Induction of hemopoietic chimerism in the caprine fetus by intraperitoneal injection of fetal liver cells

Summary Intraperitoneal injection of allogeneic liver cells from 43-day-old male fetuses into normal 60-day female goat fetuses resulted in persistent hemopoietic chimerism in surviving recipients without clinical evidence of graft-versus-host disease. Transplantation of normal fetal liver cells into preimmunocompetent goat fetuses affected with -D-mannosidosis may provide an alternative strategy for evaluating hemopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of human lysosomal storage diseases.     

Inhibition of histamine secretion from mast cells

Histamine secretion from mast cells may be inhibited by elevated intracellular levels of cyclic AMP and by several anti-allergic drugs. These compounds are claimed to act directly on the calcium-gating mechanism activated by the anaphylactic reaction, preventing influx of Ca2+ from the external environment and so blocking exocytosis. To examine this hypothesis further, we have compared here the histamine secretion induced by immunoglobulin E-directed ligands in the presence and absence of added calcium and by the ionophore A23187. Exocytosis evoked by these former agents was originally considered to be almost totally dependent on extracellular calcium but recent studies have shown otherwise. In the absence of added cation, the agents act by mobilizing membrane-bound or intracellular stores of calcium. We show that here that a variety of anti-allergic drugs are potent inhibitors in the conditions used, suggesting that alternative explanations for their action must be sought.     

The demographic situation in the European Union

This article is an update of a similar article published in Population Trends 104 and complements the article on European-wide issues in population statistics, published in Population Trends 118. The main areas of demography are covered, namely population change, population composition, fertility and mortality. Eurostat are currently working on a new set of population projections which should be available shortly, but were not completed when this article was drafted.     

Critical role for the p110alpha phosphoinositide-3-OH kinase in growth and metabolic regulation

The eight catalytic subunits of the mammalian phosphoinositide-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K) family form the backbone of an evolutionarily conserved signalling pathway; however, the roles of most PI(3)K isoforms in organismal physiology and disease are unknown. To delineate the role of p110alpha, a ubiquitously expressed PI(3)K involved in tyrosine kinase and Ras signalling, here we generated mice carrying a knockin mutation (D933A) that abrogates p110alpha kinase activity. Homozygosity for this kinase-dead p110alpha led to embryonic lethality. Mice heterozygous for this mutation were viable and fertile, but displayed severely blunted signalling via insulin-receptor substrate (IRS) proteins, key mediators of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1 and leptin action. Defective responsiveness to these hormones led to reduced somatic growth, hyperinsulinaemia, glucose intolerance, hyperphagia and increased adiposity in mice heterozygous for the D933A mutation. This signalling function of p110alpha derives from its highly selective recruitment and activation to IRS signalling complexes compared to p110beta, the other broadly expressed PI(3)K isoform, which did not contribute to IRS-associated PI(3)K activity. p110alpha was the principal IRS-associated PI(3)K in cancer cell lines. These findings demonstrate a critical role for p110alpha in growth factor and metabolic signalling and also suggest an explanation for selective mutation or overexpression of p110alpha in a variety of cancers.     

半胱氨酸亚金铵的合成、理化性质及电镀金应用

以半胱氨酸为配体合成一种新型亚金配合物NH4Au(Cys)2,对该配合物进行元素分析、红外光谱、紫外光谱、热失重分析和导电性测量等理化性质研究;以该亚金配合物为金源开展相关的电镀金工艺探索,并通过四因素三水平的正交试验获得其最佳条件参数;采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和X线衍射(XRD)对镀金层的表面质量进行探讨。研究结果表明:该目标产物的分子式为NH4Au(Cys)2·2H2O,该配合物中以半胱氨酸的巯基和金配位为成健特征,在170℃以下热稳定性较好,该亚金配合物是一个典型的离子化合物。在电流密度为200~300 A/m2,p H为10.5~12.0,温度为35~45℃,金质量浓度为15~25 g/L的电镀工艺条件下,得到粒度为0.5~1.0μm的单质金,且主要沿着(111)面进行生长。     

随机纳米碳管网络及其渗流性质

数值模拟了实验上构造纳米碳管网络的溶液沉积方法.与一般的随机网络模型不同,将碳管的长度计算在内,而且考虑了不同的空间相交位形.数值模拟发现网络的度分布为高斯分布,平均集聚系数约为0.11.当网络中碳管平均面密度取值在σ0=179 200根/cm2附近时,网络系综达到渗流.在临界点附近,网络的连通概率p、两极之间电导G、...     

Production of multiple plant hormones from a single polyprotein precursor.

Some animal and yeast hormone genes produce prohormone polypeptides that are proteolytically processed to produce multiple copies of hormones with the same or different functions. In plants, four polypeptides have been identified that can be classed as hormones (intercellular chemical messengers) but none are known to be produced as multiple copies from a single precursor. Here we describe a polyprotein hormone precursor, present in tobacco plants, that gives rise to two polypeptide hormones, as often found in animals and yeast. The tobacco polypeptides activate the synthesis of defensive proteinase-inhibitor proteins in a manner similar to that of systemin, an 18-amino-acid polypeptide found in tomato plants. The two tobacco polypeptides are derived from each end of a 165-amino-acid precursor that bears no homology to tomato prosystemin. The data show that structurally diverse polypeptide hormones in different plant species can serve similar signalling roles, a condition not found in animals or yeast.     

Induction of hemopoietic chimerism in the caprine fetus by intraperitoneal injection of fetal liver cells

Intraperitoneal injection of allogeneic liver cells from 43-day-old male fetuses into normal 60-day female goat fetuses resulted in persistent hemopoietic chimerism in surviving recipients without clinical evidence of graft-versus-host disease. Transplantation of normal fetal liver cells into preimmunocompetent goat fetuses affected with beta-D-mannosidosis may provide an alternative strategy for evaluating hemopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of human lysosomal storage diseases.