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Biomedical subjects

G L Smith

Publications and source records attributed to G L Smith.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Effects of inorganic phosphate on calcium and tension oscillations in saponin-treated rat cardiac muscle.

The effects of inorganic phosphate (Pi) on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (s.r.) were studied in saponin-treated rat cardiac muscle. Ca2+ -uptake and release by the s.r. was detected using Indo-1. Oscillations of Ca2+ and tension occurred when the [Ca2+] of the bathing solution was around the threshold for force production. Introduction of Pi (20mM) caused a slow transient release of Ca2+ from the s.r. The oscillations were abolished in the presence of Pi. Removal of Pi caused a rapid fall in Ca2+ followed by a large transient increase in [Ca2+] and tension. Results are consistent with a phosphate-induced decrease Ca2+ available for release.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Effects of low ionic strength and calmodulin on the decline in maximal calcium-activated force in permeabilized smooth muscle.

Maximal calcium-activated tension (Tmax) was measured from saponin-and alpha-toxin permeabilized strips of rat anococcygeus muscle stimulated repetitively. 50 mins after saponin treatment, Tmax had declined to 20% of the initial value. Calmodulin (1 microM) only partially reduced this decline. Lowering the ionic strength of the bathing solution from 0.2M to 0.07M markedly reduced the rate of decline of tension. Addition of calmodulin to the bathing medium of low ionic strength prevented the decline of force still further; 50 mins after permeabilization, Tmax declined to 80% of the original level. Loss of endogenous calmodulin should be prevented by permeabilization with alpha-toxin from Staphylococcus aureus. Nevertheless, Tmax still declined to approximately 50% of the original value after 50mins. However, negligible force reduction was observed if the bathing solution had an ionic strength of 0.07M.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

The effects of caffeine and Ca2+ on rigor tension in triton-treated rat ventricular trabeculae.

Ventricular trabeculae from rat heart were chemically skinned with Triton-X 100, which disrupts all cellular membranes including the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Trabeculae developed a maintained rigor contracture when adenosine triphosphate was withdrawn from the bathing medium. In all preparations, the final level of rigor force developed in the presence of caffeine (10-40 mM) was greater than under control conditions. However, caffeine failed to increase rigor tension when applied after contracture had fully developed. The effect of caffeine on rigor was maximal at about 15 mM; concentrations greater or less than 15 mM were less effective. On average, caffeine decreased the time required to develop half-maximum rigor force. The caffeine-induced potentiation of rigor force occurred in the effective absence of Ca2+ (10(-9) M), in solutions strongly Ca(2+)-buffered with [ethylenebis(oxonitrilo)]tetraaceticacid (10-50 mM). In all preparations, rigor force was found to be independent of [Ca2+] over the range 10(-10) M to about 10(-7) M. These results suggest that caffeine affects rigor force by a direct effect on the myofilaments via a mechanism that is independent of Ca2+.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1992

Vaccinia virus gene B1R encodes a 34-kDa serine/threonine protein kinase that localizes in cytoplasmic factories and is packaged into virions.

Vaccinia virus open reading frame B1R was expressed in E. coli and shown to encode a serine/threonine protein kinase which phosphorylated casein and calf thymus histones in vitro. A polyclonal rabbit antiserum was raised against a TrpE-B1R bacterial fusion protein and used to characterize the B1R gene product. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting analyses detected a 34-kDa polypeptide that was synthesized early during vaccinia virus infection and which was apparently stable since it was easily detectable 18 hr postinfection. Immunofluorescence demonstrated that this protein localizes in cytoplasmic virus factories, the sites of virus DNA replication. Immunoblotting of vaccinia virions showed that the enzyme is packaged into virus particles.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

A constitutively expressed vaccinia gene encodes a 42-kDa glycoprotein related to complement control factors that forms part of the extracellular virus envelope.

