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Biomedical subjects

G E Wright

Publications and source records attributed to G E Wright.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Brain-specific src oncogene mRNA mapped in rat brain by in situ hybridization.

Brain src protooncogene is expressed in two forms, one identical to message in other tissues, and one containing an 18-nucleotide insert specific to brain. We have mapped mRNA for the two forms of src in rat brain with selective antisense oligonucleotide probes to the brain (src+) and peripheral (src-) forms. Fetal rat src mRNA levels were much higher in the central nervous system than any peripheral organ. In adult brain, src+ mRNA level was highest in the internal granular layer of the olfactory bulb, pyramidal cells of the hippocampus, granule cells of the dentate gyrus, and cerebellar granule cells. src+ and src- levels were similar in hindbrain, but src+ levels were higher than those of src- in forebrain. These distributions suggest that src+ may play roles in a number of neural processes, possibly including neuronal plasticity.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Synthesis, cell growth inhibition, and antitumor screening of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)purines and their nucleoside analogues.

Derivatives of N2-(p-n-butylphenyl)guanine (BuPG) and 2-(p-n-butylanilino)adenine (BuAA) were synthesized and tested as inhibitors of mammalian DNA polymerase alpha, cell growth, and macromolecule synthesis. 2-(p-n-Butylanilino)-6-chloropurine (BuACl) served as a useful intermediate to prepare a series of 6-substituted analogues. BuACl, as its sodium salt, reacted with 2-deoxy-3,5-di-p-toluoyl-beta-D-ribofuranosyl chloride in acetonitrile to give 64% of the corresponding 9-beta nucleoside (blocked BuAdCl) and only 14% of the 7-beta isomer. Deblocking and substitution of chlorine in BuAdCl generated a series of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)-9-(2-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)purine derivatives. Reaction of the sodium salt of BuACl with (2-acetoxyethoxy)methyl bromide also afforded, after deblocking and substitution of the 6-chloro group, a series of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)-9-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]purines. The bases synthesized were inhibitors of DNA polymerase alpha isolated from Chinese hamster ovary cells, the most potent compounds being 6-methoxy and 6-methylthio derivatives of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)purine. When tested for their ability to inhibit [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA in HeLa cell cultures and the growth of exponentially growing HeLa cells, 9-(2-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl) derivatives had greater potency than their base counterparts, but "adenine" analogues, such as 2-(p-n-butylanilino)-2'-deoxyadenosine (BuAdA, IC50 = 1 microM), were considerably more potent than N2-(p-n-butylphenyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine (BuPdG, IC50 = 25 microM). Derivatives bearing the 9-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl] group were nearly as potent inhibitors of [3H]thymidine incorporation in these experiments as the corresponding deoxyribonucleosides. Base and deoxynucleoside derivatives also inhibited cellular RNA synthesis, and several compounds, at high concentrations, inhibited protein synthesis. BuPG, BuAA, and four deoxyribonucleoside derivatives of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)purines were tested against P-388 lymphocytic leukemia in mice. None of the compounds increased the survival time of test animals, but two of them, BuAdA and its 6-desamino derivative BuAdP, were lethal at the highest concentration used (400 mg/kg).

Aniline Compounds↗
PubMed1986

Solvent interactions with N, N-dialkylnicotinamides and their effects on rotational barriers.

Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance techniques were employed to examine the effects of solvent environment on rotational barriers in a series of molecules structurally-related to the analeptic, nikethamide: N,N-dimethylnicotinamide, N,N-di-n-propylnicotinamide, and 1-nicotinoyl piperidine. Total bandshape analysis was performed for the exchanging alkyl carbon resonances of these compounds as a function of temperature in four solvent systems: D2O, CH3OD, CH3CH2OD and CDCl3. The rate constants for rotation about the amide bond obtained in this way were used to calculate free energy (delta G), enthalpy (delta H) and entropy (delta S) of activation parameters for this process. Our results indicate that rotational barriers are less affected by the nature of the alkyl chain attached to the amide nitrogen than by the size and polarity of the solvent molecules. Interpretation of the thermodynamic parameters in light of both nikethamide analogue structure and solvent type has further clarified the manner in which hydrogen bonding interactions between solvent molecules and the carbonyl oxygen of these analogues stabilize transition state conformers.

