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Biomedical subjects

M S Cannon

Publications and source records attributed to M S Cannon.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Nonspecific esterase activity in plastic-embedded tissues using Meldola Blue.

A method for the demonstration of nonspecific esterase activity in plastic-embedded tissues using Meldola Blue is described. Although Meldola Blue does not function as an electron carrier in this method, it may account for the short incubation time and excellent localization of the reaction product. Use of Meldola Blue is an advancement in the demonstration of enzyme activity in plastic sections.

Carboxylesterase↗

A Histochemical study of the coronary vasculature in euthyroid and hyperthyroid rats.

Coronary arteries and arterioles in the left and right ventricles from normal and hyperthyroid rats were examined histochemically to determine and to compare their metabolic activities. The test animals were made hyperthyroid by administration of desiccated thyroid for 8-10 weeks. Using histochemical techniques, selected enzymes and components of key metabolic pathways were examined. These pathways included an evaluation of aerobic (oxidative phosphorylation, Kreb's cycle and respiratory chain) and anaerobic metabolic capacity, hexose-monophosphate shunt activity, amounts of deoxyribonucleic and ribonucleic acids present and activity of beta-oxidation of fatty acids. Our results indicate that normal coronary arteriolar metabolism is predominantly aerobic. The findings also suggest a reduction in aerobic metabolism with an accompanying increase in anaerobic potential in the hyperthyroid coronary arterioles. Thus, during thyrotoxicosis, the coronary arterioles may partially shift from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism. Moreover, in both the normal and thyrotoxic rat heart, the coronary microvasculature appears quite stable with little cell proliferation. In contrast, both the control and hyperthyroid rat coronary arteries appear to utilize primarily anaerobic pathways, while the control and hyperthyroid myocardium seem highly dependent upon aerobic metabolism. The tremendous reduction in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in hyperthyroid, when compared to normal coronary arteries and some larger arterioles, implies a reduced capacity for nucleic acid and protein synthesis in the test animals.

Animals↗

A histochemical evaluation of metabolism in the coronary vasculature of the primate.

Coronary arteries and arterioles in the left ventricle from the primate Macaca fascicularis were histochemically examined to evaluate their metabolic profiles. Succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase activities were assessed to evaluate aerobic metabolic capacity, while myosin ATPase activity was determined as an index of ATP utilization for contraction. Anaerobic capacity was evaluated from lactate dehydrogenase and glycogen reactivity. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was examined to determine capacity of the hexose-monophosphate-shunt, while the amounts of deoxyribonucleicc and ribonuclei acids were assessed as possible indicators of protein synthesis. Succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase demonstrated slight reactivity in both coronary arteries and arterioles indicating a low capacity for aerobic metabolism. Myosin ATPase showed strong activity in arteries and even stronger reactivity in arterioles, suggesting that arteriolar smooth muscle is more capable of utilizing ATP. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was extremely low in both arteries and arterioles, while deoxyribonucleic and ribonucleic acids demonstrated only slight to moderate reactivity in both arteries and arterioles, indicating that under normal conditions the coronary vasculature appears quite stable with little cell proliferation.

Animals↗

Ultrastructural changes in livers of young and aging rats exposed to methylated benzenes.

ULtrastructural examination was conducted on livers of young rats which were given (intraperitoneal injection) several methylated benzenes (73 mg/kg of body weight) for 3 consecutive days and on livers of aging rats (12 to 19 months old) which were fed methylated benzenes in the diet (200 mg/1,000 g of feed) for periods of 1, 2, 3, and 6 months. The young animals demonstrated white, raised, nodular lesions along the free margins of the liver. The lesions in young animals consisted of lipid droplets surrounded by macrophages and fibroblasts. Some fibroblasts in these lesions appeared to be active in collagen synthesis. Mast cells and eosinophils also occurred in the lesions. Hepatocytes in these young animals appeared morphologically normal. In contrast, hepatocytes in the aging rats developed 2 types of vacuoles. The 1st type of vacuole was bound by a double-unit membrane--the other unit membrane possibly derived from smooth endoplasmic reticulum; it contained a mottled, globular, electron-lucent material. The 2nd type of vacuole was peripherally located in hepatocytes, was single membrane-bound, and occasionally was observed opening into the space of Disse (spatium perisinusoideum). Our observations indicated that acute exposures (3 days) to at least some methylated benzenes does not cause ultrastructurally observable abnormalities in hepatocytes of young rats, but chronic oral ingestion of some can cause formation of vacuolar structures in aging rat hepatocytes.

