bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Properties of pig mature erythrocyte hexokinase
Authors: Kearse F. J. , Dixon E.
Published: December 2017

Previous studies have demonstrated the presence of two type III hexokinase isozymes in pig mature erythrocytes. The prevalence of a specific isozyme species is an age-dependent phenomenon. The mature erythrocyte of young adult pigs (less than 6 mo old) possess an isozyme that has an apparent Km for glucose that is lower than in adult pigs. The data in this report suggest several basic differences between the two isozymes. D-Mannoheptulose, a structural analogue of glucose, was observed to differentially inhibit the isozymes. The young adult isozyme tended to be heat sensitive when compared with adult isozymes. Carboxypeptidase B and trypsin inhibited the activity of both isozymes, but the young adult isozyme was most dramatically affected by carboxypeptidase B. When the two isozymes were incubated in the presence of two sulfhydryl group inhibitors, HgCl2 and 5,5'-dithiobis [2-nitrobenzoic acid] (DTNB), the young adult isozyme exhibited the greater inhibition in the presence of DTNB. The data suggest that the young adult isozyme exhibited pronounced differences in activity when incubated in the presence of DTNB and carboxypeptidase B. These two agents may be used as probes to further characterize the properties of the two isozymes.
Renal nerves and initial excretory responses to recumbency: a species comparison
Authors: Peterson T. V. , Hurst N. L. , Richardson J. A.
Published: December 2017

Experiments were performed in anesthetized Macaca fascicularis monkeys and mongrel dogs to determine if there are species differences concerning the involvement of the renal nerves in mediating the initial renal effects occurring with the assumption of recumbency. All animals underwent acute unilateral renal denervation with the contralateral kidney serving as the innervated control. Renal perfusion pressure was controlled throughout each experiment. Control measurements were made with all animals tilted head up 45 degrees, and recumbent measurements were made 5–15 min after the animals were lowered to 0 degree. In the monkeys, similar increases in urine flow, absolute and fractional sodium excretion, and creatinine and p-aminohippurate clearances occurred in both the innervated and denervated kidneys during recumbency. In contrast, in the dogs, renal denervation abolished these responses in that increases in these parameters occurred in the innervated kidneys only. These results demonstrate that the initial diuresis and natriuresis of recumbency are dependent on the presence of the renal nerves in the dog but not in the monkey.
Inhibition of thermal panting by intracarotid infusion of hypertonic saline in dogs
Authors: Baker M. A. , Dawson D. D.
Published: December 2017

Six dogs were surgically prepared with a right carotid loop and with the left common carotid artery ligated low in the neck. Respiratory frequency (f) and body temperature (Tb) were measured while the animals were at rest in a warm chamber (36–40 degrees C) in four separate experiments: 1) right intracarotid infusion of hypertonic NaCl; 2) right intracarotid infusion of isotonic NaCl; 3) intravenous infusion of hypertonic NaCl; and 4) no infusions. In a fifth experiment, right and left jugular and cephalic venous blood samples were collected before, during, and after the hypertonic intracarotid infusions. A 10-min infusion of hypertonic NaCl into the right common carotid artery elevated right jugular plasma osmolality by 33 mosmol/kg H2O, left jugular plasma osmolality by 26 mosmol/kg H2O, and cephalic plasma osmolality by 8 mosmol/kg H2O. A significant reversible drop in f and a rise in Tb occurred during hypertonic intracarotid infusions. Neither intracarotid infusion of isotonic NaCl nor intravenous infusion of hypertonic NaCl affected f or Tb. In experiments with no infusion, f and Tb did not change. It is concluded that brain receptors sensitive to extracellular solute concentration are able to influence the rate of thermoregulatory panting. This may underlie, in part, the reduced evaporation and elevated body temperatures that occur in dehydrated mammals exposed to heat.
Central action of glucagon in rat hypothalamus
Authors: Inokuchi A. , Oomura Y. , Shimizu N. , Yamamoto T.
Published: December 2017

The effects of electrophoretically applied glucagon on neuronal activity in the rat lateral hypothalamic area (LHA), dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH), and ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) were examined. In the LHA glucagon significantly suppressed the activity of glucose-sensitive neurons compared with its effect on non-glucose-sensitive neurons. This inhibitory effect of glucagon on LHA neurons was blocked by ouabain. Intracellular recordings from LHA neurons revealed that glucagon hyperpolarized the cell membrane without a significant change in the input membrane resistance. Intra-arterial injection of glucagon suppressed the activity of some neurons that were suppressed by electrophoretically applied glucagon. Similarly, glucagon suppressed the activity of significant numbers of DMH and VMH neurons with doses higher than those that affected LHA glucose-sensitive neurons. Cortical neurons were unaffected by glucagon. The data suggest that blood-borne glucagon could suppress the activity of LHA glucose-sensitive neurons and, in addition, might contribute to the control of metabolism and the termination of feeding behavior.
Diurnal variations in cardiovascular integration
Authors: Engel B. T.
Published: December 2017

