Morphological and genetic variations of the freshwater leech, Hirudinaria spp., in Peninsular Malaysia.

In this study the genetic diversity of local freshwater leeches (Hirudinaria spp.) was inferred using mtDNA COI gene analysis and compared with the gross external variations of 26 freshwater leech specimens obtained from the wild and leech farms. Based on a neighbor-joining tree generated from 516 COI base sequences, four distinct clades of Hirudinaria were seen with interspecific genetic divergence in the range of 7.6-14.5%. The external morphological variations based on the presence of stripes, location of gonopores, and anus separated the samples into four morphologically distinct groups matching the four clades obtained from the molecular data. Two black stripes at the ventral region were observed only in specimens found clustered with clades that contained the GenBank-reported H. manillensis, whereas the brown or dark green coloration without stripes on the ventral region was seen in samples that clustered with H. javanica and H. bpling clades.

Molecular diversity of the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria community in disused tin-mining ponds located within Kampar, Perak, Malaysia.

Disused tin-mining ponds make up a significant amount of water bodies in Malaysia particularly at the Kinta Valley in the state of Perak where tin-mining activities were the most extensive, and these abundantly available water sources are widely used in the field of aquaculture and agriculture. However, the natural ecology and physicochemical conditions of these ponds, many of which have been altered due to secondary post-mining activities, remains to be explored. As ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are directly related to the nutrient cycles of aquatic environments and are useful bioindicators of environmental variations, the focus of this study was to identify AOBs associated with disused tin-mining ponds that have a history of different secondary activities in comparison to ponds which were left untouched and remained as part of the landscape. The 16S rDNA gene was used to detect AOBs in the sediment and water sampled from the three types of disused mining ponds, namely ponds without secondary activity, ponds that were used for lotus cultivation and post-aquaculture ponds. When the varying pond types were compared with the sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the AOB clone libraries, both Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira-like AOB were detected though Nitrosospira spp. was seen to be the most ubiquitous AOB as it was present in all ponds types. However, AOBs were not detected in the sediments of idle ponds. Based on rarefaction analysis and diversity indices, the disused mining pond with lotus culture indicated the highest richness of AOBs. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that among the physicochemical properties of the pond sites, TAN and nitrite were shown to be the main factors that influenced the community structure of AOBs in these disused tin-mining ponds.

Molecular diversity of the methanotrophic bacteria communities associated with disused tin-mining ponds in Kampar, Perak, Malaysia.

In a previous study, notable differences of several physicochemical properties, as well as the community structure of ammonia oxidizing bacteria as judged by 16S rRNA gene analysis, were observed among several disused tin-mining ponds located in the town of Kampar, Malaysia. These variations were associated with the presence of aquatic vegetation as well as past secondary activities that occurred at the ponds. Here, methane oxidizing bacteria (MOB), which are direct participants in the nutrient cycles of aquatic environments and biological indicators of environmental variations, have been characterised via analysis of pmoA functional genes in the same environments. The MOB communities associated with disused tin-mining ponds that were exposed to varying secondary activities were examined in comparison to those in ponds that were left to nature. Comparing the sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the pmoA clone libraries at the different ponds (idle, lotus-cultivated and post-aquaculture), we found pmoA genes indicating the presence of type I and type II MOB at all study sites, but type Ib sequences affiliated with the Methylococcus/Methylocaldum lineage were most ubiquitous (46.7 % of clones). Based on rarefaction analysis and diversity indices, the disused mining pond with lotus culture was observed to harbor the highest richness of MOB. However, varying secondary activity or sample type did not show a strong variation in community patterns as compared to the ammonia oxidizers in our previous study.

Morphometric sex determination of Milky and Painted Storks in captivity.

