Biomedical subjects

D E Johnson

Publications and source records attributed to D E Johnson.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

PubMed1997

Inhibition of caspase proteases by CrmA enhances the resistance of human leukemic cells to multiple chemotherapeutic agents.

Proteases that are members of the caspase (or interleukin-1beta converting enzyme (ICE)) protease family have been shown to be important mediators of apoptosis induced by Fas activation, neurotrophic factor withdrawal, and detachment from extracellular matrix. In this report we have investigated the potential importance of caspase proteases in apoptosis induced by multiple chemotherapeutic agents. Human T leukemic cells engineered to overexpress the cowpox virus CrmA protein, a direct and specific inhibitor of caspase proteases, were studied for their resistance to 1-beta-D-arabinofurasosyl-cytosine (Ara-C), etoposide (VP-16), doxorubicin (DOX), and cis-dichlorodiammine platinum (CP). Overexpression of CrmA dramatically inhibited drug-induced activation of caspases, as measured by processing of the inactive precursor form of caspase-3 and cleavage of caspase substrate proteins poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and lamin B. CrmA also significantly inhibited the kinetics of cell death induced by each of the four drugs. Moreover, when examined several days or weeks after initial exposure to drug, cultures of CrmA-expressing cells were found to have recovered and repopulated, whereas vector-transfected control cells did not. These studies demonstrate that caspase proteases play an important role in conferring sensitivity to multiple chemotherapy drugs, and that constitutive downmodulation of caspase activities can enhance chemoresistance.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed1997

In vivo phase variation of MR/P fimbrial gene expression in Proteus mirabilis infecting the urinary tract.

Proteus mirabilis, associated with complicated urinary tract infection, expresses mannose-resistant/Proteus-like (MR/P) fimbriae. Expression of these surface structures, which mediate haemagglutination and have a demonstrated role in virulence, undergoes phase variation. By DNA sequence analysis, a 252 bp invertible element was found in the intergenic region between mrpl, the putative site-specific recombinase gene, and mrpA, the primary structural subunit gene. The invertible segment is flanked by identical 21 bp inverted repeats and the presumptive half-sites for recombinase binding show homology to those recognized by FimB and FimE encoded by the Escherichia coli fim (Type 1 fimbriae) gene cluster. When amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from static broth cultures expressing MR/P fimbriae, the switch region was found in both ON and OFF positions. When PCR was used to amplify agar cultures which do not express the fimbriae, the switch region was OFF only. A canonical sigma 70 promoter inside the invertible element drives the transcription of mrpA when in the ON position; in the OFF position it is directed away from mrpA but does not appear to drive expression of mrpI. The mrpI gene was able to confer inversion of the mrp switch region in trans from both ON to OFF and OFF to ON. To examine the position of the switch in vivo, urine, bladder, and kidneys from mice transurethrally infected with P. mirabilis were used to prepare template DNA for PCR amplification. In the absence of urolithiasis (urease-mediated stone formation), the switch was found 100% in the ON position, a condition never observed following in vitro culture. We conclude that MR/P phase variation is regulated at the transcriptional level by the action of MrpI on an invertible element and that there is strong selective pressure for the expression of MR/P fimbriae in vivo.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1997

Proteus mirabilis mannose-resistant, Proteus-like fimbriae: MrpG is located at the fimbrial tip and is required for fimbrial assembly.

The mannose-resistant, Proteus-like (MR/P) fimbria, responsible for mannose-resistant hemagglutination, is a virulence factor for uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis. Based on known fimbrial gene organization, we postulated that MrpG, a putative minor subunit of the MR/P fimbria, functions as an adhesin responsible for hemagglutination, while MrpA serves as the major structural subunit for the filamentous structure. To test this hypothesis, an mrpG mutant was constructed by allelic-exchange mutagenesis and verified by PCR and Southern blotting. The mrpG mutant was found to be negative for hemagglutination, while wild-type strain H14320 and the complemented mutant were positive. Western blots with antiserum raised against an overexpressed MrpG'-His6 fusion protein showed that MrpG was present in the fimbrial preparations of both the wild-type strain and the complemented mutant but absent in that of the mrpG mutant. The mrpG mutant was significantly less virulent in a CBA mouse model of ascending urinary tract infection. Western blots with antiserum to whole MR/P fimbriae showed that MrpA protein was also missing from the fimbrial preparation of the mrpG mutant. Using immunogold electron microscopy, we found that the normal MR/P-fimbrial structure was absent in the mrpG mutant, suggesting that MrpG is essential for initiation of normal fimbrial formation. In the wild-type strain, MrpG protein was localized to the tips of the fimbriae or at the surface of the cell when antiserum raised against overexpressed MrpG was used. Given the tip localization, MrpG may be required for initiation of assembly of MR/P fimbriae but does not appear to be the fimbrial adhesin.

Adhesins, Bacterial↗

PubMed1997

Bcl-2 inhibits selective oxidation and externalization of phosphatidylserine during paraquat-induced apoptosis.

