A review of elliptical and disc galaxy structure, and modern scaling laws

A century ago, in 1911 and 1913, Plummer and then Reynolds introduced their models to describe the radial distribution of stars in `nebulae'. This article reviews the progress since then, providing both an historical perspective and a contemporary review of the stellar structure of bulges, discs and elliptical galaxies. The quantification of galaxy nuclei, such as central mass deficits and excess nuclear light, plus the structure of dark matter halos and cD galaxy envelopes, are discussed. Issues pertaining to spiral galaxies including dust, bulge-to-disc ratios, bulgeless galaxies, bars and the identification of pseudobulges are also reviewed. An array of modern scaling relations involving sizes, luminosities, surface brightnesses and stellar concentrations are presented, many of which are shown to be curved. These 'redshift zero' relations not only quantify the behavior and nature of galaxies in the Universe today, but are the modern benchmark for evolutionary studies of galaxies, whether based on observations, N-body-simulations or semi-analytical modelling. For example, it is shown that some of the recently discovered compact elliptical galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5 may be the bulges of modern disc galaxies.Comment: Condensed version (due to Contract) of an invited review article to appear in "Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems"(www.springer.com/astronomy/book/978-90-481-8818-5). 500+ references incl. many somewhat forgotten, pioneer papers. Original submission to Springer: 07-June-201

Pertussis toxin selectively interferes with the responses of the HL-60 human promyelocytic cell line to dimethylsulfoxide

Abstract The effects of pertussis toxin (PT) on the growth and dimethylsulfoxide (Me2SO4)-induced differentiation of the HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cell line were tested. Cell growth was quantified by direct cell counts. Cell differentiation was estimated by measuring the expression of myeloid-specific cell-surface antigens (Mo-1 and fMet-Leu- Phe [fMLP] receptors), the ability of the cells to produce superoxide anions on stimulation with fMLP, the calcium ionophore A23187 and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), and by monitoring the level of expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha). By itself, PT did not affect the proliferation of HL-60 cells in serum-containing medium. In contrast, PT (but not its B-oligomer) dose-dependently inhibited the Me2SO4-induced expression of Mo-1, fMLP receptors, and the oxidative responses to the chemotactic factor and to A23187, but not to PMA. The addition of Me2SO4 induced a significant increase in the steady-state levels of TNF alpha mRNA, and this effect was strongly inhibited by PT. Finally, the bacterial toxin did not reverse the block of cell division that follows the addition of Me2SO4. These results provide evidence for the involvement of a PT substrate (presumably a guanine nucleotide-binding protein) in the regulation of the maturation of the excitation-response coupling sequence in human myeloid cell precursors and show that the regulation of cell division and maturation of HL-60 cells are under distinct sets of control mechanisms.</jats:p

Involvement of tyrosine kinases in the activation of human peripheral blood neutrophils by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor

Abstract The aim of the present study is to evaluate the involvement of human neutrophil tyrosine kinase(s) in the signal transduction mechanism of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Stimulation of neutrophils with GM-CSF resulted in a time- and dose-dependent phosphorylation of several proteins having estimated molecular weights of approximately 40, 55, 74, 97, 118, and 155 Kd, detected by immunoblot using a monoclonal antibody directed against phosphotyrosine. GM-CSF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation was inhibited in a dose- and time-dependent manner by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor erbstatin. Using this inhibitor, we were able to correlate tyrosine phosphorylation with several functional effects of GM-CSF on human neutrophils. Pretreatment of neutrophils with erbstatin before incubation with GM-CSF completely inhibited the GM-CSF-induced intracellular alkalinization, downregulation of the leukotriene B4 receptor, enhancement of fMet-Leu-Phe-induced intracellular calcium mobilization, as well as the accumulation of mRNA for the proto- oncogene c-fos. Taken together, these data suggest that tyrosine kinase activation in human neutrophils plays a critical regulatory role in both the stimulation and priming of neutrophil function by GM-CSF.</jats:p

Pertussis toxin selectively interferes with the responses of the HL-60 human promyelocytic cell line to dimethylsulfoxide

The effects of pertussis toxin (PT) on the growth and dimethylsulfoxide (Me2SO4)-induced differentiation of the HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cell line were tested. Cell growth was quantified by direct cell counts. Cell differentiation was estimated by measuring the expression of myeloid-specific cell-surface antigens (Mo-1 and fMet-Leu- Phe [fMLP] receptors), the ability of the cells to produce superoxide anions on stimulation with fMLP, the calcium ionophore A23187 and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), and by monitoring the level of expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha). By itself, PT did not affect the proliferation of HL-60 cells in serum-containing medium. In contrast, PT (but not its B-oligomer) dose-dependently inhibited the Me2SO4-induced expression of Mo-1, fMLP receptors, and the oxidative responses to the chemotactic factor and to A23187, but not to PMA. The addition of Me2SO4 induced a significant increase in the steady-state levels of TNF alpha mRNA, and this effect was strongly inhibited by PT. Finally, the bacterial toxin did not reverse the block of cell division that follows the addition of Me2SO4. These results provide evidence for the involvement of a PT substrate (presumably a guanine nucleotide-binding protein) in the regulation of the maturation of the excitation-response coupling sequence in human myeloid cell precursors and show that the regulation of cell division and maturation of HL-60 cells are under distinct sets of control mechanisms.</jats:p

