Improvement of in vitro fertilisation after treatment with buserelin, an agonist of luteinising hormone releasing hormone.

Treatment with buserelin, an agonist of luteinising hormone releasing hormone, and human menopausal gonadotrophin was compared with the conventional treatment of clomiphene citrate and human menopausal gonadotrophin in the outcome of in vitro fertilisation. Seventy seven infertile women had 83 cycles of treatment with buserelin and human menopausal gonadotrophin, and concurrently another 328 infertile women were treated with clomiphene citrate and human menopausal gonadotrophin. Seven (8%) cycles were cancelled owing to inadequate super-ovulation or ovarian hyperstimulation in the women receiving buserelin and 103 (31%) were cancelled because of poor follicular development in those receiving clomiphene citrate.

Urethral dilatation compared with cystoscopy alone in the treatment of women with recurrent frequency and dysuria.

The relative merits of cystoscopy alone and cystoscopy plus urethral dilatation were compared in a randomised study of women with recurrent frequency and dysuria. One hundred women were studied before and at least 6 months after operation. A detailed questionnaire was completed, the severity of the symptoms was scored and patients underwent urodynamic investigation.

A retrovirus carrying an MDR1 cDNA confers multidrug resistance and polarized expression of P-glycoprotein in MDCK cells.

A full-length cDNA for the human multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1) has been inserted into a retroviral vector containing a murine Harvey sarcoma virus from which the viral oncogene was deleted. Ecotropic and amphotropic virus was produced after transfection of this vector into psi-2 and PA-12 packaging cell lines. This virus conferred the full phenotype of multidrug resistance on mouse and human cell lines.

An afterhyperpolarization recorded in striatal cells 'in vitro': effect of dopamine administration.

Parahorizontal slices of the neostriatum from young adult male rats were maintained at the fluid interface of a perfusion chamber. Intracellular recordings were made with potassium acetate filled micropipettes. The mean resting membrane potential of the neurones was -84 mV and all produced action potentials which overshot 0 mV.

Electrophysiological demonstration of host cortical inputs to striatal grafts.

Adult rats received a unilateral injection of ibotenic acid into the striatum, resulting in an extensive loss of intrinsic striatal neurones. Transplanted striatal cells from embryonic day 14 rat foetuses grew well in the damaged tissue and approximately 6 months later brain slices were cut in such a way as to include the grafts and nearby cortical tissue. Electrophysiological recordings from the grafts showed typical extracellular responses to stimulation of the subcortical white matter.

Immunohistochemical localization of a thyroid hormone-binding protein (p55) in human tissues.

We have localized p55, a thyroid hormone-binding protein found in the endoplasmic reticulum in cultured cells, in samples of normal human and monkey tissues, using a monoclonal antibody with cryostat sections and immunoperoxidase histochemistry. Large amounts of p55 were found in many tissues, generally corresponding to the amount of endoplasmic reticulum contained in each cell type. Intense localization of p55 was found in cells of the anterior and intermediate pituitary lobes, in epithelial cells of thyroid follicles, in the glandular epithelium of mammary gland, in hepatocytes, in Paneth cells and Brunner's glands in duodenum, in acinar cells of pancreas, in adrenal cortical cells, and in scattered interstitial fibroblastic cells in many tissues.

A novel fibrillar structure in cultured cells detected by a monoclonal antibody.

Using a monoclonal antibody, we have detected an antigen present in a unique fibrillar structure in the cytoplasm of cultured cells by immunofluorescence. These structures have been identified by transmission electron microscopy and ultrastructural immunocytochemistry as large single paracrystalline arrays of individual filaments morphologically similar to intermediate filaments. The antibody detects these structures in fibroblastic and epithelioid cultured cell lines of mouse, rat, bovine, and human origin but not of avian origin.

Comparison of the intracellular pathways of transferrin recycling and vesicular stomatitis virus membrane glycoprotein exocytosis by ultrastructural double-label cytochemistry.

Transferrin is taken up by receptor-mediated endocytosis into intracellular vesicles and tubules, and then recycles rapidly to the plasma membrane (diacytosis). We applied double-label cytochemistry to study whether the recycling structures containing transferrin fuse with the intracellular membranous structures that deliver newly synthesized membrane glycoproteins from the ER to the plasma membrane (exocytosis) or whether they remain independent. KB and Vero cells were infected with the temperature-sensitive transport mutant 0-45 of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV).

Genetically engineered mutant of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803 lacks the photosystem II chlorophyll-binding protein CP-47.

