Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Kunze

Publications and source records attributed to D Kunze.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

CandidaDB: a genome database for Candida albicans pathogenomics.

CandidaDB is a database dedicated to the genome of the most prevalent systemic fungal pathogen of humans, Candida albicans. CandidaDB is based on an annotation of the Stanford Genome Technology Center C.albicans genome sequence data by the European Galar Fungail Consortium. CandidaDB Release 2.0 (June 2004) contains information pertaining to Assembly 19 of the genome of C.albicans strain SC5314. The current release contains 6244 annotated entries corresponding to 130 tRNA genes and 5917 protein-coding genes. For these, it provides tentative functional assignments along with numerous pre-run analyses that can assist the researcher in the evaluation of gene function for the purpose of specific or large-scale analysis. CandidaDB is based on GenoList, a generic relational data schema and a World Wide Web interface that has been adapted to the handling of eukaryotic genomes. The interface allows users to browse easily through genome data and retrieve information. CandidaDB also provides more elaborate tools, such as pattern searching, that are tightly connected to the overall browsing system. As the C.albicans genome is diploid and still incompletely assembled, CandidaDB provides tools to browse the genome by individual supercontigs and to examine information about allelic sequences obtained from complementary contigs. CandidaDB is accessible at http://genolist.pasteur.fr/CandidaDB.

Candida albicans↗
PubMed2002

[Obesity in children and adolescents in Germany. Significant and persistent increase of prevalence. Appeal to treatment].

In Germany, the number of overweight children and adolescents is increasing. The increase in the prevalence of obesity shows considerable regional differences. Related to recent German reference data with an expected prevalence of 3%, we find today in some regions a prevalence of 7% in 5- to 6-year-olds and 8% in 13- to 15-year-olds. While the reasons for this development are not fully clear, it may be assumed that the increase in physical inactivity, together with the ready availability of an abundance of high-energy foods are significant contributing factors. A large percentage of children and adolescents suffering from obesity also have considerable co-morbidity. It is to be expected that this will in the future considerably increase the financial burden on public health care and society as a whole. Effective prevention and therapeutic countermeasures are necessary to deal with this problem.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

[Ever more children and adolescents are overweight. How can the obesity epidemic be stopped?].

In Germany, the number of overweight children and adolescents is increasing. The increase in the prevalence of obesity shows considerable regional differences. Related to recent German reference data with an expected prevalence of 3%, we find today in some regions a prevalence of 7% in 5- to 6-year-olds and 8% in 13- to 15-year-olds. While the reasons for this development are not fully clear, it may be assumed that the increase in physical inactivity, together with the ready availability of an abundance of high-energy foods are significant contributing factors. A large percentage of children and adolescents suffering from obesity also have considerable co-morbidity. It is to be expected that this will in the future considerably increase the financial burden on public health care and society as a whole. Effective prevention and therapeutic countermeasures are necessary to deal with this problem.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen presents as a prognostic factor in colorectal carcinoma: A clinicopathologic study of 264 patients.

BACKGROUND: Up to now, the expression of the tumor-associated Thomsen-Friedenreich (TF) antigen in colorectal carcinoma has not been thoroughly investigated with particular emphasis on its correlation with established clinicopathologic characteristics and classifications as well as its prognostic relevance. METHODS: Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded specimens from 264 patients with colorectal carcinoma were stained using an avidin-biotin complex-peroxidase assay. As primary monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), A78-G/A7, which binds to TFalpha and TFbeta antigen irrespective of its carrier, and BW835, which detects TFalpha on MUC1 repeat peptide, were applied. RESULTS: MAbs A78-G/A7 and BW835 labeled 64.8% and 58. 0%, respectively, of carcinomas. None of the binding patterns correlated with gender, tumor localization, or growth type. Only BW835 reactivity exhibited a significant correlation with increasing pTNM staging and histologic grading. Staining of the MAb A78-G/A7 was significantly stronger in carcinomas that contained a mucinous component. In univariate survival analysis, in addition to pTNM staging and histologic grading, reactivity with A78-G/A7 as well as BW835 were significantly correlated with lower survival probability. Multivariate analysis according to the Cox proportional hazards model revealed only pTNM staging, histologic grading, and A78-G/A7 staining to be independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: According to these results, TF disaccharide represents a cancer-associated antigen in colorectal carcinoma that exhibits qualities of a prognostic marker. As demonstrated by BW835 staining, it is obviously coexpressed with MUC1 peptide core in a great number of cases. These results suggest that TF, in addition to MUC1, might also serve as a useful target antigen in the treatment of patients with colorectal carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2000

Prognostic impact of p21/waf1/cip1 in colorectal cancer.

