Biomedical subjects

I Nur

Publications and source records attributed to I Nur.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

In vivo liver-directed gene transfer in rats and pigs with large anionic multilamellar liposomes: routes of administration and effects of surgical manipulations on transfection efficiency.

Conventional large (500-800 nm) multilamellar liposomes encapsulating DNA have been used in vivo as gene vectors into rat and pig liver. By using the intraportal vein route, high dose DNA (10 mg/kg) provided low efficiency and transient luciferase gene expression in the liver. This gene expression was, however, increased by liver resection (> 50%), ischemia (20 min) or orthotopic transplantation. As evidenced by histochemical analysis of beta-galactosidase expression, the gene transfection mainly ensued in Kupffer cells, but spleen and lung were contaminated. In comparison, injection into the bile duct of even 25-fold lower dose of liposome-encapsulated DNA (0.4 mg/kg) produced higher (100-fold) and long-lasting (during 6 days, at least) luciferase expression in rat liver. The gene expression was restricted to the liver and enhanced by liver resection. By this route, transgene-expressing cells were mainly hepatocytes. A treatment with colchicine prior to the administration of the vector allowed the persistence of relative high gene expression for at least 7 days. In pigs, qualitatively similar, but quantitatively less efficient gene expression was obtained by either the portal vein or the bile duct route. These results indicate that intrabile duct route might render large non-viral vectors applicable to gene transfer into the hepatocytes. The efficiency of liposome-mediated gene transfer into the liver can be increased by liver resection, ischemia or transplantation performed before DNA injection.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Absorption and elimination of alpha-thrombin and tranexamic acid after fibrin sealant application on resected livers in rabbits.

Maximum blood concentrations (Cmax) of thrombin and tranexamic acid were evaluated in the bloodstream after local application of a radioactively labelled cryoprecipitate based fibrin (CBF) sealant to a partial liver resection in rabbits. The Cmax of 3H-tranexamic acid reached a peak of 0.015 mg/ml of plasma after 1 h and then slowly cleared within 10 h, never reaching pharmacologically active systemic levels, and demonstrating a slow release from the clot and a fast clearance for the drug. The Cmax of 125I-alpha-thrombin never exceeded 56 milliunits of thrombin equivalent per ml, lower than endogenous thrombin generated in abdominal surgery. Furthermore, the low ratio of trichloroacetic acid precipitable counts versus total counts indicates that the majority of thrombin proteins are in a continuous process of degradation into very small peptides, which are known to be biologically inactive. The bioavailability of tranexamic acid, when embedded in a fibrin sealant, is much longer than when intravenously administered. Conversely, the circulating thrombin resulting from the sealant is low-molecular-weight degradation products with probably no significant biological activity.

Absorption↗

PubMed1998

Lysosome-disrupting peptide increases the efficiency of in-vivo gene transfer by liposome-encapsulated DNA.

The main limitation of liposome-mediated gene transfer is its low efficiency, a result of degradation of the transferred DNA in the lysosome compartment. In an effort to overcome this problem, lysosome-disrupting peptide was co-encapsulated with a luciferase expression vector in liposomes. The encapsulation level of the peptide was high (> 80%) and did not affect DNA encapsulation efficiency. Liposomes encapsulating DNA were injected into mice and the efficiency of gene transfer and expression were measured. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of DNA purified from mouse livers and spleens indicated that co-encapsulation of lysosome-disrupting peptide with DNA significantly increased the amount of transferred DNA found 5 days post-injection in the organ cells. Luciferase activity at 5 days post-injection in spleens of mice that were injected with liposomes containing luciferase expression vector and lysosome-disrupting peptide was significantly higher than that in mice injected with liposomes containing only luciferase expression vector or liposomes containing luciferase expression vector and control peptide. These results indicate that the efficiency of in-vivo liposome-mediated gene transfer can be significantly increased by co-encapsulation of lysosome-disrupting peptide with the transferred DNA.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1995

Liposome-encapsulated DNA-mediated gene transfer and synthesis of human factor IX in mice.

