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The present investigation was undertaken in rats to determine whether sensory nerves exist in apposition to the bronchial microvessels which may function as rapidly adapting receptors (RAR). The primary and secondary bronchi on both sides were removed and processed for light and electron microscopy. Nerves were frequently found in relation to venules external to the muscle coat of bronchi. They comprised myelinated axons which ended individually as non-myelinated convoluted terminals enclosed within a loose capsule of attenuated cells. Serial sections showed that these terminals were not related to ganglion cells. Cervical vagal section and injection of HRP-WGA into the nodose ganglion provided corroborative evidence of the sensory nature of these terminals. Vagal section caused degenerative changes in the encapsulated nerve terminals in the bronchial walls and horseradish peroxidase labelling was demonstrable in such terminals. Moreover, immunocytochemical studies demonstrated the presence of calcitonin gene regulated peptide and substance P in these structures. It is suggested that they comprise the RAR. Encapsulated nerve terminals were not found in the epithelial layer, in the submucous coat or in the muscularis of bronchi.

Substance P-immunofluorescent nerves, which are closely connected to pain transmission, were shown in human knee synovial membrane and menisci. Both tissues also contained enkephalin-immunofluorescent nerves, which are probably involved in the modulation of pain transmission. Previous suggestions on the presence of nociceptive receptors in these non-cartilaginous joint structures, made on a histological basis, are thus confirmed by a specific immunohistochemical method.

The existence of two subpopulations of GABA-receptors was shown by cation-exchange chromatography and isoelectrofocusing methods. One of these populations was purified together with the benzodiazepine receptors. Isoelectric points determined for the two GABA-receptor subpopulations were 4.6 - 5.3 and 5.6 - 5.9. Isoelectric points for the benzodiazepine receptor were 5.6 - 6.1.

Substance P (SP)-containing fibers in the incisive papillae of rat hard palates, which include various components of sensory receptors, i.e. mechanoreceptors, free nerve endings and chemosensory corpuscles (taste buds), were examined using immunoperoxidase techniques and light and electron microscopes. Immunolabeled fibers were consistently distributed in the medial part of the orifice of the incisive canals, i.e. in the taste-bud-enriched region. Dense immunolabeled fibers were found in subgemmal regions and in the lamina propria papillae. Some fine fibers entered and ascended the taste buds or occasionally the epithelium outside the taste buds. In addition, a rich innervation by SP-containing fibers close to blood capillaries was clearly identified. Electron microscopy revealed no specialized synaptic contact between the immunolabeled fibers and taste bud cells. Synaptic-like images could be found only between nonimmunolabeled nerve endings and the underlying taste bud cells. In the lamina propria papillae, mechanoreceptors observed in the present study contained no immunoperoxidase end products, whereas free nerve endings with an immunolabeled small-diameter axon (630-730 nm in diameter) were frequent. Similar axons were located at the adventitia of the blood capillaries. The possible functional role of SP-containing fibers in the incisive papillae was given attention.

A quantitative method of cross-adaptation was developed to explore the difference in the receptor sites for various amino acids in the carp olfactory receptors. The olfactory responses were measured by recording the stimulant-induced waves from the olfactory bulb. Cross-adaptation was carried out by varying concentrations of amino acids in a wide range. Typical examples of the results obtained are as follows. The response to Thr after Ser was decreased with increasing concentration of Ser applied first and reached the spontaneous level, while that to Thr after Glu was decreased to 77% of the level of the original response with increasing Glu concentration and stayed this constant level with a further increase in Glu concentration. Application of the amino acids in the reverse order gave essentially similar results. Such types of experiments were carried out between various pairs of amino acids. The results obtained suggested that amino acids of very close species (e.g. Thr and Ser, Asp and Glu, Tyr and Phe) stimulate the same respective receptor sites and that amino acids of most other pairs stimulate more or less different receptor sites, although there exist the receptor sites stimulated commonly by both amino acids of one pair. It was concluded that the carp olfactory cells have many different receptor sites stimulated only by one species of amino acid and its close analogues.

Formaldehyde-induced fluorescence (Falck-Hillarp technique) provided histochemical evidence for the presence of catecholamines in the sensory epithelia (macula and crista) of the Octopus statocyst. A specific bright green fluorescence occurred in the neuronal plexus beneath the receptor cell layers of the epithelia and in the appropriate nerves. The histochemical findings are discussed with reference to the well-known neuronal and synaptic organization of the epithelia and to relevant results in cephalopods as well as in other molluscs. All data support the hypothesis that in the receptor systems of the Octopus statocyst catecholamines (probably dopamine and/or noradrenaline) act as neurotransmitters in the efferent fibre system.

