Tobacco Documents Online

tt K=1825072 3uly 7, 1976 Drs. Fel~in, Hockett, Sonuners, StOne and Wyatt SUBJECT: W. ~J. Gardner ~pp11 cation 1041R~. ' Joseph M. Lauwery~s, M.D., Ph.D., University of Leuven, Bel~ium. "The Neuro-epithellal Bodies : Thei~ Role and Structure as Intrapulmonary Neuro |~hemo) Rbceptors in Nonce1 an~ Various Physlologi~l, Pha~macologlcal and Pathologi6al Conditions." During the past t~o years the applY'cent's grant has mo~ed p~ogresslvely to the neuroep£the~ial bodies (NEB) side and away from capillaries a~d lymphatics. Now it is only the neural epithelial bodies. • he amount of sup.~ort requested is about 50/50 ter/~nlcal and ex!0enda~les and is about one-half that provided by ~he U~.iversi~y. He does have ~he scanning e.m. that he attempted to h~ve partially provided by CTR a few years .ago. He has heed a prolif$c investigato~. He IS a good ~pe~ker so his work is widely presente8 and published, During the coming three years he proposes to study more of ~he ~he physiology and possibly dlsease-assoc~ated aspects of NEBs. The ~rimary end points are morphological in~luding light a~d electron ~LicroSCOl~y, his~ochemIstry and spectography. The studies up to 1~his t~me 4n~Licate that the NEBS are chemoreceptors. ~ow they a~e integ=atea with other central and extra'pulmonary chemoreceptors is no.t known: They are probably associated with the pulmonary yaseco,strlctlon associated with hypoxia. They contain, £n the areas of approximate contact with ~apilla~ies, s.~roton~n-¢ontai~ing secretor~ granules and prodably other monam~nes and peptld'es. MiCe and rabbits are the animals of choice i~ these studi~s hu~ the NEBS have been found in other species including man. In addition to further quant~tation of NEBS, studies will be made during development and du~.ng some ~Irculatlon manip,latlons; a llttle rem~ne~cent of Heymans. A copy of a ~anuscrip~ that has been submitted for publ~cation presents data on the effects of nicotine, among other th~ngs, on the NERs and the dense-cored vesicles in their cells in ~ewborn rahbi1~. Lauwerlrns might ~e encourage~ to. em~..has~ze more the agln~ ¢~an~es in the NEBs and their poes~le association w~th pathological conditions in the lungs, the action of nerve growth factor and its antibody on their pre;ence or number. The NGF relates entirely to ~he s~pathet~u nervous system a~d this might ",~ve sc~e idea as to the thoraco-lumbar of c~anlosacral relationshSp ~f ~he NEBs. I vould rate this 2 fo~ both rel~vance and quality on a scale of 5. Other work at the cell-subcellular level ~ that of the R~ans at Papa~icolaou Cancer Research Institute, Mlami~ angiotensin peptlda-~e and some of Loosli~s work on nerve endings in ~he lungs. The lattez might be considered as terminated. ~. U. Gardner E .4¸ r