Stimulation of sugar loading into sieve elements of willow by potassium and sodium salts

Planta ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 154 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Peel ◽  
S. Rogers
1982 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 455-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Boggs ◽  
D. Bartlett

In neonatal mammals the introduction of water and some other fluids into the larynx causes prolonged reflex apnea by stimulation of afferents in the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN). We have studied the chemical specificity of this reflex in 1- to 9-day-old anesthetized puppies. The laryngeal lumen was perfused with a variety of substances while ventilation through a tracheal cannula was recorded. Water consistently elicited apnea, which was terminated by 150 mM NaCl. Sucrose and urea solutions (100–500 mM) also elicited apnea, suggesting that osmolarity is not a critical factor. Phosphate buffer solutions containing NaCl and ranging in pH from 4.5 to 8.7 did not elicit apnea nor did cation substitutions in 150 mM chloride salts, with the exception of K+. Anion substitutions in 150 mM sodium salts indicated that anions of relatively large hydrated size (F-, acetate, formate, gluconate, tartrate, SO2–4, diatrizoate, IO-3, BrO-3, H2PO-4, HCO-3, borate, CO2–3) do induce apnea, whereas small anions (NO-3, ClO-3, SCN-, I-, Br-) similar to Cl- in size do not. Large anion salts and the nonelectrolytes sucrose, urea, and milk ceased to be effective stimuli in the presence of Cl- in concentrations of 80 or more meq/l. The principal stimulus for this apneic reflex is thus the absence or reduced concentration of Cl- (or small anions that can functionally replace Cl-) in the laryngeal fluid. Single fibers in the SLN were responsive to all the substances found capable of eliciting apnea and unresponsive to those not capable of doing so.


1934 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 803-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Allison ◽  
William H. Cole

1. Fundulus heteroclitus was found to be a reliable experimental animal for studies on chemical stimulation in either fresh or sea water. 2. The response of Fundulus to hydrochloric, acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, and caproic acids was determined in fresh water, while the same acids plus sulfuric and nitric, as well as the sodium salts of the mineral acids, were tested in sea water. 3. Stimulation of Fundulus by hydrochloric acid in fresh water is correlated with the effective hydrogen ion concentration. Stimulation by the n-aliphatic acids in the same environment is correlated with two factors, the effective hydrogen ion concentration and the potential of the non-polar group in the molecule. However, as the number of CH2 groups increases the stimulating effect increases by smaller and smaller amounts, approaching a maximum value. 4. Stimulation of Fundulus by hydrochloric, sulfuric, and nitric acids in sea water is correlated with the forces of primary valence which in turn are correlated with the change in hydrogen ion concentration of the sea water. The n-aliphatic acids increase in stimulating efficiency in sea water as the length of the carbon chain increases, but a limiting value is not reached as soon as in fresh water. 5. Only a slight difference in stimulation by hydrochloric acid is found in sea water and in fresh water. However, there is a significant difference in stimulation by the fatty acids in fresh and in sea water, which is partly explained by the different buffering capacities of the two media. It is to be noted that in the same environment two different fish, Fundulus and Eupomotis, give different results, while the same fish (Fundulus) in two different environments responds similarly to mineral acids but differently to fatty acids. These results illustrate that stimulation is a function of the interaction between environment and receptors, and that each is important in determining the response. 6. Stimulation by sodium chloride, nitrate, and sulfate is correlated with equivalent concentrations of the salts added to sea water, or with the forces of primary valence. Although the threshold for stimulation by the salts is considerably higher than for the acids, the efficiency of stimulation by the salts is greater.


1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 832-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Vogt ◽  
D. L. Hill

