Histonas de glândulas salivares de larvas de Rhynchosciara americana foram extraídas de preparações de núcleos e de cromatina purificada e analisadas por eletroforese em géis de acrilamida. As mobilidades eletroforéticas das histonas ARE e GRR são idênticas e as das histonas KAP, LAR e KAS são levemente diferentes das histonas correspondentes encontradas em vertebrados. É particularmente interessante o comportamento da histona KAP de R. americana, que possui em géis de poliacrilamida mobilidade menor que a histona correspondente do timo de bezerro. Verificou-se, por análise em géis de poliacrilamida-SDS que o peso molecular desta histona é igual a 33.000 daltons, valor maior que o da histona correspondente de timo de bezerro e de outros vertebrados (21.000 a 25.000 daltons). Este resultado coincide com dados obtidos por outros investigadores em Drosophila e Acheta. Isto sugere que o maior peso molecular da histona KAP possa ser uma característica geral dos insetos. Verificou-se, por experimentos da dupla marcação com lísina- 14 C e triptofano-3 H, que a síntese de histonas em glândulas salivares de larvas de R. americana, ocorre no citoplasma em pequenos polirríbossomos contendo 3-4 ribossomos. Estes polirribissomos são particularmente ativos na síntese de histonas por ocasião da abertura máxima do puff B-2 na extremidade proximal da glândula,quando é máxima a síntese de DNA. O estudo da síntese das várias frações de histonas durante os 6-7 dias finais do período larval mostra um estreito acoplamento entre a síntese dessas frações e a do DNA. Não foram detectadas variações relativas na síntese de nenhuma das frações de histonas durante este período. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem também que algumas das frações de histonas são modificadas durante o desenvolvimento. Estas modificações podem ser correlacionadas com o aparecimento dos \"puffs de DNA\" nos cromossomos das células glandulares. Foi também estudada a síntese de histonas em larvas jovens (fim do segundo período do 4o estádio) injetadas com ecdisterona. Observou-se, conforme esperado de resultados anteriores, que a injeção do hormônio causou grande estímulo na síntese de DNA. Contudo, não houve estímulo apreciável na síntese de histonas. Estes resultados sugerem que a cromatina formada nestas condições é deficiente em histonas. Nestas experiências notou-se também, que após tratamentos com hormônio durante 44 horas ocorre uma profunda modificação nos perfis de radioatividade de histonas recém sintetizadas analisadas em géis de poliacrilamida. Sugere-se que a alteração desses perfis se deva à modificação química de alguma histona induzida pelo hormônio. / The histones of the salivary gland of Rhynchosciara americana larvae were extracted from both nuclearand purified chromatin preparations and then analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.The electrophoretic mobilities of the ARE and GRK histones are identical and those from the KAP, LAK and KAS histones are slightly different from the corresponding calf thrymus histones The behavior of the Rhynchosciara KAP histone is particularly interesting. In normal polyacrylamide gels it has a smaller mobility than that observed for the same protein from calf thymus.It was found by analysis in SDS-polyacrylamide gels that the molecular weight for this histone is approximately 33000 dalton, a value which is higher than that found for the same histone obtained from calf thymus and other vertebrates (21-250 00 dalton). This result is in agreement with those observed in Drosophila and Acheta, and suggests that the molecular weight of the KAP histone could be a characteristic feature for insects. Double label experiments with 14C-lysine and 3H-tryptophan show that histone synthesis in Rhynchoschiara salivary glands occurs in the cytoplasm in small polyribosomes containing 3-4 ribosomes. These polysomes are particularly active in the synthesis of these proteins at the time when the degree of opening of the 2B puff is maximal in the proximal cells of the gland, i.e when the DNA synthesis in the gland reach a maximum. The study of the synthesis of the different histone fractions during the last 6-7 days of the larval period shows a tight coupling between the synthesis of these fractions and that of DNA. However, variations in the relative proportions of those proteins during this period of larval development was not detected. The results of this study also suggest that a histone or histones are chemically modified during the development. These modifications can be correlated with the appearance of DNA puffs in the salivary gland. The study of histone synthesis was also carried out with younger larvae (end of the 2nd period of the 4th instar) treated with ecdysterone. It was found, as expected from previous results, that the hormone caused a great increase in the rate of DNA synthesis in the gland. Despite this, there was not an appreciable increase in the amount of newly synthesized histones which can be extracted from gland chromatin. These results indicate that the chromatin formed in the gland under these conditions might be deficient in histones In these experiments it was observed a great modification in the radioactivity profile of newly synthesided histones as analysed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This change occurs 44 hours after ecdysterone treatment. Tentatively it is suggested that this alteration in the radioactivity profiles would be a result of a chemical modification of some histone fraction which was induced by the hormone

