[Gallbladder polyps].
There is a relatively high incidence of asymptomatic gallbladder polyps in the general population (1.5-9.5%). We present a 61-year-old woman who had a 22 x 37 mm polyp of the gallbladder.
Female↗
Biomedical subjects
H Manor
Publications and source records attributed to H Manor.
Use of percutaneous nephrostomy in hydronephrosis of pregnancy.
Traditional methods of urinary diversion in pregnancy include retrograde passage of ureteral catheter or stents and operative nephrostomy. These techniques are, however, associated with the use of anesthesia, are technically difficult to perform, and may induce labor. We report the use of percutaneous nephrostomy in four pregnant patients, two with obstruction due to ureteral calculi and two with infected hydronephrosis. The procedure provided rapid relief from pain and pyosepsis, and allowed uneventful continuation of the pregnancy to full-term, with preservation of renal function.
Adult↗
Induction of polyomavirus DNA replication by carcinogens in polyomavirus-transformed rat cells: evidence that the viral enhancer is not the primary target in the induction pathway.
In the polyomavirus (Py)-transformed rat cell line designated LPT, replication of the integrated Py DNA can be induced by exposure of the cells to carcinogens. In view of the observation that enhancer elements are essential components of the Py origin of replication, it appeared plausible that the induction is triggered by synthesis or modification of an enhancer-binding protein which is required for activation of the viral origin. To test this hypothesis, we have used a plasmid containing a modified Py origin (test plasmid), in which the Py enhancer has been replaced with five repeats of the yeast GAL4 upstream activating sequence, and a plasmid encoding the GAL4 transcriptional activator protein. Previous studies in which these two plasmids were cotransfected into mouse cells that are permissive for Py showed that the GAL4 protein can transactivate the modified Py origin and cause replication of the test plasmid. When similar cotransfection assays were performed in LPT cells, no replication of the test plasmid was observed unless the cells were exposed to the carcinogen mitomycin C subsequent to the transfection, in which case replication of the test plasmid was induced. Control experiments showed that even though the GAL4 protein was required for the induction, its concentration was not affected by the exposure to mitomycin C. These results indicate that the primary target in the induction pathway is not an enhancer-binding protein; instead, the induction appears to be triggered by changes in other components of the replication initiation complex which may be associated with the origin core.
Animals↗
Formation of DNA triplexes accounts for arrests of DNA synthesis at d(TC)n and d(GA)n tracts.
To study the mechanism of arrest of DNA synthesis at d(TC)n and d(GA)n sequences, single-stranded DNA molecules including d(TC)27 or d(TC)31 tracts or a d(GA)27 tract were used as templates for in vitro assays of complementary DNA synthesis performed by extension of a primer with the Klenow polymerase or the Taq polymerase (Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase). Electrophoresis of the products revealed that arrests occurred around the middle of these tracts. The arrests in the d(TC)n sequences were eliminated when dATP or dGTP was replaced with the analogue 7-deaza dATP or 7-deaza dGTP, respectively, or when the templates were preincubated with the Escherichia coli single-strand binding protein (SSB). Preincubation of the template including a d(GA)27 tract with SSB has also eliminated the arrests at this sequence. Furthermore, arrests did not occur at d[G(7-deaza A)]27 or d[(7-deaza G)A]27 tracts when molecules including such tracts were used as templates. These results are compatible with the notion that the arrests were caused by formation of d(TC)i.d(GA)i.d(TC)i and d(GA)i.d(GA)i.d(TC)i triplexes, in which the bases in the uncopied portions of the d(TC)n tracts, or of the d(GA)27 tract, and the purine bases in the newly synthesized d(TC)i.d(GA)i duplexes were bound by hydrogen bonds. In the assays performed with the Taq polymerase, the pH dependence (in the range of 6.0-9.0) and the temperature dependence of the arrests were determined. As the pH was lowered, the arrests in the d(TC)27 tract were enhanced, in line with the expected properties of d(TC)i.d(GA)i.d(TC)i triplexes. The arrests in the d(GA)27 tract were enhanced by an increase in the pH. At pH 7.2 the arrests in the d(GA)27 tract persisted up to 80 degrees C, whereas the arrests in the d(TC)27 tract were eliminated at 50 degrees C; these results presumably reflect the relative stabilities of the two triplexes mentioned above at this physiological pH value and could be biologically significant.
Adenine↗
The yeast GAL4 protein transactivates the polyomavirus origin of DNA replication in mouse cells.
