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Biomedical subjects

S Hurwitz

Publications and source records attributed to S Hurwitz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Regulation of calbindin mRNA and calbindin turnover in intestine and shell gland of the chicken.

A synthetic oligonucleotide was used as a probe for measurement of calbindin mRNA in the shell gland and intestine of chickens. The half time of calbindin mRNA in the duodenum and shell gland was estimated at 2 and 3.6 h and that of calbindin at 13.9 and 32.6 h, respectively. The formation rates of calbindin mRNA were 0.37 and 0.17 pmol.h-1.g-1 and the rate of calbindin formation was 0.099 and 0.031 microgram.pmol mRNA-1.h-1 in the duodenum and shell gland, respectively. In the shell gland, calbindin mRNA and calbindin appeared at the time of sexual maturation during calcification of the first egg shell. Calbindin mRNA fluctuated markedly during the daily egg cycle, in close temporal association with egg shell calcification. When Ca2+ deposition was eliminated by expulsion of the ovum, the rise in calbindin mRNA was prevented. An indirect suppression of Ca2+ deposition by administration of the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor acetazolamide also resulted in a decrease in calbindin mRNA. The results are consistent with a possible role of Ca2+ flux in the regulation of calbindin mRNA appearance in the shell gland of chickens.

Animals

Tibia development in turkeys and chickens as affected by early-age feed restriction.

Tibia development was studied by histomorphometry in male chickens and turkeys fed ad libitum throughout the growing period, or subjected to an early-age (1-week) severe feed restriction for 6 and 14 days, respectively. In turkeys, the rates of longitudinal bone growth and epiphyseal width growth, both dependent on the activity of chondrocytes, proceeded rapidly and reached maxima at early ages of 24 and 11 days, respectively. Moreover, longitudinal bone growth and the growth of epiphyseal width were reduced during early-age feed restriction, in both chickens and turkeys. On the other hand, the rate of growth of metaphyseal width, determined by activity of bone cells such as osteoclasts and osteoblasts, reached in turkeys a maximum at the relatively late age of 70 days, and was not influenced by feed restriction. Rhythmic variation characterized the temporal behavior of the height of the hypertrophic and non-hypertrophic zones of the growth plate, the trabecular width, and the osteoclasts number at the subchondral region. Rhythmicity appeared similar in both ad libitum-fed and early-age feed-restricted birds of both species. The height of the non-hypertrophic epiphyseal cartilage appeared not to change, whereas the hypertrophic zone decreased with age and early-age feed restriction, demonstrating the importance of cartilage cell hypertrophy as a main determinant of longitudinal bone growth. Sexual maturation was accompanied by the disappearance of both hypertrophic and non-hypertrophic zones of the epiphyseal growth plate and the end of bone elongation. Trabecular width at the end of bone elongation. Trabecular width at the subchondral region increased while osteoclast number decreased with age, reflecting the net increase in bone mass, but were not affected significantly by early age feed restriction. Compensatory growth of the early-age feed-restricted birds, resulted in the complete recovery of affected bone variables within a few weeks of resumed ad libitum feed intake.

Aging

Natriuretic peptide receptors regulate endothelin synthesis and release from parathyroid cells.

Cloned rat parathyroid cells (PTr cell line) that produce parathyroid hormone-related peptide plus endothelin 1 and primary cultures of human parathyroid cells were tested for growth and differentiation responses to atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). High- and low-affinity binding sites for ANP were found on PTr cells; BNP appeared to bind to the same receptors with similar affinities. Either ANP or BNP stimulated production of cGMP and caused a 30% decrease in Na(+)-K(+)-Cl- cotransport. Each peptide increased synthesis and secretion of endothelin 1 by PTr cells in a dose-dependent fashion, but cell growth was not affected. Human parathyroid cells (normal and pathological) also responded to ANP or BNP with an increase in cGMP production. The finding of receptors for natriuretic hormones on parathyroid cells with consequent effects on release of endothelin 1 might be of relevance in understanding the clinical association between hyperparathyroidism and hypertension.

Animals

Growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I regulate collagen gene expression and extracellular collagen in cultures of avian skin fibroblasts.

Avian skin fibroblasts were isolated, cultured and incubated with [3H]proline for 24 h. The cells exported radiolabeled collagenase-digestible (CDP) and non-collagenase-digestible (NCDP) proteins into the medium. Human, bovine and avian growth hormone (GH) as well as insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) attenuated the appearance of [3H]CDP in the medium without affecting [3H]NCDP. The appearance of [3H]CDP was not affected by prolactin. The effects of GH and IGF-I were enhanced by increasing concentrations of fetal calf serum (FCS). A synergism was observed between GH and IGF-I in their effect on CDP. Each peptide, at an ineffective concentration, increased the sensitivity of the cells to the other peptide. Collagenase activity in the medium was enhanced by IGF-I, but not modified by GH, FCS, or by their interaction with IGF-I. GH and IGF-I inhibition of type I procollagen gene expression was demonstrated with the aid of probes containing sequences corresponding to the mRNAs for avian alpha I and alpha II chains. The results suggest that GH and IGF-I cooperate in regulating collagen synthesis, but collagen degradation is affected by IGF-I and not by GH.

