Interactions between CD44 and hyaluronic acid: their role in tumor growth and metastasis.
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
J Ma
Publications and source records attributed to J Ma.
Docetaxel and paclitaxel inhibit DNA-adduct formation and intracellular accumulation of cisplatin in human leukocytes.
The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism of the pharmacodynamic interaction between docetaxel/paclitaxel and cisplatin. Cisplatin-induced DNA-adducts and cisplatin accumulation were quantitated in peripheral blood leukocytes (WBC). The WBC were obtained from patients treated with docetaxel or paclitaxel in phase I/II studies and were incubated in vitro with cisplatin. In addition, blank whole-blood samples were obtained from patients and healthy subjects and incubated in intro with cisplatin or docetaxel/paclitaxel and cisplatin. The cisplatin-induced DNA-adduct levels measured in WBC after treatment with docetaxel or paclitaxel were significantly lower than those determined in non-pretreated WBC. Docetaxel and paclitaxel reduced the intracellular accumulation of cisplatin in WBC by 46-47%. If the pharmacodynamic interaction between docetaxel/paclitaxel and cisplatin also occurs in other normal tissues such as bone marrow, it may well contribute to the sequence dependent toxicity that has been observed in clinical studies.
Antineoplastic Agents↗
Comparison of ethanol plasma-protein precipitation with plasma ultrafiltration and trichloroacetic acid protein precipitation for the measurement of unbound platinum concentrations.
Sample preparation for the measurement of non-protein-bound platinum was evaluated by precipitation of plasma proteins with cold ethanol. The method was compared with the routinely used plasma ultrafiltration and with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) protein precipitation. After incubation of human plasma samples with cisplatin or carboplatin, unbound platinum concentrations were determined applying Amicon Diaflo ultrafiltration membranes and Millipore ultrafree-MC filters. For protein precipitation, 1 ml of cold (-20 degrees C) pure ethanol was added to 0.5 ml of human plasma and the supernatant was collected after 2 h, or 0.5 ml of cold 20% TCA was added to 0.5 ml of plasma. Platinum was analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). There was no significant difference between the ethanol and ultrafiltration methods in the unbound platinum concentration. The protein content in the supernatant (1.00 +/- 0.20%) was slightly higher than that in the Amicon (0.58 +/- 0.05%) and Millipore (0.55 +/- 0.04%) ultrafiltrates. On average, the TCA and ethanol method seemed to be equally appropriate. The ethanol precipitation method is concluded to be simple, convenient, and reproducible and has negligible costs.
Blood Proteins↗
Rectification of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator chloride channel mediated by extracellular divalent cations.
We report here distinct rectification of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel reconstituted in lipid bilayer membranes. Under the symmetrical ionic condition of 200 mM KCl (with 1 mM MgCl2 in cis intracellular and 0 MgCl2 in trans extracellular solutions, pH in both solutions buffered at 7.4 with 10 mM HEPES), the inward currents (intracellular-->extracellular chloride movement) through a single CFTR channel were approximately 20% larger than the outward currents. This inward rectification of the CFTR channel was mediated by extracellular divalent cations, as the linear current-voltage relationship of the channel could be restored through the addition of millimolar concentrations of MgCl2 or CaCl2 to the trans solution. The dose responses for [Mg]zero and [Ca]zero had half-dissociation constants of 152 +/- 72 microM and 172 +/- 40 microM, respectively. Changing the pH buffer from HEPES to N-tris-(hydroxymethyl)methyl-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid did not alter rectification of the CFTR channel. The nonlinear conductance property of the CFTR channel seemed to be due to negative surface charges on the CFTR protein, because in pure neutral phospholipid bilayers, clear rectification of the channel was also observed when the extracellular solution did not contain divalent cations. The CFTR protein contains clusters of negatively charged amino acids on several extracellular loops joining the transmembrane segments, which could constitute the putative binding sites for Ca and Mg.
Buffers↗
Human epithelial cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator without exon 5 maintains partial chloride channel function in intracellular membranes.