1. Neurophysiological taste responses from neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST) were studied in four groups of rats during chemical stimulation of the tongue with sodium and non-sodium salts, citric acid, and sucrose. The four groups of rats consisted of those fed a NaCl-deficient diet (0.03% NaCl) from day 3 postconception to at least day 50 postnatal (deprived rats), rats initially fed the NaCl-deficient diet during development and then placed on a NaCl-replete diet at adulthood for > or = 5 wk (control-deprived rats), and rats always fed the NaCl-replete diet (control rats). 2. Compared with controls, dietary NaCl deprivation instituted early in development resulted in highly attenuated average response frequencies to sodium salts (as much as 50%) but not to nonsodium salts and nonsalt stimuli. Concomitantly, most NST neurons in deprived rats responded “best” to NH4Cl and few responded best to NaCl. This is in contrast to that observed in controls, where the same proportion of neurons responded best to NaCl and best to NH4Cl. 3. Taste responses in recovered rats exhibited a hyperresponsiveness to many sodium salts compared with controls. That is, sodium salts elicited average response frequencies significantly greater (as much as 100%) than that obtained in controls. The proportions of neurons responding best to NaCl or to NH4Cl were opposite to that in deprived rats. In recovered rats, the proportion of neurons that responded best to NaCl was much greater than that which responded best to NH4Cl. 4. Rats deprived of dietary NaCl only as adults responded like controls. Therefore the environmental manipulations must occur during early periods of development. 5. These findings show that early dietary manipulations of sodium and subsequent replacement of dietary sodium have neurophysiological effects relatively selective for sodium-elicited taste responses. Furthermore, because recordings in recovered rats were obtained > or = 5 wk after feeding the NaCl-replete diet, it appears as though early NaCl deprivation permanently alters the functional organization of the NTS. Although it is likely that alterations in peripheral neural activity play a role in the functional development of NTS neurons responsive to taste stimuli, other non-activity-related factors may also be important.


Author(s):  
E. A. Elfont ◽  
R. B. Tobin ◽  
D. G. Colton ◽  
M. A. Mehlman

Summary5,-5'-diphenyl-2-thiohydantoin (DPTH) is an effective inhibitor of thyroxine (T4) stimulation of α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase in rat liver mitochondria. Because this finding indicated a possible tool for future study of the mode of action of thyroxine, the ultrastructural and biochemical effects of DPTH and/or thyroxine on rat liver mere investigated.Rats were fed either standard or DPTH (0.06%) diet for 30 days before T4 (250 ug/kg/day) was injected. Injection of T4 occurred daily for 10 days prior to sacrifice. After removal of the liver and kidneys, part of the tissue was frozen at -50°C for later biocheailcal analyses, while the rest was prefixed in buffered 3.5X glutaraldehyde (390 mOs) and post-fixed in buffered 1Z OsO4 (376 mOs). Tissues were embedded in Araldlte 502 and the sections examined in a Zeiss EM 9S.Hepatocytes from hyperthyroid rats (Fig. 2) demonstrated enlarged and more numerous mitochondria than those of controls (Fig. 1). Glycogen was almost totally absent from the cytoplasm of the T4-treated rats.


Author(s):  
James Cronshaw

Long distance transport in plants takes place in phloem tissue which has characteristic cells, the sieve elements. At maturity these cells have sieve areas in their end walls with specialized perforations. They are associated with companion cells, parenchyma cells, and in some species, with transfer cells. The protoplast of the functioning sieve element contains a high concentration of sugar, and consequently a high hydrostatic pressure, which makes it extremely difficult to fix mature sieve elements for electron microscopical observation without the formation of surge artifacts. Despite many structural studies which have attempted to prevent surge artifacts, several features of mature sieve elements, such as the distribution of P-protein and the nature of the contents of the sieve area pores, remain controversial.


Author(s):  
Ji-da Dai ◽  
M. Joseph Costello ◽  
Lawrence I. Gilbert

Insect molting and metamorphosis are elicited by a class of polyhydroxylated steroids, ecdysteroids, that originate in the prothoracic glands (PGs). Prothoracicotropic hormone stimulation of steroidogenesis by the PGs at the cellular level involves both calcium and cAMP. Cell-to-cell communication mediated by gap junctions may play a key role in regulating signal transduction by controlling the transmission of small molecules and ions between adjacent cells. This is the first report of gap junctions in the PGs, the evidence obtained by means of SEM, thin sections and freeze-fracture replicas.


Author(s):  
R. D. Sjolund ◽  
C. Y. Shih

The differentiation of phloem in plant tissue cultures offers a unique opportunity to study the development and structure of sieve elements in a manner that avoids the injury responses associated with the processing of similar elements in intact plants. Short segments of sieve elements formed in tissue cultures can be fixed intact while the longer strands occuring in whole plants must be cut into shorter lengths before processing. While iyuch controversy surrounds the question of phloem function in tissue cultures , sieve elements formed in these cultured cells are structurally similar to those of Intact plants. We are particullarly Interested In the structure of the plasma membrane and the peripheral ER in these cells because of their possible role in the energy-dependent active transport of sucrose into the sieve elements.


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