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Biomedical subjects

D M Matthews

Publications and source records attributed to D M Matthews.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Trypanosoma theileri Laveran, 1902, in Wyoming cattle.

Trypanosoma theileri Laveran, 1902, a cosmopolitan blood parasite of cattle, was found in 86 of 377 Wyoming cattle. Acute infection was experimentally produced in 22 cattle, with blood stream trypanosomes reaching peaks (up to 8,00/ml) in the first 2 weeks of infection. Infection subsided after 3 to 4 weeks. In studies of animals with chronic infection, the parasites reappeared in the blood 4 to 6 months after initial exposure and again at 8 months. Morphologically, three trypomastigote forms were seen: short-thin forms, long-thin forms, and long-broad forms. It is considered that the first two types derived from the last. Comparisons of bloodstream trypomastigotes were made with chicken embryo culture forms, and it was concluded that identification and description of trypanosomes from cattle can be made only by examination of bloodstream stages.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Isolation of 57Co-cobalamin coenzymes at high specific activity from Streptomyces griseus.

The distribution of radio-labelled cobalamins in Streptomyces griseus grown in medium containing 57Co-cobalt chloride has been estimated by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography and bioautography. 57Co-Methylocobalamin (Me[57Co]Cbl) was the major form in the mycelium together with smaller amounts of 57Co-adenosylcobalamin (Ado[57Co]Cbl) and 57Co-hydroxocobalamin (OH[57Co]Cbl). The OH[57Co]Cbl was detected in three forms having, respectively, anionic, cationic and neutral properties. A simple technique has been developed to isolate and purify Me[57Co]Cbl and Ado[57Co]Cbl from the mycelium using column chromatography on ion-exchange celluloses. Small quantities of each cobalamin coenzyme have been obtained at 90--96% purity and specific activities of 190--230 muCi/microgram.

Chromatography, DEAE-Cellulose↗
PubMed1978

The absorption by human volunteers of glutamic acid from monosodium glutamate and from a partial enzymic hydrolysate of casein.

Peripheral plasma concentrations of glutamic and aspartic acids and alanine were measured after ingestion of monosodium glutamate or a pancreatic hydrolysate of casein by human volunteers. The doses of each material were such that they contained similar amounts of glutamic acid. Plasma glutamic acid concentrations rose promptly after the monosodium glutamate but mean peak concentrations were well below those likely to cause neurological damage. Plasma aspartic acid concentrations also rose after the monosodium glutamate but the behaviour of plasma alanine concentrations suggested that intestinal transamination of glutamic acid was insufficient to cause an appreciable rise in alanine concentration in the peripheral plasma. Significant increments in plasma glutamic acid concentrations did not occur after the pancreatic hydrolysate of casein and it is probable that competition for absorptive mechanisms by other amino acids, both free and peptide-bound, causes absorption of glutamic acid to be slower from mixtures of peptides and amino acids than from monosodium glutamate itself.

Absorption↗
PubMed1978

Uptake of glycylglycine by the scutellum of germinating barley grain.

The scutella separated from germinating barley grains (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Himalaya) took up the dipeptide [(14)C]glycylglycine (Gly-Gly) rapidly from incubation media. The pH optimum of the process was about 4.5, and the rate of uptake conformed to Michaelis-Menten kinetics with an apparent K(m) of 2.3 mm and V(max) of 41 mumole gram(-1) hour(-1). The uptake was strongly inhibited by dinitrophenol and cyanide and by lack of O(2).After incubation of the scutella with Gly-Gly, no intact Gly-Gly was detectable in the scutella but the level of free glycine increased. The poorly hydrolyzed "model" dipeptide glycylsarcosine, which is actively taken up and accumulated by the scutella, was a competitive inhibitor of the uptake of Gly-Gly and completely inhibited the uptake at infinitely high inhibitor concentration. This suggests that Gly-Gly is taken up by the same mechanism as glycylsarcosine as an intact dipeptide (without hydrolysis in the membrane) and is hydrolyzed to free glycine by the abundant peptidases of the scutella.The uptake of Gly-Gly was not affected by glycine or leucine, but was strongly inhibited by all of the 10 dipeptides tested for inhibition. The three dipeptides tested for uptake, Ala-Gly, Pro-Gly, and Gly-Pro, were all taken up by the scutella. Thus, the uptake mechanism for the dipeptides seems to be rather nonspecific with respect to the side chains of the amino acids. The high rates of the uptake suggest that this process has an essential role in the mobilization of reserve proteins in the germinating grain.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1977

Amino acid concentrations in portal venous plasma during absorption from the small intestine of the guinea pig of an amino acid mixture simulating casein and a partial enzymic hydrolysate of casein.

