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J C Lai

Publications and source records attributed to J C Lai.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Activities of the mitochondrial NAD-linked isocitric dehydrogenase in different regions of the rat brain: changes in ageing and the effect of chronic manganese chloride administration.

The specific activities of NAD-linked isocitric dehydrogenase were determined in hypothalamus, cerebellum, pons and medulla, striatum, midbrain, and cerebral cortex (which included the hippocampus) of the female Wistar rat. In ageing the specific activities of this enzyme were decreased in all regions. Chronic treatment with manganese chloride from conception onwards for a period of over 2 years appeared to counteract there decreases during ageing. However, manganese had no apparent effect on the specific activities of this enzyme in different brain regions of 2-month-old animals.

Aging↗
PubMed1981

Anatrophic nephrolithotomy: preservation of renal function demonstrated by differential quantitative radionuclide renal scans.

Differential quantitative radionuclide renal scans have been used to confirm that early removal of staghorn calculi by anatrophic nephrolithotomy preserves renal parenchyma without significant renal damage by the surgical procedure. The 99mtechnetium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid scan was useful in predicting recovery of function in the involved kidney, while the 131iodine orthoiodohippurate scan provided a quantitative evaluation of the effect of the surgical procedure on individual kidney function. All of 13 consecutive patients evaluated by 131iodine orthoiodohippurate renal scans had stable or improved effective renal plasma flow to the involved kidney and an unchanged or improved total excretory index 6 months after nephrolithotomy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Selective inhibition of L-glutamate and gammaaminobutyrate transport in nerve ending particles by aluminium, manganese, and cadmium chloride.

AlCl3, MnCl2, and CdCl2 inhibited the rates of accumulation of [14C] L-glutamate and [3H] gammaaminobutyrate (GABA) in purified rat forebrain nerve-ending particles in a dose-dependent fashion. The concentrations that would give 50% inhibition (IC50) of GABA transport were 316 muM, 7.4 mM, and 1.4 mM, respectively. Ca2+ (1 mM) enhanced the inhibitory effect of Al3+ (IC50 decreased to 149 muM) but antagonized that of Mn2+ (IC50 = 10 mM) and Cd2+ (IC50 = 2.1 mM). For glutamate transport 1 mM Ca2+ changed the IC50 values from 299 to 224 micron for Al3+, 7.1 to 10 mM for Mn2+, and 2 to 3 mM for Cd2+. In contrast, the rates of accumulation of [14C] 2-deoxy-glucose and [3H] L-phenylalanine were mostly unaffected by these metal ions. The results indicate that Al3+, Mn2+, and Cd2+ exerted selective and differential effects on the transport systems of neurotransmitter substances in the synaptosomal membrane.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1981

Brain regional distribution of glutamic acid decarboxylase, choline acetyltransferase, and acetylcholinesterase in the rat: effects of chronic manganese chloride administration after two years.

Rats were treated chronically with manganese chloride from conception onward for a period of over 2 years in order to study the effects of manganese and aging on the activities of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in hypothalamus, cerebellum, pons and medulla, striatum, midbrain, and cerebral cortex (which included the hippocampus). Manganese-treated 2-month-old and 24- to 28-month-old rats and age-matched controls were studied. In control rats during aging the activities of GAD decreased in hypothalamus (19%), pons and medulla (28%), and midbrain (22%) whereas the activities of AChE decreased in all regions (20-48%), particularly in the striatum (44-48%). Changes in ChAT activities in aging were observed only in one region-a decrease (23%) in the striatum. Life-long treatment with manganese appeared to abolish partially the decreases in aging in AChE activities in hypothalamus, cerebellum and striatum, and striatal ChAT activity. Manganese treatment also seemed to abolish the age-related decreases GAD activities, since GAD activities in various brain regions of manganese-treated senescent rats were not significantly different from those of control young rats. These results are discussed in relation to other metabolic changes associated with aging and manganese toxicity.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1981

Energy-metabolizing enzymes in brain regions of adult and aging rats.