CP-47 is absent in a genetically engineered mutant of cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803, in which the psbB gene [encoding the chlorophyll-binding photosystem II (PSII) protein CP-47] was interrupted. Another chlorophyll-binding PSII protein, CP-43, is present in the mutant, and functionally inactive PSII-enriched particles can be isolated from mutant thylakoids. We interpret these data as indicating that the PSII core complex of the mutant still assembles in the absence of CP-47.

Primary photochemistry in photosystem-I.

In this review, the main research developments that have led to the current simplified picture of photosystem I are presented. This is followed by a discussion of some conflicting reports and unresolved questions in the literature. The following points are made: (1) the evidence is contradictory on whether P700, the primary donor, is a monomer or dimer of chlorophyll although at this time the balacnce of the evidence points towards a monomeric structure for P700 when in the triplet state; (2) there is little evidence that the iron sulfur centers FA and FB act in series as tertiary acceptors and it is as likely that they act in parallel under physiological conditions; (3) a role for FX, probably another iron sulfur centrer, as an obligatory electron carrier in forward electron transfer has not been proven.

Fractures of the lateral humeral condyle in children.

I conducted a clinical review of thirty-nine fractures of the lateral condyle of the humerus in children and drew the following conclusions: (1) epiphyseal arrest is rare (it occurred in only one patient, despite malreduction in ten), and (2) fishtail deformity of the distal part of the humerus occurs commonly when malreduction is present. Only two poor results were encountered, both in patients in whom the reduction was grossly inadequate.

The use of osmium-thiocarbohydrazide-osmium (OTO) and ferrocyanide-reduced osmium methods to enhance membrane contrast and preservation in cultured cells.

The preservation and contrast of membranous structures in cultured cells using various postfixation procedures prior to embedding have been investigated. These include routine OsO4, ferrocyanide-reduced OsO4, osmium-thiocarbohydrazide-osmium (OTO), and ferrocyanide-reduced osmium-thiocarbohydrazide-ferrocyanide-reduced osmium (R-OTO). With standard ethanol-Epon dehydration/embedding techniques, a dramatic improvement in both membrane contrast and preservation of bilayer membrane structure was achieved using preembedding OTO in cultured cells.

Charge accumulation and photochemistry in leaves studied by thermoluminescence and delayed light emission.

A major breakthrough in our understanding of how plants oxidize water to molecular O(2) was the discovery by P. Joliot and co-workers that the O(2) yield per flash, in a series of light flashes, oscillates with a periodicity of 4. This led to the concept by B.

Characterization of Nuclear Mutants of Maize Which Lack the Cytochrome f/b-563 Complex.

Two high fluorescent, nuclear recessive mutants of maize (Zea mays L.), designated hcf-2 and hcf-6, are described which are missing the chloroplast cytochrome f/b-563 complex. Thylakoids from the mutants show a block in whole chain electron transport activity (H(2)O to methyl viologen), while retaining activities associated with photosystem II (H(2)O to phenylenediamine) and photosystem I (diaminodurene to methyl viologen).

The morphologic pathway of binding and internalization of epidermal growth factor in cultured cells. Studies on A431, KB, and 3T3 cells, using multiple methods of labelling.

We have prepared several electron and light microscopic labels of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to analyse the morphologic features of its binding and internalization by cultured cells. These include a ferritin conjugate of EGF, a covalent conjugate of EGF and horseradish peroxidase (EGF-HRP), a colloidal gold marker system using EGF-HRP as a primary antigen, and a covalent complex of EGF with rhodamine-labelled lactalbumin. All of the light and electron microscopic labels showed similar patterns of binding.

Osteomyelitis of the symphysis pubis.

A case of osteomyelitis of the symphysis pubis caused by Streptococcus agalactiae with no identifiable predisposing factors is presented. The differentiation from osteitis pubis and the causative organism are discussed.

Ultrastructural immunocytochemical localization of calmodulin in cultured cells.

Using an antibody prepared against performic acid-treated calmodulin, we have localized calmodulin in cultured fibroblastic cells by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy. In interphase cells, calmodulin was found to be diffusely distributed throughout the cytosol. An increased amount of calmodulin was found in the pericentriolar region of interphase cells.

Radical pair state in photosystem II.

A stable light-induced EPR signal is reported in photosystem II particles and in chloroplasts at 5 K. Characteristic spectral features indicate that the signal arises from dipole-dipole interactions of a radical pair triplet state. From its dependence on potential, its relationship to the spin-polarized triplet state, and the redox state of the pheophytin acceptor (Ph) and because it is present in Tris-washed chloroplasts but not in untreated chloroplasts, we conclude that the signal is formed when the reaction center is in the state D(+)P(680)Ph(-) (P(680) is the primary chlorophyll donor and D(+) is an oxidized donor to P(680)).