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C L Rutherford

Publications and source records attributed to C L Rutherford.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Implementation of micromethods to resolve problems of human breast tumor heterogeneity in analysis of cyclic 3':5'-nucleotide phosphodiesterase.

Individual human infiltrating ductal carcinomas and fibroadenomas were sectioned frozen to yield an alternating sequence of stained and lyophilized material. Stained preparations were used as references permitting microdissection of regions of tumor involvement in the corresponding dried sections. Tissues quantities of 5 to 25 micrograms dry weight were incubated under mineral oil in reaction volumes of 5 microliters and analyzed for cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterase (PDE). The observed affinity constants for the 27,000 x g soluble PDE from benign tumors were 4.7 and 49.9 microM, while those for malignant tumors were 6.3 and 28.5 microM. The soluble enzyme of both tumor types eluted in three peaks on DEAE-Sephacel microcolumns. Both tumor types possessed a PDE activator eluting at 350 mM NaCl, although endogenous PDE activities were unaffected by additions of either this activator or 200 microM ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid. Individual microsections of benign tumors contained total PDE levels 2-fold higher than those of malignant tumors. Homogenates prepared from pooled microsections of the same tumors possessed only one-half of the total activity. Differential losses of enzyme in various preparation schemes as well as the use of tumor samples differing in cell density were suggested to account for some of the apparently conflicting literature values for breast tumor PDE.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗
PubMed1980

Localization of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase in the multicellular stages of Dictyostelium discoideum.

Cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is secreted as the chemotactic signal by aggregating amoebae of the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. We have used ultramicrotechniques in the biochemical analysis of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PD) distribution in individual aggregates at various stages of development. With handmade constriction pipettes in microliter volumes, sections of lyophilized individuals weighing 20-100 ng could be assayed in a reaction coupled to 5'-nucleotidase. Phosphodiesterase activity was measured at pH 7.5 with 12 microM cAMP, cAMP-PD activity in aggregates ranged from 20-40 mmol/h/kg. In the pseudoplasmodium it had dropped to 5-10 mmol/h/kg and a difference in activity between the anterior prestalk cells and posterior prespore cells began to appear. The utmost posterior sections showed elevated phosphodiesterase from this stage onward. During culmination, activity rose to 40-60 mmol/h/kg associated with the developing stalk, while it declined in the spore mass. The papilla remained constant at 5-10 mmol/h/kg. The pattern of localization in the stalk was the same when cGMP was used as substrate. Extracellular phosphodiesterase inhibitor produced at the aggregation stage was found to reduce the localized activity in the culmination stage by 50-80%, with the most marked inhibition occurring in the center of the papilla. We found no evidence of endogenous heat-stable phosphodiesterase inhibitor within the culminating sorocarp.

2',3'-Cyclic-Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases↗
PubMed1980

Cell surface localization of 5'AMP nucleotidase in prestalk cells of Dictyostelium discoideum.

5'AMP nucleotidase activity was localized by electron microscopy in Dictyostelium discoideum during cell differentiation. In addition, the activity was assayed by micro enzymic methods in sections dissected from specific cellular regions of lyophilized individuals. The results of the 2 procedures were in agreement, demonstrating that at the culmination stage of development the activity is strikingly localized in the prestalk cells adjacent to the prespore region. The cytochemically stained reaction product appeared only along the plasma membrane of the cells. As prestalk cells migrate into the stalk sheath and undergo differentiation, the activity is rapidly lost. Examination of stained cells at high magnification revealed the product accumulation to be primarily at the cell surface, suggesting that the enzyme functions extracellularly. Occasionally, cells having the morphological appearance of prestalk cells were found within the prespore region. These cells demonstrated 5'AMP nucleotidase activity at their plasma membrane in sharp contrast with neighbouring prespore cells. The strategic localization of 5'AMP nucleotidase may reflect a mechanism for establishing and maintaining regulatory levels of extracellular 5'AMP and/or adenosine during pattern formation in this model system.

