The Helicobacter pylori methylome is acid-responsive due to regulation by the two-component system ArsRS and the type I DNA methyltransferase HsdM1 (HP0463)

In addition to its role in genome protection, DNA methylation can regulate gene expression. In this study, we characterized the impact of acidity, phase variation, and the ArsRS TCS on the expression of the Type I m6A DNA methyltransferase HsdM1 (HP0463) of Helicobacter pylori 26695 and their subsequent effects on the methylome. Transcription of hsdM1 increases at least fourfold in the absence of the sensory histidine kinase ArsS, the major acid-sensing protein of H. pylori. hsdM1 exists in the phase-variable operon hsdR1-hsdM1. Phase-locking hsdR1 (HP0464), the restriction endonuclease gene, has significant impacts on the transcription of hsdM1. To determine the impacts of methyltransferase transcription patterns on the methylome, we conducted methylome sequencing on samples cultured at pH 7 or pH 5. We found differentially methylated motifs between these growth conditions and that deletions of arsS and/or hsdM1 interfere with the epigenetic acid response. Deletion of arsS leads to altered activity of HsdM1 and multiple other methyltransferases under both pH conditions indicating that the ArsRS TCS, in addition to direct effects on regulon transcription during acid acclimation, may also indirectly impact gene expression via regulation of the methylome. We determined the target motif of HsdM1 (HP0463) to be the complementary bipartite sequence pair 5'-TCAm6AVN6TGY-3' and 3'-AGTN6GAm6ACA-5'. This complex regulation of DNA methyltransferases, and thus differential methylation patterns, may have implications for the decades-long persistent infection by H. pylori. IMPORTANCE This study expands the possibilities for complex, epigenomic regulation in Helicobacter pylori. We demonstrate that the H. pylori methylome is plastic and acid sensitive via the two-component system ArsRS and the DNA methyltransferase HsdM1. The control of a methyltransferase by ArsRS may allow for a layered response to changing acidity. Likely, an early response whereby ArsR~P affects regulon expression, including the methyltransferase hsdM1. Then, a somewhat later effect as the altered methylome, due to altered HsdM1 expression, subsequently alters the expression of other genes involved in acclimation. The intermediate methylation of certain motifs supports the hypothesis that methyltransferases play a regulatory role. Untangling this additional web of regulation could play a key role in understanding H. pylori colonization and persistence.

Quantifying the advantages of conducting a prospective meta-analysis (PMA): a case study of early childhood obesity prevention

Background

For prospective meta-analyses (PMAs), eligible studies are identified, and the PMA hypotheses, selection criteria, and analysis methods are pre-specified before the results of any of the studies are known. This reduces publication bias and selective outcome reporting and provides a unique opportunity for outcome standardisation/harmonisation. We conducted a world-first PMA of four trials investigating interventions to prevent early childhood obesity. The aims of this study were to quantitatively analyse the effects of prospective planning on variations across trials, outcome harmonisation, and the power to detect intervention effects, and to derive recommendations for future PMA.

Methods

We examined intervention design, participant characteristics, and outcomes collected across the four trials included in the EPOCH PMA using their registration records, protocol publications, and variable lists. The outcomes that trials planned to collect prior to inclusion in the PMA were compared to the outcomes that trials collected after PMA inclusion. We analysed the proportion of matching outcome definitions across trials, the number of outcomes per trial, and how collaboration increased the statistical power to detect intervention effects.

Results

The included trials varied in intervention design and participants, this improved external validity and the ability to perform subgroup analyses for the meta-analysis. While individual trials had limited power to detect the main intervention effect (BMI z-score), synthesising data substantially increased statistical power. Prospective planning led to an increase in the number of collected outcome categories (e.g. weight, child’s diet, sleep), and greater outcome harmonisation. Prior to PMA inclusion, only 18% of outcome categories were included in all trials. After PMA inclusion, this increased to 91% of outcome categories. However, while trials mostly collected the same outcome categories after PMA inclusion, some inconsistencies in how the outcomes were measured remained (such as measuring physical activity by hours of outside play versus using an activity monitor).

