Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H G Mandel.
This report represents a current summary of the caffeine contents of various commercial products, and provides data on the spectrum of caffeine intake levels in man. A summary of the substance's pharmacokinetics describes information on its disposition in the body. The effects of caffeine are related to its interaction with adenosine receptors.
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We modified existing techniques to optimize conditions for obtaining quantitative, highly replicable, and sensitive transfections. The processes described may serve as a model for investigators initiating transfection procedures who wish to obtain definitive and quantitative results quickly and efficiently. In our example, we compared specific gene expressions of plasmids with the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter. Techniques included measuring CAT activity in transfected mammalian cells, selecting a procedure for extracting plasmids from bacterial cells, evaluating the timing of the transfection, choosing a transfection reagent and the reagent: plasmid DNA ratio, and determining procedures for the extraction of cells.
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Ingestion of aflatoxin B1 is implicated in the high incidence of human liver cancers in several developing countries. An association has been detected between human exposure to aflatoxins, and mutations in the third base of codon 249 of the p53 gene in hepatomas. In vitro experiments using human cell line cells and aflatoxin B1 have demonstrated the induction of p53 mutations in codon 249 and adjacent codons. It was therefore of interest to see if this correlation between the in vivo and in vitro situations held for other species. The present study examined a rat liver-derived cell line, transformed in vitro with aflatoxin B1, for the presence of mutations associated with in vivo aflatoxin-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. In an in vivo rodent model systems using the aflatoxin B1-sensitive male F344 rat, previous studies have shown that hepatocarcinogenesis is accompanied by significant incidences of codon 12 mutations in K-ras and codon 13 mutations in N-ras genes, but in contrast to the human, apparently not by mutations in codon 243 of the p53 gene (which corresponds to codon 249 in the human gene). In contrast to the situation in humans, mutation in the third base of codon 243 in the rat would not result in any changes in amino acid sequence, but mutations in codon 250, as seen in in vitro human systems, would be expressed in the rat p53 protein. In the present study, an immortalised, non-transformed liver epithelial cell line derived from a male F344 rat was transformed in vitro by aflatoxin B1 as demonstrated by tumour formation in nude mice. The transformation was dependent on metabolic activation of the aflatoxin B1. Transfection of DNA, extracted from these tumours, into NIH 3T3 fibroblasts conferred a stable, malignant transforming capacity. However, no mutations in codon 12 of the K-ras or codon 13 of the N-ras genes were detected in any of these tumours. These results indicate that in vitro transformation does not necessarily involve the same mutations, as those observed in vivo. Also, no mutations in codon 243 or adjacent codons of the p53 gene, paralleling those observed in the human cell line treated with aflatoxin B1, were detected. The results serve to emphasise the in vivo and in vitro variation in the oncogene activation in the same target organ or cell lines derived from that organ, even when using a single carcinogen activated by a known metabolic pathway.
Activation of ras proto-oncogenes occurs frequently in vivo in chemically induced rodent tumours, including rat hepatomas induced by aflatoxin B1. This study examines the in vitro activation of a human ras gene by this mycotoxin. A plasmid containing the human Ha-ras proto-oncogene, together with a neomycin resistance gene (pECneo), was incubated in vitro with a microsomal system generating aflatoxin B1 8,9-epoxide. Subsequent transfection of the plasmid into mouse NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, followed by G418 selection and s.c. injection of surviving cells into immunodeficient mice demonstrated that the proto-oncogene had acquired transforming capacity. Although a single tumour resulted from similar treatment of incubated unconjugated plasmid, no tumours were produced by a secondary round of transfections using DNA from this tumour. Selective PCR amplification of the human Ha-ras gene in extracted tumour DNA followed by sequencing demonstrated the presence of G-->T transversions either at the first or middle base of codon 12 in tumours resulting from transfection with the aflatoxin-B1-modified pECneo plasmid, but this was not detected in the single tumour resulting from transfection with the unmodified plasmid. Thus, although a mutation in the Ha-ras gene has not been reported for human primary hepatomas occurring in aflatoxin-exposed populations, metabolically activated aflatoxin B1 is capable of mutating this proto-oncogene to its oncogenic form in vitro. No mutations were observed in codon 61. It appears that, in contrast to the frequently reported G-->T transversions in codon 249 of the p53 gene in primary hepatomas in aflatoxin-exposed humans, the failure to detect Ha-ras mutations in these tumours is not due to an inability of aflatoxin B1 to activate this proto-oncogene. The G-->T transversions observed in this study contrast with the most frequent aflatoxin B1 in vivo induced mutations, G-->A transitions in the rat Ki-ras gene. Possible mechanisms for these differences are discussed.
