Siderophore mediated plutonium accumulation by Microbacterium flavescens (JG-9).

Uptake of plutonium and uranium mediated by the siderophore desferrioxamine-B (DFOB) has been studied for the common soil aerobe Microbacterium flavescens(JG-9). M. flavescens does not bind or take up nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) complexes of U(VI), Fe(III), or Pu(IV) or U(VI)-DFOB but does take up Fe(III)-DFOB and Pu(IV)-DFOB. Pu(IV)-DFOB and Fe(III)-DFOB accumulations are similar: only living and metabolically active bacteria take up these metal-siderophore complexes. The Fe(III)-DFOB and Pu(IV)-DFOB complexes mutually inhibit uptake of the other, indicating that they compete for shared binding sites or uptake proteins. However, Pu uptake is much slower than Fe uptake, and cumulative Pu uptake is less than Fe, 1.0 nmol of Fe vs 0.25 nmol of Pu per mg of dry weight bacteria. The Pu(IV)-DFOB interactions with M. flavescens suggest that Pu-siderophore complexes could generally be recognized by Fe-siderophore uptake systems of many bacteria, fungi, or plants, thereby affecting Pu environmental mobility and distribution. The results also suggest that the siderophore complexes of tetravalent metals can be recognized by Fe-siderophore uptake proteins.

D-amphetamine-induced depletion of energy and dopamine in the rat striatum is attenuated by nicotinamide pretreatment.

The present study examined the effects of nicotinamide on the D-amphetamine (AMPH)-induced dopamine (DA) depletion and energy metabolism change in the rat striatum. In chronic studies, co-administration of AMPH with desipramine, a drug that retards the metabolism of AMPH, (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneal [i.p.], respectively) caused a significant decrease of striatal DA content measured 7 days later. Pretreatment with nicotinamide (500 mg/kg, i.p.), the precursor molecule for the electron carrier molecule nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), attenuated this effect of AMPH, whereas itself exerted no long-term effect on striatal DA content. In acute studies, a decrease in striatal adenosine triphospate/adenosine diphosphate (ATP/ADP) ratio was found 3 h after co-injection of AMPH and desipramine. However, nicotinamide pretreatment blocked the reduced striatal ATP/ADP ratio and resulted in a striking increase in striatal NAD content in AMPH-treated rats. Furthermore, nicotinamide was noted to increase striatal ATP/ADP ratio and NAD content in saline-treated rats. These findings suggest that nicotinamide protects against AMPH-induced DAergic neurotoxicity in the striatum of rats via energy supplement.

Effects of acute and chronic morphine on DOPAC and glutamate at subcortical DA terminals in awake rats.

Effects of morphine and naloxone on the levels of 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and glutamate in the striatum and nucleus accumbens of awake rats were studied with in vivo microdialysis. Acute morphine (50 mg/kg, IP) treatment increased the levels of DOPAC and glutamate in the striatum and nucleus accumbens, but both decreased from the elevated levels when naloxone (10 mg/kg, IP) was given 2 h later. Chronic morphine treatment, twice daily for 5 days in incremental doses (5, 10, 20, 40 and 50 mg/kg, IP), increased the level of DOPAC but decreased that of glutamate in the striatum and nucleus accumbens. When naloxone was given 2 h later, the reverse of the above phenomena are found. After given repeated morphine treatment and experiencing naloxone-precipitated withdrawal, the rats with an intact cortex and the rats with ibotenic acid (5 microg/0.5 microl/2.5 min) lesions on the medial prefrontal cortex and sulcal cortex have similar alternations in the levels of DOPAC and glutamate in the striatum. However, in the nucleus accumbens, the level of DOPAC dropped more and the level of glutamate increased more in the intact rats than the lesioned rats during the withdrawal stage. These data suggested that the intact cortex ordinarily exerted an inhibitory role to influence the level of DOPAC in the striatum and nucleus accumbens during chronic morphine treatment. In conclusion, morphine seems to activate different pathways in dependent and non-dependent rats.