In addition to the tumor suppressor gene p53, Cyclin Dependent Kinases (CDK) are well known to influence the cell cycle in normal human tissues and various neoplasias as well. The purpose of our present study was to evaluate the expression of the CDK-inhibitor p21/waf1/cip1 in colorectal cancer with special emphasis on the prognostic impact. Between 1985 and 1991, 294 patients (median age, 65 years) underwent surgical operative therapy for colorectal cancer. Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumor specimens were investigated. For immunohistochemistry the Catalysed Reporter Deposition (CARD) technique was performed. The survival probability was calculated and possible prognostic risk factors were tested using multivariate analysis. The p21/ waf1/cip1 staining pattern was positive in 197 (67%) specimens and negative in 97 (33%) samples. No significant correlation could been calculated between p21/waf1/cip1 expression and other variables such as age, sex, WHO-Classification, localisation, grading, TNM-classification or UICC-stage. Patients with a positive staining reaction had a significantly better survival (p < 0.0052). Moreover, p21/waf1/cip1 was shown to be an independent prognostic parameter by multivariate analysis (p < 0.022). In contrast with these findings, the p53 tumor status had no impact on survival. P21/ waf1/cip1 appears to be an independent prognostic parameter in colorectal cancer and is associated with a favorable survival. This feature may be related to a cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase induced by p21/waf1/cip1, resulting in lower tumor cell proliferative activity.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Synthesis and secretion of plasmalogens by type-II pneumocytes.

Alveolar surfactant (exposed to air and therefore a prime target of air oxidants) is supplied with antioxidants during its intracellular formation on type-II pneumocytes [Rüstow, Haupt, Stevens and Kunze (1993) Am. J. Physiol. 265, L133-L139]. Plasmalogens can protect animal cells against lipid peroxidation caused by u.v. radiation. It has been suggested that plasmalogens play a direct role in protecting animal cell membranes against oxidative stress [Zoeller, Morand and Raetz (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 11590-11596]. We investigated biosynthesis and secretion of plasmalogens and phospholipids by type-II cells of adult rat lungs. The plasmalogens of type-II cells consist of 93% ethanolamine plasmalogens (EthPlas) and 7% choline plasmalogens (ChoPlas). Plasmalogens isolated from alveolar surfactant, however, consist of 36.5% ChoPlas and 63.5% EthPlas. The different incorporation rates of [14C]hexadecanol into both types of plasmalogen by type-II pneumocytes are reflected in the relative proportions of their total cellular plasmalogen content. Type-II cells cultured in the presence of labelled hexadecanol or labelled hexadecylglycerol and of labelled palmitate secrete labelled ChoPlas and labelled phospholipids, both spontaneously and in response to isoprenaline. The spontaneous and stimulated secretion rates of labelled ChoPlas are 3-6 times higher than those of labelled EthPlas. This higher relative secretion rate of ChoPlas corresponds to its higher proportion in the total plasmalogen content of alveolar surfactant compared with type-II cells. Added extracellular surfactant-specific protein A inhibits the secretion of plasmalogens as well as that of phospholipids by type-II cells. The molecular species of EthPlas and ChoPlas isolated from type-II cells or lung lavage do not differ significantly and consist mainly of molecular species containing poly-unsaturated fatty acids. We conclude that ChoPlas are secreted partly as integral constituents of the alveolar surfactant. Type-II cells select between both types of plasmalogens for secretion as a constituent of surfactant. The intramolecular sorting signal presumably is the choline moiety.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Turner syndrome: final height, glucose tolerance, bone density and psychosocial status in 25 adult patients.

The information available on the medical and psychosocial status of patients with Turner syndrome beyond the paediatric age group is scarce. We therefore studied 25 unselected women with cytogenetically proven Turner syndrome (age 20-50 years), who never received any growth-promoting therapy, and ten control women (25-48 years). In addition to anthropometric measurements, an oral glucose tolerance test was performed, auto-antibodies to endocrine tissues were studied, bone mineral density of the forearm was measured by single photon densitometry, and information about the psychosocial distress of the patients was obtained. Adult height averaged 148.7 +/- 1.1 cm (mean +/- SE), which was 16 cm below the mean of adult women from a similar background. In Turner patients, final height correlated significantly with mid-parental height (final height = 0.67 x MPH + 32.1; r = 0.69). Body mass index was increased in Turner patients (25.6 +/- 1.3 kg/m2) compared to controls (21.4 +/- 0.6; P < 0.006). Six patients (25%) had impaired glucose tolerance or overt diabetes mellitus (one patient). Insulin release was augmented but delayed in the Turner group, and the area under the insulin stimulation curve was correlated to body mass index (r = +0.54, P < 0.01). Thyroid antibodies were detected in nine patients (37.5%). On average, bone density of the forearm was only marginally reduced compared to the age-dependent normal range. All women were employed, while only one of the Turner women was married. As a group, the subjects expressed greater distress due to infertility compared to short stature.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Type II pneumocytes secrete vitamin E together with surfactant lipids.

