Biomedical subjects

C D Parker

Publications and source records attributed to C D Parker.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Nucleotide regulation of heat-stable enterotoxin receptor binding and of guanylate cyclase activation.

Certain nucleotides were found to regulate the binding of the Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) to its receptor in pig intestinal brush border membranes. ATP and adenine nucleotide analogues inhibited 125I-STa binding, while guanine nucleotide analogues stimulated binding, with maximal effects at 0.5-1.0 mM. The strongest inhibitors were adenosine 5'-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate (App[NH]p) (36%) and adenosine 5'-[beta-thio]diphosphate (ADP[S]) (41%). Inhibition did not require Mg2+, and was blocked by p-chloromercuribenzenesulphonate (PCMBS). Stimulation of binding required Mg2+, was not prevented by PCMBS and was maximal with GDP[S] (41%). While App[NH]p and MgGDP[S] appeared to be acting at different sites, they also interfered with each other. These nucleotides exerted only inhibitory effects on STa-stimulated guanylate cyclase activity, in contrast with the stimulatory effects of adenine nucleotides on atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP)-stimulated guanylate cyclase. Inhibition by low concentrations of MgApp[NH]p and MgATP was weaker above 0.1 mM, while MgGDP[S] and magnesium guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (MgGTP[S]) inhibited in a single phase. Inhibition by MgApp[NH]p, at all concentrations, was competitive with the substrate (MgGTP), as was that by MgGDP[S] and MgGTP[S]. Whereas membrane guanylate cyclases usually show positively co-operative kinetics with respect to the substrate, STa-stimulated activity exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics with respect to MgGTP. This changed to positive co-operativity when Lubrol PX was the activator, or when the substrate was MnGTP. These results suggest the presence of both a regulatory and a catalytic nucleotide-binding site, which do not interact co-operatively with STa activation.

4-Chloromercuribenzenesulfonate↗

PubMed1991

Solubilization and reprecipitation from intestinal brush border membranes of a complex containing guanylate cyclase activatable by the heat-stable enterotoxin.

Extraction of pig intestinal brush border membranes with the zwitterionic detergent 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (Chaps) in the presence of 0.5 M KCl yielded a solution which contained 60-70% of the receptor for the Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) and of the Lubrol PX-activated guanylate cyclase activity present in the membrane. When the supernatant solution was diluted fivefold with 10 mM Hepes buffer (pH 7.4) and kept at 4 degrees C overnight, a precipitate formed. Centrifugation yielded a pellet (P2) which contained 25-30% of both the cyclase and the receptor in the original membranes, with a 2.5- to 3-fold enrichment of both. The process could be repeated for further enrichment (P4). The addition of MgCl2 to the diluted extract affected both basal and STa-stimulated activity of P2; 1 mM was optimal. P2 resembled membranes with respect to competitive inhibition of 125I-STa binding by STa, and the concentration-dependent activation of cyclase by STa. Guanylate cyclase in resolubilized P2 was also activated by STa. Most of the enzymes interfering with guanylate cyclase determinations were removed, as were the brush border marker enzymes sucrase and gamma-glutamyltransferase, and a GTP-binding protein that is a pertussis toxin substrate. Specific cross-linking of 125I-STa to receptors in the membrane was preserved in P2 and P4, the three proteins showing the strongest radioactivity having relative molecular masses of 55,000-60,000, 70,000-80,000, and 135,000-140,000. P2 and P4 appear to contain a complex of membrane proteins with certain functional properties intact.

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗

PubMed1991

Activation of intestinal brush border guanylate cyclase by aromatic disulphide compounds.

