Ras proteins regulate multiple mitogenic pathways in A10 vascular smooth muscle cells.

We examined the role of ras proteins in mitogenesis and proliferation of A10 smooth muscle cells. An assay was developed in which a dominant negative ras gene could be transiently expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells. As opposed to cells transfected with a control plasmid, those transfected with a dominant negative ras expression plasmid exhibited a decrease in thymidine uptake in response to serum, platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor and thrombin stimulation. In addition, expression of dominant negative ras blocked smooth muscle cell proliferation as assessed by the number of surviving colonies after transfection and neomycin selection. Our data is the first to show that ras is essential for smooth muscle cell proliferation and is a mediator in multiple smooth muscle cell mitogenic signalling pathways.

[Gonadotropin induced steriodogenesis in prepubertal boys (author's transl)]. / Gonadotropin-induzierte Steriodproduktion bei praepuberalen Knaben

We examined the capacity of reaction in the endocrine tissue of testes in prepubertal boys. 18 boys were endocrinologically healthy, six suffered from cryptorchidism on one or both sides. After a single dose of HCG (5000 IU/m) we found an increase of pregnantriol excretion in the 24 h urine in all subjects studied except in the case of surgically proved anorchia. In all except one boy we found a sharp increase in testosterone after HCG administration.