Animals

Epidermal growth factor receptor gene expression in avian epiphyseal growth-plate cartilage cells: effect of serum, parathyroid hormone and atrial natriuretic peptide.

Avian chondrocytes and fibroblasts, derived from epiphyseal growth-plate and skin, respectively, were cultured in vitro. In chondrocytes, epidermal growth factor (EGF) caused a dose-dependent stimulation of proliferation. EGF receptor mRNA was not detected with the v-erb B probe in chondrocytes cultured in the presence of 5% fetal calf serum (FCS). In the absence of FCS in the medium, a time-dependent increase in the level of EGF receptor mRNA was observed. Parallel changes were also observed in the level of EGF receptor, as demonstrated by immunofluorescence using antibodies directed against avian EGF receptor. In avian fibroblasts, EGF receptor mRNA and EGF receptor levels were not affected by FCS. Furthermore, FCS did not affect the level of thyroid hormone receptor mRNA (using v-erb A as a probe) in either chondrocytes or fibroblasts. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), which acts as a mitogen in avian chondrocytes attenuated--whereas atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a suppressor of chondrocyte proliferation, enhanced--EGF receptor mRNA. The present results show that avian growth-plate chondrocytes respond to EGF and bear EGF receptors. The levels of EGF mRNA and EGF receptor are inversely related to cell proliferation. The results also support previous suggestions that PTH and ANP play important roles in chondrocyte proliferation, possibly through their effect on the synthesis of the EGF receptor.

Animals

Skin tearing in broilers in relation to skin collagen: effect of sex, strain, and diet.

The relationship between skin tearing and collagen in broilers was investigated in two trials in which strain and sex, and strain and diet served as factorial-arranged variables, respectively. In the first trial, males and females of three strains were examined. Both skin tearing and skin collagen were significantly influenced by strain and sex without any significant strain by sex interaction. Skin collagen, expressed as a fraction of fresh skin protein (N x 6.25) was lower and skin tearing was higher in females than in males, particularly in the most susceptible strain. In the second trial, the effects of supplementary protein or methionine and of a low-density diet were tested in females of two strains that differed in their susceptibility to skin tearing. High dietary protein reduced skin tearing and increased skin collagen. The significant diet by strain interaction resulted from the more pronounced response of the susceptible strain. Neither supplementary methionine nor feeding of low-dietary-density diet significantly affected skin tearing or skin collagen.

Animals

Characterization of growth and development of male British United turkeys.

Body weight and the size of various organs (tibia, pectoral muscle, leg muscle, liver, spleen, and testes) were monitored in growing male turkeys (British United Turkeys) in an effort to characterize their growth pattern. The results were fitted with either a single- or a double-component Gompertz equation, describing single and diphasic growth patterns, respectively, using an iterative nonlinear estimation algorithm. The diphasic model with an early and a late growth component provided a better description of the body weight function than the single-phase model. The start of sexual maturation, evidenced by testicular development, marked the transition age between the early and the late phases of growth. A single-component Gompertz equation was sufficient to describe growth of various individual organs. Growth of bone and liver appeared to follow the early growth component, whereas the path of muscle development appeared to be closer to the later growth component. The results suggest that the diphasic growth behavior of male turkeys is caused by a differential growth rate of various organs, rather than by a periodicity in the overall growth rate.

Animals

The interaction between dietary calcium and gonadal hormones in their effect on plasma calcium, bone, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol-1-hydroxylase, and duodenal calcium-binding protein, measured by a radioimmunoassay in chicks.

Male chicks, fed low, normal, or high calcium- and cholecalciferol-containing diets for 14 days, were given three combined injections of 17 beta-estradiol and testosterone (7 and 2.4 mg/kg/dose, respectively) or the vehicle alone, at 3-day intervals. The hormonal treatment resulted in increased plasma calcium and medullary bone calcium concentrations, independently of the dietary calcium intake. Kidney 25-hydroxycholecalciferol-1-hydroxylase and duodenal calcium-binding protein were increased in response to gonadal hormones. The magnitude of this response markedly diminished with increased calcium intake and almost completely disappeared in chicks fed the high calcium diet. The results suggest that the increases in plasma calcium and medullary bone formation due to gonadal hormones are independent of calcium intake while the effect of hormones on duodenal calcium-binding protein and the 25-hydroxycholecalciferol-1-hydroxylase activity appears to be mediated through the change in calcium needs due to medullary bone formation.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 1-alpha-Hydroxylase