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M C Snabes

Publications and source records attributed to M C Snabes.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Site of action of indomethacin on implantation in the rabbit.

Blastocysts recovered from oil- or indomethacin-treated donor rabbits between 5 1/2 and 6 days after insemination and hCG injection were transferred to oil- or indomethacin-treated recipients between 135 and 147 h after hCG injection. Indomethacin treatment of donor rabbits (10 mg/kg s.c.) given every 6 h during the day before transfer had no effect on subsequent implantation of the blastocysts. However, indomethacin treatment of the recipients (10 mg/kg s.c. every 6 h from 120 to 168 h after hCG) prevented implantation of all transferred blastocysts, although 6 of the 8 rabbits died between Days 9 and 16 of (pseudo)pregnancy. Restriction of the indomethacin treatment of the recipients to only 3 injections of 10 mg/kg s.c. between 128 and 140 h after hCG injection had no effect on the implantation of the transferred blastocysts. It is concluded that indomethacin exerts its inhibitory influence on implantation via an action on the endometrium rather than on the blastocyst.

Animals↗

Identification of G actin-binding proteins in rat tissues using a gel overlay technique.

Actin-binding proteins were assayed in various tissues using an 125I-actin overlay procedure. Four major G actin-binding proteins of 90000, 65000, 58000 and 40000 Mr have been identified. The 90K protein is present in all tissues and binds labelled actin in a calcium-sensitive manner with binding increasing 3-4-fold in the presence of Ca2+. The distribution of the 58K and 65K protein which are not Ca2+-sensitive was more variable. These proteins were present in different ratios in different tissues. 125I-actin binding to all four actin-binding proteins is specific and can be displaced by preincubation of the gels with unlabelled actin. The interaction of actin with these proteins does not appear to involve ionic forces, since binding is not diminished by varying the salt concentration. Skeletal muscle glycolytic enzymes, the lens crystallins and the histones also bind 125I-actin. This binding cannot be displaced by preincubation with unlabelled actin and is presumably non-specific. The calcium sensitivity of two highly purified actin-binding proteins, the 90K human platelet protein and villin was compared using 125I-actin. The platelet 90K protein binds actin at less than 10(-7) M free calcium, but detectable binding to villin does not occur below 10(-6) M free calcium. The ubiquity of these actin-binding proteins is clear and we conclude that the calcium-sensitive 90K actin-binding protein in all of these tissues is the same as the platelet protein.

Actins↗

A DNase I binding/immunoprecipitation assay for actin.

An actin assay which employs the competition between labeled and unlabeled rabbit skeletal muscle actin for DNase I has been developed. Iodination of actin by the method of Bolton and Hunter results in the incorporation of approximately 0.5 mol of 125-iodine/incorporation of approximately 0.5 mol of 125-iodine/mol of actin. This 125I-actin retained the ability to bind to DNase I and inhibit enzymatic activity. The 125I-actin-DNase complex can be precipitated by the addition of a monospecific rabbit antibody to DNase I. The efficiency of this immunoprecipitation step is improved by the use of a second sheep anti-rabbit gamma-globulin. Using this immunoprecipitation assay, there is a linear displacement of the DNase I-bound 125I-actin by rabbit skeletal muscle actin standards or by the actin present in tissue and cell extracts. Using 17.5 ng of DNase I and approximately 500 pg of 125I-actin, 50% inhibition of binding was obtained with 23 ng of unlabeled actin. Reducing the amount of DNase I to 2 ng results in 50% inhibition of binding with 4 ng of unlabeled actin and an increase in the estimated sensitivity of the assay from 1.7 to 0.24 ng. The slopes of the displacement curves generated with both vertebrate and invertebrate non-muscle actins are parallel to rabbit skeletal muscle actin. This observation indicates approximately equal actin-DNase I binding affinities and suggests a high degree of conservation of the actin-DNase I binding site. The assay is useful for measuring the pools of F- and G-actin in a wide range of cells.

Actins↗

Detection of actin-binding proteins in human platelets by 125I-actin overlay of polyacrylamide gels.

