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Biomedical subjects

C C Levy

Publications and source records attributed to C C Levy.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

The immunological characterization of several human ribonucleases by using primary binding tests.

RNAases (ribonucleases), purified from four human tissues, as well as bovine pancreatic RNAase (RNAase A), were studied by immunodiffusion methods and by two different primary binding tests. The enzymes fell into two groups immunologically, those purified from plasma and pancreas in one and those from spleen and liver in the other. No antigenic cross-reaction between the two groups was detected by any of the immunoassays used. There was a slight antigenic cross-reaction between the human and bovine pancreatic RNAases. The liver and spleen RNAases were immunologically identical by all criteria used, whereas a small but consistent antigenic difference between the human plasma and human pancreas enzymes was detected. The significance of this difference between the human plasma and pancreas RNAases is discussed in relation to similarities and differences in their properties.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Influence of renal insufficiency on levels of serum ribonuclease in patients with multiple myeloma.

Serum RNase levels were measured in 34 patients with multiple myeloma and compared with 51 normal controls and 28 non-myeloma patients on chronic hemodialysis. Nineteen of the myeloma patinets with creatinine clearance (CCr) greater than 50 ml/minute had mean serum RNase levels that were statistically indistinguishable from those of the normal controls. The 15 myeloma patinets with CCr less than 50 ml/minute had mean RNase levels much higher than normal controls or myeloma patients with normal renal function. Patients without myeloma but on hemodialysis for chronic renal failure of varied etiologies had markedly elevated serum RNase levels. A strong correlation between RNase levels and renal insufficiency, as measured by CCr, has thus been demonstrated. In addition, case histories of 5 representative myeloma patients were analyzed in greater detail; they illustrated the rise and fall of RNase levels as a function of the status of their renal insufficiency, regardless of the extent of the underlying myeloma. We concluded that the serum RNase level was an indicator of renal function, and was not a biomarker either for the presence or extent of the plasma cell tumor.

Creatinine↗
PubMed1977

RNase activity in human interferon preparations.

The level of RNase activity in human interferon preparations was examined. Although sequential purification of interferon resulted in nearly a 300-fold increase in specific activity, RNase-specific activity remained more or less constant. The implications of this finding for the analyses of the mode of action of interferon are discussed.

Humans↗
PubMed1976

Immunological studies on the interaction of polyadenylic acid and human liver ribonuclease.

The effect of polyadenylic acid, a potent inhibitor of mammalian and bacterial RNAses, on the binding of human liver RNAse to its antibody was studied. To do this, a human liver RNAse antibody was immobilized on Sepharose 4B. Examination of the ability of the enzyme to bind to the immobilized anti-RNAse in the presence or absence of polyadenylic acid indicated that enzyme-antibody binding was more sensitive to the presence of polyadenylic acid than was enzyme activity. Furthermore, the effect of polyadenylic acid on enzyme-antibody binding was specific since neither polycytidylic acid nor polyuridylic acid had much effect on the antigenicity of the enzyme. The metal cation, Mg2+, and the polyamine, spermidine, but not putrescine, readily reversed the effects of polyadenylic acid on enzyme-antibody binding.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1976

Purification of human spleen ribonuclease by immunoabsorption. Similarity of the enzyme with human liver ribonuclease.

Human spleen RNase was purified using an immunoabsorbant produced with anti-human liver RNase serum. The purification was more rapid than the procedure used to purify the liver RNase, yet the final specific activity was similar. Problems encountered previously using immunoabsorbants to purify enzymes were to a large degree avoided by injecting only microgram amounts of human liver RNase directly into the popliteal lymph nodes of rabbits, thereby producing a low avidity antibody. The low avidity antibody permitted elution from the immunoabsorbant with only dilute citrate buffer and without significant denaturation. An examination of crude spleen homogenates did not reveal any other RNase to be present except that which bound to the antibody. The enzyme was found to be antigenically unrelated to the human plasma RNase. A comparison of the physical properties of the human spleen enzyme with those of the human liver enzyme did not reveal any significant differences.

Calcium↗
PubMed1976

Properties of a human liver ribonuclease. Inhibition by polynucleotides and specificity for phosphodiester bond cleavage to yield purine nucleosides at the 5' termini.

A ribonuclease, purified 2500-fold from human liver, was found to be inactive against synthetic homopolynucleotides, whereas synthetic co-polymers containing adenylic acid were rapidly degraded. The specificity of the RNase is unique in that only purine residues, in a 5:4 ratio of guanylic to adenylic acid, are found at the 5' termini of the degradation products of yeast RNA. No specificity was observed at the 3' termini of the fragments. When analyzed by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, approximately 80% of the oligonucletoides were 4 to 11 residues in length. The hydrolysis of RNA by the liver enzyme, when examined in low ionic strength buffer, could be increased severalfold over control levels by the addition of polyamines. The enzyme was found to exist as two distinct species on sucrose gradients, with molecular weights of 128,000 and 14,000. However, the addition of spermidine to the gradients resulted in the recovery of all the enzyme activity as the smaller species. The polyamines were also shown to reverse the inhibition of the enzyme by the ordered polynucleotides, polyguanylic acid and polyadenylic acid. Inhibition of enzyme activity by the polyadenylic acid segment of various mammalian mRNAs was also demonstrated.

