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P J Bechtel

Publications and source records attributed to P J Bechtel.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Effect of the beta-adrenergic agonist cimaterol (CL 263,780) on the growth and carcass characteristics of finishing swine.

A randomized complete-block design was used to evaluate the effects of the beta-adrenergic agonist, cimaterol (CL 263,780), on growth rate, feed efficiency and carcass composition of finishing swine. The drug was fed at four levels (0, .25, .5 and 1.0 ppm) to a total of 240 pigs from 64.5 to 103.7 kg live weight. Growth rate and feed efficiency were measured during the 7-wk feeding trial. Feeding cimaterol depressed feed intake, improved feed efficiency and did not alter rate of gain. Carcass evaluation showed that pigs continuously fed cimaterol had 13.2, 9.3 and 9.2% less fat measured at the 10th rib, P2 and average backfat (BF) locations, respectively, compared with controls. Cimaterol-fed pigs had increased loin eye areas (10.9%), and increased semitendinosus (11.8%) and biceps femoris (8.9%) weights compared with controls. The semitendinosus muscles of the cimaterol-fed pigs had less fat and the femur bones were shorter and lighter weight than controls. There were no detected differences in structural soundness of the live pigs, but postmortem evaluation of the hooves indicated that pigs fed 1.0 ppm cimaterol had a higher incidence of hoof lesions. Pigs withdrawn from cimaterol for 7 d were comparable in performance and carcass characteristics with those continuously fed the drug except that carcass fat measurements had generally returned to control values. The data indicate that cimaterol improved the feed efficiency of finishing pigs and increased the lean:fat ratio of their carcasses. Withdrawal of cimaterol caused compensatory fat deposition.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1984

Calmodulin content of rat mammary tissue and isolated cells during pregnancy and lactation.

The calmodulin content of heat-treated extracts of rat mammary tissue and isolated cells was measured by using stimulation of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity and radioimmunoassay (r.i.a.) procedures. The calmodulin content of mammary tissue increased 2.5-fold near the time of parturition, remained at the elevated level during lactation, then, after the onset of involution, decreased to values similar to those measured from mammary tissue of pregnant rats. When tissue from 15 animals in different stages of pregnancy, lactation and involution were compared, the r.i.a. gave 2.6-fold higher results than the PDE assay. To investigate further the increase in calmodulin content of mammary tissue, secretory and myoepithelial cells were enzymically dissociated from rat mammary tissue during different stages of pregnancy, lactation and involution. Protein, DNA, lactose, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase were assayed to characterize the cell fractions. By using r.i.a., the calmodulin content per mg of protein in isolated secretory-cell fractions was high near parturition, then decreased and remained relatively constant during lactation. The amount of calmodulin expressed per mg of DNA in secretory cells did not show a marked change near parturition, suggesting a constant amount of calmodulin per cell. The calmodulin content of myoepithelial cells dissociated from mammary tissue and measured by using r.i.a. was 6-fold lower than in secretory cells and remained relatively constant during the course of lactation. The changing levels of calmodulin in rat mammary tissue during development are suggested to be related to proliferation and destruction of secretory epithelial cells, events that occur near parturition and involution respectively.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1984

Insulin binding on cultured chick muscle cells: decrease in binding associated with cell fusion.

Binding of 125I-bovine and chicken insulin to cultured embryonic chick skeletal muscle cells was studied. Bovine and chicken insulin bound cultured cells with high affinities of 2.4 X 10(9)M-1 and 4.8 X 10(9)M-1 and low affinities of 2.4 X 10(7)M-1 and 3.7 X 10(7)M-1, respectively. Maximum insulin binding was achieved after 90 min of incubation at 20 degrees C and the maximum value was maintained for an additional 3 hr. Insulin binding increased in a linear manner with increasing nuclei number over a 5-fold range. Maximum insulin binding per nuclei decreased as cell fusion increased between 24 and 72 hr in culture, primarily due to a decrease in the number of low affinity insulin receptors.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Growth and differentiation of chicken embryo muscle cell cultures derived from fast- and slow-growing lines. Intrinsic differences in growth characteristics and insulin response.