Conclusion

Prospective planning led to greater outcome harmonisation and greater power to detect intervention effects, while maintaining acceptable variation in trial designs and populations, which improved external validity. Recommendations for future PMA include more detailed harmonisation of outcome measures and careful pre-specification of analyses to avoid research waste by unnecessary over-collection of data.

A systematic review of performance-enhancing pharmacologicals and biotechnologies in the Army

INTRODUCTION

In 2015, the Australian Army commissioned a systematic review to assess the evidence on effectiveness and safety of pharmacological and biotechnological products for cognitive enhancement specifically in Army personnel.

METHODS

Searches for studies examining biotechnological and pharmacological products in Army populations were conducted in December 2015. Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO were searched without date or language restrictions. WHO's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched to identify ongoing trials. Studies meeting inclusion criteria were evaluated for risk of bias using Cochrane's Risk of Bias tool. Due to heterogeneity of findings, meta-analysis could not be conducted. Findings were synthesised narratively and by vote-counting method.

RESULTS

Sixteen pharmacological enhancement products were evaluated in 22 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), involving 1284 personnel. Only three of the studies were published since 2010. The interventions evaluated were varied, including supplements (eg, carbohydrate), stimulants (eg, caffeine) and hormones (eg, melatonin). Generally, caffeine provided an improvement in performance compared with placebo on 5/7 reported cognitive outcomes, followed by levothyroxine (four cognitive outcomes) and prazosin (three cognitive outcomes). Performance results were mixed (finding an improvement and no effect in comparison to placebo) for caffeine and melatonin on two outcomes. No evidence was found pertaining to biotechnological products. Studies rarely reported safety outcomes (eg, adverse events and addiction).

CONCLUSION

Findings from this review need to be interpreted with considerable caution. Future studies should include outcomes such as acute and long-term adverse events, and should evaluate cognitive performance using cognitive tests that are specific to the Army population.

Infant sleep position: A telephone survey of inner-city parents of color

OBJECTIVE

To assess what positions parents were placing their infants to sleep and their opinion about sleep positioning.

DESIGN

A prospective telephone survey of parents of 2-month-old infants with repeated measures at 4 months that began during the second wave of the Back to Sleep campaign in 1994.

PARTICIPANTS

African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian parents from inner cities in the north central United States.

RESULTS

Preference for prone positioning existed at both 2 and 4 months (over 40%). Twenty-four percent of parents disagreed with the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics regarding supine or lateral positioning.

CONCLUSIONS

Although prone sleep positioning has decreased over the past 5 years, many inner-city parents of color prefer this over supine. The Back to Sleep campaign appears effective in changing attitudes and medical personnel appear influential in promoting risk reductions associated with sudden infant death syndrome. More efforts are clearly needed to convince parents who disagree with and resist recommendations.sleep, infants, SIDS, African-Americans, Back to Sleep (campaign).

(15)O water positron emission tomography in language localization: a study comparing positron emission tomography visual and computerized region of interest analysis with the Wada test

We compared (15)O water positron emission tomography (PET) auditory and visual confrontational naming activation with an intracarotid amobarbital (Amytal) injection procedure (IAP) for language lateralization in 12 patients with intractable epilepsy. PET scans were evaluated by three raters experienced in functional imaging as well as by a region of interest (ROI) approach. Compared with IAP, raters' positive predictive value for language lateralization ranged from 88 to 91%. ROI analysis had a positive predictive value of 80%. Six patients had surgery; 1 with right-sided IAP language dominance but left-sided PET activation had dysphasia for 6 months after left temporal lobectomy.

Radial glial cell transformation to astrocytes is bidirectional: regulation by a diffusible factor in embryonic forebrain

During development of mammalian cerebral cortex, two classes of glial cells are thought to underlie the establishment of cell patterning. In the embryonic period, migration of young neurons is supported by a system of radial glial cells spanning the thickness of the cortical wall. In the neonatal period, neuronal function is assisted by the physiological support of a second class of astroglial cell, the astrocyte. Here, we show that expression of embryonic radial glial identity requires extrinsic soluble signals present in embryonic forebrain. Moreover, astrocytes reexpress features of radial glia in vitro in the presence of the embryonic cortical signals and in vivo after transplantation into embryonic neocortex. These findings suggest that the transformation of radial glia cells into astrocytes is regulated by availability of inducing signals rather than by changes in cell potential.