Due to the large volume and often conflicting results reported on postoperative endocrinological changes, the practicing surgeon has difficulty in finding applicable principles. A knowledge of these principles is however necessary for an understanding of the mechanisms responsible for survival of the organism after surgery. The results thus far thus far reported are based upon complicated methodology, and may appear to be more theoretical than of practical value. Studies based upon small laboratory animals are indeed statistically significant, but the interpretation of these results as applied to the patient is difficult. Controlled human studies have been few in number and only very small areas of the total picture have been studied. There are a few studies on surgical patients; however, the variable results make the conclusion questionable. Nevertheless, these studies have lent a realistic significance to the evaluation of the total postoperative state.

The evolutionary process leading to the emergence of viviparity in Squamata consists of lengthening the period of egg retention in utero coupled with marked reduction in the thickness of the eggshell. We used light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to study uterine structure during the reproductive cycle of oviparous and viviparous females of the reproductively bimodal Lacerta vivipara. We compared the structure of the uterine shell glands, which secrete components of the eggshell, during preovulatory and early gestation phases of the reproductive cycle and also compared histochemistry of the eggshells. The uterine glands of both reproductive forms undergo considerable growth within a period of a few weeks during folliculogenesis and vitellogenesis preceding ovulation. The majority of the proteinaceous fibers of the shell membrane are secreted early in embryonic development and the uterine glands regress shortly thereafter. This supports previous observations indicating that, in Squamata, secretion of the shell membrane occurs very rapidly after ovulation. The most striking differences between reproductive modes were larger uterine glands at late vitellogenesis in oviparous females, 101 μm compared to 60 μm in viviparous females, and greater thickness of the shell membrane during early gestation in oviparous females (52-73 μm) compared to viviparous females (4-8 μm). Our intraspecific comparison supports the conclusions of previous studies that, prior to ovulation, the uterine glandular layer is less developed in viviparous than in oviparous species, and that this is the main factor accounting for differences in the thickness of the shell membrane of the two reproductive forms of squamates.

This document only includes an excerpt of the corresponding thesis or dissertation. To request a digital scan of the full text, please contact the Ruth Lilly Medical Library's Interlibrary Loan Department (rlmlill@iu.edu).

This document only includes an excerpt of the corresponding thesis or dissertation. To request a digital scan of the full text, please contact the Ruth Lilly Medical Library's Interlibrary Loan Department (rlmlill@iu.edu).

Relapsing fever Borrelia are transmitted through saliva of argasid ticks. Given the 10 to 60 minute long bloodmeal, we characterized the rapidity of Borrelia turicatae transmission from their vector Ornithodoros turicata. Infection rates were compared in mice when cohorts of ticks fed to repletion on animals in which groups of O. turicata were removed 15 seconds after attachment. Infection was evaluated by examining the blood by dark field microscopy, quantitative PCR, and serological responses generated against B. turicatae. Scanning electron microscopy was also performed on cryofractured tick salivary glands to determine spirochete localization. Dissemination of B. turicatae into murine blood was evaluated by removing the bite site after ticks engorged. Our findings indicate that B. turicatae is localized in the lumen of salivary gland acini of O. turicata and transmission to and dissemination in the mammal occur shortly after tick attachment and do not require a complete bloodmeal.

