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Biomedical subjects

J K Dunnick

Publications and source records attributed to J K Dunnick.

69 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1975

Vesicle interactions with polyamino acids and antibody: in vitro and in vivo studies.

Artificial spherules or vesicles of 900 A in diameter formed from phosphatidylcholine and gangliosides and enclosing 99mTcO4 - (standard preparation) survive intact in the circulation of the mouse. Polyamino acids and protein have been incorporated into and onto the vesicles; such vesicles remain intact as determined by diffusion dialysis studies and by electron paramagnetic resonance studies of vesicles enclosing spin label. In studying the distribution of polyamino acid-vesicles and protein vesicles in vivo, it was found that the latter distribute differently from standard vesicles or free protein alone whereas aromatic polyamino acid-vesicles concentrate in the liver and spleen to a greater extent than standard vesicles. We conclude that the permeability and stability characteristics of vesicles may be preserved when they are modified by the addition of protein or polyamino acids and that such modification of vesicles may be associated with an alteration of their fate in vivo. The potential exists to use vesicles as carriers of radiopharmaceuticals and other drugs and to direct the vesicles preferentially to tissue targets in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

In vivo distribution of vesicles loaded with radiopharmaceuticals: a study of different routes of administration.

The in vivo distribution of vesicles containing radiopharmaceuticals in their cavities has been studied using three routes of administration: intravenous, subcutaneous, and intraperitoneal. The in vivo distribution in mice was determined by dissection of the animals and calculation of radioactivity in the organs. In rats the in vivo distribution was assessed by scintigraphy using a scintillation camera-digital computer unit. After intravenous injection of vesicles, radioactivity is concentrated to some extent in the liver and spleen but the pattern of distribution is different from that of the corresponding free radiopharmaceutical or radiocolloid made of the corresponding radionuclide. The permeability of the vesicular membrane to contained radiopharmaceutical has been shown to vary according to the chemical composition of the vesicles. Vesicles can be used to introduce materials in vivo and the potential exists for their specific targeting by coupling other molecules to their surfaces.

Animals↗
PubMed1974

Distribution and fate of synthetic lipid vesicles in the mouse: a combined radionuclide and spin label study.

Single compartmental spherules of various lipid constituents (vesicles), enclosing (99m)TcO(4) (-) as a radioactive marker, were injected intravenously into C(3)H mice, and the distribution of radioactivity was studied. About 25% of the administered radioactivity was present in the liver 5 min and 30 min after the injection of vesicles composed of phosphatidylcholine and gangliosides, which were sonicated for 5 min (standard preparation). About 10-20% of the radioactivity remained in the circulation. By use of a nonradioactive spin label (tempocholine) enclosed within vesicles, intact vesicles were demonstrated in the circulation for 46 min after intravenous injection. The distribution of radioactivity from (99m)TcO(4) (-) inside vesicles is very different from that of free (99m)TcO(4) (-) or of (99m)Tc sulfur colloid. Increase in the length of sonication or incorporation of cholesterol into the wall of the vesicles enhanced hepatic levels and reduced blood levels of radioactivity. These same manipulations also slowed the rate of transfer of (99m)TcO(4) (-) out of vesicles in dialysis experiments in vitro. Addition of phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylethanolamine, or phosphatidylserine to the standard constituents did not greatly alter the distribution of radioactivity in vivo but did increase the number and type of active coupling sites on the outside of the vesicle. The results indicate that vesicles might be valuable as carriers of diagnostic or therapeutic agents.

Animals↗
PubMed1970

Correlation of bacteria lipid composition with antibiotic resistance.

The correlation of bacterial lipid composition with antibiotic resistance was investigated with particular emphasis on those organisms in which resistance may be related to membrane or envelope structure or function, as in resistance to tetracyclines and polymyxin. Chloroform-methanol-extractable lipids, phosphatidyl ethanolamine fractions, and both fatty acids of these lipid fractions and total fatty acids were studied by using thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography, and infrared spectroscopy. Consistent quantitative differences were found between the fatty acid compositions of sensitive and resistant strains. Most notable was the fact that, in gram-negative organisms, resistant strains showed decreases in cyclopropane acids as compared with sensitive strains. These changes were found to be inherent in the strains and not due to growth stage or culture age. No significant qualitative differences were noted. In contrast, no such variation in fatty acid content was observed in penicillin-sensitive and resistant strains of gram-positive cocci. As significant alterations of fatty acid composition were noted in gram-negative strains resistant to antibiotics, we suggest that resistance is correlated to membrane or envelope lipid composition.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dimethyl methyl phosphonate induction of dominant lethal mutations in male mice.