Involvement of tyrosine kinases in the activation of human peripheral blood neutrophils by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the involvement of human neutrophil tyrosine kinase(s) in the signal transduction mechanism of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Stimulation of neutrophils with GM-CSF resulted in a time- and dose-dependent phosphorylation of several proteins having estimated molecular weights of approximately 40, 55, 74, 97, 118, and 155 Kd, detected by immunoblot using a monoclonal antibody directed against phosphotyrosine. GM-CSF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation was inhibited in a dose- and time-dependent manner by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor erbstatin. Using this inhibitor, we were able to correlate tyrosine phosphorylation with several functional effects of GM-CSF on human neutrophils. Pretreatment of neutrophils with erbstatin before incubation with GM-CSF completely inhibited the GM-CSF-induced intracellular alkalinization, downregulation of the leukotriene B4 receptor, enhancement of fMet-Leu-Phe-induced intracellular calcium mobilization, as well as the accumulation of mRNA for the proto- oncogene c-fos. Taken together, these data suggest that tyrosine kinase activation in human neutrophils plays a critical regulatory role in both the stimulation and priming of neutrophil function by GM-CSF.</jats:p

Selective inhibition of human neutrophil functional responsiveness by erbstatin, an inhibitor of tyrosine protein kinase

Abstract The role of tyrosine kinases in the responses of human neutrophils to chemotactic factors was examined using the recently described inhibitor erbstatin. Pre-incubation with erbstatin decreased the amount of tyrosine phosphorylation induced by the formylated oligopeptide formyl- methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMet-Leu-Phe) without effecting the binding of [3H]-fMet-Leu-Phe. Erbstatin also dose-dependently inhibited the production of superoxide anion induced by fMet-Leu-Phe and platelet- activating factor, but did not affect the oxidative burst induced by either the calcium ionophore A23187 or the phorbol ester phorbol 12- myristate 13-acetate. Furthermore, erbstatin diminished the cytosolic acidification elicited by fMet-Leu-Phe, platelet-activating factor, and leukotriene B4. In contrast, erbstatin was without effect on the increase in the levels of cytoplasmic free calcium and polymerized actin elicited by fMet-Leu-Phe, C5a, leukotriene B4 and platelet- activating factor, whereas the increase in cytoplasmic free calcium elicited by platelet-derived growth factor was inhibited by erbstatin. In addition, erbstatin affected neither the release of elastase stimulated by these agonists nor the release of beta-glucosaminidase, lysozyme or vitamin B12-binding protein induced by fMet-Leu-Phe. These results indicate that tyrosine protein kinases are involved in the signaling pathways employed by chemotactic factors in the stimulation of selective functional responses (and superoxide production in particular) in human neutrophils.</jats:p

Selective inhibition of human neutrophil functional responsiveness by erbstatin, an inhibitor of tyrosine protein kinase

The role of tyrosine kinases in the responses of human neutrophils to chemotactic factors was examined using the recently described inhibitor erbstatin. Pre-incubation with erbstatin decreased the amount of tyrosine phosphorylation induced by the formylated oligopeptide formyl- methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMet-Leu-Phe) without effecting the binding of [3H]-fMet-Leu-Phe. Erbstatin also dose-dependently inhibited the production of superoxide anion induced by fMet-Leu-Phe and platelet- activating factor, but did not affect the oxidative burst induced by either the calcium ionophore A23187 or the phorbol ester phorbol 12- myristate 13-acetate. Furthermore, erbstatin diminished the cytosolic acidification elicited by fMet-Leu-Phe, platelet-activating factor, and leukotriene B4. In contrast, erbstatin was without effect on the increase in the levels of cytoplasmic free calcium and polymerized actin elicited by fMet-Leu-Phe, C5a, leukotriene B4 and platelet- activating factor, whereas the increase in cytoplasmic free calcium elicited by platelet-derived growth factor was inhibited by erbstatin. In addition, erbstatin affected neither the release of elastase stimulated by these agonists nor the release of beta-glucosaminidase, lysozyme or vitamin B12-binding protein induced by fMet-Leu-Phe. These results indicate that tyrosine protein kinases are involved in the signaling pathways employed by chemotactic factors in the stimulation of selective functional responses (and superoxide production in particular) in human neutrophils.</jats:p