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Biomedical subjects

A Nilsson

Publications and source records attributed to A Nilsson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Growth hormone induces multiplication of the slowly cycling germinal cells of the rat tibial growth plate.

To study the effect of locally infused growth hormone (GH) or insulin-like growth factor I(IGF-I) on slowly cycling cells in the germinal cell layer of the tibial growth plate, osmotic minipumps delivering 14.3 microCi of [3H]thymidine per day were implanted s.c. into hypophysectomized rats, and GH (1 microgram) or IGF-I (10 micrograms) was injected daily through a cannula implanted in the proximal tibia. The opposite leg served as a control. After 12 days of treatment, the osmotic minipumps were removed, and three rats in each group were given GH (20 micrograms/day, s.c.) for an additional 14 days to chase the labeled cells out of the proliferative layers. Labeled cells remained in the germinal layer, in the perichondrial ring, and on the surface of the articular cartilage close to the epiphyseal plate. GH administered together with labeled thymidine significantly increased the number of labeled cells in the germinal cell layer compared to that in the control leg (ratio = 1.95 +/- 0.13), whereas IGF-I showed no stimulatory effect (ratio = 0.96 +/- 0.04). Therefore GH but not IGF-I stimulates the multiplication of the slowly cycling (label-retaining) cells in the germinal layer of the epiphyseal plate. IGF-I acts only on the proliferation of the resulting chondrocytes.

Animals

Fish as a source of exposure to mercury and selenium.

In a total of 395 subjects with varying fish consumption habits, mercury levels in whole blood (B-Hg), and selenium levels in plasma (P-Se) were studied. Also, in subcohorts, mercury levels in blood cells (Ery-Hg; n = 79), plasma (P-Hg; n = 158) and urine (U-Hg; n = 125) were analysed. There were statistically significant associations between fish intake on the one hand, and B-Hg, Ery-Hg and P-Hg, on the other, but not so with U-Hg. In subjects who never had fish, the average B-Hg was 1.8 ng/g, in subjects who had at least two fish meals each week, 6.7 ng/g. Ery-Hg, and to a less extent P-Hg, were associated with levels of marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in serum phosphatidylcholine. P-Hg and U-Hg were associated with numbers of teeth with amalgam fillings. P-Se also correlated with fish intake. In subjects who never had fish, P-Se averaged 80 micrograms/l, in subjects who had at least two fish meals per week, 91 micrograms/l. There was an association between PUFA and P-Se. Further, there were statistically significant associations between P-Se on the one hand, and B-Hg, Ery-Hg and P-Hg on the other. The data clearly demonstrate the importance of fish for the exposure to methylmercury and selenium in the Swedish diet, and the impact of amalgam as a source of exposure to inorganic mercury.

Adult

Metabolism in vivo of [14C]oleic acid and [3H]retinol of lipid-poor and lipid-rich chyle.

[3H]Retinol and [14C]oleic acid labelled fresh chyle was obtained from thoracic duct cannulated rats. The labelled compounds were fed dispersed in either a small amount of egg phosphatidylcholine to produce a lipid-poor chyle, or in a soy bean lipid emulsion to produce a lipid-rich chyle. Small amounts (100 microliters, 24 and 172 micrograms triacylglycerol, respectively) of fresh labelled chyle preparations were injected i.v. into fed recipient animals, which were killed after 10, 20 or 30 min. At 20 min, more [3H]retinyl ester remained in plasma in the rats injected with lipid-rich than in those injected with lipid-poor chyle. The difference was, however, smaller than the difference in the hepatic uptake of 3H. Both the uptake of 3H by the liver and the hydrolysis of [3H]retinyl ester after the uptake, was faster in the group that had been injected with the lipid-poor chyle. The 3H/14C ratios of the serum and liver lipids in relation to that of the injected material did not differ between the two groups, indicating that the proportion of the [14C]triacylglycerol that underwent hydrolysis before clearance of remnants by the liver did not differ. Particularly in the heart, but also in adipose tissue, lungs and kidneys the 3H radioactivity after injecting lipid-rich chyle was highest at 10 min and then decreased with time, being similar in the two groups at 30 min. The results suggest that the formation of remnants from lipoproteins formed after a fat meal requires a longer time for the interaction with endothelial-bound lipoprotein lipase. The uptake by the spleen was also 6-9-fold higher than in the group receiving lipid-poor chyle, indicating that the reticuloendothelial system participates in the metabolism of chyle lipoproteins after a fat meal.

