Seki T, Kikuyama S, Yanaihara N
Department of Anatomy, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Experientia. 1995 Nov 15;51(11):1040-4. doi: 10.1007/BF01946912.
The granular glands of amphibian skin synthesize and store a large amount of bioactive amines and peptides which are structurally similar to mammalian brain-gut peptides. To investigate the development of peptide- and amine-producing cells in the granular glands, pieces of dorsal skin taken at various stages from Xenopus laevis tadpoles were cultured, and the contents of caerulein and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) were measured. When pieces of skin from tadpoles at stages 57 to 60 (Nieuwkoop and Faber stages) were cultured in a medium containing 10% fetal calf serum (FCS medium) or one containing FCS treated with charcoal (chFCS medium), the caerulein and 5-HT levels were increased for the six days of the incubation period. The caerulein content was lower in the chFCS medium than in the FCS medium. Addition of thyroxine to the chFCS medium had no significant effect on the caerulein content. These results show that the caerulein- and 5-HT-producing cells of the granular glands can develop in a culture system with FCS- or chFCS-containing media, and suggest that FCS contains substances which are absorbed by charcoal and stimulate development of the amine- and peptide-producing cells of the glands. In a preliminary search for correlation between caerulein and 5-HT synthesis, addition of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), a precursor to 5-HT, to the FCS medium increased 5-HT content and, conversely, caused significant decrease in caerulein content, suggesting that accumulation of caerulein in the granular glands is influenced by the amount of 5-HT synthesis. These studies indicate that this culture system is a useful model for investigating the development of peptide- and amine-producing cells.
两栖动物皮肤的颗粒腺合成并储存大量生物活性胺和肽，它们在结构上与哺乳动物的脑肠肽相似。为了研究颗粒腺中产生肽和胺的细胞的发育情况，取自非洲爪蟾蝌蚪不同阶段的背部皮肤组织进行培养，并测定蛙皮素和5-羟色胺（5-HT）的含量。当将第57至60阶段（Nieuwkoop和Faber阶段）蝌蚪的皮肤组织在含有10%胎牛血清的培养基（FCS培养基）或含有经活性炭处理的胎牛血清的培养基（chFCS培养基）中培养时，在培养期的六天内蛙皮素和5-HT水平均升高。chFCS培养基中的蛙皮素含量低于FCS培养基。向chFCS培养基中添加甲状腺素对蛙皮素含量没有显著影响。这些结果表明，颗粒腺中产生蛙皮素和5-HT的细胞可以在含有FCS或chFCS的培养基培养系统中发育，并表明FCS中含有可被活性炭吸收并刺激腺中产生胺和肽的细胞发育的物质。在初步探索蛙皮素与5-HT合成之间的相关性时，向FCS培养基中添加5-HT的前体5-羟色氨酸（5-HTP）会增加5-HT含量，反之则导致蛙皮素含量显著降低，这表明颗粒腺中蛙皮素的积累受5-HT合成量的影响。这些研究表明，该培养系统是研究产生肽和胺的细胞发育的有用模型。
