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Biomedical subjects

A K Hall

Publications and source records attributed to A K Hall.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Inhibitory and stimulatory effects of dexamethasone and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on chick intestinal calbindin-D28K and its mRNA.

The present study examined the interactions of the synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, with the regulation of chick intestinal calbindin-D28K (a 28,000 Da vitamin D-dependent calcium binding protein, CaBP) and its mRNA by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3). Dexamethasone (0-500 nmol) had a neutral impact on calbindin levels in the rachitic chick intestine when measured 12 h later. However, dexamethasone appeared to exert a significant, though modest, stimulatory influence upon calbindin-mRNA accumulation in the vitamin D-deficient (-D) intestine when measured 12 h after administration. 1,25(OH)2D3 also stimulated calbindin-mRNA accumulation in the -D chick intestine; half-maximal (ED50) doses were 1.1 nmol (7.6-fold) and 12.6 nmol (4.3-fold stimulation) for 1,25(OH)2D3 and dexamethasone respectively. In contrast, when both 1,25(OH)2D3 and dexamethasone were administered simultaneously, the stimulatory effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 (and that of the glucocorticoid) was lost in terms of calbindin and calbindin-mRNA accumulation. Dexamethasone treatment of vitamin D-replete (+D) chicks resulted in a depression of calbindin-mRNA accumulation; levels were depressed to baseline with 250 nmol/bird. Dexamethasone (1.25 mumol per day for 3 days) also induced an apparent 'down-regulation' of the 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor population in the -D chick intestine but failed to influence the binding of 1,25(OH)2D3 to its receptor in vitro. Taken collectively, these data indicate that glucocorticoids are able to influence the receptor-mediated action of 1,25(OH)2D3, possibly at the level of calbindin-D28K gene expression.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Expression of calbindin-D28K mRNA as a function of altered serum calcium and phosphorus levels in vitamin D-replete chick intestine.

The availability of specific cDNA probes to the chick intestinal calbindin-D28K (CaBP) mRNA has allowed us to assess the regulation of this mRNA in response to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) administration. It has previously been demonstrated that dietary calcium and phosphorus can effect alterations in the steady-state intestinal levels of chick CaBP. We have examined whether or not perturbations in dietary calcium and phosphorus have an effect on the expression of the intestinal mRNA coding for CaBP in the vitamin D-replete chick. We found altered protein levels of CaBP as expected; however there was surprisingly no difference in steady-state CaBP mRNA levels between the different dietary groups. These data suggest that calcium and phosphorus regulation of CaBP occurs at a post-transcriptional level. In addition, we have examined what effect dietary manipulations of calcium and phosphorus levels have on the response of the vitamin D-replete intestine to 1,25(OH)2D3 administration as assessed by CaBP mRNA changes. Administration of 1,25(OH)2D3 to vitamin D-replete chicks maintained on normal calcium and phosphorus levels resulted in a less than 2-fold increase in CaBP mRNA levels. Previous studies have demonstrated that receptor occupancy goes up 6-fold under these conditions; therefore there is apparently a very tight regulation of CaBP gene activity. 1,25(OH)2D3 administration to chicks raised on either low calcium, high calcium, or low phosphorus vitamin D-replete diets similarly showed only small changes in the intestinal CaBP mRNA levels; however there seemed to be qualitative differences in response attributable to the dietary alterations.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Visualization of neural cell adhesion molecule by electron microscopy.

The 130- and 160-kD polypeptide forms of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) were analyzed by electron microscopy after low angle rotary shadowing and freeze replication. Individual NCAM molecules appeared as uniformly thick rods, with a distinct bend or hinge region near their middle. Aggregates were also present, containing two to six rods in a pinwheel-like configuration without measurable overlap between rods. The 130- and 160-kD NCAM forms had lengths of 38 and 51 nm, respectively, with a difference in arm length distal to the bend, but not toward the center of the pinwheel. Although enzymatic removal of the polysialic acid moiety on NCAM did not alter the appearance of individual molecules, it did increase the average number of arms per aggregate. Monoclonal antibodies that recognize defined regions of the NCAM polypeptide were used to provide landmarks on the observed molecular figures. Two antibodies specific for cytoplasmic epitopes near the COOH terminus were clustered at the distal tip of aggregated arms. Two other antibodies that react with epitopes near the NH2 terminus and the middle of the molecule bound to sites more centrally located on the pinwheel structure. Together, these results suggest that the observed aggregates represent an association of molecules near their NH2-terminal homophilic binding site, and have led to several predictions about the nature of an NCAM-mediated cell-cell bond.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Phylogeny of a neural cell adhesion molecule.