Hydrogen Bonding↗
PubMed1986

Inhibitors of Bacillus subtilis DNA polymerase III. Influence of modifications in the pyrimidine ring of anilino- and (benzylamino)pyrimidines.

Substituent effects governing inhibition of DNA polymerase III from Bacillus subtilis were examined in several series of N6-substituted 6-aminopyrimidines. The presence of alkyl groups as large as n-butyl in the 3-position of 6-(5-indanylamino)uracil had no effect on inhibitor-enzyme binding. Substituents in the 4-position of a series of 2-amino-6-(benzylamino)pyrimidines had complex effects: alkoxy and phenoxy derivatives were less active than the parent 4-oxo (isocytosine) compound, but alkylphenoxy and halophenoxy derivatives were more active than the 4-phenoxy compound itself, suggesting that hydrophobic binding can occur between 4-substitutents and the enzyme surface and that space between the pyrimidine ring and pol III may represent the active site of the enzyme. Replacement of 5-H by methyl and ethyl groups drastically decreased inhibitory activity of 6-(benzylamino)- and 6-p-toluidinouracils, but 5-bromo and 5-iodo analogues were equipotent with the parent compounds. These results indicate that the phenyl rings of these compounds must exist in conformations in which they are perpendicular to the pyrimidine ring plane and that charge-transfer stabilization of such "active conformations" may compensate for steric barriers from 5-halo groups in the inhibitor-enzyme complex.

Amines↗
PubMed1986

Rational design of substrate analogues targeted to selectively inhibit replication-specific DNA polymerases.

The authors' approach to the design of DNA polymerase-specific inhibitors, an approach based on the mechanism of action of 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)uracil, has been to disguise nucleic acid bases to mimic the purine substrates dGTP and dATP. Specifically, the strategy has been to synthesize bases with substituents that endow them with the capacity: to seek and react with unique features of the active site of a polymerase; and to form H bonds with complementary template pyrimidines apposing the active site. This strategy has yielded a series of novel, enzyme-specific dATP and dGTP analogues which are non-polymerizable and which inhibit their target polymerase by sequestering it to a complementary pyrimidine residue in primer:template. The work has involved primarily two replication-specific polymerases, B. subtilis DNA polymerase III (pol III) and mammalian DNA polymerase alpha (pol alpha). The initial design exploited the pyrimidine nucleus and produced inhibitors with Ki values in the micromolar range. Principles established with the pyrimidine derivatives have led to the development of bona fide purine nucleotide analogues which act as DNA polymerase inhibitors of high selectivity and unprecedented potency. For example, BuPdGTP, the 2'-deoxyribonucleoside 5'-triphosphate of N2-(p-n-butylphenyl)guanine (BuPG), lacks discernible activity against mammalian polymerases beta and gamma, whereas it inhibits mammalian pol alpha with a Ki of less than 10 nanomolar. Currently, the authors are exploiting BuPdGTP, BuPdGDP, and similar butylanilino derivatives of dATP to probe the active site of pol alpha and to develop other N2-substituted analogues which can bind selectively to the substrate sites of other important polymerases and nucleotide binding proteins.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Ability of guanine nucleotide derivatives to bind and activate bovine transducin.

Several guanine nucleotide analogs, in one series of which a hydrogen on the 2-amino group is replaced with the p-n-butylphenyl group (BuPGNP derivatives), were used to probe the GTP binding domain of bovine transducin. The order of apparent binding affinities in a series of nucleoside 5'-triphosphates was GTP gamma S greater than GTP approximately BuPGTP greater than dGTP approximately ITP much greater than ATP, values which were 30-100 times higher than affinities of the corresponding 5'-diphosphates. A derivative bearing a 6-aminohexylamino group on the gamma-phosphate, BuPGTP X C6, had a 60-fold lower affinity compared to BuPGTP. In contrast, the p-n-butylphenyl substituent on the 2-amino group had little effect on the binding affinity relative to GTP. Substitutions at the 2-amino group had little effect on either the hydrolysis of the derivatives by the GTPase activity associated with the alpha-subunit of transducin or the activation of cGMP phosphodesterase. The results indicate that the GTP binding domain of transducin is similar in tertiary structure to the corresponding domain of EF-Tu. The 5'-phosphates of GTP are oriented in the binding site of transducin so that the bulky C6 group of BuPGTP X C6 dramatically interferes with binding. The 2-amino group on the guanine ring is probably located at the periphery of the binding site, with the p-n-butylphenyl substituent of BuPGTP facing outward and only weakly interacting with the protein. BuPGTP should be an excellent parent compound for development of novel probes of G-protein interactions with other cellular proteins involved in receptor signal transduction.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Differential inhibition of human placental DNA polymerases delta and alpha by BuPdGTP and BuAdATP.

