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Biomedical subjects

E Beutler

Publications and source records attributed to E Beutler.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Mechanism of improved maintenance of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate in stored blood by the xanthone compound 2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-6-(1-H-tetrazole-5-yl)xanthen-9-one (BW A440C).

The effect of the xanthone derivative 2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-6-(1-H-tetrazole-5-yl)xanthen-9-one (BW A440C) on red cells was studied. When added to stored red cells at a concentration of 6 mM, greatly improved preservation of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) was observed. There was no effect on internal pH of the erythrocyte. At a concentration 0.500 mM, many red cell enzyme activities were inhibited completely. At a 0.500 mM concentration, however, inhibition of pyruvate kinase and diphosphoglycerate phosphatase was most striking. Inhibition of either of these enzymes could result in elevation of 2,3-DPG levels. BW A440C in concentrations which elevated 2,3-DPG levels in humans caused a decrease in 2,3-DPG levels in rabbits and markedly impaired the viability of 21-day stored rabbit erythrocytes.

2,3-Diphosphoglycerate↗
PubMed1988

Gaucher disease.

Gaucher disease is a glycolipid storage disorder characterized by accumulation of glucocerebroside in the liver, spleen, and bones, and caused by a deficiency of glucocerebrosidase. Glucocerebrosidase cDNA has been cloned and sequenced, and much has been learned about the synthesis and processing of this enzyme. Inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder, Gaucher Disease is relatively common among Ashkenazi Jews. In its most common form, designated Type 1 or adult type of Gaucher disease, the central nervous system is spared. Several organ systems may be involved, including not only the hematopoietic tissues and bones, but also the lungs. Diagnosis can be achieved without marrow examination by estimating the glucocerebrosidase (beta-glucosidase) activity of the peripheral blood leukocytes. Currently available conventional therapy is purely symptomatic in nature, including orthopedic procedures and splenectomy. On an experimental basis, splenectomy may be partial instead of total. Because the disease is due to an abnormality of the monocyte-macrophage system, cells that arise from the hematopoietic stem cell, and because the central nervous system is spared it has been considered a very suitable candidate for experimental therapeutic intervention. Bone marrow transplantation has been attended with limited success, enzyme therapy has not yet been successful, and studies utilizing gene transfer are underway.

Gaucher Disease↗
PubMed1988

Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of cDNA for human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase variant A(-).

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD; D-glucose-6-phosphate:NADP+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.49) A(-) is a common variant in Blacks that causes sensitivity to drug-and infection-induced hemolytic anemia. A cDNA library was constructed from Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cells from a male who was G6PD A(-). One of four cDNA clones isolated contained a sequence not found in the other clones nor in the published cDNA sequence. Consisting of 138 bases and coding 46 amino acids, this segment of cDNA apparently is derived from the alternative splicing involving the 3' end of intron 7. Comparison of the remaining sequences of these clones with the published sequence revealed three nucleotide substitutions: C33----G, G202----A, and A376----G. Each change produces a new restriction site. Genomic DNA from five G6PD A(-) individuals was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. The base substitution at position 376, identical to the substitution that has been reported in G6PD A(+), was present in all G6PD A(-) samples and none of the control G6PD B(+) samples examined. The substitution at position 202 was found in four of the five G6PD A(-) samples and no normal control sample. At position 33 guanine was found in all G6PD A(-) samples and seven G6PD B(+) control samples and is, presumably, the usual nucleotide found at this position. The finding of the same mutation in G6PD A(-) as is found in G6PD A(+) strongly suggests that the G6PD A(-) mutation arose in an individual with G6PD A(+), adding another mutation that causes the in vivo instability of this enzyme protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Enzymatic diagnosis in non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.