Logistic regression was applied to develop a morphometric sexing method of two closely related stork species that were previously sexed through amplification of the CHD gene. Tarsus length (TL) and bill length (BL) measurements were recorded from captive populations of adult Milky Stork (Mycteria cinerea) (n = 60) and Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) (n = 58) at Zoo Negara Malaysia. Despite having monomorphic plumages, both stork species exhibited normal sexual size dimorphism in which males were significantly larger than females in the tested variables. Based on logistic regression analysis, BL correctly classified the sex of sampled individuals from Painted and Milky stork with an overall predicted accuracy of 94.8 and 90.0%, respectively. However, TL measurements generated a lower predicted accuracy level of 86.2% and a same accuracy level of 90% on the sex classification of individuals from Painted and Milky stork, respectively. By comparing the measurements of both species, only the average BL measurements of the Milky storks were significantly lower than that of Painted storks (t-test, P80.001). The logistic regression equation in this study may serve as a simple and more practical option for sexing Milky and Painted storks for their breeding and conservation programmes.

Influence of genetic polymorphisms in the beta2-adrenoceptor on desensitization in human lung mast cells.

The beta-adrenoceptor agonist, isoprenaline, inhibited the immunoglobulin E-mediated release of histamine from human lung mast cells (HLMC). Long-term (24 h) exposure of HLMC to isoprenaline reduced the subsequent effectiveness of isoprenaline to inhibit histamine release. The extent of this functional desensitization was variable with some HLMC preparations resistant and others highly susceptible. We sought to determine whether the variability in the degree of functional desensitization was influenced by genetic polymorphisms in the beta2-adrenoceptor. HLMC preparations were genotyped at two polymorphic loci, positions 16 (arg to gly) and 27 (gln to glu), and the effect of desensitizing conditions (24 h with 10(-6) M isoprenaline) on the subsequent ability of isoprenaline (10(-7) M) to inhibit histamine release from HLMC was determined (n = 72). In HLMC preparations expressing beta2-adrenoceptors with arg (wild-type) or gly (mutant) at position 16, desensitization was 71 +/- 5% (n = 18) or 43 +/- 5%, (n = 26), respectively, whereas the desensitization was 59 +/- 6% (n = 28) for heterozygotes at this position. In HLMC preparations expressing beta2-adrenoceptors with gln (wild-type) or glu (mutant) at position 27, desensitization was 65 +/- 5% (n = 25) or 28 +/- 7% (n = 17), respectively, whereas the desensitization was 61 +/- 5% (n = 30) for heterozygotes at this position. These data suggest that mutant (gly16 and glu27) forms of the receptor are resistant to desensitization compared to wild-type (arg16 and gln27) forms. However, analyses to determine the relative contributions of positions 16 and 27 suggest that position 27 is more important in influencing the degree of functional desensitization.

Salmeterol inhibition of mediator release from human lung mast cells by beta-adrenoceptor-dependent and independent mechanisms.

1. The long-acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonist, salmeterol (10(-9)-10(-5) M), inhibited the IgE-mediated release of histamine from human lung mast cells (HLMC) in a dose-dependent fashion. Additional beta-adrenoceptor agonists were studied and the rank order of potency for the inhibition of histamine release from HLMC was isoprenaline > salmeterol > salbutamol. Approximate EC50 values for the inhibition of histamine release were 10 nM for isoprenaline and 100 nM for salbutamol. An EC50 value for salmeterol could not be calculated because maximal responses to salmeterol were not observed over the concentration range employed. 2. Both salmeterol and isoprenaline inhibited the generation of sulphopeptidoleukotrienes (sLT) more potently and more efficaciously than the release of histamine from immunologically-activated HLMC. Salmeterol (EC50 < 0.1 nM) was more potent than isoprenaline (EC50 0.4 nM) at attenuating sLT generation. 3. The beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, propranolol (1 microM), and the selective beta2-adrenoceptor antagonist, ICI 118,551 (0.1 microM), both caused rightward shifts in the dose-response curve for the inhibition of histamine release by isoprenaline. The antagonism of salmeterol effects by propranolol and ICI 118,551 was more complex. At lower concentrations (< 1 microM) of salmeterol, both antagonists shifted the dose-reponse curve to salmeterol rightward. At a higher concentration (10 microM) of salmeterol, neither ICI 118,551 nor propranolol was an effective antagonist of the salmeterol-mediated inhibition of histamine release. 4. Prolonged exposure (4 h) of HLMC to isoprenaline (1 microM) caused an approximately 50% reduction in the effectiveness of a second exposure to isoprenaline (10 microM) at inhibiting the release of histamine. whereas this pretreatment did not affect the salmeterol (10 microM) inhibition of histamine release. 5. Isoprenaline (10(-9)-10(-5) M) caused a dose-dependent increase in total cell cyclicAMP levels in purified HLMC which paralleled the inhibition of histamine release. Salmeterol (10(-9)-10(-5) M) was considerably less potent than isoprenaline at increasing HLMC cyclicAMP levels. 6. In summary, these data indicate that salmeterol is an effective inhibitor of the stimulated release of mediators from HLMC. The present data also suggest that salmeterol may act to inhibit mediator release from HLMC by beta-adrenoceptor-dependent and independent mechanisms.