Four studies were conducted to investigate the effect and site of action of exogenous and endogenous opioids on pituitary growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) secretion in Holstein calves. In the first study, the effect of the opioid agonist DAMME (D-Ala²⁺,N-Me-Phe⁴,Met(O)⁵-01 enkephalin) on plasma GH and PRL secretion was measured in Holstein calves in fall season. Plasma concentrations of both GH and PRL increased in response to DAM ME injection. Pretreatment with either the lipid soluble opioid antagonist naloxone (NAL), which readily penetrates the blood brain barrier (BBB), or the peripherally acting antagonist methyl levallorphan mesiltate (MLM), blocked the PRL response to DAMME. Naloxone, but not MLM, negated the GH response to DAMME. In spring, the experiment was repeated with similar results. In the second experiment, the opioid antagonists NAL and MLM were administered alone to detennine whether endogenous opioids mediate basal GH and PRL secretion, and the site of action of any of opioid-mediation of basal GH and PRL. In fall, NAL administration increased both plasma GH and PRL secretion. Methyl levallorphan mesilate did not affect PRL, but increased plasma GH concentrations. In spring, a second trial using 5 different doses of each antagonist was conducted. Naloxone did not affect GH levels at any dose in spring, but decreased plasma PRL at the same dose which increased plasma PRL in fall. Plasma PRL was again unaffected by MLM, but plasma GH was increased by 3 separate doses of MLM. The third experiment was designed to determine if the increases in plasma PRL seen after DAMME administration were mediated via dopaminergic mechanisms. Plasma PRL in calves again increased in response to DAMME injection alone. In calves pre-treated with the long-acting dopamine agonist 2-Br-&alp. ergocryptine (CB 154), plasma PRL was unresponsive to DAMME injection. The pituitaries of calves treated with CB 154 in this experiment were able to respond to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) injection with increased PRL secretion. In the final experiment, the role of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GRH) in facilitating GH release after DAMME injection was investigated, and whether endogenous opioidergic mechanisms play a role in mediating the effects of exogenous GRH on GH secretion. Plasma GH concentrations increased in calves receiving either DAMME or D-ala²⁺, fragment 1- 29 amide, a synthetic GRH. The immediate increase in plasma GH concentrations after GRH injection in calves pre-treated with DAMME was approximately 5 fold less than that in calves not pre- treated with DAMME. Calves receiving DAMME and GRH in combination also produced a GH response curve with greater area under it than either compound alone, indicating possible synergism between the synthetic GRH and a DAMME-sustained release of endogenous GRH. Naloxone administration concomitantly with synthetic GRH did not alter the ability of the synthetic GRH to increase GH secretion overall, compared to synthetic GRH alone. In conclusion, these studies are the first to indicate that dairy breeds are able to respond to exogenous opioids with increased secretion of pituitary GH and PRL, as is known to occur in other mammalian species. Also, they indicate that opioid receptors mediating pituitary GH secretion to exogenous opioids in Holstein calves are located somewhere within the BBB, and those mediating PRL secretion are at a site outside the BBB. It appears from these studies that endogenous opioids within the BBB play a role in regulating basal PRL secretion, and that this regulation differs in fall and spring. A role for endogenous opioids in the regulation of GH secretion in Holstein calves may exist also, at least in fall, but the results are less conclusive. The peripheral opioid antagonist MLM alone may facilitate increased GH secretion in Holstein calves via an agonistic, not antagonistic, mechanism. These studies indicate that the increased PRL secretion seen following opioid administration in Holstein calves is mediated through a dopaminergic mechanism. It appears that endogenous opioids do not mediate the pituitary response to exogenous GRH in Holstein calves, and that GH increases after DAMME injection are facilitated, at least in part, by increased release of endogenous GRH. / Ph. D.

This document only includes an excerpt of the corresponding thesis or dissertation. To request a digital scan of the full text, please contact the Ruth Lilly Medical Library's Interlibrary Loan Department (rlmlill@iu.edu).

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Post-natal mammary gland development is a complex process in which epithelial proliferation and branching of lactiferous ducts is followed by extensive formation of lobuloalveolar units that produce milk. Classical nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) p65/p50 transcription factors are dynamically induced in the mammary gland during pregnancy, and inhibitor of NF-κB-alpha (IκB-α) deficiency leads to hyperplasia of the mammary epithelium. To further elucidate the role of NF-κB factors in mammary development, we examined NF-κB subunit expression in the mammary glands of transgenic mice expressing the IκB-α S32/36A super-repressor (SR) protein under control of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-long terminal repeat promoter, in which mammary gland development is transiently delayed, but not completely blocked. Developmental recovery correlated with induction of RelB/p52 NF-κB complexes, which failed to interact with an IκB-α fusion protein and potently induced cyclin D1 and c-myc promoter activities. Activation of IκB-α kinase alpha (IKKα) and NF-κB inducing kinase (NIK) was detected by day 5.5, and were hypothesized to be responsible for the induction of ReIB/p52. In support of this hypothesis, we found that constitutively active IKKα induced p52, RelB, and cyclin D1 in untransformed mammary epithelial cells. Moreover, mammary tumors induced by high-dose 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) treatment in wild type FVB/N mice, displayed increased RelB/p52 binding activity. These results implicate activation of RelB/p52 complexes by the alternative NF-κB signaling pathway in branching of lateral ducts and alveolar development during mammary gland development, and in mammary carcinogenesis. / 2999-01-01