Nucleotide sequence analysis of a 42-kb region of the vaccinia virus (strain Western Reserve) genome identified a gene with the potential to encode a 35.1-kDa polypeptide with properties of a membrane glycoprotein (Smith et al., J. Gen. Virol. 72, 1349-1376, 1991). The 317 amino acid open reading frame (ORF) has similarity with complement control proteins and a secretory vaccinia virus protein (C28K) which interferes with complement function. The predicted B5R gene product differs from the latter protein in that it contains a C-terminal hydrophobic sequence and may be membrane-associated rather than secretory. Transcriptional mapping by Northern blotting and S1 nuclease protection showed that the gene is transcribed both early and late during infection, with the early RNA start site located 60 bp upstream of the late start site that is present at -9 to -5 bp relative to the ORF. Nevertheless, translation of early and late mRNAs are predicted to produce the same polypeptide. A rabbit antiserum was raised to the predicted external hydrophilic domain of B5R expressed in Escherichia coli and used to immunoprecipitate a M(r) 42 K protein from vaccinia-infected cells. This protein was synthesized throughout infection, with a peak from 6 to 7 hr, and its production was inhibited by tunicamycin but not monensin. Western blotting of proteins from purified extracellular enveloped virus (EEV) or intracellular naked virus with anti-B5R serum showed that this M(r) 42 K protein and two higher molecular weight forms (Mr82 and 87 K) were present only in EEV. Anti-B5R serum inhibited comet formation by the IHD-J strain of virus on RK13 cells. B5R is the third vaccinia gene shown to encode an EEV glycoprotein, the others being the virus hemagglutinin gene, and gene SalL4R which encodes a group of lectin-like glycoproteins of M(r) 22-24 K.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Nucleotide sequence of 21.8 kbp of variola major virus strain Harvey and comparison with vaccinia virus.

A 21.8 kbp region of the genome of variola major virus (strain Harvey), a virus that caused haemorrhagic-type smallpox, has been sequenced and shown to possess 96% nucleotide identity to the corresponding region of vaccinia virus, the smallpox vaccine. Overall the gene arrangement in the two viruses is highly similar and individual open reading frames (ORFs) display a high degree of amino acid identity, for instance 26 of the 32 variola virus ORFs have > or = 90% identity with their vaccinia virus counterparts. A remarkable difference is the disruption of seven vaccinia virus ORFs into small fragments in variola virus. These include the variola virus homologue of vaccinia virus SalF2R, which encodes a protein related to C-type animal lectins, and SalF7L, which encodes an active 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzyme that contributes to vaccinia virus virulence. Upstream of the variola virus haemagglutinin gene there is a deletion of 1910 bp so that the equivalent of vaccinia virus gene SalF17R is truncated, and SalF16R, which shows amino acid similarity to the tumour necrosis factor receptor, is absent. The region sequenced includes the genes for thymidylate kinase and DNA ligase both of which are active in vaccinia virus and are highly conserved in variola virus. Other conserved ORFs with interesting homologies are those encoding profilin, superoxide dismutase and part of guanylate kinase. Two vaccinia virus genes encoding glycoproteins of the outer envelope of extracellular enveloped virus are also conserved in variola virus and this homology is likely to have contributed to the immunological protection which vaccinia virus evoked against smallpox. Lastly, there are multiple instances in which short oligonucleotide direct repeats flank a region absent from either variola or vaccinia virus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

A vaccinia serine protease inhibitor which prevents virus-induced cell fusion.

A deletion mutant lacking the non-essential vaccinia virus gene K2L, a member of the serine protease inhibitor superfamily, was constructed. This virus replicates in vitro in all cell types tested and its virulence and immunogenicity in vivo are comparable to those of the parent virus in intranasally inoculated mice. However, in a variety of cell lines the cytopathic effect of the deletion mutant (vKL4) is markedly different from that caused by the parent virus: the absence of K2L in infected cells results in extensive polykaryocytosis. Reinsertion of the K2L gene into vKL4 abolishes this fusion activity, thus confirming that the polykaryocytosis is the result of the deletion of K2L rather than of spontaneous mutations elsewhere in the genome, and that in cells infected with the WR strain of vaccinia virus the K2L gene product prevents fusion. The cell type-specific polykaryocytosis induced by vKL4 is apparent at late times post-infection, occurs from within and requires the synthesis of at least one late virus protein. Other vaccinia virus proteins known to be involved in fusion of infected cells are a 14K membrane protein which is required for fusion, and the haemagglutinin which prevents fusion. The haemadsorption properties of cells infected with the parent virus and the deletion mutant were indistinguishable: both haemadsorbed chicken erythrocytes. A monoclonal antibody against the 14K protein inhibited fusion of vKL4-infected cells, thus demonstrating that in addition to the absence of the K2L gene product, the 14K protein is required for fusion to occur.

Cell Fusion↗
PubMed1992

Vaccinia virus gene SalF5R is non-essential for virus replication in vitro and in vivo.

