Effects of thyroid-stimulating hormone on human thyroid carcinoma and adjacent normal tissue.

Effects of TSH on the adenylate cyclase-cAMP system and some parameters of intermediary metabolism were investigated in human thyroid carcinoma and adjacent normal thyroid tissue. Basal adenylate cyclase activity and cAMP concentrations were significantly higher in carcinomatous tissue. Basal [1-14C]glucose oxidation, 32Pi incorporation into phospholipids, and organification of iodide were similar in both tissues.

Familial lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency complicated with unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia and peripheral neuropathy. The first reported cases in the Far East.

Three Japanese patients with lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency, the offspring of a consanguineous marriage, are described. In addition to the characteristic clinical and laboratory findings of the disease, our patients had hitherto unreported manifestations, namely unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia, peripheral neuropathy and marked hypocholesterolemia. Although the mechanism of the unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia is not clear, the role of impaired hepatic bilirubin uridine-diphosphate-glucuronyl transferase activity combined with another unknown factor(s) was postulated.

5-(Tetradecyloxy)-2-furancarboxylic acid and related hypolipidemic fatty acid-like alkyloxyarylcarboxylic acids.

5-(Tetradecyloxy)-2-furancarboxylic acid (91, RMI 14514) was found to lower blood lipids and to inhibit fatty acid synthesis with minimal effects on liver weight and liver fat content. This fatty acid-like compound represents a new class of hypolipidemic agent; it is effective in rats and monkeys. The compound resulted from discovery of hypolipidemic activity in certain beta-keto esters, postulation and confirmation of the corresponding benzoic acids as active metabolites, and systematic exploration of the structure--activity relationships.

Effects of adenosine and its derivatives on protein kinase activity of beef thyroid.

Effects of adenosine and some of its derivatives on beef protein kinase activity were investigated in vitro. Adenosine rapidly inhibited protein kinase activity in a dose-dependent manner. Significant inhibition occurred with 10 muM and half-maximal inhibition at 100 muM adenosine.

(2-Piperidine)- and (2-pyrrolidine)ethanones and -ethanols as inhibitors of blood platelet aggregation.

(E)-4-[4-(Methylthio)phenyl]-1-(2-piperidinyl)-3-buten-2-one hydrochloride (44, RMI 14 133A) was found to inhibit ADP-induced aggregation of blood platelets. It was selected from a large series of (2-piperidinyl)- and (2-pyrrolidinyl)ethanones synthesized by a modified Schopf reaction from enolate magnesium salts of beta-keto acids and 2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine trimer or 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrrole trimer, respectively. Evaluation of the compounds was carried out in vitro on human blood platelets.

Studies of thyroid-stimulating hormone binding to bovine thyroid plasma membranes.

131I-TSH prepared by the lactoperoxidase method was used to study the binding of hormone to bovine thyroid plasma membrane. Specific binding was obtained using as little as 0.12 mU/ml 131I-TSH.