Beat-to-beat heart periods and intra-arterial blood pressures were monitored continuously for 18 h in each of six monkeys over periods of several weeks. Means, based on 128-s averages of these functions, were highly correlated during early evening and daytime periods; however, heart period was poorly correlated with blood pressure during the evening hours, although systolic and diastolic pressures were highly correlated, and the standard deviations of heart period also were highly correlated with the pressures. These shifts in cardiovascular integration were unexpected and suggest that the circulation is relatively sensitive to the conditions under which it is being assessed, and they suggest further that response relationships observed under one set of conditions may not be comparable to those measured under another set of conditions.
Lower intestinal modification of ureteral urine in hydrated house sparrows
Authors: Goldstein D. L. , Braun E. J.
Published: December 2017

The ureters of birds empty into the posterior portion of the lower intestine, thereby providing the possibility for modification of ureteral urine by this latter organ. We have used in vivo perfusion to measure the transport of Na+, K+, and water across the lower intestine (colon and coprodaeum) of anesthetized house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Na+ was reabsorbed from (Vmax = approximately 22 mu eq . cm-2 . h-1, Km = approximately 69 meq/l) and K+ was secreted (at variable rates) into all saline perfusion fluids. The osmotic permeability of the intestinal epithelium was 0.39 microliter . cm-2 . h-1 . mosM-1 in the mucosal-to-serosal direction and 0.43 microliter . cm-2 . h-1 . mosM-1 in the serosal-to-mucosal direction. At isosmotic perfusion, Na+-linked water transport occurred at a rate of 1.7 microliter/mu eq Na+. In hydrated house sparrows the composition of ureteral urine (osmolarity = 351 mosM, Na+ = 86.5 meq/l, K+ = 60.5 meq/l) was significantly modified by transport in the lower intestine (voided fluid osmolarity = 344 mosM, Na+ = 60 meq/l, K+ = 90 meq/l). Interspecific comparisons of lower intestinal resorptive surface area and transport parameters at the level of the tissue, organ, and whole animal reveal no consistent pattern of adaptation related to habitat.
Effects of ovine prolactin on calcium uptake and distribution in Oreochromis mossambicus
Authors: Flik G. , Fenwick J. C. , Kolar Z. , Mayer-Gostan N. , Wendelar Bonga S. E.
Published: December 2017

Ovine prolactin stimulated the net uptake rate of Ca2+ from the water by 96%, produced frank hypercalcemia, and increased total bone calcium content in fed rapidly growing freshwater male tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus. It did not, however, alter the size of the readily exchangeable bone calcium pool. The increase in calcium accumulation resulted from an increase in whole-body Ca2+ influx and a decrease in Ca2+ efflux. It is concluded that prolactin exerts an important control over Ca2+ exchange between the fish and its environment and that through its hypercalcemic action prolactin indirectly facilitates bone mineralization.
Effects of cold acclimation in dystrophic hamsters: reduction of heart necrosis
Authors: Desautels M. , Dulos R. A.
Published: December 2017

The effects of cold acclimation on brown adipose tissue, heart, and skeletal muscles were evaluated to assess if the increase in metabolic activity associated with chronic exposure to 4 degrees C had any influence on the progression of the syndrome in dystrophic hamsters. Body weight gain was much slower in dystrophic animals kept at 22 degrees C and was unaffected by cold acclimation. Rates of O2 consumption and CO2 production were similar in normal and dystrophic hamsters kept at 22 degrees C, and both were increased in cold-acclimated normal and dystrophic animals. The amount of interscapular brown adipose tissue was about one-half of normal in dystrophic hamsters kept at 22 degrees C. In response to cold acclimation, as in normal hamsters, brown adipose tissue of dystrophic hamsters grew and increased its thermogenin content by more than fourfold. However, the concentration of thermogenin in isolated mitochondria remained unchanged. Heart ventricular hypertrophy was also observed in both normal and dystrophic hamsters after cold acclimation. The number and extent of cardiac necrotic lesions were significantly reduced in cold-acclimated dystrophic animals when compared with age-matched dystrophic hamsters kept at 22 degrees C. Heart calcium content and plasma creatine kinase levels were also reduced in dystrophic hamsters after cold acclimation. However, in soleus muscles the prevalence of centronucleated fibers, an indirect cumulative index of necrosis, as well as the extent of tissue necrosis were not significantly reduced in cold-acclimated dystrophic animals. Thus cold acclimation of dystrophic hamsters appeared to reduce necrosis predominantly in the heart.
Dissociation of sympathetic and thermogenic activity in brown fat of Syrian hamsters
Authors: Hamilton J. M. , Mason P. W. , McElroy J. F. , Wade G. N.
Published: December 2017

Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) were fed a high-fat (HF) diet for up to 16 wk. Sympathetic and thermogenic activities in their brown adipose tissue (BAT) were assessed by measuring norepinephrine content and turnover and mitochondrial GDP binding and cytochrome c oxidase activity. Chronic ingestion of the HF diet resulted in significant increases in carcass lipid and interscapular BAT wet weight by the end of the second week. HF-fed hamsters were slightly hyperphagic during the first 2 wk of HF feeding only. Significant weight gains persisted beyond the period of hyperphagia. Hypertrophy of interscapular BAT after 16 wk on the HF diet was accompanied by increases in protein and DNA content, indicating growth of functional tissue. Norepinephrine turnover and content in BAT were decreased throughout the entire period of HF feeding, regardless of changes in caloric intake or body weight. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase activity and GDP binding were increased after 16 wk on the HF diet, a time when the HF-fed animals were obese but not hyperphagic. These results demonstrate a dissociation of BAT thermogenesis from sympathetic activity in the tissue. It appears that sympathetic nervous system activity in BAT was suppressed by the HF diet, whereas thermogenic activity of the tissue was activated when the hamsters became obese.
Electrical activity and sodium transfer across in vitro pig placenta
Authors: Sibley C. P. , Ward B. S. , Glazier J. D. , Moore W. M. , Boyd R. D.
Published: December 2017