Guanylate cyclase in pig intestinal brush border membranes was stimulated by certain aromatic disulphides. The most effective were 6-thioguanine disulphide [(TGS)2], 6-mercaptopurine disulphide, 6,6'-dithiodinicotinic acid, 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) and 5-carboxy-2-thiouracil disulphide. (TGS)2 stimulated activity 15-fold when present at 0.1 mM. The optimum concentration for each disulphide was different, and higher concentrations were inhibitory. There was no activation by alkyl disulphides or by N-ethylmaleimide. Activation by 50 microM-(TGS)2 was partially reversed by later addition of 0.1 mM-dithiothreitol, whereas activation by the Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin STa was relatively unaffected. Pretreatment of the membranes with (TGS)2 produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of STa-stimulated activity, while stimulating basal activity, until the activities were equal at 50 microM. Activity was [Mg2+]-dependent, the optimal [Mg2+] progressively increasing as the enzyme was stimulated by (TGS)2, STa and Lubrol PX respectively. However, (TGS)2 pretreatment prevented the shift to higher [Mg2+]optima induced by STa or Lubrol alone. Substitution of Mn2+ for Mg2+ in the reaction elevated basal activity and eliminated by activation (TGS)2. (TGS)2 only inhibited Mn2(+)-dependent activity (both basal and stimulated). The affinity of 125I-STa for its receptor was slightly increased by (TGS)2. We propose that (TGS)2 undergoes thiol-disulphide exchange with at least three different protein thiols of decreasing reactivity. The first is associated with Mg2(+)-dependent activation, the second is associated with a tonic inhibition of activity and the third is associated with the catalytic activity, although probably not at the active site.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Age-dependent changes in affinity-labeled receptors for Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin in the swine intestine.

Intestinal brush border membranes from 1-day-old and 4-week-old (day of weaning) pigs were affinity labeled with an Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) by cross-linking 125I-STa to receptor proteins with disuccinimidyl suberate. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography revealed that a radioactive protein with a relative molecular weight of 137,000 to 145,000 was present in both age groups. A strongly radioactive protein with an apparent Mr of 90,000 was present in the 1-day-old animals but not in those that were 4 weeks old. The major radioactive protein present in the older pigs had an Mr of 64,000 to 67,000, but this protein was missing or very weakly radioactive in the younger pigs. There was no significant difference between the groups in receptor affinity for STa, although the receptor density in the older animals was marginally significantly greater. STa-stimulated guanylate cyclase activity in membranes from 1-day-old pigs was only one-sixth that in 4-week-old pigs, although the basal and Lubrol PX-stimulated activities were similar.

Affinity Labels↗

PubMed1990

Murine antibody response to oral infection with live aroA recombinant Salmonella dublin vaccine strains expressing filamentous hemagglutinin antigen from Bordetella pertussis.

Two plasmids which express either nearly intact or truncated filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) from Bordetella pertussis and which are marked with a tetracycline resistance (Tcr) gene were transformed into Salmonella dublin SL1438, an aroA deletion mutant intended for use as an attenuated oral vaccine against salmonellosis. These S. dublin recombinants, when fed to mice, induced serum immunoglobulin, immunoglobulin M (IgM), and sometimes IgA antibody responses to FHA and S. dublin. In addition, IgA antibodies against FHA were found in gut wash fluids. S. dublin carrying pDB2300, a multicopy plasmid encoding truncated FHA protein, induced a better antibody response than did S. dublin carrying pDB2000, a low-copy-number plasmid encoding full-sized FHA. Administration of tetracycline to mice enhanced the stability of recombinant plasmids, and tetracycline-treated mice developed higher anti-FHA titers. Although neither strain examined is suitable for use in a human oral vaccine, these data demonstrated that an immune response against B. pertussis FHA could be induced by oral administration of live attenuated recombinant strains of S. dublin and suggested that development of a live oral attenuated vaccine against pertussis may be possible.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

'The great debate'.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Dental Auxiliaries↗

PubMed1987

Regulation of intestinal mucosa guanylate cyclase by hemin, heme and protoporphyrin IX.

