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Biomedical subjects

H Harris

Publications and source records attributed to H Harris.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Cystic fibrosis carrier testing in early pregnancy by general practitioners.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of genetic counselling in general practice by using cystic fibrosis carrier screening at the booking appointment as an integral part of routine antenatal care and as a paradigm for the wider participation of general practitioners in medical genetics. DESIGN: Maternal testing (male partner tested only if woman screens positive) and couple testing for cystic fibrosis carrier status in the antenatal population attending one general practice and, later, in a further six (outreach) practices also. SETTING: Two partner urban training practice (pilot practice) in south Manchester, and six north west practices (two inner city, three urban, one rural dispensing). SUBJECTS: Total practice population of 50,000 (pilot practice plus six outreach practices) with an estimated 500-800 pregnancies per year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (a) Proportion of carriers of cystic fibrosis identified, counselled, and appropriately managed within the first trimester of pregnancy; (b) questionnaire and interview measures of patient satisfaction and stress. RESULTS: Eleven carriers of cystic fibrosis were detected including one carrier couple. This carrier couple, after extensive counselling, elected to have prenatal diagnosis by chorionic villus biopsy. The fetus was homozygous normal. CONCLUSIONS: General practitioners can successfully integrate genetic counselling and cystic fibrosis carrier screening into the first antenatal booking appointment. When a carrier couple is identified clinical geneticists can help with the discussion of reproductive options, and prenatal diagnosis by chorionic villus biopsy can be completed within the first trimester. The results suggest that general practitioners will have an increasingly important role in medical genetics, subject to continuing evaluation of patient acceptability and stress.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1993

Fibronectin splice variants are differentially incorporated into the extracellular matrix of tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic hybrids between normal fibroblasts and sarcoma cells.

Recent reports have described transformation- and tumour-specific expression of fibronectin isoforms generated by alternative splicing of the fibronectin pre-mRNA. We have investigated the expression and distribution of EDIIIA+ and EDIIIB+ fibronectin splice variants in tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic somatic cell hybrids made by fusing fibrosarcoma-derived cells (HT1080) and normal fibroblasts (GM00097). Alternative splicing of EDIIIA and EDIIIB was assessed quantitatively by S1 nuclease analyses. The levels of EDIIIA+ and EDIIIB+ fibronectin mRNAs were similar in the parental and hybrid cells. Domain-specific monoclonal antibodies were used in immunohistochemical studies to identify EDIIIA+ and EDIIIB+ fibronectins in fixed cells. GM00097 and the non-tumorigenic hybrid (clone G3) showed high levels of both EDIIIA+ and EDIIIB+ fibronectin staining. The tumorigenic hybrid (clone C1) showed reduced amounts of EDIIIA+ fibronectin, but no detectable EDIIIB+ fibronectin. No fibronectin was detected on the surface of HT1080 cells. Western blots of protein extracted from culture supernatants and extracellular matrices revealed that GM00097 and G3 cells incorporated most of the EDIIIA+ and EDIIIB+ fibronectin into the extracellular matrix whereas C1 cells released a large proportion of the EDIIIA+ fibronectin, and almost all of the EDIIIB+ fibronectin, into the supernatant. We conclude that there are differences in the presence of EDIIIA+ and EDIIIB+ FNs on the surface of tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic cells and that these differences are due to differential incorporation of FN variants into the ECM.

Actins↗
PubMed1992

Induction of tyrosinase in human melanoma cells by L-tyrosine phosphate and cytochalasin D.

Pigmentation of RVH 421 human melanoma cells is induced when cell division is inhibited by cytochalasin D or L-tyrosine phosphate. Increased pigmentation correlates with increased tyrosinase activity when this is monitored over a time-course. Parallel measurements show that the amount of tyrosinase mRNA correlates with enzyme activity in cells growing without these additives. In contrast, in the presence of cytochalasin D or L-tyrosine phosphate, the increase in amount of tyrosinase mRNA is not sufficient to account for the increase in enzyme activity, indicating that these compounds act mainly at a post-transcriptional level.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed1992

Total inhibition of involucrin synthesis by a novel two-step antisense procedure. Further examination of the relationship between differentiation and malignancy in hybrid cells.

A novel procedure involving the sequential use of two different antisense constructs has been used to inhibit the synthesis of involucrin in a hybrid cell line formed by the fusion of a human cervical carcinoma cell with a normal human keratinocyte (ESH100P6). In this cell line, and other similar hybrids, malignancy, as measured by progressive growth in vivo, is suppressed; and it has been shown that the keratinocyte imposes its own programme of terminal differentiation on the non-malignant hybrid cell. In particular, involucrin, a precursor of one of the major components of the cornified envelope of mature keratinocytes, continues to be produced. When, however, malignant segregants arise in the hybrid cell population, the terminal differentiation programme of the keratinocyte is not expressed and involucrin ceases to be made. It seemed possible that if the synthesis of involucrin, a critical marker of keratinocyte terminal differentiation, could be completely inhibited, this differentiation programme might be disrupted, and the malignant phenotype might then reappear in the non-malignant hybrids. This question was investigated further in the present paper. Total, and specific, inhibition of involucrin synthesis was indeed achieved by a sequential two-step antisense procedure, which might provide a systematic general method for the complete inactivation of other selected target genes.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

New assays for the tyrosine hydroxylase and dopa oxidase activities of tyrosinase.

