The role of the lymphatic system in the rejection of homografts: a study of lymph from renal transplants.

The rejection of renal homografts has been studied in sheep by transplanting kidneys into the neck and preserving the renal lymphatic drainage intact. Chronic fistulae were established in the transplanted renal lymphatics and lymph collected throughout the life of the graft. The changes that occurred in homografts during the process of rejection were reflected in changes in the lymph. Large numbers of basophilic, blast, lymphoid cells appeared in the lymph, and lymph production in the grafted kidney increased 20-50 fold. Over a period of about 10 days, up to 60 g wet weight of lymphoid cells and up to 10 liters of lymph were collected from the graft. Within 24 hr of grafting, the host cells present in the renal lymph had become sensitized to the graft and transformed into blast cells when cultivated in Millipore chambers in vitro. When the cells leaving the graft during the first 18-48 hr were injected into distant nonstimulated lymph nodes of the host sheep, they evoked significant cellular and antibody responses in the nodes. Within the graft, the main pathological changes were found in the vascular endothelium and many of the peritubular capillaries become plugged with emboli comprised of blast cells. There was extensive infiltration of the renal parenchyma with lymphoid cells and evidence of their transformation and proliferation within the renal blood capillaries. When all the lymph and cells leaving the homograft were diverted from the body, there was a greatly decreased reaction in the regional prescapular lymph node, and no reaction in lymph nodes distant from the graft. In these circumstances, the survival of the graft was not prolonged, and it was rejected without involvement of the lymph nodes of the host. Humoral antibody was produced in the lymph node regional to the homograft within 48-60 hr of grafting. Antibody was not detected in the blood or in the renal lymph until near to the time the graft was rejected. It was thought that this was due to the binding of antibody by the kidney graft tissue. We conclude that all the events which lead to the recognition and rejection of renal homografts can occur centrally within the graft itself.

Cyclooxygenase blockade elevates leukotriene E4 production during acute anaphylaxis in sheep.

We examined changes in the levels of eicosanoids in blood and pulmonary lymph of anesthetized sheep undergoing acute anaphylaxis. Within 1-3 min of intravenous antigenic challenge of previously sensitized sheep, there were approximately 7-30-fold elevations in mean arterial plasma levels of thromboxane B2 and 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha, respectively, as measured by RIA. Negligible changes in levels of these cyclooxygenase products were found in both nonsensitized sheep and in sensitized sheep treated with indomethacin before antigenic challenge. In contrast, no changes in levels of sulfidopeptide leukotrienes (SPLT) in pulmonary lymph were detectable by RIA during anaphylaxis in sensitized or nonsensitized sheep, but levels of SPLT in indomethacin-treated sensitized sheep increased more than fivefold above levels in lymph from both other groups of animals. The immunoreactive SPLT in lymph from indomethacin-treated sheep was accounted for as LTE4, as demonstrated by mobility on HPLC and absorbance at 280 nm. These results support the possibility that certain undesirable effects of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, such as cardiopulmonary reactions in aspirin-sensitive individuals, and impaired renal and cardiac function during therapy with these drugs, may be related in part to augmented synthesis of the 5-lipoxygenase pathway products, especially those of the sulfidopeptide class. Increased LT production could also limit the antiinflammatory effectiveness of these drugs in many disease states.

Effects of lipoprotein lipase on the structure of chylomicrons.

Chylomicrons isolated from rat lymph were complexed with lipoprotein lipase of post-heparin plasma (chylomicrons-LPL) in order to study the effects of lipolysis on the structure of chylomicrons. Triglyceride in the chylomicron core was readily hydrolyzed to free fatty acids (FFA) and glycerol when chylomicrons-LPL were incubated at pH 8.3 in medium containing albumin. Although most of the FFA were immediately released to the medium, some were retained within chylomicrons when FFA-binding sites on albumin were not available. These observations suggest that albumin may have a specific role in the transfer of FFA across the chylomicron surface film. Chylomicrons-LPL assumed many different shapes as they were depleted of triglyceride by the lipolytic action of the enzyme, and total removal of core triglyceride resulted in empty sacks of surface film. The surface film was visualized in sections of OsO(4)-fixed chylomicrons-LPL as a thin electron-opaque line, 25-30 A wide, in areas where the underlying electron-opaque core had been replaced by zones of decreased electron opacity, and in folds of surface film extending outward from chylomicrons partially depleted of core lipid. The findings demonstrate that chylomicrons consist of a core of liquid triglyceride enveloped by a pliable and durable monolayer surface film, and that lipoprotein lipase reduces the triglyceride core without disrupting the surface film.

