Biomedical subjects

J J Lemasters

Publications and source records attributed to J J Lemasters.

219 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of NMDA and ferrous sulfate on oxidation and cell death in primary neuronal cultures.

Excessive oxidative radical production has been implicated in a variety of neurodegerative processes including NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) mediated excitotoxicity. To determine the relationship of oxidation to NMDA-receptor mediated neuronal death, we exposed rat primary cortical neuronal cultures to ferrous sulfate and the fluorescent dyes dichlorofluorescin diacetate (H(2)DCF) and propidium iodide (PI) to monitor reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death, respectively in the same cultures. Ferrous sulfate (FeSO(4)) caused a dose-dependent increase in cellular oxidation with an ED(50) of approximately 136 microM. Levels of oxidation increased over time reaching maximum levels between 15 and 25 min. Ferrous sulfate (ED(50) approximately 241 microM) treatment for 25 min caused a delayed and progressive neuronal death that was comparable to NMDA (100 microM, 25 min) delayed neuronal death. NMDA (100 microM, 25 min) alone did not result in measurable increases of DCF fluorescence. However, when combined with 40 microM FeSO(4), NMDA dose-dependently increased H(2)DCF fluorescence. Despite the increase in DCF oxidation, combinations of FeSO(4) with NMDA did not synergize or accelerate NMDA-receptor mediated or glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity. Although excessive amounts FeSO(4) induced oxidation can cause delayed neuronal death, these findings suggest that oxidative stress is not the key factor in triggering the NMDA mediated excitotoxic cascade.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Blebbing, free Ca2+ and mitochondrial membrane potential preceding cell death in hepatocytes.

Cell surface 'blebbing' is an early consequence of hypoxic and toxic injury to cells. A rise in cytosolic free Ca2+ has been suggested as the stimulus for bleb formation and the final common pathway to irreversible cell injury. Here, using digitized low-light video microscopy, we examine blebbing, cytosolic free Ca2+, mitochondrial membrane potential and loss of cell viability in individual cultured hepatocytes. Unexpectedly, we found that after 'chemical hypoxia' with cyanide and iodoacetate, cytosolic free Ca2+ does not change during bleb formation or before loss of cellular viability. Cell death was precipitated by a sudden breakdown of the plasma membrane permeability barrier, possibly caused by rupture of a cell surface bleb.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMedDate not supplied

When does the lung die? I. Histochemical evidence of pulmonary viability after "death".

An inadequate number of lung donors for transplantation results in the death of many potential lung recipients awaiting a transplant. Canine experiments in our laboratory have shown effective gas exchange in lungs transplanted from cadaver donors (lungs retrieved after circulatory arrest). The time course of pulmonary cell death after circulatory arrest is unknown. To address this question, we used trypan blue dye exclusion to quantitate lung cell death at postmortem intervals in rats. One hundred ninety Sprague-Dawley rats were killed and separated into four groups: (1) control (n = 10); (2) nonventilated group (n = 60); (3) oxygen-ventilated group (n = 80); and (4) nitrogen-ventilated group (n = 40). At intervals after the animals' deaths, trypan blue was infused into the pulmonary artery followed by fixative, and the left lung was excised. Histologic sections were prepared for each rat lung, and the percentage of nonviable cells was quantified with light microscopy. Control lungs retrieved immediately after death showed little or no uptake of trypan blue dye. In nonventilated rats, 36%, 52%, and 77% of cells were nonviable in lungs retrieved 2, 4, and 12 hours after death, respectively. These results were similar to 34%, 58%, and 71% nonviability at the same intervals in nitrogen-ventilated cadaver rat lungs. Oxygen-ventilated cadaver rats, however, had significantly fewer nonviable lung cells at each time interval: 13%, 10%, and 26%, respectively (p < 0.01). Thus, postmortem mechanical ventilation with oxygen appears to delay lung death in the rat after circulatory arrest. Nonventilated and nitrogen-ventilated cadaver lungs had a similar severity and progression of ischemic injury.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