Electrical activity generated by pieces of pig placenta, taken from anesthetized animals and mounted in Ussing chambers, has been investigated. Ten minutes after the start of voltage clamping, potential difference (PD; fetal side positive, open circuit), short circuit current (SCC), and resistance were 5.9 +/- 0.4 (SE) mV, 8.6 +/- 0.5 microA X cm-2, and 720 +/- 45 omega X cm2, respectively (n = 50). Ouabain (10(-4) M) added to the fetal side caused a maximum decline in PD and SCC from the time of addition of -3.7 +/- 0.98 mV and -3.9 +/- 1.4 microA X cm-2 (n = 6); epinephrine (10(-5) M) added to the fetal side caused increases of +1.0 +/- 0.2 mV and +4.0 +/- 1.4 microA X cm-2, respectively (n = 14). Drug concentrations for 50% maximum response for the effect of a series of adrenergic agonists on SCC were (in M) isoproterenol 1.2 +/- 0.05 X 10(-8), norepinephrine 6.1 +/- 0.3 X 10(-8), epinephrine 2.4 +/- 0.1 X 10(-7), and phenylephrine 4.7 +/- 0.2 X 10(-5), suggesting the involvement of fetally oriented beta-adrenergic receptors. Fetal epinephrine (10(-5) M) also stimulated net Na+ flux (Jnet) toward the fetal side to an extent equal to its effect on SCC. In control experiments Jnet was small but was inhibited by fetal side ouabain (10(-4) M) to produce a maternally directed Jnet, significantly different to the SCC. Replacement of Na+ by choline reduced SCC markedly but did not abolish it. In the absence of Na+, epinephrine had no effect on SCC. These results suggest that active Na+ transfer is not completely responsible for the control electrical activity of pig placenta. Epinephrine, however, modulates SCC entirely by stimulating net Na+ transfer toward the fetal side.
Development of mammalian endocochlear potential: normal ontogeny and effects of anoxia
Authors: Woolf N. K. , Ryan A. F. , Harris J. P.
Published: December 2017

The development of the positive endocochlear potential (EP), the negative anoxic EP, and the organ of Corti potential were measured at various postnatal ages in the Mongolian gerbil, beginning at 8 days after birth (DAB). The organ of Corti potential (OCP) was present at 8 DAB but averaged 21% less than the adult value. OCP increased regularly with age, reaching adult values of -90 mV by 14 DAB. The positive EP was first observed at 10 DAB, at which age it averaged only 2-3 mV. This potential increased monotonically between 10 and 20 DAB, by which time it had reached the adult value of 75 mV. Anoxia did not result in a negative EP until 12 DAB, at which age this potential averaged -7 mV. The negative anoxic EP matured more rapidly than the positive EP, achieving the adult value of 40 mV by 18 DAB. During development the positive EP appeared to closely parallel the maturation of glucose metabolism in the stria vascularis. The negative anoxic EP was more closely related temporally to the development of cochlear microphonic potential (CM) thresholds. It is hypothesized that changes which occur between 10 and 16 DAB in the apical membranes of the cochlear hair cells contribute to the maturation of both CM and the negative anoxic EP.
Extra-abdominal pressure alters food intake, intragastric pressure, and gastric emptying rate
Authors: Geliebter A. , Westreich S. , Pierson R. N. , Van Itallie T. B.
Published: December 2017

Compression of the animal stomach gives rise to vagal discharges that could signal satiety. To test a noninvasive method of inducing compression of the human stomach, we first employed extra-abdominal pressure levels of 0, 10, and 20 Torr, counterbalanced for sequence, in six lean and obese subjects. A large blood pressure cuff was wrapped around the abdomen of the subject with the air bladder over the epigastrium. The bladder was inflated before ingestion of a liquid meal by the subject until satiated. Relative to 0 Torr, pressures of 10 and 20 Torr significantly reduced spontaneous food intake (P less than 0.03) without producing discomfort. In a second study, extra-abdominal pressure of 20 Torr also raised intragastric pressure by a mean of 5.5 Torr (P less than 0.03). In a third study, extra-abdominal pressure of 20 Torr did not alter gastric emptying rate during meal ingestion but ultimately enhanced emptying rate when this pressure was maintained for greater than 100 min after meal completion (P less than 0.01).
Canine renal responses to atrial stretch or intravenous saline are not attenuated at night
Authors: Goetz K. L. , Wang B. C.
Published: December 2017

Primates develop a diuresis and natriuresis in response to stimuli that increase central blood volume. However, the renal response is markedly attenuated when these same experimental stimuli are applied at night. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a quadruped, specifically the dog, also demonstrates attenuated renal responses to similar stimuli given at night. Two experimental protocols were performed on conscious dogs at night: 1) left atrial distension by partial mitral valve obstruction and 2) intravenous saline administration. Results from these experiments were compared with results from comparable experiments performed on the same dogs during the day. Each experimental intervention produced increases in urine flow and sodium excretion and decreases in urine osmolality during both day and night experiments (all P less than 0.05). The responses obtained during the night did not differ significantly from those obtained during the day. Thus the dog does not demonstrate an attenuated renal response to central volume expansion during the night. This contrasts with the adaptive response in primates that serves to minimize fluid loss when the intrathoracic blood pool is increased during prolonged recumbency at night. Presumably quadrupeds, with trunks horizontal both day and night, do not require nocturnal adaptive mechanisms to conserve body fluids.
Regulation of plasma arginine vasotocin in conscious water-deprived domestic fowl
Authors: Stallone J. N. , Braun E. J.
Published: December 2017