Blood samples from 722 unrelated patients with anemia and/or reticulocytosis were submitted to our laboratory for red cell enzyme assay during the past 7 years. Among these 722 cases, we found 82 cases of 7 different red cell enzyme deficiencies and 2 of unstable hemoglobin. Abnormalities of pyruvate kinase (PK) were found to cause hemolysis in 55 patients. Although their average PK activity was about 35% of the normal level, 5 showed normal and 2 demonstrated high PK activity. Among 17 patients in whom pyruvate kinase assays or screening tests had been carried out in routine laboratories, the correct diagnoses had been made in only 4. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency was found in 15 patients, pyrimidine 5'-nucleotidase deficiency in 5, glucose phosphate isomerase deficiency in 3, adenylate kinase deficiency in 2, phosphoglycerate kinase deficiency in 1, and glutathione synthetase deficiency in 1 patient. Even after we performed a panel of over 20 different red cell enzyme assays, 519 patients still remained undiagnosed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

The in vivo ageing of red cell enzymes: direct evidence of biphasic decay from polycythaemic rabbits with reticulocytosis.

The rate at which the activities of red cell enzymes decay during maturation of the reticulocyte and ageing of the erythrocyte is poorly understood. It has recently been suggested that loss of enzyme activity may be rapid during reticulocyte maturation and occur slowly thereafter. We have now devised a rabbit model in which reticulocytosis is combined with transfusional polycythaemia. This makes it possible to follow the enzymatic activity of a cohort of reticulocytes without the interfering effect of newly formed cells. In this model the reticulocyte count of the experimental animals falls from about 60% to subnormal levels within 4 d. Red cell hexokinase activity declined rapidly with more than half of the activity being lost within 7 d, little change occurring thereafter. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity declined more gradually, but also followed a biphasic course. The fall of pyrimidine 5' nucleotidase activity was the slowest of the three age-dependent enzymes studied. This is consistent with our observations in children with transient erythroblastopenia of childhood, in which this enzyme, alone of the age-dependent enzymes, was found to be decreased in a senescent red cell population. In contrast to the three age-dependent enzymes studied, the activity of lactate dehydrogenase remained unchanged during the course of the experiment. These studies provide direct verification of the suggestion that the decline of red cell enzyme activities may be biphasic. They show, moreover, that enzyme decay is not only rapid in reticulocytes, but also in young erythrocytes.

5'-Nucleotidase↗
PubMed1988

2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine: an effective new agent for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine, a new lymphocyte-selective, anti-neoplastic drug was administered to 18 patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia of B-cell origin. All patients were resistant to conventional treatment. A total of 44 courses of 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine were completed with minimal toxicity. An overall response rate of 55% was achieved with four of 18 patients demonstrating partial response and six of 18 patients experiencing clinical improvement. Only minor bone marrow suppression occurred during administration of the drug, indicating a high degree of lymphocyte selectivity. Reduction of lymphocyte infiltration in bone marrow occurred in treated patients including one patient who experienced normalization of the bone marrow. Three of four patients with concurrent autoimmune hemolytic anemia experienced resolution of hemolysis, as indicated by elimination of transfusion requirement, fall in reticulocyte count, elevation of hemoglobin, and ability to taper prednisone without recurrence of hemolysis. Duration of responses ranged from 2 to 15 months without maintenance therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The relationship of red cell enzymes to red cell life-span.

Red cells are replaced before they become senescent. It is probable that red cell destruction is controlled by a biologic clock, essentially independent of metabolism, rather than by metabolic failure. The appearance of neo-antigens on the external surface of the red cell could be this "clock."

Biological Clocks↗
PubMed1988

Erythrocyte glutathione S-transferase deficiency and hemolytic anemia.

A patient with unexplained erythrocyte glutathione-S-transferase (GST) deficiency has been detected among 513 unrelated persons with hemolytic anemia. An otherwise healthy adult male, the deficient individual had a mild hemolytic anemia with splenomegaly, indirect hyperbilirubinemia, and cholelithiasis. Because he was adopted and childless, the hereditary nature of the defect could not be established. The residual enzyme activity was only about 15% of mean normal. Depletion of glutathione (GSH) from the cells by 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB), a substrate for GST, was somewhat decreased in the red cells from the patient, suggesting that a functional defect existed. The kinetic properties of the residual enzyme and the ratio of activity to antigenicity were normal. Modest decreases in leukocyte and platelet GST activities were documented. Although a cause-and-effect relationship between the GST deficiency and hemolysis may exist, this cannot be proven in the absence of affected family members.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Two new variants of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase associated with hereditary non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia: G6PD Wayne and G6PD Huron.

