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Maturation of B lymphocytes. II. Sequential appearance of increasing IgM and IgD in the adult bone marrow.

The relationship between surface IgM (sIgM) and surface IgD (sIgD) was examined on small lymphocytes in the adult murine bone marrow or prepubertal spleen. Cells were sorted on the basis of different sIgM levels by a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) and relabeled for sIgD or total sIg by a sandwich technique using 125I-labeled protein A and radioautography. For detecting sIgD, an anti-delta allotype reagent was used in congenic mice. Cells lacking sIgM in the bone marrow or spleen were also found to be sIgD-; thus, sIgD appeared only in the presence of sIgM. Weak sIgM-bearing cells in the bone marrow also had no sIgD indicating that sIgD appeared only after the acquisition of a significant level of sIgM. Subsequently, the incidence of sIgD+ cells increased in fractions showing increasing sIgM levels indicating the acquisition of new sIgD by "sIgM only" cells with increasing maturation levels in the bone marrow. In marrow lymphoid cells expressing both Ig isotypes, sIgM and sIgD levels increased in parallel, possibly with increasing maturation level. In the spleen, the incidence of sIgD+ cells among various cell fractions showing different sIgM levels was found constant. However, spleen cells bearing both receptors, showed a small increase in the sIgD level with increasing sIgM level.

Aging↗

Subpopulations of CD4- CD8- murine thymocytes: differences in proliferation rate in vivo and proliferative responses in vitro.

Cell sorting and cytotoxic depletion procedures were used to subdivide the population of CD4- CD8- ("double-negative") thymocytes from adult CBA mice on the basis of expression of Ly-1, HSA (the "heat-stable antigen" M1/69 or B2A2), Pgp-1 glycoprotein, Thy-1, MEL-14 and the PC61 antigenic determinant on the IL2 receptor (IL2R). The level of dividing cells within these subsets was assessed by brief in vivo administration of [3H]-thymidine, followed by radioautography, or by flow cytometric cell cycle analysis after DNA staining. The capacity of the subsets to proliferate in culture, in response to stimulation with concanavalin A (Con A), or with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and the calcium ionophore ionomycin, was assessed in high cloning efficiency single-cell culture systems. In general, the proliferative response in culture was inversely related to the rate of cell division in vivo. Response of the double-negative subsets to Con A correlated with expression of the T cell antigen receptor complex; although a high cloning efficiency was obtained from the receptor-positive fractions, very few of the clones were cytotoxic. In particular, a major Ly-1+ HSA- Pgp-1+ double-negative subset, as well as minor Ly-1- HSA- Pgp-1+ subsets, contained very few cells in cycle in vivo, but showed a high cloning efficiency in both culture systems. Conversely, the other major double-negative subset, Ly-1- HSA+ Pgp-1-, included most of the cells in cycle, but showed a reduced cloning efficiency in response to PMA and ionomycin and failed to respond to Con A. The dividing cells within the Ly-1- HSA+ Pgp-1- group were strongly enriched in the IL2R- rather than in the IL2R+ subset, suggesting IL2 was not the growth factor maintaining their proliferation in vivo.

Animals↗

The use of radioactive bacteriophage proteins as X-Y markers for silver stained two-dimensional electrophoresis gels and quantification of the patterns.

We have demonstrated the feasibility of using bacteriophage ghost proteins, tritiated by metabolic labeling, as a set of standard markers for two-dimensional gels in which the proteins are to be detected by silver staining. The results indicate that a 2.5 microgram load of phage proteins yields a reproducible silver pattern of 48 spots. The spots can also be readily identified by radioautography and radiofluorography, establishing their value as a standard constellation of markers. Quantification of these patterns by computerized densitometry indicates a general agreement between detection by silver staining and detection by radiofluorography.

Biomarkers↗

Effect of localization of L-asparaginase as the concanavalin A conjugate on anti-tumor activity.