The cardiac isoform of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a splice variant of the epithelial CFTR, with lacks 30 amino acids encoded by exon 5 in the first intracellular loop. For examination of the role of exon 5 in CFTR channel function, a CFTR deletion mutant, in which exon 5 was removed from the human epithelial CFTR, was constructed. The wild type and delta exon5 CFTR were expressed in a human embryonic kidney cell line (293 HEK). Fully mature glycosylated CFTR (approximately 170 kDa) was immunoprecipitated from cells transfected with wild type CFTR cDNA, whereas cells transfected with delta exon5 CFTR express only a core-glycosylated from (approximately 140 kDa). The Western blot test performed on subcellular membrane fractions showed that delta exon5 CFTR was located in the intracellular membranes. Neither incubation at lower temperature (26 degrees C) nor stimulation of 293 HEK cells with forskolin or CPT-cAMP caused improvement in glycosylation and processing of delta exon5 CFTR proteins, indicating that the human epithelial CFTR lacking exon5 did not process properly in 293 HEK cells. On incorporation of intracellular membrane vesicles containing the delta exon5 CFTR proteins into the lipid bilayer membrane, functional phosphorylation- and ATP-dependent chloride channels were identified. CFTR channels with an 8-pS full-conductance state were observed in 14% of the experiments. The channel had an average open probability (Po) of 0.098 +/- 0.022, significantly less than that of the wild type CFTR (Po = 0.318 +/- 0.028). More frequently, the delta exon5 CFTR formed chloride channels with lower conductance states of approximately 2-3 and approximately 4-6 pS. These subconductance states were also observed with wild type CFTR but to a much lesser extent. Average Po for the 2-3-pS subconductance state, estimated from the area under the curve on an amplitude histogram, was 0.461 +/- 0.194 for delta exon5 CFTR and 0.332 +/- 0.142 for wild type (p = 0.073). The data obtained indicate that deleting 30 amino acids from the first intracellular loop of CFTR affects both processing and function of the CFTR chloride channel.
Blotting, Western↗
Slow conversions among subconductance states of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator chloride channel.
The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel exhibits multiple subconductance states. To study the regulation of conductance states of the CFTR channel, we expressed the wild-type CFTR protein in HEK 293 cells, and isolated microsomal membrane vesicles for reconstitution studies in lipid bilayer membranes. A single CFTR channel had a dominant conductance of 7.8 pS (H), plus two sub-open states with conductances of approximately 6 pS (M) and 2.7 pS (L) in 200 mM KCl with 1 mM MgCl2 (intracellular) and 50 mM KCl with no MgCl2 (extracellular), with pH maintained at 7.4 by 10 mM HEPES-Tris on both sides of the channel. In 200 mM KCl, both H and L states could be measured in stable single-channel recordings, whereas M could not. Spontaneous transitions between H and L were slow; it took 4.5 min for L-->H, and 3.2 min for H-->L. These slow conversions among subconductance states of the CFTR channel were affected by extracellular Mg; in the presence of millimolar Mg, the channel remained stable in the H state. Similar phenomena were also observed with endogenous CFTR channels in T84 cells. In high-salt conditions (1.5 M KCl), all three conductance states of the expressed CFTR channel, 12.1 pS, 8.2 pS, and 3.6 pS, became stable and seemed to gate independently from each other. The existence of multiple stable conductance states associated with the CFTR channel suggests two possibilities: either a single CFTR molecule can exist in multiple configurations with different conductance values, or the CFTR channel may contain multimers of the 170-kDa CFTR protein, and different conductance states are due to different aggregation states of the CFTR protein.
Adenosine Triphosphate↗
Relation between plasma phospholipid saturated fatty acids and hyperinsulinemia.
We determined whether plasma phospholipid fatty acid levels, an indicator of fatty acid composition in the diet, are associated with fasting serum insulin concentrations (a marker of insulin resistance). We examined cross-sectionally 4,304 middle-aged adults free of diabetes. Plasma fatty acid composition was quantified by gas chromatography. Fasting insulin was strongly and positively associated with the saturated fatty acid percentage in plasma phospholipids, moderately and inversely associated with the monounsaturated percentage, and not appreciably associated with the polyunsaturated percentage. Fasting insulin adjusted for age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and sports participation, for example, was 29% higher in men and 33% higher in women per 1.9% greater level of saturated fatty acids (the interquartile range). After adjustment for body mass index (BMI) and other covariates, these estimates were 12% and 15% (P < .01 for the difference from zero). A 1.9% greater increment in saturated fatty acid level was also associated with a 2.4-fold higher odds of hyperinsulinemia (fasting insulin > or = 143.5 pmol/L). These data are consistent with studies showing that fatty acid composition of cell membranes modulates insulin action, and support the hypothesis that increased habitual saturated fat intake or a related dietary pattern is a risk factor for hyperinsulinemia.
Arteriosclerosis↗
Safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity of a recombinant Osp subunit canine Lyme disease vaccine.
