An activity assay is described quantification of prostaglandin synthase (PGHS) in sheep placental cotyledon under initial velocity conditions through measurement of the stable product prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The effects of temperature, time, and substrate concentration on initial reaction velocity, and lipoxygenase and PGHS product formation in cotyledonary tissue, were examined ...

During pregnancy, the human placenta secretes a variant of pituitary growth hormone (hGH-V) differing in sequence from the pituitary growth hormone (hGH-N) by 13 amino acids substitutions. HGH-V replaces hGH-N in the maternal bloodstream during the second half of pregnancy. HGH-V is produced in two, possibly three, isoforms: a 22 ...

The present study was undertaken to compare the effects of 10-50 mg/kg b.wt. of Pb acetate after chronic treatment through oral gavage on: (a) the distribution of trace elements such as Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn, (b) enzyme activity of delta-amino levulinic acid dehydratase (delta-ALAD) and alkaline phosphatase, and (c) ...

We examined if the first afterdischarge (AD) following a kindling stimulation to the amygdala is a necessary and/or sufficient stimulus for immediate-early gene (IEG) activation and whether activity that results in IEG expression in the amygdala was sufficient to cause activation in the hippocampus. We demonstrate that a single, short ...

The aim of this work was to investigate the role of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru 2,6-P2) during photosynthesis. The level of Fru 2,6-P2 in tobacco plants was elevated by the introduction of a modified mammalian gene encoding 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (6-PF-2-K). Estimates of the metabolite control coefficient (C) for Fru 2,6-P2 levels in ...

1. Pregnancy-induced changes in acute blood pressure regulation are reviewed. 2. Pregnant animals are less able to maintain arterial pressure during haemorrhage than non-pregnant animals. 3. Baroreceptor reflex-mediated increases in heart rate, renal sympathetic activity, vasopressin, ACTH and cortisol are reduced during pregnancy. Therefore, one explanation for the subnormal ability ...

To ascertain whether triiodothyronine (T3) sulfotransferase coeluted with the known phenol sulfotransferases (PSTs) during purification, human liver thermostable PST, thermolabile PST, and T3 sulfotransferase were assayed with p-nitrophenol, dopamine, and T3, respectively. Thermostable PST eluted from an ion-exchange column in two sequential peaks of activity (Peaks I and II), followed ...

Glutathione transferases (GSTs; EC. 2.1.5.18) activity was measured in maternal liver and conceptal tissues during gestation. In maternal liver, maximum activity was found at gestational day (GD) 9 after which it slowly decreased up to the end of gestation. The placental GSTs activity at GD18 was three times lower than ...

Eleven-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 beta-HSD) is an enzyme which degrades 11-hydroxycorticosteroids to biologically inactive 11-oxocorticosteroids (cortisone and 11-dehydrocorticosterone). In some tissues, the activity of this enzyme prevents binding of cortisol to mineralocorticoid receptors. The present experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that the fetal kidney contains 11 beta-HSD, that the ...

Previous studies in vivo provide evidence that extra-ovarian factors, currently unknown but nevertheless present and associated with pregnancy, directly prevent the growth of follicles beyond a diameter of 2 mm during the last trimester of pregnancy in the ewe. In the present study, the effect of charcoal-treated extract from sheep ...

Serum complement (C') activity in recurrent spontaneous aborters and primiparous controls with successful and unsuccessful pregnancies was quantified so as to define the dynamics of C' activation in early pregnancy loss. C' hemolytic activity was shown to be stable throughout the first trimester of pregnancy and did not differ from ...

Myometrial contractility occurs throughout pregnancy and characteristic patterns of myometrial activity exist according to the endocrine status and the relationship to parturition. These characteristic patterns differ between species, yet certain common features can be observed. Throughout pregnancy, myometrial activity is of the contractures type, long-lasting, low-amplitude epochs of activity switching ...

Accumulating evidence suggests that cytokines are major participants in human reproduction. Cytokines may have beneficial or negative influence on pregnancy outcome, depending on the cytokine level present. Thus, successful reproduction appears to depend on a tight regulation of cytokine activities. The present study raised the question whether normal pregnancy is ...

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and nuclear segmentation of neutrophils were measured in peripheral blood samples from 90 normal pregnant women, arranged in nine groups of ten each, every four weeks at 8-40 weeks gestation and from 25 non-pregnant healthy female controls. A blood autoanalyser (Technicon H*1) was used to determine the ...

The mechanism for myometrial quiescence during pregnancy is unknown. cGMP plays an integral role in the relaxation of smooth muscle, and nitric oxide (NO) is the most important endogenous activator of soluble guanylate cyclase. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of gestational age on myometrial cGMP ...

To elucidate the cause of low prostacyclin (PGI2) production in severe preeclampsia (PE), we studied the activities of phospholipase A2, cyclooxygenase, and PGI2 synthase in umbilical venous endothelial cells obtained from healthy pregnant women and from patients with mild or severe PE. Umbilical venous endothelial cells homogenized in a buffer ...