Transforming growth factor-betas inhibit mitogen-stimulated proliferation of astrocytes

We have studied the influence of three members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family of multifunctional growth factors on the proliferation of cultured astrocytes isolated from newborn mouse cerebral cortex. Although TGF-beta s 1, 2, and 3 cause only a small reduction in the low level of astrocyte proliferation occurring in chemically defined medium, they each inhibit the effects of five astrocyte mitogens (bFGF, EGF, PDGF, IL-1 alpha, and IL-2). Inhibition is observed when astrocytes are exposed to mitogen and TGF-beta at the same time and when they are exposed to TGF-beta prior to, and separately from, mitogen. This latter effect appears to be due to the binding of TGF-beta s to astrocyte-secreted extracellular matrix. These findings raise the possibility that TGF-beta may co-operate with other growth factors to control astrocyte proliferation in vivo.

Quantitative contribution of factors regulating rat colonic crypt epithelium: role of parenteral and enteral feeding, caloric intake, dietary cellulose level and the colon carcinogen DMH

To elucidate the role and quantitative contribution of several exogenous factors which may regulate colon crypt mitotic activity, proliferative zone height (PZH) and crypt height, groups of rats were subjected to various feeding regimens both with and without treatment with the colon carcinogen, 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH). The rats were divided into two major groups and one group was given eight weekly injections of DMH base at 9.5 mg kg-1 body weight. Throughout this period and for two additional weeks the rats were isocalorically fed either a defined nutritionally complete diet with different levels of dietary cellulose or they were parenterally (i.v.) fed a nutritionally complete liquid formula with different caloric levels. The rats were then injected with colchicine 3 h prior to sacrifice to arrest and to collect dividing cells at metaphase. The results of multiple regression analysis of all data were interpreted to indicate that parenteral feeding caused dramatic suppression of the colon crypt height (CH) and of the number of metaphase figures per crypt (MC). Increased cellulose intake stimulated CH but suppressed MC. The CH was also stimulated by DMH. CH was positively correlated to PZH and MC. The MC was suppressed by cellulose intake and negatively correlated to PZH but was positively correlated to CH. The PZH was positively correlated to CH. These findings were related to the role of luminal food, functional workload, kcal intake and treatment with DMH on the measured colon crypt parameters. A quantitative assessment of factors that regulate the measured colonic crypt parameters was accomplished.

Evidence that a major portion of cellular potassium is "bound"

In this report we briefly review recent evidence which shows that a substantial proportion of intracellular K+ is "bound" or perturbed from the physicochemical properties expected in dilute aqueous solutions. In addition, we present evidence from electron probe x-ray microanalysis of thin cryosections of cells which indicates that the binding of K+ to anionic groups either carboxyl groups (HCO2) on proteins or to phosphate groups in creatine phosphate (CrP), in adenosine triphosphate, (ATP), in protein and in nucleic acids, are the main determinants of the maintenance of (as differentiated from the generated of) the well known intra- to extracellular K+ concentration difference. The collective evidence suggests that much of cellular K+ is reduced in its mobility and in its chemical activity due to association with negative charge groups (e.g. carboxyl and phosphates). This fact forces abandonment of the misleading assumption that the majority of intracellular K+ and other inorganic ions are as free as would be expected under ideal solution conditions. This realization should have far reaching consequences toward understanding transmembrane movement of water and solutes in cells.

Effect of dietary cellulose on cell proliferation and progression of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon carcinogenesis in rats