A subunit canine Lyme disease vaccine formulated with recombinant lipidated Osp A and OspB and saponin QS21 was assessed for safety, protective efficacy, and immunogenicity. Ten normal beagles were subcutaneously vaccinated twice at age 12 and 16 weeks, respectively. Three months after the second vaccination, the vaccinates and another 10 nonvaccinated control beagles were challenged by feeding ticks on each dog for 5 days using eight field-collected adult female and six adult male Ixodes scapularis infected with Lyme disease spirochetes per dog. Adverse reactions associated with the vaccinations were limited to injection site swellings which occurred within the first 48 h and resolved within a week. The local reaction was independent of vaccination times and tick challenge. On the basis of typical clinical signs, xenodiagnosis, and diagnostic immunoblotting, all 10 controls were infected; five developed lameness and three of them experienced at least two to three episodes of limping during a 10-month monitoring period. In contrast, eight of ten vaccinates were protected and two infected vaccinates, as judged by xenodiagnosis, were asymptomatic. None of the protected vaccinates developed antibodies to diagnostic spirochetal antigens other than OspA and OspB. In contrast, most controls produced antibodies to borrelial antigens, but not to OspA and OspB. Antibody production in vaccinates receiving a third vaccination 10 months postchallenge was greatly boosted; the geometric mean antibody titer was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than that tested prechallenge. Thus, the subunit canine Lyme disease vaccine was safe and protective and elicited immunological memory. Vaccinated dogs were serologically distinguishable from those naturally exposed.
Animals↗
Relationship between the exposure to cisplatin, DNA-adduct formation in leucocytes and tumour response in patients with solid tumours.
The study was designed to investigate possible relationships between tumour response and exposure to cisplatin (area under the curve of unbound cisplatin in plasma, AUC) and DNA-adduct formation in leucocytes (WBC) in patients with solid tumours. Patients were treated with six weekly courses of cisplatin at a dose of 70 or 80 mg m-2. The AUC was determined during the first course and DNA-adduct levels in WBC during all courses at baseline, 1 h (A(max)) and 15 h after a 3 h infusion of cisplatin. The area under the DNA-adduct-time curve (AUA) was calculated. The tumour response was determined after six courses. Forty-five evaluable patients received 237 courses of cisplatin. Sixteen patients with head and neck cancer received a dose of 80 mg m-2 and 29 with various other tumour types received 70 mg m-2 plus daily 50 mg oral etoposide. There were 20 responders (partial and complete) and 25 non-responders (stable and progressive disease). The AUC was highly variable (mean +/- s.d. = 2.48 +/- 0.51 micrograms h-1 ml-1; range 1.10-3.82) and was closely correlated with the AUA (r = 0.78, P < 0.0001) and A(max) (r = 0.73, P < 0.0001). The AUC, AUA and A(max) were significantly higher in responders than in non-responders in the total population (P < 0.0001) and in the two subgroups treated at 70 or 80 mg m-2. In logistic regression analysis AUC, AUA and A(max) were important predictors of response. The magnitude of exposure to cisplatin is, through DNA-adduct formation, the major determinant of the response rate in this population. Hence, individualised dosing of cisplatin using AUC or DNA-adducts should lead to increased response rates.
Adult↗
Thrombin, its receptor and protease nexin I, its potent serpin, in the nervous system.
The multifunctional serine protease, thrombin, the principal component of the blood coagulation cascade, is also active in nervous system growth and maintenance. In neural tissue culture, it prevents neurite outgrowth and modulates morphologic changes in both neurons and astrocytes. In recent studies, we found that it mediates polyneuronal synapse elimination, both in vivo and in vitro. Of relevance to neurologic disease, as well as to development, evidence also implicates thrombin in apoptosis of these cells. As with other serine proteases, thrombin is in "balance" with one or more endogenous protein inhibitors, members of the serpin superfamily of proteins. The most potent vertebrate inhibitor for thrombin is protease nexin I (PNI), which regulates thrombin's effect by forming post-translational, covalent complexes with the protease. We review some of the nervous system effects of the thrombin:PNI balance, and also present results of a recent study of this balance after peripheral nerve injury. We measured thrombin and prothrombin activity in extracts from adult mouse sciatic nerve using a specific chromogenic assay. We also performed reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction of RNA from nerve crush samples. We found a burst of activity at 3 days following injury distal to the crush site that was inhibited by thrombin specific inhibitors. It is possible that a significant fraction of the increased prothrombin in injured nerve was synthesized locally. Active PNI levels increased in these crush samples 6 to 9 days after the thrombin induction. These data suggest that nerve injury first induces the synthesis of prothrombin, which is subsequently converted to active thrombin. Nerve crush-induced thrombin is followed by the generation of functionally active PNI and may be directly responsible for its induction. These results suggest that the balance between serine proteases and their serpins is dysregulated during nerve injury and support a role for its reestablishment in nerve damage repair.
