Biomedical subjects

G Chen

Publications and source records attributed to G Chen.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

PubMed2001

Localization of the Q1 mutation by cladistic analysis.

The completion of the human genome project appears to be in sight and enormous new information resources will be available. The challenge now facing the scientific community is to use this information. In this paper, we applied cladistic analysis to the sequenced data in a Genetic Analysis Workshop 12 simulation problem. The Q1 mutation was localized to a 5-kb segment, in which the true mutation is located. Our analysis shows that cladistic analysis, which summarizes evolutionary history, can be a powerful tool in gene mapping.

Alleles↗

PubMed2001

Application of the ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) assay to mixtures of halogenated aromatic compounds.

The ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) assay monitors the induction of the xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 1A1 and is a widely used biomarker for exposure of wildlife to substances that bind the aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor. In this work the induction of EROD activity by single compounds and binary mixtures in primary rat hepatocytes was compared with the predictions of a kinetic model involving mixtures of inducers. The inducing agents were also examined for their ability to activate the Ah receptor to its DNA-binding form and for their ability to act as competitive inhibitors for CYP 1A1. Xenobiotics that failed to activate the Ah receptor did not induce EROD activity. Competitive inhibition for CYP 1A1 between the xenobiotic and 7-ethoxyresorufin caused EROD activity to fall at high xenobiotic concentrations. Competition for a limited number of Ah receptor sites depressed the EROD activity of a strong inducer such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin at high concentrations of a weak inducer. Application of the kinetic model to the example of a mixture of low concentrations of dibenzo-p-dioxins and much higher concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls indicated that EROD assays often seriously underestimate the true potency of an environmental sample. Hence the EROD assay cannot be used for determining dioxin equivalent concentrations using the toxic equivalence factor approach.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Preliminary risk assessment of the wet landscape option for reclamation of oil sands mine tailings: bioassays with mature fine tailings pore water.

Chemical and biological assays have been carried out on the "pore water" that results from the settling of the tailings that accompany bitumen recovery from the Athabasca oil sands. Examination of the nonacidic extracts of pore water by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy allowed the identification of numerous two- to three-ring polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), to a total concentration of 2.6 micrograms/L of pore water. The PACs were biodegraded by microflora naturally present in the pore water. Acute toxicity was associated principally with the acidic fraction (naphthenic acids) of pore water extracts according to the Microtox assay; other work has shown that acute toxicity dissipates fairly rapidly. Both individual PACs and concentrated pore water extracts showed minimal levels of binding to the rat Ah receptor and induced minimal ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity in primary rat hepatocytes, showing an insignificant risk of inducing monooxygenase activity. Taken together with previous work showing negligible mutagenic activity of these extracts, we conclude that it should be possible to develop tailing slurries into biologically productive artificial lakes.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Thermotolerance protects against endotoxin-mediated microvascular injury.

An early event in endotoxin-induced tissue injury is adhesion and migration of leukocytes through the endothelium. This is a three-stage process, initially low-grade selectin-mediated adhesion, seen as a decrease in rolling velocity, followed by integrin-mediated adhesion and transmigration. Thermotolerance has been shown to reduce tissue injury and mortality induced by endotoxin. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of thermotolerance on leukocyte-endothelial interactions. Intravital video microscopy was used to examine hemodynamic parameters, leukocyte rolling, adhesion, and migration in rat mesenteric postcapillary venules. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into control, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and thermotolerance + LPS groups. Thermotolerance was induced 18 h prior to administration of LPS by elevating core body temperature to 41 + 0.5 degrees C for 15 min. LPS (055:B5 15 mg/kg) was administered via the jugular vein after baseline recording. Leukocyte rolling velocity and the number of adherent and migrated leukocytes were measured by intravital microscopy at baseline 0 min and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min after LPS administration. Heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) expression in tissues was determined by Western immunoblotting. The results indicated that LPS administration significantly decreased leukocyte rolling velocity during endotoxemia and increased leukocyte adhesion (10.3 +/- 1.67, 13.2 +/- 1.40, and 10.0 +/- 1.57/100 microm) and migration (5.7 +/- 1.02 and 8.3 +/- 1.76/field) at 30, 60, and 90 min after LPS injection (P < 0.01 vs baseline and control group). Thermotolerance maintained leukocyte rolling velocity and significantly reduced leukocyte adhesion (5.7 +/- 0.88 and 4.0 +/- 0.68/100 microm) and migration (2.8 +/- 0.32 and 3.0 +/- 0.68/field) at 30 and 60 min after LPS administration (P < 0.01 and 0.05 vs LPS group). Expression of HSP72 was induced in mesentery, gut, and lung by thermotolerance. This study indicates that thermotolerance attenuated LPS-induced microvascular injury by decreasing leukocyte-endothelial adhesion and migration.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Taurine attenuates LPS-induced rolling and adhesion in rat microcirculation.

