ABSTRACT
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) articular discs were removed from female Sprague-Dawley rats 3, 5, 10, 32, 90 and 130 weeks of age. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were extracted from the discs by heat treatment, alkali treatment and digestion with Pronase E, and purified by precipitation with cetylpyridinium chloride and ethanol. The concentration of total GAG was highest in the 3 week extracts and tended to decrease with age. Dermatan sulphate was the predominant GAG detected in all age groups along with chondroitin sulphate, hyaluronic acid and heparan sulphate. The disaccharides obtained from chondroitin sulphate were delta Di-4S, delta Di-6S and delta Di-0S, with delta Di-4S being the predominant isomer followed by delta Di-6S for all ages of all the GAG examined. The concentration of chondroitin sulphate showed a decrease with age. Quantitative changes of GAG with age may be related to functional changes in TMJ discs.
Subject(s)
Aging/metabolism , Glycosaminoglycans/analysis , Temporomandibular Joint Disc/chemistry , Alkalies , Animals , Cetylpyridinium , Chemical Precipitation , Chondroitin Sulfates/analysis , Chromatography, Gel , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Dermatan Sulfate/analysis , Disaccharides/analysis , Ethanol , Female , Heparitin Sulfate/analysis , Hot Temperature , Hyaluronic Acid/analysis , Pronase , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Temporomandibular Joint Disc/physiologyABSTRACT
Male and female in bred Mongolian gerbils aged 4, 5, 10, and 20 weeks were examined for the presence of a ventral scent gland macroscopically and histologically. It was found in about half of the gerbils aged 4 weeks and in all of the gerbils aged over 5 weeks. In adult male gerbils it weighed three times as much as in females. The ventral scent gland exhibited a sebaceous-like structure which consists of giant glandular cells with small vacuoles in the cytoplasm and the glandular cells displayed eosinophilic bodies contained within a duct, which are extruded through the lumen as holocrine-type secretion.
Subject(s)
Gerbillinae/anatomy & histology , Scent Glands/growth & development , Age Factors , Animals , Female , Male , Organ Size , Scent Glands/ultrastructure , Sex CharacteristicsABSTRACT
Antithrombotic effect of recombinant human thrombomodulin in mice, both in vitro and in vivo, was studied. The soluble recombinant human thrombomodulin was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells and purified from the conditioned medium by a modification of the conventional method. Recombinant thrombomodulin prolonged thrombin clotting time for mouse plasma in a dose-dependent manner. Thrombin was injected into the lateral tail vein of mice and caused acute thromboembolism. All mice injected with thrombin died of thromboembolism; however, preinjection with recombinant human thrombomodulin neutralized the lethal effect of thrombin in a concentration-dependent manner. Histologic examination showed that fibrin deposits were found in all large and small arteries in the lung from mice injected with thrombin; however, fibrin deposits were not detected in any large arteries from the mouse preinjected with thrombomodulin.
Subject(s)
Receptors, Cell Surface/therapeutic use , Thrombin , Thromboembolism/therapy , Animals , Blood Coagulation Tests , Enzyme Activation , Humans , Immunoenzyme Techniques , Lung/drug effects , Lung/pathology , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Plasmids , Protein C/metabolism , Receptors, Cell Surface/genetics , Receptors, Cell Surface/isolation & purification , Receptors, Thrombin , Recombinant Proteins/isolation & purification , Recombinant Proteins/therapeutic use , Thromboembolism/chemically induced , TransfectionABSTRACT
Carcinogenicity of phenacetin was tested using Sprague-Dawley rats. Two groups of animals containing 50 males and 50 females per group were fed respectively with 2.5% and 1.25% phenacetin diet for 18 months and fed thereafter with basal diet for 6 months. Control animals containing 65 males and 65 females were fed with basal diet for 24 months. Animals surviving more than 24 months were regarded as effective animals and killed. Rats that died of tumor development within 24 months were also regarded effective animals. Every organ from the killed and dead animals was fixed in 10% formaldehyde solution and examined histopathologically. Effective number of rats was 27 males and 27 females in 2.5% phenacetin feeding group, and 22 males and 25 females in 1.25% phenacetin feeding group. In control group, 19 males and 25 females were effective. Neoplasms including spontaneous tumors were detected in 26 out of 27 males (96.3%) and 21 out of 27 females (77.8%) of 2.5% phenacetin feeding group, and in 20 out of 22 males (90.9%) and 19 out of 25 females (76.0%) of 1.25% phenacetin feeding group. In control group, 1 out of 19 males (5.3%) and 6 out of 25 females (24.0%) showed spontaneous tumor development. Histopathologically, carcinomas of the nasal cavity, such as adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and transitional cell carcinoma, and the urinary passage, as renal cell carcinoma of the kidney pelvis, and transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder, were most conspicuous, suggesting the target organs of phenacetin carcinogenesis. Males showed higher tumor incidence compared to females. The higher the concentration of phenacetin given, higher incidence of tumors was observed.
