Effect of a fish-oil concentrate on serum lipids in postmenopausal women receiving and not receiving hormone replacement therapy in a placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.

Background: n-3 Fatty acid supplementation lowered serum triacylglycerol concentrations in studies in which most of the subjects were male. The effects of n-3 fatty acid supplementation in postmenopausal women receiving and not receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have received little attention.

Objective: We sought to determine the effects of a fish-oil-derived n-3 fatty acid concentrate on serum lipid and lipoprotein risk factors for cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women receiving and not receiving HRT, with an emphasis on serum triacylglycerol concentrations and the ratio of triacylglycerol to HDL cholesterol.

Embryonic development of four different subsets of cholinergic neurons in rat cervical spinal cord.

The developmental stage at which a neuron becomes committed to a neurotransmitter phenotype is an important time in its ontogenetic history. The present study examines when choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) is first detected within each of four different subsets of cholinergic neurons previously identified in the cervical enlargement of the spinal cord: namely, motor neurons, partition cells, central canal cluster cells, and dorsal horn neurons. By examining the temporal sequence of embryonic development of these cholinergic neurons, we can infer the relationships between ChAT expression and other important developmental events.

Single RNA species injected in Xenopus oocyte directs the synthesis of active choline acetyltransferase.

In vitro synthesized complementary RNA (cRNA) transcribed from a non-full length Drosophila choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) cDNA clone will direct the synthesis of enzymatically active and immunologically recognizable protein when injected into Xenopus oocytes. The levels of ChAT activity expressed in injected oocytes are proportional, over 4 orders of magnitude difference, to the concentration of injected 'sense' orientation cRNA. GpppG capping of the in vitro synthesized cRNA is not necessary for expression of active ChAT but inclusion of the capping compound during in vitro transcription results in higher levels of enzyme expression at lower levels of cRNA injection.

The effect of acute ethanol administration on GABA receptor binding in cerebellum and hypothalamus.

The effect of the intraperitoneal administration of ethanol on [3H]GABA binding and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) in cerebellum and hypothalamus was investigated. Acute ethanol administration produced an increase in the binding capacity of the high affinity GABA binding sites and a decrease in the binding capacity of low affinity sites. A decrease in the binding capacity of the high affinity GABA binding sites and an increase in the binding capacity of the low affinity sites were observed in the hypothalamus.

Effect of a powerful antagonist of LH-RH on testicular function in prepubertal male rats.

The effects of N-Ac-D-p-F-Phe1,D-p-Cl-Phe2,D-Trp3,6,D-Ala10-LH-RH, a new antagonistic analog of LH-RH, were tested on the testicular function and serum FSH and LH levels in immature male rats. Prolonged administration of this analog to prepubertal male rats resulted in lower testicular and seminal vesicle weights as compared with control rats treated with the vehicle only. Spermatogenesis was markedly delayed in rats injected with the analog.