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Biomedical subjects

T H Rosenquist

Publications and source records attributed to T H Rosenquist.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Coronary artery development in the chick: origin and deployment of smooth muscle cells, and the effects of neural crest ablation.

Previous studies of coronary artery ontogeny have stressed early development and therefore have dwelt mainly upon the origin of the endothelium of the nascent coronary artery stem. This study has analyzed the ontogeny of the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) in the coronary arteries of the domestic chicken, by establishing the timing and deployment of smooth muscle alpha-actin (SMAA). Anti-SMAA was applied to sections of normal embryos, and to sections of experimental embryos that had undergone surgical ablation of the neural crest over somites 1-3. The results show an orderly symmetrical deployment of SMAA in control coronary arteries. SMAA was expressed significantly earlier in the coronary artery VSMC compared with those of the cardiac outflow vessels; this early expression may indicate a unique responsiveness to induction of the smooth muscle phenotype. The normal orderly development of coronary artery VSMC was dependent upon the presence of the neural crest, and therefore was disrupted in the experimental embryos whose neural crest was ablated.

Animals

Influence of vascular smooth muscle heterogeneity on angiotensin converting enzyme activity in chicken embryonic aorta and in endothelial cells in culture.

The smooth muscle of the abdominal region of the chicken aorta derives from locally recruited mesenchyme (mesenchymal smooth muscle), whereas that of the thoracic region derives from the neural crest (ectomesenchymal smooth muscle). We hypothesized that this smooth muscle heterogeneity might affect important enzymatic functions of the vessel wall. Therefore, we measured angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity in homogenates of chicken thoracic and abdominal aorta at different embryonic stages (days 10, 14, and 18 of gestation). ACE activity increased in both regions over the time of gestation (p less than 0.001 in both cases); the increase was steeper and ACE activity was higher in thoracic than in abdominal segments (p less than 0.001). Km values were similar (approximately 7 microM) at all times and between the two segments, whereas changes in Vmax values closely paralleled those in enzyme activity, indicating gestation-dependent increases in the amount of enzyme. Neural crest ablation at an early developmental stage resulted in an increase of ACE activity in thoracic homogenates (p less than 0.001), predictably leaving that in abdominal homogenates unaffected. Bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cell monolayers exposed to media conditioned with cultured mesenchymal or ectomesenchymal smooth muscle cells exhibited elevated ACE activity (46% and 83%, respectively, relative to control medium, with p less than 0.01 in both cases; p less than 0.05 between the two media). Increases in endothelial cell ACE activity corresponded to proportional increases in ACE protein determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (r = 0.99) and were interpreted as indicative of enhanced enzyme synthesis subsequent to exposure of endothelial cells to smooth muscle-conditioned media.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals

Spatial disorder of collagens in the great vessels, associated with congenital heart defects.

Surgical ablation of the cardiac neural crest from the chicken embryo results in persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA) and a change in the elastic laminae of the great vessels, wherein elastin and the elastin microfibril show significant spatial disorder. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the interstitial collagens would also be disordered in the elastic laminae of chicken embryos with PTA. The birefringence characteristics of interstitial collagen were examined to evaluate spatial ordering. The results showed that collagen in the elastic laminae assumed an orderly configuration of well-defined fiber bundles in the great vessel walls of control embryos, whereas vessels from embryos with PTA lacked any distinct spatial order. Collagens type I and III were localized in the vessel walls. Type III collagen was the principal collagen of the elastic laminae, but was absent from the intima of all vessels. In the elastic laminae of vessels from control embryos, collagen type III showed well-defined fiber bundles whereas embryos with PTA had diffuse collagen type III in poorly defined laminae that were not separated by discrete layers of smooth muscle cells. Collagen type I was a minor component of the elastic laminae but formed robust pericellular fiber bundles throughout the media and intima. Collagen type I fibers appeared to be coarsened and less uniform in the vessels from embryos with PTA.

Animals

Development of the musculoelastic septation complex in the avian truncus arteriosus.

