Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to L Kass.
Using sulphonaphythyl red (Michrome #947), granules in mature and immature granulocytic cells stained bright red. Granules were not visualized in other types of normal or leukemic blood cells. As such, sulphonaphthyl red may be useful in distinguishing normal and abnormal granulocytic cells from other types of blood and bone marrow cells.
Using the obscure dye kallichrome, erythroblasts at all stages of maturation demonstrated intense yellow to yellow-brown staining of both nucleus and cytoplasm. Staining of this type was not observed in other types of normal or pathological marrow cells. As such, kallichrome may be a valuable stain for identification of erythroblasts and their distinction from other types of blood cells.
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We have studied the connections of the tectum of the rattlesnake by tectal application of horseradish peroxidase. The tectum receives bilateral input from nucleus lentiformis mesencephali, posterolateral tegmental nuclei, anterior tegmental nuclei and periventricular nuclei; ipsilateral input from nucleus geniculatus pretectalis, and lateral geniculate nucleus pars dorsalis; and contralateral input from dorso-lateral posterior tegmental nucleus and the previously undescribed nucleus reticularis caloris (RC). RC is located on the ventro-lateral surface of the medulla and consists of large cells 25--45 micrometer in diameter. Efferent projections from the tectum can be traced to the ipsilateral nucleus lentiformis mesencephali, the ipsilateral lateral geniculate region, anterior tegmental region and a wide bilateral area of the neuropil of the ventral tegmentum and ventral medualla. We have not found any direct tectal projections from the sensory trigeminal nuclei including the nucleus of the lateral descending trigeminal tract (LTTD). We suggest that in the rattlesnake, RC is the intermediate link connecting LTTD to the tectum.
Using the high resolution technique of isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel, isoenzymatic components of acid phosphatase were detected in cell-free extracts prepared from different cytologic types of leukemic blasts in adults. Results indicate that for different cytologic types, different characteristic patterns of acid phosphatase isoenzyme could be detected. These studies extend conventional cytochemistry and indicate that characteristic patterns of acid phosphatase isoenzyme can be detected for various cytologic types of acute leukemia.
The receptor specificity for synaptically mediated lateral inhibition in Limulus lateral eye retina was studied by structure-activity correlations of the action of the putative indoleaminergic neurotransmitter, serotonin (5-HT), and its isomers and structural analogs, tryptamine (TRYP), 6-hydroxytryptamine (6HT), 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine (5,6-DHT), 5-hydroxydimethyltryptamine (5-HDMT), and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). The 5-HT blockers, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), bromo-LSD (BOL), and cinanserin, were also tested. The inhibitory action of the indoleaminergic agonists is highly structure-specific. An hydroxyl group in the 5 position of the indole nucleus, sterically unencumbered by hydroxyls in neighboing positions, is essential. In order of decreasing potency, 5-HT, 5-HDMT, and 5-HTP are active agonists; TRYP, 6-HT, and 5,6-DHT are inactive. Configuration and mobility of the side chains of the active agonists also affect the interaction, and these side-chain characteristics correlate with agonist potency. The receptors for inhibitory action and for transmembranal transport in reuptake are different. Both active agonists and inactive analogs appear to be taken up (Adolph and Ehinger, 1975. Cell Tissue Res. 163:1-14). LSD and BOL have bimodal actions: direct inhibition and agonist blockade. These actions may be mediated via low-specificity presynaptic uptake receptor sites rather than highly specific, postsynaptic, agonist receptor sites.
Utilizing the ability of molybdenum dioxide dichloride to form a black insoluble precipitate with tetrahydrofolate, a cytochemical test for rapid detection of tetrahydrofolate in human leukocytes was developed. The test may be useful in distinguishing deficiency of vitamin B12 or folate or both from other disorders of erythropoiesis characterized by megaloblastic erythropoiesis.
Using high-resolution technics of isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel, isoenzymatic components of nonspecific esterases extracted from various cytologic types of leukemic blasts were visualized using alpha-naphthyl acetate and alpha-naphthyl butyrate as substrates. For each cytologic type of leukemic blast, consistent and distinctive patterns of nonspecific esterase activity were visualized. These studies provide further evidence for heterogeneity of nonspecific esterases, and for elaboration of isoenzymatic components as a reflection of cellular differentiation.
