion with secondary volume expansion probably as the result of vascular hyperplasia. These transgenic animals provide a unique genetic model for studying the physiology of primarily renal vascular hyperplasia as well as blood pressure control in a low renin state.

Animals↗

Mitogenic activity of chicken chorioallantoic fluid is temporally correlated to vascular growth in the chorioallantoic membrane and related to fibroblast growth factors.

The chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is one of the most vascularized tissues in the chicken embryo. Capillary growth proceeds until day 10 of development and thereafter abruptly regresses. As it is generally accepted that the formation of new blood vessel is regulated by growth factors, we have investigated the presence of angiogenic and mitogenic factors in the chicken chorioallantois. In the present study, we show that chorioallantoic fluid (CAF) contains angiogenic substances that are probably synthesized in the CAM or the embryonic kidney. When applied in the chorioallantoic membrane assay, CAF from 9 day chicken embryos elicits a strong angiogenic response. This angiogenic activity of CAF is associated with pronounced mitogenic effects in vitro. Comparison of different embryonic fluids reveals that mitogenic activity is particularly evident in the CAF but not detectable in embryonic serum and amnion fluid. Expression of mitogenic activity is found to be temporally correlated with vascular growth in the CAM. High activity is detected in CAF prior to day 10 and then sharply decreases, thus preceding termination of capillary growth by one day. Heparin-sepharose affinity chromatography suggests that the biological activities of CAF probably correspond to the presence of acidic and basic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF and bFGF). In Western blot analyses of CAF, an immunoreactive bFGF-like protein of about 17 x 10(3) Mr is recognized by a monospecific anti-bFGF antiserum. This protein elutes at 2.4 M NaCl from the heparin-sepharose. The mitogenic activity of the CAF can be specifically blocked by the anti-bFGF antibody indicating bFGF to be the active mitogenic principle of the CAF. These results strongly suggest that basic and probably acidic FGF play an important role in the regulation of chorioallantoic vascular growth.

Allantois↗

The influence of cell-matrix interactions on the development of quail chorioallantoic vascular system.

The extracellular matrix-component fibronectin (FN) was detected in close localisation to the vascular system (VS) of the quail chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). We have examined the role of cell-fibronectin interactions within the developing CAM. In two series of experiments the CAM was directly exposed to (1) an antibody against the cell-binding fragment of FN, and to (2) RGD-containing synthetic peptides which are recognized by the FN receptor. For controls an antibody against tubulin and a SHLVE-pentapeptide that does not interfere with the FN-receptor were applied. In the presence of anti-FN antibodies and RGD-sequences the CAM could not establish a normal vascular system. We observed hypo- and partially avascular regions; the resulting vascular pattern was atypically lacunar. None of the control substances affected the regular development of the chorioallantoic vascular system. These results demonstrate the essential role of FN in CAM angiogenesis.

Allantois↗

A hierarchy of determining factors controls motoneuron innervation. Experimental studies on the development of the plantaris muscle (PL) in avian chimeras.

Quail leg buds were grafted in place of chick leg buds or chick wing buds and vice versa at stages 18 to 21 after colonization by muscle precursor cells had been completed. Motor endplate pattern in the plantaris muscle of the grafts was analyzed before hatching by means of esterase and acetylcholinesterase staining techniques. Muscle fibre types were made visual using the myosin ATPase reaction. Investigations are based on the species-specific endplate pattern of the plantaris muscle: multiply innervated fibres in the chick and focally innervated fibres in the quail. Muscle pieces isolated from the adjacent medial gastrocnemius muscle of the grafted legs were histologically examined to judge their species-specific composition. Horseradish peroxidase was injected into the plantaris muscles of both the grafted and the opposite leg as well as in the plantaris muscle of normal quail embryos, in order to be sure that the plantaris muscle of the grafts is innervated by appropriate motoneurons. This procedural design offers for the first time a possibility to test experimentally the influences of motoneurons on endplate pattern formation under conditions corresponding to those in normal ontogenesis. It is shown that such appropriate motoneurons of one species which project to the plantaris muscle of the other species dictate the endplate pattern. When the plantaris muscle is innervated by inappropriate motoneurons, the endplate pattern inherent in the muscle primordium itself becomes realized. A sequence of hierarchically acting factors is proposed to bring different results in line. According to this, the neuronally set programme has priority compared with that set in the muscle. This is true for the normal development and might generate the high neuro-muscular specificity. If under experimental conditions the neuronal programme and the peripheral programme differ, the axons and muscle fibres selectively interact with respect to their inherent characteristics and the muscle-specific programme becomes expressed. If there is a lack of a certain axon type, muscle fibres might become innervated by non-corresponding motoneurons which alter the muscle fibre type.