The regional enzyme activities of glucose metabolism in the rat brain were investigated. Hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1) and pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1), key enzymes for glucose metabolism, showed no changes in activity in all the regions studied of the aging brain as compared with the adult brain. However, the activity of D-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.30) is low throughout the adult brain and, in contrast with hexokinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase, its activity decreases significantly during aging. Other enzymes that showed significant decreases during aging are aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13), lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27), citrate synthase (EC 4.1.3.7), and NAD+-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.41). The catabolic enzyme in cholinergic metabolism, acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7), selected as an example of a non-energy-metabolising enzyme, also showed significant decreases in all regions of the brain in aging, although its highest activity remained in the striatum. These results are discussed with respect to the energy metabolism in various brain regions and their status with aging.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1981

The regional distribution of monoamine oxidase activities towards different substrates: effects in rat brain of chronic administration of manganese chloride and of ageing.

The effects of chronic manganese chloride administration (1 mg MnCl2.4H2O/ml of drinking water) and ageing on the regional distribution of monoamine oxidase (MAO, EC 1.4.3.4) were studied in 2-month- and 24-28-month-old rats. In both the control and Mn-treated rats, the serotonin oxidation (type A) rates decreased in hypothalamus, pons and medulla, striatum, midbrain and cerebral cortex, but not in cerebellum, in ageing. On the other hand the benzylamine oxidation (type B) rates in hypothalamus, striatum and cerebral cortex increased in ageing. In all regions except the cerebellum, there was a uniform decrease in the A/B ratio. This decrease was verified by differential inhibition studies using clorgyline and L-deprenyl, specific type A and type B inhibitors respectively. The dopamine-oxidising rates decreased in all regions, except the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum, in ageing control rats. This age-related decrease was not seen in the striatum and midbrain of manganese-treated rats. In these rats the other effect was an age-related increase in the rate of oxidation of all the amines in the cerebellum, not observed in control rats. These selective effects of manganese are only seen when comparing age-related changes in both groups of animals, since comparison of manganese-treated rats with age-matched controls showed a significant difference only in the rate of serotonin oxidation in the cerebellum of 2-month-old rats. The relationship of these observations to the effects of ageing and manganese encephalopathy on specific amine systems is discussed.

Aging↗
PubMed1980

The distribution of glutamine synthetase in subcellular fractions of rat brain.

The subcellular localization of glutamine synthetase, an enzyme fundamental to the compartmentation of glutamate hypothesis, was investigated using brain tissue of adult rats. The distribution of this enzyme in relation to the distribution of glucose-6-phosphatase, glutamate dehydrogenase and acetycholine esterase was studied using a fractionation scheme which had been previously extensively characterized in terms of intramitochondrial enzyme complements. Glutamine synthetase was found to be predominantly localized at the nerve terminal and a number of results suggested a possibble association with the synaptic membrane. The observations are discussed in relation to the compartmentation of glutamate metabolism. Acetate and ammonia are precursors of the 'small' pool of glutamate from which most of the synthesis of glutamine occurs. Since one population of synaptic mitochondria has previously been shown to be enriched in glutamate dehydrogenase and acetyl CoA synthetase and in view of the current observtions that synaptosomes are probably in association with a large proportion of brain glutamine synthetase, it is tentatively suggested that the synaptic complex represents at least in part the site of the 'small' glutamate pool.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Brain metabolism and specific transport at the blood-brain barrier after portocaval anastomosis in the rat.

The rapid metabolism of [1-14C]butyrate and [2-14C]pyruvate in the brain was studied after intracarotid injection in control rats and rats given an end-to-side portocaval anastomosis (PCA). At 10 or 50 sec after injection there was a 40-50% lowering of the total amount of radioactivity in the brain of operated rats for both compounds. The percentage distribution of label in various metabolic fractions, e.g. amino acids, was unaltered by PCA. The results from the metabolic studies focused on an impaired transport of short chain monocarboxylic acids between blood and brain in rats with a PCA. The brain uptake index (BUI) of acetate, butyrate, pyruvate and glucose was determined by rapid intracarotid injection of the 14C test compound plus 3H2O as a reference marker. At 3 weeks after PCA, transport of all 3 monocarboxylic acids into brain was reduced by 40-50%. The reduction in [2-14C]pyruvate uptake was absent at one week, but thereafter, up to 50 weeks after operation, was consistently present. Eadie-Hofstee analysis of influx at varying substrate concentrations indicated a reduction in Vmax values of pyruvate and butyrate uptake without changes in Km. The calculated influx rate of glucose in operated rats was reduced in direct proportion to the lowering of plasma glucose. Portocaval anastomosis in the rat induces selective changes on substrates that are transported across the blood-brain barrier via a facilitated transport process.

Ammonia↗