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Biomedical subjects

H Thoenen

Publications and source records attributed to H Thoenen.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Both nerve growth factor and high K+ concentrations support the survival of chick embryo sympathetic neurons. Evidence for a common mechanism of action.

Neurons were dissociated from the sympathetic ganglia of embryonic chicks, and cultured in the absence of non-neuronal cells. Both nerve growth factor (NGF) and high concentrations of extracellular K+ supported neuronal survival, and these effects were independent of the presence of serum in the culture medium. Only 60% of the neurons survived in response to 35 mM K+, and survival was not increased when both NGF and K+ were present together. It was, however, possible to maintain essentially all the neurons in culture with either NGF or high K+ concentrations if the culture substrate had been pretreated with heart cell-conditioned medium (which did not itself support neuronal survival). These observations are consistent with a common mechanism of action of both K+ and NGF for the survival of cultured embryonic neurons.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Presence of nerve growth factor receptors and catecholamine uptake in subpopulations of chick sympathetic neurons: correlation with survival factor requirements in culture.

The presence of nerve growth factor receptors and the imipramine-sensitive uptake of catecholamines in sympathetic neurons of chick embryos were investigated by autoradiography. Neurons were dissociated from paravertebral ganglia of different embryonic ages and receptors and catecholamine uptake were then determined both at the beginning of culture and after 2 days in culture, at which time the number of surviving neurons is determined by the survival factors present. It was found that while essentially all the neurons specifically bound 125I-NGF both after dissociation and at the end of the culture period, only 60% of the neurons take up [3H]norepinephrine after dissociation, and this proportion remained constant through the culture period under conditions where all the neurons survived. All of the neurons maintained by NGF in culture (35% of the total) displayed this uptake, and in contrast, only one-quarter of those maintained by heart cell-conditioned medium alone (60% of the total) took up catecholamines. The uptake was shown to be neither induced by NGF nor suppressed by heart cell-conditioned medium. These results support the hypothesis that chick sympathetic ganglia contain discrete subpopulations of neurons which may be selected in culture by virtue of their different requirements for survival factors.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The development of substance P, somatostatin and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in sympathetic and spinal sensory ganglia of the chick embryo.

Antisera to substance P, somatostatin and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide were produced in rabbits and used to establish radioimmunoassays. The specificities and sensitivities of the assays were characterised before using them to measure the levels of these peptides in the paravertebral sympathetic ganglia and spinal sensory ganglia of embryonic chicks. The immunoreactive materials in the developing ganglia were shown to be identical with the peptides by the criterion of co-elution on reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The levels of the peptides varied independently during the developmental period studied between day 8 and hatching at day 20 of incubation. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide was first detectable on day 12 in the sympathetic ganglia and the levels increased through to hatching, at which time it first became detectable in the sensory ganglia. In contrast, substance P and somatostatin were detectable in both sensory and sympathetic ganglia throughout the period studied: the content of substance P increased up to day 18 after which time it declined, and somatostatin was present initially (day 8) at high levels before rapidly declining to a minimum at day 10 and then slowly increasing again, in parallel with the general growth of the ganglia, reflected by their protein contents. The differential changes in levels of substance P, somatostatin and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide during development indicates that different regulatory mechanisms are responsible for the ontogenesis of individual peptide phenotypes in the peripheral nervous system.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Nerve growth factor in sympathetic ganglia and corresponding target organs of the rat: correlation with density of sympathetic innervation.

A two-site enzyme immunoassay is described which does not suffer from artifacts inherent in previous assays and has the necessary high sensitivity to determine the endogenous levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) in the sympathetic nervous system and its target organs. Monoclonal and affinity-purified polyclonal antibodies against mouse NGF (mNGF) were covalently linked to glass beads as the first site and coupled to the enzyme beta-galactosidase as the second site. Detection of the fluorescent beta-galactosidase reaction product permitted the determination of 0.01-0.02 fmol of mNGF per assay. The recovery of mNGF added to homogenates varied between 50% and 100%, depending on the tissue. Rat superior cervical and stellate ganglia were found to contain (mean +/- SEM) 25 +/- 4 and 19 +/- 3 ng of NGF per g wet weight, respectively, and the densely innervated submandibular gland, heart atrium, and iris contained 0.5 +/- 0.1, 1.0 +/- 0.1, and 1.9 +/- 0.3 ng of NGF per g wet weight, respectively. Heart ventricle and skeletal muscle, which are poorly innervated by the sympathetic nervous system, did not contain detectable levels of NGF (less than 0.3 ng/g wet weight). Serum contained less than 0.05 ng of NGF per ml. The correlation between NGF levels and density of innervation is consistent with the concept that the production of NGF in target organs determines their density of innervation by the sympathetic nervous system.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Mechanism of uptake and retrograde axonal transport of noradrenaline in sympathetic neurons in culture: reserpine-resistant large dense-core vesicles as transport vehicles.