A method potentially capable of enhancing the effectiveness of therapeutic enzymes such as L-asparaginase was investigated. The method was suggested by the following properties that have been observed for lectins injected into tissues: (1) six lectins with differing specificities were retained near the site of injection in the feet of mice 10 to 100 times longer than several non-lectin proteins. Prolonged retention of 125I-labelled concanavalin A was also observed in other normal and malignant mouse tissues. (2) The retention of 125I-labelled concanavalin A was not affected by prior immunization against concanavalin A. (3) Electrophoresis of tissue extracts on sodium dodecyl sulfate-poly-acrylamide gels followed by radioautography indicated that the 125I-labelled concanavalin A retained in the tissue remained as intact in form as prior to injection. Since the therapeutic efficacy of many enzymes may be enhanced by localization at the intended site of action, in principle it should be possible to enhance the effectiveness of therapeutic enzymes by combining the tissue-localizing properties of a lectin with therapeutic effectiveness of the enzyme. A conjugate of E. coli L-asparaginase and concanavalin A has been prepared by covalent cross-linking with glutaraldehyde and has been shown to be retained in mouse tissue 90 times longer than the free enzyme. However, it is completely ineffective in the treatment of the L-asparaginase-sensitive lymphosarcoma 6C3HED in C3H/HeJ mice. The ineffectiveness of the conjugated enzyme may be associated with the interiorization of the conjugate by the cells of the tumor.

Animals↗

Synthesis and secretion of glycoprotein by the epididymal epithelium.

The secretory activity of the middle segment of the mouse caput epididymidis was studied using 3H-fucose as a precursor to glycoprotein. Young adult male mice were injected with a concentrated solution of 3H-fucose interstitially, ie beneath the connective tissue capsule of the epididymis. Two animals were killed and prepared for light microscopic radioautography at each of six intervals between 10 minutes and 24 hours after injection. Silver grains were concentrated over the supranuclear Golgi region at 10 minutes and over the apical ends of the cells 30 minutes and 1 hour after injection. Quantitative analysis showed that luminal radioactivity increased greatly beginning with the 2-hour samples. The results indicate that the epididymal epithelium synthesizes and secretes glycoproteins, and that 1 to 2 hours are required for terminal glycosylation, intracellular transport, and release of the secretory product.

Animals↗

Radioautographic localization of beta-adrenergic receptors in the rat ventral prostate.

Previous studies performed with crude homogenates have demonstrated the presence of beta-adrenergic receptors in the rat ventral prostate. The precise localization of these receptors in prostatic tissue, however, has not been determined. The present study describes the localization of beta-adrenergic receptors using in vitro radioautography. beta-adrenergic receptors are present exclusively in the epithelial cells, while no receptors could be detected in the stromal cells. The silver grains mostly are associated with the apical pole of the glandular cells and are much less concentrated in the basal nuclear region of the epithelium. Very low concentrations of grains are found in the lumen of the acini. Castration caused a dramatic fall in the receptor concentration, while treatment with dihydrotestosterone reversed these effects. The specific presence of beta-adrenergic receptors in prostatic epithelial cells and their control by androgens suggest that they could play a physiologic role in androgen action in prostatic tissue. Moreover, the level and activity of beta-adrenergic receptors could be used as parameters of prostatic activity.

Animals↗

Binding and internalization in vivo of [125I]hCG in Leydig cells of the rat.

The present study was performed to demonstrate the binding, mode of uptake, pathway and fate of iodinated human chorionic gonadotropin ([125I]hCG) by Leydig cells in vivo using electron microscope radioautography. Following a single injection of [125I]hCG into the interstitial space of the testis, the animals were fixed by perfusion with glutaraldehyde at 20 minutes, 1, 3, 6 and 24 hours. The electron microscope radioautographs demonstrated a prominent and qualitatively similar binding of the labeled hCG on the microvillar processes of the Leydig cells at 20 minutes, 1, 3, and 6 hours. The specificity of the [125I]hCG binding was determined by injecting a 100-fold excess of unlabeled hormone concurrently with the labeled hormone. Under these conditions, the surface, including the microvillar processes of Leydig cells, was virtually unlabeled, indicating that the binding was specific and receptor-mediated. In animals injected with labeled hCG and sacrificed 20 minutes later, silver grains were also seen overlying the limiting membrane of large, uncoated surface invaginations and large subsurface vacuoles with an electron-lucent content referred to as endosomes. A radioautographic reaction was also seen within multivesicular bodies with a pale stained matrix. At 1 hour, silver grains appeared over dense multivesicular bodies and occasionally over secondary lysosomes, in addition to the structures mentioned above, while at 3 and 6 hours, an increasing number of secondary lysosomes became labeled. At 24 hours, binding of [125I]hCG to the microvillar processes of Leydig cells persisted but was diminished, although a few endosomes, multivesicular bodies and secondary lysosomes still showed a radioautographic reaction. No membranous tubules that were seen in close proximity to, or in continuity with, endosomes and multivesicular bodies were observed to be labeled at any time interval. Likewise, an attempt to correlate silver grains with small coated or uncoated pits, the stacks of saccules of the Golgi apparatus and other Golgi-related elements including GERL, proved unsuccessful, since these structures were mostly unlabeled. These in vivo experiments thus demonstrate the specific binding of [125I]hCG to the plasma membrane of Leydig cells predominantly on their microvillar processes, and the subsequent internalization of the labeled hCG to secondary lysosomes. In addition, binding and internalization of hCG persisted for long periods of time.

