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Biomedical subjects

G Christie

Publications and source records attributed to G Christie.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Potential roles of metalloprotease mediated ectodomain cleavage in signaling by the endothelial receptor tyrosine kinase Tie-1.

The orphan receptor tyrosine kinase Tie-1 is expressed predominantly in endothelial cells. Expression of this receptor is increased in physiologic angiogenesis and pathologic situations including tumor growth and arteriovenous malformations. Tie-1 is essential for vascular development where it acts in later stages of angiogenesis to suppress endothelial activation and stabilize the newly formed vessel. Stimulation of protein kinase C in endothelial cells results in endoproteolytic cleavage of Tie-1, releasing the extracellular ligand-binding domain of the receptor. We show that this is mediated by a metalloprotease. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting of lysates prepared from human placentas confirm that Tie-1 truncation occurs in vivo. We propose cleavage of this receptor may be a mechanism for inducing vessel destabilization by preventing ligand-activated signaling through Tie-1. Using an antibody that recognizes the carboxy terminus of the intracellular domain, we show that the Tie-1 endodomain formed on cleavage persists as a cell-associated fragment for several hours. Subcellular fractionation reveals this tyrosine kinase containing receptor fragment to be localized in the membrane fraction of the cell. Immunoprecipitation with antibodies recognizing phosphotyrosine demonstrates that cleavage of Tie-1 stimulates association of newly generated endodomain with cellular phosphoproteins. Furthermore, there was a marked induction of tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins after PMA-induced endodomain generation. These data indicate that ectodomain cleavage may be a mechanism for down-regulating ligand-induced signaling through Tie-1 while activating an alternative ligand-independent signaling pathway in endothelial cells. Ectodomain cleavage occurs in some other receptor tyrosine kinases. We suggest that rather than solely being a means of down-regulating receptor activity, ectodomain cleavage may be a novel way for a receptor to switch between two alternative signaling pathways.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1998

CD23 (FcepsilonRII) release from cell membranes is mediated by a membrane-bound metalloprotease.

CD23 (low-affinity IgE receptor, FcepsilonRII) is expressed as a Type II extracellular protein on a variety of cells such as B-cells, monocytes and macrophages and is cleaved from the cell surface to generate several distinct fragments. The expression of CD23 on the cell surface as well as the generation of soluble fragments of CD23 has been shown to be involved in the regulation of IgE synthesis. Here we report that the release of CD23 from the cell surface is mediated by a metalloprotease. An assay utilizing purified CD23 and an neo-epitope antibody specific for one of the known cleavage products is described and used to demonstrate unambiguously the cleavage of CD23 by a distinct protease. Characterization of the mechanism of CD23 processing shows that the protease exists as an integral membrane protein with a functional molecular mass of approx. 63 kDa as determined by gel-filtration chromatography. The CD23-cleaving activity found in enriched plasma membranes from RPMI 8866 cells is inhibited by the metalloprotease inhibitors 1, 10-phenanthroline and imidazole and by the matrix metalloprotease inhibitor batimastat, but not by inhibitors of cysteine proteases, serine proteases or acid proteases. The same or a similar activity that cleaves CD23 to the known 33 kDa fragment and is inhibited by batimastat is present in diverse cell types such as unstimulated fibroblasts and monocytic cell lines not expressing CD23, as well as in the Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B-cell line, RPMI 8866, which constitutively expresses CD23.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Presenilins--in search of functionality.

The discovery of the PS proteins, the complexities of their biochemistry and their potential involvement in signalling pathways and in apoptosis have galvanized research into AD. To date, the aspect of the functionality of the PSs most relevant to the pathology of AD is the effect of PS FAD mutants to increase the proportion of A beta 42 produced from cells. This, coupled to the observation that gamma-secretase cleavage is considerably reduced in neurons derived from PS-1 knockout mice, argues strongly that PS plays a very direct role in the proteolytic processing of APP.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1997

Inositol phospholipid 3-kinase is activated by cellular stress but is not required for the stress-induced activation of glucose transport in L6 rat skeletal muscle cells.