Primary myogenic cell cultures derived from 12-day embryos of genetically fast-growing chickens (fast cultures) and slow-growing chickens (slow cultures) were grown under identical conditions to examine differences in growth and differentiation at the cellular level. The two types of cultures exhibited significant (P less than 0.01) differences in proliferation, protein accumulation, response to the addition of insulin to the culture medium and the amount of insulin bound per nucleus. The fast cultures exhibited a larger number of both total nuclei and fused nuclei at 48, 72 and 96 h in culture, accumulated more protein per nucleus at 24, 48 and 72 h in culture and demonstrated a greater response to the addition of insulin to the culture medium, as reflected by increased fusion rate and protein accumulation at 24 h in culture. Maximal response to insulin in both types of cultures was obtained at 24 h to added insulin concentrations of 10(-10)-10(-9) M. Slow cultures bound more [125I]-insulin than fast cultures at 24 h in culture. These experiments suggest that different muscle growth potentials in animals of the same species are at least partly due to intrinsic cellular differences in the myogenic cells that give rise to adult muscle tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The influence of starvation and refeeding on the lipoprotein lipase activity of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of lean and obese Zucker rats.

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activities of skeletal muscles, heart and adipose tissue were investigated during feeding, prolonged food restriction, and refeeding. The influence of the duration of starvation on adipose tissue LPL activity was to cause it to decrease throughout starvation, whereas heart LPL activity increased during the first 24 hours of fasting and then declined for the remainder of the fast. Starvation of 10-week-old female, lean and obese rats to 80% of initial body weight required 5 and 9 days, respectively. In fed controls, no differences between phenotypes were found for any tissue in the LPL activities expressed per gram tissue. However, obese rats exhibited significantly smaller muscle mass and a resulting 29% lower total skeletal muscle LPL activity. No phenotype differences were detected for tissue LPL activities during starvation or refeeding. During caloric restriction, the LPL activities were reduced in heart (-18%) and adipose (-52%) tissues, but skeletal muscle was unchanged except for the slow-twitch, oxidative soleus muscle, which was increased approximately two-fold. After refeeding to initial body weight, the LPL activity of heart returned to normal, but adipose tissue was dramatically increased (+300%) for both lean and obese Zucker rats. These data suggest that reduced skeletal muscle mass with normal LPL activity per gram tissue may contribute to an increased availability of plasma triglyceride fatty acids to adipose tissue of the genetically obese rat.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1981

C-protein from rabbit soleus (red) muscle.

A new form of skeletal-muscle C-protein has been isolated from rabbit soleus (red) muscle. This new form of C-protein has been purified to homogeneity by a procedure similar to that used to purify C-protein from white skeletal muscle. In soleus muscle, only this new form of C-protein could be detected, whereas in psoas (white) muscle, only the previously identified form of C-protein was detected. The content of C-protein in rabbit soleus muscle is comparable with that found in psoas muscle. Other rabbit skeletal muscles composed of a mixture of fibre types contained at least two forms of C-protein. C-Protein derived from red skeletal muscle bound to myosin isolated from either red or white tissue, with maximum binding occurring at a ratio of approximately 13 microgram of red C-protein/100 microgram of myosin. Polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate indicated that C-protein isolated from red skeletal muscle has a molecular weight approx. 7% greater than that of C-protein isolated from white skeletal muscle. The amino acid content of both forms of C-protein was similar but major differences in the mol % of isoleucine and threonine were found. Antiserum against C-protein from white rabbit skeletal muscle formed a single precipitin line with rabbit C-protein on double in agar. This antiserum did not form a precipitin line when diffused against red C-protein from rabbit skeletal muscle. Also, this antiserum bound specifically to the A-band region of myofibrils isolated from psoas (white) muscle, but it did not bind to myofibrils prepared from soleus (red) muscle.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1981

Ultrastructural immunocytochemical localization of myosin in cultured fibroblastic cells.

Nonmuscle myosin in the cytoplasm of cultured fibroblastic cells has been localized using light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Antibodies to purified fibroblast myosin were produced in goat and rabbit and purified by affinity chromatography. Light microscopic immunofluorescence localization showed patterns similar to those previously published. Electron microscopic localization using the ethyldimethyl aminopropyl carbodiimide-glutaraldehyde-saponin (EGS) fixation-permeabilization procedure and the ferritin bridge localization method produced quantifiable localization in intracellular sites with well-preserved ultrastructural morphology. Myosin was found to be a major component of the cytosol. It was distributed diffusely with no preferential localization on membranous organelles. Myosin was found to be slightly concentrated on the surface of microfilament-containing structures, including the subplasmalemmal microfilament mat and stress fibers, occasionally with an interrupted periodicity. However, no myosin was found in surface ruffles or microvilli. Morphometric quantitation showed that the majority of the cell's myosin was in the cytosol. This location is compatible with myosin being a component of the microtrabecular lattice of the cytoplasmic ground substance. The concentration of myosin in association with microfilaments was only twice that of the cytosol. This interpretation must be somewhat tempered by the possibility that some myosin bound to tightly packed actin may be inaccessible. The significance of this distribution of myosin in cell function is discussed.

Actins↗
PubMed1981

Hormonal effects on the immunocytochemical location of 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase in rat tissues.