Lung surfactant is exposed to strongly oxidizing conditions. We examined the hypothesis that in lung, lipophilic antioxidants are secreted together with surfactant to counteract the peroxidation of surfactant constituents. Lung lavage and the subfractions of the alveolar surfactant contain the lipophilic antioxidants vitamin E, vitamin A, and plasmalogens. The specific radioactivity of vitamin E isolated from serum, lung homogenate, lamellar bodies, and lung lavage increased linearly up to 3 h after intraperitoneal application of [3H]tocopherol. [3H]tocopherol was secreted in situ together with [14C]palmitic acid-labeled phospholipid in response to isoproterenol. Type II cells cultured in presence of [3H]tocopherol or of [3H]cholecalciferol and [14C]palmitic acid responded to isoproterenol by a time-dependent increase in secretion of [3H]tocopherol and of 14C-labeled phospholipids but not of [3H]cholecalciferol. The isoproterenol-stimulated secretion of [3H]tocopherol and of 14C-labeled phospholipids by type II cells is inhibited by surfactant protein A. We conclude that the alveolar surfactant contains lipophilic antioxidants as integral constituents. [3H]tocopherol seems to be secreted together with surfactant.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

The somatotropin-somatomedin axis in adult patients with Turner syndrome: measurement of stimulated GH, GH-BP, IGF-I, IGF-II and IGFBP-3 in 25 patients.

So far, few studies have addressed the regulation of GH and GH-dependent growth factors in adult patients with Turner syndrome. We therefore studied a group of 25 genetically proven patients with Turner syndrome (age 20-50 years) and 10 control women (25-48 years). Turner patients were significantly shorter (148.7 +/- 1.1 cm vs. 169.1 +/- 2.3 cm; mean +/- SE; p < 0.0001) and more overweight [body mass index (BMI)] 25.6 +/- 1.3 vs. 21.4 +/- 0.6 in controls; p < 0.01). No significant differences were present when the integrated GH response to stimulation with arginine and the serum levels of GH-binding protein (GH-BP), IGF-I, IGF-II and binding protein 3 for IGFs (IGFBP-3) were compared between the two groups. However, more detailed analysis revealed significant abnormalities of the somatotropic axis in Turner patients. Pituitary GH secretion was negatively and serum GH-BP positively related to the degree of overweight in normal patients. In Turner patients, no such relationship was present, while IGF-II significantly increased with BMI. IGFBP-3 was positively related to adult height in normal women but not in Turner patients. While serum testosterone values did not affect any of the somatotropic parameters measured, there was a previously unreported, inverse relation between serum estradiol and GH-BP in controls but not in Turner patients. While adult patients with Turner syndrome do not display endocrine features of GH insufficiency, a detailed analysis reveals several abnormalities of the interrelation between anthropometric parameters, sex steroids and the pituitary-somatomedin axis.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Pathobiochemical aspects of cytoskeleton components.

This review summarizes pathobiochemical aspects of diseases, in which cytoskeletal components play a crucial role in pathogenesis. An attempt to classify the disorders on the basis of phenotypic changes that occur in microfilaments, intermediate filaments and microtubuli was unsuccessful. Three groups of disorders are presented: 1. cytoplasmic inclusions in specific diseases (merely descriptive); 2. diseases with genetic defects in cytoskeletal proteins (a chain of causality from defect to phenotype, in some cases with large gaps); 3. diseases with suspected involvement of cytoskeleton (hypothetical causal chain). Microfilaments are involved in certain pathogenetic processes on account of defects in their associated proteins; in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, dystrophin is defective, while the defective protein in Rett syndrome is synapsin. Defects in spectrin and membrane anchor proteins lead to disorders of the red cell membrane skeleton (congenital haemolytic anaemias). Intermediate filaments accumulate in some types of cytoplasmic inclusions, together with ubiquitin (Mallory bodies, desmin accumulation in some myopathies and others). A pathogenetic interpretation of this phenomenon is lacking. A genetic defect in certain types of keratin is the cause of epidermolysis bullosa. Interesting preliminary results are reviewed that reveal the crucial role of cytoskeletal components in a further group of diseases (intrahepatic cholestasis, Alzheimer disease, pemphigus). These disorders are currently under investigation, or are of theoretical interest with respect to the cytoskeleton. Specific reactions of cytoskeletal components in serum, which might be used diagnostically, have not been found.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1992

Studies on the formation of dipalmitoyl species of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in pulmonary type II cells.