Influence of receptor reserve on beta-adrenoceptor-mediated responses in human lung mast cells.

1. The effects of the beta-adrenoceptor agonists isoprenaline and salbutamol on IgE-mediated histamine release from human lung mast cells (HLMC) were evaluated. Both agonists (10(-10)-10(-5) M) inhibited histamine release in a dose-dependent manner and isoprenaline (pD2, 8.3+/-0.1, mean+/-s.e.mean) was more potent than salbutamol (7.3+/-0.1). Moreover, the mean data indicated that salbutamol was a partial agonist when compared with isoprenaline. However, there was a large degree of interexperimental variability because, in 11 of 32 experiments, salbutamol was a full agonist and, in 21 of 32 experiments, a partial agonist relative to isoprenaline. These data suggest that different HLMC preparations possess variable receptor reserves. 2. The effect of the irreversible beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, bromoacetylalprenolol menthane (BAAM), on the inhibition of IgE-mediated histamine release by both isoprenaline and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was assessed. Whereas BAAM (100 nM) antagonized the isoprenaline inhibition of histamine release from activated HLMC, BAAM had no effect on the PGE2 inhibition. Pretreatment of HLMC with the beta2-selective competitive antagonist, ICI 118551 (100 nM), protected against the loss in responsiveness to isoprenaline following treatment with BAAM. 3. Concentrations of 1, 10 and 100 nM of BAAM caused dose-dependent rightward shifts in the dose-response curve for the isoprenaline inhibition of histamine release. Furthermore, there was a dose-dependent reduction in the maximal inhibitory response obtained with isoprenaline following treatments with increasing concentrations of BAAM. Although the rightward shifts in the isoprenaline dose-response curves, with a given concentration of BAAM, were similar in all experiments, there was some variability in the depression of the maximal response in individual experiments. Thus, in 6 of 16 experiments, BAAM (1 nM) did not depress the maximal response to isoprenaline, whereas in 10 of 16 experiments there was a depression (7 to 49% reduction) in the maximal response. These data suggest that different HLMC preparations possess variable receptor reserves. 4. Isoprenaline was more potent as an inhibitor in those HLMC preparations in which there was a larger receptor reserve (i.e. preparations in which the maximal inhibitory response to isoprenaline was unaffected by pretreatment with 1 nM BAAM). 5. The influence of receptor reserve on the inhibition by salbutamol of histamine release from HLMC was evaluated. There was a good correlation (r=0.77) between receptor reserve and the maximal response (relative to isoprenaline) obtained with salbutamol. Thus, HLMC preparations with larger receptor reserves were more responsive to salbutamol. 6. Receptor reserve influenced the desensitization of beta-adrenoceptor-mediated responses in HLMC. Cells were incubated (24 h) with isoprenaline (1 microM), washed and then the ability of a second isoprenaline (10(-10)-10(-5) M) exposure to inhibit histamine release was assessed. The pretreatment caused a reduction in the isoprenaline inhibition of histamine release although the extent of desensitization was highly variable, ranging from essentially negligible levels in some preparations to substantial reductions (93% desensitization) in the ability of isoprenaline to inhibit histamine release. There was a reasonable correlation (r=0.59) between receptor reserve and desensitization. Preparations that possessed a larger receptor reserve were more resistant to desensitization. 7. Collectively, these data suggest that a receptor reserve exists for the beta-adrenoceptor-mediated inhibition of histamine release from HLMC but that the size of this reserve varies between HLMC preparations. Moreover, the size of this receptor reserve may influence the sensitivity of HLMC to beta-adrenoceptor agonists and the susceptibility of individual HLMC preparations to desensitization.