New assays for the tyrosine hydroxylase and dopa oxidase activities of tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1) have been developed. The tyrosine hydroxylase assay uses L-[carboxy-14C]tyrosine as the substrate, 14CO2 is released from the products of the hydroxylation and further metabolism of L-[carboxy-14C]tyrosine by incubation with ferricyanide, and measured radiometrically. D-Dopa is a preferable cofactor to L-dopa for the assay. Dopa oxidase activity is measured spectrophotometrically. Dopaquinone, produced on the oxidation of L-dopa, reacts with Besthorn's hydrazone (3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone) to form a pink pigment with an absorbance maximum at 505 nm. Details of the optimisation of conditions for the assays and their specificities for the two enzyme activities are described.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The stimulation of lymphocyte motility by cultured high endothelial cells and its inhibition by pertussis toxin.

Incubation of rat lymph node lymphocytes with cultured high endothelial cells caused a high proportion of the lymphocytes to lose their round shape and adopt a polar morphology. This shape change was rapid; a substantial increase in the number of polar cells occurred within 15 min. Between 30 and 60% of the lymphocytes became polar. The change was not dependent on protein synthesis. Both lymphocytes which adhered to the cultured high endothelial cells and those which were non-adherent changed shape. Evidence is presented for two pathways for the induction of polarity in non-adherent lymphocytes: (i) transient or weak binding to the high endothelial cells may induce a shape change which persists after lymphocyte detachment and (ii) the high endothelial cells shed or secrete high molecular weight material into the medium which induces the shape change. The rapid change in lymphocyte morphology induced by cultured high endothelial cells was inhibited by pre-incubation of the lymphocytes with low concentrations (4-100 ng/ml) of pertussis toxin. Upon prolonged (2 h) incubation of toxin-treated lymphocytes with cultured endothelial cells a significant proportion of the lymphocytes adhering to the endothelial cells changed shape while the non-adherent lymphocytes remained spherical. This implies that cultured high endothelial cells may stimulate lymphocyte motility by two mechanisms: one which is rapid and pertussis toxin sensitive and one which is slower, pertussis toxin insensitive and dependent on lymphocyte adhesion to the high endothelial cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The human alkaline phosphatases: what we know and what we don't know.

A review of the human alkaline phosphatases dealing specifically with (1) the gene loci, (2) characterization and discrimination of the various enzymes, (3) polymorphism at the enzyme level, (4) cDNA and gene structures, (5) membrane binding, (6) the carbohydrate moieties, (7) hypophosphatasia, (8) alkaline phosphatases in malignancies, (9) function.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1990

Congenital rubella syndrome associated with calcific epiphyseal stippling and peroxisomal dysfunction.

An infant girl had the clinical and immunologic findings of congenital rubella syndrome but also had arthrogryposis multiplex and calcific epiphyseal stippling. Spastic quadriparesis developed, and both physical and behavioral development were slow. Increased spasticity of the legs at 5 1/2 years was related not to progressive rubella encephalomyelopathy but to spinal cord compression by abnormal cartilaginous tissue. The presence of a peroxisomal disorder was demonstrated by a greatly increased level of phytanic acid and slightly increased levels of hexacosanoate in serum and by reduced activity of peroxisomal dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase and a slightly increased ratio of cytosolic to peroxisomal catalase activity in cultured fibroblasts. A reduction in the number and size of peroxisomes was demonstrated in cultured fibroblasts, and a needle biopsy specimen of the liver also showed the peroxisomes to have a smaller diameter than usual. We recommend that any child with epiphyseal stippling be assessed for peroxisomal disease and that the potential for spinal cord compression by dysplastic bone or cartilage be recognized. The association of peroxisomal dysfunction with congenital rubella has not been described previously. The interaction between rubella virus infection and peroxisomal function may need further investigation.

Calcinosis↗
PubMed1989

Localization of two alkaline phosphatase genes to the proximal region of mouse chromosome 1.

Using a human cDNA clone encoding the intestinal form of alkaline phosphatase, we have identified and mapped by RFLP analysis in a Mus spretus x C57BL/6J interspecies backcross two alkaline phosphatase genes which segregate independently on the proximal part of mouse Chromosome 1. The gene order and intergene distances were determined by standard backcross analysis as: centromere- Len-2 - 19.0 cM - Akp-3 - 20.0 cM - Akp-4 - 2.0 cM - Ren-1.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1989

The effect of antisense RNA to fibronectin on the malignancy of hybrids between melanoma cells and normal fibroblasts.

An expression vector containing a cDNA complementary to 1.3 kb of the 5' coding sequences of the fibronectin gene in the antisense orientation with respect to its promoter was introduced by electroporation into hybrids between melanoma cells and normal fibroblasts in which malignancy was suppressed. Immunofluorescence analysis of clones transfected with the antisense cDNA showed a dramatic decrease in the amount of fibronectin on the cell surface compared to that seen on the surface of the untransfected hybrid cells or of cells transfected with fibronectin cDNA in the sense orientation or with the expression vector alone. Four out of five clones transfected with the antisense cDNA were highly tumorigenic, whereas transfectants containing either the sense fibronectin construct or the expression vector alone remained non-tumorigenic. These results suggest that antisense RNA to fibronectin may be able to abrogate the suppression of malignancy imposed on the hybrid cells by the fibroblast parent.

Animals↗