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B A Page-Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to B A Page-Roberts.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1975

Role of lamellar inclusions in surfactant production: studies on phospholipid composition and biosynthesis in rat and rabbit lung subcellular fractions.

Lamellar inclusion bodies in the type II alveolar epithelial cell are believed to be involved in pulmonary surfactant production. However, it is not clear whether their role is that of synthesis, storage, or secretion. We have examined the phospholipid composition and fatty acid content of rabbit lung wash, lamellar bodies, mitochondria, and microsomes. Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol, the surface-active components of pulmonary surfactant, accounted for over 80% of the total phospholipid in lung wash and lamellar bodies but for only about 50% in mitochondria and microsomes. Phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin accounted for over 40% of the total in mitochondria and microsomes but for only 6% in lung wash and 15% in lamellar bodies. The fatty acid composition of lamellar body phosphatidylcholine was similar to that of lung wash, but different from that of mitochondria and microsomes, in containing palmitic acid as a major component with little stearic acid and few fatty acids of chain length greater than 18 carbon atoms. The biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol was examined in the mitochondrial, microsomal, and lamellar body fractions from rat lung. Cholinephosphotransferase was largely microsomal. The activity in the lamellar body fraction could be attributed to microsomal contamination. The activity of glycerolphosphate phosphatidyltransferase, however, was high in the lamellar body fraction, although it was highest in the mitochondria and was also active in the microsomes. These data suggest that the lamellar bodies are involved both in the storage of the lipid components of surfactant and in the synthesis of at least one of those components, phosphatidylglycerol.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A sample preparation for automated cervical cancer screening.

A procedure for cluster disruption, cell dispersal and the production of a monolayer of cells from fluid suspensions for automated cell-scanning machines in an interactive system has been developed. The combination of 0.1 per cent dithiothreitol and 40 per cent alcohol in a balanced salt solution provides a self-limiting form of mucolysis which is completed by a controlled syringing regime to produce an optimally dispersed cell sample without the production of cell debris from the more effete cells. The induction of a positive charge on a microscope slide to attract the negatively charged cells has been achieved by coating the slides with the cationic polymer, polylysine. The cells appear to be sufficiently well attached to permit wet fixation and subsequent stain processing without loss. Quantitative data is given to demonstrate the superior cell presentation that is achieved by this new technique for automated scanning.

Diagnosis, Differential↗