Very-low-density lipoprotein in intestinal lymph: evidence for presence of the A protein.

Rat mesenteric lymph very-low-density lipoproteins of intestinal origin contain components which are antigenically identical to plasma high-density lipoprotein. Because the antigenicity of the latter most likely resides in its apoprotein (the A protein), it is concluded that intestinal very-low-density lipoproteins contain the A protein. This and other evidence supports the concept that the intestine is a source of plasma very-low-density lipoprotein.

Lung fluid dynamics in awake newborn lambs.

We measured steady-state lung lymph flow, lymph protein flow, and simultaneous pulmonary vascular pressures in 12 1-wk-old unanesthetized lambs and compared these measurements to those of previous studies, performed under similar conditions, on nine awake adult sheep. The purpose of these experiments was to compare newborn and adult sheep with respect to transvascular filtration of fluid and microvascular permeability to plasma proteins. We prepared the lambs surgically to isolate and collect lung lymph and measure average pulmonary arterial and left atrial pressures, allowing at least 2 days for the lambs to recover from surgery before studies began. Lambs had higher pulmonary arterial and left atrial pressures, lower lymph and plasma protein concentrations, and 57% more lymph flow per gram of dry bloodless lung than sheep; the difference in protein flow between lambs and sheep was not significant. Protein concentration in lymph relative to that in plasma was significantly lower in lambs than in sheep; but the ratio of albumin concentration to globulin concentration in both lymph and plasma was almost identical in the two groups of animals. Extravascular lung water per gram of dry bloodless lung was greater in lambs (4.82+/-0.11 g) than in sheep (4.45+/-0.08 g), but there was no histologic evidence of pulmonary edema in either group of animals. These findings suggest that lambs have more transvascular filtration of fluid per unit lung mass than sheep, but that microvascular sites for protein exchange do not differ appreciably in lambs and sheep. To test this conclusion, we measured steady-state lymph flow in three lambs before and after raising pulmonary microvascular pressure by rapid intravenous infusion of saline. Lymph flow increased as a function of the net transvascular driving pressure (hydraulic pressure gradient-protein osmotic pressure gradient). This response was almost identical to that of four sheep with pulmonary microvascular pressure augmented by inflation of a balloon in the left atrium. In eight lambs we measured the time for intravenously injected (125)I-albumin to equilibrate in lymph at half the specific activity of plasma: the protein tag equilibrated faster than in sheep. This difference could be explained partly by the higher pulmonary arterial and left atrial pressures of lambs than sheep, and possibly by the presence of more microvascular sites for protein exchange relative to the volume of distribution of protein in the lung of the younger animals.

Biologically active low density lipoprotein in human peripheral lymph.

We have compared the ability of human serum and peripheral lymph to suppress the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), to activate cholesteryl ester synthesis, and to compete with 125I-labeled low density lipoprotein (LDL) for binding to LDL receptors in cultured human fibroblasts. Whole lymph was active in all three tests and the activity per unit volume in lymph was approximately equal to 1/10th that in serum. All three biologic activities in lymph were confined to the d less than 1.063 g/ml fraction. Whole lymph had no significant effect on HMG-CoA reductase activity in fibroblasts from a patient with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, whose cells lack LDL receptors. The LDL-like biologic activity per unit mass of immunologically active apoprotein B was approximately the same in lymph as in serum. The current data indicate that functionally active LDL is present in lymph and that the concentration of this lipoprotein is approximately equal to 1/10th that in serum.