Age Factors↗

Evidence for increased protein synthesis in myocardial microvessels after chronic sympathectomy in the dog.

Using histochemical methods, evidence of increased protein synthesis was observed in microvessels (diameter less than 100 micrometers) from dog hearts which had been sympathectomized 2 weeks earlier when compared to controls. Such evidence consisted of increased staining intensity for the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and for the nucleic acids RNA and DNA. Increases in reaction intensities were noted in approximately 30% of the microvessels examined from the sympathectomized hearts, and may imply a vascular proliferation in these hearts. However, since no increase in capillary density was observed in sympathectomized hearts, a vascular proliferation, if it occurred, may have been involved in development of the coronary collateral circulation. These data support previous results indicating that collateral resistances are reduced following chronic cardiac sympathectomy while resistance of the coronary vascular bed itself is not altered.

Animals↗

Irradiated salivary glands in the rhesus monkey. A light microscopic study.

Female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) received fractionated doses of orthovoltage irradiation to the submandibular and sublingual glands. Changes in the glands varied from serous cell degranulation and degeneration in the submandibular glands to acinar cell necrosis and fibrosis in the sublingual glands. Acute inflammation was absent in all irradiated glands. In all glands, the microvasculature appeared normal.

Animals↗

The myocardium and its vasculature: a histochemical comparison of the normal and chronically sympathectomized dog heart.

Using histochemical techniques, the reactivities of selected enzymes and other metabolic components were examined in the myocardium, coronary arteries, and coronary arterioles of normal, two-week-sympathectomized, and sham-operated canine hearts. There were no differences in the histochemistry of coronary arteries in any of the hearts, but important differences were noted in the myocardium and especially in the arterioles. The reactivities of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and the nucleic acids were increased in arterioles of the sympathectomized heart, possibly indicating an increased protein synthesis. The reactivities of succinate dehydrogenase, NAD-isocitrate dehydrogenase, and cytochrome oxidase were reduced in myocardium and arterioles of sympathectomized hearts as well as in arterioles of sham-operated hearts; the changes were greater in the sympathectomized arterioles where there was also observed an increase in reactivity of lactate dehydrogenase. These findings suggest a depression in aerobic metabolic capacity and, in the case of the sympathectomized arteriole, imply a possible shift in adaptation from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism.

Animals↗

A combined resorcin-crystal violet-periodic acid-Schiff stain.

Resorcin-crystal violet followed by the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reaction can be used to stain elastic fibers and membranes greenish-yellow, while coloring PAS-positive materials pink to purple. Other tissue components are left unstained.

Elastic Tissue↗

A histochemical study of the microvasculature in the left and right cardiac ventricles of the dog.

Subepicardial and subendocardial arteries and arterioles in both the left and right normal canine ventricle were examined histochemically to determine their metabolic profiles. Aerobic metabolic capacity was assessed by determining the reactivities of the enzymes cytochrome oxidase, succinate dehydrogenase and NAD-isocitrate dehydrogenase. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was examined to assess activity of the hexose-monophosphate-shunt. The substrate glycogen was determined as an evaluation of anaerobic metabolic capacity, while the amounts of deoxyribonucleic and ribonucleic acid were assessed as an indication of protein synthesis. Results of the present investigation indicate that despite known hemodynamic differences, the metabolic profile of the coronary vasculature is similar in all regions of ventricular myocardium. Reactivities of the enzymes succinate and NAD-isocitrate dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase are greater in smooth muscle of arterioles than in arteries. This suggests that arteriolar smooth muscle has a higher capacity for aerobic metabolism than does arterial smooth muscle. The greater reactivity of glycogen in arterial, than in arteriolar smooth muscle, suggests that arterial muscle is more adapted for anaerobic metabolism. Deoxyribonucleic and ribonucleic acids demonstrate a low reactivity in both arteries and arterioles from all regions of ventricular myocardium which conforms to the opinion that under normal conditions, coronary vasculature is quite stable with little cell proliferation. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase shows little reactivity in all myocardial vessels with implies a low capacity for nucleic acid and protein synthesis.

