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Biomedical subjects

J Alam

Publications and source records attributed to J Alam.

79 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Isolation and sequence of the gene for ferredoxin I from the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120.

The structural gene for ferredoxin I, petF, from the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 has been isolated from a recombinant lambda library. Mixtures of tetradecanucleotides and heptadecanucleotides, each containing all possible DNA sequences corresponding to two separate regions of the ferredoxin amino acid sequence, were synthesized and used as hybridization probes to identify a genomic clone containing the coding sequence for the petF gene. The sequence of the entire petF coding region and portions of the 3'- and 5'-flanking regions was determined. The DNA sequence of petF suggests that, in contrast to the nucleus-encoded plant protein, cyanobacterial apoferredoxin is not synthesized as a higher-molecular-weight precursor. The Anabaena petF gene is a single-copy gene. During growth on complete medium it was transcribed into a monocistronic mRNA species of approximately 500 bases that initiated 100 base pairs upstream from the petF coding region.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1978

Cholera, non-vibrio cholera, and stomach acid.

Fasting and postprandial stomach acid production were low in 16 of 37 Bangalees convalescing from cholera or non-vibrio cholera. Gastric juice of hypochlorhydric patients did not kill cholera vibrios in vitro, whereas that from normochlorhydric patients rapidly killed vibrios in concentrations up to 10(10)/ml. To determine whether hypoacidity resulted from cholera or was a common predisposing factor, basal and betazole-hydrochloride-stimulated acid production were measured before and after cholera in a second group of patients consisting of American volunteers participating in a vaccine development programme. Cholera did not alter the stomach acid secretion of American volunteers, but low precholera basal acid production predispose to severe cholera. The results indicate that hypochlorhydria observed in convalescent Bangalee cholera patients is not caused by cholera, and must therefore have preceded it. Idiopathic tropical hypochlorhydria may be a major factor accounting for the high incidence of diarrhoea due to acid-sensitive pathogens in developing countries.

Achlorhydria↗
PubMedDate not supplied

NF-kappa B site-mediated negative regulation of the HIV-1 promoter by CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins in brain-derived cells.

Several transcription regulatory elements that interact with cellular DNA-binding proteins have been identified in the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR). We have identified two sequence motifs in the U3 region of the LTR that are similar to the consensus 9-bp DNA-binding element of the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family of transcription factors. One of the sequences (promoter-proximal) mapped immediately upstream of the NF-kappa B element, whereas the other (promoter-distal) completely overlapped the upstream stimulatory factor (USF) binding site. In this study, we investigated the role of the enhancer-proximal consensus C/EBP binding sequence in the expression of the HIV-1 LTR. In cotransfection assays we found that although this sequence is a functional C/EBP-responsive element, the regulation of the HIV promoter by C/EBP is very complex. C/EBP isoforms inhibited the phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-stimulated HIV-1 promoter activity in human glioblastoma U138MG and neuroblastoma SHSY5Y cells, but not in HeLa epithelial cells, and this inhibition required the NF-kappa B element. C/EBP also downregulated the HIV NF-kappa B element-containing SV40 early promoter activity, regardless of the presence of the flanking C/EBP-binding sequences, in the two brain-derived cells. In electrophoretic mobility shift assays with nuclear extracts from HeLa and U138MG cells, purified C/EBP markedly increased the complex formation between endogenous proteins and the NF-kappa B DNA probe without detectable association with the complex. However, with extracts from U138MG cells but not from HeLa cells, a slow migrating complex was observed. Our data suggest that the C/EBP family of transcription factors can downregulate the HIV-1 promoter activity in CNS-derived cells through the NF-kappa B binding elements.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Biliary Ascariasis in children.

BACKGROUND: Ascariasis is very common in this part of the world. Biliary Ascariasis is rare but is the commonest extra-intestinal complication. METHODS: This study was conducted At Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad, a tertiary care hospital. Five cases of biliary Ascariasis were studied from December 1999 to January 2001. History of passage of worms in stool or vomiting and abdominal pain was taken. After clinical evaluation, Stool Examination, Serum amylase, LFTs, and complete blood picture (CP) were done. Ultrasound abdomen was done as a basic tool for diagnosis. All cases were given Piperazine. Spasmolytics were also given to relax sphincter of oddi to release the worms. Surgical opinions were also taken for each case. RESULTS: About 80% Children were above 10 years of age. One case was 1 1/2 years old. Most common symptom was right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Previous history of passage of worms in stool and vomitus was also present. Two children developed complications of Biliary Ascariasis i.e., Cholecystitis and Portal empyema and responded to antibiotics. All children became symptom free in about 48 hours of treatment. Ultrasound was found to be a reliable, non-invasive, and quick tool for diagnosis and follow up.

Animals↗