Endogenous content of and incorporation of labelled glycerol into alkenylacyl-, alkylacyl- and diacyl-glycerol, -glycerol-3-phosphocholine and -glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine of pulmonary type II cells were measured. On prolonged incubation of type II cells with labelled glycerol, the proportion of label incorporated into the diacyl subclass of these glycerolipids increased and the proportion of label incorporated into the ether lipids declined. Endogenous phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) of type II cells contained 38.4% of the dipalmitoyl species, but endogenous phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn) only 2.5%. In contrast, similar proportions of labelled glycerol were incorporated into dipalmitoyl-PtdCho and -PtdEtn after short-time incubation but, with prolonged incubation time the proportion of labelled dipalmitoyl-PtdCho increased from 11.3 to 18.8%, whereas that of dipalmitoyl-PtdEtn did not change significantly. Type II cell membranes were found to exhibit cofactor-independent and CoA-mediated transacylations of [1-14C]palmitoyl-lyso-PtdCho and -lyso-PtdEtn. The distribution of label among the palmitic acid-containing species of PtdCho and PtdEtn formed by both transacylation activities was determined. Cofactor-independent and CoA-mediated transacylation showed a strong selectivity for palmitate and arachidonate and a strong discrimination against oleate. The amount (nmol) of dipalmitoyl-PtdEtn formed by both transacylation activities after short-time incubation (2 min) decreased with prolonged incubation time (60 min). In contrast, the nmol of dipalmitoyl-PtdCho formed by cofactor-independent transacylation remains nearly the same after short-time and longer incubation. The nmol of dipalmitoyl-PtdCho formed by CoA-mediated transacylation increased strongly in the same time interval. Beside synthesis de novo via the CDP-choline pathway and reacylation of lyso-PtdCho with palmitoyl-CoA, the CoA-mediated transacylation of lyso-PtdCho may be an effective pathway for the formation of dipalmitoyl-PtdCho in pulmonary type II cells.

1,2-Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine↗
PubMed1992

Cholesterol blood levels in children: comparison of a Munich screening to worldwide studies from 1980 to 1990.

Total cholesterol results of a screening of 134 Munich school children aged 6-11 years are described. In reviewing worldwide studies on blood lipids in children, in the last 10 years, I note a large variance in the so-called "normal" values, with mean levels of total cholesterol ranging from 148 to 214 mg%. Age-, sex-, and race-specific reference data for a population are needed. Only with these special data can one determine the point for intervention. With school health education programs, including medical screening examinations, the aim of primary prevention of coronary heart disease can be reached.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1991

Pattern of lipids associated with cytoskeletal protein prepared as Triton X 100 insoluble residues in some single cell types.

The cytoskeletal proteins from erythrocytes, lymphoid cells, unstimulated and stimulated platelets, HeLa cells, and Ehrlich ascites cells were prepared as Triton X 100 insoluble residues. The pellet was extracted using the Bligh-Dyer procedure. After separation of the lipids by thin-layer chromatography, phospholipids and neutral lipids were estimated and the lipid pattern was compared with the lipid composition of the total cell. The percentage of the lipids associated with the Triton X 100 insoluble pellet ranged between 10 and 50 depending on the lipid and the cell type. Despite of the heterogenous protein composition of the residue in the different cells involving microfilaments and intermediate filaments together with associated proteins and minor components, in all cells sphingomyeline (Sph) and free fatty acids (FA) could be found in outstanding contents. In HeLa cells we found beside the high proportion of Sph a different species pattern of diacyl-, alkylacyl-, and alkenylacyl classes of endogenous diacylglycerol (DG), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). The discussion involved the data from literature showing lipid associations with all 3 classes of cytoskeletal filaments: microtubules, intermediate filaments, and microfilaments. These results were obtained by histological observation, by in vitro binding studies between cytoskeletal proteins and purified lipids, and--as we have practised--by lipid analysis after extraction of the more or less purified cytoskeleton. Artefacts could not be excluded, but the different lipid pattern in the total cell compared with the cytoskeletal let us assume that the results can not be explained by coprecipitation of micelles or organelle remnants with the Triton X 100 insoluble residue alone. An in vivo association of lipids, mainly of Sph, with F-actin and/or associated proteins might be concluded.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