We have replaced the polyomavirus (Py) enhancer, which is an essential component of the Py origin of DNA replication (ori), with five repeats of a 17-bp oligonucleotide including the yeast GAL4 upstream activating sequence (5xGAL4 sites). Plasmids containing this modified Py ori, designated test plasmids, and plasmids encoding either the GAL4 transcriptional activator protein or various derivatives of this protein were cotransfected into mouse cells which constitutively synthesize a temperature-sensitive Py large tumor antigen (T-Ag). Replication of the test plasmids was monitored by Southern blot determinations of the amounts of plasmid DNA that became resistant to cleavage by the enzyme DpnI. These studies showed that in the presence of a functional T-Ag, the GAL4 protein, and hybrid proteins including the GAL4 DNA-binding domain and the activating domain of the adenovirus E1a or herpesvirus VP16 protein transactivated the modified Py ori. A truncated protein including just the GAL4 DNA-binding domain was inactive in these assays. The authentic GAL4 protein was found to be a more efficient replication transactivator than the hybrid proteins. In contrast, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays showed that the hybrid proteins were more efficient transcriptional activators than the GAL4 protein. The extent of the GAL4-dependent replication of a plasmid in which the Py early promoter was deleted was 55% lower than that of a plasmid including the promoter. However, the extents of replication of plasmids including two tandem repeats of the remaining Py origin core and 5xGAL4 sites or two origin cores flanking a single cluster of 5xGAL4 sites were 4.8- and 1.6-fold higher than that of the plasmid including a single copy of each element. The replication of a plasmid including two clusters of 5xGAL4 sites flanking a single origin core was below the limit of detection of our assays. These results indicate that the GAL4 and hybrid transactivators do not activate the Py ori by virtue of their interactions with transcription factors that bind promoter elements. Rather, it appears that these activator proteins may interact with the replication initiation complexes, thereby facilitating or inhibiting the initiation of replication.
Animals↗
(dT-dC)n and (dG-dA)n tracts arrest single stranded DNA replication in vitro.
Previous in vivo studies have indicated that (dT-dC)n.(dG-dA)n tracts (referred to here as (TC)n.(GA)n), which are widely dispersed in vertebrate genomes, may serve as pause or arrest signals for DNA replication and amplification. To determine whether these repeat elements act as stop signals for DNA replication in vitro, single stranded DNAs including (TC)n or (GA)n tracts of various lengths, were prepared by cloning such tracts into phage M13 vectors, and were replicated with the Klenow fragment of the E. coli DNA polymerase I, or with the calf thymus DNA polymerase alpha, by extension of an M13 primer. Gel electrophoresis of the reaction products revealed that the replication was specifically arrested around the middle of both (TC)n and (GA)n tracts of n greater than or equal to 16. However, whereas in the (TC)n tracts the arrests were less prominent at pH = 8.0 than at pH = 6.5-7.5, and were completely eliminated at pH = 8.5, the arrests in the (GA)n tracts were stronger at the higher pH values. These results, and previous data, suggest that the arrests were caused by formation of unusual DNA structures, possibly triple helices between partially replicated (TC)n or (GA)n tracts, and unreplicated portions of these sequences.
Animals↗
Pausing in simian virus 40 DNA replication by a sequence containing (dG-dA)27.(dT-dC)27.
A 200 bp sequence including a stretch of 54 base pairs of alternating guanosine and adenosine nucleotide residues [(dG-dA)27.(dT-dC)27] was cloned in the simian virus 40 (SV40) genome between the KpnI and HpaII sites. This sequence was discovered earlier as part of a region limiting the amplification of sequences adjacent to an integrated polyoma virus in a transformed rat cell line. The newly constructed DNA was transfected into African Green monkey kidney CV1 cells and the variant virus was isolated by plaque-purification. The insertion was stably maintained and the variant virus grew more slowly than the wild type, had lower titers and gave smaller plaques. In mixed infection experiments, the variant was found to be stable, though the wild type replicated more rapidly. Pulse labeling experiments indicated that the unusual inserted sequence acts as a pause site for fork progression during DNA replication, as evidenced by the rate of incorporation of radioactively labeled nucleotides into various regions of the SV40 genome. Statistical fit of the experimental curves with theoretically generated curves suggested the pause of fork progression to be about one minute.
Animals↗
Induction of polyomavirus DNA replication by cyclic AMP and a tumor promoter.
