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D L Paul

Publications and source records attributed to D L Paul.

83 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Comparison of bupivacaine and bupivacaine with fentanyl in continuous extradural analgesia during labour.

In a randomized, double-blind study of 39 mothers in labour, we have compared a loading dose of 0.5% bupivacaine 6.0 ml and fentanyl 100 micrograms given extradurally, followed by an infusion of 0.08% bupivacaine 15 ml h-1 plus fentanyl 37.5 micrograms h-1, with a loading dose of 0.5% bupivacaine 6.0 ml and saline 2.0 ml, followed by an extradural infusion of 0.08% bupivacaine alone, per hour. Analgesic levels were more consistent and sustained in mothers who received fentanyl in addition to bupivacaine, and the duration from the time of the loading dose to the first top-up was extended considerably in this group. The only significant side effect was a high incidence of mild pruritus in the fentanyl group. The addition of fentanyl to the extradural loading dose and subsequent infusion of local anaesthetic is a satisfactory alternative to giving higher doses of local anaesthetic alone.

Adult↗

Expression of the c-raf protooncogene, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, and gap junction protein in rat liver neoplasms.

Female Harlan Sprague-Dawley and F-344 rats were subjected to a 70% hepatectomy and 18 h later given one dose of 30 mg diethylnitrosamine/kg body weight. Beginning 1 week later, the animals were fed a diet containing 0.05% phenobarbital. Groups of rats were sacrificed 6 and 15 months later, and the livers were either frozen for cryostat sectioning or used to isolate RNA. Primary liver tumors present in these animals were used for RNA isolation, and a portion was taken for histopathological analysis. Eleven of 13 primary lesions, consisting of either neoplastic nodules or hepatocellular carcinomas, showed elevated levels of mRNA for the c-raf protooncogene. Increased c-raf mRNA in these tumors appeared to be unrelated to their cellular proliferative status inasmuch as the levels of c-raf mRNA did not correlate with levels of H4 histone mRNA. Decreased expression of the major rat liver gap junction protein mRNA was observed in all of the primary tumors. Immunocytochemical analysis using an anti-gap junction antibody revealed a decrease in gap junction immunoreactivity in some but not all preneoplastic focal lesions. All preneoplastic foci having positive gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase enzyme staining also exhibited a marked increase in gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase mRNA as determined by in situ hybridization. The possible relation of alterations of the mRNA levels of c-raf and the gap junction protein to the further development of preneoplastic foci is discussed.

Animals↗

Topological distribution of two connexin32 antigenic sites in intact and split rodent hepatocyte gap junctions.

The membrane topology of connexin32, a principal polypeptide of gap junctions in diverse cell types, has been studied in rat and mouse hepatocyte gap junctions using site-specific antisera raised against synthetic oligopeptides corresponding to amino acid sequences deduced from cDNA clones. Based on published hydropathicity maps and identified protease-sensitive cleavage sites, oligopeptides were synthesized corresponding to two hydrophilic domains of connexin32, one predicted to face the cytoplasm, the other predicted to be directed extracellularly. Antisera were raised to keyhole limpet hemocyanin conjugates of the oligopeptides and used to map the distribution of their antigens using indirect immunocytochemistry on isolated gap junctions. The results directly demonstrated the cytoplasmic orientation of an antigen contained within amino acids 98-124 of the connexin32 sequence. The extracellular space in intact, isolated gap junctions is too small to permit binding of antibody molecules, necessitating the experimental separation of the junctional membranes to expose their extracellular surfaces using a urea/alkali procedure. While an antigen contained within amino acids 164-189 was visualized on the extracellular surfaces of some of the separated junctional membranes, variability in the observations and in the splitting procedure left ambiguities concerning the biological relevance of the observations after the denaturing conditions necessary to separate the junctional membranes. Using a different approach, however, the antigen could be exposed in intact liver using a hypertonic disaccharide junction-splitting procedure. The period of time of antigen exposure at the cell surface appears to peak at 30 s and disappear by 2-4 min. Taken together, these data demonstrate the extracellular orientation of an antigen contained within amino acids 164-189, which may be involved in cell-cell interaction within the gap junction.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The effects of injected solution temperature on intravenous regional anaesthesia.

Ten healthy volunteers received three standard Bier's blocks. Prilocaine 0.5%, 40 ml was injected at a solution temperature of 0 degrees C, 22 degrees C or 37 degrees C. Recordings were made of sensory block, motor block, intravenous pressure, limb temperature and pain on injection. There were no differences between the three treatments in the rate of development or in the quality of block but there was a significant difference in the comfort of injection. Cold solutions caused most, and warm solutions least discomfort.

Anesthesia, Intravenous↗

Connexin43: a protein from rat heart homologous to a gap junction protein from liver.

