Establishment, characterization and plant regeneration from highly chlorophyllous embryogenic cell cultures of blue grama grass, Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex Steud.

A finely dispersed, homogeneous and highly chlorophyllous cell suspension (TIANSJ98 cell line) was obtained from shoot apices of Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex Steud. cultured on MPC medium containing MS salts supplemented with 2,4-D (1 mg/l), BAP (2 mg/l) and adenine (40 mg/l). When the TIANSJ98 cell line was grown in this medium with shaking at 180 rpm it had doubling times of 7.2 and 3.7 days in terms of fresh and dry weight, respectively. Total chlorophyll content in this cell culture ranged from 121.6 to 18.3 µg/g FW at 12 and 21 days following culture initiation. Plants regenerated from the TIANSJ98 cell line, via somatic embryogenesis, were grown to maturity and produced seeds. Although different cell culture systems have been described for cereals and grasses, to the best of our knowledge this is the first report of a highly chlorophyllous and regenerable cell suspension in Poaceae.

[Morphological changes alpha-actinin in skeletal striated muscle in the rabbit in experimental ischemia]. / Alterazioni morfologiche dell' alpha-actinina nel muscolo striato scheletrico di coniglio in condizioni di ischemia sperimentale.

In this work we studied the alteration of Z-line alpha-actinin in striated skeletal muscle, under conditions of experimental ischemia, by immunohistochemical techniques. alpha-Actinin was extracted and purified from rabbit striated skeletal muscle and used, as an antigen, for the production of antibodies, in sheep. Electrophoresis was performed on PAA sla-gel and the Ag-Ab reaction test on agarose slab-gel (immunodiffusion). Antibodies were used for the indirect immunoperoxidase technique on semithin sections of rabbit striated skeletal muscle, included in in Araldehyde, and observed with phase-contrast microscopy. alpha-Actinin from ischemic muscle because of stenosis of the iliac artery, undergoes a progressive alteration, from the third hour of ischemia, going out of its usual sites. From the fifth to the eighth hour it gradually disappears until it leaves rare and residual points of positive reaction only in correspondence to the Z-lines.

[Structural and ultrastructural changes in the rabbit myocardium exposed to dimethylformamide vapors]. / Alterazioni strutturali ed ultrastrutturali del miocardio di conigli esposti a vapori di dimetilformammide.

The aim of this research is to show the alterations of alpha-actinin in rabbit myocardium after DMF treatment administered by forced inhalation. Z-lines observed with light and phase-contrast microscopy, appeared to be intact and they were clearly displayed by the indirect PAP-reaction. But if you consider that in normal muscle Z lines do not get coloured by the PAP-reaction without a previous light treatment with trypsin. It may be inferred that, in this case, The DMF has had the same effect as the trypsin, causing alteration to the protein structure. Besides the sarcomeric structure is undoubtedly altered by the DMF, causing alterations, in our opinion, similar to those found in rabbit skeletal muscle, under conditions of acute experimental ischemia.

Ultrastructural, immunological and clinical findings in two cases of hairy cell leukemia.

In two cases of hairy-cell leukemia were studied the transmission and scanning electron microscopy morphology, the cell surface markers with monoclonal antibodies and the response to polyclonal mitogens, the clinical course and staging. We have found in the hairy cells of both cases a characteristic membranous system consisting of several parallel cisternae arranged in series at regular intervals each bounded by a smooth membrane and interrupted at intervals by electron-dense structures: this structure can be identified with the 'annulate lamellae', as yet reported in many cells but never described in hairy cells. The results of immunological investigations are presented and discussed. Our data seem to support the neoplastic B lymphocyte nature of the hairy cells. Some interesting findings of the clinical course of the two patients are also stressed.