Albumin to ascites: demonstration of a direct pathway bypassing the systemic circulation.

The transport of plasma albumin and newly made albumin into ascitic fluid was studied in eight patients with cirrhosis and ascites. The thoracic duct was cannulated in two patients and lymph collected over a period of 2 hr. Simultaneously albumin-(131)I and carbonate-(14)C were injected intravenously. The albumin-(131)I measured the transfer of plasma albumin into ascites and into thoracic duct lymph. The carbonate-(14)C, by labeling newly formed albumin, permitted the estimation of the transfer of newly formed albumin into plasma, ascites, and lymph. If the newly synthesized albumin entering ascites and thoracic duct lymph is delivered initially into the plasma, then the ratios of the albumin-(14)C and -(131)I in ascites and lymph compared with the content of albumin-(14)C and -(131)I in plasma would be identical. However, if some newly formed albumin is delivered directly into ascites or lymph, the ratio for albumin-(14)C would be higher than that for albumin-(131)I in lymph or ascites. The ratios of both labeled albumins found in ascites or lymph are expressed as per cent of the total plasma pool. In the eight patients studied 4.2-11.7% of the albumin-(14)C in plasma was found in ascites in 2 hr whereas only 0.4-2.2% of plasma albumin-(131)I entered in this same period. In the two patients studied during thoracic duct lymph drainage 6.1 and 13.5% of newly made albumin-(14)C appeared in lymph in 2 hr whereas only 2.8 and 3.8% of plasma albumin-(131)I was found in the lymph. In cirrhosis with ascites some newly formed albumin entered ascites and thoracic duct lymph by a direct pathway from the liver bypassing the systemic circulation.

Very low density lipoproteins in intestinal lymph: origin, composition, and role in lipid transport in the fasting state.

The transport of endogenous lipids in the lipoproteins of mesenteric lymph was studied in fasting rats with mesenteric lymph fistulas. The lymph was found to contain, in addition to chylomicrons (S(f) >400), a significant amount of another, more dense, triglyceride-rich fraction, the very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), which showed a peak S(f) of 102. The VLDL differed from chylomicrons not only in flotation, but also in per cent lipid composition and electrophoretic mobility in agarose gel. The VLDL fraction was found to contain 47% of the triglyceride and 54% of the cholesterol of fasting lymph and, in the fasting state, was the major lipoprotein species present. When cholestyramine resin was administered intraduodenally, or bile flow was acutely diverted from the intestine, it was demonstrated that the lipids in lymph VLDL, like those in chylomicrons, were derived from the intestine and bile. These data indicate that the VLDL in intestinal lymph are not derived from the plasma but are of intestinal origin. Because certain properties of lymph VLDL were similar to those reported for plasma VLDL (per cent lipid composition, flotation coefficient, and continuing entry into plasma in the fasting state), additional comparisons between these fractions were made. Although lymph VLDL moved to the alpha(2) region in agarose gel, when they were mixed with VLDL-free serum immediately before electrophoresis they showed the alpha(2) mobility of rat serum VLDL. Furthermore, immunoelectrophoretic comparison of partially delipidated lymph and serum VLDL revealed that these fractions shared in common their major apoprotein, and possibly others as well. The fatty acid composition of lymph and serum triglycerides, as determined by gas-liquid chromatography, revealed that although they were generally similar, differences existed which most likely reflected the presence in serum of triglycerides of hepatic origin. These experiments demonstrate the importance of intestinal VLDL in the transport of endogenous lipids in mesenteric lymph in the fasting state. The similarities between intestinal lymph VLDL and plasma VLDL suggest that the latter may be derived in part from the former.

Pulmonary deposition and clearance of aerosolized alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor administered to dogs and to sheep.