The p-n-butylphenyl- and p-n-butylanilino- substituted analogs of dGTP and dATP, respectively, were tested as inhibitors of purified human placental DNA polymerases alpha and delta. It was observed that DNA polymerase alpha activity was potently inhibited by these analogs with I0.5 values as low as the nanomolar range, whereas DNA polymerase delta activity was poorly inhibited, with I0.5 values of ca. 100 micromolar. These results argue for a distinct identity of these two enzymes, and demonstrate the usefulness of these analogs as probes of DNA polymerase structures. In addition, these analogs provide a rapid method for the discrimination of the two enzyme activities and a means for the selective assay of DNA polymerase delta. Aphidicolin inhibited both DNA polymerases.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1985

Elucidation of the mechanism of selective inhibition of mammalian DNA polymerase alpha by 2-butylanilinopurines: development and characterization of 2-(p-n-butylanilino)adenine and its deoxyribonucleotides.

2-(p-n-Butylanilino)adenine (BuAA), an homolog of the DNA polymerase alpha (pol alpha)-specific inhibitor, N2-(p-n-butylphenyl)guanine (BuPG), was transformed to its 2'-deoxyribonucleoside, BuAdA, and the corresponding 2'-deoxyribonucleoside 5'-phosphates, BuAdAMP, BuAdADP, and BuAdATP. All five forms of BuAA are highly selective inhibitors of mammalian pol alpha, and the action of each is subject to specific competitive antagonism by dATP. BuAdADP, and BuAdATP, like the corresponding forms of BuPG, are very potent pol alpha inhibitors, displaying apparent Ki's of less than 3 nanomolar on natural activated templates. BuAdATP, like BuPdGTP, also inhibits pol alpha-catalysed reactions directed by non-complementary, thymine-deficient templates, and it does so via a mechanism subject to specific antagonism by its natural homolog, dATP. The results of the BuAdATP-homopolymer experiments complement those of analogous experiments with BuPdGTP and the dCTP-specific pol alpha inhibitor, aphidicolin, and strengthen the suggestion that mammalian pol alpha contains dNDP and dNTP binding sites which can recognize specific bases without direction by templates.

Adenine↗
PubMed1985

Inhibition of RNA-directed DNA polymerase from avian myeloblastosis virus by a 5-benzyl-6-aminouracil.

5-(p-Chlorobenzyl)-6-aminouracil (5-ClAU) inhibited RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase) from avian myeloblastosis virus. Inhibition was expressed only in the presence of a polyribonucleotide template such as mRNA or poly(rA), and kinetic analysis suggested that the action of 5-ClAU is competitive with template:primer. 5-ClAU did not inhibit HeLa DNA polymerase gamma, an enzyme that efficiently copies polyribonucleotide templates. A mechanism is proposed in which a 5-ClAU:template complex interferes with enzyme function, based partly on NMR studies indicating that 5-ClAU can form a hydrogen-bonded complex with deoxyadenosine in solution.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Synthesis of 6-anilino-2-thiouracils and their inhibition of human placenta iodothyronine deiodinase.

Several 6-anilino-2-thiouracils were synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit the inner-ring iodothyronine deiodinase from human placenta. The p-ethyl and p-n-butyl analogues were strongly inhibitory to the enzyme and were much more effective than the standard deiodinase inhibitor, 6-propyl-2-thiouracil. The degree of inhibition caused by 6-(p-n-butylanilino)-2-thiouracil was, moreover, unaffected by high concentrations of reducing agent in the enzyme assay. Attempts to prepare 3-alkyl derivatives via S-debenzylation of 2-benzylthio intermediates led to rearrangement to, for example, 3-methyl-5-benzyl-6-amino-2-thiouracil. This compound also strongly inhibited the deiodinase reaction. Preliminary results suggest that these compounds are useful to study in vitro and in vivo metabolism of thyroid hormones and may be clinically useful to enhance the availability of active thyroid hormones to certain organs.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1985

Simple stability-indicating assay for histamine solutions.

