Radioimmunoassay for human follicle—stimulating hormone: physiological studies

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Abstract

Most of the information concerning secretion changes in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in humans has been gained with relatively insensitive bioassays of concentrates of pools of urine. We have developed a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for FSH that is 500-1000 times more sensitive than the rat ovarianweight augmentation assay and which is capable of quantifying FSH in small volumes of serum. Anti-FSH was prepared by immunizing rabbits with an impure FSH preparation. The majority of antisera showed complete inability to distinguish LH, TSH, and FSH, illustrating the immunological similarities of these hormones. One antiserum was specific when used in a radioimmunoassay. Potency estimates by bioassay were in good agreement, with a single exception, with those obtained with the radioimmunoassay for 10 FSH-containing preparations. Highly purified LH gave a higher potency by immunoassay than by bioassay.

Authors

W. D. Odell, A. F. Parlow, C. M. Cargille, G. T. Ross

Increased urinary excretion of acidic mucopolysaccharides in exophthalmos

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Abstract

The excretion of mucopolysaccharides normally found in urine (chondroitin, chondroitin sulfates A and C, keratosulfate, and heparitin sulfate) is increased approximately twofold in patients with progresive exophthalmos. A threefold elevation of total serum mucopolysaccharides is also found. These increases are unrelated to thyroid function.

Authors

Roger J. Winand

Effect of removal of bullae on airway conductance and conductance volume ratios

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Abstract

Airway conductance is known to increase with an increase in the lung volume at which it is measured, owing to a change in transpulmonary pressure and lung tissue tension. We investigated the effect of surgical resection of lung tissue on functional residual capacity and airway conductance in patients with localized lung disease (i.e., carcinoma or tuberculosis) and in patients with lung cysts or bullous emphysema. In four out of five of the patients who had resection of one or more lobes of the lung to remove localized disease there was a reduction both in the airway conductance and in the functional residual capacity with relatively little change in the conductance volume ratio.

Authors

Robert M. Rogers, Arthur B. DuBois, William S. Blakemore

Metabolic and calcium kinetic studies in idiopathic hypercalciuria

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Calcium balances and calcium kinetic studies using 47Ca were performed in nine male patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria and in three normal male subjects. A sharp reduction in calcium intake in eight patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria caused a decrease in urinary calcium excretion, the latter remaining elevated above that reported for normal subjects on a low calcium diet. The hypercalciuric patients had an enlarged miscible calcium pool size, an increased calcium turnover rate, increased bone formation and bone resorption rates, and an elevated true intestinal calcium absorption rate, the increase of the latter three parameters being proportional to the increase of the turnover rate. The fraction of the calcium turnover rate excreted in the urine was elevated whereas that constituted by the endogenous fecal calcium excretion was decreased. Arguments are presented for the concept that the primary abnormality in idiopathic hypercalciuria is neither renal calcium hyperexcretion nor intestinal calcium hyperreabsorption, but a more fundamental disturbance in calcium metabolism of as yet unknown cause, leading to a high calcium turnover.

Authors

U. A. Liberman, O. Sperling, A. Atsmon, M. Frank, M. Modan, A. De Vries

Effects of a short-term fast on albumin synthesis studied in vivo, in the perfused liver, and on amino acid incorporation by hepatic microsomes

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Abstract

Carbonate-14C was used to label the hepatic intracellular arginine pool and direct measurement of albumin synthesis was made in six rabbits before and after an 18-36 hr fast. 18 perfusion studies were performed with livers derived from fed and fasted rabbits (18-24 hr). Microsomal amino acid-incorporating ability with leucine-3H and phenylalanine-14C was compared in 17 studies, using microsomes isolated from livers taken from fed and fasted rabbits and from isolated perfused livers whose donors were fed and fasted.

Authors

Marcus A. Rothschild, Murray Oratz, Joseph Mongelli, Sidney S. Schreiber

Response of the canine duodenum to intraluminal challenge with cholera exotoxin

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Abstract

In response to intraluminal challenge with crude cholera exotoxin, canine Thiry-Vella duodenal loops consistently produced isotonic fluid for a 24-36 hr period. Isotonic fluid production generally began within 15 min after challenge. Mean bicarbonate concentration of fluid produced by duodenal loops was 24±6 (SD) mEq/liter. Perfusion of exotoxin-treated duodenal loops with an isotonic electrolyte solution containing glucose 60 mOsm/liter caused a significant decrease in exotoxin-induced isotonic fluid output. The net effects of glucose on isotonic fluid absorption by perfused duodenal loops were not significantly different before and after administration of crude cholera exotoxin.