Radioimmunoassay methods were employed to quantitatively characterize secretion of the avian antidiuretic hormone [arginine vasotocin (AVT)] by the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system (HNS) of the conscious domestic fowl in response to chronic dehydration. Water deprivation permitted characterization of AVT secretion in response to the combined stimuli of extracellular hyperosmolality and hypovolemia; the subsequent repletion of extracellular volume permitted separation of potential osmotic and volemic factors involved in the regulation of AVT secretion. In normally hydrated birds, plasma AVT (PAVT) and plasma osmolality (Posm) averaged 2.2 +/- 0.3 microU/ml (10.5 +/- 1.4 pg/ml) and 309.3 +/- 0.7 mosmol/kg H2O, respectively (means +/- SE). With water deprivation, PAVT and Posm of the birds increased in parallel in a curvilinear manner to maxima of 13.1 +/- 0.6 microU/ml (62.4 +/- 2.9 pg/ml) and 346.6 +/- 2.0 mosmol/kg H2O, respectively, at 96 h of dehydration. The isosmotic repletion of extracellular volume at 96 h by acute intravenous infusion failed to alter 96-h PAVT values. The results indicate that AVT secretion is closely linked to the state of hydration during negative fluid balance in the domestic fowl. Analysis of the data indicated that increases in PAVT that occur with dehydration are mediated primarily by extracellular hyperosmolality and that the HNS of the domestic fowl is relatively insensitive to the simultaneous hypovolemia incurred with fluid deprivation.
Central administration of alpha-MSH antiserum augments fever in the rabbit
Authors: Shih S. T. , Khorram O. , Lipton J. M. , McCann S. M.
Published: December 2017

alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) has a marked antipyretic action when given centrally or peripherally, and the concentration of this peptide within the septal region of the brain increases during fever. To assess the significance of endogenous central alpha-MSH in fever, antiserum was given to rabbits via a cannula implanted in the third cerebral ventricle. Each day for 3 days, the animals received 50 microliters of normal rabbit serum (NRS) or an equal volume of antiserum raised against alpha-MSH. Interleukin 1 (IL 1) was then injected intravenously to determine the effect of central immunoneutralization of alpha-MSH on the febrile response. Immunoneutralization markedly prolonged fever. The average rise in temperature and the area under the fever curve after IL 1 injection were also significantly increased. Antiserum treatment did not alter normal body temperature, and NRS had no effect on IL 1-induced fever. These results indicate that endogenous central alpha-MSH contributes to physiological limitation of fever and that the role of this peptide in temperature regulation is relevant to the febrile state but not to normothermia.
Energy balance and brown adipose tissue thermogenesis during pregnancy in Syrian hamsters
Authors: Wade G. N. , Jennings G. , Trayhurn P.
Published: December 2017

Energy balance and brown adipose tissue thermogenesis were examined during pregnancy in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Neither estrous cycles nor pregnancy had any effect on food intake, but both were accompanied by significant changes in body weight. Despite their substantial weight gains (attributable to growth of fetuses and placentas), pregnant hamsters actually lost a mean of 48 kJ in carcass energy, whereas unmated controls gained 98 kJ over the same 15 days. During pregnancy hamsters exhibited an increase in protein deposition (almost entirely in the fetuses and placentas), but they lost nearly 40% of their body lipid. An apparent increase in energy expenditure occurred despite a highly significant decrease in brown adipose tissue thermogenesis during pregnancy. By day 15 of pregnancy (within 13 h of expected parturition) there were substantial decreases in interscapular brown adipose tissue weight (-59%), protein content (-54%), and cytochrome-c oxidase activity (-69%). These changes in brown adipose tissue were evident by day 4 of pregnancy and persisted through lactation. It is suggested that this suppression of brown adipose tissue function is due to increased circulating levels of prolactin and subsequently to the nutritional stress of conceptus growth in the absence of an increase in food intake.
Medullospinal sympathoexcitatory neurons in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Sun M. K. , Guyenet P. G.
Published: December 2017