5'-Nucleotidase↗
PubMed1979

Adenylate cyclase activity and cyclic AMP levels during the development of Dictyostelium discoideum.

Adenylate cyclase activity and endogenous cyclic AMP levels were measured using a highly sensitive radioimmunoassay and protein binding assay during 24 h of development of Dictyostelium discoideum. Adenylate cyclase activity was not detected until the aggregation stage of development (10 h) when a sudden peak of activity was found. The enzyme was active at all subsequent stages, although a slow decline in activity was observed. Similarly, cyclic AMP levels were not detectable through the first 7 h of development and then showed a sudden peak at aggregation. Following aggregation the cyclic AMP levels decreased to approximately 1/2 the peak value and maintained that level throughout the remainder of the developmental cycle. Adenylate cyclase had a narrow range of substrate saturation with a maximum velocity at 1 to 4 mM ATP at both the aggregation stage (10 h) and the sorocarp stage (24 h). At levels of ATP higher than 6 mM the enzyme from both stages was strongly inhibited. No activity was observed in the absence of Mg2+ or dithiothreitol. The activity from 10-, 14-, and 20-h stages was found bound to a 25,000 x g pellet fraction. The sudden appearance of adenylate cyclase and its product cyclic AMP at aggregation provides additional evidence of a role for this nucleotide in chemotaxis, and the retention of enzyme activity and nucleotide level during the subsequent stages may reflect a further function of cyclic AMP during formation of the two cell types.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1978

Application of a microchemical technique to the elucidation of enzyme activity profiles within single human mammary tumors.

An ultramicrochemical technique has been adapted to the evolution of enzyme profiles within individual human mammary tumors. Tandem observation of adjacent stained and lyophilized sections permitted dissection of microgram quantities of freeze-dried material within confirmed regions of malignancy. Enzymes frequently monitored to examine glycolytic, respiratory, and metastatic capacity were microanalyzed successfully: lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), acid phosphatase (AP), aldolase (ALD), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), pyruvate kinase (PK), alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (alpha-GOPDH), hexokinase (HK), and phosphofructokinase (PRK). All enzyme activities were higher in infiltrating ductal carcinomas than in fibroadenomas. Extracts of tumor cells mixed in varying proportions with brain or muscle extracts of rat evidenced no modification of expected activity. The technical adaptation described provided a sensitive methodology to resolve problems of relication, profile analysis, sample quantity, and selectivity within heterogeneous tissues.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1978

ATP, trehalose, glucose and ammonium ion localization in the two cell types of Dictyostelium discoideum.

Ultra-microfluorometric techniques were adapted to follow several compounds related to energy metabolism through the developmental cycle of Dictyostelium discoideum. Each compound (ATP, trehalose, glucose, and ammonium ion) was found to be present in stalk and/or spore cells. The accumulation of NH4+ was interpreted as an indication of protein degradation, a source of energy in this organism. During the early stages of differentiation NH4+ was localized only in prestalk cells. However, it accumulated in spore cells during culmination such that levels were comparable in the two cell types by the end of development. Trehalose, an energy source for germinating spores, was found in both cell types but was preferentially degraded in stalk cells late in development. Glucose, the degradation product of trehalose, was localized in prestalk cells and varied inversely with trehalose levels. ATP was not localized in a specific cell type during development. However, ATP declined in stalk cells at an earlier stage of development.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1978

Defense of the radical perineal prostatectomy.

