Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J E Thompson

Publications and source records attributed to J E Thompson.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Intraoperative endoscopy of the biliary tract.

This is a prospective series of 328 operations for biliary stone disease in 326 consecutive patients. The overall operative mortality was 0.6%. Routine operative cholangiography was utilized during cholecystectomy, and this identified 19 patients (5.9%) with silent common bile duct stones. Common bile duct explorations were positive in 62 of 74 operations (83.8%). Biliary endoscopy was routinely performed during bile duct exploration. Unsuspected retained common duct stones were discovered postoperatively in 4.5% of these patients. Biliary endoscopy proved essential in the management of 18 patients with radiographically demonstrated distal bile duct obstruction. With patency confirmed by endoscopy, inappropriate duodenotomy and sphincter ablation were avoided in each of these 18 patients.

Biliary Tract↗
PubMed1988

Fatty acids as biological markers for bacterial symbionts in sponges.

Analyses of fatty acids with carbon numbers between C12 and C22 are reported for five Great Barrier Reef sponges. These analyses indicate that phototrophic cyanobacterial symbionts (blue-green algae) present in three of the sponges are chemically distinct, whereas the other two sponges do not contain cyanobacterial symbionts. All the sponges contain other, nonphototrophic bacteria. The fatty acid analyses indicate that the non-phototrophic bacterial populations present in the different sponges are distinct in both their chemical compositions and their abundances. Nonphototrophic bacteria are estimated to account for between 60 and 350 micrograms/g (extractable fatty acids:tissue wet weight), whereas cyanobacteria account for between 10 and 910 micrograms/g. One sponge (Pseudaxinyssa sp.) contains a relatively large amount of the isoprenoid acid, 4, 8, 12-trimethyltridecanoic acid; this acid is presumed to be derived from phytol, a degradation product of chlorophyll. This sponge also contains relatively large amounts of the nonmethylene interrupted fatty acid, octadeca-5,9-dienoic acid. Analyses of interior and cyanobacteria-rich surface tissues of this sponge indicate that these two acids are probably not associated with the symbiotic cyanobacteria.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Localization of long-chain fatty acids and unconventional sterols in spherulous cells of a marine sponge.

The first direct evidence is provided for the presence of unconventional lipids in a particular subcellular membrane system of a sponge. Spherulous cells were isolated from the variety of cell types present in the marine sponge Aplysina fistularis by density gradient centrifugation. Spherulous cell plasma membrane was subsequently isolated by cell rupture followed by differential centrifugation and sucrose, or Percoll, density gradient ultracentrifugation. Plasma membrane isolates were identified and assessed for purity using [3H]concanavalin A plasma membrane marker, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and ratios of protein, sterol and phosphate. Plasma membrane isolates could not be assessed for purity by traditional enzymatic means. Spherulous cell plasma membrane was found to contain unusual lipids, including long-chain (C24-C30) fatty acids (16.8-27.2%) and unconventional 26-alkylated sterols (66.4-72.6%), in addition to more conventional fatty acids and sterols. Spherulous cell intracellular membranes were also found to contain long-chain fatty acids and unconventional sterols, although the relative importance of these unusual lipids apparently varies between intracellular membranes, with some containing approximately 50% long-chain acids.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Cell membrane localization of long chain C24-C30 fatty acids in two marine demosponges.

Subcellular fractionation by differential centrifugation was performed on two previously unstudied marine sponges (Reniera sp. and Pseudaxinyssa sp.) that represent both major subclasses of the Demospongiae. Long chain fatty acids (LCFA) with 24-30 carbon units were found as major constituents of cell membrane isolates of both sponges. Most LCFA were polyunsaturated and were constituents of the phospholipids, which are typical membrane lipids, and in particular the amino-phospholipids. The LCFA composition of phospholipids from whole sponge tissue was shown to provide a reliable indication of the LCFA composition of cell membrane phospholipids in the sponges studied. An unusual triply branched C16 isoprenoid fatty acid, 4,8,12-trimethyltridecanoic acid, also was identified as a cell membrane acid in the sponge Pseudaxinyssa sp.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Cell membrane localization of sterols with conventional and unusual side chains in two marine demosponges.

Subcellular fractionation by differential centrifugation was performed on two previously unstudied marine sponges that predominantly contain either conventional (Reniera sp.) or unconventional (Pseudaxinyssa sp.) sterols. Direct evidence for the presence of unconventional sterols with C24 alkylated side chains in the cellular membranes of Pseudaxinyssa sp. is provided, but the presence of unconventional sterols in sponge membranes is shown not to be a universal feature of the Porifera. Possible structural and functional roles of unconventional lipid molecules in sponge cell membranes are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Arachidonic acid metabolites do not mediate toluene diisocyanate-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in guinea pigs.