Aortic depressor nerve discharge (AND), lumbar sympathetic nerve discharge (SND), and single-unit activity of medullospinal pressure-sensitive neurons of nucleus paragigantocellularis lateralis (PGCL neurons) were recorded in halothane-anesthetized 16-wk-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. The relationship between these variables and mean arterial pressure (MAP) was investigated. The gain of baroreceptor afferents was not significantly different between the strains, but corner MAP (intersection between linear ascending portion of curve and noise) was 38 mmHg higher in SHRs. The relationship between SND and MAP and that between PGCL neuronal activity and MAP were both characterized by a plateau (maximal activity) at low MAP followed by a linear reduction reaching zero at a level called cutoff MAP. The theoretical intersection between the plateau and the linear decremental portion of these curves was defined as a corner MAP. Values of corner MAP determined at the three levels (AND, SND, PGCL) were identical in a given strain and reset by a common value in SHRs (38-40 mmHg). The gain of baroreceptor reflex measured at all three sites as the slope of the linear incremental (AND) or decremental (PGCL and sympathetic chain) portion of the activity-MAP relationship was the same in WKY rats and in SHRs. Cutoff MAP measured in PGCL was identical to that measured in peripheral sympathetic system for a given strain. There was no significant difference in maximal discharge rate of PGCL neurons nor in lumbar SND and no interstrain difference in the proportion of SND that was suppressible by arterial baroreceptor feedback.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adrenergic influence on hormonal and hepatic metabolic response to exercise in rats
Authors: Tate C. A. , Scherer N. M. , Stewart G.
Published: December 2017

The adrenergic control of the hormonal and hepatic metabolic response to exercise was studied in untrained fed male rats. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with either saline, the alpha-adrenergic antagonist phentolamine, or the beta-adrenergic antagonist propranolol 30 min before exercise. The rats swam for 50 min in 34-35 degrees C water with a tail weight (5% of body wt). Exercise resulted in a suppression of plasma insulin in all treatment groups; however, plasma glucagon increased only in the propranolol group. The liver glycogen content was decreased with exercise only in the saline and propranolol groups. Likewise, phosphorylating respiration of liver mitochondria isolated after exercise was higher only in the saline and propranolol groups. Thus phentolamine pretreatment blocked the liver glycogen depletion and the increased liver mitochondrial phosphorylating respiration observed after exercise in fed rats. The results suggest that alpha-adrenergic mechanisms are operant with exercise and stimulate liver glycogenolysis and mitochondrial phosphorylating respiration.
Thoracic duct lymph flow in pregnant sheep and response to blood volume expansion
Authors: Valenzuela G. , Woods L. L. , Brace R. A.
Published: December 2017

Left thoracic duct lymph flow rate averaged 0.077 +/- 0.003 (SD) and 0.078 +/- 0.003 ml X min-1 X kg-1 in near-term pregnant and nonpregnant sheep (P greater than 0.5). Lymph and plasma protein concentrations were unaltered in the pregnant compared with the nonpregnant animals. The thoracic duct lymph flow responses to three serial intravenous infusions of lactated Ringer solution were essentially the same in the pregnant and nonpregnant animals. Blood volume and vascular pressure changes during and after volume loading were essentially the same in both groups. In addition, terbutaline administration after volume loading caused no change in thoracic duct lymph flow rates. Thus the present study suggests that basal lymph flow rates, lymphatic function, and vascular as well as interstitial compliances are largely unaltered late in pregnancy in the sheep. In addition, beta-mimetic stimulation with terbutaline does not appear to suppress lymph flow rate.
Phospholipids, prostaglandin E2, and proteolysis in denervated muscle
Authors: Turinsky J.
Published: December 2017

Soleus muscles of rats were studied up to 16 days after sciatic nerve transection. At the end of this period the denervated soleus muscles exhibited decreased content of diphosphatidylglycerol (-44%), normal level of phosphatidylethanolamine, and increased contents of phosphatidylcholine (+24%), sphingomyelin (+48%), lysophosphatidylcholine (+110%), phosphatidylinositol (+37%), and phosphatidylserine (+40%) per milligram of tissue protein. In studies in vitro, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release and tyrosine release by denervated soleus muscles were 319 and 141%, respectively, greater than those of sham muscles. An almost complete inhibition of PGE2 release with 5 X 10(-4) M aspirin or 2.8 X 10(-6) M indomethacin had no effect on tyrosine release of sham muscles or the stimulated tyrosine release of the denervated muscles. Addition of 5 X 10(-5) M cycloheximide in the medium resulted in 63% inhibition of PGE2 release by both groups of muscles; concomitant absolute increments in tyrosine releases by denervated and sham muscles did not statistically differ. In the presence of both 5 X 10(-5) M cycloheximide and 5 X 10(-4) M aspirin in the medium, PGE2 production by denervated and sham muscles was inhibited 87% while tyrosine release of denervated muscles was 108% higher than that of sham animals. It is concluded that 1) atrophy of denervated soleus muscle is associated with stimulated activity of tissue phospholipase A2, increased production of prostaglandin E2, increased total proteolytic rate, and unchanged rate of protein synthesis; 2) acute inhibition of PGE2 production does not inhibit the stimulated proteolysis in denervated muscle; and 3) cycloheximide inhibits PGE2 production by muscle.
Renal responses to atriopeptin II are not dependent on renal nerves
Authors: Krayacich J. , Kline R. L. , Macchi A. , Calaresu F. R.
Published: December 2017

The possibility that renal responses to atriopeptin II (AP II) may depend in part on an inhibition of renal sympathetic nerve effects on the kidney was investigated in seven anesthetized Wistar rats in which one of the kidneys was denervated 7-10 days before experimentation. Clearance studies were done before, during, and after infusion of AP II (0.07 nmol . min-1 iv). During AP II infusion mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased from 123 +/- 2 to 75 +/- 2 mmHg. Renal blood flow (RBF) was decreased significantly and renal vascular resistance was increased significantly in the innervated kidneys but not in the denervated kidneys during AP II infusion. Glomerular filtration rate during AP II infusion was not significantly altered, but urine flow rate and the excretion of sodium and potassium were significantly increased proportionately in both the innervated and denervated kidneys. These results suggest that 1) the decreased RBF observed in the innervated kidneys was due to an increase in renal vasoconstrictor nerve activity reflexly induced by the decrease in MAP during AP II infusion and 2) renal innervation was not necessary for AP II to produce a natriuresis and diuresis.
Pancreatic adaptation in VMH obesity: in vivo compensatory response to altered neural input
Authors: Smith F. J. , Campfield L. A.
Published: December 2017