Augmentation of lung antiprotease levels may be an important therapeutic intervention in the prevention of pulmonary emphysema. We have administered aerosols of plasma-derived human alpha 1 proteinase inhibitor (A1PI) to the lungs of dogs and sheep to investigate (a) delivery of the protein to the distal air spaces of the lung; (b) maintenance of functional activity of the protein; and (c) flux of the protein across the components of the alveolar-capillary membrane. A1PI (26.4 mg/kg body weight) was administered as an aerosol to anesthetized animals; sheep were prepared for the chronic collection of lung lymph. Immunoperoxidase staining of lung tissue obtained 2 h after administration of A1PI demonstrated the presence of human A1PI on the surface of alveoli and distal bronchioles. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid recovered at intervals after A1PI administration demonstrated time-dependent elevations of human A1PI levels with augmentation of lavage fluid antielastase activity in proportion to the content of human A1PI. Using radiolabeled A1PI as a tracer, we found that 32% of the aerosol was retained in the animals' lungs. Measurements of the rate of loss of A1PI from the lung and of the rate of appearance of human A1PI in plasma resulted in a calculated permeability of the alveolar-capillary membrane to A1PI of 3.49-6.39 X 10(-10) cm/s. Experiments using instrumented sheep allowed independent calculation of endothelial permeability to A1PI of 122-236 X 10(-10) cm/s and calculation of epithelial permeability of 4.70-4.81 X 10(-10) cm/s. Modeling of aerosol delivery of A1PI to humans using the results of these studies predicts that the ratio of plasma/alveolar levels of delivered A1PI will be 0.024, and that aerosolization of 175 mg A1PI/d will result in an A1PI alveolar fluid level of 1.0 mg/ml. Aerosol administration of A1PI may provide an efficient method of augmenting alveolar antiprotease levels.

Utilization of individual lecithins in intestinal lipoprotein formation in the rat.

To determine the molecular species composition of lecithins of different nascent lipoproteins, high density lipoproteins (HDL), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), and chylomicrons (CM) were isolated from the mesenteric lymph of rats. Lymph was collected at 0 degrees C with 5,5'-dithiobis-2-dinitrobenzoic acid added to inhibit lecithin-cholesterol acyl transferase. CM were separated by ultracentrifugation and HDL from VLDL by dextran SO4-MG+2 precipitation. Molecular species of lecithin were directly isolated by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. In fasted animals, the lecithin compositions of lymph HDL and VLDL were virtually the same and closely resembled the lecithin composition of intestinal mucosa. When bile lecithin was eliminated (by bile diversion), there was a marked change in lecithin composition of all lipoprotein and mucosal samples, which was most notable for a reduction in 16:0-species (which are predominant in bile) and a relative increase in the corresponding 18:0-species. Feeding unsaturated triglycerides (triolein, trilinolein, or a combination of triolein and trilinolein) also resulted in a change in HDL and VLDL lecithin composition. The effect was similar whether bile lecithin was present or eliminated and was notable for a reduction in 16:0-species, an increase in 18:0-species, and the emergence of large amounts of diunsaturated lecithins that corresponded to the fatty acid composition of the triglycerides fed (i.e., 18:1-18:1, 18:2-18:2, and 18:1-18:2 lecithins). When bile-diverted rats were infused via the duodenum with a mix of [14C]choline-labeled lecithins (isolated from the bile of other rats), the incorporation of infused lecithins into different lymph lipoproteins was distinctly different. Individual lecithins were incorporated to a variable extent into each lipoprotein. In fasted rats the specific activities of all major molecular species of lecithin were relatively greater in VLDL than HDL, indicating that HDL derived proportionately more of its lecithins from an endogenous pool than did VLDL. Feeding triolein changed the specific activities of more of the lecithin species of VLDL than of HDL. The specific activities of lecithins in CM were more similar to VLDL than to HDL after triolein feeding. Results thus indicate that, although the lecithins of different mesenteric lymph lipoproteins are similar and may be derived from membrane sites with the same lecithin composition, lecithins incorporated into different lipoproteins originate from different metabolic pools and/or by different mechanisms.

Thromboxane A2 mediates lung vasoconstriction but not permeability after endotoxin.

