Effects of dietary trimethylamine on free amino acid and nonprotein nitrogen levels in muscle of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, in relation to seawater adaptation

Thin and strong! The bioengineering dilemma in the structural and functional design of the blood-gas barrier

In gas exchangers, the tissue barrier, the partition that separates the respiratory media (water/air and hemolymph/blood), is exceptional for its remarkable thinness, striking strength, and vast surface area. These properties formed to meet conflicting roles: thinness was essential for efficient flux of oxygen by passive diffusion, and strength was crucial for maintaining structural integrity. What we have designated as "three-ply" or "laminated tripartite" architecture of the barrier appeared very early in the evolution of the vertebrate gas exchanger. The design is conspicuous in the water-blood barrier of the fish gills through the lungs of air-breathing vertebrates, where the plan first appeared in lungfishes (Dipnoi) some 400 million years ago. The similarity of the structural design of the barrier in respiratory organs of animals that remarkably differ phylogenetically, behaviorally, and ecologically shows that the construction has been highly conserved both vertically and horizontally, i.e., along and across the evolutionary continuum. It is conceivable that the blueprint may have been the only practical construction that could simultaneously grant satisfactory strength and promote gas exchange. In view of the very narrow allometric range of the thickness of the blood-gas barrier in the lungs of different-sized vertebrate groups, the measurement has seemingly been optimized. There is convincing, though indirect, evidence that the extracellular matrix and particularly the type IV collagen in the lamina densa of the basement membrane is the main stress-bearing component of the blood-gas barrier. Under extreme conditions of operation and in some disease states, the barrier fails with serious consequences. The lamina densa which in many parts of the blood-gas barrier is <50 nm thin is a lifeline in the true sense of the word.

Seasonal variations of trimethylamine oxide and urea in the blood of a cold-adapted marine teleost, the rainbow smelt

Trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), which has previously not been known to occur in significant amounts in the blood of marine teleosts, rose to concentrations of approximately 50 mM in the blood of winter-acclimatized rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax. Urea also increased in the blood of cold-acclimatized smelt, and, with TMAO, contributed significantly to the winter freezing point depression. TMAO and urea also varied seasonally in muscle and liver tissues. TMAO and urea appeared to be reabsorbed from the urine. Losses of TMAO and urea from the head region of the fish, where most of the losses appeared to occur, were approximately 9 μmol and 8 μmol 100 g(-1) h(-1), respectively. Despite the effluxes, TMAO and urea levels in both the blood and muscle either increased or were maintained in starved, cold-acclimated fish, suggesting that they were synthesized in response to cold temperature. TMAO was also found in the blood of some other cold-hardy teleosts.

Metabolism of trimethylamines in kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus) and marine and freshwater pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)

3H or 14C labeled tracers were used to investigate the metabolism of trimethylamine (TMA), trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), choline, and betaine in free swimming kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus). An indwelling cannula in the ventral aorta was used to administer tracer and with-draw blood samples. The concentrations of TMA and TMAO were determined in liver, muscle, and plasma. The TMA liver content is higher than that of muscle (0.85 vs less than 0.01 mumoles/g wet tissue) while the amount of TMAO in muscle greatly exceeds its liver concentration (60 vs 0.04 mumoles/g wet tissue). Prolonged fasting (21 and 75 days) or feeding the fish a squid diet containing high levels of TMAO did not alter the tissue concentrations of TMA or TMAO, suggesting that these compounds are endogenous in origin and that their tissue concentrations are subject to regulation. Comparison of the radiospecific activities of TMA and TMAO, and the administered TMA tracer suggest that TMA is channeled directly to TMAO in the liver without equilibration in the hepatic TMA pool. The conversion kinetics of TMA to TMAO and the distribution of these amines in liver and muscle with time suggest that labeled TMA is rapidly taken up into a sequestered pool from which it is slowly released, oxidized to TMAO in the liver, and then transported via the circulation to the muscle mass. The location of this proposed sequestered TMA pool was not determined. Experiments with labeled choline and betaine suggest that these compounds are interconverted in the liver and that enzymes are present for conversion of choline in equilibrium betaine----TMA----TMAO. Labeled dimethylamine (DMA) was not metabolized and is, therefore, probably not a precursor of TMA and TMAO. [14C]Trimethylamine (TMA) was also used to investigate the possible role of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) as an osmoregulatory compound in migrating prespawning cannulated Pacific pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) taken from marine or fresh water environments. Marine and fresh water salmon oxidized administered [14C]TMA to TMAO; labeled metabolites other than TMA and TMAO were not detected. Four hours after [14C]TMA injection about 10% of the administered dose was present in muscle as labeled TMAO and about 33% as TMA. Unlike our finding in kelp bass, [14C]TMAO was not recovered in liver, although low amounts of labeled TMA were found (0.4% of administered dose). Labeled TMA and TMAO, however, were detected in liver after [14C]betaine administration to a marine salmon, indicating that TMA-mono-oxygenase is present in salmon liver.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)