PURPOSE: To assess the status of basic science departments in academic health centers through a survey of department chairs. METHOD: In November 1995 the National Caucus of Basic Biomedical Science Chairs developed a 35-item questionnaire that was sent to the presidents of the Caucus's six member associations, who distributed it to their medical school chairs. The questionnaire was sent to 90% of the basic science chairs; a total of 683 questionnaires were distributed. By April 1996, 59% (400/683) of the chairs responded. Preliminary tabulations were made by each association, and then all the questionnaires were sent to the Caucus chair for compilation and analysis. RESULTS: The chairs in all six basic science disciplines reported four basic trends. Reduction in staffing: Eleven percent of the chairs were in "acting" positions, temporarily filling vacancies that sometimes had not been filled for five years or more. There were 583 reported faculty vacancies, but active searches were under way for only 339 of these. The chairs reported the abolition of, on average, one faculty position per department between 1985 and 1995, but these losses were clustered in only a third of the schools; thus several departments had experienced extensive faculty depletion. Overall, there was a 10% attrition of basic science faculty. Restructuring of the basic sciences: In all, 22 disciplinary departments had merged between 1985 and 1995, and merger discussions were under way at another 9% of the departments. Seven percent of the chairs reported that their schools were considering a single, combined basic science department, but only one such unit exists so far. Graduate student recruitment had become solely interdisciplinary at 26% of the schools, had remained strictly departmental at another 44%, and was joint at the remaining 30%. The development of a non-research-based teaching track was being considered at a fourth of the reporting departments. New fiscal policies/professional stability: A salary incentive beyond the university contribution, to reward research funding, was in effect at 28% of the departments and under consideration by another 29%. For a junior faculty member who, at the time of tenure decision, lacked research grant support, termination was reported by almost a third of the chairs as being extremely likely; however, half of the chairs did not respond to this question. Changes in tenure: A fourth of the chairs reported that modifications of their school's tenure policies were under serious consideration; and almost three fourths felt that tenure had become more difficult to achieve. CONCLUSION: This survey reveals certain profound and disconcerting changes in the basic science departments of U.S. medical school. More studies are needed to see whether these trends continue. Further downsizing and merging of the basic sciences should be avoided in order to preserve the quality of medical education for future physicians as well as the quality of health care in the United States.
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We have developed a procedure for isolating and quantifying 7-methyladenine from rat urine following the administration to the rat of methylating agents, such as dimethylnitrosamine. Urinary 7-methyladenine and its trideutero isomer, added as an internal standard, were precipitated with silver nitrate, the precipitate was extracted with HCl, and the extract was further purified by C18-Sep-Pak chromatography. The recovered 7-methyladenine was then derivatized with pentafluorobenzyl bromide at alkaline pH for analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, indicating a bis(pentafluorobenzyl) conjugate, m/z 509. The mass spectrum of this derivative shows a major fragmentation ion at m/z 328 (and 331 for the trideutero derivative) resulting from the loss of one pentafluorobenzyl group. Levels of urinary 7-methyladenine above 150 pg could be detected from the ratio of the gas chromatography peak areas for these ions, using selective-ion monitoring. The method was selective for the 7-methyl isomer. The procedures developed for the syntheses of deuterated and tritiated 7-methyladenine, which were required for these studies, are also described.