Northern blot analysis of rat heart mRNA probed with a cDNA coding for the principal polypeptide of rat liver gap junctions demonstrated a 3.0-kb band. This band was observed only after hybridization and washing using low stringency conditions; high stringency conditions abolished the hybridization. A rat heart cDNA library was screened with the same cDNA probe under the permissive hybridization conditions, and a single positive clone identified and purified. The clone contained a 220-bp insert, which showed 55% homology to the original cDNA probe near the 5' end. The 220-bp cDNA was used to rescreen a heart cDNA library under high stringency conditions, and three additional cDNAs that together spanned 2,768 bp were isolated. This composite cDNA contained a single 1,146-bp open reading frame coding for a predicted polypeptide of 382 amino acids with a molecular mass of 43,036 D. Northern analysis of various rat tissues using this heart cDNA as probe showed hybridization to 3.0-kb bands in RNA isolated from heart, ovary, uterus, kidney, and lens epithelium. Comparisons of the predicted amino acid sequences for the two gap junction proteins isolated from heart and liver showed two regions of high homology (58 and 42%), and other regions of little or no homology. A model is presented which indicates that the conserved sequences correspond to transmembrane and extracellular regions of the junctional molecules, while the nonconserved sequences correspond to cytoplasmic regions. Since it has been shown previously that the original cDNA isolated from liver recognizes mRNAs in stomach, kidney, and brain, and it is shown here that the cDNA isolated from heart recognizes mRNAs in ovary, uterus, lens epithelium, and kidney, a nomenclature is proposed which avoids categorization by organ of origin. In this nomenclature, the homologous proteins in gap junctions would be called connexins, each distinguished by its predicted molecular mass in kilodaltons. The gap junction protein isolated from liver would then be called connexin32; from heart, connexin43.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

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Adult↗

Molecular cloning of cDNA for rat liver gap junction protein.

An affinity-purified antibody directed against the 27-kD protein associated with isolated rat liver gap junctions was produced. Light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry showed that this antigen was localized specifically to the cytoplasmic surfaces of gap junctions. The antibody was used to select cDNA from a rat liver library in the expression vector lambda gt11. The largest cDNA selected contained 1,494 bp and coded for a protein with a calculated molecular mass of 32,007 daltons. Northern blot analysis indicated that brain, kidney, and stomach express an mRNA with similar size and homology to that expressed in liver, but that heart and lens express differently sized, less homologous mRNA.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Preparation, characterization, and localization of antisera against bovine MP26, an integral protein from lens fiber plasma membrane.

Polyclonal antisera were prepared in rabbits using both native and chymotrypsin-digested bovine lens fiber plasma membranes. MP26, the principal protein of lens fiber plasma membranes, and CT20, a chymotryptic fragment of MP26, were isolated electrophoretically and used to purify anti-MP26 and anti-CT20 activity from the respective antisera by affinity chromatography. These affinity-purified antisera were characterized by immunoreplica. Immunofluorescence microscopy localized MP26 on sections of methacrylate-embedded lenses in the lens fiber plasma membranes, but not the lens epithelium. Immunocytochemistry of isolated native or chymotrypsin-digested lens fiber plasma membranes localized both the MP26 and the CT20 only in the nonjunctional plasma membranes, with no detectable activity in the lens fiber junctions themselves. Electron microscopy revealed a second set of pentalaminar profiles, thinner by 4 nm than the lens fiber junctions, which contained demonstrable anti-MP26 and anti-CT20 activity following immunocytochemistry. These results indicate either that MP26 is not a component of the lens fiber junctions, or that significant conformational changes accompany assembly of MP26 into lens fiber junctions, resulting in the masking of MP26 antigenic determinants.

Animals↗

In vitro synthesis and membrane insertion of bovine MP26, an integral protein from lens fiber plasma membrane.

Synthesis of MP26, the principal protein of lens fiber plasma membranes, was directed in the reticulocyte lysate system by poly A mRNA enriched from whole bovine lens RNA using oligo (dt)-cellulose chromatography. Synthesized MP26 was enriched by immune precipitation. The in vitro-synthesized MP26 had an electrophoretic mobility indistinguishable from that of the native molecule. MP26 showed a cotranslational requirement for dog pancreas microsomes in order for membrane association to occur. Microsome-associated in vitro-synthesized MP26 showed a sensitivity to digestion with chymotrypsin which was similar to the sensitivity of native MP26 in isolated lens fiber plasma membranes, indicating correct insertion of the MP26 into the microsome. Synthesis and membrane insertion of MP26 using N-formyl-[35S]methionyl tRNA as label demonstrated that no proteolytic processing or significant glycosylation accompanied membrane insertion. Chymotryptic cleavage of membrane-inserted, N-formyl-[35S]methionine-labeled MP26 resulted in loss of label, suggesting that the N-terminal of the in vitro-synthesized MP26 faces the cytoplasm.

Animals↗