Authors

Charles C. J. Carpenter, William B. Greenough III

Activation of hageman factor by collagen

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Abstract

Purified acid-soluble and insoluble human collagen accelerated the clotting of plateletpoor plasma in silicone-treated tubes. The clot-promoting effect did not appear to be due to thromboplastic activity since the collagen preparations did not activate factor X in the presence of factor VII and calcium. Instead, collagen appeared to accelerate clotting by activating Hageman factor (factor XII) on the basis of the following findings: collagen increased the clot-promoting activity of partially purified Hageman factor but exerted no further effect in the presence of kaolin, a known activator of Hageman factor; clot-promoting eluates were obtained from collagen exposed to normal, hemophilic, or PTC-deficient plasma but not from collagen exposed to Hageman or PTA-deficient plasma. The collagen molecule itself appeared to be required for the clot-promoting activity since digestion with collagenase or thermal denaturation at pH 2.5 (about 35°C) resulted in very marked reduction in clot-promoting activity. Since thermal denaturation is associated with transformation of collagen structure from triple helical to random coil form, it is suggested that the native form of collagen is essential for the ability to activate Hageman factor.

Authors

G. D. Wilner, H. L. Nossel, E. C. LeRoy

Aggregation of platelets by collagen

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Abstract

In studying some of the properties of collagen responsible for the ability to aggregate platelets it was found that thermal treatment at pH 2.5 of acid-soluble human collagen resulted in a sharp reduction in relative viscosity and platelet aggregating activity at about 35°C. The reduction in viscosity is known to be associated with structural transition from triple helical to random coil form and it is postulated that the native structure of collagen is essential for its platelet aggregation effect. Blockage of the free amino groups by deamination, N-acetylation, or treatment with dinitrofluorobenzene resulted in over 90% reduction in platelet aggregating activity. Addition of cationic proteins to collagen, removal of the negatively charged telopeptides by treatment with pepsin, or acetylation of the free carboxyl groups did not significantly affect the platelet aggregating activity of collagen. On the basis of these findings it is suggested that the free amino groups and specifically the epsilon amino groups of lysine are critical for the platelet aggregating activity of collagen whereas the carboxyl groups are of relatively little importance.

Authors

G. D. Wilner, H. L. Nossel, E. C. LeRoy

Degradation of collagen by a human granulocyte collagenolytic system

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This report suggests a mechanism for collagen degradation mediated by human granulocytic leukocytes. A specific collagenase, which is extractable from human granulocytes, has been partially purified by DEAE chromatography. This collagenolytic enzyme is operative at physiological pH and is inhibited by EDTA, cysteine, and reduced glutathione but not by human serum. The enzyme cleaves the collagen molecule into two specific products, without loss of helical conformation. Electron micrographs of segment long spacing aggregates indicate that the cleavage occurs one-quarter of the length from the carboxy terminal end of the molecule. Experiments with crude extracts from granulocytes suggest that the specific products of granulocyte collagenase activity are then degraded by other proteases present in the human granulocyte.

Authors

Gerald S. Lazarus, John R. Daniels, Robert S. Brown, Howard A. Bladen, Harold M. Fullmer

Incorporation of orthophosphate-³²P into erythrocyte phospholipids in normal subjects and in patients with hereditary spherocytosis

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Abstract

The in vitro incorporation of inorganic 32P into erythrocyte phospholipids has been studied in normal subjects and in splenectomized patients with hereditary spherocytosis (HS). Phosphatidic acid (PA) was the only lipid measurably labeled in both kinds of cells. The actual turnover rate of PA phosphate was determined by simultaneously isolating inorganic phosphate (Pi) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and determining their specific activities. This turnover is very small: 1.3 μmoles P/liter of erythrocytes per hr in normal cells and 4.0 μmoles P in HS erythrocytes when either ATP or cellular Pi is considered the immediate precursor. This value represents less than 0.1% of the total membrane lipid phosphate. Incorporation of added 32Pi into the other phosphatides, including phosphatidyl serine, was essentially zero in both kinds of cells.