Homogeneous preparations of type I and type II regulatory subunits (RI and RII, respectively) of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAMP kinase) were utilized as antigens to obtain isozyme specific antisera. Injections of pure catalytic subunit (C) from the type I isozyme resulted in antisera that reacted with C subunit obtained from either isozyme type. Cross-reactivity of the antisera raised against isolated subunits of the kinase was assessed by immunodiffusion analysis and by measuring the cAMP binding and phosphotransferase activities of the subunits after immunoprecipitation. These antisera were used to localize subunits of type I and type II cAMP kinases in rat skeletal muscle, liver, and adrenal by using indirect immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase techniques. Specificity of the immunofluorescence was shown by absorption of the antisera with pure homologous antigens. In skeletal muscle, both R and C subunits of the type I and type II cAMP kinases were localized in the area of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and in periodic crossbands. Specific fluorescence for these components was observed in both isotropic and anisotropic band regions of the sarcomere. Densitometric determinations of immunoperoxidase staining revealed a larger amount of RI, RII, and C subunits in the isotropic band than in the anisotropic band regions. In liver, C, RI, and RII subunits were distributed both in cytoplasmic and nuclear areas and along plasma membranes of hepatocytes; however, there were qualitative differences observed among these various subcellular sites. With each antiserum, fluorescence was blocked by prior absorption with homologous antigen. After treatment of rats with glucagon, dramatic changes in the relative distribution patterns of C and RII were noted in the nucleus. In the adrenal gland, RI, RII, and C subunits were localized in both cytoplasmic and nuclear areas, and an apparent redistribution of these subunits occurred after treatment of (dexamethasone-suppressed) rats with ACTH. The application of this immunocytochemical approach provides a tool for examining and monitoring the subcellular distribution of these components of cAMP kinase in biological systems.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1979

Interaction of alpha-actinin, filamin and tropomyosin with F-actin.

The abilities of alpha-actinin, filamin and tropomyosin to bind F-actin were examined by cosedimentation experiments. Results indicated that smooth muscle alpha-actinin and filamin can bind to actin filaments simultaneously with little evidence of competition. In contrast, tropomyosin exhibits marked competition with either filamin or alpha-actinin for sites on actin filaments.

Actinin↗
PubMed1979

Identification of a high molecular weight actin-binding protein in skeletal muscle.

A large polypeptide having a molecular weight of 240,000 as determined by electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate has been identified in whole cell homogenates from chick skeletal muscle myoblasts and the rat myoblast L6 cell line. A similar polypeptide was identified in both thigh and breast chicken skeletal muscle, but the latter contained less of this protein per g of tissue. Antibodies made to gizzard filamin (an actin-binding protein having a molecular weight of 240,000) cross-reacted with the partially purified Mr = 240,000 protein from chicken skeletal muscle. With use of the indirect immunofluorescence technique, the filamin antibody localized in the Z-line region of chicken skeletal muscle myofibrils. These results indicate that skeletal muscle contains a filamin-like protein that may form an integral part of the myofibril structure.

Actins↗
PubMed1977

Purification and characterization of catalytic subunit of skeletal muscle adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase.

The catalytic subunit of rabbit skeletal muscle cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase has been isolated in pure form. It has a molecular weight of 41,300, as determined by sedimentation equilibrium, which is in good agreement with the value of 41,000 determined by electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Sedimentation velocity determinations indicate that the subunit has an S20,w value of 3.12 which is essentially independent of protein concentration. These experiments are interpreted as indicating that the catalytic subunit dissociated from the holoenzyme exists as a monomer in solution. The least abundant amino acid is half-cystine, which was calculated to be present at 2.8 mol/mol of protein. The sulfhydryl reagents, N-ethylmaleimide, p-chloromercuribenzoic acid, and 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) inhibit the enzymatic activity of the subunit; inhibition by the two latter compounds can be reversed by 2-mercaptoethanol. Binding of 1 mol of N-ethylmaleimide/mol of protein results in almost complete inhibition. The isolated catalytic subunit contains 2.2 mol of tightly bound phosphate/mol of protein. Identification of either O-phosphoserine or O-phosphothreonine after partial acid hydrolysis indicates that at least part of the endogeneous phosphate exists as the phospho ester of one of these amino acids. Two peaks of catalytic activity corresponding to isoelectric points of pH 7.4 and 8.5 were identified by isoelectric focusing. Both forms utilize the same substrates and have similar sedimentation constants.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1977

Concentrations of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase subunits in various tissues.

