Bovine cyclic endometrium contains high-affinity luteinizing hormone/human chorionic gonadotropin binding sites.

High-affinity LH/hCG binding sites have been characterized in porcine, lepine, and murine uteri. In the present study, LH/hCG binding sites were characterized in bovine endometrium. Radioreceptor assays were performed with membrane homogenates of endometrial tissues and analyzed for binding site specificity and capacity. There was little competition for receptor occupancy between hCG and ovine FSH (5%) or ovine prolactin (< 0.1%), but there was a 20% cross-reaction with eCG. There was no affinity for LH/hCG in crude membrane preparations of kidney, skeletal muscle, or vascular tissues. Concentrations of endometrial LH/hCG binding sites were determined during the bovine estrous cycle. LH/hCG receptors were found in cell preparations from Days 2-4 and 15-17 of the cycle, but not in preparations from the other stages of the cycle tested (Days 8-12, pre- and post-estrus, and ovulation). The concentration of uterine LH/hCG receptor varied during the estrous cycle, with higher values at Days 15-17 (3.1 fmol/mg protein) and lower values at Days 2-4 (1.2 fmol/mg protein). However, the binding capacity of hCG by luteal cells (9.7 fmol/mg protein) was 3-fold higher (p < 0.01) than that by endometrial tissue on any day studied. No differences in affinity constant (Ka) were seen between endometrial LH/hCG receptors (either) from Days 2-4 or 15-17) and mid-cycle luteal cells (0.60 x 10(11) M-1). Using Western blot analysis, we determined the expression of cyclooxygenase (COX) during the estrous cycle of the cow. It was found that the signal for COX was strongest at 15-17 days.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Oxytocin and the timing of parturition. Influence of oxytocin receptor gene expression, oxytocin secretion, and oxytocin-induced prostaglandin F2 alpha and E2 release.

Oxytocin receptor (OTR) gene expression was studied in various tissues of the reproductive tract of pregnant cows and compared with ligand binding activity. Myometrium, intercaruncular endometrium, caruncular endometrium, cotyledons and fetal membranes, as well as the uterine cervix of pregnant cows expressed the bovine OTR gene. Receptor concentrations, measured by ligand binding to crude microsomal pellets, were comparable to OTR mRNA signal strength in all instances indicating that the receptor protein formation is probably regulated at the transcriptional level. During bovine pregnancy OTR gene expression was initiated at different times depending on the tissue. The expression of the gene for OT peptide was not found in any of the bovine uterine tissues but was found in the corpora lutea at term and during parturition and then at relatively low levels. Therefore endogenous OT is derived almost exclusively from the pituitary during bovine pregnancy. OT secretion occurred in a pulsatile manner during pregnancy; a significant increase in pulse amplitude was observed during the last days before delivery and a large surge was associated with active labor and delivery. We postulate that the temporal order of OTR gene expression in the uterine and intrauterine tissues is a factor in the synchronization of the events that eventually lead to the onset of parturition. Because OT receptor mediates different actions in different tissues OT has multiple functions in the mechanism of parturition. The peptide initiates and maintains myometrial contractions, it stimulates release of PGF2 alpha from the endometrium and fetal membranes and, as demonstrated in this study, OT induces PGE2 release from cervical tissues in an OTR dependent manner. We conclude that in pregnant cows, OT participates both in the events that prepare the reproductive tract for birth and initiate the birth process.

Familial mesothelioma: a report of two families.

Five reports of familial mesothelioma in which mesotheliomas occurred in two or more family members have been recorded in the medical literature. In this report, we describe two examples of familial mesothelioma. In one family, three brothers who worked in the asbestos insulation industry developed mesothelioma. In the second family, the father, who was occupationally exposed to asbestos, died from a tubulopapillary peritoneal mesothelioma 11 years before his son died from an identical histologic type of peritoneal mesothelioma. Our report, as with those previously recorded, suggests that genetic factors may be important in the genesis of some mesotheliomas.

[Action of antihistaminic agents in patients with various heart pathologies undergoing surgical treatment]. / Issledovanie deistviia protivogistaminnykh sredstv u bol'nykh s razlichnoi patologiei serdtsa pri khirurgicheskom lechenii.

Clinical observations and experimental studies enabled the authors to show that sensitivity of patients with rheumatic heart diseases to antihistaminic drugs is not always constant. It depends on pH value of the medium and blood concentration of calcium ions. It is advisable to include antihistaminic drugs in combination with colloid and crystalloid blood substitutes with regard to pH of the medium into the complex of agents for pre-, intra- and postoperative medication.

[Clinical study of the pharmacodynamics of drugs used for premedication]. / Klinicheskoe izuchenie farmakodinamiki lekarstvennykh veshchestv, primeniaemykh dlia premedikatsii.

The use of premedication varieties in surgical treatment of 52 patients with heart diseases of varying etiology has demonstrated that the most effective were antihypoxic agents (sodium hydroxybutyrate), substances reducing myocardial requirement of oxygen (cardiac glycosides) and decreasing load of the heart (anapriline, verapamil), normalizing myocardial function (a polarizing mixture, cardiac glycosides), antithrombotic substances (heparin), antihistamine and antishock agents (diphenhydramine, pipolphen, morphine, promedol, prednisolone, neuroleptics, tranquilizers), and substances that enhance the neutralizing liver function (vitamins B and C). Drug correction of the functional and biochemical indicators should be strictly individualized with regard to the patient's age, type of pathology, and the scope of the coming surgical intervention.