Animals↗

Calcitonin receptor binding as a marker of osteoclast heterogeneity in osteopetrotic rodents.

We have employed a radioautographic technique to examine in vivo receptor binding of calcitonin to osteoclasts in four rodent mutants with osteopetrosis. 125I-Labeled calcitonin was injected intravenously alone or with excess unlabeled calcitonin to osteopetrotic (op/op), osteosclerotic (oc/oc), and microphthalmic (mi/mi) mice and to incisor absent (ia/ia) rats. Similar experiments were performed simultaneously in phenotypically normal littermates. Specific binding of calcitonin to receptors on osteoclasts and osteoclast morphology were then examined by light and electron microscope radioautography. Calcitonin binding was increased in mi/mi mice, where osteoclasts were abundant but reduced in size, and was also increased in op/op mice in association with an undulated and redundant osteoclast cell membrane. Binding of the hormone was markedly diminished on osteoclasts of oc/oc mice and ia/ia rats. Thus, in these rodent models of osteopetrosis all of which manifest reduced skeletal remodeling and share a recessive pattern of inheritance, considerable heterogeneity of osteoclast characteristics was demonstrable. Although calcitonin may play no primary pathogenetic role in most forms of this disease, calcitonin receptor binding is a morphological and functional marker of osteoclasts that can be used in assessing the pathophysiology of disorders of bone remodeling.

Animals↗

Characterization of the major parathyroid hormone target cell in the endosteal metaphysis of rat long bones.

The majority of in vivo competitive binding of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the endosteal metaphysis of rat long bones was recently shown to be localized in the intertrabecular tissue to a cell that is distinct from a differentiated osteoblast. In the present report we have further characterized this cell, termed a parathyroid hormone target (PT) cell, by light and electron microscopy using radioautography and histochemical techniques. These studies demonstrate that the PT cell is a mononuclear cell with a large cell body located at times between clusters of differentiated osteoblasts, as well as in other regions of the intertrabecular tissue. Its long cytoplasmic processes extend from the bone matrix through the intertrabecular region toward vascular structures, interdigitating with various cells of the endosteum. A distinctive tubular structure originating in the Golgi system and often associated with long mitochondria and glycogen particles extends throughout the cytoplasmic processes of the PT cell. Based on its capacity to incorporate [3H]thymidine, the PT cell appears to divide rather slowly. The identification of occasional hybrid cells with ultrastructural features of both the PT cell and the differentiated osteoblast and the presence of histochemical evidence for alkaline phosphatase activity suggest that the PT cell is of the osteoblast lineage. These studies therefore morphologically define a major osseous target cell for PTH that, although of the osteoblast lineage, is not a differentiated osteoblast and provide in vivo evidence that characteristics of the "osteoblast phenotype" are not restricted to a sole osseous cell type.

Animals↗

Stimulation by N6,O2'-dibutyrul andenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate of RNA and DNA synthesis and of cell proliferation of rat hepatocytes in primary tissue culture.

The effects of DBcAMP in doses from 1.5 x 10(-8) to 1.5 x 10(-3) M on the compartmental apparent surface area (ASA) and (5(-3H)uridine radioactivity concentration (URC), (methyl-3H)thymidine labelling index per 1 hour ([Me-3H]Tdr LI/h) and per cent mitotic index (MI%) and colchicine metaphase index (CMI%) of young rat differentiated hepatocytes in primary tissue culture were investigated by morphometric and radioautographie methods. In these cells DBcAMP was found to elicit: (1) progressive increments in the ASA of nucleoli, karyoplasm and cytoplasm; (2) peak increases in nucleolar URC at 1.5 x 10(-8) and 10(-5) M, but a slight decrease at 1.5 x 10(-3) M; (3) singificant increments in karyoplasmic and total nuclear URC at all doses, except at 1.5 x 10(-6) and 10(-4) M, when such parameters remained at control levels; (4) steady and progressive increases in cytoplasmic and total cell URC values; (5) marked increments in (Me-3H)Tdr LI/h, MI% and CMI% up to the dose of 1.5 x 10(-4) M, but at 1.5 x 10(-3) M these parameters were found to be either much less enhanced or to approach closely to control values. cAMP in doses from 1.5 x 10(-8) to 10(-4) M also markedly incremented the in vitro hepatocyte CMI%, while having a lesser stimulatory effect at 1.5 x 10(-3)M. Finally of the various possible metabolites of DBcAMP administered at 1.5 x 10(-8) M to liver cultures, N6- and O2'-MBcAMP and, again, cAMP significantly increased the CMI%, of cultured hepatocytes, whereas 5'-AMP, adenosine and allantoin had no significant effect and Na-butyrate slightly decreased it. The present observations strengthen the hypothesis that cAMP and its butyrated derivatives, by possibly amplifying the template activity of the liver chromatin, accelerate the flow of differentiated primary young rat hepatocytes into the various stages of the mitotic cell cycle.