1. The characteristics of absorption of individual amino acids from amino acid mixtures simulating casein and from enzymic hydrolysates of casein containing oligopeptides as well as free amino acids are known to be different. The differences, which are attributable to mucosal uptake of small peptides, involve more rapid absorption from the enzymic hydrolysates of certain amino acids which are relatively slowly absorbed from the amino acid mixtures. This could lead to more effective utilization of amino acids from the enzymic hydrolysates than from the amino acid mixtures. 2. To obtain further information bearing on this hypothesis, we have used a recently developed technique for portal cannulation in the guinea pig to make a preliminary investigation of amino acid concentrations in the portal venous plasma at intervals after the infusion into the duodenum of equivalent amounts of (a) an amino acid mixture simulating casein and (b) a partial enzymic (papain followed by kidney peptidases) hydrolysate of casein, the two preparations being infused in separate experiments. 3. For some amino acids, such as leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine and lysine, the curves after the enzymic hydrolysate were fairly similar to the corresponding curves after the amino acid mixture, though usually slightly lower. With other amino acids, the curves after the enzymic hydrolysate were very much lower than the corresponding curves after the amino acid mixture. With serine, glutamine, proline and glycine this discrepancy was particularly great. 4. The results cannot yet be fully explained, but their main features are explicable by the hypothesis that the lower amino acid concentrations in portal plasma after the enzymic hydrolysate are the result of entry of amino acids into the portal blood in peptide form, in which they would not be detectable by the analytical technique employed, and possibly also of more rapid clearance of amino acids from the blood during absorption of this preparation.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1977

Effect of glycylglycine on absorption from human jejunum of an amino acid mixture simulating casein and a partial enzymic hydrolysate of casein containing small peptides.

1. A jejunal perfusion technique has been used in normal volunteer subjects to study jejunal absorption of amino acid residues from a partial enzymic hydrolysate of casein in which about 50% of the amino acids existed as small peptides, and also from an equivalent mixture of free amino acids. 2. The effect of a high concentration of the dipeptide glycylglycine on the absorption of amino acid residues from these preparations was studied to quantify the importance of mucosal uptake of intact peptides during absorption of the partial hydrolysate of casein. 3. The results were unexpected. Glycylglycine significantly inhibited absorption of several amino acid residues (aspartic acid + asparagine, serine, glutamic acid + glutamine, proline, alanine, phenylalanine, threonine and isoleucine) from the free amino acid mixture, whereas it significantly inhibited the absorption of only two (serine, glutamin acid + glutamine) from the peptide-containing partial casein hydrolysate. 4. The effect of glycylglycine on absorption of amino acids from the mixture of free amino acids was apparently due to inhibition of amino acid uptake by free glycine liberated from the dipeptide during perfusion. The reason for the failure of glycylglycine to cause extensive inhibition of absorption from the partial hydrolysate is not clear. It may be due to glycylglycine being only a weak inhibitor of peptide uptake, but the possibility that some peptides are taken up by a system unavailable to glycylglycine has to be considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Altered cobalamin distribution in rat hepatomas and in the livers of rats treated with diethylnitrosamine.

The distribution of cobalamin cofactors was investigated in the livers and tumors of rats bearing transplanted Morris 7777 or 7800 hepatomas, in the livers of rats treated with the hepatocarcinogen diethylnitrosamine, and in normal rats. There was a significant increase in the proportion of methylcobalamin both in livers and tumors from rat bearing the hepatomas 7777 and 7800 compared to the proportion of methylcobalamin in the livers of normal rats. The total cobalamin content of the hepatomas was significantly lower than that of host or control livers. Similarly, the total cobalamin content of the livers from the tumor-bearing rats was less than that in control animals. The administration to rats of an acute dose of diethylnitrosamine led to an 84% increase in the hepatic concentration of methylcobalamin. Chronic administration of diethylnitrosamine slightly increased the hepatic methylcobalamin concentration, but this was not statistically significant. Liver weight was reduced, and the hepatic content of total cobalamin fell to 55% of that in control animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Introduction. Membrane transport of peptides.

Carrier-mediated membrane transport of small peptides is now realized to be a process of wide biological distribution, occurring not only in the small intestine and elsewhere in the animal body but also in bacteria, yeast, the mould Neurospora crassa, and probably in higher plants during the germination of seeds. The important features of peptide transport are outlined, and possible relationships between peptide transport and hydrolysis are discussed. Peptide transport is a stereochemically specific active process, and is independent of the transport of free amino acids. It is frequently, though not always, more rapid than the transport of amino acids. In the intestine, it is probably limited to dipeptides and tripeptides, but certain other animal cells and bacteria can take up larger peptides of seven or more amino acid residues. The ability to take up small peptides on a large scale is nutritionally important in some microorganisms, and might be of nutritional importance to the intact animal and to animal cells in culture. In the absorptive cells of the small intestine, and in Escherichia coli, peptide transport into the cells is followed by intracellular hydrolysis; transport and hydrolysis are quite distinct processes. Whether hydrolysis and amino acid transport can be coupled processes, or whether peptide transport and hydrolysis are different aspects of the same process, remains to be seen. This question is one of those where a close integration of studies of peptide transport with those of peptide hydrolysis should be particularly helpful.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1976

Tissue distribution of endogenous cobalamins and other corrins in the rat, cat and guinea pig.