Authors

Claude F. Reed

Studies on collagenase from rheumatoid synovium in tissue culture

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Fragments of synovium from patients with rheumatoid arthritis survive in defined tissue culture medium in the absence of added serum and, after 3-4 days, release into the medium enzyme capable of degrading undenatured collagen. Maximal activity is observed at pH 7-9 but the enzyme is inactive at pH 5. At temperatures of 20° and 27°C, collagen molecules in solution are cleaved into 3/4 and 1/4 length fragments with minimal loss of negative optical rotation, but with loss in specific viscosity of approximately 60%. Above 30°C the fragments begin to denature and denaturation is complete at 37°C. If the enzyme is not inhibited at this stage the large fragments are broken down further to polypeptides of low molecular weight. Reconstituted collagen fibrils and native fibers at 37°C are cleaved to the low molecular weight fragments, although the fibrils are resistant to breakdown at lower temperatures (20°-27°C). It is proposed that the production of such an enzyme by inflamed and proliferating rheumatoid synovium may be responsible for some of the destruction of collagenous structures that accompanies rheumatoid arthritis.

Authors

John M. Evanson, John J. Jeffrey, Stephen M. Krane

Effect of altitude on oxygen binding by hemoglobin and on organic phosphate levels

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The relationship between oxygen dissociation and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) in the red cell has been studied in subjects moving from low to high altitude and vice versa. Within 24 hr following the change in altitude there was a change in hemoglobin affinity for oxygen; this modification therefore represents an important rapid adaptive mechanism to anoxia. A parallel change occurred in the organic phosphate content of the red cell. While this study does not provide direct evidence of a cause-effect relationship, the data strongly suggest that with anoxia, the observed rise in organic phosphate content of the red cell is responsible for increased availability of oxygen to tissues.

Authors

Claude Lenfant, John Torrance, Eugenia English, Clement A. Finch, Cesar Reynafarje, Jose Ramos, Jose Faura

Genetic control of dicumarol levels in man

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The mean half-life of dicumarol in the plasma of seven sets of identical and seven sets of fraternal twins after a single oral dose of 4 mg/kg was 43.6±SD 17.9 hr. Half-lives ranged from 7 to 74 hr in these 28 normal adults not receiving other drugs for 2 wk preceding dicumarol administration. Large differences among unrelated individuals in dicumarol half-life disappeared almost completely in identical twins, but persisted to some extent in most sets of fraternal twins. These results indicate that marked differences among subjects in dicumarol half-life are under genetic rather than environmental control. Reproducibility of values for dicumarol half-life was demonstrated. A direct relationship between the dose and the half-life of dicumarol occurred in unrelated volunteers administered progressively larger doses at 10-day intervals. Dose dependence of the half-life of a drug results in increased variability of half-life and hence in greater risks of toxicity on long-term therapy. Risks of toxicity on the one hand and of failure to anticoagulate adequately on the other can be reduced by determining dicumarol half-life before starting long-term therapy. Half-lives for dicumarol and phenylbutzone tended to be correlated in the 28 twins, but no correlation occurred between dicumarol and antipyrine half-lives.

Authors

Elliot S. Vesell, John G. Page

Altered sulfhydryl reactivity of hemoglobins and red blood cell membranes in congenital heinz body hemolytic anemia

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Abstract

The mechanisms of hemoglobin precipitation into Heinz bodies and hemolytic anemia that characterize congenital Heinz body hemolytic anemia (CHBHA) were studied in patients with the unstable hemoglobins, Köln (β-98 valine → methionine) and Hammersmith (β-42 phenylalanine → serine). The cysteines in the 93rd position of the β-chains of CHBHA hemoglobins bound glutathione excessively in mixed disulfide linkage. The resulting diminished “free” GSH within the cell accelerated hexose monophosphate shunt metabolism. The unique precipitability of CHBHA hemoglobins when heated at 50°C could be induced in normal hemoglobin A by artificially blockading its sulfhydryl groups with paramercuribenzoate (PMB).

Authors

Harry S. Jacob, Michael C. Brain, John V. Dacie

Nonsuppressible insulin-like activity in human serum: III. Differentiation of two distinct molecules with nonsuppressible ILA

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Abstract

Total nonsuppressible insulin-like activity (ILA) of human plasma (measured by the adipose tissue assay) results from the additive effects of at least two distinct components. They differ in molecular size, solubility in acid-ethanol, and in thermostability. More than 90% of nonsuppressible ILA of human plasma is insoluble in acid-ethanol. Its molecular size of 100,000-150,000 remains unchanged by treatment with acid-ethanol, 5 M acetic acid-0.15 M NaCl, urea, and EDTA. It is inactivated by heat.

