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Biomedical subjects

J L Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to J L Roberts.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Athletic shoe dermatitis. Contact allergy to ethyl butyl thiourea.

Ten patients with severe foot dermatitis were found to be highly allergic to innersole material prepared by Spenco Medical Corporation and used in Nike athletic shoes. Contact allergy testing showed sensitivity to ethyl butyl thiourea, a chemical accelerator in some neoprene (polychioroprene) rubber products. The dermatitis was recalcitrant and in many cases persisted long after discontinuance of wearing Nike shoes, raising the concern that traces of ethyl butyl thiorea or cross-reacting chemicals may be present in other footwear.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Corticotropin and beta-endorphin: construction and analysis of recombinant DNA complementary to mRNA for the common precursor.

A cDNA fragment synthesized from mouse mRNA (ACTH/LPH mRNA) that codes for the precursor polypeptide containing corticotropin (ACTH), beta-lipotropin (LPH), and several other peptides has been cloned in bacteria. The mRNA was enriched for ACTH/LPH mRNA translational activity (to about 75%) prior to cDNA synthesis. It appears to contain about 1200 bases, of which approximately 450 bases are not translated. The cloned DNA fragment is complementary to the region of the mRNA coding for the protein fragment beta-LPH-(44--90); this contains all of the amino acids of [Met]-enkephalin (residues 61--65 of beta-LPH), most of the amino acids of beta-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, and all but the carboxy-terminal amino acid of beta-endorphin. Based on assignment of the amino acid sequence of mouse beta-LPH from the nucelic acid sequence, it appears that there is extensive homology of mouse beta-LPH with human and porcine beta-LPH. The data also establish the linkage between beta-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and beta-endorphin as a Lys-Arg sequence. It is hoped that this cloned DNA can be used as a probe to study the expression and structure of the ACTH/LPH gene.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1979

Processing of common precursor forms of adrenocorticotropin and endorphins in cultures of mouse pituitary cells and in mouse pituitary.

The initial steps in the processing of the common precursor to adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH) in mouse pituitary cells (AtT-20) have been investigated. Three forms of the precursor have been resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate (NaDodSO4) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with apparent molecular weights of 29,000, 32,000 and 34,000 (29K, 32K, and 34K ACTH-endorphin). The three precursor forms have a very similar peptide backbone, but their carbohydrate content differs. In particular, a tryptic glycopeptide has been observed in 32K ACTH-endorphin which is not present in 29K ACTH-endorphin and has been identified as a tryptic peptide containing the alpha(22--39) sequence of ACTH. Pulse chase and continuous-labeling studies with radioactive amino acids and sugars suggest that the 29K form is converted to the 32K and 34K forms of the precursor by the addition of carbohydrate. The glycopeptide and pulse chase studies suggest that 29K ACTH-endorphin can either be converted to 4.5K ACTH by proteolytic processing or to 32K ACTH-endorphin by the further addition of carbohydrate.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1979

Serum and urine beta-2-microglobulin and lysozyme concentrations in transplant rejection.

We conclude that serum and urinary beta-2-microglobulin concentrations are useful in the diagnosis of acute and chronic renal transplant rejection. In acute transplant rejection, serum elevation in beta-2-microglobulins usually precede a rise in the serum creatinine. Increased urinary beta-2-microglobulin concentrations and elevated fractional excretion of beta-2-microglobulin occur in both acute and chronic transplant rejection. The finding of massive and sustained beta-2-microglobulinuria following acute rejection may herald recurrent clinical rejection episodes and eventual graft loss. Finally, serum and urine lysozyme levels appear to be less sensitive than the beta-2-microglobulins for diagnosing rejection and are often spuriously elevated in the presence of systemic or urinary tract infection.

Beta-Globulins↗
PubMed1978

Steps involved in the processing of common precursor forms of adrenocorticotropin and endorphin in cultures of mouse pituitary cells.