BACKGROUND: Adhesion of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) to endothelial cells and subsequent transendothelial migration are an early key events in the inflammatory response and play an important part in the pathogenesis of septic shock, contributing to vascular and tissue injury. Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is a sulphur-containing beta amino acid. It is a known antioxidant, possesses antimicrobial properties, and has previously been shown to be protective to the endothelium both in vivo and in vitro. The aim of this study was to determine if pretreatment with taurinewould attenuate the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced increase in leukocyte-endothelial interactions and microvascular permeability during endotoxemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-350 g) were randomized into three groups: (1) Control, (2) LPS, and (3) LPS + Taurine groups. Taurine was administered orally as a 4% solution. Endotoxemia was induced using Escherichia Coli endotoxin (Serotype 0.55 B5)-15 mg/kg via a slow intravenous infusion. Using mesenteric postcapillary venules (28-32-microm diameter) the number of adherent and migrated leukocytes and their rolling velocity were measured by intravital microscopy at baseline and subsequently at 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post administration of LPS. RESULTS: Following administration of LPS there was a reduction in leukocyte rolling velocity at 30, 60 and 90 min. This was accompanied by a significant increase in the number of adherent leukocytes at 10, 30, 60 and 90 min. Transendothelial migration was significantly increased at 90 min. Taurine significantly attenuated the LPS-induced reduction in leukocyte rolling velocity at 10 and 30 min and the number of adherent leukocytes at all time points. Taurine also attenuated the LPS-induced increase in transendothelial migration at 90 min. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that taurine ameliorates endotoxin-induced leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions associated with sepsis, thereby suggesting that taurine may have a therapeutic role in the preventionof endothelial damage in sepsis.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Pravastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor, attenuates renal injury in an experimental model of ischemia-reperfusion.

BACKGROUND: Renal dysfunction due to ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a common problem following renovascular surgery or kidney transplantation. There is a lot of emerging evidence that statins, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase inhibitors, have anti-inflammatory properties and exert direct beneficial effects on the vascular endothelium. The aim of this study was to determine if pretreatment with pravastatin would attenuate the acute renal dysfunction that occurs following IR injury in an experimental model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into four groups (n = 7 per group): control, uninephrectomy, IR group, and IR group pretreated with pravastatin (0.4 mg/kg/day for the preceding 5 days). Following a left nephrectomy the IR injury was induced by cross-clamping the right vascular pedicle for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 2 h. In a separate experiment (n = 6 per group) renal function was assessed 12 and 24 h after reperfusion. RESULTS: IR injury causes significant renal dysfunction characterized by oliguria, 0.11 (0.05) ml/h, decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR), 0.02 (0.01) ml/min; and marked protein leakage, 7.21 (1.3) g/L, 2 h postreperfusion. This renal dysfunction was also evident 12 and 24 h postreperfusion. This was in contrast to values of 0.61 (0.13) ml/h, 0.23 (0.01) ml/min, and 1.67 (0.12) g/L in the uninephrectomy-only group and values of 2 ml/h, 7.3 ml/min, and 0.72 g/L for uninjured time-matched controls. Pretreatment with pravastatin significantly attenuated IR-induced renal injury, improving urine production to 0.62 (0.2) ml/h and GFR to 0.14 (0.02) ml/min and diminishing protein leakage to 3.76 (0.7) g/L at the 2-h time point. This renoprotective effect was also evident 12 and 24 h postreperfusion. This renal protection was associated with an upregulation of constitutive endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the pravastatin-treated group. CONCLUSION: These results show that pravastatin may play a role in modulating renal impairment following aortic or transplantation surgery, allowing earlier recovery from an IR injury.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Production of correctly folded Fab antibody fragment in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli trxB gor mutants via the coexpression of molecular chaperones.