Adipose Tissue

Direct mobilization of retinol from hepatic perisinusoidal stellate cells to plasma.

We have studied the mechanism for mobilization of retinol from stellate cells. Our data show that perisinusoidal stellate cells isolated from liver contained retinol-binding protein (RBP) mRNA. By Western blot analysis we found that cultivated liver stellate cells secreted RBP into the medium. Cultivated stellate cells loaded in vitro with [3H]retinyl ester mobilized radioactive retinol as a complex with RBP. Furthermore, exogenous RBP added to the medium of cultured stellate cells increased the secretion of retinol to the medium. These data suggest that liver stellate cells in vivo mobilize retinol directly to the blood and that a transfer to parenchymal cells for secretion as holo-RBP is not required. The direct mobilization of retinol from liver stellate cells as retinol-RBP to blood is indirectly supported by the demonstration of RBP mRNA production and RBP secretion by lung stellate cells. The data suggest that the same mechanism for retinol mobilization may exist in hepatic and extrahepatic stellate cells. This is, vitamin A-storing stellate cells in liver, lungs, and probably also in other organs may synthesize their own RBP (or alternatively use exogenous RBP) and mobilize holo-RBP directly to the blood.

Animals

Hormone status in occupational toluene exposure.

Twenty toluene-exposed rotogravure printers, without signs of solvent-induced toxic encephalopathy, had lower median plasma levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) (3.2 vs. 4.9 IU/L; p = .02) and luteinizing hormone (LH) (6.4 vs. 7.2 IU/L; p = .05) and also lower serum levels of free testosterone (7.8 vs. 86.8 pmol/L; p = .05), respectively, than 44 unexposed referents. The individual time-weighted toluene levels in air were 36 (median; range 8-111) ppm. The printers' median toluene levels in blood were 1.7 (1.0-6.6) mumol/l, and in subcutaneous adipose tissue 5.7 (2.5-21) mg/kg fat. There was a negative association between blood toluene and plasma levels of prolactin. In eight printers, the levels of FSH and LH increased during a 4 week vacation, while the levels of thyroid stimulating hormone, free triiodothyronine, and free thyroxine decreased during the same period. The results indicate a slight, reversible effect of toluene on the cortical level or on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis at exposures well below the permissible levels, possibly mediated through an effect on catecholamine neurotransmission.

Adipose Tissue

Lead exposure in indoor firing ranges.

Higher air lead levels (time-weighted average 660, range 112-2238 micrograms/m3) were measured in firing ranges where powder charges were employed than in ranges where air guns were used (4.6, range 1.8-7.2 micrograms/m3); levels in the latter were in turn higher than those in ranges used for archery (0.11, range 0.10-0.13 micrograms/m3). Twenty-two marksmen who used powder charges had significantly increased blood lead levels during the indoor shooting season (before: median 106, range 32-176 micrograms/l; after: 138; range 69-288 micrograms/l; P = 0.0001), while 21 subjects who mainly used air guns displayed no significant increase (before: median 91, range 47-179 micrograms/l; after: 84; range 20-222 micrograms/l). Thirteen archers had significantly lower levels than the pistol shooters before the season (P = 0.006), and showed a significant decrease during the season (before: median 61, range 27-92 micrograms/l; after: 56; range 31-87 micrograms/l; P = 0.04). At the end of the indoor season, there was a significant association between weekly pistol shooting time and blood lead levels.

Adolescent

Lipoprotein receptor mediated metabolism of [14C]arachidonic acid labeled chylomicron remnants by Hep G2 cells.

During lipolysis of chylomicron triacylglycerol by lipoprotein lipase, arachidonic acid (AA) esters are hydrolyzed at a slower rate than the predominant 16-18 carbon fatty acid esters. The further metabolism of the AA that is hereby enriched in the chylomicron remnant acylglycerols has not been investigated. In the present study, we examined the low density lipoprotein (LDL) dependent and independent metabolism of [14C]AA present in chylomicron remnants in the human hepatoma cell line Hep G2. Mesenteric duct cannulated rats were fed [14C]AA and [3H]cholesterol in corn oil, and the chyle obtained was injected intravenously into hepatectomized rats to form chylomicron remnants labeled with [14C]AA in the triacylglycerol (TG) and with 3H in the cholesteryl ester portion. The remnants were then incubated with Hep G2 cells. The uptake of [14C]AA within 2-4 h was similar to that of [3H]cholesteryl ester. After uptake into the cells, [14C]AA was preferentially incorporated into phospholipids, a high proportion being found in phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol. [14C]AA and [3H]cholesteryl ester uptake were influenced to similar extents by factors unknown to regulate the LDL receptor and by an anti-LDL receptor antibody. Addition of compactin thus increased the uptake of [14C]AA by 50% in 4 h and mevalonolactone decreased the uptake by 86%. Using an anti-LDL receptor antibody, 25.0% of [3H]cholesterol/cholesteryl ester and 37.7% of [14C]AA binding to the cells at 4 degrees C were blocked. There was no lipolysis of [14C]TG or [14C]diacylglycerol by lipase secreted into the medium during incubations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Arachidonic Acid

