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Biomedical subjects

B Stevens

Publications and source records attributed to B Stevens.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Induction of new proteins in the nuclear matrix of CHO cells by a heat shock: detection of a specific set in the nucleolar matrix.

An early response to an incubation of CHO cells for one hour at 43 degrees C is the appearance in the nuclear matrix of new proteins: 2 proteins (48 and 46 kDa) were associated with the extranucleolar part of the nuclear matrix, 6 other proteins (130, 100, 95, 85, 76 and 70 kDa) were present in matrices prepared from isolated nucleoli. In addition, a large increase in the amount of associated minor components is observed. It is suggested that these early modifications in composition of the matrix are related to the inhibition of rRNA and hnRNA synthesis and maturation.

Animals↗

Bismuth staining of a nucleolar protein.

A major nucleolar protein in Chinese hamster ovary cells with a molecular weight (MW) of 100 kD has been found to stain selectively with the bismuth tartrate technique of Locke & Huie [19]. After glutaraldehyde fixation and bismuth staining of electrophoretic transfers of total nucleolar proteins separated by SDS-PAGE, a single band corresponding to the 100 kD protein is revealed. When the technique is applied to whole cells, small punctate regions of the nucleoli are strongly stained. At the ultrastructural level, bismuth selectively contrasts the fibrillar centers and the adjoining cords of the dense fibrillar component. The remainder of the dense fibrillar component is not stained. It is proposed that the high phosphorylation level of the 100 kD protein is responsible for its glutaraldehyde-insensitive bismuth staining. The concentration of this protein in certain localized regions of the nucleolus suggests that it plays a metabolic rather than a structural role.

Animals↗

Lung asbestos content in chrysotile workers with mesothelioma.

The role of chrysotile asbestos in the genesis of mesotheliomas in humans is disputed. We analyzed the asbestos content of the lung in 6 long-term chrysotile miners and millers who had pleural mesotheliomas. In five patients, only chrysotile ore components (chrysotile and tremolite/actinolite/anthophyllite types of amphibole asbestos) were found, while the sixth patient presented both chrysotile ore components and amosite, a type of asbestos that is not derived from the mining process. The mean number of fibers/g dry lung for the 5 patients with mesothelioma containing only chrysotile ore components was higher (chrysotile 64 X 10(6) and tremolite group 540 X 10(6] than in a group of long-term chrysotile miner control subjects who had no asbestos-related disease (chrysotile 23 X 10(6), tremolite group 58 X 10(6], but some patients with mesothelioma had fiber burdens near the mean of the control range. Fiber sizes and aspect ratios in the mesothelioma group were approximately the same as those in the control subjects, and analysis of fiber distribution failed to show any preferential localization in the periphery of the lung. However, the concentration ratio of tremolite in the lungs of the mesothelioma cases compared to the control cases was 9.3, while the ratio of chrysotile was only 2.8. Our findings provide strong evidence that chrysotile mine dust (chrysotile and amphibole components) can produce mesotheliomas in humans; the greater relative amounts of tremolite group amphiboles present in the patients with mesothelioma raise the possibility that these fibers may be important in the pathogenesis of the tumors.

Aged↗

A novel form of DOPA decarboxylase produced in drosophila cells in response to 20-hydroxyecdysone.

Two cloned derivatives of the Kc cell line of Drosophila were shown to produce DOPA decarboxylase following administration of the steroid moulting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone. In the continuous presence of the hormone at a concentration of 2 X 10(-7) M, DOPA decarboxylase activity first appeared between 48 and 72 h. Because of this lag, the tissue culture system promises to serve as a useful model for those in vivo situations where increases in the hormone titre precede increases in DOPA decarboxylase activity. In clone 7C4, after maximal enzyme activity was achieved at 144 h, the enzyme activity per cell decreased as the cells resumed division following the hormone-induced division arrest. In clone 7E10, cell division never resumed in the presence of 20-hydroxyecdysone and DOPA decarboxylase activity per cell increased continuously from the time it first appeared. When line 7E10 was exposed to a 6-h pulse of the steroid, enzyme activity appeared about 18 h earlier than in the presence of continuous hormone and, further, the cells were released from division arrest. Enzyme activity per cell then declined from an early 96-h maximum. The enzyme produced by the cell lines was immunologically distinct from the enzyme produced in vivo and ion-exchange column chromatography resolved the enzyme from cells and intact organisms into two species.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetylcholinesterase↗

The efficacy of various treatment modalities on aluminium associated bone disease.

We have studied the effects of desferrioxamine (DFO) or successful renal transplantation on eight patients identified as having aluminium associated bone disease. All patients showed dramatic subjective improvement in their bone pain and/or fractures. All histological parameters studied improved, with the more normal bone being found in the transplanted patients. Bone aluminium fell by at least 50 per cent. Biochemically, increased bone activity was indicated by a rising alkaline phosphatase. This was particularly marked in the DFO treated group who tended to show the development of hyperparathyroidism.

Adult↗

Aluminum associated bone disease: clinico-pathologic correlation.

A chemical, aurine tricarboxylic acid was used to identify aluminum in bone in a group of chronic renal failure patients with severe osteomalacia. Thirteen out of 49 (26%) patients had a positive stain at the bone-osteoid junction. The presence of aluminum at the staining site was confirmed by electron dispersion x-ray analysis. The patients' biopsies staining negative with this clinical, although having high bone aluminum levels, had more significant features of hyperparathyroidism, both biochemically and histologically than those having a positive stain. The usefulness of this technique to diagnose presymptomatic aluminum related osteomalacia is emphasized.

Adolescent↗

An ecdysteroid-induced alteration in the cell cycle of cultured Drosophila cells.

The addition of physiological concentrations of the arthropod molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone results in the cessation of cell division in the Kc cell line of Drosophila melanogaster. Fluorometric mononitoring of the cell cycle reveals that treatment of the cells with hormone for 12 hr causes a G2 arrest. The dose-response curves are in agreement with those obtained for other hormonal effects in both the Kc line and the intact animal. In the continual presence of hormone, cells remain G2-arrested for approximately 100 hr, resuming division by 120 hr. Cells which have responded once to ecdysteroids and subsequently reentered the cell cycle are insensitive to hormonal restimulation. This lack of response has been correlated with, and is probably due to, the loss of ecdysteroid receptors in stimulated cells.

Animals↗