Sensory irritation due to inhalation of a series of alkylamines was estimated from the decrease in respiratory rate in normal (non-cannulated) mice (American standard method E 981-84, 1984). The irritation effects rapidly reached stable levels. The concentration-response relationships followed Michaëlis-Menten equations. The maximum response decreased with increasing chain length. The concentrations depressing the respiratory rate by 50% (RD-50) were 184, 121, 97, 51, and 27 p.p.m. for n-propylamine, n-butylamine, n-pentylamine, n-hexylamine, and n-heptylamine, respectively. It is suggested that the receptor is activated partly by the amines and partly by hydroxide ions. The nose has a scrubbing effect, which partly protects the lungs against water soluble irritants. Pulmonary irritation was estimated from the decrease in respiratory rate in tracheally cannulated mice. The plateau-level of the response was reached slowly. The respective concentrations depressing the respiratory rate by 50% (tRD-50) were 416, 300, 128, 66, and 36 p.p.m. for the C3-C7 n-amines. It is suggested that the pulmonary receptor environment is lipophilic and the receptor, probably the J-receptor, is activated chemically by the amines. The sensory and pulmonary irritation data were used to estimate workplace exposure limits (TLV's) which protect against these effects.

Studies have been made on the degree of binding of potassium ions, the content of free calcium ions and glycosaminoglycans in the fluid surrounding mechano- and electroreceptors of the acoustico-lateral system of the ray Raja clavata as well as on the electrical phenomena in potassium hyaluronate solutions and solutions of the fluids investigated. Comparative electrometric and chemical analyses indicate that bound potassium ions amount to 36.4% in the endolymph jelly, 39.6% in the Lorenzini jelly and 21.9% in the canal fluid. Calcium level in the fluids studied amounts to 3.6-4.1 mequiv./l which is similar to that in the sea water (3.4 mequiv./l). Glycosaminoglycan content is equal to 0.30 +/- 0.02% in the endolymph jelly, 0.21 +/- 0.03% in the canal fluid and 2.79 +/- 0.28% in the ampullary jelly (per wet solution). Some characteristics of the "displacement potentials" in potassium hyaluronate solutions and Lorenzini jelly solutions were obtained. Possible role of these potentials in the activity of ampullary structures of the lateral line organ is discussed.

The statoliths of Sepia officinalits, Octopus vulgaris, Alloteuthis subulata and Taonius megalops have a smooth outline, but an irregular shape. They have projections and indentations. The statoliths from a pair of statocysts are usually quite similar in size and shape, and the general pattern is probably maintained throughout the size range of the species. Statoliths from large animals are marginally larger than those from smaller ones. The statolith usually occupies only a small part of the cavity of the statocyst, and it is situated in the anterior part of the statocyst. They are joined to the macula by hairs extending from it. These hairs are very delicate and easily broken during preparation of the specimens. The hairs are much longer and narrower than the receptor cilia of the macula. The receptor cilia are enclosed within holes in the tangled hairlike anchoring fibrils. The statolith is made up of crystalline subunits, the statoconia. The crystals vary in size, they are usually elongated, hexagonal with pointed ends. The statolith consists of a closely packed mass of these crystals, sometimes they are irregularly arranged, where in others they are stacked with their long axes parallel. In Sepia officinalis and Taonius megalops, the crystals are arranged in regular shaped packets and these packets of crystals are stacked together. These larger subunits are not always arranged in a regular way, and their major axes can be organised in several different ways. The size and outline of these large subunits do vary in different parts of the statolith. The external surface of the statolith is macroscopically smooth. Over some parts there is a surface layer covering the rod-like crystals that make up the major bulk of the stone. In other regions, the surface is rough at a microscopic level, the roughness is produced by the exposed ends of the filamentous crystals. The crystals are composed of calcium carbonate in the form of aragonite.