The initial steps in the processing of the common precursor to adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and endorphin in mouse pituitary tumor cells (AtT-20) have been investigated. Three forms of the precursor have been resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate (NaDodSO4)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with apparent molecular weights of 29 000 (29K ACTH-endorphin), 32 000 (32K ACTH-endorphin) and 34 000 (34K ACTH-endorphin). These forms have a similar peptide backbone, but their carbohydrate content differs. In particular, a tryptic glycopeptide has been observed in 32K ACTH-endorphin which is not present in 29K ACTH-endorphin and has been identified as the tryptic peptide containing the alpha(22--39) sequence of ACTH. Similar heterogeneity in carbohydrate has been observed in some of the smaller molecular weight forms of ACTH which are resolved by NaDodSO4 gel electrophoresis. Pulse chase and continuous labeling studies using radioactive amino acids and sugars suggest that the 29K ACTH-endorphin is converted to 32K and 34K ACTH-endorphin by the addition of carbohydrate. The glycopeptide and pulse chase studies suggest that 29K ACTH-endorphin is at a branch point in the processing pathways. It can either be converted to 4.5K ACTH by proteolytic processing or to 32K ACTH-endorphin by the further addition of carbohydrate. The 32K ACTH-endorphin can then be converted to 13K ACTH, the glycosylated form of 4.5K ACTH (Eipper, B.A., & Mains,, R.E. (1977) J.Biol. Chem.252, 882), by proteolytic processing. A comparison of the distribution of the different molecular weight forms of ACTH and endorphin in mouse pituitary extracts and in the mouse pituitary tumor cells reveals that the pituitary contains all of the forms of ACTH and endorphin seen in the tumor cells, including the three forms of the ACTH-endorphin precursor. However, the molecular weight distribution of the forms in the anterior lobe is very different from that in the intermediate lobe of mouse pituitary.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1978

Lack of functional immunoregulatory cells in a patient with mycosis fungoides and circulating Sézary cells.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained at various intervals from normal individuals and from a patient with mycosis fungoides (MF) were cultured with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) for 3 days to activate suppressor cells. After being cultured, the PHA-treated cells were irradiated, washed, and then transferred to fresh medium with PHA. The PHA responsiveness of the cells from normal individuals was suppressed approximately 90% by autologous or normal allogeneic lymphocytes activated for 3 days with PHA, whereas the cells activated for 3 days with PHA from the patient with MF lacked the capacity to inhibit the mitogenic response of autologous or allogeneic lymphocytes. These data suggest that this patient lacked suppressor T-cells that have a specificity for helper T-cells.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

Pulmonary hemorrhage in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The clinicopathological features of four patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and pulmonary hemorrhage are described. Our study confirms that pulmonary hemorrhage may be a dominant clinical expression of lung involvement in this disease. Its clinical manifestations are usually quite characteristic. However, hemoptysis may be absent. Radiographically, bilateral alveolar infiltrates resembling pulmonary edema or infection may be seen. Pulmonary hemorrhage was a major contributing factor to the death of three of our patients. The possible pathogenetic mechanisms responsible for pulmonary hemorrhage in our patients and other patients previously recorded in the literature are reviewed. Evidence supporting an immune complex pathogenesis is presented. Our immunopathological and ultrastructural studies demonstrate deposition of immune aggregates in the lungs in the alveolar septa, large blood vessels, and bronchioles in a manner similar to that which has been observed in the experimental serum sickness model of immune complex mediated pulmonary injury. The histological abnormalities, although nonspecific, are consistent with this interpretation, and collectively show diffuse alveolar lining cell and endothelial cell injury. However, an immune complex pathogenesis may not completely explain the occurrence of pulmonary hemorrhage in SLE. Other factors, including bleeding disorders, pulmonary infection, oxygen toxicity, and the "shock lung" syndrome, may also have contributed to lung hemorrhage in some of these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Respiratory gas exchange by high-efficiency hemodialyzers.

The effects of respiratory gas mass-transfer by high-efficiency hemodialyzers with regard to respiratory status and acid-base balance were studied in three groups of patients. Patients dialyzed with acetate dialysate and a single pass delivery system (group I) and those dialyzed with the same dialysate and a recirculating single pass system (group II) had significant intradialytic decreases in PCO2 (p is less than 0.05), while patients hemodialyzed aginst a carbon dioxide/bicarbonate dialysate (group III) had no significant alterations in arterial PCO2. The massfransfer rate of carbon dioxide was 0.3 mM/min in group I and 0.2 mM/min in group II. The hypocapnia caused by dialyzer mass-transfer of carbon dioxide was associated with a significant drop in minute ventilation volume and a decrease in PO2 which was significant in group I (p is less than 0.05). Although bicarbonate mass-transfer reduced serum bicarbonate levels, the loss of carbon dioxide to the dialysate resulted in an increased arterial pH during dialysis.

