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Biomedical subjects

F C Courtice

Publications and source records attributed to F C Courtice.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1977

Cells and immunoglobulins in lymph.

Studies of the free-floating lymphocytes and of the immunoglobulins in lymph collected over long periods of time from ducts draining individual tissues of the body as well as from the thoracic duct of the fetus in utero have been reviewed. The findings show that stimuli within the internal milieu act on different classes of lymphocytes to alter their migration pattern, morphology, metabolic activity, and range of immunological potentialities. As the lymphoid cells migrate between the blood, tissue fluid, and lymph, a continual process of reassortment occurs leading to the establishment of heterogeneous lymphoid cell populations in different regions of the lymphatic apparatus. It seems that the biological activities of these cells are not decided only in terms of a thymus or a bone-marrow origin. The immunoglobulins, like other proteins in lymph, are mainly derived by filtration from the circulating plasma. Some of the immunoglobulins and specific antibodies are synthesized, however, by lymphoid cells and secreted directly into the lymph.

Antibody-Producing Cells↗
PubMed1977

Lysosomal enzyme activities in sheep plasma and lymph.

The activities of acid phosphatase, beta-glucuronidase and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase were measured in blood plasma, afferent and efferent popliteal lymph, intestinal lymph and in four different organs of the sheep. Acid phosphatase had an optimum activity at pH 4-5 while beta-glucuronidase and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase had optimal activities at pH 5-0 and pH 4-5-5-0, respectively. Comparative studies showed that the sheep had very low activities of acid phosphatase and relatively low activities of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase in the blood plasma compartment in relation to the activities of these enzymes in the plasma of the rabbit and the rat. The tissue activities of all three enzymes were relatively high when compared with those in the two non-ruminant species. It is considered that the low plasma activities of acid phosphatase in the sheep reflect a rapid turnover of this enzyme in the plasma compartment. The activities of the three enzymes in regional lymph indicated that acid phosphatase was being added to the capillary filtrate at a regional tissue level, whereas beta-glucuronidase and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase in lymph were derived from filtration from the blood plasma compartment on a molecular weight basis. The high lymph: plasma ratios observed for acid phosphatase activity in intestinal lymph may indicate a function of this enzyme in lipid absorption in the sheep.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗
PubMed1975

The lysosomal enzyme N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase in rabbit muscle following a period of ischaemia.

N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activity increased in injured plantar muscle during the interval of 1 to 7 days after a period of 6 hours ischaemia of the rabbit hindpaw. Histochemical visualization demonstrated that this increased activity was not only associated with infiltrating inflammatory cells but also with the appearance of discrete lysosomal-like granules within damaged muscle fibres. Seven days after injury, the enzyme activity had reached a maximum with levels in the injured muscle 11 times higher than in normal muscle. The activity at this time was visualized in granules longitudinally arranged along regenerating muscle fibres, seemingly implicating the longitudinal sarcotubular system in their origin. Residual histochemical activity was evident at 14 and 28 days after injury. It is suggested that, in addition to its hydrolytic activity, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase may have a role in the formation of mucopolysaccharides in the regenerative processes of muscle.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Peritoneal fluid in the rabbit: permeability of the mesothelium to proteins, lipoproteins and acid hydrolases.

The peritoneal fluid in rabbits fed a normal and a cholesterol added diet was analysed for a wide variety of macromolecules of different size, viz albumin, alpha-, beta- and gamma-globulins, high density lipoprotein and lipoproteins of Sf0-12, Sf12-20 and Sf greater than 20 and three acid hydrolases, N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase, acid phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase. The composition of the lipoproteins and the concentrations of each substance were compared with corresponding values in plasma, hepatic lymph, thoraic duct lymph and leg lymph. The results indicate that the large lipoproteins of the thoraic duct lymph derived from the intestinal mucosa do not normally enter the peritoneal cavity probably because they do not mix with the subserous tissue fluid, that the macromolecular composition of peritoneal fluid resemble that of leg lymph, that the peritoneal mesothelium is freely permeable to these macromolecules and that the main plasma: peritoneal fluid barrier resides in the blood capillary membrane of the various subserous tissues.

Acid Phosphatase↗