Establishment of two mosquito cell lines from larval tissues ofAedes w-albus

Zusammenfassung Zwei neue Zellinien vonAedes w-albus, die seit der Isolation schon 27 bzw. 37mal kultiviert wurden, sind isoliert worden. Die Zellen konnten 45 Tage in flüssigem Stickstoff aufbewahrt werden, ohne ihre Vermehrungsfähigkeit einzubüssen.     

Association of asymmetric unit membrane plaque formation in the urinary bladder of adult humans with therapeutic radiation

Summary Asymmetric unit membrane (AUM) is a component of the luminal membrane of urinary bladder in many species. In normal human adults it is inconspicuous, but it becomes prominent following incidental exposure to therapeutic irradiation.This work was supported by the Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute.     

Effect of metabolic inhibitors on the release of histamine by anaphylatoxin and by antigenin vitro

Zusammenfassung Es wird durchin vitro-Anaphylaxie an Rattenzwerchfell und Meerschweinchenlunge gezeigt, dass die Freisetzung von Histamin durch Dinitrophenol, Cyanid und Sauerstoffmangel gehemmt wird. Diese Hemmung kann aber durch Zufügen von Glukose durchbrochen werden. Die anaphylaktische Freisetzung von Histamin ist also an stoffwechselaktive Mastzellen gebunden.     

Oviposition behavior in the Australian stick insectExtatosoma tiaratum

Summary The Australian stick insectExtatosoma tiaratum (MacLeay) (Insecta: Phasmida) oviposits by throwing the eggs to a distance of circa 0.80–2.00 m by a strong flick with the abdomen. The initial speed is circa 2.7 m/sec. The rather immobile female just drops her feces, and as these may act as olfactory attractants to predators, the eggs that are flicked away will be safe, lying in a ring around the central deposit of feces.     

Hemoglobin catabolism and the killing of intraerythrocytic<Emphasis Type="Italic">Plasmodium falciparum</Emphasis> by chloroquine

To evaluate how chloroquine kills malaria parasites, hemoglobin catabolism was studied at the various stages of intraerythrocytic parasite development. We found that hemoglobin catabolism is switched off whenPlasmodium falciparum parasites mature to the late trophozoite or early schizont stages and is switched on again during the ring stage. When hemoglobin catabolism is switched off, the parasites are resistant to the morphologic effects of chloroquine. Although the ring stage parasites failed to mature in the presence of chloroquine, some of them switched on hemoglobin ingestion and became stuffed with hemoglobin-filled vesicles, indicating a distal block in catabolism. In fact, we demonstrated a high-grade block in hemozoin production during a 22 h incubation of synchronized ring forms; ferriprotoporphyrin IX (FP) incorporation into the β-hematin of hemozoin decreased from 900 to 50 pmol/10⁶ parasitized erythrocytes. We propose that the primary effect of chloroquine on hemoglobin catabolism is to block FP polymerization to β-hematin. Secondarily, toxic FP and FP-chloroquine complexes accumulate and are available to exert their several toxicities, which include inhibition of hemoglobindegrading proteases and membrane damage. As a consequence, maturation is arrested and eventually the parasites die and lyse.     

Biochemical aspects of radiation biology

Summary In order to analyze the mechanisms of biological radiation effects, the events after radiation energy absorption in irradiated organisms have to be studied by physico-chemical and biochemical methods. The radiation effects in vitro on biomolecules, especially DNA, are described, as well as their alterations in irradiated cells. Whereas in vitro, in aqueous solution, predominantly OH radicals are effective and lead to damage in single moieties of the DNA, in vivo the direct absorption of radiation energy leads to locally multiply-damaged sites, which produce DNA double-strand breaks and locally denatured regions. DNA damage will be repaired in irradiated cells. Error free repair leads to the original nucleotide sequence in the genome by excision or by recombination. Error prone repair (mutagenic repair), leads to mutation. However, the biochemistry of these processes, regulated by a number of genes, is poorly understood. In addition, more complex reactions, such as gene amplification and transposition of mobile gene elements, are responsible for mutation or malignant transformation.