The effects of reagents that stimulate the intracellular level of cyclic AMP (cAMP), and of a tumor promoter, on polyomavirus (Py) DNA replication were examined in a Py-transformed rat cell line, designated the LPT line. cAMP-stimulating reagents (forskolin and 3-isobutyl-1-methyl xanthine) were found to induce replication of Py DNA in normally growing LPT cells and to enhance replication of the viral DNA in cells exposed to suboptimal doses of UV light and mitomycin C (which have been previously shown to induce Py DNA replication in LPT cells). The tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate did not cause a significant induction in Py DNA replication when it was applied to the cells alone, but enhanced replication of the viral DNA when it was applied together with the cAMP-stimulating reagents. Cycloheximide, an inhibitor of protein synthesis, was found to inhibit the induction of Py DNA replication by the cAMP-stimulating reagents. Based on these data, and on previous studies of the Py enhancer, it is proposed that cAMP may induce synthesis of an enhancer-binding protein that causes Py DNA replication in LPT cells by binding and activating an enhancer element which is a component of the Py origin.
1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
'Illegitimate' recombination events in polyoma-transformed rat cells.
In the LPT line of polyoma (Py)-transformed rat cells, amplification of the integrated viral DNA and of cell nucleotide sequences flanking the viral integration site, can be induced either spontaneously or by treatment with carcinogens. We show here that the amplified DNA includes interspersed viral and cellular sequences generated by 'illegitimate' recombination events. Genomic libraries have been prepared in phage lambda vectors from LPT cells treated with the inducing agent mitomycin C and from untreated LPT cells. Four phages, including viral-cell DNA recombinants, have been isolated from these libraries. Sequencing through the recombination sites revealed the following characteristics: (i) The crossover points map at four different positions in the viral DNA and at four different positions in the flanking cell DNA. (ii) There are very short homologous sequences of 1, 2, or 4 bp, at the recombination sites. (iii) Aside from the exchanges between the viral and the cellular DNA, no further rearrangements occurred around the new viral-cellular DNA junctions. (iv) Next to the recombination sites, there are blocks of homopurine-homopyrimidine sequences, which may assume a structure that differs from the Watson-Crick double helix. (v) Clustered homologous sequence blocks of up to 10 bp are present less than 200 bp away from the recombination sites. These homologies are not in register. Based on these results, we propose a model that may account for these recombination events and, more generally, for recombination events that occur during gene amplification in mammalian cells.
Animals↗
Unusual sequence element found at the end of an amplicon.
In a polyomavirus-transformed rat cell line, designated LPT, the polyomavirus DNA is integrated into a single chromosomal site. Treatment of LPT cells with carcinogens induces amplification of the integrated virus DNA and flanking cellular sequences. We show that the amplification is arrested within a specific cell DNA segment that maps 1.3 to 1.85 kilobases beyond one virus-cell DNA junction, defined as the left junction. We also present the sequence of an 897-base-pair fragment spanning the arrest site. This fragment contains an unusual sequence element, which consists of two contiguous components, a potential cruciform with stems of 6 base pairs and a d(G-A)27 X d(T-C)27 tract, and maps 1,497 to 1,564 nucleotides beyond the left junction. The possibility that this unusual sequence plays a role in the arrest of the amplification process is discussed.
Animals↗
Preoperative evaluation of prostate size by transabdominal suprapubic ultrasound.
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Humans↗
Patterns of methylation of polyomavirus DNA in polyoma-transformed rat cells.
The patterns of methylation of integrated polyomavirus (Py) DNA and flanking cellular sequences were determined in an inducible line of Py-transformed rat cells, designated LPT, by an analysis of cleavage patterns of LPT DNA generated by the restriction enzymes MspI, HpaII, and HhaI. The Py DNA in LPT cells is integrated into a single chromosomal site and includes whole viral genomes arranged in a head-to-tail configuration. Amplification of the viral DNA and synthesis of infectious virus can be induced in these cells by treatment with carcinogens. The experiments reported here show that in uninduced LPT cells only the late Py genes, which encode the Py capsid proteins, and sequences flanking one of the two viral DNA-cell DNA junctions are methylated. The early genes, encoding the Py T antigens, and sequences flanking the second junction are unmethylated. Since only the early genes are transcribed and translated in uninduced LPT cells, it is apparent that an inverse correlation exists between transcription and methylation of the integrated Py genes in LPT cells, as reported in other cellular and viral systems. The patterns of methylation of integrated Py genomes were also examined in cells of a subclonal derivative of the LPT line in which the virus cannot be activated. In these cells, not only the late Py genes were found to be methylated, but also the 3' portion of the early gene which encodes the Py large T antigen. These findings may have implications for understanding Py induction in LPT cells.
Animals↗
[Intralobar bronchopulmonary sequestration].
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Adult↗
Topography of polyoma virus-specific giant nuclear RNA molecules containing poly(A) sequences.