Hemophilia B is an X-chromosome-linked recessive disorder that is caused by a deficiency of biologically active clotting factor IX (FIX). In this work, liposomes (Lip) were used for non-viral, in vivo gene transfer of the human FIX gene into mouse organs. Plasmid DNA, containing the human FIX cDNA under the control of the Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV) long terminal repeat (LTR), was encapsulated in 1-2-microns multilamellar Lip composed of egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC). The percentage of Lip-associated DNA was 47%, and 72% of the Lip DNA was protected from DNase I digestion. The Lip-encapsulated (Len) DNA was injected intravenously into Balb/c mice, and at various times post-injection, various tissues were examined for the presence of the exogenous DNA. Plasmid DNA was detected by Southern blot analysis mainly in the liver and spleen, but small amounts were also detected in the lungs, heart and kidneys. The plasmid DNA was retained in mouse liver cells for at least 7 days post-injection, and remained in an episomal state. The levels of human FIX protein in the mouse plasma were 190-650 pg per ml for 2 to 7 days post-injection. Treatment of mice with chloroquine (Cq) and colchicine (Cc) prior to Lip injection significantly increased the amount of plasmid DNA found in the liver cells, as well as the level of human FIX in the plasma. These results demonstrate the potential use of Len DNA for gene transfer into liver and spleen, and for gene therapy of inherited and acquired disorders.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Development and biochemical characterization of a double-virus-inactivated factor VIII preparation.

This paper describes the development of a double-virus-inactivated preparation. The original goal was to inactivate and/or remove parvovirus from plasma-derived factor VIII. More recently, attention has also been focused on the controversial issue of transmission of the non-lipid-coated hepatitis A virus by preparations of factor VIII which have been solvent/detergent-treated and purified by ion-exchange chromatography.

Antiviral Agents↗

PubMed1995

Retroviral-mediated in vivo gene transfer into muscle cells and synthesis of human factor IX in mice.

Muscle cells, when transduced with a factor IX (FIX) expression vector, are capable of producing FIX protein and secreting it into the blood. These cells can thus serve as appropriate targets for gene transfer in hemophilia B patients. In this work, we studied the potential of retrovirus-mediated in vivo gene transfer of the FIX gene into muscle cells. Producer cells, which produce recombinant retroviruses containing the human FIX cDNA under the transcriptional control of the chicken beta-actin promoter, were treated with the cytostatic drug mitomycin C (MC), and injected into the rectus femoris muscle of 6-week-old CB-17/1cr severe combined immune-deficient (SCID) mice. As a control, SCID mice were injected with NIH 3T3 cells, which were stably transformed by the retroviral vector described above and therefore secreted FIX, but did not produce retroviruses. The injected MC-treated cells did not cause any tumours to develop in the mice, and the amount of human FIX in the plasma of mice injected with the producer cells was significantly higher, at any of the time points measured beyond 10 days postinjection, than the amount of human FIX in the plasma of mice injected with FIX-secreting 3T3 cells. These results indicate that muscle cells transduced by retroviruses produced human FIX and secreted it into the blood. In vivo gene transfer to muscle cells by injection of retrovirus-producing cells, or by direct injection of recombinant retroviruses, could prove to be important for the gene therapy of hemophilia B.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1994

A solvent I detergent treated, pasteurised and highly purified factor VIII concentrate.

In an assessment of the risks of virus transmission by clotting concentrates it is clear that the currently practised procedures for virus inactivation are not equally effective against all types of viruses; neither a pasteurisation nor the solvent detergent (SID) process alone are adequate enough to inactivate viruses that are strongly resistant to heat and organic solvents. In this context, human parvovirus B19 and hepatitis A virus (HAV) are of particular concern. In order to improve this situation which still poses a risk to the haemophiliac patients, a more effective pasteurisation process has been developed that could be easily applied to an already well established factor VIII (FVIII) process in addition to the SID-treatment. Experiments using temperatures above 60 degrees C were performed prompted by two recent publications, which demonstrate that HAV becomes instable at temperatures exceeding 62 degrees C. It is the purpose of this paper to present the following progress: achievement of a pasteurisation procedure for FVIII at 63 degrees C for 10 h with no discernible change in the structure of the factor VIII/von Willebrand factor (FVIII/VWF) complex owing to a newly developed composition of stabilizers; application of this pasteurisation procedure to a purified FVIII fraction that has already been submitted to a SID-treatment: Doing so, two independent virus inactivation steps are performed as previously recommended by the International Association of Biological Standardization (IABS). Introduction of a second purification step on an anion exchange resin, achieving an additional virus reduction over the presently manufactured FVIII preparation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Blood Protein Electrophoresis↗