Adult↗
Fast activation of dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels of skeletal muscle. Multiple pathways of channel gating.
Dihydropyridine (DHP) receptors of the transverse tubule membrane play two roles in excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle: (a) they function as the voltage sensor which undergoes fast transition to control release of calcium from sarcoplasmic reticulum, and (b) they provide the conducting unit of a slowly activating L-type calcium channel. To understand this dual function of the DHP receptor, we studied the effect of depolarizing conditioning pulse on the activation kinetics of the skeletal muscle DHP-sensitive calcium channels reconstituted into lipid bilayer membranes. Activation of the incorporated calcium channel was imposed by depolarizing test pulses from a holding potential of -80 mV. The gating kinetics of the channel was studied with ensemble averages of repeated episodes. Based on a first latency analysis, two distinct classes of channel openings occurred after depolarization: most had delayed latencies, distributed with a mode of 70 ms (slow gating); a small number of openings had short first latencies, < 12 ms (fast gating). A depolarizing conditioning pulse to +20 mV placed 200 ms before the test pulse (-10 mV), led to a significant increase in the activation rate of the ensemble averaged-current; the time constant of activation went from tau m = 110 ms (reference) to tau m = 45 ms after conditioning. This enhanced activation by the conditioning pulse was due to the increase in frequency of fast open events, which was a steep function of the intermediate voltage and the interval between the conditioning pulse and the test pulse. Additional analysis demonstrated that fast gating is the property of the same individual channels that normally gate slowly and that the channels adopt this property after a sojourn in the open state. The rapid secondary activation seen after depolarizing prepulses is not compatible with a linear activation model for the calcium channel, but is highly consistent with a cyclical model. A six-state cyclical model is proposed for the DHP-sensitive Ca channel, which pictures the normal pathway of activation of the calcium channel as two voltage-dependent steps in sequence, plus a voltage-independent step which is rate limiting. The model reproduced well the fast and slow gating models of the calcium channel, and the effects of conditioning pulses. It is possible that the voltage-sensitive gating transitions of the DHP receptor, which occur early in the calcium channel activation sequence, could underlie the role of the voltage sensor and yield the rapid excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle, through either electrostatic or allosteric linkage to the ryanodine receptors/calcium release channels.
Animals↗
L-NA-sensitive rCBF augmentation during vibrissal stimulation in type III nitric oxide synthase mutant mice.
Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was studied in type III nitric oxide (NO) synthase (endothelial, eNOS) mutant and wild type mice during mechanical whisker stimulation before and after nitro-L-arginine (L-NA) superfusion using the closed cranial window technique. rCBF increased equally in cortical barrel fields in both strains during stimulation, as measured by laser Doppler-flowmetry, and was inhibited by L-NA superfusion (1 mM) in both groups. Hence, coupling of blood flow and metabolism appears neuronal NOS-(nNOS) but not eNOS-dependent in cortical barrel fields of the mouse.
Animals↗
Enlarged infarcts in endothelial nitric oxide synthase knockout mice are attenuated by nitro-L-arginine.
Infarct size and vascular hemodynamics were measured 24 h after middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion in mice genetically deficient in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) isoform. eNOS mutant mice developed larger infarcts (21%) than the wild-type strain when assessed 24 h after intraluminal filament occlusion. Moreover, regional CBF values recorded in the MCA territory by laser-Doppler flowmetry were more severely reduced after occlusion and were disproportionately reduced during controlled hemorrhagic hypotension in autoregulation experiments. Unlike the situation in wild-type mice, nitro-L-arginine superfusion (1 mM) dilated pial arterioles of eNOS knockout mice in a closed cranial window preparation. As noted previously, eNOS mutant mice were hypertensive. However, infarct size remained increased despite lowering blood pressure to normotensive levels by hydralazine treatment. Systemic administration of nitro-L-arginine decreased infarct size in eNOS mutant mice (24%) but not in the wild-type strain. This finding complements published data showing that nitro-L-arginine increases infarct size in knockout mice expressing the eNOS but not the neuronal NOS isoform (i.e., neuronal NOS knockout mice). We conclude that NO production within endothelium may protect brain tissue, perhaps by hemodynamic mechanisms, whereas neuronal NO overproduction may lead to neurotoxicity.
Animals↗
Application of mode-coupling theory to solvation dynamics.
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Journal Article↗
Cloning of mouse DAN cDNA and its down-regulation in transformed cells.
