7α-hydroxylation of dehydroepiandrosterone in human testis and epididymis in vitro

Zusammenfassung Zerhackte menschliche Hoden und Epididymis wurden mit Dehydroepiandrosteron ohne Kofaktoren bebrütet und es wurden unter anderem 7-und 7-Hydroxydehydroepiandrosteron und 5-Androsten-3, 7, 17-triol charakterisiert. Die Ausbeute an 7-hydroxylierten Metaboliten war fast gleich in Hoden und Epididymis.

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The authors wish to thank Mr.J. Novák for his excellent technical assistance. We are indebted to Dr.J. E. Jirásek for generous performance of histological control of tissue and to Dr.S. Röhling for his kind pernission of radioactivity measurements.     

Destruction of the platelet aggregating activity of ristocetin A

Summary Hydrolysis of ristocetin A in 0.1 N HCl at 37°C for 2 h resulted in the loss of its ability to induce platelet aggregation in platelet-rich plasma derived from guinea-pigs and humans. However its antibiotic activity againstStaph. aureus was not lost.This work was supported, in part, by a contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (USPHS).     

Fibrinolytic proteases in snake venoms

Zusammenfassung Fibrinolysine zweier Schlangengifte haben — im Gegensatz zu Plasmin und Trypsin — keinen Plasminogen-aktivierenden Effekt, noch sind sie durch Proteasen-Inhibitoren gehemmt. Sowohl in vivo wie auch in vitro sind sie durch Plasmaproteine inaktiviert, was jedoch nicht auf ₁ und ₂-Antiplasmine zurückzuführen ist. Die Spaltprodukte der Toxin-Fibrinogenolyse besitzen einen hohen Gehalt an Antithrombin VI.     

Desamino-arginine-vasopressin,an analogue of arginine-vasopressin with high antidiuretic activity

Zusammenfassung Die Synthese und die pharmakologischen Haupteigenschaften von Desamino²-Arginin-Vasopressin werden beschrieben. Dieses Peptid ist durch eine hohe (1300 IE/mg) und relativ selektive antidiuretische Wirksamkeit ausgezeichnet.     

Frontal ganglion and water balance inPeriplaneta americana L.

Zusammenfassung Der Gewichtsverlust bei frontalganglionektomierten Schaben innerhalb von 24 h im Exsikkator ist wesentlich grösser als derjenige bei scheinoperierten Tieren. Er erreicht Werte, wie sie bei toten Tieren auftreten. Der Gewichtsverlust ist mit einer signifikanten Zunahme der Gefrierpunktserniedrigung in der Hämolymphe verbunden. Durchtrennung beider Frontalkonnektive hat dieselbe Wirkung wie Ganglionektomie.     

Cellular and genetic mechanisms of self tolerance and autoimmunity

The mammalian immune system has an extraordinary potential for making receptors that sense and neutralize any chemical entity entering the body. Inevitably, some of these receptors recognize components of our own body, and so cellular mechanisms have evolved to control the activity of these 'forbidden' receptors and achieve immunological self tolerance. Many of the genes and proteins involved are conserved between humans and other mammals. This provides the bridge between clinical studies and mechanisms defined in experimental animals to understand how sets of gene products coordinate self-tolerance mechanisms and how defects in these controls lead to autoimmune disease.     

Voltage-dependent electrogenic chloride/proton exchange by endosomal CLC proteins

Eukaryotic members of the CLC gene family function as plasma membrane chloride channels, or may provide neutralizing anion currents for V-type H(+)-ATPases that acidify compartments of the endosomal/lysosomal pathway. Loss-of-function mutations in the endosomal protein ClC-5 impair renal endocytosis and lead to kidney stones, whereas loss of function of the endosomal/lysosomal protein ClC-7 entails osteopetrosis and lysosomal storage disease. Vesicular CLCs have been thought to be Cl- channels, in particular because ClC-4 and ClC-5 mediate plasma membrane Cl- currents upon heterologous expression. Here we show that these two mainly endosomal CLC proteins instead function as electrogenic Cl-/H+ exchangers (also called antiporters), resembling the transport activity of the bacterial protein ClC-e1, the crystal structure of which has already been determined. Neutralization of a critical glutamate residue not only abolished the steep voltage-dependence of transport, but also eliminated the coupling of anion flux to proton counter-transport. ClC-4 and ClC-5 may still compensate the charge accumulation by endosomal proton pumps, but are expected to couple directly vesicular pH gradients to Cl- gradients.