Actin-binding proteins have been identified in human platelets with a gel-overlay technique that uses 125I-G-actin. Platelet proteins were separated on SDS polyacrylamide gels using the buffer system of Laemmli (1970, Nature [Lond.] 227:680-685). The proteins were fixed in the gels with methanol-acetic acid, the SDS was washed out, and the proteins were renatured. The gels were incubated with 125I-G-actin from rabbit skeletal muscle that was radiolabeled with 125I according to the method of Bolton and Hunter (1973, Biochem. J. 133:529-538) and has been shown to retain biological activity. After nonspecifically bound radioactivity was washed out, gels were dried and processed for autoradiography. The 125I-G-actin binds to several proteins in human platelets, platelet extracts, and the particulate fraction. Control experiments demonstrate that the 125I-G-actin can be displaced by use of increasing amounts of unlabeled actin, that the binding is stable to 0.6 M NaCl, and that preheating the 125I-G-actin to 90 degrees C for 3 min eliminates all binding. Prominent 125I-G-actin-binding activities were present at Mr 90,000 and 40,000. The binding to the 90,000 Mr protein appears to be at least partially Ca++ sensitive, whereas the binding to the 40,000 Mr protein does not. 125I-G-actin bound to proteins in the SDS gels can be fixed in situ and compared directly with the stained gel. This technique should prove generally useful in identification and purification of some actin-binding proteins from cells and tissues.

Actins↗

Acute inhibitory effects of antiserum to gonadotropin-releasing hormone in ovariectomized rats. Evidence for pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone.

To evaluate the dependence of pulsatile secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) on gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), the acute effects of immunoneutralization of endogenous GnRH on plasma LH were compared in ovariectomized rats with phenobarbital treatment and hypophysectomy. Anti-GnRH produced a rapid dose-dependent decrease in plasma LH and LH pulse amplitude. Pulsatile secretion of LH was eliminated in 6 of 12 rats treated with the highest dose of anti-GnRH, but plasma LH was still 50% of control values 3 h after treatment. Frequency of LH pulses was unchanged in animals which had persistence of pulsatile secretion of LH. Phenobarbital eliminated pulsatile secretion of LH transiently. Hypophysectomized rats displayed a striking decrease in plasma LH which could be resolved into two exponential components with half-lives of 16 and 70 min. The initial half-life of plasma LH from untreated rats determined after LH pulses was also 16 min. These studies support the hypothesis that pulses of GnRH induce the pulsatile pattern of plasma LH and may be responsible for all LH secretion in ovariectomized rats.

Animals↗

A daily neural signal for luteinizing hormone release in the untreated ovariectomized rat: changes in gonadotropin-releasing hormone content of the preoptic area and hypothalamus throughout the day.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) content of preoptic areas (POA) and hypothalami, and serum gonadotropins of rats ovariectomized six weeks earlier were measured throughout the day in two experiments. In the first, rats were decapitated at 2 h intervals between 0800 and 1800 h. The entire preoptic-hypothalamic region was removed and extracted for radioimmunoassay (RIA) of GnRH. Serum gonadotropins measured by RIA were highly variable but mean concentrations were not significantly different throughout the day. However, preoptic hypothalamic content of GnRH declined markedly between 1000 and 1200 h. In the second experiment, 75 rats were divided into three groups and were untreated or were implanted sc with empty Silastic capsules or capsules containing estradiol-17beta (E2). Two days later, groups of five rats from each of the three treatment groups were decapitated at 0800, 1100, 1400, 1700 and 2000 h. The preoptic area was separated from the hypothalamus by a transverse cut at the caudal aspect of the optic chiasm. POA and hypothalamic content of GnRH correlated well (r=0.74, P less than 0.001, n=75). Two-way analysis of variance failed to reveal any effect of treatment on the GnRH content in either the POA or hypothalamus. GnRH content of both regions decreased significantly between 1100 and 1700h regardless of whether E2 was administered. In striking contrast, gonadotropin surges occurred in the late afternoon only in the E2-treated rats. Serum GnRH was undetectable (less than 5 pg/ml) in all groups of animals. These experiments demonstrate that in the untreated ovariectomized rat GnRH content of the POA and hypothalamus decreases during the early afternoon. This study supports the concent of a daily neural signal for LH release and that E2 is necessary for expression of the daily LH surge in the ovariectomized rat.

Animals↗