Animals↗

Cardiovascular effects of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist MK-801 in conscious rats.

Evidence from microinjection studies in anesthetized rats suggests that central excitatory amino acid pathways using N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors are involved in the regulation of the cardiovascular system. To test the hypothesis that these pathways are tonically involved in the maintenance of or the baroreceptor reflex regulation of cardiovascular function, we have examined the effects of intravenous injection of the centrally acting, noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK-801), on the mean arterial pressure, heart rate, renal sympathetic nerve activity, and behavior of conscious, freely moving sham-operated and sinoaortic baroreceptor-denervated rats. Administration of MK-801 produced, within 5 minutes, dose-dependent elevations in mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and renal sympathetic nerve activity that were sustained for 0.5 to 2.5 hours. For an equivalent dose, MK-801 produced approximately twice the peak changes in mean arterial pressure and heart rate in the sinoaortic baroreceptor-denervated rats than in the sham-operated rats. Pretreatment results were as follows: 1) The ganglion blocker chlorisondamine markedly attenuated the hypertension and tachycardia in the sham-operated and sinoaortic baroreceptor-denervated rats, 2) pretreatment with the alpha 1-adrenergic receptor antagonist prazosin virtually abolished the hypertension, and 3) the beta 1-adrenergic receptor antagonist atenolol markedly reduced the tachycardia. MK-801 also produced stereotypic behaviors and ataxia in the sham-operated and sinoaortic baroreceptor-denervated rats; however, qualitatively and quantitatively similar changes in behavior were induced in the latter by doses approximately five time lower than required in sham operated rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Lability of arterial pressure after baroreceptor denervation is not pressure dependent.

The mechanisms of increased arterial pressure lability after sinoaortic deafferentation remain unknown. We have shown previously in rats with chronic sinoaortic deafferentation (7-14 days after sinoaortic deafferentation) that ganglionic blockade significantly reduced mean arterial pressure and arterial pressure lability. The present study investigated the possibility that lability is related to the level of arterial pressure. Rats were instrumented chronically and heart rate and mean arterial pressure were sampled every 5 seconds in the conscious, freely moving state. Graded sustained increases in pressure (+10 to +82 mm Hg) produced by constant infusion of angiotensin II, phenylephrine, or vasopressin did not affect lability (standard deviation of 30-minute sampling period); whereas, graded hypotension (-10 to -70 mm Hg) produced by infusions of adenosine, nitroprusside, or nisoldipine appeared to reduce lability. Analysis of covariance and orthogonal polynomial curve fitting demonstrated a significant correlation between the decrease in mean arterial pressure and the decrease in lability produced by nisoldipine but not by adenosine or nitroprusside. Lability does not appear to be solely dependent on the level of arterial pressure because lability was reduced by adenosine when pressure was maintained at control levels by simultaneous infusion of phenylephrine. We conclude that 1) arterial pressure lability is not influenced by elevation of arterial pressure but can be reduced when pressure is lowered by certain vasodilators and 2) pressure alone does not appear to be the major determinant of lability because it can be attenuated by vascular smooth muscle relaxants even when pressure is maintained.

Adenosine↗

On the origin of cells determined to form skeletal muscle in avian embryos.

Pieces of quail embryos from various developmental stages ranging from unincubated blastoderms (before the appearance of a primitive streak) to embryos having formed somites were grafted to the wing buds or into the coelomic cavity of chicken embryos. The grafts, which can be identified on a cellular level by virtue of the prominent nucleolus-associated chromatin, present in the quail and absent in the chicken, were screened after suitable periods of reincubation for the presence or absence of skeletal myotubes containing quail nuclei. Grafts having contributed to such skeletal myotubes were considered as having contained determined myogenic cells at the time of the grafting procedure. Determined myogenic cells appeared first in the primitive streak and in the mesodermal cells formed by the invagination (gastrulation) of epiblastic cells through the primitive streak. This is true for both the head process and the paraxial mesoderm. Epiblastic cells never gave rise to skeletal myotubes. Therefore it can be said, that the onset of myogenic determination coincides with gastrulation. It remains, however, to be established, whether these two events are causally related to one another.

Animals↗

The onset of myotome formation in the chick.

The onset of myotome formation in somites of chick embryos was studied by use of a polyclonal antidesmin antibody and by histochemical demonstration of acetylcholine esterase activity. The myotome cells originate from the dermatome only; sclerotome cells do not contribute to the myotome. The formation of the myotome starts in the craniomedial corner of the dermatome. From there the myotome formation continues simultaneously along the medial and the cranial edge of the dermatome. It was found that only the already longitudinally oriented cells of the cranial dermatome edge give rise to the myotome; the cells of the dorsomedial dermatome edge do not contribute to the myotome. Myotome cells do not originate directly from the surface of the overlying dermatome by delamination.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Studies on neural and humoral contributions to arterial pressure lability.