Protection by dexamethasone of the functional desensitization to beta 2-adrenoceptor-mediated responses in human lung mast cells.

1. The beta-adrenoceptor agonist, isoprenaline, inhibited the IgE-mediated release of histamine from human lung mast cells (HLMC) in a dose-dependent manner. Maximal inhibitory effects were obtained with 0.1 microM isoprenaline. However, the inhibition of histamine release from HLMC by isoprenaline (0.1 microM) was highly variable ranging from 33 to 97% inhibition (mean, 59 +/- 3%, n = 27). 2. Long-term (24 h) incubation of HLMC with isoprenaline led to a subsequent reduction in the ability of a second exposure of isoprenaline to inhibit IgE-mediated histamine release from HLMC. The impairment in the ability of isoprenaline (0.1 microM) to inhibit histamine release following desensitizing conditions (1 microM isoprenaline for 24 h) was highly variable amongst HLMC preparations ranging from essentially negligible levels of desensitization in some preparations to complete abrogation of the inhibitory response in others (mean, 65 +/- 6% desensitization, n = 27). 3. The ability of HLMC to recover from desensitization was investigated. Following desensitizing conditions (1 microM isoprenaline for 24 h), HLMC were washed and incubated for 24 h in buffer and the effectiveness of isoprenaline (0.1 microM) to inhibit IgE-mediated histamine release from HLMC was assessed. The extent of recovery was highly variable with some HLMC preparations failing to recover and others displaying a complete restoration of responsiveness to isoprenaline (mean, 40 +/- 6% recovery, n = 23). 4. The effects of the glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, were also investigated. Long-term (24-72 h) treatments with dexamethasone (0.1 microM) had no effect on IgE-mediated histamine release from HLMC. Additionally, long-term (24-72 h) treatments with dexamethasone (0.1 microM) had no effect on the effectiveness of isoprenaline to inhibit histamine release. However, long-term (24-72 h) treatments with dexamethasone (0.1 microM) protected against the functional desensitization induced by incubation (24 h) of HLMC with isoprenaline (1 microM). The protective effect was time-dependent and pretreatment of HLMC with dexamethasone for either 24, 48 or 72 h prevented desensitization by either 15 +/- 7, 19 +/- 5 or 51 +/- 10%, respectively (n = 5-7). 5. HLMC preparations which were relatively refractory to isoprenaline even after withdrawal (24 h) from desensitizing conditions responded more effectively to isoprenaline (0.1 microM) if dexamethasone (0.1 microM) was also included during the recovery period (19 +/- 9% recovery after 24 h in buffer; 50 +/- 8% recovery after 24 h with dexamethasone, n = 5). 6. These data indicate that the responses of different HLMC preparations to isoprenaline, the susceptibility of HLMC to desensitization and the ability of HLMC to recover from desensitizing conditions varies markedly. Dexamethasone, which itself has no direct effects on IgE-mediated histamine release from HLMC, protected HLMC from the functional desensitization to beta-adrenoceptor agonists. Because beta 2-adrenoceptor agonists and glucocorticoids are important in the therapeutic management of asthma and as the HLMC is probably important in certain types of asthma, these findings may have wider clinical implications.

5,10-Dideazatetrahydrofolic acid reduces toxicity and deoxyadenosine triphosphate pool, expansion in cultured L1210 cells treated with inhibitors of thymidylate synthase.