Oxidative stress is a potential component of the final common pathway leading to apoptosis following many diverse stimuli. Here, we document that the oxidant paraquat caused apoptosis in mouse 32D cells. We examined early paraquat-induced lipid peroxidation after metabolic incorporation of the oxidant-sensitive fluorescent fatty acid cis-parinaric acid (cis-PA) into phospholipids and high-performance liquid chromatography separation of specific phospholipid classes. Paraquat induced peroxidation of cis-PA primarily in phosphatidylserine (PS) and to a lesser extent in phosphatidylinositol (PI) within 2 h. The selective oxidation of PS occurred before signs of cytotoxicity and preceded the externalization of PS as assessed by annexin V binding. Overexpression of Bcl-2 afforded significant protection against paraquat-induced apoptosis, early PS and PI oxidation, and PS externalization but not the ultimate formation of high-molecular-weight DNA fragments. Therefore, both selective phospholipid peroxidation and DNA damage occurred after paraquat exposure, but only the former was specifically associated with apoptosis. We suggest Bcl-2 may inhibit oxidant-induced apoptosis by preventing the peroxidation of specific membrane phospholipids.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Nitric oxide inhibits calcium release from sarcoplasmic reticulum of porcine tracheal smooth muscle cells.

In the present study, effects of the nitric oxide donor, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), on sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release were examined in freshly dissociated porcine tracheal smooth muscle (TSM) cells. Fura 2-loaded TSM cells were imaged using video fluorescence microscopy. SR Ca2+ release was induced by acetylcholine (ACh), which acts principally through inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors, and by caffeine, which acts principally through ryanodine receptors (RyR). SNAP inhibited ACh-induced SR Ca2+ release at both 0 and 2.5 mM extracellular Ca2+. Degraded SNAP had no effect on ACh-induced SR Ca2+ release. SNAP also inhibited caffeine-induced SR Ca2+ release. ACh-induced Ca2+ influx was not affected by SNAP when SR reloading was blocked by thapsigargin. SNAP also did not affect SR Ca2+ reuptake. The membrane-permeant analogue of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), 8-bromo-cGMP, mimicked the effects of SNAP. These results suggest that, in porcine TSM cells, SNAP reduces the intracellular Ca2+ response to ACh and caffeine by inhibiting SR Ca2+ release through both IP3 and RyR, but not by inhibiting influx or repletion of the SR Ca2+ stores. These effects are likely mediated via cGMP-dependent mechanisms.

Acetylcholine↗

PubMed1997

Hyperoxia-induced airway remodeling and pulmonary neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia in the weanling rat.

Infants dying with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) demonstrate increased numbers of pulmonary neuroendocrine cells (PNEC). These infants also possess altered airway epithelial and smooth muscle dimensions reminiscent of oxygen-exposed animals. Because the pathogenesis of BPD involves oxygen toxicity, we hypothesized that chronic hyperoxia would induce both airway remodeling and PNEC hyperplasia. To test this theory, we compared the small airway morphology of 21-d-old rats subsequently exposed to 2 wk of > 95% O2 (Ox; n = 12) with that of normoxic controls (Con; n = 12). In paraffin-embedded sections, airways < 1500 microns cut in cross-section were analyzed using light microscopy and image analysis software. The degree of epithelial and smooth muscle hyperplasia was assessed with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). PNEC content was assessed via immunohistochemical staining for calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and the number of solitary PNEC (PNECsol) and PNEC clusters (neuroepithelial bodies, NEB) counted per section. We found that oxygen exposure increased epithelial and smooth muscle wall thickness (epithelium: Con, 12.3 +/- 1.4 versus Ox, 14.8 +/- 1.4 microns, p < 0.05; smooth muscle: Con, 7.0 +/- 1.0 versus Ox, 10.0 +/- 1.0 microns, p < 0.05). The changes in wall dimensions were accompanied by a 20% increase in fractional PCNA labeling of the epithelium but not the smooth muscle. Both PNECsol and NEB number increased in the Ox group (PNECsol Con, 3.6 +/- 2.6 versus Ox, 6.3 +/- 3.1/100 mm epithelium, p < 0.05; NEB Con, 7.1 +/- 4.0 versus 11.9 +/- 3.6/100 mm epithelium, p < 0.05). These findings document an association between hyperoxia, airway remodeling, and PNEC hyperplasia and imply that PNEC products may contribute to the pathogenesis of oxygen-related pulmonary diseases such as BPD.

Airway Resistance↗

PubMed1997

Anabolic implant effects on visceral organ mass, chemical body composition, and estimated energetic efficiency in cloned (genetically identical) beef steers.

Six sets of four genetically identical Brangus steers (n = 24; X BW 409 kg) were used to determine the effect of different anabolic implants on visceral organ mass, chemical body composition, estimated tissue deposition, and energetic efficiency. Steers within a clone set were randomly assigned to one of the following implant treatments: C, no implant; E, estrogenic; A, androgenic, or AE, androgenic + estrogenic. Steers were slaughtered 112 d after implanting; visceral organs were weighed and final body composition determined by mechanical grinding and chemical analysis of the empty body. Mass of the empty gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was reduced approximately 9% (P < .10) in steers implanted with estrogen alone or in combination with an androgen. Liver mass was increased (P < .10) from 6 to 14% by implants. Steers implanted with the AE combination had greater (P < .10) daily protein accretion (163.4 g/d) than either E (128.8 g/d) or A (137.1 g/d), and, because the combination improved gain above C (101.1 g/d), this demonstrates the additive effects of a combination implant on protein deposition. Anabolic implants did not alter (P > .10) the efficiency of ME utilization. In general, estrogenic implants decreased GIT, androgenic implants increased liver, and all implants increased hide mass. Steers implanted with an AE combination had additive effects on protein deposition compared with either implant alone. The NEg requirements for body gain are estimated to be reduced 19% by estrogenic or combination implants.

Anabolic Agents↗

PubMed1997