The effects of different levels of dietary cellulose on colonic crypt mitotic activity and colon carcinogenesis were studied in 190 male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were divided into groups and fed a basal fiber-free diet supplemented with either 0, 5, or 15% pure cellulose (w/w), for periods of 10 weeks (initiation stage) or 32 weeks (promotional stage). Half of the rats in each group were given weekly s.c. injections of 9.5 mg 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (the base) (DMH) for 8 weeks. Some of the rats were killed at 10 weeks while most were killed 22 weeks later. In some groups the dietary cellulose level was changed to a different level at 10 weeks. Food intake and body weight data showed that the rats within each experiment were isocalorically fed. There was a direct correlation between crypt height and the percentage of cellulose in the diet. Addition of 5 or 15% dietary cellulose during the initiation stage of carcinogenesis resulted in a significant increase in crypt height. Increasing dietary cellulose after the initiation stage (0 to 5% and 5 to 15%) or maintaining a high dietary cellulose level throughout both the initiation and promotional stages (15%) resulted in a significant increase in crypt height. A DMH-induced increase in mitotic activity that was observed during the initiation stage was no longer evident after the 22-week promotional stage. The significant DMH-induced increases in proliferative zone height and crypt height that were initially observed during the initiation stage were also observed after the 22-week promotional stage. These data indicate that the initial DMH-induced increases observed in proliferative zone height and crypt height are irreversible. Addition of 5 or 15% cellulose was found to suppress DMH-enhanced mitotic activity in the crypts of the descending colon during the initiation stage of carcinogenesis. This finding was correlated with a significantly lower incidence of adenocarcinomas in rats maintained on 5 or 15% cellulose throughout both the initiation and promotional stages.

Suppression of a a carcinogen (1,2-dimethylhydrazine dihydrochloride)-induced increase in mitotic activity in the colonic crypts of rats by addition of dietary cellulose

Serial injections of the colon carcinogen, 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH), have been reported to increase the proliferative activity in the colonic crypts preceding development of tumors. Can addition of purified cellulose to a fiber-free AIN-76 rat diet be used to suppress this increase in proliferative activity? To answer this question rats were divided into two groups, and one group was given eight weekly injections of the DMH base at 9.5 mg/kg of body weight. Throughout this period and for 2 additional wk the rats were isocalorically fed a defined nutritionally complete diet both with and without different dietary levels of cellulose (0, 5, and 15%). The rats were given injections of colchicine 3 h prior to sacrifice to arrest and to collect dividing cells at metaphase. Analysis of variance was performed on various morphometric parameters obtained from histological sections of midaxial crypts from the descending colon. Our results confirm that DMH induced a significant increase in the mitotic activity as measured by the number of metaphase figures per crypt. The presence of dietary cellulose did cause a significant suppression of the DMH-induced increase in the crypt mitotic activity.

Fluctuation in the intracellular concentration of Na+ and Cl- but not of K+ or Mg2+ at mitosis of the first cell cycle in fertilized sea urchin eggs

This report concerns changes in the cytoplasmic concentration of Na+, Cl-, K+ and Mg2+ during the first cell cycle and into the second cell cycle of fertilized sea urchin eggs of Lytechinus variegatus. The results of electron probe x-ray microanalysis showed a significant equimolar decrease in Na+ and Cl- at the first cell division which was followed by a significant increase early in the second cell cycle. Neither K+ nor Mg2+ showed such significant changes. The loss of a large fraction of the Na+ ions from the egg at metaphase was not accompanied by a significant egg volume change. The observed pattern of ionic change was related to several previously reported chemical and metabolic changes at cell division in sea urchin eggs.

Role of plasma membrane and of cytomatrix in maintenance of intracellular to extracellular ion gradients in chicken erythrocytes

Ultrastructural observations in combination with electron probe X-ray microanalysis on detergent (Brij 58) permeabilized (disruption of the plasma membrane) nucleated chicken erythrocytes support the view that a large fraction of cytoplasmic and nuclear K+ is not freely diffusible and that adsorption of K+ on detergent released mobilizable proteins exists within the cell. The data also suggest that the detergent proteins are normally immobilized by a detergent-resistant cytoskeleton so that they are not immediately free to diffuse from the cell for several minutes after detergent disruption of the plasma membrane.

Quench cooled ice crystal imprint size: a micro-method for study of macromolecular hydration

Quench cooling (rate greater than 4000 degrees C/sec) of biological specimens limits growth of ice crystals by processes different from slow cooling methods. Quench cooling in liquid propane cooled in liquid nitrogen induced ice crystal segregation compartments, as imaged by scanning transmission electron micrographs of freeze-dried cryosections of tissues and protein solutions. The observed imprints of ice crystals were relatively small and roughly spherical. The size of these ice crystal imprints increased with distance from the specimen/quenchant surface. Beyond a depth of 150 microns the size of the imprints was constant but differed among subcellular compartments. The size of the imprints was found to be dependent on: water content, extent of hydration water and the degree of protein aggregation. Determination of extent of hydration water and degree of protein aggregation in protein solutions by measurements on the size of ice crystal imprints yields data in agreement with macroscopic methods. Thus ice crystal imprints give information about the interactions of macromolecules and water at a subcellular level of resolution.

