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G Wolz

Publications and source records attributed to G Wolz.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Osmoregulation of the magnocellular neuroendocrine system during lactation.

Glucose utilization and Fos expression were used to compare responses of cerebral structures involved in osmoregulation in virgin and lactating rats given 0.15, 0.85, or 1.5 M NaCl subcutaneously. In virgin animals, glucose utilization increased (P < 0.05) in the supraoptic nuclei (SON), paraventricular nuclei (PVN), and neural lobe (NL) proportionally to the osmotic stimulus (0.15 M NaCl < 0.85 M NaCl < 1.5 M NaCl), whereas metabolism in the median preoptic nucleus (MPO) and median eminence (ME) increased only after 1.5 M NaCl. In lactating rats, enhanced utilization of glucose in response to osmotic stimulation was absent in the PVN (0.85 M NaCl), MPO, and ME or significantly (P < 0.01) reduced (SON, PVN, NL) compared with virgin animals. Glucose utilization in each structure correlated linearly with plasma osmolality but with a lower slope (P < 0.05) in lactating animals. Magnocellular neurons expressing Fos in the SON increased linearly with plasma osmolality and were more numerous (P < 0.05) in control lactating animals but increased less (P < 0.05) than in virgin rats after 0.85 M NaCl. The attenuated magnocellular response during lactation results from reduced afferent activation from osmosensitive forebrain sites.

Animals↗

Expression of aromatase protein and messenger ribonucleic acid in tumor epithelial cells and evidence of functional significance of locally produced estrogen in human breast cancers.

The expression of aromatase by breast cancer cells and the role of locally produced estrogen in the stimulation of tumor growth has been controversial. The present study was performed to determine the site of aromatization in human breast cancers, using both immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization. The functional significance of locally produced estrogens on growth of the tumor was addressed by measuring aromatase activity and a marker of proliferation (PCNA score). In addition, histocultures of some tumors were carried out to investigate whether testosterone aromatization could stimulate tumor proliferation. Of the 19 tumors investigated, 10 (52.6%) showed significant immunoreactivity to antiaromatase antibody in the cytoplasm of tumor epithelial cells and in surrounding stromal cells. The presence of aromatase mRNA detected by ISH was also located in tumor epithelial cells and stromal cell, and the pattern of expression was the same as with immunocytochemistry. In the ten tumors that showed immunoreaction to aromatase, the average aromatase activity measured in cryosections was 286.5 +/- 18.6 (SE) fmol estrogen/mg protein.h, whereas in nine tumors with weak aromatase immunoreaction, the enzyme activity was 154.7 +/- 19.3 (SE) fmol estrogen/mg protein-h (P < 0.05). The mean PCNA score was 33.8 +/- 5.1 (SE)% in strongly stained tumors and 20.8 +/- 2.0 (SE)% in weakly stained tumors (P < 0.05). Aromatase activity level and PCNA score were significantly correlated. In histoculture of four tumors, estradiol increased the incorporation of [3H]-thymidine into DNA. In two of these tumors, aromatase activity was high and [3H]-thymidine incorporation into DNA was also stimulated by testosterone. In the other two tumors that had low aromatase activity, no such stimulation occurred with testosterone. The results indicate that aromatase is expressed mainly in tumor epithelial cells and that sufficient amounts of estrogen are synthesized by the tumor to produce a proliferative response. It is concluded that estrogen synthesis by cancer cells could play a important role in promoting growth in a significant proportion of breast tumors.

Aromatase↗

Focal altered compartmentation of repetitive B2 (Alu-like) sequences in rat liver following hepatocarcinogen exposure.

Rats were treated with low doses of the hepatocarcinogens dimethylnitrosamine or thioacetamide, and livers were examined 48 h later. These treatments are known to produce altered RNA compartmentation, wherein a class of repetitive RNA sequences normally restricted to the nucleus appears in the cytoplasm. Reverse transcription-PCR amplifications demonstrated that the sequences showing altered compartmentation consisted largely of a subfamily of the rodent B2 sequence family, the counterpart of human Alu sequences involved in retrotransposition. Northern blot analyses showed that these B2 sequences were found in cytoplasmic RNA as 170- to 360-nucleotide "sense" transcripts, and competition hybridization experiments established that B2 sequences represented most (if not all) of the sequences showing altered compartmentation. The major increase in B2 transcriptions in cytoplasmic RNA was not associated with any change in B2 transcription by RNA polymerase III. In situ hybridizations showed that the altered compartmentation of B2 sequences occurred in well-delineated foci within the rat liver; these foci consisted of a central region containing a prominent infiltrate of macrophages admixed with small hepatocytes and a peripheral region of histologically normal hepatocytes that showed evidence of oxidative damage. Altered compartmentation of B2 sequences may represent an important focal initiatory change in a subset of hepatocytes, whereas subsequent retrotranspositional events (associated with Alu-like sequences) could predispose initiated cell foci to alterations in promotion/progression phases.

Animals↗

Cement burns.

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Abdomen↗