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Biomedical subjects

G Wistow

Publications and source records attributed to G Wistow.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Sleep in hospitals at night: are patients' needs being met?

Although the functions of sleep are not clearly understood, it is generally accepted that it is necessary for the maintenance of good health, and that the need for sleep increases with illness. The findings of a study on the hospital in-patient night show that many patients do not consider that they have sufficient sleep in hospital at night; that discomfort, worries and pain may contribute to their wakefulness; that the sleep of many is disrupted by a variety of sources of disturbances; that ward lights are dimmed for the night for no longer than required by the average, healthy person; and that patients continue to be woken early in the morning. A variety of ways of tackling these problems is proposed. Differences in the perceptions of nurses and patients about certain aspects of in-patient care at night demonstrate the importance of systematically asking patients about their experiences. Once viewed through patients' eyes, the everyday procedures, routines and environments of the hospital become visible and tangible influences on patient care, rather than part of the taken-for-granted context in which patients receive that care.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1994

Zeta-crystallin: a lens-specific promoter and the gene recruitment of an enzyme as a crystallin.

A novel enzyme with quinone oxidoreductase activity has undergone gene recruitment in certain mammals, acquiring a second function as the lens structural protein zeta-crystallin. Here we show that recruitment of this enzyme crystallin can be explained by the lens specificity of an alternative promoter which does not require host-specific factors. The strong lens preference of this promoter is apparent in both cultured cell transfections and in transgenic mice. While proximal regions of the promoter have some activity in the brain of transgenic mice this is abolished by the addition of more distal regions. The minimal active promoter is differentially footprinted by extracts from lens and non-lens cells. Deletion within the major region footprinted in lens, ZPE (zeta protected element), abolishes promoter function. This is the first example of a lens-specific promoter in an enzyme crystallin gene and the first demonstration of gene recruitment by this mechanism.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Cloning the human gene for macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF).

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was originally identified as a lymphokine. However, recent work strongly suggests a wider role for MIF beyond the immune system. It is expressed specifically in the differentiating cells of the immunologically privileged eye lens and brain, is a delayed early response gene in fibroblasts, and is expressed in many tissues. Here, we report the structure of the remarkably small gene for human MIF that has three exons separated by introns of only 189 and 95 bp and covers less than 1 kb. The cloned sequence also includes 1 kb of 5' flanking region. Primer extension and 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) of human brain RNA both indicate the presence of a single transcription start site in a TATA-less promoter. Northern blot analysis shows a single size of MIF mRNA (about 800 nt) in all human tissues examined. In contrast to previous reports, we find no evidence for multiple genes for MIF in the human genome.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

5'-RACE PCR of mRNA for three taxon-specific crystallins: for each gene one promoter controls both lens and non-lens expression.

Gene recruitment of enzyme crystallins is a novel process in molecular evolution in which genes for some metabolic enzymes acquire extremely high expression in lens without prior gene duplication. Using the RACE method, the 5' end of the mRNAs for duck lens delta 1-, argininosuccinate lyase/delta 2- and lactate dehydrogenase-B/epsilon-crystallin has been amplified from lens and non-lens tissues and sequenced. In all three cases the major transcription start sites were identical in lens and in other tissues. This suggests that for these three genes, and in contrast to at least one other example, gene recruitment does not require the presence of alternative tissue-preferred promoters.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Lens crystallins: gene recruitment and evolutionary dynamism.

In a novel evolutionary process, enzymes and stress proteins have undergone direct gene recruitment as eye lens crystallins in a number of independent events. This may have allowed a dynamic response to changing visual environment during evolution. In spite of their diversity, many crystallins may share an origin in essential developmental processes such as cell elongation.

Animals↗