The objective of these studies was to determine the impact of enhanced insulin response to glucose (glucose responsiveness) and altered neurotransmitter sensitivity of the pancreatic islet previously observed after ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) lesion on the glucose regulatory system in the whole animal. Female Wistar (220 g) rats received bilateral electrolytic VMH lesions and were implanted with cardiac and femoral cannulas under anesthesia. After recovery, experimental studies were conducted in 2-h-fasted lightly heparinized conscious rats. Plasma glucose declined at 1 and 2 wk after lesion and returned gradually to basal levels by 4 wk, whereas plasma insulin was elevated at 1 wk and remained elevated at 4.5 wk after lesion. Glucose responsiveness was increased threefold 1 wk after lesion. Acetylcholine sensitivity, measured by insulin response to an acetylcholine analogue, was decreased at 1, 2, and 4 wk after lesion, whereas norepinephrine sensitivity, measured by norepinephrine inhibition of the insulin response to intravenous glucose, was significantly increased 1 wk after VMH lesion. These studies suggest that the observed alterations at the level of the pancreatic islet led to a shift in the operating point of the glucose regulatory system of the whole animal and that changes in neurotransmitter sensitivity reflect a pancreatic adaptation subsequent to the establishment of enhanced glucose responsiveness. This shift in operating point may be secondary to altered neural input and may be essential to pancreatic and, thus, metabolic adaptation to the VMH lesion-induced obese state.
Endogenous enkephalin modulation of dopamine neurons in ventral tegmental area
Authors: Kalivas P. W. , Richardson-Carlson R.
Published: December 2017

Many lines of evidence support the possibility that the opioid pentapeptides Met- and Leu-enkephalin can modulate dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Thus microinjection of enkephalin analogues into the VTA of rats produces a dopamine-dependent increase in spontaneous motor activity and an increase in dopamine metabolism in certain mesolimbic dopamine terminal fields, such as the nucleus accumbens. To determine if these effects can be produced by endogenous enkephalins, an enkephalinase A inhibitor, thiorphan, was microinjected into the VTA to inhibit enkephalin metabolism. Thiorphan produced a dose-dependent (0.3-3.33 micrograms) increase in spontaneous motor activity that was blocked by pretreatment with the opioid antagonist naloxone (2.0 mg/kg ip) or the dopamine antagonist haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg ip). Thiorphan injection into the VTA increased dopamine metabolism in the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, and septum but not in the striatum. In all brain regions the increase in dopamine metabolism was blocked by pretreatment with naloxone. These data demonstrate that endogenous enkephalin in the VTA can increase the activity of A10 dopamine neurons, supporting a physiological role for enkephalin in mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine-mediated behaviors.
Renal nerve activity and renal function during environmental stress in DOCA-NaCl rats
Authors: Koepke J. P. , Jones S. , DiBona G. F.
Published: December 2017

The effects of a stressful environmental stimulus (air stress) on mean arterial pressure, heart rate, renal sympathetic nerve activity, and renal function were studied in conscious deoxycorticosterone acetate-sodium chloride (DOCA-NaCl) hypertensive rats, sham DOCA-NaCl normotensive rats, and DOCA-NaCl rats with renal denervation. In conscious DOCA-NaCl hypertensive rats, air stress decreased urine flow rate [36% from 17.9 +/- 3.0 microliter X min-1 X 100 g body wt-1 (BW)], urinary sodium excretion (39% from 3.1 +/- 0.5 microeq X min-1 X 100 g BW-1), fractional water excretion (24% from 4.72 +/- 1.00%), and fractional sodium excretion (28% from 5.72 +/- 1.08%) and increased renal sympathetic nerve activity (94% from 8.3 +/- 0.6 integrator resets/min), but no changes occurred in glomerular filtration rate (-15% from 0.40 +/- 0.06 ml X min-1 X 100 g BW-1) or effective renal plasma flow (-7% from 2.50 +/- 0.53 ml X min-1 X 100 g BW-1). Air stress had no effect on these measures in conscious sham DOCA-NaCl normotensive rats or DOCA-NaCl rats with renal denervation. Mean arterial pressure and heart rate were unaffected by air stress in these three groups. Renal denervation lowered base-line mean arterial pressure in DOCA-NaCl rats. Thus DOCA-NaCl hypertensive rats respond to environmental stress with increased renal sympathetic nerve activity and, consequently, antidiuresis and antinatriuresis.
Hemodynamics of obesity: influence of pattern of adipose tissue cellularity
Authors: Crandall D. L. , Goldstein B. M. , Lizzo F. H. , Gabel R. A. , Cervoni P.
Published: December 2017

