Human placental lactogen (HPL) is produced in large amounts in normal pregnancies. We report a pregnancy with complete lack of HPL and the placental variant of the human growth hormone HGH-V. The pregnancy resulted in a severely growth-retarded but otherwise normal male baby. PCR analysis of DNA extracted from the placenta showed that the HPL encoding genes hPL-4 and hPL-3 were deleted along with the human growth hormone variant gene (hGH-V), which is located between these two active hPL genes and also expressed in the normal placenta. Of the five members of this multigene family, hGH-N, which is expressed in the pituitary gland, and hPL-1, a presumed pseudogene, were left intact. The latter (hPL-1) was expressed as RNA transcripts only at very low levels as is usually reported in normal pregnancies. Analysis of the parents' DNA showed that both of them carried a different heterozygous deletion at the 3' end of the hGH/hPL locus.

Dimeric anthracenones were isolated from toxic plants of the genus Karwinskia (Rhamnaceae). T 514 or peroxisomicine A1 is one of these toxic compounds which produces an irreversible and selective damage on the peroxisomes of yeast cells in vivo. In this paper we now report the inhibitory effect in vitro of peroxisomicine A1 and other structurally related anthracenones on liver catalase activity. The peroxisomicine A1 produces a non-competitive inhibition with respect to H2O2 on bovine, dog, and mouse liver catalases. In the three cases Vmax was decreased whereas Km was unaffected. Other dimeric anthracenones of natural origin were also found to be inhibitors of bovine liver catalase. There is a relationship between structure and degree of inhibition of all anthracenonic compounds tested. Peroxisomicine A1 and peroxisomicine A2 caused the highest degree of inhibition (IC50 = 3.34 and 3.64 microM, respectively).