Response of enzyme activities and metabolic intermediate concentrations to epinephrine administration in hepatopancreas and muscle of carp

SUMMARY: Common carp Cyprinus carpio were administered intraperitoneally with 10 μmol epinephrine per 100 g bodyweight, and enzyme activities and metabolic intermediate concentrations were determined in the hepatopancreas and muscle. Glycogen phosphorylase a (GPase a) activity together with cyclic AMP (cAMP) concentration was increased, and glycogen content was decreased in the hepatopancreas and muscle at 2 h after the administration. The epinephrine administration also increased hepatopancreatic glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-biphosphatase activities as well as serum glucose, lactate, and free amino acid concentrations. Furthermore, its administration increased phosphofructokinase activity together with lactate, fructose-6-phosphate, adenosine-5'-monophosphate, and adenosine-5'-diphosphate concentrations and decreased citrate concentration in the muscle. Thereafter, almost all parameter concentrations in the hepatopancreas and muscle recovered to the pre-administered levels during 24 h after the administration. These results suggest that epinephrine administration enhanced glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in the hepatopancreas, and released glucose into the bloodstream to supply it to the muscle. The blood glucose together with muscle glycogen seems to be metabolized through enhanced glycolysis in the muscle.     

In situ hybridization for the demonstration of bovine leukemia virus transcripts in lymphosarcoma cells using biotinylated probes.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) RNA was demonstrated in peripheral blood lymphocytes treated with concanavalin A or phytohemagglutinin from a BLV-infected ox, and in lymphosarcoma cells cultured without mitogen from an enzootic bovine leukosis cow by in situ hybridization using biotinylated DNA probes.     

The cellular differentiation of M cells from crypt undifferentiated epithelial cells into microvillous epithelial cells in follicle-associated epithelia of chicken cecal tonsils

To clarify the cellular origin and the fate of M cells, detailed distributions of the epithelial cells were investigated scanning electron microscopically on the follicle-associated epithelia (FAE) of chicken cecal tonsils. The distribution of M cells was closely related with the situation of the crypt orifices in chicken cecal tonsils. In undeveloped cecal tonsils, the intestinal crypts were localized at the periphery of the FAE. In these tonsils, M cells without microvilli (M(0)) were predominantly populated in the basal region of the FAE, whereas goblet cells and microvillous epithelial cells (MV) were more distributed in the middle to the apical region of the FAE. A few M cells with short microvilli were dispersed throughout the FAE. Significantly shrunk MV (MVs) clustered together in transitional portions from the lateral face to the roof of the FAE. In well-developed cecal tonsils, the crypts also opened at the lateral surface in addition to the periphery of the FAE. In these tonsils, the M(0) accumulated densely in the small areas around the crypt orifices exclusively. No sign of exfoliation of apoptotic epithelial cells was found in the M(0)-accumulated areas and at their peripheral boundaries. The MVs were often clustered in the central regions among the crypt orifices in addition to the roof of the FAE. These findings suggest that M cells are directly derived from the undifferentiated crypt epithelial cells, not fall into apoptotic cell death and further differentiate into MV in the FAE of chicken cecal tonsils.     

Demonstration of Anaplasma (Ehrlichia) platys inclusions in peripheral blood platelets of a dog in Japan

A free-roaming dog in Okinawa island showed Anaplasma (Ehrlichia) platys-like inclusions within the platelets of peripheral blood samples. The inclusions were positive in indirect fluorescence test with anti-A. phagocytophila serum. The platelet count of the dog was 170,000 microl(-1). The sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA, citrate synthase and heat shock protein genes of DNA from the infected platelets confirmed that the inclusions were A. platys. This is the first detection of A. platys inclusions in dogs in Japan.     

Fasting in freshwater severely affects growth of juvenile chum salmon when entering cold seawater

Fisheries Science - We conducted rearing experiments to examine the cumulative effects of fasting in freshwater and transfer to cold seawater on the growth of juvenile chum salmon. In the first...     

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides derived from wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) and their antihypertensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Seven kinds of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides were isolated from the hydrolysates of wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) by Protease S "Amano" (from Bacillus stearothermophilus) by using three-step high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a reverse-phase column. These peptides were identified by amino acid composition analysis, sequence analysis, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), as Val-Tyr (IC(50) = 35.2 microM), Ile-Tyr (6.1 microM), Ala-Trp (18.8 microM), Phe-Tyr (42.3 microM), Val-Trp (3.3 microM), Ile-Trp (1.5 microM), and Leu-Trp (23.6 microM). These peptides have resistance against gastrointestinal proteases in vitro. Each peptide was determined to have an antihypertensive effect after a single oral administration in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Among them, the blood pressure significantly decreased by Val-Tyr, Ile-Tyr, Phe-Tyr, and Ile-Trp in a dose of 1 mg/kg of body weight (BW). The present study showed that antihypertensive effect in the hydrolysates of wakame by Protease S "Amano" was attributed to these peptides.     

