Expression of the genes of interferons and other cytokines in normal and diseased tissues of man

Summary Specific interferon genes are transcribed at low levels in the spleen, liver, and peripheral blood leukocytes of normal individuals in the apparent absence of virus infection while other interferon genes remain unexpressed in the same tissues. In contrast, the genes of cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6 and TNF are expressed at relatively high levels in the organs of normal individuals. The level of expression of the IL-1, IL-6 and TNF genes is markedly reduced in the livers of patients with autoimmune liver disease compared to the level of expression in the liver of normal individuals, whereas the expression of interferon genes is similar in both normal and diseased liver, suggesting that a defect in the expression of specific cytokines is associated with severe liver disease.     

Aneuploidy in the normal and diseased brain

The brain is remarkable for its complex organization and functions, which have been historically assumed to arise from cells with identical genomes. However, recent studies have shown that the brain is in fact a complex genetic mosaic of aneuploid and euploid cells. The precise function of neural aneuploidy and mosaicism are currently being examined on multiple fronts that include contributions to cellular diversity, cellular signaling and diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Constitutive aneuploidy in genetic diseases has proven roles in brain dysfunction, as observed in Down syndrome (trisomy 21) and mosaic variegated aneuploidy. The existence of aneuploid cells within normal individuals raises the possibility that these cells might have distinct functions in the normal and diseased brain, the latter contributing to sporadic CNS disorders including cancer. Here we review what is known about neural aneuploidy, and offer speculations on its role in diseases of the brain. Received 13 April 2006; received after revision 2 June 2006; accepted 13 July 2006     

Lysosomal acid hydrolases of normal adipose tissues of man,monkey and rat

Summary The activities of 3 lysosomal acid hydrolases were examined in the normal adipose tissues of 3 species, man, monkey and rat and very low levels of these hydrolases were found.Acknowledgments. I thank Dr Charles L. Hamilton for supplying the adipose tissues from the monkeys, the surgeons and operating room nurses at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for supplying the adipose tissues from the children, and Miss Mangit Kaur and Mrs Mattie Hardy for technical assistance.     

Bombesin-like immunoreactivity in the pancreas of man and other mammalian species

Summary Bombesin-like immunoreactivity has been measured in pancreatic tissues of man (12.4±1.2 pmol/g), pig (15.8±3.2), calf (4.3±0.9), rat (8.5±1.2) and guinea-pig (2.8±0.6) by a specific radioimmunoassay. Gel filtration of the pancreatic extracts revealed 2 major immunoreactive peaks: the earlier peak was eluted in the position of porcine gastrin-releasing peptide, and the later peak was eluted just after the amphibian bombesin standard. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated the presence of bombesin-like immunoreactivity in nerves in the rat pancreas, particularly in the exocrine pancreas, and occasionally in the peri-insular spaces. Isolated rat pancreatic islets were found to contain small quantities of bombesin-like immunoreactivity (0.037±0.003 fmol/islet) suggesting that mammalian bombesin-like peptides may be invovled in the regulation of endocrine as well as exocrine pancreatic secretion.Acknowledgments. We are grateful to Dr. A. V. Edwards, Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge, U. K. for providing the calf tissues, and the British Diabetic Association, U. K. for support.To whom reprint requests should be addressed.     

Distribution of carbon after intravenous injection in the normal rabbit. leakage into the synovium but not other non-reticuloendothelial tissues

Résumé Le charbon noir, administré par injection intraveineuse, s'échappe des vénules synoviales normales, mais pas des vénules de tissus non-réticuloendothéliaux. Cette conclusion vient à l'appui d'autres études qui révélèrent un plus haut degré de perméabilité des vaisseaux synoviaux, qualité peut-être importante pour la localisation, dans l'articulation, de l'agent (ou des agents) qui causent l'arthrite rhumatoïde ou d'autres arthrites inflammatoires.     

Occurrence and distribution of dopamine in brain and other tissues

Zusammenfassung Dopamin kommt im Gehirn aller untersuchten Säugetiere ausschliesslich im Corpus striatum vor. In andern Organen der untersuchten Tierarten ist der Dopamingehalt sehr gering, mit Ausnahme einzelner Organe bei Schafen und Kühen. Die Veränderung der Motorik von Versuchstieren durch Arzneimittel, welche den Dopamingehalt der Basalganglien beeinflussen, und die Lokalisation von Dopamin im Gehirn sprechen dafür, dass Dopamin für die Funktion der Basalganglien von Bedeutung ist.     

Intracellular localization of glutamine-aminohydrolase in normal and malignant tissues

Résumé On a comparé l'activité de la glutamineaminohydrolase dans les fractions de divers tissus cellulaires de souris normales avec celles des tissus à partir de souris ayant des tumeurs. On a constaté cette activité surtout dans la fraction surnageante des tissus de l'hôte, tandis que dans les tissues des animaux normaux elle se manifeste en majeure partie dans la mitochondrie. Dans les tissus même de la tumeur, toute l'activité est limitée à la fraction surnageante.

---

---

Acknowledgment. The authors are thankful to Dr.A. G. Dutta for his valuable suggestions and discussions.     

Isozymes of amine oxidase in human plasma and other tissues

Zusammenfassung Menschliche Plasmaaminooxydase, bestehend aus verschiedenen Isoenzymen, deren Hauptfraktion in zahl reichen untersuchten parenchymatösen Organen vorhanden ist, wurde mit der Stärkegelektrophorese und Sephadex Säulenchromatographie untersucht. Isoenzyme aus Gewebehomogenaten und Plasma unterscheiden sich.     

Electrophoretic patterns of ribonucleases in normal and habituated plant tissues

Riassunto É stata fatta un'indagine elettroforetica delle RNasi di tessuti vegetali normali ed abituati diHaplopappus gracilis, diNicotiana glauca e diNicotiana bigelovii, coltivati in vitro. Sono state notate delle differenze nei complementi RNasici dei tessuti abituati rispetto a quelli dei tessuti normali. I risultati sono discussi brevemente in relazione alle loro implicazioni col problema dei tumori nelle piante.

---

---

Part of this study was supported by the Contract No. SC/001-096-1 BIAN between the European Atomic Energy Community and the University of Pisa, Institute of Genetics.

---

Publication No. 26 from Laboratorio di Mutagenesi e Differenziamento del C.N.R., Pisa, Italy.     

Activity of cytidine triphosphate synthetase in normal and neoplastic tissues

Résumé L'activité de la synthétase CTP dans différents tissus normaux et cancéreux a été étudiée. Les résultats indiquent qu'elle est élevée dans les tissus en prolifération.