PubMed1991

Use of sulfonated primers to detect and type papillomavirus in cell cultures and cervical biopsies.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) was detected by using two sets of deoxyribonucleotide primers for differentiating between 'low-risk' types (HPV11 and HPV6) and 'high-risk' (hri) types (HPV16, HPV18 and HPV33). A new application of the Chemiprobe method for labeling DNA was used to detect products of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from 36 cervical biopsies. This method, first demonstrated by Uchimura et al. (submitted), is based on the sulfonation of a polycytidylic acid tail of 5-20 monomers attached to the 5' end of either one or both of the PCR primers. This procedure can increase the sensitivity of detection of PCR products more than 100-fold with respect to ethidium bromide (EtdBr) staining. Various methods were used to detect hri HPV DNA in the 36 clinical samples. The number of positive results obtained was as follows, two by Southern-blot hybridization; five by PCR amplification followed by electrophoresis and detection of products by EtdBr staining; six by PCR amplification using one or two sulfonated C-tailed primers followed by electroblotting and immunoenzymatic visualization; and five by hybridization of sulfonated genomic viral recombinant with a PCR product immobilized on a membrane. The yield of the PCR product was significantly greater when one of the primers was C-tailed than when both or neither of the primers were C-tailed. PCR employing sulfonated C-tailed oligo primers is very specific and sensitive, and the entire procedure can be employed as a nonradioactive substitute for radioactive dot-blot or Southern-blot hybridization procedures, routinely used for detection of HPV in clinical samples.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1990

Hybricomb. A novel diagnostic tool for DNA probing.

A technique is described in which unlabeled DNA probes are immobilized on the plastic surface of a 12-tooth comb and used to capture homologs by a hybridization procedure. In the examples described, cellular DNA from cervical biopsies is chemically labeled using the Chemi-probe system. The sample containing labeled DNA is then hybridized with the immobilized unlabeled probe (reverse hybridization). By means of this technique, human papillomavirus sequences can be detected with a sensitivity comparable to that of radioactive probe procedures. DNA hybrids are visualized as colored spots on each tooth by moving the comb through the reagent solutions of the prefilled developing plate. The whole procedure requires less than 50 minutes hands-on time, and the results are obtained in a few hours. Application of the technique to the detection and typing of mycoplasma DNA is also reported.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗

PubMed1989

Chemiprobe, a nonradioactive system for labeling nucleic acid. Principles and applications.

The Chemiprobe Kit provides a complete system for nonradioactive labeling of DNA probes and their detection in hybridization studies. The system is highly sensitive, permitting the detection of 0.2-0.4 pg DNA which allows detection of a single gene sequence in 0.5-1 microgram of bacterial DNA or in 3-5 micrograms of mammalian DNA. In this paper the authors show that the rRNA genes of M. capricolum can be detected by using only 50 ng/ml of sulfonated probe cloned from another mycoplasma, M. pneumoniae. The Chemiprobe system has been successfully used in the detection of the single copy human gene for glucocerobrosidase from total embryonic DNA by hybridization to a specific sulfonated cDNA. 5 x 10(4) M. pneumoniae cells can be detected either free or mixed with sputum using a standard dot blot technique: mycoplasma cells were lysed by a mucolytic agent, denaturated by NaOH, immobilized on a nylon membrane filter, and then hybridized with pPN4, a plasmid DNA probe specific for M. pneumoniae. The resulting hybrids were then detected by the standard Chemiprobe procedure. A new kit based on the Chemiprobe system has been designed especially for the detection of mycoplasmas in tissue culture. This kit has been tested on 70 random samples collected from tissue culture fluids from 11 different sources. Of these, 42 were found to be contaminated by the Chemiprobe procedure, whereas 41 were found to be contaminated by classical microbiological methods. No false negatives were found.

DNA↗

PubMed1988

The left end of rat L1 (L1Rn, long interspersed repeated) DNA which is a CpG island can function as a promoter.

Here we report that the 600 bp promoter-like region at the left end of a newly isolated and characterized rat L1 DNA element can activate the prokaryotic chloramphenicol acyltransferase gene in a rat cell line. Activation only occurs when the promoter region is oriented to the transferase gene as it is to the L1 protein encoding sequences and is 75% inhibited by methylation of just 5 of the 22 CpGs present in the promoter. The G + C rich promoter contains enough CpGs to qualify it as a CpG island, but in contrast to other CpG islands, genomic L1 promoters are fully methylated in both somatic cell and sperm DNA as judged by restriction enzyme analysis. Partial demethylation of the genomic promoters by treatment with 5-azacytidine failed to produce discrete L1 transcripts. The relationship of methylation to the evolutionary history and fate of the rat L1 promoter is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Short, interspersed, and repetitive DNA sequences in Spiroplasma species.