Acetates↗
PubMed1978

Structure and biological function of human IgD. XVI. T and B lymphocytes in pityriasis rosea.

The relative frequency of peripheral blood T and B cells and their biological function(s) from a group of patients with pityriasis rosea (PR) was investigated during the acute and convalescent phases of the disease using rosetting, immunofluorescent tests, and in vitro cell culturing with anti-delta and anti-mu antibodies and phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The total number of immunoglobulin (Ig) bearing cells was significantly increased, in conjunction with a slight decrease in the T cell population. Lymphocytes with surface IgD, IgM, or both Ig, accounted for the increase in the B cell population. This increase was transient, since it was only observed during the acute phase of the disease. In spite of the increase in IgD/IgM bearing B cells, the mitogenic responsiveness of B or T lymphocytes to anti-delta, anti-mu, or PHA was similar to the same patients during the convalescent phase, or to normal donors. Similarly, the levels of serum IgM, IgD, IgG, IgA and IgE in PR remained constant and at a normal concentration throughout the experimental period. The significance of the transient increase in IgD/IgM bearing cells in the pathogenesis and etiology of PR and its possible impact on the immune system is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Hereditary C2 deficiency and systemic lupus erythematosus associated with severe glomerulonephritis.

Although an unusually high incidence of immunological diseases has been described in patients with hereditary C2 deficiency, the severity of these illnesses has been relatively mild, suggesting that blocking complement activation beyond C4 may protect against significant complement-mediated inflammation. This report describes studies in a C2-deficient patient with severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis. An immunopathological study of the kidney revealed the deposition of properdin, properdin factor B, C3 and C5 in a pattern similar to immunoglobulin G deposits. Serum properdin and properdin factor B levels were low at various times during the patient's course. In vitro complement fixation studies showed C3 fixation by glomerular deposits could occur via the alternative pathway. Studies of the immune deposits in the patients' skin revealed similar results. These studies suggest that inflammation may be effectively mediated via the alternative complement pathway in the C2 deficiency-lupus syndrome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Characterization of a common precursor to corticotropin and beta-lipotropin: cell-free synthesis of the precursor and identification of corticotropin peptides in the molecule.

mRNA was isolated from cultures of AtT-20/D-16v tumor cells and translated in a mRNA-dependent reticulocyte cell-free system. The corticotropin (ACTH) product was purified by a double-antibody immunoprecipitation procedure using antisera specific for the alpha(1-24) sequence of ACTH. The product is shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate/gel electrophoresis and gel filtration on guanidine-HCl columns to be homogeneous with an apparent molecular weight (Mr) of 28,500. A product with the same molecular weight is synthesized when membrane-bound polysomes from D-16v cells are allowed to complete their nascent chains in a reticulocyte cell-free system. Mr 31,000 ACTH isolated from tumor cells has been separated into three proteins of different apparent Mr:29,000, 32,000, and 34,000. The cell-free product contains the same lysine-, methionine-, and phenylalanine-labeled tryptic peptides as the Mr 29,000 ACTH synthesized in the tumor cells. Tryptic peptide analysis also reveals the presence of the alpha(1-39) sequence in the Mr 28,500 cell-free product and suggests that there is only one copy of this sequence in the Mr 28,500 molecule.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1977

Characterization of a common precursor to corticotropin and beta-lipotropin: identification of beta-lipotropin peptides and their arrangement relative to corticotropin in the precursor synthesized in a cell-free system.

Radioactive proteins synthesized in an mRNA-dependent reticulocyte cell-free system under the direction of mRNA from AtT-20/D-16v mouse cells were isolated by specific immunoprecipitation using antiserum to either alpha(1-24) corticotropin or beta-endorphin [beta(61-91) lipotropin]. Each immunoprecipitate was fractionated by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and shown to contain only one labeled protein with an apparent molecular weight of 28,500. Tryptic peptide analysis of the Mr 28,500 corticotropin and beta-lipotropin molecules isolated from the gels demonstrated that the two proteins had the same lysine, methionine, and tryptophan peptides. Four tryptic peptides from the cell-free product exhibited the same electrophoretic and chromatographic mobilities as marker tryptic peptides from bovine beta-melanotropin and porcine beta-endorphin. The identification of these peptides was confirmed by amino acid composition studies with a variety of labeled amino acids. The beta-lipotropin tryptic peptides were also shown to be located carboxy terminal to the corticotropin tryptic peptides.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