It is now well established that cells from the cardiac neural crest (CNC) are essential for normal conotruncal septation. The truncal septation complex consists of the aorticopulmonary (AP) septum and the myocardial sheath of the truncus. The principal role of the CNC cells during septation appears to be their differentiation into the elastogenic smooth muscle that forms the AP septum proper. The objective of this study was to integrate serial reconstruction and specific histochemical markers in order to provide a unified analysis of the relationships between the CNC and the other components of the truncal septation complex. The development of the septation complex was compared normal embryos vs. embryos from which the CNC had been surgically ablated. Embryos from each group were harvested after incubation periods of 4-8 days (Hamburger-Hamilton stages 23-34). Histochemical procedures were performed for positive identification of the elastic matrix and smooth muscle alpha-actin; the presence of these proteins was used as the criterion for "septal cells" and to define the boundaries of the septum. The results indicate that the shape, components, boundaries, and degree of organization of the septation complex may be different from previous descriptions. Furthermore, all of the components of the truncal septation complex are dysgenic in the absence of the CNC. Of special significance in the absence of CNC. Of special significance in the absence of CNC are: 1) the failure of the myocardial sheath to retract; 2) the apparently random distribution of surrogate ectomesenchyme; and 3) the impairment of truncal elastogenesis. These results indicate that the cells of neural crest origin interact with the surrounding mesenchyme during septation and that the entire septation complex depends upon the presence of the neural crest cells for normal development.

Actins

Impaired elastic matrix development in the great arteries after ablation of the cardiac neural crest.

The cells that form the aorticopulmonary septum in the avian embryo have been shown to be similar to the cells that form the walls of the great vessels in two ways: both are derived from the cardiac neural crest and both are able to synthesize an elastogenic matrix in the early embryo. Because of these similarities, and because ablation of the cardiac neural crest causes congenital defects of the outflow tract that are related to failure of proper septation, it was hypothesized that such an ablation also would cause the walls of the great vessels to be defective. The purpose of this study was to compare the elastic matrix in the mediae of the great vessels of normal embryos with those from which the cardiac neural crest had been ablated. The results show that the elastic matrix in the great vessels of the experimental embryos was impaired 1) in the rate of downstream propagation of the initiation of elastogenesis among younger embryos, incubation days 4-8 and 2) in the spatial configuration of the elastic matrix among the older embryos, incubation days 16-20. These results may provide a biological explanation for the elastin defect that affects the pulmonary artery of many patients with cyanotic congenital heart defects.

Aldehydes

Smooth muscle cells of neural crest origin form the aorticopulmonary septum in the avian embryo.

Previous studies have shown that the cells of the aorticopulmonary (AP) septum are similar to the smooth muscle cells of the mediae of the great vessels in their common origin from the cardiac neural crest and in their common expression of an elastic extracellular matrix. The purpose of this study was to test the cells of the AP septum for the presence of certain cytoplasmic proteins, especially smooth muscle alpha-actin (SMAA) whose presence is definitive of smooth muscle. A monoclonal antibody against SMAA was applied to normal chicken embryos at 3.5-8 days of incubation and to age-matched embryos from which the cardiac neural crest had been ablated surgically. Antibodies against the intermediate filaments desmin, cytokeratin, and vimentin also were applied. The results showed that the AP septal cells expressed SMAA during the process of septation, days 5-8; but when the cardiac neural crest was ablated and septation was defective, no cells in the conotruncal connective tissue expressed SMAA. None of the intermediate filament proteins were detected in the septum. These results indicate that the AP septal cells are smooth muscle and therefore may be hypothesized to have an active role in septation.

Actins

Solitary aortic arch artery. A result of surgical ablation of cardiac neural crest and nodose placode in the avian embryo.

