Interaction of organic dyes with hepatic microsomal drug-metabolizing monoöxygenases in vitro

Summary Organic dyes such as malachite green, methylene blue, fuchsin, safranine T, neutral red, phenazine methosulphate, riboflavin, dichlorophenolindophenol, phenolphthalein, and fluorescein, inhibit hepatic microsomal mixedfunction oxidases and, partly, enhance, partly, inhibit hepatic microsomal NADPH-dependent cytochrome c and neotetrazolium reductases, in contrast to other inhibitors of drug metabolism which do not affect cytochrome c reductase but only interact with cytochrome P-450.Dedicated to Prof. G. Pfleiderer on the occasion of his 60th birthday.Acknowledgment. The author thanks Mrs Fey, Mrs Meier, and Mr Weinrauch, for their skilful technical assistance; he is grateful to Dr A. Sinharay (Hoechst AG) for providing him with anisic ester and methylayapanine.     

An improved method of transplantation on chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM)

Summary An improved method for grafting on the chicken CAM is described and compared with other CAM grafting methods.The author is very grateful to Prof. L. Vakaet, RUCA Antwerpen, to Dr and Mrs M. Mareel, RUG Gent, for their valuable suggestions and to Mrs S. De Wolf-Van Rompaey for her excellent technical assistance. The author is also indebted to Mr F. De Bruyn for making the drawing.     

Effect of ethanol on levels of isoniazid,sulfanilamide and sulfapyridin in mouse blood

Summary The effect of ethanol on blood levels of free and conjugated sulfonamides (sulfanilamide and sulfapyridin) and isoniazid was investigated in mice. Ethanol (1.5 and 4 mg/g i.v.) enhanced the amount of conjugated isoniazid without affecting the total amount of isoniazid in blood, and tended to raise the total amount of the sulfonamides.Acknowledgment. The author is indebted to Mrs S. Schütze for excellent technical assistance.     

Red cell metabolism in red and grey kangaroos

Summary Glucose utilization, lactate production and glutathione regeneration were measured in the red blood cells of 2 species of Australian Marsupials, Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus gigantus) and red kangaroo (Macropus rufus), and were found to be significantly lower in the red blood cells from grey than that of red kangaroos.The author wishes to thank Mrs T. Stephens, M. A. Gruca and A. Mulley for help in blood collection and laboratory work. This work was supported by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.     

Distribution of steroidal glycoalkaloids in reciprocal grafts ofSolanum tuberosum L. andLycopersion esculentum Mill

Summary TLC analyses of steroidal glycoalkaloids of the scion and stock of reciprocally-grafted potato and tomato plants and tracer studies involving administration of [¹⁴C]-labeled alkaloid precursors to scion and stock suggest that alkaloid transport between root and shoot does not take place in these species.Acknowledgments. The author is indebted to Mrs A. Rijnenberg for technical assistance and to Mr P. Bance who produced the grafts.     

Reappearance of HCG-receptors in immature rat ovary after HCG-treatment is not due to receptor synthesis

Summary In 24-day-old rats the reappearance of ovarian HCG-receptors after the injection of 200 IU HCG is independent of protein synthesis. The reutilization of occupied receptors in immature female rats is due to dissociation of the receptor-hormone complex.This work was supported in part by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 46). Purified HCG was a gift of Schering AG, Berlin West. We thank Mrs Margarete Lindig and Mrs Rita Rudolph for assistance and Mr A. Schlegel for radioimmunological determinations.     

Stimulation of sporulation ofClostridium perfringens by papaverine

Summary Papaverine induced sporulation inClostridium perfringens, strains FD-1 and PS52; growth was markedly slowed under these conditions. Papaverine induced sporulation in the presence of glucose, a sporulation repressor, although increasing glucose concentrations overcame the papaverine effect. Papaverine induced sporulation of strain FD-1 more effectively than did theophylline.The author wishes to thank Mrs P.A. Thompson for excellent technical assistance.     

3H-Thymidine incorporation (DNA synthesis) and radiotoxicity in the ovary of the Japanese quail before and during follicle formation

Summary No evidence was found for ribosomal DNA amplification in the oocytes of the Japanese quail, before or during folliculogenesis. DNA synthesis in the somatic cells, involved in follicle formation, starts at the medullar side of the basement membrane. The localized sterilization of the quail ovary after administration of³H-thymidine (³H-TdR) seems to be due to radiation-induced lesions in the follicle forming somatic cells, rather than to direct radiation damage of the oocyte.The author is very grateful to Prof. Dr L. Vakaet, R.U.C.A.—Antwerpen, for his valuable suggestions and to Mrs D. De Wolf-Van Rompaey for her excellent technical assistance.     

Cerebellar decussation of fibres from the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis in the brain of the albino rat

Summary The existence of a cerebellar decussation of fibres from the medial portion of each nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (Rtp) of the albino rat is indicated. Definite cell loss in the medial aspect, of the most rostral third of Rtp is detectable after cerebellar hemisection involving parts or the entire depth of sublobule VIb. Cell loss in the medial aspect of the caudal half of Rtp is evident as a consequence of experimental lesions which damage both sublobules IIb and III.This work was supported by the Medical Research Council of New Zealand.Acknowledgments. A. special acknowledgment to. Mrs Heather Reid for her excellent preparation of the histological specimens. Grateful thanks to Mrs Maureen Owen for her careful typing assistance.     