Ornithine decarboxylase activity (ODC; E.C. 4.1.1.17), is significantly elevated in fetal and newborn rat brain in response to acute hypoxia. Because relatively little is known about ODC activities and polyamine metabolism in hypoxia and also because ODC and the polyamines are essential for normal growth and development, we examined the ...

The Rac proteins, Rac1 and Rac2, are essential components of the NADPH oxidase system of phagocytes and regulate the actin assembly associated with membrane ruffling. These functions are controlled by the GTP-bound form of Rac. The biochemical interaction between Rac and its only known GDP-dissociation stimulator (termed smgGDS) was characterized. ...

This study was designed to determine whether the presence of an alignment deformity of the lower leg, known as genu varum, causes abnormalities in individual- or group-activation of the surrounding knee extensors, a situation which might accelerate knee deterioration. Nine healthy women with normal tibial alignment were compared with nine ...

The chemotactic responses of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) towards pre-ovulatory follicular fluid and serum from patients participating in an in vitro fertilization program were tested in a modified Boyden chamber using a 'sparse-pore' polycarbonate filtration membrane method. The chemotactic activities of follicular fluids were generally low, but were significantly higher in ...

The receptor for Shiga toxin on rabbit intestinal microvillus membranes (MVMs) has been identified as a developmentally regulated glycolipid, globotriaosylceramide [galactose alpha 1-4 galactose beta 1-4 glucose beta 1-1 ceramide (Gb3)]. MVM Gb3 levels increase markedly in the third week of life, concomitant with fluid secretory responses to the toxin. ...

Recent evidence resulting in revised ACOG Guidelines will allow physicians more latitude with their advice for women wishing to exercise during pregnancy. However, there is an increased responsibility for both mother-to-be and her physician to design an individualised activity programme to meet specific goals. The recommendation should continue to be ...

Angiogenic activity in the extracts of human villi and decidua in the first trimester of pregnancy was examined using chorioallantoic membrance assay. Blood vessel density on the chorioallantoic membrane increased greatly with the addition of villi extract, and slightly by decidua extract. Neovascularization with a spoke wheel appearance was induced ...

For unknown reasons, the pilosebaceous unit displays prominent alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity, and alterations in AP activity are seen in alopecia areata. The role of AP in hair biology and pathology has been obscured by contradictory reports on the localization and activity of AP during the hair cycle, and by ...

OBJECTIVE: We have previously demonstrated that calcium-dependent nitric oxide synthase is induced by estrogen and that by the end of pregnancy nitric oxide synthase of both endothelial and neuronal origin is increased in various maternal tissues. This rise in activity may be crucial for the alterations in muscle activity necessary ...

After growth to exponential phase in Todd-Hewitt broth, clinical and laboratory isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 3, 4, and 14 readily degraded first the beta and then the alpha chains of purified human C3 in the absence of serum or other complement proteins, as assessed by SDS-PAGE. With exponentially growing ...

OBJECTIVES: Serious concerns have been raised about angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition in pregnancy. The central question remains: does toxicity of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition pertain to pregnant humans? STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, placebo-controlled study was performed to investigate the effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition on pregnancy outcome in the baboon. Subjects (N ...

An early step in the initiation of the classical C pathway is the proteolytic activation of component C4 by subcomponent C1-s. We have examined the substrate specificity of murine C1-s (mC1-s) by measuring its proteolytic activity on human and murine C4, and on the murine C4 isotype designated sex-limited protein ...

Partial deficiency in lipolysis usually results in only mild disturbances of lipid levels. However, when this is associated with impairment of the uptake of remnant particles and increased production of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins stimulated by environmental factors such as during normal pregnancy, chylomicronemia may ensue. We have previously reported a patient ...

The expression of Cek5, a receptor-type tyrosine kinase of the Eph subclass, and its variant form Cek5+ were examined in the chick neural retina during development. Cek5 is present at high levels at all stages of retinal development examined, while Cek5+ is most abundant during differentiation. Cek5 mRNA expression and ...

We have examined the effects of pregnancy and sex hormones on calcium-dependent and calcium-independent nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) in the guinea pig. Pregnancy (near term) caused a > 4-fold increase in the activity of calcium-dependent NOS in the uterine artery and at least a doubling in the heart, kidney, skeletal ...

The ontogeny of the fetal monodeiodinase systems, during the period before the onset of thyroid activity until birth, has been described only in the rat, rabbit and chick. We have studied 5'- and 5-monodeiodinase activities in the liver, kidney and placenta of pig fetuses, from day 32 of gestation up ...

OBJECTIVES: To define the profile of 24-hour uterine activity in normal pregnancy and to correlate contraction frequency with physical activity and emotional stress diaries. METHODS: One hundred nine low-risk pregnant women who delivered at term recorded uterine contractions for 24 hours twice weekly from 20-40 weeks' gestation using an ambulatory ...