A gene designated SalF5R from within the SalI F fragment of vaccinia virus strain WR has been characterized. The predicted primary translation product has 194 amino acids with an Mr of 22578 and has features typical of a class I membrane glycoprotein. At the amino and carboxy termini there are runs of hydrophobic residues that might function as membrane signal and anchor sequences, respectively, and after the C-terminal hydrophobic sequence there is a short charged sequence that may prevent passage of the molecule through the membrane. Between these hydrophobic regions there are two potential sites for addition of N-linked carbohydrate. Northern blotting using a probe to an internal region of the open reading frame (ORF) detected an early transcript of 750 nucleotides and late transcripts of heterogeneous length. However, accurate mapping of the 5' ends of these transcripts did not reveal a monocistronic mRNA that might allow translation of the full-length SalF5R ORF. Instead two early transcripts were found, one beginning 130 nucleotides downstream of the start of the ORF, and a second initiating in the short intergenic region between SalF5R and SalF6R. The nearest late initiation site mapped to the beginning of the upstream gene SalF4R (profilin) and not the beginning of the SalF5R ORF. A virus deletion mutant lacking an internal 554 nucleotides of the 582 bp SalF5R ORF was constructed by insertion of the Escherichia coli guanine phosphoribosyl transferase gene linked to the vaccinia virus p7.5K promoter. The rate of replication and the final titre of intracellular naked virus produced by this virus was indistinguishable from wild-type virus in CV-1 and RK13 cells. In intranasally infected mice the virus lacking SalF5R was not attenuated in comparison to wild-type virus. The SalF5R site may be useful for insertion of foreign DNA into recombinant vaccinia viruses.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1992

Enumeration of subgingival species on primary isolation plates using colony lifts.

This study evaluated the feasibility of using a colony lift method and DNA probes to enumerate bacterial species cultured on primary isolation plates. Fourteen digoxigenin-labeled whole chromosomal DNA probes representing 12 subgingival species were validated by hybridization with colony lifts prepared from 249 reference strains of 51 species grown on Trypticase soy agar plates supplemented with 5% sheep blood. Colonies of reference strains were lifted onto Nytran filters from plates and treated to lyse cells, remove cellular proteins, denature and fix microbial DNA to the filters. Positive reactions were detected with an anti-digoxigenin antibody conjugated to alkaline phosphatase and revealed by bromo-chloro-indolyl phosphate and nitroblue tetrazolium. Cross-reactions were not observed for 13/14 probes, but 2 strains of Streptococcus mitis reacted with the probe to Streptococcus sanguis II. Subgingival plaque samples were taken by means of a sterile curette from mesiobuccal surfaces of teeth present in each of 26 subjects with differing periodontal disease states. Samples were dispersed, diluted, plated and incubated anaerobically for 7 d at 35 degrees C. Colonies were lifted as described above. Filters were cut into sections and hybridized with the 14 digoxigenin-labeled DNA probes. The probes were used to enumerate the test species and the total number of isolates was determined in 711 plaque samples. The colony lift method and DNA probes provided a sensitive, economical and quantitative method for enumerating cultivable microbial species in subgingival plaque samples. In addition, the amplification provided by growing the organisms on agar plates facilitated determination of numbers of organisms in small plaque samples, such as those from healthy sites.

Actinomyces↗
PubMed1992

Metabolic changes during ischaemia and their role in contractile failure in isolated ferret hearts.

