The influence of homologous plasma and fetal calf serum on human lymphocytic cortisol metabolism

Summary The influence of a) tissue culture medium (RPMI), b) homologous plasma (HP), and c) fetal calf serum (FCS) on lymphocytic cortisol metabolism was compared to that of phosphate buffered saline alone. RPMI was found to enhance the conversion rate 1.71 times, whereas HP and FCS enhanced it about 3.2 times. Raising the temperature of the HP and FCS to 100°C before incubation reduced the enhancing effect to the level of that obtained with RPMI.This work was supported by The Israel Cancer Research Fund N.Y. (George and Rose Blumenthal Research Fellowship for Hodgkins Disease). The authors are grateful to Dr Malchi and his staff from the Beilinson Hospital Blood Bank, for supplying us with buffy coats and to Mr Z. Klein for drawing the figure.     

Effects of thalidomide in the rat foetus

Zusammenfassung Thalidomidverabreichung an sch wangere Ratten führte zu keinen schweren Skelettmissbildungen bei den Neugeburten. Lediglich der fünfte Brustbeinkern blieb in der Entwicklung stark zurück und zeigte, besonders bei Tieren, welche Thalidomid in hohen Dosen erhielten, bizarre Formen. Die Zahl der Frucht-resorptionen war bei diesen Tieren erhöht.     

Contradictory differential staining results with Coomassie Brilliant Blue and silver carbonate on sister chromatids

Summary Coomassie Brilliant Blue, and silver stain, are used in electrophoretic gels to identify polypeptides. The relative staining intensity has been taken as indicating a quantitative difference between proteins. However, when these 2 stains were applied to 2 identically pretreated chromosome preparations, contradictory staining results were obtained.Acknowledgment. This work is supported under the auspices of the National Science Council, Republic of China.     

Highly purified noradrenaline storage vesicles from bovine splenic nerve trunk: Preliminary electron microscopy

Résumé Les vésicules de la NA du nerf splénique de Buf ont été obtenues par gradient de centrifugation («sucrose-heavy water»), Le rapport NA/protéine observé est de 4 à 7 fois plus élevé que celui qui a été mentionné précédemment. L'examen préliminaire de cette fraction, par microscopie électronique, révèle une couche importante et pratiquement pure de vésicules à la surface du sédiment.

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Supported by Research Career Program Award No. 5-K03-HE-0592 from the Nat. Heart and Lung Inst. and Research Grant No. 5-R01-GM15490 from the Nat. Inst. Gen. Med. Sci., U.S.P.H.S.

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Supported by the Swedish Medical Research Council No. K70-14X-2479-03A and Knut and Alice Wallenbergs Foundation.