Effect of brown seaweed lipids on fatty acid composition and lipid hydroperoxide levels of mouse liver

Brown seaweed lipids from Undaria pinnatifida (Wakame), Sargassum horneri (Akamoku), and Cystoseira hakodatensis (Uganomoku) contained several bioactive compounds, namely, fucoxanthin, polyphenols, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Fucoxanthin and polyphenol contents of Akamoku and Uganomoku lipids were higher than those of Wakame lipids, while Wakame lipids showed higher total omega-3 PUFA content than Akamoku and Uganomoku lipids. The levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) in liver lipids of KK-A(y) mouse significantly increased by Akamoku and Uganomoku lipid feeding as compared with the control, but not by Wakame lipid feeding. Fucoxanthin has been reported to accelerate the bioconversion of omega-3 PUFA and omega-6 PUFA to DHA and AA, respectively. The higher hepatic DHA and AA level of mice fed Akamoku and Uganomoku lipids would be attributed to the higher content of fucoxanthin of Akamoku and Uganomoku lipids. The lipid hydroperoxide levels of the liver of mice fed brown seaweed lipids were significantly lower than those of control mice, even though total PUFA content was higher in the liver of mice fed brown seaweed lipids. This would be, at least in part, due to the antioxidant activity of fucoxanthin metabolites in the liver.     

Response of enzyme activities and metabolic intermediate concentrations to a long burst of exercise and following resting in muscle and the hepatopancreas of carp

ABSTRACT: The responses of enzyme activities and metabolic intermediate concentrations to a long burst of exercise and following resting were examined in muscle and the hepatopancreas of carp Cyprinus carpio . A 15 min burst of exercise made the fish so exhausted that they could not swim any more. In muscle, the exercise decreased glycogen content significantly and increased lactate content significantly, resulting in a lowered pH. Furthermore, the burst of exercise decreased phosphofructokinase (PFK) activity significantly, although it changed adenosine-5'-monophosphate, adenosine-5'-diphosphate, adenosine-5'-triphosphate, fructose-6-phosphate and citrate concentrations within ranges that could activate PFK. In the hepatopancreas, the exercise increased glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bis-phosphatase activities, and glucose and lactate concentrations in the serum, and it decreased glycogen content. Even at 3 h resting after the burst of exercise, the fish had not completely restored many parameters. These results suggest that although the fish tried to enhance in vivo muscular glycolysis through the activation of PFK by changes in metabolic intermediate concentrations, glycolysis seemed to decrease markedly through the inhibition of PFK as a result of the lowered pH. However, the hepatopancreas made a contribution to muscular exercise through glucose supplementation by enhanced gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis, indicating the presence of an interdependence of carbohydrate metabolism between muscle and the hepatopancreas in the fish.     

Application of a compact magnetic resonance imaging system for toxicologic pathology: evaluation of lithium-pilocarpine-induced rat brain lesions

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a useful noninvasive tool used to detect lesions in clinical and veterinary medicine. The present study evaluated the suitability of a new easy-to-use compact MRI platform (M2 permanent magnet system, Aspect Imaging, Shoham, Israel) for assisting with preclinical toxicologic pathology examination of lesions in the rat brain. In order to induce brain lesions, male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated once with lithium chloride (127 mg/kg, intraperitoneal [i.p.]) followed by pilocarpine (30 mg/kg, i.p.). One week after dosing, the perfused, fixed brains were collected, analyzed by the MRI system and examined histopathologically. MRI of the brain of treated rats revealed areas of high T1 and middle to low T2 signals, when compared with the controls, in the piriform cortex, lateral thalamic nucleus, posterior paraventricular thalamic nucleus and posterior hypothalamic nucleus of the cerebrum. The altered MRI signal areas were consistent with well-circumscribed foci of neuronal cell degeneration/necrosis accompanied by glial cell proliferation. The present data demonstrated that quick analysis of fixed organs by the MRI system can detect the presence and location of toxicologic lesions and provide useful temporal information for selection of appropriate sections for histopathologic examination before routine slide preparation, especially in complex and functionally heterogeneous organs such as the brain.