1. The effects of global ischaemia on phosphorus metabolites, intracellular pH (pHi) and developed pressure were measured in isolated whole ferret hearts using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. 2. Brief (10 min) periods of global ischaemia reduced left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) to undetectable levels. This fall in LVDP was accompanied by a fall in the intracellular concentration of phosphocreatine (PCr) and increases in the concentrations of inorganic phosphate (Pi) and phosphomonoesters. There was no change in the intracellular ATP concentration ([ATP]i). pHi fell approximately linearly at a rate of 0.04 pH units min-1. 3. When ferret hearts were exposed to cyanide (CN-) in the presence of alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate (CHC), a blocker of lactate efflux, the changes in pHi and [Pi]i which occurred were similar to those observed during global ischaemia. However, developed pressure only fell to around 15% of the control value. 4. Removing the intracellular acidosis (by reducing the CO2 level of the gas with which the perfusate was equilibrated) during exposure to CN- and CHC caused an increase in developed pressure, consistent with the fall in pHi being responsible for a substantial fraction of the fall in developed pressure. 5. Taken together, these results suggest that most, but not all, of the fall in developed pressure during ischaemia can be explained by the effects of the changes in pHi and [Pi]i on the contractile apparatus. 6. Action potential recordings made with a suction electrode during short periods of global ischaemia showed that there was no decrease in action potential duration over the period when developed pressure was falling, eliminating action potential shortening as a possible cause of the fall in developed pressure. 7. In hearts in which the rate of glycolysis had been reduced by glycogen depletion, global ischaemia led to a marked shortening of the action potential. NMR experiments showed that under these conditions [ATP]i decreased by around 50% over the first 10 jin of ischaemia, while the intracellular acidosis which occurred was smaller than that in a control ischaemic period. 8. The time course of the decline of [ATP]i was examined in several hearts during long (45 min and over) ischaemic periods without prior glycogen depletion. After 45 min of ischaemia [ATP]i fell to around two-thirds of the control value, while pHi declined to approximately 6.1. Resting pressure did not increase. On reperfusion pHi recovered rapidly to control levels. [ATP]i, however, did not recover. 9. If ischaemia was prolonged further, [ATP]i eventually became undetectable after 70-90 min.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1992

Inorganic phosphate decreases the Ca2+ content of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in saponin-treated rat cardiac trabeculae.

1. Measurements of [Ca2+] were made in saponin-permeabilized rat ventricular trabeculae using the fluorescent indicator Indo-1. Application of caffeine (20 mM) caused a transient rise in [Ca2+] within the preparation as a result of Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). The size of the caffeine-induced Ca2+ transient was related to the amount of Ca2+ accumulated by the SR prior to addition of caffeine. Caffeine-induced Ca2+ release was abolished by ryanodine (10 microM), an inhibitor of SR Ca2+ release. 2. At a bathing [Ca2+] of 0.2 microM, the amount of Ca2+ released from the SR on addition of caffeine was sufficient to generate a tension transient. Ca2+ and tension responses were stabilized by application of caffeine at regular intervals (2 min). Addition of 10 mM inorganic phosphate (Pi) induced a transient increase in [Ca2+] within the preparation due to a net release of Ca2+ from the SR. The amplitude of subsequent caffeine-induced Ca2+ transients were reduced to 65 +/- 7.5% (mean +/- S.D., n = 13) of control. In addition, the accompanying tension transient fell to 45 +/- 6.9% of control. Removal of Pi caused a transient decrease in the [Ca2+] within the preparation consistent with a net increase in Ca2+ uptake by the SR. Subsequent caffeine-induced Ca2+ and tension transients returned to control levels. 3. Inclusion of Pi (2-30 mM) in the perfusing solution decreased the size of caffeine-induced Ca2+ and tension transients in a dose-dependent manner. 4. Addition of 10 mM ADP caused a transient increase in [Ca2+] and depressed subsequent caffeine-induced Ca2+ transients to a greater extent than 10 mM Pi. Despite the reduction in Ca2+ release from the SR, tension responses were larger in the presence of 10 mM ADP than under control conditions. This is a consequence of an increase in Ca(2+)-activated force by ADP. 5. A decrease in the amplitude of caffeine-induced Ca2+ transients also occurred on changing from a solution containing 1 mM ADP and 10 mM Pi to a solution with 10 mM ADP and 1 mM Pi. This confirms the previous observation that ADP is more effective than Pi at reducing caffeine-induced Ca2+ released from the SR. 6. Spontaneous oscillations of [Ca2+] and tension occurred in the presence of 0.5 microM Ca2+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Identification and characterization of an extracellular envelope glycoprotein affecting vaccinia virus egress.