The effect of dazoxiben, a selective thromboxane (Tx) synthetase inhibitor, on systemic and pulmonary hemodynamics, eicosanoids, and lung permeability was assessed in awake goats with lung lymph fistulae following infusion of Escherichia coli endotoxin (1 microgram/kg). Animals received endotoxin either with no treatment or pretreatment with a bolus (25 mg/kg) followed by a maintenance infusion (10 mg/kg per h) of dazoxiben. In untreated animals, the peak rise of 26.8 cm H2O in pulmonary artery (Ppa) and of 13.5 cm H2O in wedge (Pw) pressures occurred at the same time as the peak elevations in plasma thromboxane B2 (T X B2). Maximum reduction in cardiac output (Qt) also occurred at the same time. Lung lymph flow (QL) increased during this period and remained elevated for at least 6 h after endotoxin. T X B2 levels had returned from a peak of 13.1 to 0.7 ng/ml by 2 h. In dazoxiben-treated animals, plasma concentrations of T X B2 were never significantly elevated. Increases in Ppa and Pw were markedly reduced and decreased Qt was transient. QL in treated animals began to increase by 30 min after endotoxin and reached a peak by 2 h. Increased QL in treated animals was not as great as in the untreated animals. Moreover, lymph-plasma protein ratios increased significantly in treated animals. Plasma prostaglandin (PG)F2 alpha and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha concentrations were elevated in both groups after endotoxin with values significantly greater in treated animals. We conclude that selective inhibition of Tx ameliorates many adverse hemodynamic consequences of endotoxemia but does not prevent lung permeability changes.

The relationship between right duct lymph flow and extravascular lung water in dogs given alpha-naphthylthiourea.

The relationship between right duct lymph flow and extravascular lung water was studied in 3 normal dogs and 15 dogs with pulmonary edema induced by alpha-naphthylthiourea (ANTU). Right duct lymph was collected in a pouch created by ligating jugular, subclavian, and brachiocephalic veins. Extravascular lung water was measured in vivo by double indicator dilution and post-mortem by weighting lungs before and after drying. Cardiac output, pulmonary artery and pulmonary artery wedge pressures, and the concentration of protein and electrolytes in plasma and right duct lymph were determined. Eight lungs were examined by light and electron microscopy. There was a direct relationship between right duct lymph flow (RDLF in milliters per hour per gram dry lung) and extravascular lung water (Qwl in milliliters per gram dry lung) which was best described by the equation RDLF=0.75-0.26 Qwl+0.03 (Qwl).2 Dogs with severe ANTU-induced edema had extensive lung capillary endothelial destruction but only mild interstitial swelling and no visible damage to type I alveolar epithelial cells. Cardiac output, pulmonary artery and wedge pressures, and protein and electrolyte concentrations did not correlate with either extravascular water or right duct flow. Thus, in ANTU-induced pulmonary edema right duct lymph flow was directly related to extravascular lung water with the highest flows occurring with severe edema. The absence of a rapid increase in lymph flow with small increases in extravascular water may be due to early sequestration of fluid in the alveolar space. Hemodynamic changes did not account for changes in lung water or lymph flow. The pulmonary interstitial factors relating increased extravascular water to lymph drainage remain to be determined.

Apparent cellular ingress of albumin in Walker 256 tumor and rat muscle.

Tissue albumin distribution was measured in Walker 256 tumor and skeletal muscle in vivo in 36 rats. Vascular, extravascular-extracellular, and total tissue water spaces were determined for each tissue sample by isotopic techniques. Tissue interstitial and lymph albumin values were calculated from thoracic duct albumin concentrations, and vascular albumin was determined from serum albumin levels. Total tissue albumin was measured by dilution. These data demonstrate a third tissue albumin pool that equilibrates in 3 days compared to the rapid equilibration (2 hr) of vascular and extracellular-extravascular spaces. The pool is present in both muscle and tumor but appears to equilibrate more rapidly in tumor tissue. This finding suggests that cellular ingress of albumin occurs in vivo, which may explain increased albumin catabolism in tumor-bearing hosts.

