0000000000113500

AUTHOR

Gunter Geier

Nucleoside uptake in male germ cells of the polychaeteNereis virens

Summary Uptake of inosine and guanosine was measured in male germ ceils of the polychaete Nereis virens at different stages of development. In spermatogonia I (spg I) and spermatid stages, total inosine uptake at 12°C and ambient concentrations of 100 μmol/1 was relatively low (10–50 nmol·ml of packed cell volume pcv−l·h−1). A rapid increase (150–300 nmol·ml of pcv-1·h−1) was found during transition from spg I to spg II with a subsequent decline to low values (10–30 nmol·ml of pcv−1·h−1) in spermatocyte and spermatid stages. This transient increase may be related to the proliferative activity of spg I stages leading to spg II stages, which increases the demand of purine precursors for nucle…

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Metabolite supply in oocytes of Nereis virens: role of nucleosides

Gamete development in Nereis virens and other nereidid polychaetes is organized in a simple way. Follicular tissues are absent and the germ cells develop floating freely in the coelomic fluid, which thus serves as the vehicle for the supply of substances required for oocyte growth. This overview focusses on the role of exogenous purine nucleosides for the growing oocytes. Eleocytes, a coelomic cell type which is proliferated in large amounts at the beginning of sexual maturation, supply purine nucleosides to support nucleic acid synthesis in the oocytes. Eleocytes can store large amounts of purine nucleotides (up to 50 µ mol ml−1 cell vol.) in the form of AMP and ADP. During oogenesis, thes…

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Extreme nucleoside concentrations in a marine annelid: a novel nucleoside storing cell in the polychaete Nereis virens.

A new type of free coelomic cell was isolated from the coelomic fluid of the polychaete Nereis virens. This cell type was present only during sexual maturation and only in males with fully developed spermatozoa. In vivo acridine orange staining and electron microscopy showed that this cell type consists mainly of a large acidic vacuole with a very low proportion of cytoplasm. This cell type stores extremely high concentration of purine nucleosides reaching concentrations of >700 millimolar on a cell weight basis. The nucleoside concentrations are the highest reported from any living cell so far. Inosine (280-711 micromol/g cell mass), guanosine (8-109 micromol/g), deoxyinosine (3-26 micromo…

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