No abstract

Microvessels (primarily capillaries) were isolated from the brains of rats 25-35 days of age. This preparation was characterized by light, transmission, and scanning electron microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the endothelial cell membranes were intact and were impermeable to horseradish peroxidase. However, scanning electron microscopy revealed that damage to the membrane occurred during isolation. The isolated microvessel preparations were metabolically competent as demonstrated by their ability to metabolize ['4C]glucose.Aliquots of microvessel preparation were incubated with radioactive non-metabolizable analogs of D-glucose at various concentrations. The kinetics of accumulation of radioactivity in the capillaries were analyzed according to a model for carrier-mediated diffusion and affinity constants for 3-0-methylo-glucose and 2-deoxyglucose were calculated (about 18 mM at 20°C in each case). These affinity constants are somewhat greater than that expected from whole animal experiments reported by other laboratories. This discrepancy is probably accounted for by the presence of a passive diffusion component. However, despite this complication, the primary mechanism for entry of D-glucose analogues at physiological concentrations is compatible with carrier-mediated transport since: the uptake of sugar analogs was shown to be saturable, to exhibit competition for uptake between structurally similar molecules, and to be non-concentrative. In contrast, the uptake of glycerol, mannitol, and L-glucose by isolated microvessels obeyed the kinetics of simple passive diffusion and was not saturable.Our results are compatible with the concept that the capillary is the anatomic locus of the bloodbrain barrier and that this structure contains the carrier-mediated transport system for monosaccharide penetration into brain.

An isolated nuclei system prepared from herpes type II-and mock-infected human embryonic lung cells is able to synthesize cellular and viral DNA in the same proportion as in vivo at various times after infection. Incorporation of [3H ]TTP in the in vitro reaction mixture requires Mg2+ and ATP. Overall in vitro DNA synthesis in nuclei isolated from herpes-infected cells is semiconservative as demonstrated by bromodeoxyuridine-substituted DNA density-transfer experiments, but exhibits a significant fraction of repair-type replication. Relative rates of total DNA synthesis in vitro and in vivo are the same any time after infection. Isolated nuclei synthesize cell and viral DNA for a length of time and at a rate dependent upon the incubation temperature, but there are differences in the length of time of linear in vitro DNA synthesis between herpesand mockinfected cells. The temperature optima for in vitro DNA synthesis differ significantly for herpesand mock-infected cells, and are the same for cells abortively infected with herpes type II as for mock-infected cells.

Purified nerve growth factor induced the outgrowth of neurites from cultured human neuroblastoma cells (NJB line) and a concomitant increase in colchicine-binding activity in extracts from these cultures.