Spatial visualization of progressive states of maturing lentivirus.

Progressive states of maturing lentivirus: maedia visna virus (MVV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), respectively, have been visualized by 2-D electron microscopy and by 3-D electron microscopic tomography. A major fraction of MVV and a low percentage of HIV appear as immature particles 4 to 5 days post virus infection. Upon budding the gag-precursor material is densely packed inside the external envelope. After virus release the major portion of precursors is assembled within an approximately 25 nm thick layer directly attached to the envelope. Structural maturation of the core is different for the two viruses. Pleomorphic cores are observed in mature MVV in contrast to structurally defined cores of HIV. The latter are principally cone-shaped, spanning the entire diameter of the virion with a 40 to 60 nm wide free end and an approximately 20 nm narrow end attached to the envelope with a core-envelope-link.

Animals

Spatial visualization of the maturing HIV-1 core and its linkage to the envelope.

The core of late states of maturing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has been visualized in three dimensions at approximately 7 nm resolution by electron microscopic tomography. After budding, approximately 25 nm thick precursor material is observed densely assembled inside the viral envelope. Upon proteolysis the core material is transported and condensed in the center of the virion. The core, 100 nm in length, spans the entire diameter of the virion showing a 40-60 nm wide free end and a narrow end approximately 20 nm. A model of the core is derived consisting of two fibers packed into a bilateral, elongated structure. Two ends of the fibers are compacted together, forming one narrow end of the core, while the two other fiber ends are situated more loosely together allowing for flexibility. Structural maturation of the virus could be reflected by the degree of compactness of the core. The narrow end of the core is observed attached to the envelope with a conspicuous core-envelope link (CEL).

HIV-1

Core temperature measured in the auricular canal: comparison between four different tympanic thermometers.

Four different tympanic thermometers, absorbing infra-red radiation, (FirstTemp, Diatek, Ivac and Genius) were studied. Variations from repeated measurements and reliability of tympanic temperature compared to oesophageal, rectal and pulmonary artery temperature were studied. Core temperature measured by the "FirstTemp" and the "Genius" thermometers showed slightly higher values than core temperature measured by oesophageal, rectal and pulmonary artery thermistors. Compared to oesophageal temperature "FirstTemp" showed 0.56 degrees C and "Genius" 0.28 degrees C higher values, while the "Diatek" and the "Ivac" gave slightly lower values (-0.5 degrees C and -0.28 degrees C). All four thermometers were found accurate for repeated measurement both in terms of standard deviation and coefficient of variance. All four tympanic thermometers showed good accuracy for changes in core temperatures compared to the reference thermistors (r2 values 0.96 for "FirstTemp", 0.88 for "Diatek", 0.96 for "IVAC" and 0.95 for "Genius"). The tympanic thermometer was found to be a valuable alternative for measuring core temperature in most clinical settings.

Body Temperature

Cycloid psychosis: regional cerebral blood flow correlates of a psychotic episode.

Eight patients meeting Leonhard's criteria for cycloid psychosis were investigated on repeated occasions during a psychotic episode, with regional cerebral blood flow measurements and clinical ratings. The results showed that, at admission to the hospital, when the patients were clinically exacerbated, the mean hemispheric blood flow was significantly elevated compared with values from a normal control group. The hemispheric blood flow level covaried significantly with the degree of clinical symptoms, such that the more elevated the cortical blood flow was, the more behaviorally disturbed was the patient. At discharge from the hospital, the patients had no residual symptoms and the cortical blood flow was normal. These findings differ distinctly from those commonly made in other psychoses, such as schizophrenia.