The specific membrane glycoproteins with high affinity for camphor and decanal were isolated from rat olfactory epithelium. Antibodies to these glycoproteins inhibited both the electroolfactogram and the binding of odorants. The enzyme immunoassay has shown these glycoproteins to be present in the olfactory epithelium of rat, mouse, guinea-pig and hamster but not in that of frog and carp. The molecular mass of the odour-binding glycoproteins from rat olfactory epithelium solubilized by Triton X-100 was approx. 140 kDa. They consisted of two subunits (88 and 55 kDa). The 88 kDa subunit was capable of binding odorants. The data obtained suggest that the glycoproteins isolated have some properties that make them plausible candidates for olfactory receptor molecules.

The specific odor-binding glycoproteins have been isolated from rat olfactory epithelium. They consist of two subunits, gp88 and gp55. Subunit gp88 is capable of odorant binding.

The sensory innervation of the rat labial mucosa was investigated by means of methylene blue vital staining and osmic acid staining. Sensory receptors in this region were of three kinds (free nerve endings, encapsulated corpuscles and bush-like nerve endings) which constituted separate sensory units respectively. The encapsulated corpuscles were observed in the deep part of lamina propria, and distributed mainly in the margin of labial mucosa. Almost all (78.8%) of encapsulated corpuscles were of a simple type which had a non-branched axon terminal. No clew-like type corpuscles or glomerular-Meissner corpuscles were observed. The bush-like nerve endings were located in the lamina propria close to the epithelium, and localized in the central part of labial mucosa where the formation of papillae was remarkable. The density of the encapsulated corpuscles in the entire mucosa was 3.5-5.3/mm2, and that of the bush-like nerve endings in the densely distributed area was 38.9-60.6/mm2.

The method of cross adaptation was implemented to determine whether only one type of receptor site mediates the perception of sweetness, or whether more than one such type exists. Fourteen stimuli, seven artificial sweeteners varying widely in chemical structure as well as seven sugars, were cross adapted with one another. When a sugar was employed as the adapting stimulus, a consistent reduction in the intensity of the test solution's sweetness was found. However, the result of the cross adaptation when the adapting stimulus was an artificial sweetener was unpredictable; it led not only to a reduction but, in some cases, to an enhancement or no change in the test solution's intensity, depending on its identity. In previous investigations, enhancements have been explained through the existence of a water taste. Since this explanation is insufficient to account for the enhancement effects found in this study, it appears that cross adaptation does not always occur between sweet-tasting compounds. For this reason, it is concluded that more than one receptor mechanism may be responsible for the perception of the sweet quality.

Data from light- and electronimmunocytochemistry gave evidence that the antibodies to the mammalian adhesion molecule J1/tenascin and its carbohydrate structure L2/HNK-1 react with immunoreactive structures present in the inner and outer receptor lymph cavities of antennal sensilla of the honey bee. Immunoreactivity was additionally present in the cytoplasm of the enveloping cells surrounding the receptor lymph cavities. Cell contacts between enveloping cells and between dendrites and enveloping cells were never observed to be antigen positive.

Some parameters of the receptor element from the rat olfactory epithelium are evaluated; it is characterized by high affinity for camphor (KD = 1.5. x 10(-9) M). Triton X-100 has no marked effect on the binding of [3H]camphor. Neither RNAase nor phospholipase C affected [3H]camphor-binding activity. Pronase and trypsin abolished [3H]camphor binding activity by 65 and 40%, respectively. Sulfhydryl reagents decrease the binding of [3H]camphor by a factor of 5--8. The isoelectric point of the receptor solubilized with Triton X-100 is 4.8, as determined by isoelectric focusing. The molecular weight of the receptor as determined by gel electrophoresis is about 120 000. It is proposed that the camphor receptor is a membrane protein containing sulfhydryl groups and playing a key role in olfactory reception.

By applying microspectrophotometry to the sporangiophore of Phycomyces blakesleeanus wild-type and the albino car-10(-) type II, absorption spectra were obtained for 1- to 5-day cultures. Spectra in the growing-zone of the wild-type during Stage IVb, taken from 0.1 to 3 mm below the base of the sporangium, show two distinctly different spectra: one is more characteristic of a carotene, the other of a flavin. Combined, these absorption spectra reproduce closely the action spectrum. For the albino car-10(-), which is deficient in carotenes, only the spectrum characteristic of lumichrome or a reduced flavin was found. A c-type cytochrome was isolated from both strains which, if coupled with a flavin, could permit a photoreversible oxidation-reduction system. Birefringent crystals were observed to be aligned in the growing zone in which the photoreceptor is believed to lie. Micro-spectrophotometry of these crystals shows absorption peaks similar to those of riboflavin crystals.