The reproductive toxicity of dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP) was studied in the male B6C3F1 mouse. Male mice were treated with 0, 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg DMMP by gavage 5 days per week for 13 weeks. After 4, 8 and 12 weeks of treatment the male mice were mated to untreated CD-1 female mice. At the two highest doses (1000 and 2000 mg/kg) the chemical caused a dominant lethal effect (early resorptions). Groups of male mice (at 1000 and 2000 mg/kg), mated after a 15-week recovery period without chemical dosing, had a resorption rate comparable to the control group. After 13 weeks of dosing, the male mice showed no histopathologic changes of the reproductive organs, no abnormalities in sperm concentration or sperm morphology, no evidence for hormone imbalance, no signs of general toxicity, and no effects on the fertilization rate. The male B6C3F1 mouse was less responsive than the male Fischer 344/N rat to the reproductive toxic effects of DMMP.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lesions of the urinary tract produced in Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice after chronic administration of 11-aminoundecanoic acid.

11-Aminoundecanoic acid, the monomer of nylon 11, was toxic to the urinary tract of both male and female B6C3F1 mice and Fischer 344 rats, when administered in the diet at 7500 or 15 000 ppm for 103-104 weeks. Dose-related effects included a decrease in mean body weight gain and in survival for male rats and for mice of each sex; increased incidence of hyperplasia of the transitional epithelium of the kidney in rats of each sex; increased incidence of calcification of the kidney in the female rats; increased incidence of hyperplasia of the urinary bladder in male rats; and mineralization of the kidney in mice of each sex. Transitional cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder of the male rat occurred with increased frequency in the high-dose group (control, 0/48; low-dose, 0/48; high-dose, 7/49). Additional evidence for carcinogenicity in the male rat was seen in the liver, where an increased frequency of neoplastic nodules was found in the treated animals (controls, 1/50; low-dose, 9/50; high-dose, 8/50). Therefore, under the conditions of these studies, 11-aminoundecanoic acid was carcinogenic for male Fischer 344 rats, inducing transitional cell carcinomas in the urinary bladder and neoplastic nodules in the liver. The test chemical was not demonstrated to be carcinogenic for female Fischer 344 rats or for B6C3F1 mice of either sex.

Amino Acids↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chemicals associated with decreases in the incidence of mononuclear cell leukemia in the Fischer rat.

A significant treatment-related decrease in the incidence of mononuclear cell leukemia (MCL) was identified in Fischer-344/N rats for 20 chemicals tested in the National Toxicology Program's 2-yr carcinogenicity bioassay. Fourteen of the 20 chemicals caused decreases of MCL in both male and female rats; 6 of the 20 caused a significant decrease only in males and a marginal or no decrease in female rats. Seventeen of the chemicals associated with a decrease in MCL had a free aromatic amine or nitro functional groups that could be metabolized to free amines. With 1 exception, all 14 chemicals causing a decrease in MCL in both sexes produced spleen toxicity in the 13-wk studies. Reduced body weight and decreased survival, related either to toxicity or to an increase in other types of lethal neoplasms, did not contribute to the decreases in MCL observed in chemical exposure groups. Thirteen of the 20 chemicals were positive in Salmonella tests, and 15 were associated with increases in neoplasms at other sites in rats and/or mice, suggesting that different metabolites could be responsible for these varied biological effects.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Phenolphthalein induces thymic lymphomas accompanied by loss of the p53 wild type allele in heterozygous p53-deficient (+/-) mice.

