Expression of binding sites for Dolichos biflorus agglutinin at the apical aspect of collecting duct cells in rat kidney.

To identify precisely the structural and functional cell type in the collecting duct of the rat kidney expressing binding sites for Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA), we stained serial paraffin sections of kidney with horseradish peroxidase-labeled DBA and with immunocytochemical methods for localizing (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and carbonic anhydrase II (CA II), enzymes found preferentially in principal and intercalated cells, respectively. Most principal cells expressing a strong basolateral staining for (Na+ + K+)-ATPase showed binding sites for DBA at their luminal surfaces. However, a minority of cells rich in CA II and showing morphologic characteristics of intercalated cells also expressed DBA binding sites at their luminal surface and apical cytoplasm.

Presence of a unique glycoconjugate on the surface of rat primordial germ cells during migration.

This investigation was undertaken to examine the chemical nature of components on the surface of primordial germ cells (PGCs) possibly related to their directed migration during development. To this end, lectins conjugated to horseradish peroxidase were used as specific histochemical probes to characterize the structure of PGC cell surface glycoconjugates and changes in their composition during and after their migration in the rat embryo. A lectin specific for terminal N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) from Dolichos biflorus intensely stained the cell surface and a perinuclear region assumed to be Golgi zone of PGCs only during their migration.

Three distinct cell populations in rat kidney collecting duct.

The morphologically heterogeneous cell populations in the collecting ducts of the rat kidney were studied using immunocytochemical detection of Na+-K+-ATPase and the anion channel (band 3) glycoprotein. Both enzymes were localized to the basal aspect of separate and morphologically distinct subpopulations of cells in various segments of the collecting duct. Na+-K+-ATPase appeared to be present exclusively in principal cells as identified by their morphology, whereas band 3 antibodies reacted only with intercalated cells.

Immunocytochemical characterization of carbonic anhydrase-rich cells in the rat kidney collecting duct.

Immunocytochemical detection of carbonic anhydrase (CA II), (Na+-K+)-ATPase and the anion channel (band 3) glycoprotein was used to study structural and functional heterogeneity of cells lining the collecting ducts, especially of intercalated cells, in the rat kidney. High content of CA II was found in intercalated cells as determined by morphology, although a weak diffuse cytoplasmic staining of this enzyme could be observed also in a subpopulation of principal cells. (Na+-K+)-ATPase could be detected exclusively in principal cells, whereas basolateral band 3 immunoreactivity was seen only in a subpopulation of intercalated cells.

Insufficiency of carotid and vertebral flow velocity in cerebrovascular disease: a continuous wave Doppler study.

In patients with cerebrovascular disease, quantitative Continuous Wave Doppler sonograms were made of carotid and vertebral arteries. In transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) all flow velocity insufficiencies were found to be related to stenosis. In stroke, however, a relatively high percentage of insufficiencies proved not to be related to stenosis.

[Epidemiological aspects of stroke].

This article reviews some aspects of the descriptive neuro-epidemiology of stroke, paying special attention to the Netherlands. The steady decline of mortality and incidence of stroke is discussed. This temporal trend may be more influenced by changes in life style than by medical treatment.

Risk factors in asymptomatic patients with a carotid bruit.

A consecutive series of 369 asymptomatic patients with a carotid bruit was prospectively followed with Ocular Pneumoplethysmography (OPG). The aim of the study was to identify those patients most prone to cerebrovascular ischemia and/or progression of obstructive carotid disease. During follow-up 13 patients developed a stroke of which six were fatal (two thrombo-embolic and four haemorrhagic strokes).

Genetic and sex-related differences in the structure of submandibular glycoconjugates.

Structures of oligosaccharides in submandibular glycoproteins were evaluated in situ. Sections of fixed paraffin-embedded glands from rats, mice, hamsters, sheep, and man were stained with a battery of lectins conjugated to horseradish peroxidase in conjunction with other methods, such as digestion with sialidase with or without prior saponification and/or periodate oxidation. Secretory glycoproteins showed a characteristic lectin binding pattern for each genus.

Histochemical evaluation of glycoconjugates in the male reproductive tract with lectin-horseradish peroxidase conjugates: II. Staining of ciliated cells, basal cells, flask cells, and clear cells in the mouse.

Efferent reproductive ducts of male mice, including ductuli efferentes, epididymis, and vas deferens, were fixed and embedded in paraffin, and sections were stained with a battery of lectin-horseradish peroxidase conjugates to localize specific sugars or sugar sequences in glycoconjugates. Cilia and the apical surfaces of ciliated cells in the ductuli efferentes stained intensely with lectin specific for sialic acid and terminal alpha-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine. Flask cells and clear cells in the epididymis reacted positively and similarly with most lectins used, providing evidence that these cell types are related.

Histochemical evaluation of glycoconjugates in the male reproductive tract with lectin-horseradish peroxidase conjugates: I. Staining of principal cells and spermatozoa in the mouse.

Several glycoconjugates are thought to bind spermatozoa as they pass through reproductive ducts. Paraffin sections of testis, ductuli efferentes, epididymis, and vas deferens of male mice were stained with ten different lectin-horseradish peroxidase conjugates to localize possible sites of synthesis and secretion of such glycoconjugates, based on the carbohydrate moieties in their constituent oligosaccharide side chains. Principal (columnar) cells lining the efferent ducts, germinal epithelium, and developing and maturing spermatozoa were examined with light microscopy.

Course of blood pressure after cerebral infarction and transient ischemic attack.