Bucladesine↗

Cytotoxic effects of dexamethasone restricted to noncycling, early G1-phase cells of L1210 leukemia.

The cytostatic and cytolytic effects of dexamethasone were studied as functions of cell cycle position in mouse L1210 leukemia cells. To this end, the cells were separated according to size by sedimentation at unit gravity in a specially designed sedimentation chamber. The fractions were analyzed by radioautography and flow cytophotometry. The size-distributions obtained by 1g sedimentation coincided with cell-cycle age distribution. With increasing fraction number, samples highly enriched in G1, S, and G2/M cells, respectively were obtained: the smallest cells being in early G1 and the largest in mitosis. In the presence of dexamethasone (10(-6)-10(-5) M), growth slowed down after a few cell cycles and the cells accumulated in early G1 phase. Lytic cell kill by continued exposure to the drug was confined to the fractions containing the small, early G1-phase cells. These fractions were also enriched in noncycling cells that were not labeled by prolonged exposure to 3H-thymidine. After removal of dexamethasone, the cells in S and G2/M phase completed cell cycle traverse but were retarded again in the G1 and early S phase of the next division cycle. The data suggest a memory effect for previous drug exposure. It is concluded that the cytostatic and cytolytic effects of dexamethasone are separate, though not unrelated events. Cytolysis is confined to the noncycling cells that in untreated populations can exit from the dividing compartment during a transitional phase of about 60 minutes subsequent to mitotic division. The cytostatic effects potentiate cytolysis by accumulating the cells in the early G1 phase and thus increasing the probability of their transit to the G0 compartment, sensitive for drug-mediated cytolysis.

Animals↗

Renewal of the intestinal epithelium: new aspects as indicated by recent ultrastructural observations.

This article is a summary of our work of several years on the renewal of the intestinal epithelium. A combination of ultrastructural, radioautographic, and light microscopic analyses was carried out using normal tissue and tissue affected by inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis. Measuring protein synthesis by 3H-leucine radioautography showed that the life span of the columnar (absorptive) cells in the rat small intestine was divisible into two main phases: differentiation (from stem to functional cell) and maturation (from functional to extruding cell), each phase and its subdivisions being well defined morphologically. Differentiation involved a linear rise in the rate of protein synthesis per cell and showed at the same time heterochromatinization and silencing of RNA transcription. Data from various experiments indicated that the cells functioned from stored information (RNA), part of which came from the nucleolus, which underwent marked and characteristic ultrastructural changes. Although transcription from rDNA ceased, the nucleolus released its ribosomal material, which added to the existing protein synthesis, presumably by recruiting excess stored mRNAs. Maturation involved a nearly linear decrease of the rate of protein synthesis per cell to a characteristic low value at which extrusion took place. A gradual exhaustion of the stored RNA was indicated to be the key factor in this decrease. Ultrastructurally, maturation was associated with a gradually increasing vesiculation of rER and Golgi. The results thus imply a regulatory role of cellular protein synthesis level in renewal. This would be an epigenetic response after the genes are silenced. The nucleolus seems to play a central role in this process, and this in turn is reflected in its characteristic ultrastructural changes. The work also included new observations on the epithelium of the rat ascending colon describing a hitherto unrecognized deep crypt mucus-secretory ("DCS") cell which is a nongoblet mature cell type apparently arising from midcrypt mitoses. In between the DCS cells, occasional slender columnar cells were seen which displayed the ultrastructural features of stem cells. These were probably reserve stem cells. We also observed nongoblet deep crypt mucous cells in the human right colon although fewer in number than in the rat. Nucleolar regulation and the presence of reserve stem cells represent new dimensions in our understanding of renewal. Electron microscopy is an essential tool in this investigation.