Invasive properties of the ovarian cortex in birds

Summary In quail/chicken ovarian cortex associations, grown on chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM), epithelial and/or germ cells from the quail ovary may invade the cortical rim of the chicken ovary. In certain experimental conditions, ovarian cortical cells may leave a transplanted ovary and grow over or invade the mesenchyme of the surrounding CAM. So a germinal epithelium completely free from other ovarian cell groups can be obtained.The author is very grateful to Prof. Dr L. Vakaet, R.U.C.A., Antwerp, for his valuable suggestions and to Mrs S. De Wolf-Van Rompaey, for her excellent technical assistance.     

Book reviews

The Hon. Mrs Ward (1827–69) was an amateur naturalist whose collection of microscope slides has recently been catalogued. She was the author of two successful popular books on scientific topics. Her hand-lithographed publication on a microscopical subject has been discovered, together with the associated slides and the later, revised printed version.     

A synergistic interation between the teratogenic effect of trypan blue and dietary deficiency in the rat

Summary There was a increased incidence, compared to controls, of exencephaly and micropthalmia in the offspring of rats fed a vitamin D deficient diet and injected with trypan blue on day 9 of gestation. Oral vitamin D did not reverse the effect.Acknowledgments. The author wishes to thank Dr G. Lumb and Dr. B. Mawer for advice on diets, and Mrs de Silva for making the assays.     

Impaired proximal tubular transport functions in anaesthetized splanchnicotomized dogs

Summary The maximal tubular transport of inorganic phosphate,d-glucose and para-aminohippuric acid, respectively, was depressed on the denervated side in unilaterally splanchnicotomized, anaesthetized dogs. It is concluded that renal sympathetic activity might in general regulate proximal tubular transport functions.The authors are indebted to Mrs V. Vajda, Mr A. Karai, Mrs K. Kéry, Mrs B. Asztalos, Mr S. Szécsi and Mr J. Vártok for their valuable technical assistance.     

The number of parallel fibre-Purkinje dendrite synapses. A morphometric evaluation

Summary Quantitative parameters concerning synapses were studied in the cerebellar molecular layer of 4 cats using ultrastructural morphometric methods. The number of parallel fibre-Purkinje dendrite synapses was estimated to be about 200,000.This study was granted by I.N.I.C. (Centro de Morfologia Experimental—MbP₁ e Centro de Anatomia Patológica e Oncologia-MbP₃).The authors thank Mrs M.L. Brito, Mrs M.A. Nascimento, Mrs M.G. Rodrigues and Mr L.B. Nunes for their technical assistance.     

Indefinite in vivo life span of serially isografted mouse mammary gland

Zusammenfassung Durch wiederholte Transplantation liess sich Mammagewebe von Mäusen während einer Zeitspanne am Leben erhalten, welche die Lebensdauer von Mäusen wesentlich übertrifft.

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This work was supported by grants from the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research, the Medical Research Council of Canada, and also partly by the National Cancer Institute of Canada. The author is indebted to Mrs.Sharon Griffin for her technical assistance.     

Chemical studies on the silver staining of nucleoli

Summary The uptake of Ag-ions by isolated nucleoli of rat liver cells was studied. Nucleolar proteins separated by electrophoresis were examined for selective silver-staining. A mechanism for a preferential Ag-staining of the nucleoli is discussed.We thank Mrs L. Schwinn for her valuable technical assistance, and Mrs K. Jain for presenting us DNA. We would like to thank the Department of Biology V for making possible the measurements with the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

Effect of acetylsalicylic acid on iron absorption in the rat

Summary The in vivo administration of⁵⁹Fe to the rat accompanied by acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) enhanced significantly counts in blood, spleen, liver and femur without affecting those of the intestine. The results suggest that ASA augments iron absorption either via an inhibitory action on the synthesis of prostaglandins or by a purely chemical mechanism.This work was supported by Grant No. 6638 from CONICET (Argentina).The technical assistance of Mrs María E. Castro and Mrs Patricia Dubra is gratefully acknowledged.     

Carboxyhemoglobin levels between jogging and non-jogging smokers

Summary The hypothesis that regular jogging diminishes blood carboxyhemoglobin levels was tested. 63 smokers were chosen, with 30 of them regular joggers for 3 years and 33 of them sedentary non-joggers. Blood samples were taken and carbon monoxide levels measured by a gas chromatograph. Results showed that smoking joggers had significantly lower carbon monoxide levels than smoking non-joggers, with values of the former comparable to non-smokers.Acknowledgments. The author is deeply indebted to Mrs Katy Seifert and Ms Susan Reichmann for their encouragement throughout the study.     

Adrenalectomy,ovarian HCG-binding and the onset of female puberty in the rat

Summary The delay of puberty onset in female rats adrenalectomized before the 25th day of age is due neither to changes in the number of ovarian HCG-receptors nor to an altered hormone affinity of these receptors. It is assumed that glucocorticoids act on an intracellular level, in the ovarian cells, possibly by alterations of cyclic AMP-dependent phosphodiesterase activity.This work was supported in part by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 46). Purified HCG was a gift of Schering AG, Berlin-West. We thank Mrs Margarete Lindig for assistance and Mrs Ursula Frigewski for secretarial help.     

Suramin stimulates renal growth in the rat

Summary Suramin given to rats in a single high dose (20 mg/100 g i.v.) stimulated renal growth. Maximum changes are taking place after 6–9 days of treatment.Suramin (Bayer 205) was generously provided by bayer (Leverkusen, Federal Republic of Germany).The authors thank Miss J. Telegdy and Mrs I. Harmos for technical assistance and Mrs M. Herczeg for the preparation of the sections.