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Biomedical subjects

M Vaughan

Publications and source records attributed to M Vaughan.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1972

Prostaglandin E 1 effects on adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate concentration and phosphodiesterase activity in fibroblasts (mouse L cells-tissue culture-enzyme kinetics-prostaglandin homologues).

Incubation of L-929 and L-2071 fibroblasts with prostaglandin E(1) (PGE(1)) caused a rapid increase in the cyclic AMP content of these cells. A maximal effect was produced with 0.2 mug PGE(1) per ml. At a concentration of 4 mug/ml, PGE(2) was almost equally effective, but PGF(2alpha) and PGA(2) were much less so. 2.6 muM epinephrine, 0.4 mM serotonin, and 0.2% ethanol were without effect. In L-929 cells, cyclic AMP concentrations remained elevated for 2-5 hr, and then declined, although even after a 24-hr incubation the medium contained PGE(1) in a concentration sufficient to increase maximally the cyclic AMP content of cells not previously exposed to this compound. A second addition of PGE(1) after 5 or 24 hr did not produce another increase in the concentration of cyclic AMP. After incubation with PGE(1) for 24 hr, cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity, assayed with 0.56 muM substrate, was increased 30-100%; the activity rose further between 24 and 48 hr. It is suggested that the increase in phosphodiesterase activity that appears to be a consequence of prolonged elevation of cyclic AMP concentration may account at least in part for the apparent "refractoriness" to PGE(1) that develops after incubation for several hours with this compound.

Animals↗
PubMed1972

Synthesis of dipalmitoyl lecithin by alveolar macrophages.

A reliable, relatively simple method for isolation and quantification of disaturated lecithins is described. In rabbit lung, 34% of the lecithins were disaturated, in alveolar macrophages, 19%. More than 95% of the fatty acids of the disaturated lecithins from lung and alveolar macrophages was palmitic. Hence, the disaturated lecithins from these sources were essentially all dipalmitoyl lecithin. Both heterophils and alveolar macrophages incorporated (14)C-labeled choline and palmitate into disaturated lecithins. Liver slices in which only about 1% of the lecithins were disaturated incorporated very little of these precursors into this fraction. Of the palmitate incorporated in vitro into disaturated lecithins by alveolar macrophages, heterophils, and lung slices, 37% was in the 1 position. In disaturated lecithins isolated from pulmonary lavage fluid, alveolar macrophages, and lung of rabbit 8-12 hr after a single intravenous injection of palmitic-1-(14)C acid, 45% of the (14)C was in position 1. At earlier times, from 20-240 min after injection, the distribution of (14)C was similar in the samples from lung, but in those from alveolar macrophages and lavage fluid, the percentage in position 1 was slightly lower.Glycerol-U-(14)C was incorporated into disaturated lecithins by alveolar macrophages and by lung slices in vitro. Both tissues incorporated very little label from ethanolamine or from methyl-labeled methionine into this fraction. All of the data are consistent with the view that alveolar macrophages synthesize dipalmitoyl lecithin via the cytidine diphosphate-choline pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed1972

Isolation and properties of phagocytic vesicles. II. Alveolar macrophages.

Phagocytic vesicles were obtained by density gradient centrifugation of homogenized rabbit alveolar macrophages that had ingested emulsified paraffin oil contained Oil Red O. The phagocyte vesicles floated and thereby were separated from the soluble fraction and from other cell components which sedimented. The purity of the isolated vesicles was documented by electron microscopy, chemical and enzyme analysis. The vesicles contained 87% of the cell-associated Oil Red O, and were essentially free of DNA, RNA, succinic dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase. Acid phosphatase, beta-glucuronidase, and catalase were transferred from the sedimenting fraction to the phagocytic vesicle fraction during phagocytosis, whereas enzyme activities of the soluble fraction remained unchanged. Half of the catalase of resting macrophages was in the pellet fraction and, compared with acid phosphatase, greater amounts of digitonin were required to release full activity. Such differential latency has been described for enzymes of peroxisomes vs. those of lysosomes. Compared with polymorphonuclear leukocyte vesicles studied previously, phagocytic vesicles of macrophages had more electron-dense material and lower Oil Red O:protein, phospholipid:protein, and enzyme:protein ratios. It is thus probable that secondary lysosomes become part of the macrophage vesicle. When paraffin oil particles, the stimulus for phagocytic vesicle formation, were washed away from the macrophages, acquisition of hydrolases by preformed vesicles ceased, i.e. transfer of these enzymes into phagocytic vesicles occurred only during or shortly after the formation of new vesicles. As noted previously by others, the content of acid hydrolases of stimulated alveolar macrophages was doubled in comparison to normal cells. The difference between stimulated and normal macrophages was even more marked when isolated phagocytic vesicles were analyzed. Vesicles from stimulated macrophages had 3-5 times more enzyme activity (per milligram of vesicle protein or per amount of paraffin oil ingested) than did vesicles from normal cells.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1972

