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Biomedical subjects

S F Hill

Publications and source records attributed to S F Hill.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

The presence, characterisation and synthesis of neuromedin B in the human pituitary gland.

Neuromedin B is a 10-amino-acid mammalian peptide of the bombesin family. We have used a specific radioimmunoassay and Northern blot hybridisation to investigate the possible synthesis of neuromedin-B-like immunoreactivity in the human pituitary gland. The concentration of immunoreactive neuromedin B in whole human pituitary was 15.2 +/- 4.2 pmol/g wet weight in males and 12.8 +/- 2.7 pmol/g wet weight in females (mean +/- SEM, n = 10). In pituitary tumour extracts, neuromedin B immunoreactivity was 9.1 +/- 1.7 pmol/g wet weight (mean +/- SEM, n = 14) in inactive tumours, 18.4 +/- 6.9 pmol/g wet weight (mean +/- SEM, n = 4) in somatotrophs and 10.4 +/- 2.7 pmol/g wet weight (mean +/- SEM, n = 2) in prolactinomas, with no apparent significant difference between the groups. Gel permeation chromatography of pituitary extracts revealed two immunoreactive peaks, the major one of which corresponded in position to that of neuromedin B-32 and a later minor peak to the position of the neuromedin B-10 standard. On fast protein liquid chromatography, neuromedin-B-like immunoreactivity again eluted in two peaks, a minor peak corresponding to the synthetic neuromedin B standard, and a major more hydrophobic peak which was the big neuromedin B form. Northern blot analysis of poly(A)+RNA from human pituitaries revealed the presence of a hybridising band of between 750 and 850 base pairs. These results suggest that neuromedin B is synthesised in the human pituitary gland where it may be of importance in the regulation of pituitary function. Furthermore, the adenomatous condition is not associated with abnormal levels of this peptide.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Expression of messenger ribonucleic acids encoding neuropeptide-Y, substance-P, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in human pituitary.

The local production of autocrine or paracrine agents in endocrine tissues represents an important level of hormonal regulation. The synthesis of neuropeptide-Y (NPY), substance-P (SP), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the rat anterior pituitary gland has been well demonstrated. We have now studied their expression in human postmortem pituitary tissue. Northern blot analysis of poly(A)+ RNA from whole human pituitaries revealed mRNA encoding the precursors for NPY, SP, and VIP whose hybridization characteristics were indistinguishable from those of the same mRNAs described in previously characterized human tissues. VIP mRNA was detectable in all samples tested, with NPY and preprotachykinin-A mRNA (which encodes SP) detectable in a subset of the pituitaries. The concentration of immunoreactive NPY in whole human pituitary was 3.8 +/- 1.1 pmol/g wet wt in males and 2.9 +/- 0.5 pmol/g wet wt in females (mean +/- SEM; n = 10), that of SP was 3.1 +/- 0.4 pmol/g wet wt in males and 5.2 +/- 1.3 pmol/g wet wt in females (n = 10), and that of VIP was 8.1 +/- 2.9 pmol/g wet wt in males and 5.3 +/- 1.6 pmol/g wet wt in females (n = 10). Size-fractionation of pituitary extracts by gel permeation chromatography revealed single peaks of NPY and VIP-like immunoreactivity in the positions of the standards, while SP-like immunoreactivity mostly eluted in the position of synthetic SP, with two minor immunoreactive peaks eluting earlier. The low levels of NPY, SP, and VIP and their mRNAs in the human pituitary are consistent with peptides having an autocrine/paracrine, rather than endocrine, mode of action.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Galanin in the normal human pituitary and brain and in pituitary adenomas.

Galanin-like immunoreactivity (IR) was measured by radioimmunoassay in extracts of non-tumorous and tumorous human pituitaries and in multiple sites in the human brain. Galanin-IR was present in considerable quantities in the non-tumorous pituitaries (21.4 +/- 1.2 pmol/g wet weight; mean +/- S.E.M., n = 30). In 25 pituitary tumours, galanin-IR was detectable in extracts of only nine, with a mean concentration of 11.5 +/- 4.4 pmol/g. Galanin-IR was undetectable in the remaining 16. Of ten brain sites, galanin-IR was detected only in the hypothalamus, where the concentration was 9.1 +/- 1.8 pmol/g (n = 5). On fast protein liquid chromatography of the non-tumorous pituitary extracts, galanin-IR mostly eluted in a peak with a retention time similar to that of synthetic porcine galanin. On gel permeation chromatography, galanin-IR eluted as a peak with an elution coefficient (Kav) of 0.72, also similar to that of porcine galanin, with additional preceding (Kav 0.62) and following (Kav 0.77) peaks of galanin-IR. These results show that healthy human pituitary and hypothalamus contain substantial amounts of galanin, whereas it is present in variable amounts or not at all in pituitary tumours. Chromatographic analysis suggests that pituitary galanin is present in three molecular forms, with the majority corresponding to synthetic porcine galanin.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1989

Fat energy use and plasma lipid changes associated with exercise intensity and temperature.

The effect of 60 min of exercise at two intensities (50 and 60% VO2max) and temperatures (0 and 22 degrees C) on changes (delta) in plasma lipids [triglycerides (TG), glycerol (GLY), total cholesterol (TC), and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C)] was examined. Subjects were 10 men aged 27 +/- 7 years (VO2max = 3.81 +/- 0.45 1 min, % fat = 12.2% +/- 7.1%). VO2 and respiratory exchange ratio results indicated that total energy and fat energy use were similar at the two temperatures. Changes in plasma volume (%delta PV) were different (P less than 0.05) at the two temperatures (22 degrees C: -2.3% vs 0 degrees C: 1.1%). Combining the data at each temperature revealed that the increases in concentrations were greater (P less than 0.05) at 22 degrees C (delta TG = 0.22, delta GLY = 0.20, delta TC = 0.14, delta HDL-C = 0.05 mmol l-1) vs 0 degrees C (delta TG = 0.10, delta GLY = 0.12, delta TC = 0.05, delta HDL-C = 0.02 mmol l-1). Combining the data for each intensity revealed that the increases in concentration were greater (P less than 0.05) at 60% VO2max for delta TG and delta HDL-C. The 60% VO2max/22 degrees C bout produced greater changes (P less than 0.05) than all other bouts for delta TC and delta HDL-C (0.21 and 0.08 mmol l-1, respectively). Only delta TG and delta GLY were greater at 22 degrees C when adjusted for %delta PV. These metabolic and plasma lipid results indicate that cold exposure does not act synergistically with exercise to further stimulate fat metabolism.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Lessons from Stafford.

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Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed1985

In vitro susceptibility of Pseudomonas species to carbenicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

We compared susceptibility tests of 47 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates and 40 Pseudomonas species to carbenicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole by the MS-2 and Sceptor systems and agar dilution. The major and very major errors encountered in these tests in the MS-2 and Sceptor systems raise doubts about the accuracy of these methods for testing P. aeruginosa and confirm that they should not be used for testing the susceptibility of Pseudomonas species to the two drugs tested.

Carbenicillin↗