Adult

Are siblings of schizophrenic individuals psychologically disturbed? A perceptgenetic inquiry.

Questions about psychopathology among siblings of schizophrenic individuals were addressed by means of a projective test, the Perceptgenetic Object-Relation Test (PORT), which uses tachistoscopic presentations of 3 object-relation themes: attachment, separation and oedipal. Twenty-two siblings of schizophrenic individuals--10 siblings of patients with recent onset, and 12 siblings of chronic patients--were compared with normal controls and with siblings of mentally handicapped people. Earlier observations of unstable defensive organizations among the siblings of chronic schizophrenic patients were corroborated, particularly in response to the attachment theme. The schizophrenia siblings fell within the narcissistic-borderline spectrum of PORT. The 50% drop-out rate was discussed as reflecting anxiety and evasiveness, and the results were seen as substantiating that siblings of schizophrenic people are structurally if not clinically affected by their sibship.

Adolescent

Effect of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I on DNA synthesis and matrix production in rat epiphyseal chondrocytes in monolayer culture.

The influence of various culture conditions was studied on the effect of GH and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) on DNA and matrix synthesis in epiphyseal rat chondrocytes in monolayer culture. Chondrocytes from enzymatically digested rat tibia epiphyseal growth plates were seeded in 48-well culture plates and precultured for 10 days in Ham's F-12 medium supplemented with 1% (v/v) newborn calf serum and 1% (v/v) of a serum substitute. After preculture, the medium was changed to Ham's F-12 medium supplemented with 1% serum from hypophysectomized rats, and the effect of GH and IGF-I on DNA synthesis ([3H]thymidine incorporation) and matrix production ([35S]sulphate uptake) was studied during an additional 96-h culture period. Isotopes were present during the last 24 h of culture. Both hGH and IGF-I stimulated DNA synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. A maximal effect of GH was seen at a concentration of 25 micrograms/l (60 +/- 11% stimulation over control) and for IGF-I at 10 micrograms/l (162 +/- 12%). The stimulatory effects of the same concentrations of human GH (hGH) and IGF-I on [35S]sulphate uptake were 135 +/- 25 and 320 +/- 42% respectively. In-vitro pulse labelling revealed that GH did not produce a response during the first 3 days of culture (after addition of GH) but was effective during days 4 and 5 of culture. In contrast, IGF-I was effective throughout the culture period. Pretreatment of cells with GH or IGF-I for 2.5 days showed that GH but not IGF-I produced a sustained effect on [3H]thymidine uptake. In order to study the influence of cell density on the effect of GH and IGF-I on DNA synthesis, the effect of added peptides was evaluated after different preculture periods (5-15 days). A maximal stimulatory effect of hGH was seen at a cell density of 150,000-300,000 cells/cm2. GH had no significant effect at a low (less than 100,000 cells/cm2) or a high (greater than 400,000 cells/cm2) cell density. The magnitude of the stimulatory effect of IGF-I was the same at densities between 10,000 and 250,000 cells/cm2, but was reduced at higher cell densities (over 250,000 cells/cm2). Chondrogenic properties of cells that had been cultured for 15 days were verified in vitro by positive alcian blue staining and identification of type II collagen, and in vivo by development of cartilage nodules in nude mice.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals

Effects of tri-iodothyronine and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) on alkaline phosphatase activity, [3H]thymidine incorporation and IGF-I receptor mRNA in cultured rat epiphyseal chondrocytes.

The effects of tri-iodothyronine (T3) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) on [3H]thymidine incorporation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and IGF-I receptor mRNA levels were studied in rat epiphyseal chondrocytes cultured in monolayer. Chondrocytes from enzymatically digested rat tibia epiphyseal growth plates were seeded in monolayer culture and precultured for 7-14 days in Ham's F-12 medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) newborn calf serum and 1% (v/v) of a serum substitute. After preculture the medium was changed to Ham's F-12 medium containing 1% (v/v) serum from hypophysectomized rats, and the effects of T3 and/or IGF-I on DNA synthesis ([3H]thymidine incorporation), ALP activity (a late marker of differentiated epiphyseal chondrocytes) and IGF-I receptor mRNA levels were studied. ALP activity was increased by T3 in a dose-dependent manner with a maximal response at 10 micrograms T3/l (678 +/- 86% compared with control culture). The increase in ALP activity was accompanied by a concomitant decrease in [3H]thymidine incorporation (52 +/- 14% compared with control culture). Human GH (hGH; 50 micrograms/l) and IGF-I (25 micrograms/l) had no stimulatory effect on ALP activity. However IGF-I (10 micrograms/l) exerted an inhibition on the T3 (10 micrograms/l)-induced increase in ALP activity (64 +/- 9% compared with T3-treated culture). T3 (3 micrograms/l) inhibited the increase in [3H]thymidine incorporation caused by 25 micrograms IGF-I/l (51 +/- 13% compared with IGF-I-treated culture). Furthermore, IGF-I receptor mRNA levels were increased by 10 micrograms T3/l (137 +/- 4.2% compared with control culture) while no effect of hGH (50 micrograms/l) or IGF-I (25 micrograms/l) was demonstrated. Both T3 and IGF-I were shown to interact with epiphyseal chondrocytes and both substances seemed to affect cell proliferation and maturation and therefore longitudinal bone growth. Furthermore, the results indicated that IGF-I is important for proliferation of the cells while T3 initiates the terminal differentiation of epiphyseal chondrocytes.

