Cytotoxicity of ethyl methanesulfonate in mice spermatogonia

Summary Enumeration of different types of spermatogonia, following a single i.p. administration of different doses of ethyl methanesulfonate in mice, showed that survival of A₁–A₄ and in spermatogonia is markedly reduced due to cell killing while the remaining types of spermatogonia were affected marginally. The cell killing effect was dose-dependent, and replenishment of these cells was observed by the end of one cycle of the seminiferous epithelium comprising of 8.5 days.     

Influence of Cu++ and Zn++ ions on the effects of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) on chromosomes

Résumé La capacité de l'EMS de casser les chromosomes n'existe que lorsque des ions ont été ajoutés pendant les traitements. A ce point de vue, Cu⁺⁺ et Zn⁺⁺ se révèlent très efficaces. Cette réaction dépend du pH et varie avec la concentration ionique et la concentration d'EMS. On donne une explication probable de ces faits.     

Cytogenetic analysis of bone marrow cells and spermatogonia of male mice after in vivo treatment with arsenic

Summary Male Swiss Albino mice were injected i.p. with an As₂O₃ solution (0; 4; 8 and 12 mg As/kg) and sacrificed 12, 24, 36 and 48 h after injection. Neither chromatid nor chromosome aberrations were observed in bone marrow cells and spermatogonia.Acknowledgments. We thank Mr L. De Langhe for skillfull technical help. We acknowledge this work was supported by a grant of the Ministery of Public Health.     

Inhibition of anaphylaxis in mice by pre-treatment with cysteine,lysine ethyl ester,and tyrosine ethyl ester

Résumé L'injection intrapéritonéale chez la souris de cystéine, tyrosine-éthylester ou lysine-éthyl-ester, 1 h avant la production du choc anaphylactique diminue d'une façon significative la sensibilité des animaux à la réaction. Il est possible que cela soit dû à une modification de l'effet du premier composé actif du complément.

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Aided by Research Grant (E 1563) from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USPHS.

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Summer Fellow. Allergy Foundation of America, 1957–1958.     

Mutagenesis with ethyl methanesulphonate inNigella damascena L.

Résumé Des graines deNigella damascena ont été traitées par des doses d'EMS allant de 0,1 à 0,3 g/100 ml/4–5 h. On a pu confirmer qu'aux doses utilisées, l'EMS n'exerce que peu d'effet sur les chromosomes. Cependant, l'adjonction d'une certaine quantité de cation cuivre accroît très fortement l'effet au niveau chromosomique. On a étudié la stérilité induite par les différents traitements à la génération traitée et le taux de mutations au cours de la génération ultérieure. L'adjonction d'une certaine quantité de cuivre n'influence que faiblement la fertilité mais accroît le taux de mutations. Comparée à d'autres plantes, la nigelle est particulièremen sensible aux traitements.     

Mastocytosis in suckling mice.

In suckling mice injected intraperitoneally with mitomycin C on the 1st to 5th day after birth and sacrificed in the course of 24 or 48 h after injection, mastocytosis occurred in the oral mucosa membrane, skin of the trunk or extremities and bone marrow of extremities.     

Cytotoxicity of new cytochalasans fromChaetomium globosum

Zusammenfassung Nachweis, dass CHCl₃-Rohextrakte aus Myzelien und Filtraten der Zuchtmedien vonChaetomium globosum Kunze ex Fries einen akuten toxischen Effect auf HeLa-Zellen in vitro, sowie auf Mäuse zeigten. Chaetoglobosine die aus Mycelium-Rohextrakt isoliert wurden und chemisch zu den Cytochalasanen gehören, induzierten in HeLa-Zellen eine Polynukleierung und multipolare Kernverteilung. Auch beim Chaetogobosin wird eine Mikrofilament-Schädigung angenommen.     

The effect of L-cysteine on presoaked barley seeds treated with methyl methanesulfonate

Summary Experiments were performed to analyse the effect of L-cysteine on barley seeds treated with methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) at a critical stage of the cellular cycle. Contrary to expectation, L-cysteine did not protect the barley seeds against MMS damage except for a slight protection at high doses (0.5, 0.7%).Acknowledgments. The author is thankful to Dr K. Kartha, Prairie Regional Laboratory, National Research Council of Canada, Saskatoon, Canada, and Dr D. Lorence, Washington University, St. Louis, for linguistic revision of the paper.     

Endotoxemia and adrenaline-hyperreactive death in mice.

Mice given i.v. a sublethal dose of endotoxin in advance died with shock-like symptoms on administration of sublethal adrenaline dose. The lethal adrenaline-hyperreaction induced by endotoxin appeared gradually within a few h, showed maximum response after several h and almost disappeared 24 h after endotoxin administration.     

Cytotoxicity of mouse peritoneal cells after alloimmunization]

CBA Mice were immunized by two intraperitoneal injections of 30 X 10(6) DBA/2 or C57BL/6 spleen cells at days--12 and--2. Peritoneal cell population was obtained at day zero by washing the peritoneal cavity of Mice. Adherent cells were then separated using a 2 hrs. incubation in "Falcon" plates followed by washing. This macrophage-rich peritoneal cell population was found nonspecifically cytotoxic against 51Cr labeled tumoral target cells: P815 X DBA/2 mastocytoma cells, EL4 X C57BL/L lymphoma cells and spontaneous lymphoma AKR cells (same H--2k as CBA). This adherent peritoneal cell cytoxicity was demonstrated after 24 hrs. incubation with the target cells. It was found in nonspecific combination as well as when using target cells syngeneic to the donor. These findings suggest that adherent peritoneal cell cytotoxicity could be at least partly due to macrophages and result from factor (s) released by sensitized lymphocytes in vivo in the same way as has been previously demonstrated in vitro.     

Circadian variation of the streptozotocin-diabetogenic effect in mice.

Streptozotocin was injected in normal mice every 4 h, during the day. Greatest number of diabetic animals were obtained at 16.00 h (95%) and lowest at 08.00 h (50%). Magnitude of hyperglycemia also showed similar distribution. This effect might be considered when planning its use for both experimental and clinical purposes.     

Suppression of intrinsic B-cell function in Dengue-infected mice.

Mice infected with Dengue virus show a depressed immune response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a helper T-cell-independent antigen, when LPS was administered on day 0, 6 and 12 post infection. Mice injected with inactivated virus failed to show immunosuppression.     

Tumor incidence in Visna virus inoculated mice.

Mice (female Swiss albino) inoculated when newborn with Visna virus had tumors in 77% of cases when examined 8-12 months later. The tumors were mainly of the mammary carcinoma type. The tumor incidence in non-infected control animals was only 20%. In contrast, no increased incidence of tumors was observed among Visna virus-inoculated inbred mice (BALB/c, CBA and DBA) with low incidence of spontaneous mammary carcinoma.     

Corpus luteum function in ageing inbred mice.

Impaired breeding performance of aged female mice was associated with reduced numbers of ovulations and increased mortality of embryos. The amounts of progesterone in the sera, corpora lutea and uterine flushings of these animals were similar to those of young animals when measured by radioimmunoassay.