The uptake and retrograde transport of noradrenaline (NA) within the axons of sympathetic neurons was investigated in an in vitro system. Dissociated neurons from the sympathetic ganglia of newborn rats were cultured for 3-6 wk in the absence of non-neuronal cells in a culture dish divided into three chambers. These allowed separate access to the axonal networks and to their cell bodies of origin. [3H]NA (0.5 X 10(-6) M), added to the axon chambers, was taken up by the desmethylimipramine- and cocaine-sensitive neuronal amine uptake mechanisms, and a substantial part was rapidly transported retrogradely along the axons to the nerve cell bodies. This transport was blocked by vinblastine or colchicine. In contrast with the storage of [3H]NA in the axonal varicosities, which was totally prevented by reserpine (a drug that selectively inactivates the uptake of NA into adrenergic storage vesicles), the retrograde transport of [3H]NA was only slightly diminished by reserpine pretreatment. Electron microscopic localization of the NA analogue 5-hydroxydopamine (5-OHDA) indicated that mainly large dense-core vesicles (700-1,200-A diam) are the transport compartment involved. Whereas the majority of small and large vesicles lost their amine dense-core and were resistant to this drug. It, therefore, seems that these vesicles maintained the amine uptake and storage mechanisms characteristic for adrenergic vesicles, but have lost the sensitivity of their amine carrier for reserpine. The retrograde transport of NA and 5-OHDA probably reflects the return of used synaptic vesicle membrane to the cell body in a form that is distinct from the membranous cisternae and prelysosomal structures involved in the retrograde axonal transport of extracellular tracers.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Cell contact-mediated regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase synthesis in cultured bovine adrenal chromaffin cells.

The specific activity of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells can be controlled by changing cell density. Chromaffin cells initially plated at low density (2-3 X 10(4) cells/cm2), and subsequently replated at a 10-fold higher density showed a sixfold increase in specific TH activity within 48 h, resulting from enhanced synthesis (increased number of TH molecules as demonstrated by immunotitration and blockade by cycloheximide) rather than activation. The density-mediated TH induction was blocked by inhibitors of both messenger RNA synthesis (alpha-amanitin) and processing (9-beta-arabinofuranosyladenine), indicating a transcriptional level of regulation. Medium conditioned by high density replated cells could not mimic the effect of high density plating itself, thus direct cell contact, rather than a diffusible factor, is responsible for the density-mediated TH induction. Since neither acetylcholinesterase nor lactate dehydrogenase specific activities were increased by high cell density, it can be concluded that the contact-mediated induction of TH is rather specific, and not the result of a general process of enzyme induction.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1982

The purification of nerve growth factor from bovine seminal plasma. Biochemical characterization and partial amino acid sequence.

Nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein regulating the development and function of certain neural crest derivatives, has been purified from bovine seminal plasma, and extremely rich source of the protein. Around 10 mg of pure NGF (yield, 10-20%) can be isolated from 10 g of lyophilized seminal plasma (around 100 ml of semen). The behavior during purification indicates that, like the NGF in the mouse submandibular gland, bovine NGF exists as a high molecular weight complex that dissociates at extremes of pH to reveal a smaller subunit having NGF biological activity. The isolated low molecular weight form of bovine NGF is a dimer of noncovalently linked polypeptide chains (Mr approximately 15,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels), with an isoelectric point of 9.5-10. These properties differ from those of low molecular weight (beta-subunit) mouse NGF, which comprises two noncovalently linked peptide chains of Mr = 13,256 (from sequence studies), and which has an isoelectric point of 9.3. The amino acid sequence of the NH2-terminal 26 residues of bovine NGF has been determined and found to be similar to, but not identical with, that of mouse NGF. Thus, residues 3, 9, and 18, which are threonine, methionine, and valine, respectively, in mouse NGF, are serine, arginine, and isoleucine in bovine NGF.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1982

Production of specific antisera and monoclonal antibodies to choline acetyltransferase: characterization and use for identification of cholinergic neurons.

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) has been purified from pig brain to greater than 95% homogeneity (purification factor: 646 000, specific activity of the purified enzyme: 128 mumol acetylcholine formed/min/mg). Gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme in the presence of sodium dodecylsulphate and beta-mercaptoethanol revealed a single protein band at 68 000 daltons. Immunoprecipitation and double immunodiffusion tests showed that antisera raised against this protein specifically recognize ChAT. A monoclonal antibody prepared against the enzyme specifically binds a protein from crude pig brain supernatants which has a mol. wt. of 68 000 and a specific activity of 153 mumol/min/mg. This antibody shows no species cross-reactivity. The specificity of the immunohistochemical localization of ChAT has been established by comparing the labeling of pig retina using the antiserum with that obtained using the monoclonal antibody. Both probes specifically identify the same retinal structures: labeled cell bodies are found in the inner nuclear layer and the ganglion cell layer, while a double band is stained in the inner plexiform layer. In rat spinal cord, the antiserum labels the motoneurons and the preganglionic sympathetic neurons, located in the intermedio-lateral nucleus, the intercalated region, and the central autonomic area.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Purification of a new neurotrophic factor from mammalian brain.

We report the purification from pig brain of a factor supporting the survival of, and fibre outgrowth from, cultured embryonic chick sensory neurons. The purified factor migrates as one single band, mol. wt. 12 300, on gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) and is a basic molecule (pI greater than or equal to 10.1). Approximately 1 microgram factor was isolated from 1.5 kg brain. The final degree of purification was estimated to be 1.4 X 10(6)-fold, and the specific activity 0.4 ng/ml/unit, which is similar to that of nerve growth factor (NGF) using the same assay system. This factor is the first neurotrophic factor to be purified since NGF, from which it is clearly distinguished because it has different antigenic and functional properties.

Animals↗