Two new deficient variants of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) causing hereditary nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia (HNSHA) are described. Both of these are unique and they have been named G6PD Wayne and G6PD Huron. Patients with G6PD Wayne underwent splenectomy and no objective improvement was noted. The patients with G6PD Huron were under medical observation for a considerable period of time without the diagnosis of G6PD deficiency being entertained because the family was of Northern European origin. Since sporadic variants of G6PD causing HNSHA show no special racial predilection, the diagnosis of G6PD deficiency should always be considered in patients with this syndrome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Elevated pyruvate kinase activity in patients with hemolytic anemia due to red cell pyruvate kinase "deficiency".

Two patients with non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia were found to have elevated red blood cell pyruvate kinase activities commensurate with the decreased mean red cell age, but the residual pyruvate kinase had marked kinetic abnormalities. Accumulation of metabolic intermediates before pyruvate kinase and reduced levels of activity of the red blood cells of the parents of both patients supported the diagnosis of an inherited abnormal pyruvate kinase causing hemolytic anemia. Although it was observed in two unrelated persons, review of enzyme assays performed on the red blood cells of 651 patients with hereditary non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia suggests that this occurrence is rare.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Glutathione disulfide-stimulated Mg2+-ATPase of human erythrocyte membranes.

Inside-out erythrocyte membranes attached to polycationic beads manifested glutathione disulfide (GSSG)-stimulated ATPase activity. A Lineweaver-Burk plot of the ATPase activity as a function of GSSG concentration was biphasic and gave apparent Km values of 0.13 mM and 2.0 mM. These kinetics are similar to those reported for the ATP-requiring GSSG-transport systems in human erythrocytes and for the GSSG-stimulated ATPase activity in the plasma membranes of rat hepatocytes. Erythrocyte membranes that were depleted of extrinsic proteins were solubilized in 0.5% Triton X-100. Affinity chromatography on S-hexylglutathione-Sepharose 6B, with elution by a linear gradient of S-hexyl-glutathione, resulted in the resolution of two peaks of enzyme activity. One enzyme, which was eluted at approximately 0.5 mM S-hexylglutathione, had a high affinity for GSSG (apparent Km of 150 microM) and for ATP (80 microM). The other enzyme, which was eluted at approximately 1 mM S-hexylglutathione, had a low affinity for GSSG (apparent Km of 2.0 mM) and ATP (140 microM). GSSG-independent Mg2+-ATPase, Ca2+-dependent Mg2+-ATPase and Na+, K+-dependent Mg2+-ATPase were undetectable in the fractions. Addition of Ca2+, ouabain, or vanadate neither activated nor inhibited the activities, further indicating that the enzymes are distinguishable from ion-pumping ATPases. The enzymes required GSSG for activation; reduced glutathione (GSH) was ineffective. The ATPase activity of the high-Km enzyme was inhibited by addition of p-chloromercuribenzoate, N-ethylmaleimide, and iodoacetamide and was activated by treatment with dithiothreitol, whereas the ATPase activity of the low-Km enzyme was not modified by these thiol reagents. The properties of the enzymes are similar to those of ATP-dependent GSSG-transport systems in human erythrocytes, suggesting that these ATPases may function in the active transport of GSSG.

Ca(2+) Mg(2+)-ATPase↗
PubMed1987

Complete correction of the enzymatic defect of type I Gaucher disease fibroblasts by retroviral-mediated gene transfer.

Glucocerebrosidase cDNA and the neomycin-resistance gene (neo) were cloned into a retrovirus vector. Mouse fibroblasts infected with this vector expressed human glucocerebrosidase, which was readily distinguished from the mouse enzyme using mouse monoclonal anti-glucocerebrosidase antibodies. Cultured fibroblasts and transformed lymphoblasts from patients with type I Gaucher disease were infected with the retrovirus rescued from the mouse fibroblasts by a helper virus. Transformed cells were selected with the antibiotic G418. The enzyme activity of cells infected with virus containing glucocerebrosidase cDNA was restored to normal, while uninfected cells or cells infected with virus containing only the neo gene did not produce glucocerebrosidase.

Animals↗