Humans↗
PubMed1976

Stabilization of an RNA molecule by 3'-terminal poly (A)-induced inhibition of RNase activity.

The inhibitory properties of poly(A) on human spleen ribonuclease have been investigated. Hydrolytic activity has been shown to be strongly inhibited by poly(A) contained within RNAs isolated from a variety of natural sources. Furthermore, poly(A) segments of varying length have been covalently linked at the 3' terminus of Escherichia coli 5 S rRNA by polynucleotide phosphorylase in an attempt to construct an in vitro demonstration of the stabilization of RNA which contains poly(A). The extent to which these poly(A) tracts, varying from 4 to 132 nucleotides in length, could inhibit endonucleolytic attack on the 5 S rRNA to which they are linked was found to be dependent upon their length and upon small changes in spermidine concentration. The consequences of these findings are discussed in terms of a possible role for poly(A).

Enzyme Activation↗
PubMed1976

Peptides isolated from Enterobacter nuclease as potential polyamine binding sites.

The Enterobacter nuclease, which cleaves RNA between the 3'-phosphate group of cytidylic acid and the 5'-hydroxyl group of adenylic acid, has been shown to be affected by the polyamines, spermidine, spermine and putrescine. These substances enhance the hydrolytic activity of the enzyme against both poly(C) and yeast RNA. Sperimidine and spermine also reverse the inhibition of the enzyme by the ordered polynucleotides, apparently by removing them from the surface of the enzyme. Treatment of poly(G)-bound peptides (obtained from tryptic digests of poly(G)-bound nuclease) with an excess of spermidine resulted in the isolation of spermidine-bound peptides. Purification of these peptides through ion-exchange chromatography resulted in the isolation of three spermidine-bound peptides which consisted of 17 residues (6 amino acids), 19 residues (10 amino acids), and 12 residues (9 amino acids). The binding ratio of spermidine to peptides varied from 1:1 to 3:1.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1975

Elevated ribonuclease activity in the thymus and white blood cells of genetically cancer prone mice.

Ribonuclease activity in cell-free thymus homogenates was elevated for five strains of mice genetically predisposed toward leukemia or reticulum cell neoplasms (AKR, C58, PL, RF, and SJL). Such increased activity was directed against polyuridylic acid and was observed in 8-wk old mice, well before the onset of neoplastic transformation. Similarly, white blood cell ribonuclease activity was elevated in mice of the strains AKR, C2H/He, PL and RF. Statistical analysis indicated that such elevated activity in these strains related to their high incidence of spontaneous neoplastic disease. Elevated ribonuclease activity thus represents a new biochemical marker relating to the genetic propensity of some strains of mice to die prematurely of spontaneous neoplasia.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

The effects of polyamines on a residue-specific human plasma ribonuclease.

A ribonuclease, purified some 2700-fold from human plasma, exhibited a strong predilection for the hydrolysis of internucleotide bonds containing cytidylic acid. Analysis of [3'-32P]- and [5'-32P]phosphoryl-terminal fragments obtained after enzymic digestion of rabbit liver and yeast RNA indicated that the nucleotide found at the 3' terminus of the fragments was invariably cytidylic acid. The nucleotide at the 5' terminus varied between cytidylic and uridylic acids in a ratio of 9:1. When characterized by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, approximately 70 per cent of the digest consisted of oligonucleotides from 4 to 8 nucleotides in length. Enzyme activity, when measured in low ionic strength buffer, could be increased severalfold above control levels by the addition of either of the polyamines, spermidine or spermine. These substances also restored nucleolytic activity to preparations inhibited by such ordered synthetic polyribonucleotides as polyguanylic acid. Estimations of the molecular weight of the enzyme, both by Sephadex gel filtration and sucrose density centrifugation, indicate that the weight may vary, depending on the presence or absence of certain cations. Of the cations examined, spermidine and spermine appear to have the greatest effect, causing an alteration in molecular weight from greater than 150,000 to approximately 32,000.

Calcium↗
PubMed1975

A white blood cell RNase assay for the possible monitoring of malignancy.

The RNase activity observed in the sera of leukemic guinea pigs was compared to that observed in white blood cell (WBC) lysates of the same animals. The WBC-associated RNase activity directed against polyuridylic acid decreased with the progression of neoplastic disease, though serum RNase activity remained unchanged. With certain forms of cancer, therefore, variations in cell RNase may be more sensitive markers than changes in serum RNase for the evaluation of the progression or regression of disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Alterations in ribonuclease activities in the plasma, spleen, and thymus of tumor-bearing mice.

Six transplantable murine tumor models were evaluated for changes in RNase activity. This study was conducted with spleen and thymus homogenates, as well as with plasma collected from tumor-bearing mice. Nuclease activity directed against the synthetic substrates, polyadenylic acid, polyuridylic acid, and polycytidylic acid, was measured and the data obtained for tumor-bearing animals were compared to their normal counterparts. Elevated activity against polyuridylic acid was observed in the plasma of all tumor-bearing mice. Although not as all inclusive, RNase levels in both the spleen and thymus were generally altered as well. The observance of unilateral changes in nuclease activity directed against the synthetic substrates demonstrated that, in most cases, two or more enzymes were being detected. The assay may have some eventual value in the monitoring of cancer

Adenocarcinoma↗