Arachidonic acid metabolites have previously been demonstrated to mediate the airway hyperresponsiveness observed in guinea pigs and dogs after exposure to ozone. Guinea pigs were treated with indomethacin (a cyclooxygenase inhibitor), U-60,257 (piriprost, a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor), or BW775c (a lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase inhibitor) and exposed to air or 3 ppm TDI. Airway responsiveness to acetylcholine aerosol was examined 2 h after exposure. In control animals, the provocative concentration of acetylcholine which caused a 200% increase in pulmonary resistance over baseline (PC200) was significantly less (p less than 0.05) after exposure to TDI (8.6 +/- 2.0 mg/ml, geometric mean + geometric SE, n = 10) than after exposure to air (23.9 + 2.5 mg/ml, n = 14). The airway responsiveness to acetylcholine in animals treated with indomethacin or piriprost and exposed to TDI was not different from that of control animals exposed to TDI. Treatment with BW755c enhanced the airway hyperresponsiveness observed in animals exposed to TDI without altering the PC200 of animals exposed to air. The PC200 of animals treated with BW755c and exposed to TDI (2.3 + 0.8 mg/ml, n = 8) was significantly lower than the PC200 of control animals exposed to TDI (p less than 0.025). These results suggest that products of arachidonic acid metabolism are not responsible for TDI-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in guinea pigs. BW755c, however, appears to potentiate the TDI-induced airway hyperresponsiveness to acetylcholine by an as yet unidentified mechanism.

4,5-Dihydro-1-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1H-pyraz↗
PubMed1988

Senescence-Related Changes in ATP-Dependent Uptake of Calcium into Microsomal Vesicles from Carnation Petals.

Microsomal membrane vesicles isolated from the petals of young carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L. cv White Sim) flowers accumulate Ca(2+) in the presence of ATP. The specific activity of ATP-dependent uptake is approximately 20 nanomoles per milligram of protein per 30 minutes. The membranes also hydrolyze ATP, but Ca(2+) stimulation of ATP hydrolysis was not discernible above the high background of Ca(2+)-insensitive ATPase activity. The initial velocity of uptake showed a sigmoidal rise with increasing Ca(2+) concentration, suggesting that Ca(2+) serves both as substrate and activator for the enzyme complex mediating its uptake. The concentration of Ca(2+) at half maximal velocity of uptake (S(0.5)) was 12.5 micromolar and the Hill coefficient (n(H)) was 2.5. The addition of calmodulin to membrane preparations that had been isolated in the presence of chelators did not promote ATP-dependent accumulation of Ca(2+), although this may reflect the fact that the treatment with chelators did not fully remove endogenous calmodulin. Transport of Ca(2+) into membrane vesicles was unaffected by 50 micromolar ruthenium red and 5 micromolar sodium azide, indicating that uptake is primarily into vesicles of non-mitochondrial origin. By subfractionating the microsomes on a linear sucrose gradient, it was established that the ATP-dependent Ca(2+) transport activity comigrates with endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane. During post-harvest development of cut flowers, ATP-dependent uptake of Ca(2+) into microsomal vesicles declined by approximately 70%. This occurred before the appearance of petal-inrolling and the climacteric-like rise in ethylene production, parameters that denote the onset of senescence. There were no significant changes during this period in S(0.5) or n(H), but V(max) for ATP-dependent Ca(2+) uptake decreased by approximately 40%. A similar decline in ATP-dependent uptake of Ca(2+) into microsomal vesicles was induced by treating young flowers with physiological levels of exogenous ethylene.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1988

Phosphoramidon potentiates the increase in lung resistance mediated by tachykinins in guinea pigs.

This study was designed to evaluate the role of endogenous enkephalinase in regulating bronchoconstrictor responses in guinea pigs. We evaluated the effects of phosphoramidon, an enkephalinase inhibitor, on the increases in lung resistance (RL) caused by exogenous substance P and inhaled capsaicin (an agent thought to provoke bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs by stimulating the release of tachykinins from afferent nerve endings). In 6 of 6 animals, phosphoramidon potentiated the substance P-induced increase in RL (RL increased 380 +/- 100% [mean +/- SEM] before phosphoramidon and 1,300 +/- 400% afterward, p less than 0.025). In 4 of 4 animals, the repeated administration of a single dose of substance P after saline did not result in potentiation of the increase in RL caused by substance P. Similarly, in 6 animals exposed to inhaled capsaicin, phosphoramidon significantly increased capsaicin responsiveness when compared to 6 capsaicin-exposed animals not treated with phosphoramidon. Phosphoramidon-induced augmentation of the airway responsiveness to substance P and to capsaicin was not simply the result of a nonspecific increase in airway smooth muscle responsiveness because phosphoramidon failed to potentiate the bronchoconstrictor response to inhaled acetylcholine. These results suggest the enkephalinase plays an important role in modulating in vivo bronchoconstrictor responses to substance P in guinea pigs. Therefore, alterations in enkephalinase activity could contribute to in vivo alterations in bronchoconstrictor responsiveness.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1988

Toluene diisocyanate increases airway responsiveness to substance P and decreases airway neutral endopeptidase.