Esterases are enzymes that cleave aliphatic and aromatic ester bonds. With the use of synthetic substrates, esterases can be demonstrated in hematopoietic cells. Using alpha naphthyl acetate or alpha naphthyl butyrate, nonspecific esterase activity can be demonstrated. Intense activity of nonspecific esterase that is inhibited by fluoride is characteristic of cells of monocytic or reticulum cell origin. Using naphthol ASD-chloroacetate, specific esterase activity can be detected. Specific esterase is a lysosomal enzyme and is a useful marker for cells of granulocytic origin. Distinctive patterns of specific and nonspecific esterase activities are found in marrow cells from patients with various types of hematologic disorders. With the use of electrophoretic techniques, isoenzymatic analysis of esterases can be achieved.
Preleukemic disorders are a controversial group of panmyelopathic disturbances that often precede the emergence of acute myeloblastic or myelomonocytic leukemia. In most instances, these preleukemic disorders are characterized by slowly developing myeloblastosis of the bone marrow. They include preleukemia, primary acquired panmyelopathy with myeloblastosis or smouldering acute leukemia, erythroleukemia, and subacute myelomonocytic leukemia. Sometimes, transitions between these various preleukemic disorders may be observed in a single individual. Abnormalities in cellular differentiation are expressed in cytochemical aberrations and in elaboration of colony forming units by marrow cells of patients with preleukemic disorders. Cytogenic and cellular kinetic abnormalities link preleukemic disorders closely to acute myeloblastic or myelomonocytic leukemia, although in many patients with preleukemic disorders, conversion to acute leukemia is not observed or perhaps not recognized. Understanding pathogenetic and pathophysiological aspects of preleukemic disorders may shed light on aspects of cellular proliferation and cellular differentiation in the acute leukemias.
Erythroblasts from patients with chronic erythremic myelosis (Di Guglielmo Syndrome) showed unique purple punctate nuclear staining after exposure to gold chloride. Presence of indole-containing material in the nuclei of these cells may account in part for the cytochemical reaction.
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Using the high resolution technique of isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel, isoenzymatic components could be discerned in acid phosphatase extracted from normal human lymphocytes, granulocytes, monocytes, and platelets. For each cell type, distinctive isoenzymatic patterns of acid phosphatase activity could be observed. These studies provide further evidence that various types of cellular differentiation are associated with differences in isoenzymatic components of acid phosphatase.
Using the high resolution technique of isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel, isoenzymatic components of nonspecific esterase were resolved in esterase-rich extracts obtained from normal human monocytes, lymphocytes, granulocytes and platelets. In the case of each cell type, different isoenzymatic patterns of nonspecific esterase activity could be visualized. These studies extend the cytochemistry of nonspecific esterases by detection of previously undescribed isoenzymatic components, and suggest that the elaboration of nonspecific esterase isoenzymes may be a function of cellular differentiation.
In erythroblasts of varying maturational stages, cytoplasm stained bright yellow with bromochlorophenol blue. Since this staining reaction appeared to be distinctive among various cytological types of marrow cells, it may constitute a rapid method for visualization of cells of erythroid origin.
Extramedullary hematopoiesis was detected in routine sections of spleen and liver from two patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). In patients with other types of hemolytic anemia and in normal persons, extramedullary hematopoiesis was not found in spleen or liver. The results of this study raise the possibility that TTP may fit within the myeloproliferative category, perhaps representing an acute variant of Di-Guglielmo Syndrome.
Visual and infrared cell layers were identified in the tectum of the pit vipers Crotalus viridis and Sistrurus melitus. Histologic reconstructions of 48 lesions utilizing the Prussian Blue technique were correlated with micrometer depth readings for 251 visual, infrared and bimodal single unit recordings. The visual cell layer extends caudally from approximately the level of the habenula to the rostral border of the posterior corpora quadrigemina. Neurons responding to visual stimulation are generally contained within zones 7b-13, i.e., the superficial 600--700 micrometer of the optic tectum (stratum fibrosum et griseum superficiale and the superficial sublayer of stratum griesum centrale). The infrared cell group is found in layer 7 (a and b; stratum griseum centrale) throughout the optic tectum. Eighty percent of the infrared neurons are found within 500--1,200 micrometer of the surface. In layer 7b the visual and infrared cell groups are mixed; bimodal neurons that respond to a combination of visual and infrared input are located predominantly in this sublamina. The lamination pattern for visual and nonvisual cell groups in the rattlesnake tectum appears to more closely resemble the colubrid tectum and mammalian superior colliculus than the tecta of other reptiles.