There is sharp disagreement as to what constitutes the proper surgical approach to localized carcinoma of the prostate. We have performed 31 radical perineal prostatectomies in a six-year period with no mortality and minimal morbidity. Thirteen of these patients were understaged preoperatively and had extraprostatic cancer; however, only one has died from his tumor. One patient is incontinent but none has troublesome local symptoms. These patients required an average of 15 postoperative days, none required more than two units of blood, and careful preoperative consultation has minimized the psychologic stress of impotence. These data contrast sharply with the published morbidity and mortality statistics associated with a preliminary staging lymphadenectomy and a definitive radical retropubic prostatectomy. Also, we are convinced that our patients with stage C cancer have been done a real service by removing the prostate gland even though cancer remains in the stumps of the seminal vesicles. Unless the advocates of the staged procedure can demonstrate an improvement in the patients' survival data, we believe the radical perineal prostatectomy remains the procedure of choice for the cure of localized prostatic cancer and we would advocate this operation as an acceptable palliative approach to selected patients with stage C lesions.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

Protease activity during cell differentiation of the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum.

Individual aggregates, migrating pseudoplasmodia, and sorocarps of Dictyostelium discoideum were assayed for proteolytic activities by colorimetric and fluorometric techniques. Cathepsin D-like and cathepsin B-like acid protease activities were found to decrease throughout development, but the patterns of decrease were different for the two enzymes. A gradual decrease was found for cathepsin D, whereas a sharp decrease between aggregates and migrating pseudoplasmodia was detected for cathepsin B. By using microdissection techniques and fluorometric assays for amino acids and peptides, prestalk cells and prespore cells exhibited no difference in cathepsin D activity, whereas cathepsin B activity was higher in the prestalk cells. Similarly, stalk cells and spores in the sorocarps showed no difference in cathepsin D activity, but showed a fivefold higher cathepsin B activity in the stalk cells. This finding suggests a possible role for cathepsin B in stalk cell differentiation.

Cathepsins↗
PubMed1976

Glycogen degradation during migration of presumptive cell types in Dictyostelium discoideum.

During the time course of differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum, glycogen was found to accumulate from the amoebae stage to the culmination stage of development. Upon sorocarp formation (23 h), glycogen was rapidly degraded. Ultramicrotechniques, utilizing amplification of glycogen by enzymatic cycling, were used to follow glycogen metabolism in pre-stalk and prespore cells during the differentiation cycle. Both cell types accumulated glycogen at nearly the same rate. By the pseudoplasmodium stage of development glycogen had accumulated to 50% of its maximum value, and no differences were found between pre-stalk and pre-spore cells. Glycogen was degraded as pre-stalk cells migrated into the position for stalk construction. At the culmination stage of development stalk cells near the base were devoid of glycogen while pre-stalk cells near the apex of the stalk showed no loss of glycogen. The complete loss of glycogen from stalk cells occurred over a distance occupied by approximately 100 cells, and over a time period of approx. 1 h. Pre-spore cells at the culmination stage showed no loss of glycogen even though separated from stalk cells by only a thin cellulose sheath. The degradation of prespore cell glycogen did not commence until stalk construction was completed and the pre-spore mass had reached the apex of the stalk. Pre-spore cells at the culmination stage contained high levels of glycogen while only 2 h later, total degradation had occurred.

Amoeba↗
PubMed1976

Primer dependency of glycogen synthetase during differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum.

The cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum, has a life cycle in which the limited number of cell types and easily recognizable stages of development offer a unique model to relate biochemical events to differentiation. Ultramicrochemical techniques were employed to assay enzyme activity and product levels in cell samples as small as 0.02 mug of dry weight in reaction volumes of 0.1 mug. The techniques utilized an amplification procedure employing the enzymatic cycling of pyridine nucleotides. Glycogen synthetase (glucose 6-phophate independent form) was assayed in individual organisms over the time course of development. From aggregation to culmination, activity decreased and was dependent on soluble glycogen primer. From culmination to sorocarp stage, enzyme activity was independent of soluble glycogen primer. Further, the enzyme and its glycogen product were recovered in a low-spin (2000g) pellet fraction from sorocarp homogenates. The change in primer requirements and solubility of enzyme and product occurred during culmination. Localization studies in developing spore cells revealed trends in enzyme activities and solubilities of enzyme and product similar to those in whole organisms. Possible models of cell-specific biochemical events in D. discoideum are discussed.

Cell Differentiation↗