Structural prediction of A- and B-DNA duplexes based on coordinates of the phosphorus atoms.

The sequence-dependent structure of DNA double helices was studied extensively during the past 10 years. How the backbone structure correlates with the base structure in a duplex conformation is still an important yet open question. Using a set of reduced coordinates and a least-squares fitting procedure, we have developed a method to predict structures for B-DNA duplexes based on coordinates of the phosphorus atoms. This method can be used to predict all-atom structures for both bent and straight molecules. We estimated the accuracies of the predictions by studying a set of 10 oligonucleotides with their structures available from the Protein Data Bank. We used this method to construct a modeled structure for the bacteriophage lambda cro operator for which the phosphorus coordinates were known from 3.5-angstrum resolution crystal data (4CRO).

Adenosine and glutamate modulate the cardiovascular responses of angiotensins II and III in the area postrema of rats.

The purpose of this study was to determine the interactions of the renin-angiotensin system with adenosine and glutamate in the area postrema (AP) of rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized with urethane. Adenosine, angiotensins (Ang) II, III and their antagonist 1,3-Dipropyl-8-p-sulfophenylxanthine (DPSPX), [Sar1Ile7]Ang III and glutamate antagonist, L-glutamic acid diethyl ester (GDEE) were microinjected into the AP of rats. Our results demonstrated that microinjection of DPSPX significantly attenuated the depressor and bradycardic effects of Ang II and III at low (9.6 pmol) and high dose (480 pmol) of Ang II in normotensive rats. To test the interaction of glutamate and renin-angiotensin system, we found that glutamate antagonist, GDEE, markedly lowered depressor and bradycardic responses of Ang II but did not influence Ang III in rats. On the other hand, microinjection of the Ang antagonist [Sar1Ile7]Ang III 10 min prior to the injection of adenosine significantly altered the cardiovascular effects of adenosine in the AP. In conclusion, the endogenous adenosine and glutamate may influence the renin-angiotensin system on cardiovascular responses in the AP of rats.

The role of atrial natriuretic factor in dehydration and schedule-induced drinking behaviour.

Dehydration-induced drinking (DID) has been defined as a type of homeostatic behaviour controlled by factors related to water balance, whereas schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) is considered to be a type of nonhomeostatic drinking subsequent to a general increase in motor excitability. In this study, we have attempted to assess the role of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) in both models to elucidate the mechanisms controlling water intake. Intracerebroventricular injection of ANF (2-8 nmol) caused a dose related suppression of water intake in both DID and SIP, but intravenous injection with a higher dose of ANF (8 nmol) produced a significant suppression of water intake only in DID. Before drinking started, tissue ANF levels increased in atria in both models and decreased in hypothalamus in DID but not in SIP. After 1 hour of drinking, ANF levels decreased in atria in both models and increased in hypothalamus in SIP but not in DID. These results suggest that DID and SIP are different in their thirst regulation, and that the notion that peripheral ANF serves as a humoral factor sending signals to central in the fluid homeostatic control mechanism is questionable.

Shock avoidance in rats with unilateral lesions in the lateral hypothalamus.

Male albino rats bearing unilateral lateral hypothalamic lesions on either side were tested to acquire active shock avoidance in a two-way shuttle box. The retention of this task learned prior to the surgery was also studied. It was found that the unilateral hypothalamic lesion impaired both performance and no difference between sides was observed.

Impairment of active avoidance in rats with unilateral hypothalamic lesion.

Male albino rats with unilateral hypothalamic (ULH) lesion on either the right or left side were trained to acquire active shock avoidance in a two-way shuttle box. With 20 trials in a session per day, either group scored responses below 50% by the 8th day, while intact rats attained the criterion of 80% correct responses by the 5th day. It is concluded that intact lateral hypothalamic areas are essential for successful learning of active shock avoidance.