The phylogeny of adhesion among cells derived from neural tissue has been examined using a combination of functional and immunological analyses. The presence of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) was evaluated with respect to NCAM-specific antigenic determinants attached to a polypeptide chain with appropriate electrophoretic properties. By these criteria, NCAM-like molecules were detected in all embryonic and adult vertebrates tested, and an adult mollusc, but not in an adult insect, crustacean, or nematode. The functional assays measured adhesiveness by simple aggregation of neural membrane vesicles, as well as by NCAM-specific binding between membranes from different species. The presence of the NCAM antigen in vertebrate membranes correlated with binding activity in both the NCAM-specific and general adhesion assays, implying that the adhesiveness of these membranes largely reflects NCAM-mediated binding. The results also indicate that NCAM function has been conserved during the evolution of vertebrates, and supports the possibility that mechanisms of nerve-nerve, nerve-muscle, and nerve-glial interaction, which have been demonstrated previously to involve NCAM, may be similar for many chordates. Whereas NCAM was not detected in adult fly and worm, these species did express NCAM-like antigens transiently during early development. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that NCAM is required during several periods of development, and that the functions of this molecule in nematodes and insects may be distinct from or a subset of those that occur in vertebrates. The expanded role of the molecule represented by its expression during later stages of vertebrate development may thus have been an important contribution to the evolution of chordates.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The effects of parathyroid hormone on osteoblast-like cells from embryonic chick calvaria.

A bone cell fraction was isolated from 16 day old embryonic chick calvaria using a sequential enzymatic digestion procedure. The fraction contained cells, of an osteoblast-like character, which responded to parathyroid hormone (PTH) and prostaglandin E2, but not to calcitonin, in terms of increased production of cyclic AMP. Primary cultures of cells maintained their responsiveness to PTH for at least 2 weeks after reaching confluence. Production of alkaline phosphatase by the bone cells was inhibited when 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 was added to cultures at concentrations of 10(-8)M or greater. When cells were cultured in the presence of PTH a biphasic effect was observed; alkaline phosphatase levels were stimulated at low concentrations of this hormone but were decreased at higher concentrations. The latter finding appears consistent with observations that PTH can in vivo exert either anabolic or catabolic effects on bone, depending upon the circulating level of hormone present.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1984

The influence of dihydroxylated vitamin D metabolites on bone formation in the chick.

The ability of 1,25(OH)2D3 and of 24,25(OH)2D3 to prevent or to heal rickets in chicks was evaluated by studies of plasma biochemistry, growth plate histology, bone morphometry and microradiography, and bone mineralization. 1,25(OH)2D3 at a dose of 100 ng/day produced fewest abnormalities compared with vitamin D3-treated control chicks. Bone growth was slightly greater than vitamin D3-treated controls in chicks given a lower dose of this metabolite; the reverse was observed in chicks given a higher dose. 24,25(OH)2D3 was less effective than 1,25(OH)2D3 in preventing rickets even at doses as high as 400 ng/day. Treatment of rachitic chicks with doses of 24,25(OH)2D3 up to 300 ng/day produced no healing effect on the bone lesions, in marked contrast to the beneficial effects observed with 1,25(OH)2D3.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Culture sensitization and inhibition of luteinizing hormone responsive production of cyclic AMP in luteal cells by luteinizing hormone, prostaglandin F2 alpha and [D-Trp6]-luteinizing hormone releasing hormone.