Earlier studies showed that urine of rats which had been injected with the methylating agent N-[3H-methyl]-N-nitrosourea contained a previously undetected metabolic product, 7-[3H-methyl]adenine. This methylpurine, undoubtedly derived from alkylation of nucleic acids followed by depurination, was not labeled when 14C-methyl-labeled methionine was administered concurrently. To establish whether urinary 7-methyladenine (7-MA) might serve as a marker of exposure to exogenous and carcinogenic methylating agents, the excretion of 7-MA following injection of methylating agents was measured. A GC-MS method, using pentafluorobenzyl derivatives and an internal standard of tri-deutero-7-MA, was developed to assay levels of 7-MA. Increasing the i.p. dose of N-methylnitrosourea (MNU) from 2 to 80 mg/kg/rat resulted in a linear increase in urinary 7-MA, which at the highest dose was 1.6 micrograms during the first day and another 0.4 microgram during day 2. Doses of 5 mg/kg MNU led to elevated urinary levels of 7-MA (144 ng) compared to controls (26 ng). Other methylating agents, such as dimethylnitrosamine, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine and dimethyl sulfate, also provided urinary 7-MA. To determine the fate of injected 7-MA, the administration of 2 micrograms 7-[3H-methyl]adenine led to an 80% recovery of radioactivity in the urine, almost all of it during the first 24 h. No other labeled metabolites were detected. At least for the rat, urinary 7-MA serves as an indicator of exposure to methylating agents.
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The hepatocarcinogenic responses of rats to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) are believed to depend on microsomal activation of the toxin, followed by macromolecular binding. Dietary protein insufficiency is reported to reduce the level of microsomal metabolism, and therefore would be expected to reduce the AFB1-induced carcinogenicity. Indeed, diminished hepatocarcinogenicity in low-protein diet fed weanling rats that had received AFB1 has been reported. In the present study, carcinogenicity and other toxic effects of AFB1 (0.5 p.p.m.) fed to weanling male Fischer F344 rats on a low-protein diet (5%) or normal-protein (20%) diet for up to 8 weeks were examined. In our study, in contrast with the previous report, all animals that had survived some initial toxicity were found to have developed hepatic tumors or hyperplastic gamma-glutamyltransferase-positive foci a year later. The low-protein diet also produced sub-acute toxicity after AFB1 exposure in the weanling rats, leading to severe histological changes, and the death of about half the animals after 3-4 weeks of exposure. Animals fed an AFB1-containing normal-protein diet also exhibited AFB1-induced hepatocarcinogenicity, but not the sub-acute toxicity. The levels of hepatic enzymes involved in AFB1 metabolism were examined in animals fed the low- or normal-protein diets in the absence of AFB1. The low-protein diet, fed to 3 week weanlings for the subsequent 5 weeks, decreased hepatic cytochrome P450 levels, as well as the in vitro capacity of microsomal fractions to form AFB1-8,9-dihydrodiol, an index of AFB1-8,9-epoxide formation. Rats on a normal-protein diet did not show these changes. This discrepancy between the observed increase in sub-acute toxicity and decrease in microsomal activities in the low-protein fed animals implies that the toxic effects observed in these rats were not directly related to metabolic activation of the toxin. In contrast to the diminished microsomal in vitro AFB1 activation, however, in vivo AFB1-DNA adduct formation ability in rats receiving the low-protein diet in the absence of AFB1 was found to become elevated more rapidly during the 5 week experimental feeding period, compared with animals receiving the normal-protein diet. This was accompanied by a more rapid fall in the levels of AFB1-glutathione S-transferase isozyme activity in the low-protein fed animals. The results of this study on weanling rats support the importance of AFB1-GSH in protecting against the carcinogenic responses to AFB1, and probably also the sub-acute toxicity of the latter.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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Relatively simple and rapid analytical procedures involving two sequential HPLC separations were developed for the isolation of methylated purines in the urine of rats administered radiolabeled methylating carcinogens. Following a dose of [3H]N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), 7-methyl-adenine (m7Gua) was detected by chromatography as a urinary methylpurine in addition to the expected 7-methylguanine (m7Gua) and 3-methyladenine (m3Ade). When methyl-labeled methionine was given to rats concurrently with MNU, urinary m7Gua was labeled, but no radioactivity was recovered in either of the two methyladenine fractions. The profile of urinary methylated purines following a dose of dimethyl sulfate to the rat was similar. Small amounts of 1-methyladenine (m1Ade) and 3-methylguanine (m3Gua) were also detected in the urine. The excretion of m7Ade derived from the methyl group of the carcinogen rather than from the normal precursor for methylation, implies that this adduct, like m3Ade, may serve as an indicator in urine for exposure to methylating carcinogens.
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