The concentration of apolipoprotein A-II in human peripheral lymph.

The concentration of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and of apolipoprotein A-II (apoA-II) was determined immunoelectrophoretically in lymph and plasma of six subjects. The concentration in lymph of apoA-I was 20.3 +/- 3.1 mg/dl, that of apoA-II was 4.6 +/- 0.5 mg/dl. The ratio of the concentration in lymph over that in plasma (CL/CP) for apoA-I was 0.14 +/- 0.1, that for apoA-II 0.14 +/- 0.01. Lymph and plasma samples from two subjects were fractionated by exclusion chromatography and the concentration of both apolipoproteins in resulting fractions was determined immunoelectrophoretically. ApoA-I of lymph eluted with fractions spanning a wider range of particle sizes than plasma apoA-I, while lymph apoA-II eluted predominantly with fractions that contained particles corresponding in size to plasma apoA-II-containing particles. It appears that the largest and smallest lymph HDL represent subspecies of Lp(A-I without A-II). These findings are discussed in the context of their possible bearing on initial stages of reverse transport of cholesterol.

Concentration of lipoproteins containing apolipoprotein B in human peripheral lymph.

The concentration of apolipoprotein B (apoB) in human serum and peripheral lymph was measured by quantitative immunoelectrophoresis with anti-serum to human low-density lipoprotein. In four normal and six hyperlipidaemic subjects, total lymph apob/ml was 5-10% of total serum apoB/ml in the same subject. These ratios were equivalent to lymph apob concentrations of 60-120 microgram/ml. When the assays were carried out under conditions in which unmasking of immunoreactive sites on lymph and serum apoB was assumed to be maximal (delipidation with Nonidet P40), the lymph/serum apoB concentration ratios in three normal subjects were similar to those obtained with untreated lymph and serum.

The concentration of apolipoprotein A-I in human peripheral lymph.

The concentration of apolipoprotein A-I in peripheral lymph of eight apparently healthy subjects has been determined by quantitative immunoelectrophoresis. Under steady-state conditions the average concentration of this apolipoprotein in lymph was 15.9 +/- 3.6 mg/dl, that is 12.24 +/- 2.3% of its concentration in plasma of the corresponding subjects. Apolipoprotein A-I could not be detected immunochemically in particles smaller than haemoglobin (Mr 67 000) when lymph was subjected to gel filtration on Sephacryl S300 superfine either by thin-layer or column modification of this method. Lymph and plasma from three subjects were fractionated by column gel filtration and apolipoprotein A-I determined by quantitative immunoelectrophoresis in delipidated fractions. It was found that the distribution of apolipoprotein A-I in lymph was shifted towards larger particles when compared to its distribution in plasma.

Distribution of apolipoproteins A-I and A-IV among lipoprotein classes in rat mesenteric lymph, fractionated by molecular sieve chromatography.

The distribution of apolipoproteins A-I and A-IV among lymph lipoprotein fractions was studied after separation by molecular sieve chromatography, avoiding any ultracentrifugation. Lymph was obtained from rats infused either with a glucose solution or with a triacylglycerol emulsion. Relative to glucose infusion, triacylglycerol infusion caused a 20-fold increase in the output of triacylglycerol, coupled with a 4-fold increase in output of apolipoprotein A-IV. The output of apolipoprotein A-I was only elevated 2-fold. Chromatography on 6% agarose showed that lymph apolipoproteins A-I and A-IV are present on triacylglycerol-rich particles and on particles of the size of HDL. In addition, apolipoprotein A-IV is also present as 'free' apolipoprotein A-IV. The increase in apolipoprotein A-I output is caused by a higher output of A-I associated with large chylomicrons only, while the increase in apolipoprotein A-IV output is reflected by an increased output in all lymph lipoprotein fractions, including lymph HDL and 'free' apolipoprotein A-IV. The increased level of 'free' A-IV, seen in fatty lymph, may contribute to, and at least partly explain, the high concentrations of 'free' apolipoprotein A-IV present in serum obtained from fed animals.