Small fragments of DNA from an 8-kbp plasmid, pRA1, from a plant pathogenic strain of Spiroplasma citri were shown previously to be present in the chromosomal DNA of at least two species of Spiroplasma. We describe here the shot-gun cloning of chromosomal DNA from S. citri Maroc and the identification of two distinct sequences exhibiting homology to pRA1. Further subcloning experiments provided specific molecular probes for the identification of these two sequences in chromosomal DNA from three distinct plant pathogenic species of Spiroplasma. The results of Southern blot hybridization indicated that each of the pRA1-associated sequences is present as multiple copies in short, dispersed, and repetitive sequences in the chromosomes of these three strains. None of the sequences was detectable in chromosomal DNA from an additional nine Spiroplasma strains examined.

Chromosome Mapping↗

PubMed1987

Spiroplasma plasmids.

Extrachromosomal DNA, constituting plasmids or replicative forms of viruses, has been detected in a variety of spiroplasmas, particularly in Spiroplasma citri. Only a few of the S. citri plasmids were characterized by restriction enzyme mapping, and essentially nothing is known on functions encoded by the plasmids. Our studies revealed in S. citri (R8A2) an 8.0-kbp plasmid that differed from previously described plasmids in its restriction map. It was also clonable in pBR322. The plasmid, named pRA1, was found in large quantities as free plasmid in S. citri (R8A2) subclones of low passage level. In subclones of higher passage levels, free plasmid was replaced by plasmid sequences integrated into the spiroplasma chromosome, as revealed by Southern hybridization blots of digested spiroplasmal DNA with nick-translated pRA1 or its recombinant as probes. Significant quantities of integrated plasmid sequences were also observed in S. kunkelii and in Spiroplasma sp. P40. Small quantities of free and/or integrated plasmid DNA were detected in some spiroplasmas serologically and genotypically remote from S. citri. Chromosome-integrated pRA1 sequences were cloned into the Escherichia coli plasmids pUC13 and M13. Hybridization tests and restriction maps of these clones indicated that the integrated plasmid sequences consisted of small repetitive sequences inserted into specific sites on the spiroplasma chromosome. Despite the large number of the inserts they do not appear to affect significantly gene expression in the spiroplasma. Due to the abundance of free and integrated pRA1 in S. citri, nick-translated pRA1 was effective as a DNA probe in detecting small numbers of S. citri in infected periwinkle plants and leafhoppers.

Cloning, Molecular↗

PubMed1987

DNA probes for detection and identification of mycoplasmas (Mollicutes).

DNA probes are expected to prove a specific, sensitive, rapid and inexpensive means for diagnosis of mycoplasma infections, replacing procedures that depend on cultivation of the fastidious organisms. Probes made up of conserved genes, such as rRNA genes, do offer the advantage of identifying and distinguishing multiple species with a single labeled reagent. The mycoplasmal rRNA gene probe pMC5 was effective in detection and identification of mycoplasmas infecting cell cultures. However, use of pMC5 for detection of spiroplasmas and mycoplasma-like organisms (MLOs) in infected plants was hindered by hybridization of this probe with chloroplast rRNA genes. Moreover, for identifying species and strains by pMC5, a complex hybridization procedure--involving DNA purification, digestion, electrophoresis, and Southern blot hybridization--is required. More specific DNA probes, on the other hand, can identify specific Mollicutes by the much simpler, faster and more sensitive dot blot technique. Thus, a probe made of a cloned Spiroplasma citri plasmid could detect by this technique as little as 10 pg of S. citri DNA (equivalent to about 10(3) organisms) in infected plants and insects. DNA probes specific for Mycoplasma pneumoniae and M. genitalium were selected from genomic libraries and prepared in pUC13 by screening the libraries for inserts hybridizing only with DNA of the specific mycoplasma. The probes, labeled by nick translation with 32P-nucleotides, could detect as little as approximately 100 pg of the specific mycoplasmal DNA by dot blot hybridization. To eliminate radioactivity, the above DNA probes were labeled by biotinylation of sulfonation systems. Dot blot hybridization with these probes showed decreased sensitivity of detection by about one order of magnitude, and some nonspecific background reaction with large quantities of nonhomologous DNAs.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Procaryotic and eucaryotic traits of DNA methylation in spiroplasmas (mycoplasmas).