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Base Sequence↗
Electron microscopic mapping of RNA transcribed from the late region of polyoma virus DNA.
The polyoma virus (Py) RNA species transcribed from the L DNA strand of the "late" region of the Py genome in Py-infected mouse cells have been mapped by hybridization with specific fragments of Py DNA followed by electron microscopic visualization of the hybrids. Total cellular polyadenylated Py-specific RNA molecules having an S value in the range of 16S to 20S were purified by oligodeoxythymidylic acidcellulose column chromatography, preparative hybridization with Py DNA, and sucrose gradient centrifugation. Cytoplasmic Py-specific RNA was similarily purified, except that it was not fractionated by sucrose gradient centrifugation. Hybrids of these RNA molecules and Py DNA fragments were spread for electron microscopy by either the cytochrome c technique or the bacteriophage T4 gene 32 protein method. The polyadenylic acid at the 3'-end of the RNA in the hybrids was identified by labeling with simian virus 40 DNA circles to which polybromodeoxyuridylic acid tails had been covalently attached. These experiments revealed the presence of three L DNA strand transcripts in both RNA preparations. Two of these RNA molecules were found to be spliced from chains transcribed from two noncontiguous parts of the late region. The third molecule either is a continuous transcript of the entire late region or contains a splicing feature which is too small to be reliably observed by the electron microscope methods used. The 5'-ends of the three RNA species map within a region extending from 68 to 70 map units on the Py restriction endonuclease map. Each of the two spliced molecules contains a 5'-terminal leader sequence transcribed from a DNA segment with an estimated length of 60 to 110 nuvleotides. The 3'-ends of the leaders map at 66.7 +/- 1.0 and 66.4 +/- 0.50 map units. In these molecules the 5'-ends of the other part (the main body) map at 59.4 +/- 0.90 and 49.4 +/- 2.0 map units, respectively. The 3'-termini of all three RNA species map at 24 to 25 map units.
DNA, Viral↗
Secondary structures in polyoma DNA.
Three reproducible secondary-structure features were observed on single strands of polyoma virus DNA mounted for electron microscopy by the T4 gene 32 protein technique: (i) a hairpin fold-back extending from 92.9 +/- 0.8 to 95.0 +/- 0.7 map units; (ii) a small loop extending from 63.2 +/- 3.1 to 68.5 +/- 2.8 map units; and (iii) a big loop extending from 51.9 +/- 2.3 to 68.9 +/- 2.1 map units. Both loops are bounded by inverted repeat stems of length 40 +/- 20 base pairs. The stem sequences around 68.5 and 68.9 of the large and small loops overlap, either partially or completely. Several lines of evidence indicate that the inverted repeat stems of the two secondary-structure loops lie in the regions of polyoma virus DNA flanking and probably very close to the sequences that are spliced out in the formation of the late 16S and 18S messages, whereas the hairpin fold-back appears to map at a splicing point of an early message. These structures may therefore be important for the processing of the primary transcripts to form the early and late messages.
DNA Restriction Enzymes↗
Polyoma virus-specific RNA synthesis in an inducible line of polyoma virus-transformed rat cells.
Viral RNA present in the inducible LPT clone 1A of polyoma virus-transformed rat cells was characterized before and after mitomycin C induction by hybridization with 32P-labeled separated E and L strands of polyoma viral DNA restriction endonuclease fragments. In clone 1A cells maintained under normal growth conditions, the cytoplasm contained a transcript of the E-strand DNA from the "early" region similar to that previously identified in lytically infected cells, as well as minor quantities of RNA complementary to less than one-half of the L- and the E-strand DNA from the "late" region. Nuclei of normally growing cells contained the same species found in the cytoplasm, as well as an additional abundant RNA complementary to one-half of the L-strand DNA of the late region. No significant changes occurred in the cytoplasmic viral RNA after mitomycin C treatment before the onset of viral DNA replication, but the concentration of the nuclear L-strand DNA transcript diminished. After the onset of viral DNA replication after mitomycin C treatment, transcripts of virtually the entire L-strand DNA were found in the nuclei, and a 10-fold increase was observed in the abundance of RNA transcribed from the E strand of the early region. In the cytoplasm, the abundance of the early RNA increased about 25-fold and late RNA complementary to the L-strand DNA of the late region was found in a similar quantity. The synthesis of both the early and the late RNA species was inhibited if viral DNA replication was blocked with 5-fluorodeoxyuridine. We conclude that the induction of viral DNA replication in LPT cells is not determined at the level of mRNA synthesis.
Animals↗
In situ hybridization analysis of polyoma DNA replication in an inducible line of polyoma-transformed cells.
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Cell Line↗