Sequence analysis of the vaccinia virus strain Western Reserve genome revealed the presence of an open reading frame (ORF), SalL4R, which has the potential to encode a transmembrane glycoprotein with homology to C-type animal lectins (G. L. Smith, Y. S. Chan, and S. T. Howard, J. Gen. Virol. 72:1349-1376, 1991). Here we show that the SalL4R gene is transcribed late during infection from a TAAATG motif at the beginning of the ORF. Antisera raised against a TrpE-SalL4R fusion protein identified three glycoprotein species of Mr 22,000 to 24,000 in infected cells. Immunogold electron microscopy demonstrated that SalL4R protein is present in purified extracellular enveloped virus particles but not in intracellular naked virus (INV). A mutant virus was constructed by placing a copy of the SalL4R ORF downstream of an isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible vaccinia virus promoter within the thymidine kinase locus and subsequently deleting the endogenous SalL4R gene. The growth kinetics of this virus demonstrated that SalL4R was nonessential for the production of infectious INV but was required for virus dissemination. Consistent with this finding, the formation of wild-type-size plaques by this mutant was dependent on the presence of IPTG. Electron microscopy showed that without SalL4R expression, the inability of the virus to spread is due to a lack of envelopment of INV virions by Golgi-derived membrane, a morphogenic event required for virus egress.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Ionising radiation: are orthopaedic surgeons at risk?

Modern orthopaedic trauma practice involves increased exposure of the surgeon to ionising radiation. However, there have been no studies to investigate whether the doses received are within limits for non-classified workers. In this study, whole body, eye and extremity, namely hand, doses were measured in six orthopaedic surgeons during trauma cases requiring the use of X-rays in theatre. None of the subjects approached the recommended maximum dose levels for either the whole body, eyes or hands. This finding is reassuring. In orthopaedics, the limiting dose is that to the hands. This differs from previously studied groups, such as radiologists and cardiologists, in whom the limiting factor is the dose to the lens of the eye. Although current precautions appear to be adequate, safe practice in the future will depend on continuing vigilance and repetition of studies similar to this one as techniques and workloads change.

Fracture Fixation↗
PubMed1991

Vaccinia virus encodes an active thymidylate kinase that complements a cdc8 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A vaccinia virus open reading frame (ORF) previously predicted to encode thymidylate kinase (TmpK) is shown to encode an active enzyme. A copy of the ORF, generated by polymerase chain reaction, was cloned into an Escherichia coli inducible expression vector. Cell extracts of E. coli expressing the vaccinia gene contained high levels of TmpK activity, whereas extracts of cells without the TmpK gene did not. The vaccinia ORF expressed from a yeast vector complemented a Saccharomyces cerevisiae cdc8 mutant, demonstrating functional compatibility of the vaccinia virus and yeast TmpK enzymes. The gene is shown to be nonessential for the replication of vaccinia virus in cultured cells by the construction of a viable virus mutant that has the coding region of the TmpK gene interrupted by the Ecogpt gene. Synthesis of the vaccinia TmpK protein in infected cells was demonstrated by the use of a polyvalent rabbit antiserum raised against the purified TmpK enzyme expressed in E. coli to immunoprecipitate a 23-kDa early polypeptide from cells infected with wild type vaccinia but not from cells infected with the TmpK mutant. Plasmid vectors that allow the construction of recombinant viruses expressing foreign gene(s) from the nonessential TmpK locus are described.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Oro-antral fistula: an unusual complication of HIV-associated periodontal disease.

Oral lesions have been reported frequently in patients seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus. A case is reported of HIV-associated periodontitis complicated by necrotising stomatitis and the development of an oro-antral fistula; the role of extractions in the management of this condition is highlighted.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

Vaccinia DNA ligase complements Saccharomyces cerevisiae cdc9, localizes in cytoplasmic factories and affects virulence and virus sensitivity to DNA damaging agents.

The functional compatibility of vaccinia virus DNA ligase with eukaryotic counterparts was demonstrated by its ability to complement Saccharomyces cerevisiae cdc9. The vaccinia DNA ligase is a 63 kDa protein expressed early during infection that is non-essential for virus DNA replication and recombination in cultured cells. This implies complementation by a mammalian DNA ligase, yet no obvious recruitment of host DNA ligase I from the nucleus to the cytoplasm was observed during infection. An antiserum raised against a peptide conserved in eukaryotic DNA ligases identified the virus enzyme in discrete cytoplasmic 'factories', the sites of virus DNA synthesis, demonstrating immunological cross-reactivity between host DNA ligase I and the vaccinia enzyme. DNA ligase was not detected in the factories of a mutant virus lacking the ligase gene. Despite this, no difference in growth between wild-type (WT) and mutant virus was detectable even in Bloom's syndrome cells which have reduced DNA ligase I activity. However, DNA ligase negative virus showed an increased sensitivity to UV or bleomycin in cultured cells, and the importance of DNA ligase for virus virulence in vivo was demonstrated by the attenuated phenotype of the deletion mutant in intranasally infected mice.

Animals↗