Quantitative studies of phagocytosis by polymorphonuclear leukocytes: use of emulsions to measure the initial rate of phagocytosis.

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes suspended in Krebs-Ringer phosphate medium ingest paraffin oil containing Oil Red O emulsified with a variety of substances. Spectrophotometric determination of Oil Red O in the cells after uningested particles have been removed by differential centrifugation provides a quantitative measure of phagocytosis. This system has been used to investigate the effects of several drugs and hormones on the initial rate of phagocytosis and to approach the question of how the surface of a particle influences its acceptability as a substrate for phagocytosis. The rate of uptake of paraffin oil emulsified with bovine albumin was constant for 6 min and was proportional to cell concentration when saturating concentrations of paraffin oil emulsion were used. At lower concentrations of substrate, the initial rate of phagocytosis was directly proportional to paraffin oil concentration. The increment in glucose oxidation associated with phagocytosis varied directly with the initial rate of particle uptake. The rate of ingestion of the albumin emulsion was not altered by serum (2-20%, v/v), glucose (5-20 mM), or omission of potassium from the medium. The rate of phagocytosis was decreased 65% if magnesium was omitted, and was essentially zero in the absence of divalent cations. The initial rate of uptake was inhibited by inhibitors of glycolysis, by N-ethylmaleimide (0.05-1 mM), colchicine (0.001-0.1 mM), theophylline (1 and 2 mM), dibutyryl cyclic AMP (1 mM), hydrocortisone (2.1 mM), and ethanol (85 mM). Inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation and dexamethasone (0.01 mM) were without effect, while insulin (2 mU/ml) slightly stimulated the phagocytic rate. Paraffin oil emulsified with different agents was used to approach the question of how the surface of a particle influences its acceptability as a substrate for phagocytosis. Emulsions prepared with nonionic detergents, methylated proteins, and proteins with a weak net charge at pH 7.4 were poorly ingested. On the other hand emulsions prepared with agents of strong net positive or negative charge were rapidly taken up. The effect of divalent cations on the rate of phagocytosis varied with the nature of the emulsifier, but was not related in any simple, direct fashion to the net surface charge of the particles. However, it has not been conclusively established that charge was the only variable of the emulsion particles employed.

Animals↗
PubMed1972

The appearance of lecithin- 32 P, synthesized from lysolecithin- 32 P, in phagosomes of polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Rabbit polymorphonuclear leukocytes ingesting paraffin oil particles stabilized with albumin, converted more lysolecithin-(32)P (added to the medium as an albumin complex) to cellular lecithin than did control cells. Almost all of the increment in leukocyte lecithin-(32)P is found in association with the isolated phagocytic vacuoles. About half of lecithin-(32)P of granulocytes incubated first with lysolecithin-(32)P and then reincubated with paraffin particles in a nonradioactive medium is transferred from a sedimentable (presumably membrane) fraction to the phagosomes. Isolated phagosomes or granules by themselves are capable of acylating lysolecithin. The main source of lysolecithin-(32)P for synthesis of cellular lecithin-(32)P, however, appears to be extracellular rather than lysolecithin-(32)P within the cytoplasm or the phagocytic vacuole. We interpret our findings therefore as indicating that lecithin-(32)P in the phagosomes derives chiefly from the outer membrane.

Animals↗
PubMed1972

Lipids of alveolar macrophages, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and their phagocytic vesicles.

