Reversal of changes of myocardial lipids by chronic administration of aspirin in isoproterenol-induced myocardial damage in rats.

The effect of aspirin on isoproterenol-induced changes related to myocardial damage was studied in rats. Rats were treated with aspirin (1.2 mg/100 g/day) orally, daily for a period of one month. Isoproterenol (20 mg/100 g, sc, twice at an interval of 24 hr) was administered. In isoproterenol treated rats marked increase in cholesterol, free fatty acids and triglycerides in both serum and heart were observed. The phospholipid level was lowered in heart with significant increase in serum in isoproterenol treatment. Serum LDL cholesterol was found to be increased with a significant decrease in the level of HDL cholesterol with enhanced level of lipid peroxides in heart. Aspirin showed marked reversal of these metabolic changes induced by isoproterenol.

Transplantation of fetal neocortex in rhesus monkey.

A feasibility study of neural transplantation in adult rhesus monkey was undertaken. Fresh and preserved neocortex containing multiplying and maturing neurons obtained from 55-70 gestation days were transplanted into the striatum, cerebellum and cerebral cortex of adult monkeys. Tissues were preserved for 4 days either at subzero temperature in the freezer compartment of the ordinary refrigerator in Ringer lactate or incubated in culture medium. While 2 monkeys out of 5 injected with preserved tissue had successful transplants after 4 months, all the 10 monkeys injected with fresh tissue had no transplants. The size of the two surviving transplants was small. The neurons in the transplants were mainly in clusters. Many of the cells were immature and some showed early degenerative changes. Neuronal processes were restricted to the transplants and thus showed lack of morphological integration with the host tissue. Further studies are in progress to define the nature of the embryonic tissue of primate which can grow and survive and also the role of neural grafts in functional recovery following experimental lesions of the brain regions.

Specific staining of myo-inositol-1-phosphatase on polyacrylamide gels after electrophoresis.

A sensitive staining method was developed to localise the activity of myoinositol- 1-phosphatase on Polyacrylamide gels after electrophoresis. The method can also be used for non-specific phosphatases as well as for those specific phosphatases acting upon inositol polyphosphates which are prime cellular second messengers. One or two nmol of phosphate is sufficient and less than 3 μg of purified protein will facilitate the localisation of phosphatase. If more phosphatases are present in the enzyme preparation, a combination of inhibitors can be used to suppress the activities of unwanted phosphatases and the use of specific substrates will facilitate the localisation of enzyme of interest.