Recently, we have demonstrated that DAN gene product exhibits a tumor-suppressive activity in vitro. We report here the cloning and sequencing of a mouse DAN cDNA that contains the entire coding region. Sequence analysis revealed that mouse DAM cDNA is 1691 nucleotides in length and contains an open reading frame of 178 amino acids. The deduced mouse DAN protein sequence shows 96% and 93% identity with the counterparts isolated from rat 3Y1 fibroblasts and normal human lung, respectively. Genomic Southern blot hybridization indicated that DAN gene exists as a single copy in the mouse genome. The expression of DAN gene was suppressed in a variety of transformed NIH3T3 cells when compared with that in the parental NIH3T3 cells.
3T3 Cells↗
Obstetric profiles and pregnancy outcomes of immigrant women in New South Wales, 1990-1992.
This study examined the obstetric profiles and pregnancy outcomes of immigrant women in New South Wales (NSW). The source of data was the NSW Midwives Data Collection. The characteristics of 64,922 immigrant women were compared with 189,357 Australian-born non-Aboriginal women who delivered babies between 1990-1992 in NSW. The study demonstrated that immigrant women were older, generally had less private health insurance coverage and fewer teenage pregnancies. Immigrant women showed lower rates of essential hypertension, but higher rates of hepatitis B and gestational diabetes. While induced labour was conducted less frequently among immigrant women, episiotomy, instrumental delivery and Caesarean section were performed more frequently among this group. The incidence of postpartum complications was higher among immigrant women. Differences were assessed among women from European, Asian, Middle Eastern, American, New Zealand/Oceania and African backgrounds. For example, the higher rates of hepatitis B, gestational diabetes, episiotomy, instrumental delivery, Caesarean section, postpartum haemorrhage, third degree tear and puerperal infection among Asian-born women were of concern. By contrast, pregnancies among Middle Eastern-born women were associated with fewer complications in spite of their high parity and high percentage of teenage pregnancies. Infants of immigrant mothers were more likely to be resuscitated and/or admitted to special care nursery/neonatal intensive care unit. These findings in immigrant women in NSW suggested the need for culturally appropriate obstetric services, clinical practice reviews, and the greater involvement of general practitioners in obstetric care.
Emigration and Immigration↗
Identifying a species-specific region of yeast TF11B in vivo.
The general transcription factor IIB (TFIIB) is required for RNA polymerase II transcription in eukaryotes. It provides a physical link between the TATA-binding protein (TBP) and the RNA polymerase and is a component previously suggested to respond to transcriptional activators in vitro. In this report, we compare the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and human forms of the protein in yeast cells to study their functional differences. We demonstrate that human TFIIB fails to functionally replace yeast TFIIB in yeast cells. By analyzing various human-yeast hybrid TFIIB molecules, we show that a 14-amino-acid region at the amino terminus of the first repeat of yeast TFIIB plays an important role in determining species specificity in vivo. In addition, we identify four amino acids in this region that are critical for an amphipathic helix unique to yeast TFIIB. By site-directed mutagenesis analyses we demonstrate that these four amino acids are important for yeast TFIIB's activity in vivo. Finally, we show that mutations in the species-specific region of yeast TFIIB can differentially affect the expression of genes activated by different activators in vivo. These results provide strong evidence suggesting that yeast TFIIB is involved in the process of transcriptional activation in living cells.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Regional cerebral blood flow response to vibrissal stimulation in mice lacking type I NOS gene expression.
The role of nitric oxide (NO) in cerebral blood flow-metabolism coupling was assessed in SV-129 wild-type (WT) and neuronal (type I) NO synthase (NOS) knockout mice (Kn). Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF; laser-Doppler flowmetry) was measured over the contralateral cortical barrel field during unilateral mechanical vibrissal deflection (2-3 Hz, 60 s) under urethan anesthesia. The rCBF response was similar in WT and Kn and did not differ when recorded over the intact skull or closed cranial window preparations. Whisker stimulation increased rCBF by 41 +/- 8% (maximum) and 27 +/- 6% (mean) in WT (n = 6) and 41 +/- 7% (maximum) and 26 +/- 6% (mean) in Kn (n = 6) when recorded through a closed cranial window. After superfusion with topical N omega-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA; 1 mM), the rCBF response was inhibited by approximately 45% in WT mice (P < 0.05), whereas there was no inhibition in Kn. Endothelium-dependent relaxation, assessed by pial vessel dilation in response to topical acetylcholine (100 microM) and inhibition by L-NNA (1 mM), was the same in both groups. Our results suggest that 1) endothelial NO production does not mediate the rCBF coupling to neuronal activity in Kn, 2) the inhibitory effect of L-NNA on the rCBF response to whisker stimulation in WT is a consequence of type I (neuronal) NOS inhibition, and 3) NO-independent mechanisms couple rCBF and metabolism during whisker stimulation in mice lacking expression of neuronal NOS.
Animals↗