Disulfide bonds are normally formed after a polypeptide has been exported from the reducing environment of the cytoplasm into a more oxidizing compartment, such as the bacterial periplasm. Recently, we showed that in Escherichia coli trxB gor mutants, in which the reduction of thioredoxin and glutathione is impaired, the redox potential of the cytoplasm becomes comparable to that of the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum, thus allowing the formation of disulfide bonds in certain complex proteins (P. H. Bessette et al., 1999, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96, 13703-13708]. Here, we investigate the expression of a Fab antibody fragment in the bacterial cytoplasm. The effect of coexpressing cytoplasmic chaperones (GroEL/ES, trigger factor, DnaK/J), as well as signal sequenceless versions of periplasmic chaperones (DsbC and Skp), was examined. Skp coexpression was shown to have the most significant effect (five- to sixfold increase) on the yield of correctly folded Fab. A maximum yield of 0.8 mg Fab/L/OD(600) Fab was obtained, indicating that cytoplasmic expression may be a viable alternative for the preparative production of antibody fragments.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2001

Expression of androgen receptor in meningiomas.

In order to investigate the expression of androgen receptor (AR) in meningiomas and its relation to tumor proliferative potential, we examined the expression of AR and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) by avidine-biotin complex immunohistochemistry in 39 cases of meningiomas. Of the 39 cases of meningiomas, 20(51%) showed positive AR immunoreactivity. The AR expression positivity rates were 31% (6/19) in benign meningiomas, 58% (7/12) in atypical meningiomas, 87.5% (7/8) in malignant meningiomas, respectively. In addition to the tumor cells, cells of microvascular endothelial proliferation were frequently AR positive. Malignant meningiomas had a significantly higher percentage of AR positive cells compared with atypical and benign meningiomas (P < 0.05). The mean proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index (PCNA LI) was significantly higher in the malignant meningiomas when compared with atypical meningiomas (P < 0.05) and benign meningiomas (P < 0.05). AR positive meningiomas had higher PCNA LI than AR negative meningiomas (P < 0.05). The expression of AR in tumor tissues was significantly related with PCNA LI. These data indicated that AR in the meningiomas was correlated with histological grade and AR might participate in the growth of these tumors and tumor angiogenesis. The measurement of AR in these tumors may indirectly represent tumor growth potential.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Application of a novel micro-injector in the determination of indole derivatives in the rat pineal gland by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection.

A novel micro-injector has been fabricated for capillary electrophoresis (CE). It was successfully used for the determination of some indole derivatives for example melatonin (MT), serotonin (5-HT), tryptophan (Trp), and 5-hydroxy-tryptophane (5-HTrp) in the rat pineal gland by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection (CE-EC). CE was performed in 0.20 mol L(-1) phosphate buffer (pH 8.0). The compounds investigated can be well separated and detected within 15 min. The working electrode used was a 300-microm diameter carbon electrode positioned opposite the outlet of the capillary. The relationship between peak current and analyte concentration was highly linear in the range from 0.10 to 500 micromol L(-1); detection limits (S/N = 3) were 0.03-0.13 micromol L(-1). The proposed method has been successfully used to analyze real biological samples.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

A new method of Fourier-transform smoothing with ratio spectra derivative spectrophotometry.

A new method which combines Fourier-transform smoothing with ratio spectra derivative spectrophotometry has been developed for analysis of binary and ternary mixtures. The method proposed has been applied to the simultaneous determination of a binary mixture of 0.974-2.026 x 10(-2) g L(-1) nitrate and nitrite and to a ternary mixture of 1.840-3.888 x 10(-3) g L(-1) histidine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan. The relative standard derivations are between 0.07 and 5.3% for the former system, and between 0.5 and 7.3% for the latter. The results show that the method proposed is more accurate than multiple linear regression.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Identification and classification of consumer food-handling behaviors for food safety education.