Secretion of apolipoproteins in the suckling rat. Absence of low-molecular-weight apolipoprotein B of hepatic origin.

Synthesis of apolipoprotein B in the intestine and liver in suckling rats whose duodena had been infused with [3H]lysine was estimated by measuring the radioactivity in the mesenteric lymph and blood serum. Apolipoprotein B synthesized in the suckling rat intestine was an exclusively low-molecular-weight form. In the serum d less than 1.21 g/ml fraction obtained from the lymph-diverted rats, apolipoprotein B of high molecular weight was only labeled with [3H]lysine in suckling rats, whereas both forms of apolipoprotein B were labeled in the adult rats. These results suggest developmental changes in hepatic apolipoprotein B synthesis and secretion.

Chylomicron synthesis in experimental nephrotic syndrome.

Mesenteric lymph was collected for 48 h from rats with aminonucleoside-induced nephrotic syndrome, receiving an intraduodenal infusion of a triacylglycerol emulsion. In nephrosis, the rates of lymph flow and triacylglycerol transport were approx. 2-fold higher, but the transport of total protein and of apoproteins A-I and E was 2- to 3-fold lower than that in control rats, resulting in chylomicrons with a 3-fold approx. elevated triacylglycerol/protein ratio. Supplementation of the triacylglycerol infusate with glucose and amino acids did not increase the protein or apoA-I and apoE transport. Production or transport of B and C apoproteins in nephrotic rats was also reduced, as indicated by tetramethylurea solubility, incorporation of intraduodenally infused [3H]leucine and staining of the chylomicron proteins on SDS-PAGE gels. Apoprotein A-IV was the only chylomicron component into which the leucine incorporation was elevated, but its relative content was not increased on SDS-PAGE gels. Lymph chylomicrons of nephrotic rats were larger in size (1498 +/- 37 vs. 1235 +/- 23 A), consistent with the higher triacylglycerol/protein ratio. The concentration of all lipoprotein classes was markedly elevated in the plasma of nephrotic rats, as was that of the total A-I and E apoproteins. Intravenous injection of 125I-labelled HDL, followed by tracing of the label in lymph chylomicrons, indicated a lower rate of transfer of HDL apoproteins from plasma to lymph in nephrotic rats. We conclude that the intestinal chylomicron formation in nephrosis is characterised by an enhanced triacylglycerol transport without the appropriate apoprotein complement. This is probably due to the limited capacity of enterocytes, in marked contrast to hepatocytes, to respond to the hypoproteinemia of nephrosis with increased production and/or transport of the apoproteins.

A simple and rapid in vitro bioassay for inhibin.

This report describes a quantitative bioassay for inhibin which can be used to monitor purification and establish the physiological role of this hormone in spermatogenesis and folliculogenesis. Anterior pituitary cells from adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were dispersed and precultured for 18 h before the addition of inhibin-containing materials to the culture medium. After a further 72 h in culture, the medium was removed by aaspiration, and the cells were lysed releasing their intracellular hormone into RIA buffer. Cell content of FSH was reduced in inhibin-containing preparations, but without changes in LH, GH, and PRL concentrations. The inhibin dose-response curve, based on the inhibition of FSH in 15 experiments using an ovine testicular lymph preparation as a standard, had indices of precision between -0.032 and -0.098, and Finney's g ranged from 0.003--0.025. The interassay variability ranged from 15.0--16.9%. The assay had a practical capacity of 300--400 wells, which permitted the measurement of dose-response curves of 15 or more unknowns with quadruplicate wells per dose. The potency of unknown preparations was calculated with reference to the inhibin standard, which had a designated potency of 1 U/mg. Preparations showing nonparallelism were excluded. This assay presented advantages over those described previously, since it showed specificity of response to FSH and accommodated a large number of samples without loss of precision or reproducibility. It is therefore suitable for measurement of the inhibin-like activity in some biological fluids.