Cells from the cardiac neural crest are essential for the normal development of both the heart and the great vessels. If cardiac neural crest is ablated surgically from Hamburger-Hamilton stage 9 chicken embryos, they will develop anomalies of both the heart and great vessels that are similar to anomalies that occur in humans. In the absence of cardiac neural crest, another area of neural ectoderm (nodose placode) provides replacement cells that are less competent than those of the neural crest. In this study, both the cardiac neural crest and the nodose placodes have been surgically ablated. A syndrome of unusual prevalence (47%) and severity was found among the survivors of this surgery, which was characterized by a large undivided aorta that arched dorsally without right or left deviation to become the dorsal aorta. There was no other tributary to the formation of the dorsal aorta. There were no ducti arteriosi, and the pulmonary arteries were both ectopic and hypoplastic. The brachiocephalic arteries were asymmetric and hypoplastic. The association of the aorta with the anlagen of the thyroid and thymus glands, as well as with the inferior ganglion of the vagus nerve, indicated that the solitary surviving aortic arch artery is that of arch III in this syndrome. These results establish a biological limit of the plasticity of the neural ectoderm and give a probable cellular basis for a lethal congenital septal defect.

Animals

Origin and propagation of elastogenesis in the developing cardiovascular system.

Ectomesenchyme derived from cardiac neural crest is critical to aorticopulmonary septation in the heart. However, any unique contribution of the cardiac ectomesenchyme to the extracellular matrix of the conotruncus has not been demonstrated previously. In this study the chronology and topography of soluble tropoelastin (STE) and the aldehyde-rich protein (ARP) of the elastic connective tissues have been examined in the chick embryo, stages 21-38, and in the quail-chick chimera, stages 24-35 (quail neural fold grafted onto a chick embryo). STE was located with immunofluorescence histochemistry, and ARP with Schiff's reagent. With these procedures prevenient sites of elastin synthesis are observed readily. The results show that the myocardium proper appears to have a role in the instigation of elastogenesis and in elastic fiber orientation; that the mesenchymal cells whose matrix contains elastic fibers are ectomesenchymal, of neural crest origin; and that elastin is deployed in an orderly proximal-distal sequence. It is hypothesized that elastogenesis is a critical event in aorticopulmonary septation.

Aldehydes

Connections between stereocilia in auditory hair cells of the alligator lizard.

The interconnections between stereocilia within individual tufts of auditory hair cells in the basilar papilla of the alligator lizard were examined with a transmission electron microscope. An elaborate array of fibers near the base of each stereocilium (where it tapers to anchor into the cuticular plate) connected it to each of its neighboring stereocilia. The tips of individual stereocilia, which were slightly larger in diameter than their shaft, contacted adjacent stereocilia. Fibers also connected the tip of the kinocilium to neighboring stereocilia in the first row. The remaining regions of the stereocilia were relatively free of connecting fibers. The integrity of these connecting fibers are likely to be important in maintaining the normal micromechanical tuning and mechanoelectric transduction in these auditory hair cells. The addition of 0.1% ruthenium red to the primary fixative enhanced the preservation of the connecting structures, implying the presence of glycosaminoglycans.

Animals

A new interpretation of the direct Schiff reaction of elastic connective tissue.

A direct Schiff reaction of elastic tissues has been known for many years, but the nature of the native aldehyde-rich components has not been clear. In this study, chicken, quail, and rat embryos and adult rat lung, aorta, and kidney were fixed in methacarn or in a formalin solution, embedded in paraffin, and sections of 8-10 micron obtained. Rehydrated sections were incubated for various periods in solutions of the enzymes chondroitinase ABC, clostripain, collagenase, elastase, heparatinase, hyaluronidase, subtilisin Carlsberg ("protease"), or trypsin, and in solutions of phosphomolybdic acid or sodium borohydride. After incubation, sections were placed, without prior oxidation, in Schiff's reagent, and were ultimately observed and photographed in transmitted light or with blue or green epifluorescence. A Schiff-positive substance was found, always and exclusively, in elastic tissues of the vasculature and lungs, which was hydrolyzed by the proteolytic enzymes to an extent that ranged from complete loss of Schiff reaction in minutes (trypsin) to no loss of Schiff reaction in 22 hr (clostripain). The Schiff-reactive protein preceded the time of appearance of elastin in the early embryos. We conclude that the aldehyde-rich protein responsible for this reaction is a harbinger of elastogenesis in vivo and speculate that it may represent the elastic microfibril or a component thereof.

Aldehydes

A procedure to measure concanavalin-A binding with atomic spectroscopy and X-ray microanalysis.