Epidemiology studies have indicated that many human cancers are influenced by environmental factors. Genetically altered mouse model systems offer us the opportunity to study the interaction of chemicals with genetic predisposition to cancer. Using the heterozygous p53-deficient (+/-) mouse, an animal model carrying one wild type p53 gene and one p53 null allele, we studied the effects of phenolphthalein on tumor induction and p53 gene alterations. Earlier studies showed that phenolphthalein caused carcinogenic effects in Fisher 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice after a 2-yr dosing period (Dunnick and Hailey, Cancer Res. 56: 4922-4926, 1996). The p53 (+/-) mice received phenolphthalein in the feed at concentrations of 200, 375, 750, 3,000, or 12,000 ppm (approximately 43, 84, 174, 689, or 2,375 mg/kg body weight/day or 129, 252, 522, 2,867, or 7,128 mg/m2 body surface area/day) for up to 6 mo. A target organ cancer site that accumulated p53 protein in the B6C3F1 mouse (i.e., thymic lymphoma) was also a target site for cancer in the p53 (+/-) mouse. In the p53 (+/-) mouse, treatment-related atypical hyperplasia and malignant lymphoma of thymic origin were seen in the control and dosed groups at a combined incidence of 0, 5, 5, 25, 100, and 95%, respectively. Twenty-one of the thymic lymphomas were examined for p53 gene changes, and all showed loss of the p53 wild type allele. Chemical-induced ovarian tumors in the B6C3F1 mouse showed no evidence for p53 protein accumulation and did not occur in the p53 (+/-) mouse. The p53-deficient (+/-) mouse model responded to phenolphthalein treatment with a carcinogenic response in the thymus after only 4 mo of dosing. This carcinogenic response took 2 yr to develop in the conventional B6C3F1 mouse bioassay. The p53-deficient (+/-) mouse is an important model for identifying a carcinogenic response after short-term (< 6 mo) exposures. Our studies show that exposure to phenolphthalein combined with a genetic predisposition to cancer can potentiate the carcinogenic process and cause p53 gene alterations, a gene alteration found in many human cancers.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Carcinogenic activity of the flame retardant, 2,2-bis(bromomethyl)-1,3-propanediol in rodents, and comparison with the carcinogenicity of other NTP brominated chemicals.

Several brominated chemicals have been shown to be multisite-multispecies carcinogens in laboratory animals, and in this paper we report that the flame retardant, 2,2-bis(bromomethyl)-1,3-propanediol (BMP) is also a multisite carcinogen in both sexes of Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice. BMP was administered continuously in the diet for up to 2 yr to rats at doses of 0, 2,500, 5,000, or 10,000 ppm and to mice at doses of 0, 312, 625, or 1,250 ppm. Interim groups of rats were examined at 15 mo. An additional recovery group of male rats received the chemical for 3 mo at 20,000 ppm in the feed, and then the control diet for the remainder of the study. Chemical exposure caused neoplasms of the skin, subcutaneous tissue, mammary gland, Zymbal's gland, oral cavity, esophagus, forestomach, small intestine, large intestine, mesothelium, kidney, urinary bladder, lung, thyroid gland, seminal vesicle, hematopoietic system, and pancreas in the male rat; mammary gland, oral cavity, esophagus, and thyroid gland in the female rat; lung, kidney, and Harderian gland in male mice; and subcutaneous tissue, lung, and Harderian gland in the female mouse. The recovery group of male rats presented with the same spectrum of treatment-related neoplasms as in the core study. In this recovery group, BMP (at 20,000 ppm) caused irreversible effects at numerous sites after 90 days of exposure that was not detectable by histologic examination, but without further exposure resulted in carcinogenic responses at 2 yr. BMP is mutagenic in the salmonella test, but it was not determined if the BMP-induced effects that eventually lead to development of neoplasms at multiple sites are the same in both species and in all organ systems affected.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Codeine toxicokinetics in rats during a two-year dosed feed study.

Codeine toxicokinetics in F344 rats of both sexes were determined during a 2-year chronic toxicology study using dosed feed as the exposure route with a 12-hr light/dark cycle starting at 7:00 a.m. Rats were allowed to access to dosed feed formulations ad libitum with codeine concentrations at 0, 400, 800, and 1600 ppm. Blood samples were collected from individual rat on days 7, 21, and 90 at 7:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m., 3:00 a.m., and 7:00 a.m. Additional samples were collected at 16 and 24 months between 6:00-8:00 a.m. Plasma concentrations of codeine and morphine were determined directly by radioimmunoassay. Concentrations of their conjugates were determined indirectly by measuring the total amount of free codeine and morphine released after samples were treated with beta-glucuronidase. Results indicated that plasma concentrations of both codeine and morphine steadily decreased from day 7 to 16 months and then rebounded at 24 months. Results also indicated that plasma concentrations of both codeine and morphine correlated well with the amounts of codeine added to the feed. Bioavailability of codeine using the dosed feed route increased with dose, varying from 10% to 25%, which was somewhat higher than the previously reported approximately 8% bioavailability using the gavage route. Concentrations of conjugated codeine were very low, whereas concentrations of conjugated morphine were very high. These results suggested that demethylation of codeine to morphine in rats is the main metabolic pathway and was maintained over the course of the study.

Animals↗