A chemical stability-indicating assay for the routine analysis of histamine in isotonic-phosphate buffer solutions was developed and evaluated. A quantitative colorimetric assay was developed by adapting the Pauly reaction specific for the imidazole group for the determination of histamine in buffer solutions. Stock solutions of histamine diphosphate 1 mg/mL were diluted with isotonic phosphate buffer to produce standards for an imidazole-group assay and for the USP assay method based on the Folin reaction of free amino groups. The specificity of the assays was evaluated by subjecting samples to ultraviolet irradiation and heat for various time periods and then analyzing for histamine content. Both of the colorimetric assays provided reproducible linear calibration curves passing through the origin for histamine diphosphate concentrations. For the Pauly-reaction assay, the average coefficients of variation between and within runs were 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively. The assay had recoveries of 100.6% and 100.8% at 8 and 25 micrograms/mL of histamine diphosphate concentrations, respectively, and a sensitivity of 3 micrograms/mL. Based on the results of the Pauly-reaction assay, irradiation caused decreases in the apparent concentrations as large as 69.2% depending on the duration of the irradiation and distance from the light source. When the histamine diphosphate solutions were stored in the dark at 60 degrees C for five days, a decrease of only 6.3% occurred. Based on the results of the Folin-reaction assay, irradiation caused increases in the apparent concentrations as large as 50.6%. The Pauly colorimetric assay based on the imidazole group appears to be more appropriate for histamine solutions than the amino-group assay based on the Folin reaction.

Amines↗
PubMed1984

Butylphenyl dGTP: a selective and potent inhibitor of mammalian DNA polymerase alpha.

BuPdGTP , the 2'-deoxyribonucleoside 5'-triphosphate of the DNA polymerase alpha (pol alpha)-specific inhibitor, N2-(p-n- butylphenyl )guanine, was examined with respect to its mechanism and its capacity to inhibit the mammalian DNA polymerases, pol alpha, pol beta, and pol gamma. BuP dGTP was specifically inhibitory for pol alpha, with no discernible activity on pol beta and pol gamma. The potency of BuP dGTP is unprecedented, with an apparent Ki less than 10 nanomolar. The unusual potency of the BuP dGTP is derived primarily from the 5' alpha and beta phosphoryl moieties, whose binding to enzyme complements that of the base-linked butylphenyl substituent. BuP dGTP is competitive with dGTP and apparently not subject to polymerization. Experiments employing BuP dGTP in the presence of a non-complementary template suggest that the core polymerase or an associated coprotein contains dNTP binding sites which recognize specific nucleic acid bases. The partial sensitivity of selected, non-mammalian DNA polymerases suggests that modification of the N2 substituent of dGTP will be a useful route to the design of novel, polymerase-specific affinity-probes.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Synthesis and characterization of N2-(p-n-butylphenyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine and its 5'-triphosphate and their inhibition of HeLa DNA polymerase alpha.

N2-(p-n-Butylphenyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine (BuPdG) and its 5'-triphosphate (BuPdGTP), expected to be inhibitors of eukaryotic DNA polymerase alpha, have been synthesized. BuPdG was synthesized by two methods and characterized by 1H NMR and by chemical relation to guanosine. Direct synthesis involving silylated N2-(p-n-butylphenyl)guanine (BuPG) and 1-chloro-3,5-di-p-toluoyl-2-deoxyribofuranose in the presence of trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate gave one alpha and two beta isomers of deoxyribonucleoside as determined by 1H NMR. However, NMR and UV spectra were equivocal in distinguishing between 7 and 9 isomers. The identity of the desired 9-beta-BuPdG was ultimately proved by its independent synthesis from the corresponding ribonucleoside. 1H NMR spectra of the O'-acetylated ribonucleosides of BuPG showed characteristic patterns of O'-acetylated guanosines, and their identity was proved by relating the products of the reaction of isomeric O'-acetylated 2-bromoinosines with p-n-butylaniline and with ammonia: the 2-bromoinosine which gave guanosine also gave the suspected 9-beta-ribonucleoside, BuPGr, and that which gave N7-beta-ribofuranosylguanine also gave the 7-beta isomer of BuPGr. BuPGr was transformed in a multistep procedure to give BuPdG, identical with the major beta isomer obtained by direct deoxynucleoside synthesis. The 5'-monophosphate of BuPdG was obtained by treatment of the nucleoside with phosphoryl chloride in trimethyl phosphate; the monophosphate reacted as the phosphoimidazolyl derivative with pyrophosphate to yield the 5'-triphosphate, BuPdGTP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1984

Quantitative structure-activity relationships of 6-anilinouracils as inhibitors of Bacillus subtilis DNA polymerase III.

Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) of a series of 6-anilinouracil derivatives were developed for their inhibitory activity against the wild-type DNA polymerase III (pol III) and a mutant enzyme, pol III/azp-12, derived from Bacillus subtilis. Interaction between inhibitors and both enzymes appears to result solely from hydrophobic binding. Comparison of the substituent contributions indicates increased hydrophobic character and a minor change of shape of the inhibitor binding site of the mutant enzyme. Because the two enzymes have identical Km values for substrates, the inhibitor binding site is thought to be distinct from the enzyme active site.

Bacillus subtilis↗
PubMed1983

Randomised, controlled trial of the comparative efficacy, auditory toxicity, and nephrotoxicity of tobramycin and netilmicin.

254 patients with serious gram-negative bacillary infections were enrolled into a multicentre, randomised, blind clinical trial and treated with tobramycin-ticarcillin or netilmicin-ticarcillin. The two treatment groups were similar as to sex, age, and weight. The mean daily dose of netilmicin (237 mg) was higher than that of tobramycin (211 mg), p less than 0.01, but the mean duration of therapy was longer with tobramycin (9.4 days versus 8.7 days), p less than 0.01. The netilmicin cohort also had more serious underlying diseases, p less than 0.028. Clinical (tobramycin, 93% and netilmicin, 91%) and bacteriological responses (tobramycin, 87% and netilmicin, 89%) were similar. 84 tobramycin and 73 netilmicin patients had serial audiograms. Eighth nerve deficits developed in 10 (12%) tobramycin and two (3%) netilmicin patients, p = 0.037. Drug-related renal dysfunction developed in 5 (4%) of 114 tobramycin patients whose renal function was monitored and in 1 (1%) of 116 netilmicin patients, p = 0.12.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1982

Design and characterization of N2-arylaminopurines which selectively inhibit replicative DNA synthesis and replication-specific DNA polymerases: guanine derivatives active on mammalian DNA polymerase alpha and bacterial DNA polymerase III.

The 2-amino substituted derivatives of guanine, N2-(p-n-butylphenyl)guanine (BuPG) and N2-(3',4'-trimethylenephenyl) guanine (TMPG), were synthesized and found to selectively inhibit, respectively, HeLa cell DNA polymerase alpha (po1 alpha) and B. subtilis DNA polymerase III (po1 III). Both purines, like their corresponding uracil analogs, BuAu and TMAU (2,9), were specifically competitive with dGTP in their inhibitory action on their target polymerases. BuPG, the pol alpha-specific purine, was also toxic for HeLa cells in vivo, selectively inhibiting DNA synthesis. These N2-substituted purines, in contrast to the 6-substituted uracils, provide a structural basis for the synthesis of nucleosides and nucleotides with considerable potential as probes for the analysis of the structure of specific replicative DNA polymerases and their function in cellular DNA metabolism.

Bacillus subtilis↗
PubMed1980

Butylanilinouracil: a selective inhibitor of HeLa cell DNA synthesis and HeLa cell DNA polymerase alpha.

A series of 6-anilinouracils, dGTP analogues which selectively inhibit specific bacterial DNA polymerases, were examined for their capacity to inhibit purified DNA polymerases from HeLa cells. The p-n-butyl derivative (BuAU) was found to inhibit DNA polymerase alpha with a Ki of approximately 60 microM. The inhibitory effect of BuAU was reversed specifically by dGTP and was observed only for DNA polymerase alpha; polymerases beta and lambda were not inhibited by drug at concentrations as high as 1 mM. BuAU also was inhibitory in vivo in HeLa cell culture; at 100 microM it reversibly inhibited cell division and selectively depressed DNA synthesis. The results of these studies indicate that BuAU is an inhibitor with considerable potential as a specific probe with which to dissect the structure of mammalian polymerase alpha and its putative role in cellular DNA replication.

Avian Myeloblastosis Virus↗