Authors

A. Jakob, Ch. Hauri, E. R. Froesch

Antibacterial mechanisms of the urinary bladder

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Abstract

The disappearance of bacteria from the normal urinary bladder is apparently a function of two host defense mechanisms: the mechanical clearance of organisms by voiding, and the antibacterial activity of the bladder wall. This study quantified the relative contribution of each of these mechanisms to the resistance of the bladder to bacterial infection.

Authors

Carl W. Norden, Gareth M. Green, Edward H. Kass

Toxic effects of glucagon-induced acute lipid mobilization in geese

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The toxic effects associated with rapid lipid mobilization and a high plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration produced by glucagon were evaluated. Glucagon (0.5 mg/kg of body wt) was injected intravenously into nonfasting geese. The geese developed rapid respirations and high plasma FFA levels within 15 min after the glucagon injection; three of eleven died. Control geese, injected with saline, did not exhibit toxic signs. Peak FFA concentrations developed 15 min after glucagon and high levels persisted for over 90 min. Geese injected with glucagon frequently developed electrocardiographic abnormalities that included supraventricular tachycardia, premature ventricular contractions, and signs of myocardial ischemia. Light and electron microscopy revealed acute myocardial degeneration and fatty infiltration of the liver. The increase in plasma FFA concentrations and toxic effects were not prevented by pretreatment with nicotinic acid or propranolol.

Authors

John C. Hoak, William E. Connor, Emory D. Warner

Effects of heterogeneous myocardial perfusion on coronary venous H₂ desaturation curves and calculations of coronary flow

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Abstract

The present investigation was intended to evaluate myocardial inert gas desaturation curves for manifestations of heterogeneous coronary perfusion. The test gas was hydrogen (H2) and blood H2 analyses were performed with a gas chromatograph capable of detecting small but prolonged venous-arterial H2 differences produced by areas of reduced flow. Curves were initially obtained after 4-min left ventricular infusions of H2-saturated saline in six patients with arteriographically proven coronary artery disease, three patients with normal coronary arteries, and nine closed-chest dogs. The dogs were studied before and after embolic occlusion of a portion of the left coronary artery. Although the slopes of their semilogarithmically plotted venous desaturation curves varied with time before embolization, they showed more distinct deviations from single exponentials after embolization (after H2 concentrations had fallen below 15% of their initial values). The human curves divided similarly, those from coronary artery patients deviating appreciably from single exponentials. A similar separation was also evident in studies of coronary venous-arterial H2 differences after 20 min of breathing 2% H2: data were obtained in four dogs before and after coronary embolization, and in three normal patients, and five patients with coronary artery disease. Additional data indicated that the findings were not the result of right atrial admixture in sampled coronary venous blood, although admixture occurred frequently when blood was sampled in the first 2 cm of the coronary sinus (as seen in the frontal projection). Finally, average coronary flows calculated from a given set of data varied significantly with different methods of calculation. Areas of below-average flow seemed likely to be overlooked when single rate constants of desaturation, relatively insensitive analytical techniques, or relatively short periods of saturation and (or) desaturation are employed.

Authors

Francis J. Klocke, Robert C. Koberstein, David E. Pittman, Ivan L. Bunnell, David G. Greene, Douglas R. Rosing

Radioimmunoassay of ACTH in plasma

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Abstract

Techniques are described in detail for a radioimmunoassay of plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) that is capable of detecting hormone in unextracted normal human plasma at 1:5 dilution under the conditions described. The sensitivity of the assay is at the level of 1 μμg/ml (equivalent to 0.014 mU/100 ml).

Authors

Solomon A. Berson, Rosalyn S. Yalow

Effect of diphenylhydantoin on synaptosome sodium-potassium-ATPase

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Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that electrically induced seizures in rat result in an increased brain intracellular sodium which can be decreased by treatment with sodium diphenylhydantoin (DPH). The correlation of cation transport with membrane-oriented sodium-potassium-adenosine triphosphatase (Na-K-ATPase) prompted an investigation of the effect of DPH upon ATPase enzyme activity.

Authors

Barry W. Festoff, Stanley H. Appel

Insulin Delivery Rate into Plasma in Normal and Diabetic Subjects

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Abstract

Authors