Effect of exercise on riboflavin status of rats

The effect of exercise on the riboflavin status of male rats was studied after 6 or 8 wk of treadmill running. Sedentary and exercised rats were pair fed diets marginal in riboflavin (2.0 or 2.5 mg/kg), and their tissue riboflavin concentrations and erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity coefficients (EGRAC) were compared. The rats exercised for 8 wk had similar body weights but significantly greater weights for heart, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, less epididymal fat and more total muscle nitrogen and riboflavin than their sedentary controls. Similar changes were evident after 6 wk of exercise, but some were not statistically significant. The EGRAC values of both exercised and sedentary rats responded to changes in dietary riboflavin but were not different from each other. The specific activity of mitochondrial acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (per milligram protein) of the soleus muscle was unaffected by exercise; however, when expressed per gram of tissue or per muscle, the activities in exercised rats were 25% (P less than 0.05) and 60% (P less than 0.01) higher, respectively, than in sedentary rats. On the basis of the riboflavin-dependent parameters measured in this study, exercise did not increase the dietary riboflavin requirement of growing rats but did increase total riboflavin retention in gastrocnemius and soleus muscles.

The influence of macromolecular polymerization of spin-lattice relaxation of aqueous solutions

The docking or polymerization of globular proteins is demonstrated to cause changes in proton NMR spin-lattice (T1) relaxation times. Studies on solutions of lysozyme, bovine serum albumin, actin, and tubulin are used to demonstrate that two mechanisms account for the observed changes in T1. Polymerization displaces the hydration water sheath surrounding globular proteins in solution that causes an increase in T1. Polymerization also slows the average tumbling rate of the proteins, which typically causes a contrary decrease in T1. The crystallization reaction of lysozyme in sodium chloride solution further demonstrates that the "effective" molecular weight can either decrease or increase T1 depending on how much the protein is slowed. The displacement of hydration water increases T1 because it speeds up the mean motional state of water in the solution. Macromolecular docking typically decreases T1 because it slows the mean motional state of the solute molecules. Cross-relaxation between the proteins and bound water provides the mechanism that allows macromolecular motion to influence the relaxation rate of the solvent. Fast chemical exchange between bound, structured, and bulk water accounts for monoexponential spin-lattice relaxation. Thus the spin-lattice relaxation rate of water in protein solutions is a complex reflection of the motional properties of all the molecules present containing proton magnetic dipoles. It is expected, as a result, that the characteristic relaxation times of tissues will reflect the influence of polymerization changes related to cellular activities.

The locations and amounts of endogenous ions and elements in the cap and elongating zone of horizontally oriented roots of Zea mays L.: an electron-probe EDS study

We used quantitative electron-probe energy-dispersive x-ray microanalysis to localize endogenous Na, Cl, K, P, S, Mg and Ca in cryofixed and freeze-dried cryosections of the cap (i.e. the putative site of graviperception) and elongating zone (i.e. site of gravicurvature) of horizontally oriented roots of Zea mays. Ca, Na, Cl, K and Mg accumulate along the lower side of caps of horizontally oriented roots. The most dramatic asymmetries of these ions occur in the apoplast, especially the mucilage. We could not detect any significant differences in the concentrations of these ions in the central cytoplasm of columella cells along the upper and lower sides of caps of horizontally-oriented roots. However, the increased amounts of Na, Cl, K and Mg in the longitudinal walls of columella cells along the lower side of the cap suggest that these ions may move down through the columella tissue of horizontally-oriented roots. Ca also accumulates (largely in the mucilage) along the lower side of the elongating zone of horizontally-oriented roots, while Na, P, Cl and K tend to accumulate along the upper side of the elongating zone. Of these ions, only K increases in concentration in the cytoplasm and longitudinal walls of cortical cells in the upper vs lower sides of the elongating zone. These results indicate that (1) gravity-induced asymmetries of ions differ significantly in the cap and elongating zone of graviresponding roots, (2) Ca accumulates along the lower side of the cap and elongating zone of graviresponding roots, (3) increased growth of the upper side of the elongating zone of horizontally-oriented roots correlates positively with increased amounts of K in the cytoplasm and longitudinal walls of cortical cells, and (4) the apoplast (especially the mucilage) may be an important component of the pathway via which ions move in graviresponding rots of Zea mays. These results are discussed relative to mechanisms for graviperception and gravicurvature of roots.