5,10-Dideazatetrahydrofolic acid (DDATHF) reduces de nova purine biosynthesis by inhibiting glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase. ICI D1964 and CB3717 are folate-based inhibitors of thymidylate synthase (TS). Fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd) following metabolism to FdUMP also inhibits TS. In cultured L1210 cells DDATHF reduced the toxicity of ICI D1694, CB3717 and FdUrd in a concentration-dependent manner. This protection correlated with a prevention of the increase in intracellular dATP pools seen in cells exposed to the TS inhibitors alone. The possibility that DDATHF protection might be due to competition for cell entry is not likely since CB3717 and FdURD but not ICI D1694 enter the cell by independent transport processes. Exogenous hypoxanthine (HX) had no effect on the toxicity of TS inhibitors. However, HX increased the protective effect of DDATHF from ICI D1694 toxicity, had no effect on the CB3717-DDATHF interaction, and reduced the protective effect of DDATHF on FdUrd toxicity. HX prevented the fall in dATP levels caused by DDATHF addition to cells treated with TS inhibitors. HX had different effects on dTTP levels in cells treated with DDATHF and quinazoline TS inhibitors compared to FdUrd. Together these results support the hypothesis that imbalance in dTTP and dATP pools is an important determinant of cytotoxicity in antifolate-treated cells. In addition, these findings suggests that intracellular reduced folates interconvert to catalyse reactions in metabolically perturbed cells.

Beta-adrenoceptor reserve in human lung: a comparison between airway smooth muscle and mast cells.

The effects of several beta-adrenoceptor agonists on the relaxation of precontracted human bronchial rings and the inhibition of IgE-mediated histamine release from human lung mast cells (HLMC) were studied. For the relaxation of bronchial rings, isoprenaline, fenoterol and terbutaline were full agonists whereas salbutamol was a full agonist in some (two out of six) experiments and a partial agonist in the remainder. For the inhibition of histamine release, relative to isoprenaline, neither fenoterol, terbutaline nor salbutamol was a full agonist. Studies with the irreversible beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, bromoacetylalprenolol menthane, indicated that there was a larger beta-adrenoceptor reserve for the relaxation of precontracted bronchial rings than for the inhibition of histamine release from HLMC. Further studies indicated that the isoprenaline inhibition of histamine release was considerably more susceptible to desensitizing treatments than the isoprenaline relaxation of bronchial rings. Collectively, these data suggest that a larger beta-adrenoceptor reserve exists for the relaxation of smooth muscle than the inhibition of histamine release from HLMC and that differences in receptor reserve may contribute to the relative susceptibilities of the two systems to desensitization.

Pathogenicity of SspI-positive infectious bursal disease virus and molecular characterization of the VP2 hypervariable region.

The pathogenicity of four isolates of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) that have restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns of very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV), based on the presence of SspI and TaqI sites in the VP2 hypervariable region, was studied in specific pathogen free chickens. Chickens inoculated with isolates 92/04, 94/B551 and 97/61 developed severe clinical signs with a high mortality ranging from 70 to 80%, whereas the 94/273 isolate caused 10% mortality. Regardless of the isolates, significant differences were noted in the bursal lesion scores and bursa:body weight ratio index in the infected groups in comparison with the control groups. However, the presence of lesions in non-bursal tissues, muscles, thymus and at the junction of the proventriculus and gizzard were found only in the 92/04, 97/61 and 94/B551 isolates. Restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analysis of the VP2 hypervariable region indicated that all the isolates can be classified as vvIBDV based on the presence of SspI and TaqI sites at nucleotide positions 1011 and 833, respectively. In addition, all the isolates had amino acid substitutions at P222A, V256I and L294I, which are characteristic for vvIBDV isolated from different parts of the world. All the isolates except 94/273 also had a StyI site at nucleotide position 888. The absence of a StyI site in this isolate was associated with amino acid substitution at 254 from G to S. The 94/273 also had an amino acid substitution at position 270 from A to E, which is variable in the STC, Cu1 and OH strains. The presence of amino acid substitutions from G254S andA270E in SspI- and TaqI-positive vvIBDV strains is very uncommon and has not been reported previously. These amino acid variations might have caused the 94/273 to become less virulent in specific pathogen free chickens and resemble a classical virulent IBDV strain.

Nucleotide sequence and phylogenetic analysis of a segment of a highly virulent strain of infectious bursal disease virus.