Substance P and related tachykinins contribute to the airway hyperresponsiveness caused by toluene diisocyanate (TDI) in guinea pigs. Neutral endopeptidase (NEP) is an important modulator of substance P-induced responses. To test the hypothesis that exposure to TDI would increase responsiveness to substance P by inhibiting activity of this enzyme, we determined the dose of substance P required to increase pulmonary resistance by 200% above baseline (PD200) before and after administration of the pharmacologic inhibitor phosphoramidon in guinea pigs studied 1 h after a 1-h exposure to air or 3 ppm TDI. TDI exposure increased responsiveness to substance P significantly. However, phosphoramidon caused a significantly greater leftward shift of the substance P dose-response curve in air-exposed animals than it did in TDI-exposed animals, so that after phosphoramidon, mean values of PD200 in animals exposed to air or TDI did not differ. Tracheal NEP activity was significantly less after exposure to TDI than after exposure to air, whereas activity in the esophagus was the same in both groups. These results suggest that TDI exposure increases the bronchoconstrictor responsiveness of guinea pigs to substance P, in large part through inhibition of airway NEP.

Airway Resistance↗
PubMed1988

Interruption of the vena cava by means of the Greenfield filter: expanding the indications.

Between 1978 and 1985, 88 patients underwent insertion of the Greenfield vena cava filter. In 21 of the 88 patients (23.9%) the filter was inserted prophylactically. Sixteen of the 21 prophylactic insertions were performed before total joint replacement in patients with a history of venous thromboembolism. Operative morbidity (4.6%) was minor and occurred only early in the series. The operative mortality rate was 4.6%. None of the deaths were related to filter insertion or pulmonary embolism. Follow-up in 65 patients (73.9%) ranged from 1 to 60 months (mean, 16.4 months). Leg edema developed in 9.2% (6/65), stasis ulceration in 3.1% (2/65), caval occlusion in 7.5% (3/40), and recurrent nonfatal embolism in 3.1% (2/65) of the patients. In the patients who received prophylactic filters before total joint replacement, there were no filter-related complications or episodes of pulmonary embolism. This series confirms the safety and effectiveness of the Greenfield filter and suggests that the indications for its use might be liberalized to include prophylactic insertion of the device in certain high-risk patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Dorsal sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis--the posterior paravertebral approach.

Definitive therapy for hyperhidrosis is sympathectomy. The authors have used a posterior approach to perform 36 dorsal sympathectomies for upper extremity hyperhidrosis in 18 patients (12 female, 6 male). All 18 patients suffered from excessive sweating of the upper extremity (17 palmar, 1 axillary) that caused significant psychological and occupational problems. Eleven patients (61.1%) had lower extremity involvement as well. For all 18 patients conservative medical treatment had failed. Bilateral operations were performed, via a posterior extrapleural approach, through the bed of the third rib. All 36 limbs were relieved of excess sweating. There were no deaths and only two minor wound complications. In no patient did Horner's syndrome develop. Long-term follow-up did not reveal any recurrence of hyperhidrosis. Two patients did complain of compensatory hyperhidrosis of the lower extremities. Dorsal sympathectomy was effective in all of the patients with upper extremity hyperhidrosis in this series. The posterior approach is technically simple, allows simultaneous bilateral operations, and is associated with only infrequent minor complications.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Autoradiographic visualization of binding sites for [3H]somatostatin in the rat brain.

[4-3H][Phe6]somatostatin-14 was used to localize somatostatin binding sites in the rat brain by tritium-film autoradiography. The distribution of binding sites using 0.7 nM [3H]somatostatin confirmed that previously described for iodinated tyrosyl analogues of somatostatin, with highest densities of sites in the cerebral cortex (particularly in laminae III-V), amygdala, lateral septal nucleus, hippocampus and claustrum. Investigation of the pharmacological specificity of the binding sites showed that somatostatin-28, but not its N-terminal dodecapeptide, somatostatin-28 (1-12) or des-Ala1[Gly2,Lys4,Asn5,Thr12,Ser13]somatostatin displaced [3H]somatostatin. Further examination of the binding inhibition characteristics, using a homogenate assay, suggested the presence of two classes of binding sites in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, midbrain and striatum. The existence of sub-populations of somatostatin binding sites in the rat brain has implications for future studies on the physiological and pharmacological significance of somatostatin receptors in the central nervous system.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Surfactant displacement by meconium free fatty acids: an alternative explanation for atelectasis in meconium aspiration syndrome.

