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C J Carter

Publications and source records attributed to C J Carter.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

The relationship between the hemorrhagic and antithrombotic properties of low molecular weight heparin in rabbits.

We have compared the hemorrhagic and antithrombotic effects of a low molecular weight (LMW) heparin fraction and standard heparin in rabbits. Similar LMW heparin fractions have antithrombotic effects when tested in animals, but their hemorrhagic effects relative to standard heparin have not been established. Standard porcine mucosal heparin (mol wt 15,000 daltons) was depolymerized by nitrous acid to a low molecular weight fraction (mol wt 4600 daltons). Using equal USP units, the standard and Dep LMW heparin were compared in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo. In vitro, when diluted in rabbit plasma, the Dep LMW heparin at equivalent anti-Xa activity showed less prolongation of thrombin clotting times or activated partial thromboplastin times. Ex vivo, platelets from rabbits treated with the Dep LMW heparin showed less inhibition of collagen-induced aggregation. The relative hemorrhagic properties of the two heparins were compared in vivo in rabbits using a sensitive blood loss assay, and the antithrombotic properties were compared in a thrombin-induced venous stasis model. By using an optimal threshold heparin dose in each test system, it was possible to demonstrate that equal USP units of Dep LMW heparin caused less blood loss but showed greater antithrombotic activity than standard heparin.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Drug-induced thrombocytopenia is associated with increased binding of IgG to platelets both in vivo and in vitro.

Thrombocytopenia is a common serious adverse effect of drug treatment. A variety of in vitro diagnostic techniques to confirm the diagnosis are available, but the majority lack sufficient sensitivity to detect all cases of drug-induced thrombocytopenia. We studied 19 patients with suspected drug-induced thrombocytopenia and demonstrated that platelet-associated IgG (PAIgG) was elevated in all at the time of thrombocytopenia, and PAIgG returned to normal levels as the thrombocytopenia resolved. In the majority of patients, the platelet count rapidly returned to normal after the drug was discontinued; however, in six patients, the thrombocytopenia persisted well beyond the period of time that the offending drug would be expected to be cleared from the blood. In 13 patients, serum obtained after recovery was used to identify the drug responsible for the thrombocytopenia in an in vitro assay. In all cases, the addition of the drug historically associated with the thrombocytopenic episode was associated with an increased binding of IgG to control platelets. For uncertain reasons, the concentration of drug required to increase the in vitro binding of IgG to test platelets was often more than the concentration usually achieved in vivo. Wider application of these techniques may provide better understanding of the clinical characteristics and mechanisms responsible for drug-induce thrombocytopenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Behavioural and biochemical effects of dopamine and noradrenaline depletion within the medial prefrontal cortex of the rat.

The effects of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions of catecholamine terminals within the medial prefrontal cortex on spontaneous motor activity, dopamine (DA)-dependent stereotyped behaviour and subcortical dopamine turnover were investigated in the rat. Two types of lesions were examined, bilateral injection of 6-OHDA into the medial prefrontal cortex of untreated rats (6-OHDA alone), and bilateral injection of 6-OHDA into the medial prefrontal cortex of animals pretreated with the noradrenaline (NA) uptake blocking agent desmethylimipramine (6-OHDA/-DMI). Ten days after surgery the 6-OHDA lesions produced no significant change in spontaneous motor activity and had no overall effects on stereotyped behaviour induced by apomorphine or (+)-amphetamine. This lesion caused gross depletion of NA within the medial prefrontal cortex and curiously, elevated DA concentrations within this site. No changes in DA concentration were recorded within subcortical sites, although concentrations of DA metabolites within striatum and nucleus accumbens were reduced. In contrast, the 6-OHDA/DMI lesion of the medial prefrontal cortex significantly enhanced spontaneous motor activity and amphetamine-induced stereotyped behaviour. Apomorphine-induced stereotypy, on the other hand, was significantly reduced. Biochemically the lesion caused a large depletion of DA with relatively little loss of NA within the medial prefrontal cortex. In addition, from this and another study (ref. 33), increases in DA and its metabolite concentrations were measured in striatum and nucleus accumbens, together with an apparent increase in DA turnover within these subcortical sites. It is thus apparent that in the absence of a substantial portion of the DA innervation of the medial prefrontal cortex, with a largely intact NA innervation, there is an increase in motor activity and amphetamine-induced stereotypy which may be related to functional changes in DA activity within subcortical telencephalic structures. Such a finding might suggest that DA within the frontal cortex has a behaviourally inhibitory role in the rat, although further work is required to substantiate this.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine lesions of the amygdala reduce amphetamine- and apomorphine-induced stereotyped behaviour in the rat.