A characteristic response of cells subjected to a stress stimulus is a rapid activation of cellular glucose transport. The mechanisms governing this increase in glucose transport are poorly understood, but it has been suggested that the response may involve the intracellular-signaling components that also participate in the hormonal activation of glucose transport. In skeletal muscle and fat tissue, inositol phospholipid 3-kinase plays an integral role in the regulation of both basal and insulin-stimulated glucose transport. In this study, we have investigated whether inositol phospholipid 3-kinase is activated by chemical stress and, if so, whether it has a role to play in the stress-induced increase in glucose transport in L6 muscle cells. Furthermore, we have attempted to assess the basis by which inositol phospholipid 3-kinase may participate in the regulation of basal glucose transport. Acute exposure (30 min) of L6 muscle cells to 0.5 mM arsenite induced an 80% stimulation in glucose transport. This activation was due to a rise in the number of cell-surface glucose transporters, based on an increase in the Vmax of glucose transport and the observation that arsenite increases the plasma membrane content of GLUT1 and GLUT4 glucose transporters by 95% and 60%, respectively, from an intracellular compartment. Arsenite induced rapid activation (< 2 min) of inositol phospholipid 3-kinase with an approximately fourfold increase in phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns3,4,5P3). In contrast, phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns3P) levels were unaffected. Prior treatment of L6 cells with 100 nM wortmannin suppressed the arsenite-induced increase in PtdIns3,4,5P3 and reduced the cellular content of PtdIns3P by 50%. Under these conditions however, wortmannin failed to prevent the stress-induced activation of glucose transport, but suppressed basal glucose transport by 60% with an IC50 of about 10 nM. In the absence of arsenite, wortmannin caused a dose-dependent inhibition in the cellular levels of PtdIns3P and PtdIns3,4,5P3 with IC50 values of about 10 nM and 100 nM, respectively. In summary, the present results demonstrate that chemical stress activates inositol phospholipid 3-kinase and glucose transport in L6 muscle cells, but unlike the hormonal responses of these cells the activation of inositol phospholipid 3-kinase is not responsible for the stress-induced increase in glucose transport. This implies that stress-induced and hormonal stimulated increases in PtdIns3,4,5P3 levels are functionally distinct. By contrast, the maintenance of PtdIns3P levels, presumably involving a PtdIns-specific, wortmannin-sensitive inositol phospholipid 3-kinase may be required to support basal glucose transport.

Androstadienes↗
PubMed1997

IgE secretion is attenuated by an inhibitor of proteolytic processing of CD23 (Fc epsilonRII).

CD23, the low-affinity IgE receptor, is up-regulated on interleukin (IL)-4-stimulated B cells and monocytes, with a concomitant increase in the release of soluble fragments of CD23 (sCD23) into the medium by proteolytic processing of the surface-bound intact CD23. The effect of inhibition of the processing of CD23 on IgE production in human and mouse cells and in a mouse model in vivo was evaluated. CD23 processing to sCD23 from RPMI 8866 (a human Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B cell line) cell membranes was inhibited by a broad-spectrum matrix-metalloprotease inhibitor, batimastat, with an IC50 of 0.15 microM. Batimastat also inhibited CD23 processing in whole RPMI 8866 cells as well as in IL-4-stimulated purified human monocytes with similar IC50. Batimastat inhibited IgE production from IL-4/anti-CD40-stimulated human tonsil B cells as well as mouse splenic B cells in a manner consistent with inhibition of CD23 processing. Release of soluble fragments of CD23 in the cell supernatants of tonsil B cells was inhibited over the concentration range of 1-10 microM batimastat and intact cell surface CD23 was increased on mouse splenic B cells in the presence of these concentrations of batimastat. IgE production of IL-4-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells was also blocked by 1-10 microM batimastat, again with comparable inhibition of sCD23 release over the same concentration range. Finally, in a mouse model of IgE production, batimastat inhibited IgE production in response to ovalbumin challenge as determined by serum IgE levels. Taken together, the data support a role of CD23 in IgE production and point to CD23 processing to sCD23 as a therapeutically relevant control point in the regulation of IgE synthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Tears in bioprosthetic heart valve leaflets without calcific degeneration.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: The mechanism of structural failure of bioprosthetic valves is still not clearly understood. This study was undertaken to assess pure leaflet tear as a mode of failure in porcine and pericardial bioprostheses. METHODS: Of 246 bioprosthetic valves (109 porcine, 137 pericardial) implanted between 1975 and 1991, 101 had to be explanted and served as the study population. RESULTS: The reasons for valve failure were calcific degeneration in 73, pure tear in 12, and endocarditis in 10. Six other patients had a perivalvar leak. The mean age at operation was 32 years. Freedom from degeneration at 10 years was 45 +/- 7% and from pure tear it was 92 +/- 2%. The hazard functions were strikingly different, as that for degeneration showed a progressive increase while that for pure tear peaked at six years post-implant. The mean age of the patients with pure tear was 41 years and for degeneration it was 24 years (p = 0.00001). The reasons for the difference in hazard function are discussed. The characteristic clinical features of pure tear allow clinical diagnosis in the majority of patients. CONCLUSION: Pure tear is the result of uneven tissue loading with tearing occurring at sites of maximal stress. The four possible mechanisms in pericardial valves are (a) intense stress concentration at the top of the stent post (commissure); (b) compression stress below the top of the post; (c) abrasion stress in tissue mounted outside the frame; and (d) increased bending stresses on leaflet opening. In stent-mounted porcine valves, pure tear is related to incorrect mounting or to increased bending stresses.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1995

Identification of a soluble, high affinity human interleukin 4 binding protein in normal human urine.

We report the existence of a protein in normal human urine that binds, specifically and with high affinity (Kd approximately 1.9 nM) to human interleukin 4 (IL-4) and thereby prevents the binding of the cytokine to the high affinity receptor. The urinary binding protein has a molecular weight of 40 kD and 23 kD after deglycosylation. The binding protein has been purified by affinity chromatography. It inhibited IL-4-dependent (but not IL-2-dependent) T-cell proliferation. This protein may play a role in vivo in regulating the biological activities of this important immunoregulatory cytokine.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed1990

The nursing care of AIDS patients: caring, not curing.