Phagocytic vesicles were isolated from rabbit alveolar macrophages and guinea pig polymorphonuclear leukocytes that had ingested emulsified paraffin oil. Phospholipids and their fatty acids were determined in whole cells and in the phagocytic vesicle and pellet fractions separated from them. The cholesterol-to-phospholipid ratios in the vesicle fractions were distinctly higher than those of the respective whole cells or pellet fractions. The vesicle fractions also had higher phospholipid-to-protein ratios than did the whole cells. The phospholipids of the phagocytic vesicle fraction from macrophages contained relatively more sphingomyelin, lyso-(bis)phosphatidic acid, and phosphatidylserine and less lecithin, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylinositol than did the whole cells or pellet fractions. The phospholipids of phagocytic vesicles from polymorphonuclear leukocytes contained significantly more phosphatidylinositol than did the pellet fractions. Lyso(bis)phosphatidic acid, which constituted 15% of the phospholipid in rabbit alveolar macrophages and 25% of that in their phagocytic vesicles, contained almost 60% oleic acid and 20% linoleic acid. This lipid was not detected in rabbit peritoneal macrophages or in rat alveolar macrophages.The polyunsaturated fatty acids of leukocyte phospholipids were chiefly linoleic, whereas in macrophages arachidonic accounted for almost 20% of the total fatty acids. The macrophages produced malondialdehyde when ingesting polystyrene beads or emulsified paraffin oil, from which it was inferred that peroxidation of endogenous lipid can occur during phagocytosis. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes in which less than 3% of phospholipid fatty acids were arachidonic did not produce malondialdehyde during phagocytosis of these inert particles, but did when ingesting an emulsion containing linolenate, thus providing evidence for peroxidation of ingested lipid. Isolated phagocytic vesicles from alveolar macrophages contained lipid peroxides and generated malondialdehyde when incubated with ADP, FeCl(3), and NADH.

Aldehydes↗
PubMed1972

An effect of dexamethasone on adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate content and adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterase activity of cultured hepatoma cells.

The effect of dexamethasone on adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) phosphodiesterase activity in cultured HTC hepatoma cells was investigated. Homogenates of these cells contain phosphodiesterase activity with two apparent Michaelis constants for cAMP (2-5 mum and 50 mum). At all substrate concentrations tested, phosphodiesterase activity was decreased 25-40% in cells incubated for 36 hr or more with 1 mum dexamethasone. Acid phosphatase activity in the same cells was not decreased. alpha-Methyl testosterone, 1 mum, was without effect on phosphodiesterase activity. Incubation for 10 min with epinephrine plus theophylline increased the cAMP content of the HTC cells 3- to 6-fold. In cells incubated for 72 hr with dexamethasone, the basal concentration of cAMP was slightly increased and the increment produced by epinephrine plus theophylline was markedly increased. We believe that in many cells the so-called permissive effects of steroid hormones on cAMP mediated processes may be due to an effect of these hormones on cAMP phosphodiesterase activity similar to that observed in HTC cells incubated with dexamethasone.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1972

Selective loss of adipose cell responsiveness to glucagon with growth in the rat.

In isolated fat cells, the same maximal rate of glycerol production can be induced by epinephrine or ACTH, alone or in combination with each other or with glucagon. With fat cells from rats weighing 150-175 g, the maximal rate of lipolysis attained with glucagon was 75-80% of that produced by epinephrine or ACTH, and with increasing size of the donor rat, the magnitude of the effect of glucagon relative to that of the other hormones declined markedly. In particulate preparations from fat cells of rats weighing 100-125 g, the maximal effect of glucagon on adenyl cyclase activity was about 60% of that of epinephrine, and was significantly less (30%) in preparations from 350-400 g rats. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that with growth of the rat there is a selective decline in the number of glucagon receptors relative to those for epinephrine or ACTH in the fat cell membrane.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1971

Hemoglobin levels and iron intakes of infants attending selected child health centres in the city of Toronto.

An investigation of the hemoglobin levels of infants in potentially high-risk categories demonstrated the possibilities of a public health program of screening and referral for anemia. Blood samples for hemoglobin determinations and particulars of 24-hour dietary intakes were obtained for 252 infants between the ages of 6 and 18 months at seven child health centres in the City of Toronto. Twenty-nine percent of the infants had hemoglobin levels below 10 g./100 ml. of blood. Problems in the collection and analysis of dietary data limited the interpretation of iron intakes.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1971

A simple, sensitive protein-binding assay for guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate.

A protein-binding assay for guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate, which employs an enzyme preparation from lobster tail muscle, is described. The binding constant for cyclic GMP was 2-10 nM for four different enzyme preparations. The method can be set up in several days and permits the detection of as little as 0.5-1 pmol of cyclic GMP. In some instances, it is possible to assay the nucleotide in urine or deproteinized extracts of tissue without purification. For other samples, a simple method for separating and purifying cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP is described.

