The effect of exercise and restraint on pectoral muscle metabolism in pigeons.

The effect of various activity regimes on metabolism of pigeon pectoralis was examined by measurement of blood lactate following exercise, total lactate dehydrogenase activity of pectoral muscle, and proportions of specific isoenzymes of pectoral muscle lactate dehydrogenase. Sprint-trained birds had the highest pectoral muscle lactate dehydrogenase activity (1409 IU.g-1 wet tissue), while endurance-trained birds had the highest peak lactate levels (287 mg.dl-1, extra-polated from decay curves) and fastest half-time of the lactate response (4.8 min) following exercise, but the lowest lactate dehydrogenase activity (115 IU.g-1 wet tissue). Immobilization of one wing for 3 weeks following endurance training produced a marked increase in lactate dehydrogenase activity of the immobilized muscle, compared to that in the contralateral pectoralis and endurance-trained muscle. Aerobic forms of the lactate dehydrogenase enzyme (that favor conversion of lactate to pyruvate) predominated in pectoral muscle of endurance-trained birds, while cage-confined birds exhibited primarily the anaerobic isoenzymes. These results demonstrate that conversion of pectoral muscle lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes, total lactate dehydrogenase activity, and half-time of lactate response after exercise is dependent on activity regime in pigeons. In this respect, pigeon pectoral muscle responds to training and disuse in a manner similar to that of mammalian skeletal muscle.

The influence of the stomach on crop function and feeding behavior in domestic turkeys.

We tested the hypotheses that motility of the crop and muscular stomach are coordinated and that the stomach exerts primary control over crop filling and emptying in domestic turkeys. Simultaneous recordings of motility of the crop, esophagus, and stomach with implanted strain gauge transducers and visual observations of food passage using image intensification radiography revealed an inverse relationship between the frequency of stomach and crop contractions. Artificially filling the stomach of a fasted turkey with a food slurry prior to feeding did not increase crop filling during the first morning meal, but it did inhibit crop emptying in fasted turkeys by markedly reducing the number of crop contractions. Artificially filling the crop of fasted turkeys prior to the first morning meal did not decrease the amount of feeding activity or the total amount of food consumed during that meal. It is suggested that meal termination is associated with the degree of inhibition of esophageal peristalsis.

Evaluation of alkylated derivatives of 99mTc-propylene amine oxime (99mTc-PnAO).

Several lipophilic di-alkylated derivatives of propylene amine oxime (PnAO were complexed to 99mTc. Assessment of the 99mTc-PnAO derivatives included biodistribution and qualitative autoradiography. All of the derivatives studied penetrated the intact blood-brain-barrier, with the 99mTc-dibutyl-PnAO complex exhibiting the lowest initial brain uptake while the 99mTc-diethyl-PnAO and the 99mTc-dipropyl-PnAO complexes possessing nearly identical initial brain uptake as compared to 99mTcPnAO. Qualitative autoradiographs revealed significant loss of image resolution with extended time post injection indicative of rapid radiopharmaceutical washout. Although increasing alkyl chain length did not enhance initial brain uptake, the data demonstrates that limited modification of the PnAO ligand structure can be performed without decreasing cerebral uptake of the respective 99mTc complex.

Effect of denervation of the myenteric plexus on gastroduodenal motility in turkeys.

The effect of denervation of portions of the myenteric plexus on initiation and coordination of gastric and duodenal contractions was examined in domestic turkeys. Three areas of the muscular stomach (MS), the isthmus between the glandular stomach (GS) and MS, and the pylorus were denervated by application of 1% benzalkonium chloride. Motor activity of the gastroduodenal organs was monitored for 1 h every other day for 13 days using strain gauge transducers implanted at selected sites. Denervation of the isthmus reduced the frequency of MS and duodenal contractions by 50% and abolished GS contractions. Pyloric denervation did not affect the frequency of GS or MS contractions but abolished duodenal contractions. These results suggest that 1) a driving pacemaker for the gastroduodenal cycle is located in the isthmus, and 2) the myenteric plexus is essential for conduction from the pacemaker to the GS and to the duodenum. Denervation of the medial commissure of the myenteric plexus of the MS significantly impaired the function of the ventral half of the MS. It caused atrophy of the underlying medial thick muscle and significantly decreased contraction amplitude. Denervation at this site also caused an enlargement and impaction of the adjacent caudal thin muscle with food and a significant decrease in contraction amplitude. In contrast, denervation of the lateral commissure enlarged the underlying lateral thick muscle and significantly increased its contraction amplitude. Denervation of the cranial thin muscle delayed contractions of that muscle, causing an asynchronization of thin muscle pair.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of cecectomy on water and nutrient absorption of birds.

The effect of the removal of the avian digestive ceca on osmoregulation and on absorption of certain nutrients is reviewed. While data indicate that the ceca have the potential for absorption of a significant quantity of water, several studies have demonstrated that effects of cecectomy on water intake and output are transitory and that compensatory adjustments made within 2 to 3 weeks postsurgery allow cecectomized birds to eat and gain weight normally. However, cecectomized great horned owls exposed to 27 degrees C turned over their body water 1.6 times faster than intact owls under the same conditions, suggesting that the ceca do have a vital role in water balance of thermally stressed horned owls. Cecectomy resulted in slightly lower metabolizability of food, lower digestibility of crude fiber in low fiber diets, and greater loss of certain amino acids in cecectomized birds that were fasted or fed a protein-free diet. The latter suggests that the ceca are important in recovery of amino acids endogenous protein degradation. Loss of cecal function also resulted in higher energy intake and excretion in Japanese quail, amounting to 5.7% of the total daily energy requirement.