In sum, examination of the complex issues surrounding AIDS brings the disease into clearer focus for the individual health care professional. One of the benefits is that AIDS is causing the nursing profession to re-examine its role in health care. Absence of a cure is not tantamount to having nothing more to offer. In fact, care rather than cure, becomes imperative. The highest quality care possible for all patients irrespective of their background, colour, religion, sexual orientation, diagnosis and prognosis, is a priority. Hopefully everyone in health care and society at large will learn valuable lessons from the AIDS experience. In this context, the role of health care professionals should be that of student learning from the patient.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Evaluation of the effectiveness of AIDS training and information courses.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is considered to be the major health threat of the 20th century. The only way to contain the spread of AIDS is by prevention of infection in the first place. This task is essentially one of education. Because the South African Institute for Medical Research is traditionally associated with the prevention of infectious diseases, an AIDS Centre was established to promote education. As part of the launching of the Centre in January 1988, a series of four 1-day courses was held for different target groups. Attendance rates were high and all participants completed a pre- and post-test questionnaire designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the courses and identify existing level of knowledge, present needs and possible future demands. Collected data were examined by correlation analysis, the chi-square test and the t-test. Results generally showed improved changes in knowledge and attitudes about AIDS, and pointed the way forward for future education interventions in the community.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Drug-protein conjugates--XVIII. Detection of antibodies towards the antimalarial amodiaquine and its quinone imine metabolite in man and the rat.

A specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection and characterisation of antibodies directed against amodiaquine (AQ), an anti-malarial drug associated with agranulocytosis and liver damage in man. The assay incorporated an antigen which was produced by the reaction of amodiaquine quinone imine (AQQI), a protein reactive product produced from AQ by silver oxide oxidation, and metallothionein. The protein-conjugate (AQ-MT) had a ratio of AQ to protein of 5.2:1. Specific anti-drug antibody was defined as the differential binding to AQ-MT and unconjugated MT which was inhibitable by AQ-mercapturate (5 microM). Following administration of AQ (0.27 mmol/kg; for 4 days) to male Wistar rats there was a significant increase in the IgG anti-AQ activity on day 18 (P less than 0.05, 0.596 +/- 0.410, N = 7) compared to pre-injection levels (0.111 +/- 0.074, N = 7). This activity was shown to be specific for the AQ determinant by hapten inhibition with AQ (IC50 250 nM) and AQ-mercapturate (IC50 310 nM). Following administration of AQQI (27 mumol/kg; i.m.; 4 days) there was a significant increase in IgG anti-AQ antibody activities on day 18 (0.584 +/- 0.161, N = 7) compared to pre-injection levels (0.078 +/- 0.048, N = 7). This activity was inhibited by AQ (IC50 150 nM) and AQ-mercapturate (IC50 180 nM). In addition IgG anti-AQ antibodies were detected in four patients who exhibited agranulocytosis and one patient who exhibited hepatitis (range 0.017-0.842) whilst receiving AQ at a dose of 400 mg weekly for several weeks, but not in individuals who had not received the drug (-0.014 +/- 0.022, N = 7). There was no increase in IgG anti-AQ antibody activities in patients who had not exhibited an adverse reaction whilst receiving the drug for the treatment of malaria (-0.059 +/- 0.074 on day 0 and -0.053 +/- 0.068 on day 7, N = 13). Thus, we have shown that AQ is immunogenic in the rat and that the formation of a chemically reactive metabolite (AQQI) is involved in the generation of the antibody response. Furthermore, drug-specific antibodies were detected in sera from five patients with severe adverse reactions to the drug.

Amodiaquine↗
PubMed1989

Disposition and immunogenicity of penicillin in the rabbit.

The immunogenicity, disposition and irreversible protein binding of benzylpenicillin (BP) were studied in male New Zealand White rabbits. There was an increase in IgG anti-benzylpenicilloyl (BPO) antibody activity, as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) following daily intramuscular administration (for 4 consecutive days) of BP (2.7 and 1.6 mmol/kg) freshly dissolved in 0.15 M NaCl. Antibody activity reached a maximum approximately 14 days after the last injection. There was a smaller immune response when a dose of 270 mumol/kg was administered. The specificity of the IgG antibody response for the BPO determinant was confirmed by inhibition of binding by BPO-aminocaproate. [3H]BP, administered intravenously to rabbits at a dose of 2.7 mmol/kg was rapidly cleared from plasma, and unchanged BP was not detected at 1 h. After 3 h, irreversible binding accounted for less than 0.004% of the dose bound per milliliter of plasma, and this represented all the radioactivity present in plasma at this time. Covalent binding of BP to plasma proteins, in vitro, after 3 h was of the same magnitude for rabbit, rat and human plasma. Therefore, BP can induce a specific antibody response in the rabbit in contrast to the lack of immunogenicity observed previously in the rat.

Animals↗