OBJECTIVE: To identify key behaviors associated with major food safety pathogen control factors. DESIGN: World Wide Web-based descriptive study with 4 tasks: compile a list of food-handling behaviors from the literature; use Delphi process to build consensus, rank order, and edit lists of behaviors; assess content and construct validity; and review results of Delphi process at a summit meeting of selected experts to make final recommendations for a food safety behavior list. SUBJECTS/SETTING: A convenience sample of 10 epidemiologists, 11 food microbiologists, 10 food safety educators, and 10 food safety policy makers was recruited from lists of nationally known experts. Twenty-four experts completed 4 rounds of surveys presented to them via a Web site. Six experts attended a face-to-face meeting to finalize behavior lists. Statistical analyses performed Descriptive statistics and sum of observation data were used to determine rank order and validity. RESULTS: Twenty-nine key food-handling behaviors for maintaining the safety of food and reducing the number of cases and outbreaks of foodborne illness were identified. These were rank-ordered within 5 pathogen control factors: practice personal hygiene, cook foods adequately, avoid cross-contamination, keep foods at safe temperatures, and avoid foods from unsafe sources. APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: This list of rank-ordered behaviors grouped by pathogen control factor should help dietitians and educators confidently teach food safety guidance that will be most effective in preventing illness.

Consumer Product Safety↗

PubMed2001

Serum cholesteryl ester transfer protein concentrations in healthy Chinese subjects and cardio-cerebrovascular disease patients.

Serum cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) concentration was measured in 1128 healthy Chinese subjects using a "sandwich" enzyme immunoassay and was 1.84 +/- 1.55 mg/l (mean +/- S.D.). The frequency distribution of CETP in healthy subjects was markedly skewed towards low concentrations. The CETP concentration in females was significantly higher than that in males (2.40 +/- 1.65 mg/l vs. 1.49 +/- 1.37 mg/l, P < 0.001). There was a weak inverse correlation between the CETP concentration and age (r = -0.19, P < 0.001). The CETP concentrations were significantly higher in 117 myocardial infarction (MI) survivors and 110 stroke patients than that in 335 healthy, age-matched males (1.98 +/- 1.68 173 +/- 1.45, and 1.40 +/- 1.37 mg/l respectively, P < 0.01), while no relation was found between CETP concentration and lipids concentration in MI, stroke and healthy group.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

PubMed2001

mRNA expression of three glycosyltransferases in human hepatoma tissues.

BACKGROUND: The sugar-chain structures of many glycoproteins are altered in the hepatoma tissues. The molecular mechanism by which these alterations occur remains largely unknown. METHODS: Messenger RNA expression of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GlcNAcT-V), N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase III (GlcNAcT-III) and alpha1-6 fucosyltransferase (alpha1-6 FucT), were investigated in normal liver tissues samples (n=7), primary hepatic cancer (PHC) tissues (n=15) and noncancerous tissues surrounding PHC (n=15) by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: The mRNA expression of the three glycosyltransferases in PHC tissues were enhanced by 3- to 10-fold in comparison with that in normal liver tissues. There were significantly higher mRNA expressions of GlcNAcT-V in invasive PHC than non-invasive. CONCLUSIONS: The change of glycoprotein sugar-chain structures in PHC may be related to the abnormal mRNA expression of some glycosyltransferases and the levels of mRNA expression of GlcNAcT-V associated with PHC invasiveness.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗

PubMed2001

Simulation analysis of muscle activity changes with altered body orientations during pedaling.

Testing hypotheses related to the effect of gravitational orientation on neural control mechanisms is difficult for most locomotor tasks, like walking, because body orientation with respect to gravity affects both sensorimotor control and task mechanics. To examine the mechanical effect of body orientation independently from changes in workload and posture, Brown et al. (J. Biomech. 29 p. 1349, 1996) studied pedaling at altered body orientations. They found that subjects pedaling at different orientations changed needlessly their muscle excitations, putatively to preserve body-upright pedaling kinematics. We tested the feasibility of this hypothesis using simulations based on a three biomechanical-function pair organization for control of lower limb muscles (limb extension/flexion pair, extension/flexion transition pair, and foot plantarflexion/dorsiflexion pair), where each pair consists of alternating agonistic/antagonistic muscles. Adjustment of only three parameters, one to scale the muscle excitations of each pair, was sufficient to preserve pedaling kinematics to altered body orientation. Because these adjustments produced changes in muscle excitation and net joint moments similar to those observed in pedaling subjects, the hypothesis is supported. Moreover, the effectiveness of a decoupled gain adjustment procedure where each parameter was adjusted by error in only one aspect of the pedaling trajectory during each iteration (i.e., cadence adjusted the Ext/Flex parameter; peak-to-peak variation in crank velocity over the cycle adjusted the transition parameter; average ankle angle over the cycle adjusted the foot parameter) further supports the distinct function of each muscle pair.