Elemental concentration gradients between subcellular compartments

To gain information on the mechanisms involved in the establishment and maintenance of subcellular gradients of Na, K, Cl and other elements in the flagellate, Euglena gracilis, we turned to the technique of ultracentrifugal stratification of its intracellular contents, which is achieved without loss of viability or cell rupture. Stratified and non-stratified Euglena were cryofixed for energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis of Na, K, Cl and other elements in thin freeze-dried cryosections. A number of significant elemental concentration differences (expressed as mmol kg-1 dry weight) were found between chloroplast, nucleus, paramylon granules and open cytoplasm (which contained ribosomes, membranes and macromolecules associated with the cytomatrix) in the non-stratified cells. Stratification caused several ions to be redistributed. For example, we observed a significant increase in K and Cl in the nucleus, which was correlated with the condensation of chromatin. Also Cl, but not Na, decreased significantly in the region of cytoplasm that was cleared of observable ribosomes, membranes and macromolecules associated with the cytomatrix, as well as of observable cytochemical enzyme activity. We conclude from the data that more than half of the Cl in open cytoplasm was adsorbed to or entrapped in material that was removed by ultracentrifugation. Thus, it appears that a close association of at least one ion, Cl, with ultracentrifugable material is involved in maintenance of the measured Cl concentration in the open cytoplasm of the non-stratified cell.

The subcellular concentration of ions and elements in thin cryosections of onion root meristem cells. An electron-probe EDS study

Quantitative electron-probe energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis has, for the first time, been accomplished at a subcellular level in plant tissue using cryofixed and thin freeze-dried cryosections. The subcellular concentrations of Na+, Cl-, K+, P, S, Mg2+ and Ca2+ were measured in mol/kg dry weight in two types of root meristematic cells of the onion, Allium cepa. The cell wall of the meristematic cells had much higher concentrations of K+ and Ca2+ than was found in the intracellular compartments. Storage granules in the protoderm cells were about 6–12 times lower in P and were about four times higher in S as compared to other intracellular compartments. Comparison between the concentrations of ions and other elements in meristematic plant cells and in mouse cardiac myocytes confirms that major differences in cytoplasmic Na+ and Cl- concentrations do indeed exist between these cell types.

Regulation of the permeability of the medaka fish embryo chorion by exogeneous sodium and calcium ions

We questioned if the optically transparent noncellular chorion, or egg envelope, which encapsulates the entire medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) embryo might in some way constitute a permeability barrier to high concentrations of the diuretic called amiloride. More specifically, we questioned if removal of cations from the exogenous environment of the medaka embryo might make the chorion more permeable to amiloride and thereby make the fish embryos more sensitive to the inhibitory and lethal effects of this drug. To test this question, chorion-encapsulated medaka embryos were exposed to: deionized-distilled water, to Yamamoto-Ringer's (Y-R) solution, to Yamamoto-Ringer's containing choline chloride as a substitute for NaCl, and to isotonic NaCl solution in the presence of and in the absence of amiloride. Briefly, the prediction that the medaka embryos would be most sensitive to amiloride's inhibitory effects in distilled water was confirmed. Further studies showed that the presence of Na+ or of Ca2+ alone in the culture solution gave partial protection against the lethal effects of the amiloride. Electron probe X-ray microanalysis studies indicated that addition of Ca2+ and other cations to the culture solution caused the concentrations of cations to increase in the chorion, and that increase was correlated to a visible decrease in the permeability of the chorion to the amiloride. This decreased permeability of the chorion apparently protected the embryo from the amiloride. The decreased permeability of the chorion to amiloride, which occurred in the presence of the cations present in Y-R solution, was found to be reversible once the cations were washed from the chorion. Key words medaka, chorion, Na+, Ca2+ permeability, x-ray microanalysis, Oryzias latipes, egg envelope.