1. Methylcobalamin, adenosylcobalamin, hydroxocobalamin and cyanocobalamin have been estimated by a chromato-bioautographic techniques in 16 tissues from healthy rats and in five guinea pig tissues. 2. Plasma and erythrocyte cobalamins have been estimated in rats, cats and guinea pigs and the results compared with those in man. 3. Unidentified corrins were detected in 8 of the 16 rat tissues and in 3 of the 5 guinea pig tissues analysed, but were not present in tissues from specific pathogen-free rats nor in the standard laboratory diet. 4. Adenosylcobalamin was the major corrin in 8 of the 16 rat tissues. In the remainder hydroxocobalamin predominated or was present in equal proportions with adenosylcobalamin. Methylcobalamin was detected in the majority of rat tissues but at levels much lower than those in human tissues. Small amounts of cyanocobalamin were detected also and levels were higher than those of methylcobalamin in 8 of the 16 tissues. 5. In the rat, cat and guinea pig, levels of methylcobalamin and hydroxobalamin were higher in erythrocytes than in plasma, a pattern almost the complete reverse of that in man.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1976

Cobalamins in fibroblasts cultured from normal control subjects and patients with methylmalonic aciduria.

The intracellular content and proportional distribution of B12 (cobalamin) derivatives in fibroblasts cultured from patients with various forms of methylmalonic aciduria, as well as from normal control subjects, has been determined by a two-dimensional chromatobioautographic technique. Each line of fibroblasts was grown in the presence of four concentrations of cobalamin, ranging from the 0.04-0.07 pmol/ml contained in the basal medium to 74 pmol/ml (100 ng/ml), added in form of hydroxocobalamin (OH-CHl). Control cells grown in the basal medium contained substantial proportions of both methylcobalamin (MeCbl) and adenysylcobalamin (AdoCbl), with the former predominating. As increasing concentrations of OH-CBl were added to the growth medium, the total cellular cobalamin content increased without marked changes in the relative proportions of MeCbl, AdoCbl, and OH-Cbl. Three different patterns were discernable in the cobalamin distributions of the cells cultured from patients with methylmalonic aciduria (Table 1 and Fig. 1).

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗
PubMed1976

Intestinal absorption of amino acids and peptides in Hartnup disorder.

Absorption of free and peptide-bound amino acids was investigated in a girl with Hartnup disorder aged 26 months. Plasma levels of amino acids were followed after oral administration of (1) an amino acid mixture simulating casein and (2) an equivalent dose of a partial enzymic hydrolysate of casein containing oligopeptides in addition to free amino acids. The results suggested that many neutral amino acids were poorly absorbed when given in the free form, but much more readily absorbed when given as peptides. Unexpectedly, the results also suggested that glutamic acid was poorly absorbed when given in the free form. The results obtained with threonine could not be interpreted. There was an increased renal clearance of many neutral amino acids, including glycine, but clearance of proline was not increased. Most amino acids with an increased renal clearance also appeared to be poorly absorbed when given by mouth in the free form.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1976

Synthesis of cobalamin coenzymes by human lymphocytes in vitro and the effect of folates and metabolic inhibitors.

The uptake of 57Co-cyanocobalamin (CN-Cbl) and its conversion to 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin (Ado-Cbl), methylcobalamin (Me-Cbl), and hydroxocobalamin (OH-Cbl) has been studied in phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-transformed lymphocytes from normal subjects and patients with patients with pernicious anemia. Uptake and conversion were much greater by PHA-stimulated lymphocytes than by mature non-transformed lymphocytes. In normal cells, uptake of 57Co-CN-Cbl and synthesis of the cobalamin coenzymes were approximately linear between 3 and 48 hr incubation. Ado-Cbl was the major cobalamin formed, and after 72 hr the cells contained about twice as much Ado-Cbl as Me-Cbl. Uptake by lymphocytes from patients with untreated pernicious anemia (PA) was greater than that by normal lymphocytes, but the proportions of Ado-Cbl and Me-Cbl synthesized by each were similar. Folic acid and methyltetrahydrofolate enhanced synthesis of Me-Cbl both in normal and in PA cells, while methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil depressed it. This depression was overcome by 5-formyltetrahydrofolate, suggesting that an uninterrupted folate cycle may play an important role in Me-Cbl synthesis.

Antimetabolites↗