The concentrations of the regulatory (R) and catalytic (C) subunits of adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP)-dependent protein kinase(s) were measured in extracts of skeletal muscle, heart, liver, kidney, and brain. These concentrations were also estimated for the particulate fraction from brain, the only tissue in which a major part of the total activity was not readily extracted in a soluble form. Values for R were determined by measuring the amount of cyclic [3H]amp bound to protein in these tissue fractions under specified conditions; it was assumed that 1 mol of cyclic AMP binds to 1 mol of R. Values for C were determined from measurements of the specific protein kinase activity of the fractions utilizing the turnover number of pure C in the calculations. Turnover numbers for C were found to be identical for this subunit obtained in the pure form from rabbit skeletal muscle, rabbit liver, and beef heart. The methods used for measuring C were evaluated by kinetic studies and through the use of the specific heatstable protein inhibitor of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase(s). R and C were found to exist in a 1:1 molar ratio in all of the tissue fractions that were studied. the absolute concentrations of R and C ranged from 0.23 mumol/kg wet weight for liver to 0.78 mumol/kg wet weight for brain. For brain this value was based on the amount of each subunit in the particulate as well as the soluble fraction. For other tissues the values were based solely on the subunit content of the latter fraction. It was noted that the molar concentrations of R are close to those of cyclic AMP under basal conditions in the various tissues.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Binding of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate dependent protein kinase regulatory subunit to immobilized cyclic nucleotide derivatives.

Several cyclic nucleotide derivatives with aminoalkyl side chains attached to the purine ring were synthesized and their interactions with adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) dependent protein kinase were studied before and after immobilization to CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B. The soluble N6-substituted derivatives were as effective as cAMP itself in activating protein kinase and were more effective than 8-substituted cAMP derivatives, whereas the 2-substituted cAMP derivatives and the cGMP derivatives were the least effective. All of the synthetic derivatives tested were poor substrates for beef heart phosphodiesterase being hydrolyzed at rates less than 2% for that of cAMP itself. Utilizing methodology developed to evaluate the affinity of protein kinase for immogilized cyclic nucleotides it was found that all of the immobilized cyclic nucleotides interacted with protein kinase in a biospecific manner as judged by the following criteria: (1) the immobilized cyclic nucleotides competed with cAMP for the binding sites on protein kinase; (2) the analogous spacer-arm did not compete; and (3) the effects of enzyme concentration, MgATP, and cleavage of the cyclic phosphate ring on the interactions of protein kinase with the immobilized cyclic nucleotides were the same as previously shown for free cAMP. In addition, the immobilized ligands were bound with the same order of effectiveness as the analogous soluble ligand. The observed Ka for the activation of 0.005 muM protein kinase by N6-H2N(CH2)2-cAMP was increased from 0.23 to 3 muM by the process of immobilization. This increase was unaffected by the coupling density and spacer-arm length. The observed Kb for 0.10 muM protein kinase binding to immobilized N6-H2N(CH2)2-cAMP was increased as the molecular sieving exclusion limit of the matrix used was decreased indicating that at least part of this decrease in apparent affinity upon immobilization is due to exclusion of the enzyme from a portion of the matrix and therefore of the immobilized ligand molecules.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1975

Comparison of adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinases from rabbit skeletal and bovine heart muscle.

Homogeneous preparations of adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP)-dependent protein kinase from rabbit skeletal (Peak I) and bovine heart muscle have been compared. Each enzyme has an S20,w value of 7.0. Each enzyme binds 2 mol of cyclic AMP per mol of enzyme and is dissociated in the presence of saturating concentrations of cyclic AMP into a demeric regulatory subunit-cyclic AMP complex and two catalytic subunits. The isolated subunits recombine, resulting in the formation of the original holoenzyme in each case. Several differences between the two enzymes were found. Different salt concentrations are necessary for elution of the respective enzyme from DEAE-cellulose. Their regulatory subunits differ with respect to their sedimentation constants and mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. The regulatory subunit of the heart enzyme is rapidly phosphorylated by MgATP but this does not occur with the skeletal muscle enzyme. MgATP is bound with high affinity only to the skeletal muscle enzyme. The enzymes have different apparent dissociation constants and Hill coefficients for cyclic AMP binding. With the skeletal muscle enzyme MgATP increases the dissociation constants for cyclic AMP about 10-fold and decreases the Hill coefficient, while with the heart enzyme phosphorylation decreases the cissociation constant for cyclic AMP 5- to 6-fold and increases the Hill coefficient. Different concentrations of cyclic AMP are required to dissociate the skeletal and heart muscle enzymes. The presence of MgATP increases the concentration of cyclic AMP required to dissociate the skeletal muscle enzyme but decreases the concentration necessary to dissociate the heart enzyme.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