Animals↗

Electron microscopic radioautographic study of RNA synthesis in hepatocyte mitochondria of aging mouse.

In order to study the aging changes of intramitochondrial RNA synthesis in mouse hepatocytes, 10 groups of aging mice, each consisting of three individuals (total 30) from fetal day 19 to postnatal month 24 were injected with 3H-uridine, an RNA precursor, sacrificed 1 hour later, and the liver tissues processed for electron microscopic radioautography. On EM radioautograms obtained from each animal the number of mitochondria, the number of labeled mitochondria, and the mitochondrial labeling index labeled with 3H-uridine showing RNA synthesis in each hepatocytes, both mononucleate and binucleate cells, were counted and the averages in respective aging groups were compared. From the results it was demonstrated that the numbers of mitochondria, the numbers of labeled mitochondria, and the labeling indices of intramitochondrial RNA syntheses in both mononucleate and binucleate hepatocytes of mice at various ages increased and decreased according to the age of the animals.

Aging↗

Hepatic catabolism of intravenously administered pro-macrophage-stimulating protein in mice.

We injected 125I-pro-macrophage-stimulating protein (pro-MSP) intravenously into normal mice to determine its clearance from the circulation and to test for conversion of pro-MSP to the biologically active heterodimer in the absence of inflammation or tissue injury. Pro-MSP was cleared from the circulation with a half-life of approximately 100 min. This rapid clearance was not peculiar to 125I-pro-MSP, since clearance rates of unlabeled pro-MSP and of 125I-bovine serum albumin were comparable. The liver was the major locus of radioactivity 10-20 min after the intravenous injection of 125I-pro-MSP. By 90 min, over 60% of total recovered radioactivity was in the small intestine. Reflecting gastrointestinal transit, counts decreased in the small intestine and appeared in the colon by 180 min. Essentially all counts in urine and feces obtained at later times were soluble in trichloracetic acid. These findings reflected rapid hepatic proteolysis of pro-MSP to fragments undetectable by antibody to pro-MSP; within 20 min after intravenous administration, immunoprecipitable counts were only 22% of the total liver extract radioactivity. Comparison of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and radioautography data for immunoprecipitated plasma and liver extract revealed no evidence for hepatic conversion of pro-MSP to MSP. Thus, the hepatic catabolic pathway of pro-MSP is degradative and does not yield mature MSP. The results support our view that MSP is not released into the circulation but is generated at specific extravascular loci by pro-MSP convertases.

Animals↗

Ubiquitin-protein conjugates in different structures of the central nervous system of the rat.

The capacity to form ubiquitin (Ub)-protein conjugates was investigated in the cytosol of different structures of the rat central nervous system (CNS) in order to confirm the presence of this extralysosomal, adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent, protein degradation system as well as its structural localization. Using 125I-Ub, we found that in the presence of ATP, the cytosol obtained from whole brains was able to form high molecular weight Ub-protein conjugates. These conjugates could be detected after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and radioautography. The formation of these conjugates was much higher in the cerebral cortex than in the brain stem, which is mainly constituted by white matter, being intermediate in the cytosol isolated from whole brain total homogenates. These results suggested to us that under normal conditions the capacity to form Ub-protein conjugates was mainly located in structures containing neuronal cell bodies. Strong support for this contention was obtained when the cytosol isolated from rat optic nerves or from oligodendroglial cells isolated from whole brain was found to be totally unable to form Ub-protein conjugates. The inability of certain CNS structures to form conjugates with Ub could be attributed, among other reasons, to the lack of enzymes catalyzing the various steps of the Ub degradation system, to the absence of short half-life (target) proteins in those structures, or to the lack of activity of the enzymes catalyzing the reaction due to regulatory control mechanisms operating under normal conditions.

Animals↗

Specific protein phosphorylation during cyclic AMP-mediated morphological reversion of transformed cells.