Meconium, an ether extract of meconium, and the major free fatty acids of meconium (palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids) were all found to increase the surface tension minimum of dog lung extract in a Wilhelmy balance. Each of these fractions was instilled into the lungs of dogs (15 experimental, eight saline solution controls), and cardiac output, venous and arterial blood gases, pulmonary, atrial, and systemic pressures, airway pressure, and static lung compliance were serially monitored for 2 hours. Mean airway pressure increased and static lung compliance decreased significantly in all of the experimental groups. Although arterial pH and PaCO2 and the various hemodynamic measurements did not change during the experiment, PaO2 decreased significantly and did not return to baseline in all experimental groups. Extracts from atelectatic portions of experimental dog lung had a surface tension minimum of greater than 20 dynes/cm, whereas airway foam had a surface tension minimum of less than 10 dynes/cm, suggesting that the free fatty acids of meconium are able to strip surfactant from the alveoli.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Calcium- and calmodulin-regulated breakdown of phospholipid by microsomal membranes from bean cotyledons.

Evidence for the involvement of Ca(2+) and calmodulin in the regulation of phospholipid breakdown by microsomal membranes from bean cotyledons has been obtained by following the formation of radiolabeled degradation products from [U-(14)C]phosphatidylcholine. Three membrane-associated enzymes were found to mediate the breakdown of [U-(14)C] phosphatidylcholine, viz. phospholipase D (EC 3.1.4.4), phosphatidic acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.4), and lipolytic acyl hydrolase. Phospholipase D and phosphatidic acid phosphatase were both stimulated by physiological levels of free Ca(2+), whereas lipolytic acyl hydrolase proved to be insensitive to Ca(2+). Phospholipase D was unaffected by calmodulin, but the activity of phosphatidic acid phosphatase was additionally stimulated by nanomolar levels of calmodulin in the presence of 15 micromolar free Ca(2+). Calmidazolium, a calmodulin antagonist, inhibited phosphatidic acid phosphatase activity at IC(50) values ranging from 10 to 15 micromolar. Thus the Ca(2+)-induced stimulation of phosphatidic acid phosphatase appears to be mediated through calmodulin, whereas the effect of Ca(2+) on phospholipase D is independent of calmodulin. The role of Ca(2+) as a second messenger in the initiation of membrane lipid degradation is discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1987

Low Temperature Development Induces a Specific Decrease in trans-Delta-Hexadecenoic Acid Content which Influences LHCII Organization.

Lipid and fatty acid analyses were performed on whole leaf extracts and isolated thylakoids from winter rye (Secale cereale L. cv Puma) grown at 5 degrees C cold-hardened rye (RH) and 20 degrees C nonhardened rye (RNH). Although no significant change in total lipid content was observed, growth at low, cold-hardening temperature resulted in a specific 67% (thylakoids) to 74% (whole leaves) decrease in the trans-Delta(3)-hexadecenoic acid (trans-16:1) level associated with phosphatidyldiacylglycerol (PG). Electron spin resonance and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated no significant difference in the fluidity of RH and RNH thylakoids. Separation of chlorophyll-protein complexes by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the ratio of oligomeric light harvesting complex:monomeric light harvesting complex (LHCII(1):LHCII(3)) was 2-fold higher in RNH than RH thylakoids. The ratio of CP1a:CP1 was also 1.5-fold higher in RNH than RH thylakoids. Analyses of winter rye grown at 20, 15, 10, and 5 degrees C indicated that both, the trans-16:1 acid levels in PG and the LHCII(1):LHCII(3) decreased concomitantly with a decrease in growth temperature. Above 40 degrees C, differential scanning calorimetry of RNH thylakoids indicated the presence of five major endotherms (47, 60, 67, 73, and 86 degrees C). Although the general features of the temperature transitions observed above 40 degrees C in RH thylakoids were similar to those observed for RNH thylakoids, the transitions at 60 and 73 degrees C were resolved as inflections only and RH thylakoids exhibited transitions at 45 and 84 degrees C which were 2 degrees C lower than those observed in RNH thylakoids. Since polypeptide and lipid compositions of RH and RNH thylakoids were very similar, we suggest that these differences reflect alterations in thylakoid membrane organization. Specifically, it is suggested that low developmental temperature modulates LHCII organization such that oligomeric LHCII predominates in RNH thylakoids whereas a monomeric or an intermediate form of LHCII predominates in RH thylakoids. Furthermore, we conclude that low developmental temperature modulates LHCII organization by specifically altering the fatty composition of thylakoid PG.

Journal Article↗