Animals↗
PubMed1971

Isolation and properties of phagocytic vesicles from polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

A method for the isolation of intact phagocytic vesicles from guinea pig peritoneal-exudate granulocytes and human peripheral-blood leukocytes is presented. After leukocytes ingested the particles of a stable emulsion of paraffin oil, the uningested emulsion was washed away and the cells were homogenized. The homogenate was placed in the middle of a three-step discontinuous sucrose gradient and centrifuged for 1 hr at 100,000 g. The phagocytic vesicles, containing the low density paraffin-oil particles, were simultaneously washed and collected by floatation, while the other organelles, chiefly granules, sedimented through the lower wash layer, and the particle-free supernatant remained in the middle of the gradient. Emulsion particles stained with Oil Red O were employed to assay the rate of phagocytosis and to mark the location of the particles in subcellular fractions. The dye was extracted from washed cells or cell fractions with dioxane and colorimetrically quantified. The purity of phagocytic vesicles obtained by this method was assessed by electron microscopy, chemical analysis, and assay of enzyme composition. Granule-associated enzymes, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, beta-glucuronidase, and peroxidase were present in the phagocytic vesicles and originated from the granules. Cyanide-resistant NADH (reduced form of diphosphopyridine nucleotide) oxidase was also found. Enzymes associated with the vesicles exhibited latency to Triton X-100. Uptake of particles and the transfer of total protein and phospholipid into phagocytic vesicles occurred simultaneously Accumulation of acid and alkaline phosphatase in the vesicles continued until phagocytosis ceased. Peroxidase, NADH oxidase, and beta-glucuronidase activities in the phagocytic vesicles, on the other hand, were maximal by 30 min and increased little thereafter even when phagocytosis was still going on.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1971

The effect of polystyrene beads on cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate concentration in leukocytes.

After incubation with polystyrene latex beads for 5 min. the cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP) content of human peripheral blood leukocyte suspensions was increased severalfold. Preparations enriched in mononuclear cells and containing only 0-20% polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and no visible platelets exhibited a quantitatively similar response. Purified fractions of cells containing 85-90% PMN responded to polystyrene beads with a much smaller increase in cyclic AMP content. Phagocytosis of paraffin oil emulsion in the unfractionated mixed human leukocyte preparation was associated with little or no change in cyclic AMP levels. There was no change in cyclic AMP content of rabbit alveolar macrophages or guinea pig PMN during phagocytosis of polystyrene beads. All of these observations are consistent with the view that particle uptake per se does not increase cyclic AMP levels in phagocytic cells. It seems probable that the increase in cyclic AMP concentration that results when unfractionated human blood leukocytes are incubated with polystyrene beads occurs in cells other than PMN.

Animals↗
PubMed1970

Effect of thyrocalcitonin on adenosine 3':5'-cyclic phosphate formation by rat kidney and bone.

Thyrocalcitonin (TCT) increased the rate of accumulation of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic phosphate (cyclic AMP) when added to incubations containing washed particles from whole rat kidney, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), MgSO(4), and caffeine. The maximum stimulatory effect of TCT, 44 +/- 6.7 per cent, was always less than the 150 to 250 per cent increase produced by parathyroid hormone (PTH). The effect of both hormones together was no greater than that of PTH alone when each was present at a maximally effective concentration. Since neither TCT nor PTH altered the rate of degradation of cyclic AMP by the kidney preparation, it may be inferred that their effects on cyclic AMP accumulation are the result of increased formation of cyclic AMP. Adenyl cyclase activity in homogenates of renal cortex was stimulated to a greater extent by TCT and PTH than was that of medulla, whereas, as reported earlier, the effect of vasopressin was much larger with homogenates of medulla. The accumulation of cyclic AMP in incubations of rat kidney cortex slices was increased 20 to 60 per cent by TCT and 50 to 140 per cent by PTH. The accumulation of cyclic AMP in incubations of rat calvaria was increased about threefold with TCT and nine to tenfold with PTH, while reduced and alkylated TCT had less than 10 per cent of the activity of TCT. These observations are consistent with the view that the physiological effects of TCT and PTH in kidney and bone are secondary to the enhanced formation of cyclic AMP.

Adenine Nucleotides↗