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine lesions directed towards the central nucleus of the amygdala produced an apparently selective and localised destruction of 5HT terminals within the amygdaloid complex, without damage to dopamine neurons. Such lesions attenuated the biting responses produced by both amphetamine and apomorphine, suggesting that 5HT within this area may play an important role in the mediation of these behavioural effects.

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine↗
PubMed1980

A trichodermin-resistant mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with an abnormal distribution of native ribosomal subunits.

1. A yeast mutant (CLP-8), resistant at the ribosome level to the trichothecene antibiotic trichodermin, differs from its parent in having an unusual distribution of native ribosomal subunits. Sucrose gradient analysis of cytoplasmic extracts from this mutant revealed a large excess of material sedimenting at 60 S with little or no material sedimenting at 40 S. 2. The excess 609-S material consists predominantly of functionally active 60-S ribosomal subunits, as indicated by both analysis of ribosomal RNA and studies in vitro using a poly(U)-directed protein-synthesizing system. 3. Using the poly(U) system it was found that high-salt-washed particles derived from either the excess 60-S peak or 80-S ribosomes of CLP-8 exhibited very similar levels of resistance to the antibiotic fusarenon-X, a drug closely related chemically to trichodermin. The same level of resistance to fusarenon-X was also shown by high-salt-washed 60-S ribosomal particles obtained from a further trichodermin-resistant yeast strain (TR-1), although this strain has a normal distribution of native ribosomal subunits. In addition, both CLP-8 and TR-1 are equally resistant to inhibition of protein synthesis by trichothecene antibiotics, as assayed in vivo. 4. Genetic analysis of CLP-8 indicates that the trichodermin-resistant trait can be segregated from the lesion responsible for the inbalance of native ribosomal subunits. However, the latter defect is only expressed phenotypically in cells that retain the trichodermin-resistant character. 5. CLP-8 has a further defect in that both in vivo and in vitro it fails to generate native 40-S ribosomal subunits from 80-S particles. There may be a lesion in the protein factor normally required for this process.

Drug Resistance, Microbial↗
PubMed1980

Effect of 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex on neurotransmitter systems in subcortical sites in the rat.

The effect of lesions of the catecholamine nerve terminals in the medial prefrontal cortex of the rat on neurotransmitter mechanisms within the basal ganglia has been investigated. Bilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions were stereotaxically placed in the dopamine-rich (DA) area of th frontal cortex. Animals were pretreated with desmethylimipramine to block the uptake of neurotoxin into noradrenergic (NA) terminals and to make it more selective for DA terminals. The lesion produced a selective reduction of both NA and DA from the medial prefrontal cortex, a result related to falls in tyrosine hydroxylase activity at this site. Lesioned animals showed enhanced DA turnover and utilisation in striatal and limbic regions. There was no change in subcortical tyrosine hydroxylase activity. In addition there were significant falls in other putative neurotransmitters within basal sites, including 5-hydroxytryptamine and GABA. Decreased activity of the neurotransmitter-synthesizing enzyme glutamate decarboxylase and choline acetyltransferase was also recorded in certain regions of the basal ganglia. The results suggest that frontal cortical catecholamine systems may serve to regulate various neurotransmitter mechanisms in the basal ganglia.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

The effects of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine lesions of extrapyramidal and mesolimbic sites on spontaneous motor behaviour, and amphetamine-induced stereotypy.

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine lesions of the nucleus accumbens septi, or substantia nigra, resulted in a twofold increase in spontaneous locomotor activity. Striatal 5HT depletion also raised basal activity levels, as well as increasing rearing behaviour in an open field. The sterotyped responses to all doses of amphetamine tested (2.5--10 mg/kg, i.p.) were enhanced by lesions of the nucleus accumbens or substantia nigra. Striatal lesions only affected the response to the lowest dose of amphetamine. Lesions of the tuberculum olfactorium were without effect on spontaneous or amphetamine induced responses. The results support the concept of a modulatory 5HT influence on nigro-striatal function, and suggest that 5HT in the nucleus accumbens has an antagonistic role with respect to dopamine function in this site.

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine↗
PubMed1979

Potentiation of haloperidol-induced catalepsy by dopamine agonists: possible involvement of central 5-hydroxytryptamine.

Apomorphine (0.12--2 mg/kg, SC) and d-amphetamine (1--8 mg/kg, IP) were each able, at certain doses, to potentiate the cataleptic state produced by the neuroleptic agent, haloperidol (1 mg/kg, IP). In subsequent biochemical experiments, in which the effects of combinations of apomorphine or d-amphetamine and haloperidol on brain monoamine levels were studied, this behavioural observation was seen to be related to an enhanced utilisation of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in certain brain regions. The results suggest not only the possible involvement of 5-HT in the production of catalepsy, but also that the effects of these 'classical' dopamine agonists on other central transmitter systems should be considered when interpreting their various behavioural responses.

Animals↗