Animals Tissue Research Articles

Comparative study of various methods for the extraction of free creatine and phosphocreatine from mouse skeletal muscle

The efficacy of various media regarding the extraction of free creatine and phosphocreatine of mouse skeletal muscle was evaluated. In anesthetized animals tissue was quick-frozen in situ and removed by means of a modified Rongeur forceps cooled in liquid N 2. Homogenization of muscle tissue in 1 m m EDTA in 50% (v/v) ethanol at −20°C, which was gradually diluted with ice-cold 0.4 m perchloric acid to a final concentration of 0.3 m perchloric acid in 12.5% ethanol proved to be the most suitable procedure regarding rapid handling of tissue samples, recovery of total creatine, and the ratio of phosphocreatine to total creatine. Phosphocreatine values as high as 78% of total creatine of skeletal muscle were thus obtained. Extraction of free creatine and phosphocreatine with concentrated ethanolic solutions (50–80%, v/v) was found to be incomplete apparently due to irreversible binding of creatine and phosphocreatine to protein precipitates.

Book Reviews

Humason, Gretchen L. Animals Tissue Techniques. 3rd edition, 641 pages, 36 figures, 91/2 × 6 inches, hard cover. W. H. Freeman and Company, 660 Market St., San Francisco, California 94104. $12.50. 1972.

Carbamazepine plasma and tissue levels in the rat

A procedure for determining carbamazepine in biological specimens both from animals and humans is described. Carbamazepine was found to enter the brain relatively rapidly and its distribution is uniform through the body. In animals absorption and tissue distribution was found to be influenced to a certain extent by the vehicle employed. A clear correlation between the brain levels and the protection towards maximal electroshock was observed. Preliminary data on humans suggest a relatively slow absorption. An oral dose of 6 mg/kg gives plasma levels comparable to the ones obtained after an administration of 400 mg/kg in rats.

Amantadine hydrochloride. Analysis of data related to its proposed use for prevention of A2 influenza virus disease in human beings.

The control of viral respiratory disease by safe and effective drugs is an important research goal, but the usefulness of potential candidates must be evaluated with great care. E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Del, has recently proposed that amantadine hydrochloride (1-adamantanamine hydrochloride) be used for the prophylaxis of A2 influenza virus disease in human beings. This proposal, based to a large extent on unpublished studies on human beings, led to the present analysis of both the published data and the unpublished reports; the investigators who carried out the studies have given permission to refer to the unpublished data in this communication. Studies in Tissue Cultures, Eggs, and Experimental Animals Tissue Culture Studies.— Investigators 1-3 at the Du Pont laboratories reported that amantadine hydrochloride has an inhibitory effect on the influenza A, Al, and A2 strains that were tested and also on influenza C, the Sendai strain