The role of alanine in the acute response of Giardia intestinalis to hypo-osmotic shock
Article Abstract:
The regulatory volume decrease (RVD) seen in the parasitic protozoan Giardia intestinalis, kept in hypotonic medium, is controlled by the neutral amino acid alanine. When the protozoan is kept in hypotonic solutions, there is an increase in alanine efflux which is unaffected by Na+ and Cl- but is affected by the osmolarity of the solution and temperature. The efflux of alanine is by a uniport which is not suppressed by ionophores or blockers of chloride channels. However p-hydroxymercuribenzoate suppresses the efflux of alanine and decreases the ability of Giardia to regulate its cell volume.
Publication Name: Microbiology
Subject: Biological sciences
ISSN: 1350-0872
Year: 1995
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A golden anniversary: cattle twins and immune tolerance
Article Abstract:
The discovery of immune tolerance is attributed to Ray Owen, F. Macfarlane Burnet and Peter Medawar. Owen's work on immunogenetics began in 1944, when he received news of twin calves which had different fathers. However, Owens paper on immune tolerance, which was published in 1945, was rejected. The subject gained acceptance several years after, when Medawar and Burnet conducted separate research. Medwar, who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1960 with Burnet, noted Owen's contributions and stressed that he should have also been awarded.
Publication Name: Genetics
Subject: Biological sciences
ISSN: 0016-6731
Year: 1996
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