Early pregnancy factor (EPF) was purified from the pooled sera of 210 pregnant women at 3-8 weeks of gestation. Sera from healthy nonpregnant women were used as control. The samples (G-II, G-III and G-IV) obtained from pregnant women had EPF activity but no HCG activity. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the impact on expectant fathers of their partners' activity-restricted pregnancies. DESIGN: Qualitative. SETTING: Private physician practices and two teaching hospitals in a large southern city. PARTICIPANTS: Self-selected sample of 15 fathers recruited within 2 weeks of initiation of their partners' activity restriction for high-risk pregnancy (phase 1) ...

Serum acetone in neonates was found to increase from < 20 microM at 20 days gestation to 377 +/- 107 microM 1 day after birth. This increase in acetone occurs concurrently with the initial expression of liver P450IIE1 in rat (Song et al., 1986, J. Biol. Chem. 261:16689-16697). Treating pregnant ...

The influence of chemical modifications on the catalytic activity and stability of a hammerhead ribozyme directed against the long terminal repeat RNA of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 was examined. Previous studies had shown that substitution of all pyrimidine nucleosides by their 2'-fluoro analogs led to an 8-fold decrease in ...

Sera of healthy pregnant women have a nonspecific inhibitory activity on the specific cytolytic activity of activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes in vitro. The serum fraction of pregnant females which is responsible for this activity has been characterized. The equivalent fraction derived from sera of healthy men has a similar but ...

The effect of ammonium sulfate on the capacity of sera of pregnant animals to induce the expression of increased rosette inhibition titres in the rosette inhibition assay, that is, to express the so-called early pregnancy factor activity, was reinvestigated. The results show that the sera of pregnant mice contain low ...

Concentrations of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) were measured in blood obtained from pregnant women to elucidate the fluctuations in the fibrinolytic system which occur during the course of pregnancy. The t-PA activity was measured with a modified bioimmunoassay using anti-t-PA monoclonal antibody (SP-322) against a ...

In the pregnant human uterus, pacemaker activities and their coordination processes were studied in labor induced by uterine distention. Electrical and mechanical activities of the uterus were simultaneously recorded in 6 midtrimester (normal, n = 4; fetal death, n = 2) and 8 term (normal, n = 7; fetal death, ...

The supernatant and pellet retentate fractions obtained from sera from pregnant mice by ammonium sulfate fractionation and extensive dialysis cannot alone induce increased rosette inhibition titres in the rosette inhibition assay. In combination, however, the mixtures can induce increased rosette inhibition titres mimicking the activity of pregnancy sera previously ascribed ...

A method for determination of aluminum and phosphorus in biological materials, based on activation in a nuclear reactor and measurement of 28Al, produced by the 27Al(n, gamma)28Al and 31P(n, alpha)28Al reactions, is described. Irradiations in the undisturbed and epicadmium spectra provide a two-equation system in order to determine the contributions ...

An examination was performed to assess the hemolytic activity of phosphorite and apatite dust in vitro by a method used by Potts et al. (1978). After evaluation of dispersion, a certain contents of elements was established, using a spectrometer of X-ray fluorescence. Phosphorite dusts caused 50.4% of hemolyse that is ...

The aim of this study was to determine if low intensity ultrasound affects electrocortical activity in chronically instrumented fetal sheep. A 3.5-MHz transducer was attached to each fetal skull (n = 9) and activated periodically to emit pulses of 5.8 microseconds duration at a repetition rate of 2 kHz generating ...

The effect of incubation medium osmolality on the respiratory burst of human neutrophils was studied using luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (CL) as an indicator of burst activity. Neutrophils were stimulated with N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP), phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), the calcium ionophore A23187, thermoaggregated IgG (IgGn), and opsonized zymosan (OZ). It was shown that increasing the ...

A method for interpreting and analysing electromyographic (EMG) data of myometrial electrical activity was established. This method was used to study EMG activity in the uterus during the various stages of the oestrus cycle in mares. Recordings were analysed from four pairs of electrodes that were surgically implanted in the ...

Thioredoxin has been identified as a key component of the "early pregnancy factor" system, a system of components present in pregnancy sera which expresses a lymphocyte modifying activity in an assay known as the rosette inhibition assay. Although thioredoxin alone is inactive, addition of thioredoxin to lymphocytes in combination with ...

Fibrinogen Dusart is a congenital dysfibrinogenemia (A-alpha 554 Arginine-->Cysteine) associated with severe thrombotic disorder, high incidence of thrombotic embolism, and abnormal fibrin polymerization. This thrombotic disorder was attributed to an abnormal clot thrombolysis with reduced plasminogen binding to fibrin and defective plasminogen activation by tissue plasminogen activator. The purpose of ...

Two trials were conducted to characterize the performance of an automated electronic activity tag system as an aid for detection of estrus in dairy cattle. In trial 1, activity tags were attached to the rear leg of 24 cows at approximately 35 d postpartum and remained attached until pregnancy. Data ...