Mg2+-dependent activity of intestinal brush border guanylate cyclase was stimulated 4-5-fold by 50-100 microM hemin. Higher concentrations were inhibitory. In the presence of 25% dimethyl sulfoxide, which stimulated activity 9-times, 50 microM hemin further increased activity 1.7-fold. However, when activity was stimulated 32-fold by the Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin, or 26-fold by Lubrol PX, hemin produced only concentration-dependent inhibition. The first type of activation was more sensitive to hemin than the second. Reduction of hemin by dithiothreitol eliminated stimulation of basal activity, while inhibition of Lubrol PX-stimulated activity remained. Protoporphyrin IX also had no effect on basal activity, however, it inhibited enterotoxin- and Lubrol PX-stimulated activities similarly, but only to half the extent of hemin. Substitution of Mn2+ for Mg2+ elevated basal activity 15-fold, and this Mn2+-dependent activity was inhibited by hemin. Mn2+-dependent activity was stimulated (43%) by enterotoxin, however, the stimulated activity was more sensitive to hemin inhibition than the basal Mn2+-dependent activity and both inhibition curves were congruent above 50 microM hemin. Hemin inhibition of Lubrol PX-stimulated activity was much less with Mn2+ than with Mg2+. These results were interpreted as suggesting two sites of hemin inhibition; on an inhibitory regulator and on the enzyme. We also found that the secretory effect of enterotoxin in the suckling mouse bioassay was reduced 56% by the oral administration of hemin.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Cloning of the filamentous hemagglutinin of Bordetella pertussis and its expression in Escherichia coli.

Bordetella pertussis UT25 DNA was cloned into the kanamycin resistance gene of cosmid pCP13 to construct a genomic library in Escherichia coli LE392. One clone containing plasmid pDB441 expressed the filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) as identified by protein immunoblots with the use of rabbit anti-B. pertussis antiserum, rabbit anti-FHA antiserum, and a monoclonal antibody to FHA. FHA is a protein of 220 to 210 kilodaltons, but the immunoreactive FHA, as expressed in E. coli, was larger than that expressed in B. pertussis, suggesting that there was a difference in the processing of this protein between these two bacteria. The fha gene was mapped to a 6.5-kilobase pair DNA fragment by the use of various restriction endonucleases. The kanamycin resistance gene of pCP13 was found to provide the promoter function but probably not the translation start signal for the fha gene. Conjugative transfer of pDB441 to B. pertussis BP353, a transposon Tn5-induced FHA mutant, increased the expression of the FHA over that seen with wild-type B. pertussis.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

PubMed1987

Effect of jejunal loop location on the activity of Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin in 4- to 5-week-old pigs.

Heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) from Escherichia coli strain 431 was injected into the jejunum of 4 pigs from each of 3 litters, using a ligated intestinal loop assay (with loops beginning 1 m caudad to the pylorus). The jejunum was divided into 4 contiguous areas, with 4 loops in each area. Doses of 0, 10, 100, or 1,000 ng of purified toxin (10 ng/mouse unit) were injected into the loops within an area, using a 4 X 4 Latin square design. Fluid accumulation in the loops increased (P less than 0.05) with increasing concentrations of STa in pigs in all litters, but the magnitude of the response varied across litters. Fluid responses to the STa varied in the different areas of the jejunum, with pigs in 2 litters having a decrease (P less than 0.05) in the response to STa in the caudal areas. These data quantitate the variability within the different areas of the jejunum of the young pig.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Characterization of intestinal brush border guanylate cyclase activation by Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin.

Intestinal brush border guanylate cyclase was previously reported to be activated by the Escherichia coli enterotoxin (STa). This system was reexamined in order to develop a hypothesis for the mechanism of activation. The extent of activation was previously underestimated, since by using sodium azide to inhibit competing reactions and ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N-tetraacetic acid to chelate Ca2+, which is inhibitory, maximal activations of 30- to 50-fold were obtained. Ca2+ inhibition was only partially relieved by the calmodulin inhibitor calmidazolium. Inhibitors of the O2-dependent activation of soluble guanylate cyclase had no effect on STa activation; hence, it was concluded that STa activation did not involve arachidonate release and oxidation. STa was able to further increase activity already elevated by the nonionic detergent Lubrol PX. The membrane-active agent filipin, which was previously reported to inhibit both basal and agonist-stimulated adenylate cyclase, did not inhibit STa activation of guanylate cyclase. Digitonin, another cholesterol binder, inhibited STa activation at low concentrations, which disappeared at higher concentrations. Both of these agents stimulated basal activity. Dimethyl sulfoxide produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of STa activation, while increasing basal activity 7-fold. Ethanol inhibited both basal and STa-stimulated activity, with the former being more affected. Benzyl alcohol, like ethanol, a "fluidizer" of cell membranes, also inhibited both basal and activated enzymes. We concluded that STa directly activates this guanylate cyclase and, because of the differential effects of inhibitors on basal and STa-stimulated activity, propose a receptor-mediated mechanism.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Reversal of the biological activity of Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin by disulfide-reducing agents.