Animals↗

Crystalloid configuration in the adrenal cortex of the Siamese tree shrew (Tupaia glis).

Crystalloids of what appear to be smooth reticulum have been observed in the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis in both the stressed and nonstressed adrenal gland of the Siamese tree shrew (Tupaia glis). No crystalloids are observed in the zona glomerulosa. Similar crystalloids have been described in other steroid-secreting organs, including the antebrachial organ of the lemur (Lemur catta), the parotoid gland of Bufo alvarius and in sebaceous gland cells of the Galagos and Macaques. Moreover, the crystalloids in the present investigation resemble the paracrystalline arrays of smooth reticulum present in the adrenal cortex of the fetal guinea pig. The crystalloids show much variation in degree of organization, sometimes appearing as wavy tubules parallel with one another or as fused tubules having a "donut" configuration. In addition, the crystalloids are nearly identical to configurations which have been described in mitochondrial cristae of the protozoan, Pelomyxa carolinensis.

Adrenal Cortex↗

The anatomy of the parotoid gland in Bufonidae with some histochemical findings. II. Bufo alvarius.

The gross and microscopic anatomy of the venom producing parotoid glands of Bufo alvarius has been studied by light and electron microscopy. Histochemical reactions for the presence of venom constituents and of components in biochemical pathways in the synthesis and release of venom were performed. The gland is composed of numerous lobules. Each lobule is an individual unit with a lumen surrounded by a double cell layer. Microvilli of the outer layer interdigitate with microvilli of the inner layer. Cells of the outer layer resemble smooth muscle cells, are rich in adenosine triphosphatase and glucose-6-phosphatase, and contain numerous pinocytotic vesicles, glycogen granules and various organelles. These organelles include "crystalloids" of what seem to be highly organized agranular reticulum. These outer layer cells probably function in some aspects of venom synthesis, active cellular transport and contraction in the discharge of the secretory product. The inner cell layer demonstrates a positive chromaffin reaction, contains steroid material, various organelles, some pinocytotic vesicles and glycogen granules, and appears devoid of a plasmalemma on its inner surface. This layer is probably involved in venom formation and release via an apocrine type of secretion. Bufo alvarius parotid gland shows significant morphological and histochemical differences from that of B. marinus and more nearly resembles a typical steroid producing organ.

Animals↗

Alterations in the fine structure of hepatocytes in hyperthyroid rats.

Ultrastructural investigation of liver from ten radiothyroidectomized adult male albino rats, made hyperthyroid by administration of desiccated thyroid for eight to ten weeks, revealed changes in hepatic organelles, but no differences between centrilobular, midzonal and periportal hepatocytes of a single lobule. The mitochondria were enlarged with an increase in matrix density, but no increase in number of mitochondria or alterations in membranes or cristae was observed. The smooth endoplasmic reticulum appeared slightly increased and dilated in treated rats, while stacked cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum were seldom seen. Large vacuoles, which often contained follicular material and frequently opened into the spaces of Disse, were observed at the periphery of hepatocytes. The vacuoles may arise from invaginations of the cell membrane along these spaces to increase the surface area and to act as channels for liver metabolites. Moreover, in hyperthyroid rats hepatic glycogen was uniformly depleted. Whether these changes were a primary effect of thyroid hormone or secondary to metabolic alterations is unclear.

Animals↗