Change in water proton relaxation time during erythrocyte maturation

Erythrocyte populations from newborn and mature mice were characterized according to: size; ultrastructural features; water content; concentration of intraerythrocyte elements including Na, Cl, K, P, S, Mg, and Fe; and the spinlattice (T1) and spin-spin relaxation times of water protons as measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. A significant increase in the T2 time from 142 +/- 3 msec to 184 +/- 3 msec occurred during erythrocyte maturation. This change in T2 time was correlated with a change from a polyribosome-rich hemoglobin-poor cell type to a polyribosome-absent hemoglobin-rich cell type. The change in T2 time could also be correlated to a significantly higher K and P concentration in the mature erythrocytes. The change in T2 time was not correlated to a change in cellular water content or to the concentration of any of the other elements measured by electron probe X-ray microanalysis. If the NMR relaxation times of water molecules truly reflect their average motional freedom, then the findings suggest that greater water ordering interaction occurs in the ribosome containing immature erythrocyte.

Changes in water proton relaxation times and in nuclear to cytoplasmic element gradients during meiotic maturation of Xenopus oocytes

Fully grown oocytes 1.2 mm in diameter were removed from Xenopus laevis ovaries and were exposed to progesterone (2.5 micrograms/ml in Ringer's solution) to induce completion of the first maturation division or germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). This process required 5.5 +/- 0.5 hr. Neither oocyte volume nor water content was observed to change throughout maturation. At selected times, the oocytes were quick frozen in liquid propane and cryosectioned. The sections were freeze-dried, and analyzed for K, Na, Cl, P, S, and Mg in millimolar per kilogram dry weight content in the nucleus and the yolk-free cytoplasm using electron probe X-ray microanalysis. Unstimulated oocytes showed significant nuclear to yolk-free cytoplasmic content gradients (N/C ratio) for the following elements: K (1.84), P (0.65), and S (1.56), but significant N/C content gradients were not found for Na and Mg. By 10 min after progesterone stimulation, a significant change in the N/C ratio of the following elements had occurred due to a rapid increase in nuclear content: K (2.29), Cl (2.11). A significant N/C ratio for Mg (1.35) had developed by 10 min after progesterone stimulation and a significant N/C ratio for Na (2.07) had developed by 45 min. In addition the following elements showed significant content increases in both the nucleus and the yolk-free cytoplasm from the time prior to progesterone stimulation to the time just prior to GVBD at 240 min: K, Na, Cl, P, S, and Mg. Nuclear magnetic resonance measurements of the spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) of water proton in oocytes showed a significant increase in the T1 time after progesterone exposure. The changes in N/C ratios of specific elements and in the physical parameter of water proton relaxation time suggest that progesterone is responsible for inducing changes in the physicochemical interactions between various macromolecules, specific elements, and water.

Effect of cancer cachexia and amiloride treatment on the intracellular sodium content in tissue cells

This study was designed to investigate the effects of a growing H6 hepatoma on the intracellular element content in three distinctly different tissue cell populations of the mouse host (hepatocytes, fibroblasts, and crystal enterocytes). X-ray microanalysis measurements of the intranuclear concentrations of several elements (sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, and potassium) were made. Briefly, the tumor presence significantly increased intranuclear sodium concentration but not the concentration of magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, or potassium in three tissue cell types of mice that were anorectic and cachectic. A second aim of the study was to see if injections of the diuretic amiloride, a drug reported to block passive influx of sodium into mammalian cells, would counteract the effect of the tumor presence and lower the intranuclear concentration of sodium towards that of a non-tumor-bearing host. Amiloride did significantly lower the intranuclear level of sodium in the host tissues to that of non-tumor-bearing mice. The amiloride-caused decrease on intracellular sodium was correlated to a decreased cell proliferation activity in the tumor cells and duodenal enterocytes. A possible relationship between the intracellular concentration of sodium in tissue cells and cancer cachexia is discussed.