Various disulfide-reducing agents, mostly thiols and thiol precursors, were examined for their ability to reduce the disulfide bonds in the Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin STa; reduction of the bonds results in loss of biological activity. The biological activity measured was the stimulation of guanylate cyclase in pig intestinal brush border membranes by STa. Nearly all of the compounds inactivated STa, although at different rates; a smaller number appreciably decreased guanylate cyclase activity when they were introduced into the reaction mixture after STa bound to its receptor. With dithiothreitol, the decrease in reaction rate was both time and concentration dependent and resulted in a reversal to basal activity. The anionic thiols were relatively ineffective in reversing activation, the neutral monothiols were moderately effective, and the aminothiols and neutral dithiols were the most effective. The order of effectiveness of the compounds was S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethanethiol greater than 2,3-dimercaptopropanol = 2-aminoethylisothiuronium bromide greater than dithiothreitol greater than 2-mercaptoethylamine greater than alpha-thioglycerol. These compounds were used in weanling pig ligated-intestinal-loop bioassays to determine if STa-induced secretion was reduced when they were injected 20 min after the STa. Instead of S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethanethiol we used the phosphorylated derivative S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid; this compound and 2,3-dimercaptopropanol were the only compounds that reduced STa-induced secretion and had no direct secretory or pathological effects.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Plasmid-mediated changes in virulence of Vibrio cholerae.

The effects of several plasmids, including cloning vectors and R factors, on the virulence of Vibrio cholerae CA401R were determined by measuring the dose-related diarrheal response in orally challenged infant mice. The plasmids were also examined for their effects on the colonization ability of strain CA401R by joint infection experiments with a spectinomycin-resistant CA401 strain as an internal standard. One V. cholerae R factor, pVH2, enhanced the diarrheal response, while R factors Rts1 and pVH1 reduced it; plasmids RP4, pRK290, Sa, pSJ8, pSJ5, and pBR328 had no effect. The ability of the plasmids to affect in vitro toxin production by CA401R was variable. Cells containing large plasmids all showed a modest decrease in colonization ability. These results showed that some plasmids affected V. cholerae virulence, but that the cloning vectors pBR328, RP4, and pRK290 did not.

Bacterial Toxins↗

PubMed1986

Heat-modifiable envelope proteins of Bordetella pertussis.

Several envelope proteins of Bordetella pertussis demonstrated differences in electrophoretic mobility, depending upon solubilization temperature before sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These proteins were exposed on the cell surface as judged by their accessibility to radiolabeling with 125I. Monoclonal antibodies to two of the heat-modifiable proteins (Mrs of 18,000 and 91,000) reacted with intact cells in immunofluorescence microscopy experiments, also indicating surface exposure of these two proteins. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed that two heat-modifiable proteins (a major protein with an Mr of 38,000 and one with an Mr of 18,000) migrated as higher-Mr moieties when solubilized at low temperatures (25 degrees C). Three proteins (Mrs of 91,000, 32,000, and 30,000) and possibly a fourth (31,000) migrated as lower-Mr species when solubilized at 25 degrees C, as revealed in the two-dimensional gel system; these three proteins were found only in virulent B. pertussis and were not detected in a phase IV avirulent strain nor in a strain modulated to phenotypic avirulence by growth in nicotinic acid. The 38,000 molecular-weight protein (38K protein) and a 25K protein were found to be noncovalently associated with the underlying peptidoglycan. Small amounts of the 91K and 18K proteins were also found associated with peptidoglycan.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed1986

Surface proteins of Bordetella pertussis: comparison of virulent and avirulent strains and effects of phenotypic modulation.