Treatment of transformed Chinese hamster ovary cells with dibutyryl cAMP or other agents that elevate cAMP results in the acquisition of growth and morphology characteristic of normal fibroblasts. The role of specific protein phosphorylation in this process of morphological reversion has been examine using metabolic labeling of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells with 32P-orthophosphate in the presence or absence of N6O2'-dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphoric acid (Bt2cAMP). Analysis of labelled cultures by SDS gel electrophoresis and radioautography demonstrate dramatic changes in the phosphorylation of only 2 cellular proteins during reverse transformation. A 55,000 dalton protein (pp55) was phosphorylated and a 20,000 dalton protein (pp20) was dephosphorylated. The time course of these events was consistent with the kinetics of morphological reversion. The lower molecular weight species, pp20, was dephosphorylated within 15-30 minutes, prior to all morphological changes except membrane tranquilization. The higher molecular weight protein, pp55, was maximally phosphorylated over 1-2 hours following addition of Bt2cAMP, paralleling early stages in the establishment of fibroblastic form. The phosphorylated forms of pp20 and pp55 were both extracted from cellular cytoskeletons by 0.5% Triton X-100, but analysis of 35S-methionine-labelled cultures suggested that unphosphorylated pp 20 may be bound to the cytoskeleton. Since pp20 was found to comigrate with the 20,000 dalton myosin light chain, it is possible tht dephosphorylation of CHO cell myosin induced by cAMP may alter its interaction with actin microfilaments and modulate the assembly of stress fibers during morphological reversion.

Animals↗

Stimulation of DNA synthesis in rabbit bladder wall after partial outlet obstruction and acute overdistension.

Partial outlet obstruction of the rabbit urethrovesical junction (UVJ) has been used to induce pathology in the urinary bladder characteristic of obstructive damage observed in humans. The purpose of the experiments reported here was to compare the 3H-thymidine (3H-TdR) labelling of DNA in urinary bladders of male New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits subjected to partial outlet obstruction or overdistension. A total of 18 animals was used. Two normal controls, and 12 partially obstructed animals (at 1 day [D], 3D, 5D, 7D, 14D, and 21D) were injected (i.v.) with 3H-TdR at a dose of 0.5 microCi/g body weight. An additional 4 were overdistended to volumes 120% of maximum intravesical pressure, immediately emptied via the catheter, and injected with 3H-TdR 24 hr (1D) later. All animals were sacrificed up to 3.5 hr after injection of the label. DNA-associated radioactivity reached a peak at 3D after obstruction and was reduced substantially by 5D, although the level of incorporation remained well above control levels out to 21D. Levels of 3H-TdR incorporation 1D after overdistension bladders were about half of that found 1D following partial obstruction. The distribution of 3H-TdR labelled DNA in tissues was demonstrated by radioautography of histologic sections. One day following obstruction, 3H-Tdr incorporation was localized in the urothelium. Labelling of urothelium subsequent to 1D was reduced but remained above control levels until 21D. Labelled smooth muscle nuclei were observed only in control and 3D bladders, and they were measured at similar frequencies. Labelling of both intrinsic connective tissue (ICT) (mucosal, submucosal, and mural) and extrinsic connective tissue (ECT) (serosal) peaked at 3D after obstruction and declined thereafter but not to control levels. Labelling of ECT was, of course, limited to those bladders in which ECT was present (i.e., 3-21D). While the distribution of labelled cells in radioautograms was more variable 1D after obstruction than 1D after overdistension, the general cellular and biochemical responses to overdistension, as measured by DNA synthesis, are similar to those observed after partial outlet obstruction. Since the first sequela of obstruction is acute distension, these data support the assertion that the initial overdistension of the bladder initiates the cellular response to obstruction.

Animals↗

Proteolytic fragmentation of rat prolactin by the rat ventral prostate gland.

Homogenates of rat ventral prostate diminished the immunoreactivity of rat prolactin (PRL) in a fashion dependent on time and tissue concentration, suggestive of hormone degradation. Direct evidence of PRL proteolysis was demonstrated by subjecting ventral prostate homogenates and cell fractions that were incubated with 125I-labeled rat PRL to SDS-PAGE and radioautography. Heat-labile PRL proteolysis predominated in the crude homogenate, the 3,300g pellet and the 100,000g (100 K g) supernatant of rat ventral prostate. The degradation of PRL by the 100 K g supernatant led to the formation of two stable peptide fragments weighing approximately 16,000 and 12,000 daltons. PRL proteolysis was negligible in 100 K g supernatants of the liver, salivary gland, testis, epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle, and dorsolateral prostates of male rats. On the other hand, 100 K g supernatants of rat spleen, lung, and kidney did degrade rat PRL, although the patterns of peptide fragment formation differed from that of ventral prostate. Enzyme inhibitor analysis suggested that PRL degradation by the 100 K g supernatants of rat ventral prostate was due to sulfhydryl and serine proteases and not due to metalloenzyme or aspartate proteases. The functional significance of PRL fragmentation by rat ventral prostate cytosol remains to be determined.

Animals↗