The purpose of this study was to measure the binding of concanavalin A (conA) in minute regions of tissue by labelling the conA with iron dextran; then by measuring the bound iron per site by a procedure which uses atomic absorption spectrophotometry, X-ray microanalysis, and image analysis. The resulting data for a given region gamma are entered into the formula: (Formula: see text). The resulting quantity "iron at gamma" is directly proportional to conA binding in that region. For this study, three regions of rat renal cortex were compared: distal tubules, collecting ducts and blood vessels; glomeruli; and proximal tubules. Regional iron concentrations were: Combined region (distal tubules, etc.), 0.147 +/- 0.107 microgram/mg tissue; glomeruli, 0.199 +/- 0.087 microgram/mg tissue; and proximal tubules, 1.711 +/- 0.303 microgram/mg tissue.

Animals

Lectin binding in the diabetic rat kidney.

In this study metal-conjugated concanavalin A (Con A) and Bandieraea simplicifolia isolectin II (BSA II) have been applied to sections from kidneys of control rats and rats which had untreated diabetes for 70 days or for 200 days. Lectin binding was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometric analysis of ferritin-iron or hemocyanin-copper. Con A binding increased significantly with diabetes; was totally blocked by alpha-D-mannoside; was not inhibited by fructose lysine; and was enhanced by NaHB4 preincubation. BSA II binding also increased significantly with diabetes.

Animals

Alternative method for quantitative enzyme histochemistry of muscle fibers. Application of photographic densitometry combined with atomic absorption spectrophotometry.

The present study examines the use of photographic densitometry combined with atomic absorption spectrophotometry for the quantitation of enzyme activities (SDH and ATPase) in fresh frozen sections of rat tibialis anterior muscles. The technique eliminates some difficulties which are inherent in other methods. The reliability of the technique was found to be in the 98% range; the results were precise for all samples studied. The use of SDH to separate muscle fibers into "types" was found to be totally inaccurate since a full spectrum of activities was observed. ATPase activities could separate easily into two groups, but a continuum of ATPase activities was observed in the fast-twitch fibers. The simultaneous use of both enzymes was capable of separating the FG, FOG and SO fibers; however, variation within a single type was considerable and a great deal of information was lost when using any classification system. The continuum of SDH activities indicates the motor units are arranged as a spectrum of fatigue-resistant contractile units. The range of ATPase activities observed is comparable to ranges of motor unit contraction times emphasizing the importance of this enzyme in the regulation of contraction speed.

Adenosine Triphosphatases

The effect of an intrauterine device on mast cell numbers and distribution in the hamster uterus.

The effect of an IUD on mast cell numbers and distribution in the uterus was studied in castrated, castrated hormone-treated and cycling hamsters. The device had a stimulatory effect on total mast cell numbers in those animals that received no treatment, peanut oil, or estrogen therapy and in all cycling animals. The device also apparently causes mast cells to be redistributed in the different areas of the uterus. The results indicate that the IUD alters the uterine mast cell response to exogenous hormones and cycle times.

Animals

The effect of an intrauterine device on myometrial glycogen in the hamster.

The myometrical glycogen content of the uterine horns of cycling, castrated and castrated hormone-treated hamsters was basically unaffected by the presence of an intrauterine device (IUD). The study also indicates that visual evaluation of histochemical localization of glycogen is not adequate to determine minor differences in staining intensity. The "estrogen-like" effect or stimulatory effect of the IUD on uterine glycogen in the rat is not duplicated in the hamster.

Animals

Some effects of an intrauterine device on glucosaminoglycans of the hamster uterus.

The effect of an intrauterine device (IUD) on non-heparin sulfomucopolysaccharide (SMP) was studied in castrated, hormone-treated, and cycling hamsters by photographic densitometry of tissue sections stained specifically for SMP with Alcian blue. Non-heparin SMP increased slightly in the myometrium of IUD-containing uteri of all castrated groups, with the increase being significant in only the peanut oil-treated group. The endometrium also showed slight increases in sulfomucin in IUD-containing uteri of peanut oil, progesterone, and estrogen plus progesterone-treated animals. These increases, however, were not statistically significant. In cycling hamsters the IUD had little effect on uterine non-heparin SMP in most cycle stages.

Animals