In 63 patients, admitted for cerebral infarction or transient ischemic attack (TIA), the blood pressure course was studied. The blood pressure before the event was studied retrospectively; 32 patients were normotensive, in 31 patients existed hypertension, with antihypertensive treatment in 15 of these cases. The blood pressure after the event was studied prospectively, and turned out to be risen in 67% of the patients on the day of admission.

Sperm and seminal plasma antigens from autoimmune men induce immunological infertility.

Adult male rabbits were immunized with normal saline (controls), sperm extracts from 2 autoimmune men, seminal plasmas from the same autoimmune men, sperm extract from a fertile nonautoimmune man, and seminal plasma from the same fertile nonautoimmune man. All the sperm donors were free from infections. Rabbits immunized with fertile men's sperm extract and seminal plasma had significantly elevated postimmunization hemagglutinating but not cytotoxic sperm antibodies and reproduced normally.

Asymptomatic carotid bruit in patients who undergo coronary artery surgery.

The clinical significance of the presence of carotid bruit was evaluated in 643 patients who underwent coronary artery surgery alone or in combination with other cardiac procedures. Carotid bruit was heard in 31 patients (5%) who were neurologically asymptomatic. All of them underwent coronary artery surgery without additional carotid procedures, and none of them developed neurological deficits during the postoperative period.

Postnatal appearance of glycoconjugate with terminal N-acetylgalactosamine on the surface of selected neurons in mouse brain.

Selected neurons in the cortex and other regions of the brain of adult mice stain with Vicia villosa agglutinin (VVA) conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (HRP). This staining demonstrates glycoconjugate with terminal N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) in periodic foci on the neuronal surface. However, brains from mice at 1 week of age lacked neurons with surface reactivity for VVA-HRP but showed neurons with faint cytoplasmic staining.

Histochemical detection of glycogen using Griffonia simplicifolia agglutinin II.

The utility of a lectin from Griffonia simplicifolia (GSA II) for demonstrating glycogen in situ was tested on fixed paraffin-embedded sections of a variety of tissues from rodents and man. The histochemical specificity of GSA II conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (GSA II-HRP) for glycogen was documented by the lability of such staining on adjacent sections treated with either malt diastase or alpha-amylase. In some tissue sites, the lectin-HRP conjugate imparted cytoplasmic staining that was diastase- and amylase-labile but resisted digestion with N-acetylglucosaminidase.

Contribution of inappropriate treatment for hypertension to pathogenesis of stroke in the elderly.

One hundred and seventy eight patients admitted to hospital with acute cerebral infarction or transient ischaemic attack were studied to determine if their treatment had been changed during the previous three weeks and to compare their blood pressure after the stroke with premorbid values. Blood pressure measurements taken within one year before the stroke were available for 100 patients; seven of these had had a recent change in antihypertensive or diuretic treatment. Of these, three patients who had started taking frusemide because of hypertension and one whose dosage of a reserpine combination drug had been increased experienced an appreciable decrease in blood pressure immediately after the stroke; they also showed signs of haemoconcentration.

Evidence for glycoconjugate in nociceptive primary sensory neurons and its origin from the Golgi complex.

Glycoconjugates with terminal galactose residues were localized in rat spinal cord and spinal ganglia using lectin-HRP conjugates of Griffonia simplicifolia and Glycine max agglutinins. Alternate staining of serial sections with HRP-labelled lectins and an antibody for substance P (SP) showed staining in identical primary sensory neurons with both methods. Similarly, lectin-reactive as well as SP-positive fibers were found in Rexed laminae I and II, Lissauer's tract, the spinal nucleus and tract of the trigeminal nerve, the nucleus commissuralis and a small bundle of fibers just ventral to the central canal.

GABAergic neurons of rodent brain correspond partially with those staining for glycoconjugate with terminal N-acetylgalactosamine.

Sections of fixed, paraffin-embedded brain from mice and rats were stained with agglutinin from Vicia villosa conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (VVA-HRP) to localize glycoconjugate containing terminal N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc). VVA-HRP binding sites were localized in periodic foci at the surface of a selective population of non-pyramidal interneurons in layers II through IV of the rodent cerebral cortex. These multipolar interneurons were shown to utilize gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a transmitter and thus to be GABAergic by their immunostaining for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) throughout the cytoplasm in serial sections.

Chemical ecology of marine organisms: An overview.

An overview of marine chemical ecology is presented. Emphasis is placed on antipredation, invertebrate-toxic host relationships, antifouling, competition for space, species dominance, and the chemistry of ecological interactions.

Antihypertensive treatment as a possible cause of stroke in the elderly.

There have been a few reports on stroke as a side-effect of antihypertensive treatment. To study the occurrence of this side-effect, a questionnaire was sent to all Dutch nursing homes (n = 322). Thirty patients were reported with signs of cerebral ischaemia shortly after starting antihypertensive and diuretic drugs.

Dynamics of collateral circulation in progressive asymptomatic carotid disease.

Inadequacy of collateral arterial flow is the major risk factor for hemispheric infarction in association with spontaneous occlusion of the ipsilateral carotid artery. This prospective study was designed to measure the adaptation of collateral cerebral circulation through the circle of Willis in patients in whom a unilateral carotid stenosis of hemodynamic consequence develops asymptomatically. The collateral cerebral potential is assessed by ocular pneumoplethysmography (OPG) during proximal common carotid artery compression, measuring the collateral ophthalmic artery pressure (COAP).