Bicycling↗

PubMed2001

A comparative study on cockroach and ovalbumin sensitizations and challenge responses in Hartley guinea-pigs.

The role of allergens in asthmatic inflammation is not clearly understood. To elucidate the mechanism of cockroach allergen (CRa)-induced airway disease, we studied three groups of Hartley guinea-pigs sensitized to control, ovalbumin (OA) or CRa. Parameters measured were anaphylactic antibodies by allergy skin test (AST), PCA assay and Western blot, changes in specific airway resistance (SRaw), analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and contracture responses of tracheal muscle (TSM) to non-specific and specific stimuli, in vitro. Both OA and CRa animals showed a similar allergic sensitization (AST and PCA), while Western blot identified several reaginic bands in CRa group compared to a single band in OA group. SRaw illustrated that CRa induce dual-asthmatic responses (4/6) in the CRa group, whereas OA induce only an early asthmatic response (3/6) in the OA group (P<0.01). The average total leukocytes in BALF of the CRa were 27.0x10(6), mostly neutrophils and eosinophils, while those of the OA showed 3.5x10(6), mostly eosinophils, respectively (P<0.0001). TSM responses to non-specific stimuli were similar in both groups (P>0.1), while the antigen-specific TSM contractions were more brisk in the OA group than those of CRa group (P<0.001). Thus, the study indicates that both CRa and OA sensitize guinea-pigs, yet CRa induces more severe and persistent late-phase inflammation than OA. This appears to be related to an influx of neutrophils rather than anaphylactic bronchospasm.

Airway Obstruction↗

PubMed2001

Catalytic dechlorination of chlorophenols in water by palladium/iron.

Three isomer chlorophenols, o-, m-, p-chlorophenol, were dechlorinated by palladium/iron powder in water through catalytic reduction. The dechlorinated reaction is believed to take place on the surface site of the catalyst in a pseudo-first-order reaction. The reduction product for all the three isomers is phenol. The dechlorination rate increases with increase of bulk loading of palladium due to the increase of both the surface loading of palladium and the total surface area. The molecular structure also has an effect on the dechlorination rate. For conditions with 0.048% Pd/Fe, the rate constants are 0.0215, 0.0155 and 0.0112 min-1 for o-, m-, p-chlorophenol, respectively. Almost complete dechlorination is achieved within 5 h.

Catalysis↗

PubMed2001

On the degradability of printing and dyeing wastewater by wet air oxidation.

A modified first-order kinetics model was used to study the wet air oxidation of printing and dyeing wastewater. The model simulations are in good agreement with experimental data. The results indicate that a certain fraction of organic pollutants in the printing and dyeing wastewater could not be removed even at elevated temperature and prolonged reaction time. The ratio of degradable organic matter is found independent of temperature and can be improved by using a catalyst.

Catalysis↗

PubMed2001

Gradient micropattern immobilization of EGF to investigate the effect of artificial juxtacrine stimulation.

To investigate the concentration effects of immobilized biosignal molecules by microscopic observation, a gradient micropattern immobilization technique using a photomask was devised. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) was chosen as the biosignal molecule and was conjugated with photoreactive polyallylamine. The EGF derivative was immobilized onto a polystyrene plate by UV irradiation in the presence of a gradient-micropattern photomask. Gradient micropattern immobilization of the EGF derivative on the polystyrene plate was confirmed by immunostaining with anti-EGF antibody. Chinese hamster ovary cells overexpressing EGF receptors were cultured on the micropatterned plate. Growth enhancement was observed only in dense EGF derivative immobilized regions. The present technique is useful for the investigation of concentration-dependent effects of immobilized biosignal molecules.

Animals↗