Meconium-induced release of nitric oxide in rabbit alveolar cells.

Previous studies have shown meconium-induced lung injury occurs throughout release of inflammatory cytokines. The exact mechanism of cytokine-induced apoptosis is not known. In this study we hypothesized that meconium-induced apoptosis in the lungs is mediated through the production of inducible nitric oxide (NO).

A wave of IP3 production accompanies the fertilization Ca2+ wave in the egg of the frog, Xenopus laevis: theoretical and experimental support.

The fertilization Ca2+ wave in Xenopus laevis is a single, large wave of elevated free Ca2+ that is initiated at the point of sperm-egg fusion and traverses the entire width of the egg. This Ca2+ wave involves an increase in inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) resulting from the interaction of the sperm and egg, which then results in the activation of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release machinery. The extraordinarily large size of this cell (1.