Many cells are able to regulate their sensitivity to hormones. In order to investigate the mechanism(s) by which rat luteal cells regulate their sensitivity to LH, we have developed and characterized a cell culture model. Cultures of dispersed rat luteal cells were exposed to graded doses of bovine LH, an analogue of LH releasing hormone (LH-RH) ([D-Trp6]-LH-RH), and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) for 3 h. The media containing these hormones were then replaced with fresh hormone-free medium and the cells cultured for 24 h. In order to test the sensitivity of these cultures after 24 h, the medium was discarded and replaced by medium alone, or medium containing a standard dose of bovine LH for 1 h. The amount of cyclic AMP accumulated during this hour was used as an index of the sensitivity of the cells to LH. Control cultures became 'supersensitive' to LH with augmented production of cyclic AMP during culture but LH-receptor binding activity was not increased. During the first 2 h of culture, LH (100 ng/ml) increased accumulation of cyclic AMP by fourfold, but after 5 h of culture, stimulation of cyclic AMP accumulation by the same dose of LH was increased 32-fold, 299-fold at 13 h and 359-fold at 21 h of culture. The increase in LH-responsive accumulation of cyclic AMP with cultured was severely impaired by early exposure of cells to LH, LH-RH analogue or PGF2 alpha during the first 2 h of culture. Also, both LH-RH analogue and PGF2 alpha acutely inhibited LH-stimulated accumulation of cyclic AMP. Inhibition of culture-induced sensitization of LH responsiveness was not altered by the addition of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine. Scatchard analysis of LH binding sites indicated that pretreatment of luteal cells with LH (or human chorionic gonadotrophin at an equivalent dose) reduced the number of free LH receptors when measured after 24 h of culture, but total receptor binding activity was not changed. However, a similar effect was not seen with cells treated with PGF2 alpha or LH-RH analogue. It is suggested that 'culture-induced' supersensitivity may represent either recovery of pre-isolation sensitivity or result from the loss of an endogenous factor(s) which retards the coupling of the LH receptor and adenylate cyclase. Although PGF2 alpha and LH-RH analogue have been shown to directly prevent the occupied LH receptor from activation of adenylate cyclase, the present observations have indicated that this inhibitory process was continued even when these agents were removed from the culture medium.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Dynamics of progesterone metabolism in the pseudopregnant rat.

The characteristics of the disappearance of progesterone and 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone from blood were examined in rats made pseudopregnant by administration of gonadotrophins. Measurement of the disappearance of [3H]progesterone from blood indicated that progesterone metabolism can be represented by a two-compartment model in this animal preparation. The disappearance of [3H]progesterone from blood was described by two half-lives of 0.5 and 11.7 min. The metabolic clearance rate for this steroid was 2.9 litre/day, equivalent to a production rate of 3.9 mumol/day. The initial volume of distribution of the injected [3H]progesterone was 5.0 ml, a volume similar in size to the expected plasma volume. The total volume of distribution of [3H]progesterone (i.e. 'inner' and 'outer' pools) was in the range 24.8-35.4 ml. The disappearance of endogenous progesterone from the blood of pseudopregnant rats after vascular isolation of the ovaries showed two half-lives of 1.1 and 11.4 min respectively. The disappearance of a product of reductive metabolism of progesterone, 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone, was apparently uniphasic, with a half-life of 41.3 min.

20-alpha-Dihydroprogesterone↗
PubMed1979

Functional luteolysis in the pseudopregnant rat: effects of prostaglandin F2 alpha and 16-aryloxy prostaglandin F2 alpha in vitro.

The present work concerns the luteolytic effects of prostaglandin (PG) F2 alpha and its analogue, 16-aryloxy PGF2 alpha, upon isolated luteal cells. Varying doses of these two prostaglandins were incubated with cells in the presence or absence of an optimum stimulatory dose of LH (1 microgram/ml). The total contents of progesterone and 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone in flasks were determined after the incubation periods by radioimmunoassay. Both prostaglandins inhibited basal synthesis of progesterone and 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone, maximum inhibition occurring at concentrations of either PG of between 250 and 500 ng/ml. In this dose range both prostaglandins were found to abolish LH-stimulated progestogen synthesis completely. These effects were discernible within 5 min of incubation. The studies demonstrated that the onset of PG-induced luteolysis in vitro is characterized by an inhibition of the biosynthesis of both progesterone and its weakly progestogenic metabolite, 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone; induction of 20 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity by either PG was not found in incubations extending up to 60 min. In contrast to their relative potencies in vivo, PGF2 alpha and 16-aryloxy PGF2 alpha were essentially equipotent in this in-vitro system.

20-alpha-Dihydroprogesterone↗
PubMed1978

Progesterone, 20alpha-dihydroprogesterone and PGF; interrelated hormonal changes during pseudo-pregnancy in the rat.

Ovarian and uterine tissue concentrations of progesterone, 20alpha-dihydroprogesterone (20alphaOHP) and prostaglandin F (PGF) were measured during hormonally-induced pseudopregnancy, as were plasma levels of progesterone and 20alphaOHP, in hysterectomised and sham-operated rats. Elevated levels of PGF in uterine and ovarian tissues were coincident with declining concentrations of progesterone and increasing concentrations of 20alphaOHP in the sham-operated rats. Maximum PGF concentrations were apparent in uterine tissue 14 days after hCG injection, coincident with the plasma, ovarian and uterine nadir concentrations of progesterone. A small but statistically significant increase in ovarian PGF was apparent at this time in sham-operated rats. This elevation of ovarian PGF was abolished by hysterectomy.

20-alpha-Dihydroprogesterone↗