The mechanisms of arterial pressure lability in rats following sinoaortic deafferentation (SAD) remain unknown. In this paper, we review several studies that have investigated the potential mechanisms of this lability. Combined ganglionic and alpha-adrenergic receptor blockade reduced lability but not to control levels, indicating that the sympathetic nervous system plays a major role but is not the only mechanism involved in the generation of lability. When ganglionic blockade was combined with blockade of an endogenous humoral vasoconstrictor (vasopressin or angiotensin), lability was returned to control levels in SAD rats; however, humoral blockade alone did not alter lability. Infusion of phenylephrine or endogenous vasoconstrictors in the presence of combined neural and humoral blockade increased arterial pressure lability to levels similar to those found in rats with SAD. The neurogenic contribution to lability was further investigated by recording renal sympathetic nerve activity in conscious freely moving intact rats and rats with SAD. These studies demonstrated that one day after SAD, there was little direct correlation between transient changes in renal sympathetic nerve activity and arterial pressure lability. Thus, the evidence presented in this paper is consistent with the hypothesis that arterial pressure lability is not the direct result of unbuffered variations in sympathetic discharge but rather is produced by an interaction between neural and humoral components.

Animals↗

Central and peripheral mechanisms of arterial pressure lability following baroreceptor denervation.

Deafferentation of sinoaortic baroreceptors produces a marked increase in the lability of arterial pressure that is sustained chronically. Studies reviewed in this paper were designed to determine the mechanisms responsible for generating arterial pressure lability. Pharmacological interruption of the humoral vasopressin and angiotensin systems failed to alter arterial pressure lability. In contrast, blockade of sympathetic nervous system transmission at both ganglionic and alpha-adrenergic receptor levels significantly attenuated lability. A similar effect was observed with the peripheral neurotoxin, 6-hydroxydopamine. After blockade of sympathetic transmission, a further reduction in lability was produced by blocking the renin-angiotensin or vasopressin systems. The dissociation of the level of arterial pressure from lability was achieved with parachloroamphetamine which raised arterial pressure but reduced lability. A substantial peripheral contribution to lability was obtained in experiments in which the alpha-adrenergic agonist, phenylephrine, produced a marked increase in lability in both normal and baroreceptor-denervated animals in which humoral and neural transmission were blocked. These data demonstrate that following baroreceptor deafferentation, arterial pressure lability is produced primarily by the sympathetic nervous system and secondarily by circulating humoral factors that appear to act on vascular smooth muscle to induce fluctuations in the level of arterial pressure.

Afferent Pathways↗

Regulation of arterial pressure lability in rats with chronic sinoaortic deafferentation.

After chronic (2-6 wk) sinoaortic deafferentation (SAD), rats exhibit slight increases in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate and marked increases in arterial pressure lability. Neither antagonists of humoral vasoconstrictors angiotensin and vasopressin nor acute hypophysectomy altered MAP or lability after chronic SAD. Ganglionic blockade produced hypotension and significantly reduced lability in SAD rats but decreased MAP and increased lability in normal rats. Although chlorisondamine reduced lability in rats with SAD to levels observed in similarly treated sham-operated rats, lability was significantly greater in both groups than in saline-treated sham-operated rats. When intact or SAD rats were administered chlorisondamine plus either captopril or a vasopressin antagonist, pressure lability was returned to levels seen in intact untreated animals. Selective antagonism of alpha 1- or alpha 2-adrenergic receptors did not markedly alter lability in SAD rats. Combined alpha-adrenergic blockade reduced lability in SAD rats and increased lability in intact rats, similar to chlorisondamine treatment. These data suggest that chronic SAD establishes arterial pressure variability that is maintained or generated in large part by the sympathetic nervous system through mechanisms dependent on higher central structures or descending efferent sympathetic nerves. The data further suggest that peripheral mechanisms may also be involved in arterial pressure regulation in baroreceptor-deficient rats.

Animals↗

Laser palliation for esophageal carcinoma.

The treatment of esophageal carcinoma presents itself or evolves into a palliative situation. The most likely symptom to distress the patient is obstruction. It is necessary to have available a means of alleviating this symptom in a way that will be effective, comfortable, and efficient in terms of time and expense. The Nd:YAG and the carbon dioxide lasers can give this type of palliation. This review of our experience in the cervical and lower two thirds of the esophagus has led us to believe that true palliation can be effected in both areas. Treatment is easier and more straight forward in the lower esophagus. The results in the upper one third require more care, but can be just as rewarding.

Adenocarcinoma↗