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Biomedical subjects

M F Cohen

Publications and source records attributed to M F Cohen.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The effects of growth factors and serum on DNA synthesis and differentiation in thyroid cells in culture.

The effects of three putative growth factors and serum on [Me-3H]thymidine and Na125I incorporation into thyroid cell cultures have been examined. We found that serum and EGF could stimulate radioactively labelled thymidine incorporation into confluent cultures. However, both factors completely inhibited iodine uptake and organification at low concentrations. Insulin also stimulated [Me-3H]thymidine incorporation but had no adverse effect on thyroid differentiated function. TSH examined under the same conditions was not a growth factor but was essential to maintain differentiated functions. We conclude that thyroid growth and differentiation are not mutually exclusive processes. However, EGF and serum inhibit thyroid differentiated function at very low concentrations. Elucidation of the physiological role of these factors and their mechanism of action may lead to a greater understanding of thyroid hormone biosynthesis.

Animals↗

Detection threshold microstructure and its effect on temporal integration data.

Auditory detection thresholds were measured at several preselected frequencies using an adaptive 2IFC procedure. Results confirm the existence of shifts in detection threshold ranging from 2 to 14 dB with quite small changes in signal frequency. There does not appear to be a uniform pattern associated with the microstructure of the detection threshold curve. An additional experiment was performed to determine the effect of signal duration on detection threshold microstructure. Results indicate that the temporal integration function is considerably steeper for more sensitive frequencies (3.7 dB/doubling of duration), than for less sensitive frequencies (1.7 dB/doubling). This probably is not due to differences in processing as much as it is to the effect of the energy spread associated with decreasing signal duration.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Direct regulation of Na(+)-dependent myo-inositol transport by sugars in retinal pigment epithelium: role of phorbol ester and staurosporin.

An Na(+)-dependent active process for myo-inositol (MI) uptake, sharing a common carrier system with glucose and sensitive to phlorizin, was previously established in primary cultures of bovine retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells (26, 32). The present report further examines the nature of glucose-induced inhibition of MI transport in primary cultures of RPE cells. RPE cells were grown in supplemented Dulbecco's modification of Eagle's medium (DMEM) containing 5 mM D-glucose (basic growth media) or 40 mM D-glucose or its nonmetabolizable analogue, alpha-methyl-D-glucoside (alpha MG); 1-5 mM nonradioactive MI, pyruvate, or lactate; or 0.2-20 microM phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA) or straurosporin (modified growth media), for up to 4 weeks. The capacity of RPE cells to accumulate 3H-MI (ratios of intracellular transported radioactive MI, [MI]i, to external free MI concentration, [MI]i/[MI]o) decreased by up to 41% or 34% when cells were grown for 10 days or longer with 40 mM D-glucose or 40 mM alpha MG, respectively, compared to cells grown in basic growth media. The rate of uptake of 3H-MI also was reduced to 63 +/- 15% or 48 +/- 8% of the control values when cells were fed 1 or 5 mM nonradioactive MI, respectively. In addition, cellular capacity to bind to [3H]phlorizin was reduced to 52 +/- 7%, 61 +/- 5%, or 38 +/- 6% of the controls when RPE cells were fed 40 mM D-glucose, 40 mM alpha MG, or 5 mM nonradioactive MI, respectively. Growth media containing either pyruvate or lactate, the glucose metabolites, did not suppress the ability of RPE cells to accumulate MI. An 18 +/- 8% reduction in [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA occurred when cells were grown in 40 mM glucose for 12-14 days, compared to cells grown with 5 mM glucose. Chronic treatment (12-14 days) of the cells with phorbol ester, an activator of protein kinase C, caused up to twofold increase in MI uptake, [3H]phlorizin binding, cell number, and DNA synthesis. However, when the rates of MI uptake into cells grown in basic growth media or TPA-treated media were normalized to cell number, no significant difference in MI uptake was found between the treated and untreated cells. Addition of staurosporin, a protein kinase C inhibitor, together with TPA, in the growth media reversed the phorbol-induced increase of MI uptake.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Alkaloids↗