The complete nucleotide sequences encoding precursor polyprotein (VP2-VP3-VP4) and VP5 of a highly virulent (hv) infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), UPM97/61 was determined. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences with the published ones revealed 8 common amino acid substitutions, which were found only in the hv IBDV including the UPM97/61 strain. Three of the amino acid substitutions (222 Ala, 256 Ile and 294 Ile) were used as a marker for determining hv IBDV strains. The other five substitutions (685 Asn, 715 Ser, 751 Asp, 990 Val and 1005 Ala) were also conserved in hv IBDV strains isolated in various countries. UPM97/61 strain demonstrated also 8 unique amino acid substitutions of which 3 were in VP2, 4 in VP3 and 1 in VP4. There was 1 unique amino acid substitution in VP5 at position 19 (Asp-->Gly) not found in other strains. However, all the strains have a conserved 49 Arg. The amino acid sequence of UPM97/61 strain differed by 1.09% from the Japanese (OKYM) and Hong Kong (HK46) strains, and by 1.48% from the Israeli (IBDVKS) and European (UK661) strains. Hence, UPM97/61 is more closely related to the hv strains from Asia. However, phylogenetic analysis indicated that the origin of UPM97/61 might be the same as that of other hv strains isolated from other parts of the world.

Identification and characterization of Malaysian river catfish, Mystus nemurus (C&V): RAPD and AFLP analysis.

This work represents the first application of the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique and the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique in the study of genetic variation within and among five geographical populations of M. nemurus. Four AFLP primer combinations and nine RAPD primers detected a total of 158 and 42 polymorphic markers, respectively. The results of AFLP and RAPD analysis provide similar conclusions as far as the population clustering analysis is concerned. The Sarawak population, which is located on Borneo Island, clustered by itself and was thus isolated from the rest of the populations located in Peninsular Malaysia. Both marker systems revealed high genetic variability within the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Sarawak populations. Three subgroups each from the Kedah, Perak, and Sarawak populations were detected by AFLP but not by RAPD. Unique AFLP fingerprints were also observed in some unusual genotypes sampled in Sarawak. This indicates that AFLP may be a more efficient marker system than RAPD for identifying genotypes within populations.

Genetic microsurgery by laser: establishment of a clonal population of rat kangaroo cells (PTK2) with a directed deficiency in a chromosomal nucleolar organizer.

An ultraviolet laser beam was focused to a submicron spot on one of the nucleolar organizer regions of mitotic chromosomes of rat kangaroo cells in tissue culture. The daughter cells were isolated and cloned into a viable population that maintained the directed nucleolar deficiency. It is concluded that the laser can be used to delete preselected genetic regions and the genetic deletion is maintained as a heritable deficiency in subsequent daughter cells.

Functional desensitization of beta agonist responses in human lung mast cells.

The beta adrenergic agonist isoprenaline inhibited the IgE-triggered release of the preformed mediator histamine from human lung mast cells (HLMC) in a dose-dependent fashion. After prolonged (> or = 4 h) preexposure of HLMC to isoprenaline, there was a subsequent diminution in the effectiveness of a second exposure of isoprenaline to inhibit the release of histamine from activated HLMC. This induced hyporesponsiveness to isoprenaline was both concentration and time dependent. Although maximal levels of desensitization were obtained after an initial prolonged (14-h) preincubation with a high (10(-5) M) concentration of isoprenaline, exposure of HLMC for a shorter (4-h) time period with a lower (3 x 10(-7) M) concentration of isoprenaline was also effective at inducing a functional desensitization to isoprenaline. The inhibitory activity of the beta 2 agonist fenoterol was attenuated after a prolonged (14-h) pretreatment step with isoprenaline (10(-5)M), whereas the inhibitory properties of other adenylate cyclase activators, prostaglandin E2 and forskolin, were not affected appreciably. Prolonged (12-h) exposure of HLMC to the beta agonists fenoterol, salbutamol, and terbutaline also induced hyporesponsive states of beta agonists, qualitatively similar to that obtained with isoprenaline. The beta receptor antagonist propranolol, if coincubated with isoprenaline during the prolonged pretreatment step, protected against the subsequent refractoriness of the HLMC to isoprenaline. The glucocorticoid dexamethasone failed to prevent the isoprenaline-induced functional desensitization. In total, these results indicate that prolonged exposure of HLMC to beta agonists induces a state of selective hyporesponsiveness to agonists that act at beta adrenoreceptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)