The surface proteins of several Bordetella strains and their modulated derivatives were examined by surface radioiodination, cell fractionation, and Western blotting. A surface protein with a high Mr, missing in a mutant lacking the filamentous hemagglutinin, was identified in virulent Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis cells and was absent in avirulent B. pertussis strains. The electrophoretic profiles of lipopolysaccharide and the 40,000-Mr anion-selective porin were not determinants which correlated with phase variation or phenotypic modulation. At least three envelope proteins (91,000, 32,000, and 30,000 molecular weight) were found only in virulent B. pertussis strains and were absent or diminished in the avirulent phase and most phenotypically modulated strains. Two transposon-induced mutants unable to produce hemolysin, dermonecrotic toxin, pertussis toxin, and filamentous hemagglutinin also lacked these three envelope proteins, confirming that virulence-associated envelope proteins were genetically regulated with other virulence-associated traits.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed1986

Bordetella pertussis major outer membrane porin protein forms small, anion-selective channels in lipid bilayer membranes.

The major outer membrane protein of molecular weight 40,000 (the 40K protein) of a virulent isolate of Bordetella pertussis was purified to apparent homogeneity. The purified protein formed an oligomer band (of apparent molecular weight 90,000) on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels after solubilization at low temperatures. The porin function of this protein was characterized by the black lipid bilayer method. The 40K protein formed channels smaller than all other constitutive major outer membrane porins studied to date. The average single-channel conductance in 1 M KCl was 0.56 nS. This was less than a third of the conductance previously observed for Escherichia coli porins. Zero-current potential measurements made of the porin to determine its ion selectivity revealed the porin to be more than 100-fold selective for anions over cations. The single-channel conductance was measured as a function of salt concentration. The data could be fitted to a Lineweaver-Burk plot suggesting an anion binding site with a Kd of 1.17 M Cl- and a maximum possible conductance through the channel of 1.28 nS.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1986

Isolation and characterization of the Vibrio cholerae recA gene.

A 3.6-kilobase PstI fragment was isolated from a Vibrio cholerae chromosomal DNA library and shown to encode RecA-like activity in complementation studies with Escherichia coli recA mutants. Although DNA hybridization experiments failed to detect any homology between the E. coli and V. cholerae recA genes, hyperimmune antiserum produced against purified E. coli RecA protein recognized epitopes shared by the V. cholerae protein. The V. cholerae chromosomal fragments, when cloned and transferred to E. coli, provided the missing recA functions, including resistance to the alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate, resistance to UV irradiation, and promotion of homologous recombination in Hfr mating experiments.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

PubMed1986

Orthodontics in the general dental services (a review of its aims, methods and achievements).

My presidential address is an opportunity to chronicle the endeavours of the dental profession. The advent of the National Health Service and the impact of socialized dentistry is recorded in terms of the aims, methods and achievements of the General Dental Service. Particular reference is made to the past 25 years along with a capsulation of some of my hopes for the future. Let us remember that our hopes are the seed corn of future deeds.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Surface antigens of Bordetella pertussis.

Bordetella pertussis and other Bordetella species cause respiratory infections in humans and in a variety of animals. Clinical isolates of B. pertussis have multiple virulence factors, several of which have been reported to induce protective immunity. Using cell surface iodination techniques and monoclonal antibody immunoblots we have identified several proteins which are exposed on the surface of B. pertussis cells, including the filamentous hemagglutinin and outer membrane proteins 91, 18, and 15. Protein 91 is unique to virulent B. pertussis strains. Antibodies to protein 18 are found in convalescent serum of both humans and mice recovering from infection with B. pertussis.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