Direct quantitation of blood flow with radioactive microspheres in conscious spontaneously obese rats indicated that the development of obesity was associated with an elevated cardiac output and stroke volume, a normotensive blood pressure, and a reduced total peripheral resistance when directly comparing obese rats with their lean counterparts. Obesity was also associated with increased blood flow and decreased regional vascular resistance in a variety of vascular beds, whereas cardiac index and total peripheral resistance per unit of body weight were similar between groups. When corrected for tissue weight, unique alterations in flow and resistance were observed in the adipose tissue. When expressed as resistance per organ, the greatest relative alterations in vascular resistance with the development of obesity also occurred in the adipose tissue. Furthermore, localized adipose tissue expansion through cellular hypertrophy was consistently associated with a different pattern of blood flow and vascular resistance than adipose tissue that expanded through both cellular hypertrophy and hyperplasia, implying an association between depot cellularity and its hemodynamic profile.
Peripheral angiotensin II stimulates release of vasotocin in conscious chickens
Authors: Goto K. , Koike T. I. , Neldon H. L. , McKay D. W.
Published: December 2017

In mammals, intracranial or peripheral administration of angiotensin II (ANG II) has a number of actions, including the release of antidiuretic hormone (ADH). Relatively little is known of the interactions between the renin-angiotensin and ADH systems in birds. In the present study [Asp1, Val5]ANG II (fowl ANG II) was infused intravenously into conscious White Leghorn cockerels to determine whether peripheral ANG II influences the release of arginine vasotocin (AVT), the avian ADH. Cannulas were inserted into a wing artery and vein under local anesthesia. ANG II was dissolved in 0.154 M NaCl and administered intravenously at 0, 2, 20, and 200 ng X kg-1 X min-1. In a second series of experiments, ANG II was infused in 0.1 and 1.0 M NaCl (200 ng X kg-1 X min-1) to examine the effect of the peptide on osmotic release of ADH. In the three groups administered ANG II in 0.154 M NaCl, plasma AVT before intravenous infusion averaged between 1.8 +/- 0.46 to 2.6 +/- 0.30 microU/ml. In these birds, infusion of ANG II at 2, 20, and 200 ng X kg-1 X min-1 caused plasma AVT to increase over preinfusion means by 39, 78, and 300%, respectively. The changes in AVT occurred in the absence of differences in plasma osmolality, electrolyte composition, or arterial blood pressure among the groups. In chickens that were administered ANG II in 0.1 and 1.0 M NaCl, significantly higher plasma AVT levels were observed compared with a control group receiving the saline infusions alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Drinking and natriuresis during volume expansion and intracranial angiotensin or carbachol
Authors: Fitts D. A. , Simpson J. B.
Published: December 2017

Two methods of sodium loading were used to counteract the body fluid dilution resulting from natriuresis and water drinking during sustained lateral ventricular infusions of carbachol (CBC) or angiotensin II (ANG II) in rats. It was expected that preventing dilution would also prevent the precipitous decline of both drinking and natriuresis during the later hours of CBC infusion. In the first study, rats having isotonic saline as the sole drinking fluid during CBC infusions drank less fluid and had only slightly higher plasma osmolality and sodium concentration than rats drinking water, which showed extreme dilution. In the second study, rats with only water to drink were given intravenous infusions of 0.15, 0.45, or 1.00 M NaCl solutions at 1.8 ml/h concurrently with the intraventricular infusions. Significant dilution of plasma was found at the two lower rates but not at 1.00 M NaCl in CBC-infused rats. Only the latter group showed both persistent drinking and natriuresis throughout the 4-h infusion period, and this was not because of elevated plasma osmolality. Infusions of ANG II generated less severe body fluid dilution and more persistent drinking in both experiments. The study demonstrates that body fluid dilution may control the offset of both drinking and natriuresis during sustained infusions of CBC and that the more persistent drinking to ANG II vs. CBC probably occurs because of a lesser natriuresis and consequent fluid dilution.
Perinatal anatomic development of alveolar type II cells in rats
Authors: Massaro G. D. , Clerch L. , Massaro D.
Published: December 2017

We studied the perinatal development of rat alveolar type II cells. The volume density (Vv) of lamellar bodies increased twofold from gestational day 21.5 to postnatal day 1 and 1.6-fold between age 1 and 60 days. The Vv of glycogen areas fell sharply between late gestation and postnatal day 1; this decrease was greater in pups delivered from dexamethasone- compared with diluent-treated dams. In utero administration of glucagon to fetuses on gestational day 21.5 caused a decline in the Vv of glycogen areas within 4 h. Pups from dams underfed in late gestation had a higher Vv of glycogen areas and a lower Vv of lamellar bodies on the first 2 postnatal days compared with pups from dams allowed food ad libitum. We conclude that rat alveolar type II cells are somewhat immature at birth; prenatal maternal underfeeding slows the pre- and postnatal maturation of alveolar type II cells; and 3) exogenous glucagon causes a fall in the Vv of glycogen areas in type II cells of fetal rats at gestational day 21.5.
Activation of the central vasopressin system: a common pathway for several centrally acting pressor agents
Authors: Gruber K. A. , Eskridge S. L.
Published: December 2017