Retention of [99mTc]-d,l-HM-PAO in rat brain: an autoradiographic study.

The regional cerebral distribution pattern of [99mTc]-d,l-HM-PAO in rat brain was studied by autoradiography. The regional cerebral uptake of this tracer is related to regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF); however, the ratio of retained radioactivity (determined by digital imaging techniques) in gray matter compared to white matter is lower than that reported for the blood flow ratio. Considerable inhomogeneity is observed in cortical gray matter for at least 60 min postinjection, demonstrating that minimal, if any, cerebral redistribution of this agent occurs.

Effect of denervation on initiation and coordination of gastroduodenal motility in turkeys.

The effect of total extrinsic denervation of the stomach on the rhythmicity and coordination of the gastroduodenal cycle was determined in domestic turkeys. The vagus and two gastric branches of the sympathetic nerve were sectioned at the level of the glandular stomach. Motilities of the glandular stomach, proximal duodenum, and caudal thin muscle of the muscular stomach were monitored via implanted strain gauge transducers for 1 h every other day. Denervation had no significant effect on initiation of contractions or frequency of gastric contractions in fed birds, but fasted birds whose stomachs were extrinsically denervated exhibited significantly slower contractions than controls. In addition, denervation uncoupled the coordination of the duodenal and gastric contractions in the gastroduodenal cycle. Moreover, birds with extrinsically denervated stomachs exhibited a cephalic phase of gastric motility that was significantly delayed in onset compared with controls. These results suggest the existence of both a neural and endocrine component in the avian gastric response to the sight of food. Extrinsic input seems to be an important modulator of gastric motility in birds and is essential for the normal coordination of the gastroduodenal contraction cycle.

Food intake, gastric secretion, and motility as affected by avian pancreatic polypeptide administered centrally in chickens.

The effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of avian pancreatic polypeptide (APP) on food intake, gizzard motility, gastric secretion volume, pH, and pepsin concentration was investigated using 16-20-week-old Single-Comb White Leghorn hens. Birds were stereotaxically cannulated in the right lateral ventricle. In addition, a strain gauge was attached to the gizzard to measure motility and a polyethylene cannula was implanted into the caudoventral margin of the proventriculus to collect glandular secretions. All birds were fasted for 18 hr prior to the injection of APP. In Experiment 1 food was made available immediately following the injection of APP while in Experiment 2 food was withheld for an additional one hr post-injection. The ICV injection of APP significantly increased food intake but had no significant effect on gizzard motility, gastric secretion volume, pH, or pepsin concentration in birds given access to food immediately after injection. In birds which remained fasted after injection, pepsin concentration was decreased by APP injection, but gizzard motility, gastric secretion volume, and pH were not affected. Because ICV injections of APP significantly increased food intake and, in fasted birds, decreased pepsin concentration, it appears that APP is involved in the central nervous system control of food intake and pepsin secretion in the domestic fowl.

Influence of avian pancreatic polypeptide on pancreatic and biliary secretion in laying hens.

White Leghorn hens, 14 to 29 wk of age, were surgically prepared with cannulae for collecting secretions from the cystic duct and the duct draining the ventral pancreatic lobe and for infusing the jugular vein with avian pancreatic polypeptide (aPP) or saline. A plasma infusion rate that produced a plasma level of 15 ng of aPP/mL was used. A comparison of values obtained during saline infusion with those obtained during aPP infusion indicated that pancreatic and biliary secretory volumes and pancreatic total protein concentration were significantly depressed by aPP. The pH of pancreatic and biliary secretions were not significantly affected by aPP. Because aPP also depresses gastric secretion and motility in hens, it is proposed that its physiological role may be to oppose or modulate the actions of other, stimulatory gastrointestinal hormones.

Chemical denervation of the myenteric plexus of the muscular stomach of turkeys.

1. The thin caudoventral muscle (TCM) of the muscular stomach of domestic turkeys was surgically exposed and painted with solutions of saline or 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0% benzalkonium chloride (BC), a cationic surfactant shown to irreversibly damage neurons but not muscle tissue in mammals. 2. Following fluoroscopic observations of gastric motility for 2 weeks, turkeys were euthanized, the entire muscular stomach was excised and weighed, and serial frozen sections of the TCM were taken for evaluation of the number and size of neurons in the myenteric plexus. 3. Treatment with 0.5 and 1.0% BC resulted in loss of motility in the TCM, significant hypertrophy (P less than 0.001) of the CTM, a 70% decrease in number and 60% decrease in size of myenteric neurons, and a 4-fold increase in thickness of the serosa, compared with saline-treated controls.

Cerebral uptake and retention of 99Tcm-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99Tcm-HM-PAO).

A new radiopharmaceutical, 99Tcm-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99Tcm-HM-PAO) is described. This agent displays considerable promise for imaging cerebral blood flow. In studies in rats and one human volunteer, 99Tcm-HM-PAO demonstrates good brain uptake, prolonged retention of activity in the brain, and slow regional redistribution. These properties suggest that this new radiopharmaceutical is ideal for single photon emission tomographic (SPECT) imaging of cerebral blood flow.