Alkaline Phosphatase

Cancer incidence and mortality among Swedish Baltic Sea fishermen.

A 25% lower cancer mortality was found for 1360 Swedish fishermen who fished on the Baltic Sea than for the general population. The fishermen consumed twice as much fish as the population in the same county. In spite of the low overall cancer mortality, increased mortality from myeloma, as well as increased incidences of gastric carcinoma and squamous cell cancer of the skin and lips, was observed in the cohort. The decrease in risk for ischemic heart disease was not significant. Whether the dietary intake of fatty acids and selenium from fish contributed to the decreased risk was difficult to evaluate. Moreover, whether the consumption of fish from the Baltic Sea, contaminated with, for example, polychlorinated dioxins and dibenzofurans and other persistent organochlorine substances, contributed to the observed increased specific cancer risks is not known. However, the net health effect of high fish consumption from the Baltic Sea seems to be positive.

Adult

Incorporation of dietary [14C]arachidonic acid and [3H]eicosapentaenoic acid into tissue lipids during absorption of a fish oil emulsion.

A preferential incorporation of dietary arachidonic acid (20:4, n-6) into chyle lipoprotein phospholipids, a relative resistance of 20:4 esters of chyle triacylglycerol (TG) to hydrolysis by lipoprotein lipase, a preferential utilization of 20:4 for phospholipid acylation, and a low rate of oxidation of 20:4 are factors that may contribute to the differences seen in the incorporation into tissue lipids between absorbed 20:4 and the predominant dietary 16-18 carbon fatty acids. In this study we fed [14C]20:4 and [3H]eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5, n-3) as free fatty acids in a fish oil emulsion to rats and analyzed the radioactivity in different tissue lipids after 1, 2, and 4 h. The purpose was to examine the degree of similarity in the fate of the two major eicosanoid precursors during the absorption of a fish oil meal. The recovery after 2 and 4 h of 14C exceeded that of 3H in lipids of small intestine, serum, liver, heart, kidneys, and spleen. The differences increased with time, e.g., the liver contained 9.7 (+/- 0.7)% 3H and 17.9 (+/- 1.4)% of the 14C (P less than 0.001), and the upper half of the small intestine 10.0 (+/- 0.8)% of the 3H and 22.8 (+/- 1.1)% of the 14C (P less than 0.001) after 4 h. The 14C and 3H radioactivity per g tissue after 4 h ranked as follows: liver and brown adipose tissue greater than kidneys greater than heart, lungs, spleen, and serum greater than colon greater than white adipose tissue and testes, the differences between tissues being up to 50-fold. There were up to fourfold variations in the 14C/3H ratios between tissues after 4 h, the highest value being observed in the heart and the lowest in white adipose tissue. Of the radioactivity retained in liver and intestine, more 14C and 3H was in phospholipids and less in triacylglycerol (TG), the differences being largest in the liver, e.g., after 4 h 57.6 (+/- 0.8)% of the 14C and 29.9 (+/- 0.9)% of the 3H (P less than 0.001) in the liver was in phosphatidylcholine (PC). In both intestine and liver the highest 14C/3H ratios were found in phosphatidylinositiol (PI). Also phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) contained more 14C than 3H but the quantitative differences were relatively small after 4 h. In heart the proportions of 3H and 14C found in PE and PI did not differ, whereas more of the 14C was in PC and more of the 3H was in cardiolipin and phosphatidylserine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Absorption