Differences in the type of base methylated (cytosine or adenine) and in the extent of methylation were detected by high-pressure liquid chromatography in the DNAs of five spiroplasmas. Nearest neighbor analysis and digestion by restriction enzyme isoschizomers also revealed differences in methylation sequence specificity. Whereas in Spiroplasma floricola and Spiroplasma sp. strain PPS-1 5-methylcytosine was found on the 5' side of each of the four major bases, the cytosine in Spiroplasma apis DNA was methylated only when its 3' neighboring base was adenine or thymine. In Spiroplasma sp. strain MQ-1 over 95% of the methylated cytosine was in C-G sequences. Essentially all of the C-G sequences in the MQ-1 DNA were methylated. Partially purified extracts of S. apis and Spiroplasma sp. strain MQ-1 were used to study substrate and sequence specificity of the methylase activity. Methylation by the MQ-1 enzyme was exclusively at C-G sequences, resembling in this respect eucaryotic DNA methylases. However, the MQ-1 methylase differed from eucaryotic methylases by showing high activity on nonmethylated DNA duplexes, low activity with hemimethylated DNA duplexes, and no activity on single-stranded DNA.

Base Composition↗

PubMed1984

Cloning of L-2 DNA in Escherichia coli pOL4 plasmid.

A physical map of L-2 DNA was constructed using restriction endonucleases. Based on this map the five HincII-generated L-2 DNA fragments (A-E) were cloned into the SmaI site of Escherichia coli vector plasmid pOL4, that was designed to analyze promoters and transcriptional terminators. The insertion of the HincII-generated L-2 DNA fragments into this plasmid clearly demonstrated that a fragment (fragment E) with a size of 1.1 kbp carried a sequence that initiated transcription in E. coli.

Acholeplasma↗

PubMed1984

Bilirubin incorporation into spiroplasma membranes and methylation of spiroplasmal DNA.

Spiroplasma floricola (BNR-1), Spiroplasma sp. MQ-1 and S. apis (B-31) grown in media containing horse serum exhibited intense yellow pigmentation. Yellow pigments were not observed in S. citri (R8A2) and Spiroplasma sp. strains BC-3 and PPS-1 grown in the same medium. The reddish-yellow pigment showed up in lipid extracts of both spiroplasma membranes and horse serum. It exhibited the typical features of bilirubin: specific absorption spectrum from 390 to 500 nm with a peak at 453 nm, and a characteristic sequence of color changes on addition of HNO3 to its solution in chloroform. The pigment comigrated with commercial bilirubin from bull gall and stained greenish blue when subjected to mild oxidation by iodine. S. floricola contained 5.4 micrograms bilirubin/mg cell protein or 9.7 micrograms bilirubin/mg membrane protein. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed the presence of significant amounts of 5-methylcytosine and very little 6-methyladenine in the DNA of S. floricola, S. apis and Spiroplasma sp. strains PPS-1 and MQ-1. S. citri and Spiroplasma sp. strain BC-3 contained 6-methyladenine and very little, if any, 5-methylcytosine. The methylated cytosine residues in Spiroplasma sp. MQ-1 were almost exclusively located in the sequence CpG, as in eukaryotes.

5-Methylcytosine↗

PubMed1982

Aerotactic response of Azospirillum brasilense.

Five strains of Azospirillum brasilense and two of Azospirillum spp., from Israel, responded to self-created and preformed oxygen gradients by forming aerotactic bands in capillary tubes and actively moving toward a specific zone with low dissolved oxygen. Increasing the oxygen concentration in capillaries containing phosphate buffer increased the number of attracted bacteria and decreased band velocity. High O2 concentrations and H2O2 temporarily repulsed the bacteria, causing the formation of a bacterial arc around the capillary mouth. There was no band formation under anaerobic conditions, although the bacteria remained highly motile. Exogenous energy sources were unnecessary for aerotaxis in Azospirillum spp. The addition of oxidizable substrates to the capillary slightly enhanced aerotaxis, possibly by accelerating O2 consumption. Aerotactic band formation was affected by pH, bacterial concentration and age, incubation time, and respiratory inhibitors, but not by the lack of combined nitrogen in the growth medium. It is proposed that aerotaxis plays a role in the capacity of Azospirillum spp. to reach an environment suitable for N2 fixation.

Aerobiosis↗