Hypertonic saline (HS) and angiotensin II (ANG II) administered centrally or peripherally produce a forebrain-mediated central nervous system-(CNS) dependent pressor action. Although the majority of these effects are due to increased central sympathetic drive and inhibition of the cardiac baroreceptor reflex, evidence from peripheral infusions of vasopressin (Vp) receptor antagonists have suggested that part of the blood pressure increase may be due to circulating Vp. We now report that blockade of CNS Vp receptors in rats, via a fourth ventricle infusion of a Vp receptor antagonist, attenuated greater than 70% of the pressor response to lateral ventricle infusion of HS, ANG II, or hypertonic glucose (HG). Intravenous administration of the Vp antagonist could block only 40% of the HS response. When lateral ventricle infusion of HS was performed in rats with a hereditary lack of Vp (diabetes insipidic rats) no pressor response was obtained. Because centrally administered Vp has autonomic nervous system effects that are similar to those induced by HS or ANG II, our results suggest that CNS Vp may provide a link between forebrain acting pressor agents and autonomic nervous system regulation. Finally, HG produced a pressor effect that had an equivalent peak response to HS. However, unlike the HS response, the pressor effect to HG returned to base line within approximately 5 min during a 10-min infusion. Thus there appears to be a quantitative difference in the pressor responses produced by activation of sodium vs. osmoreceptors.
Pressor resistance to vasopressin in sodium depletion, potassium depletion, and cirrhosis
Authors: Murray B. M. , Paller M. S.
Published: December 2017

Resistance to the pressor effects of angiotensin II, but not norepinephrine, has been observed in sodium depletion, potassium depletion, and cirrhosis. We tested the response to arginine vasopressin (AVP) in each of these conditions. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were made sodium depleted with furosemide and a low-sodium diet for 3 days, potassium depleted by feeding a low-potassium diet for 14-21 days, or cirrhotic by inhalation of carbon tetrachloride for 8 wk. In conscious rats, the pressor response to graded doses of AVP was reduced in sodium depletion by 27-43% compared with control rats. Sodium-depleted rats were also found to have enhanced baroreceptor reflexes, since the decrease in heart rate for a given increase in mean arterial pressure was greater than in control rats. When the ganglionic blocker pentolinium tartrate was given to sodium-depleted rats the pressor response to AVP was restored to control levels. In potassium-depleted rats the pressor response to AVP was 21-52% lower than that in controls, whereas cirrhotic rats also had a blunted response to AVP (14-41% lower than control). However, there was no evidence in either of these two states of enhanced baroreceptor activity, and pretreatment with pentolinium tartrate did not restore the pressor response to normal. Therefore, although resistance to the pressor effect of AVP was found in all three conditions, the mechanism of this effect was different in sodium depletion compared with potassium depletion and cirrhosis. We conclude that resistance to the pressor action of AVP in sodium depletion was secondary to resetting of the baroreceptors.
Epithelial responses of rabbit tongues and their involvement in taste transduction
Authors: Simon S. A. , Robb R. , Garvin J. L.
Published: December 2017

The response of rabbit tongue, placed in a modified Ussing chamber, to salts [KCl, NaCl, NH4Cl, tetraethylammonium chloride (TEACl)], sweeteners (D-glucose, sucrose), acid (HCl), and a bitter tastant, quinine, was investigated for the first time. These experiments were conducted to further explore the new paradigm of taste transduction that correlates changes in the electrical behavior of lingual epithelia with neural responses. In addition, the responses of rabbit tongue data were compared with previously published data on dog and frog tongues. When increases in short-circuit current (Isc) for rabbit tongue induced by hyperosmotic concentrations of several salts were compared, the following sequence was found: KCl greater than NH4Cl greater than NaCl greater than TEACl. These results are consistent with previously published integrated chorda tympani responses (ICTR) as well as behavioral studies that showed that rabbits prefer KCl to NaCl with their natural diet. Pharmacological studies using ouabain and amiloride suggest that K and Na are traversing rabbit tongue through different pathways. The maximal stimulation of Isc by D-glucose and sucrose (in 50 mM NaCl) was significantly smaller than those measured for KCl and NaCl. The rabbit tongue was sensitive to HCl at concentrations less than 1 mM in agreement with ICTR measurements.
Systemic angiotensin acts at subfornical organ to facilitate activity of neurohypophysial neurons
Authors: Ferguson A. V. , Renaud L. P.
Published: December 2017

Extracellular single unit recordings were obtained to investigate the effects of systemic administration of angiotensin II (ANG II) on the excitability of antidromically identified neurohypophysial neurons in the rat. Records were obtained from 89 oxytocin- or vasopressin-secreting neurons in the hypothalamic supraoptic or paraventricular nuclei. Increased excitability in response to ANG II was observed in 83% of putative vasopressin- and 75% of putative oxytocin-secreting neurons tested in intact animals. Lesion studies to identify the central nervous system site of action for such peripherally administered ANG II showed that, after electrolytic lesion of the rostral subfornical organ (SFO), neurohypophysial neurons demonstrated no increase in excitability in response to this peptide. In an attempt to correlate the synaptic events through which activation of SFO neurons may result in facilitated excitability of neurohypophysial cells, 19 cells were tested with both systemic ANG II and electrical stimulation in the SFO. These studies demonstrated that all cells which showed long-duration increases in excitability in response to electrical stimulation of SFO were also activated by systemic ANG II. It is concluded that the SFO is an essential central nervous system structure in eliciting increases in the excitability of both oxytocin- and vasopressin-secreting neurons in response to systemic ANG II. These effects may involve the activation of SFO efferents that evoke long-duration post-synaptic changes in neurohypophysial cell excitability.