Biomedical subjects

J Mao

Publications and source records attributed to J Mao.

166 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Molecular cloning and characterization of double-stranded cDNA coding for bovine chymosin.

A full-length cDNA copy of the mRNA encoding calf chymosin (also known as rennin), a proteolytic enzyme with commercial importance in the manufacture of cheese, has been cloned in an f1 bacteriophage vector. The nucleotide sequence of the cDNA was determined, and translation of that sequence into amino acids predicts that the zymogen prochymosin is actually synthesized in vivo as preprochymosin with a 16 amino acid signal peptide. In vitro translation of total poly(A)-enriched RNA from the calf fourth stomach (abomasum) and immunoprecipitation with antichymosin antiserum revealed that a form of chymosin (probably preprochymosin judging from the Mr-value) is the major in vitro translation product of RNA from that tissue. Gel-transfer hybridization of restriction endonuclease-cleaved bovine chromosomal DNA with labeled cDNA probes indicated that the two known forms of chymosin, A and B, must be products of two different alleles of a single chymosin gene.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Rapid isolation of tissue-specific genes from rat kidney.

A systematic effort to isolate kidney-specific genes was performed using recently described PCR-select methodology. Using this technique, a kidney-specific mini-gene library was generated and a number of kidney-specific genes that share significant homology to previously characterized kidney genes from rats and other species were isolated. These included three renal-specific transporters (an ADH water channel, the anion transporters RST and ROAT1), a cell adhesion molecule (K-cadherin) and a kidney-specific protein upregulated in renal carcinoma (DD96). In addition, we isolated two novel genes from a rat kidney. One of the genes shares limited homology to rat profilin-1 while the other did not share any similarity to genes in the Genbank. Northern blot analysis revealed that the mRNA for each of these genes is expressed in a highly kidney-restricted fashion. Our results suggested that tissue-specific genes can be rapidly isolated and characterized using PCR-select techniques and this methodology may be generally applicable to isolate specific genes from a variety of tissues.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Thermotolerance in human glioma cells.

Human glioma cells held in plateau phase were tested for the development of chronic and acute thermotolerance. Long duration, mild hyperthermia at 39-42 degrees C for up to 48 h showed no development of chronic thermotolerance. Heating at 45 degrees C immediately after mild hyperthermia showed that acute thermotolerance did develop for 40-42 degrees C heating. This thermotolerance developed at about the same rate for the three inducing temperatures (40-42 degrees C) but the decay characteristics were temperature dependent. In fact, for 42 degrees C heating thermosensitization to subsequent 45 degrees C heating was achieved after 48 h of heating. These data show that chronic and acute thermotolerance may be different in human glioma cells.

Cell Cycle↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of apoptosis in four human tumour cell lines with differing sensitivities to cisplatin.

Four human tumour cell lines were evaluated for their ability to undergo apoptosis when subjected to cisplatin or hyperthermia treatment. In an ovarian carcinoma line (A2780s) and its derivative cisplatin resistant line (A2780cp) the variation in response was expressed for both the colony survival endpoint and the apoptosis endpoint. Apoptosis was measured by the number of floating cells, DNA agarose gels, and electron microscopy. In fact, cisplatin resistance was expressed to a higher level for apoptosis, than colony survival in the A2780cp cell line compared to the A2780s line. The melanoma cell line (Sk Mel-3) also showed induced apoptosis by cisplatin treatment while the glioma line (U87MG) showed little to no apoptosis in response to cisplatin treatment. Hyperthermia (43 degrees C for 1 hour) induced apoptosis in the human melanoma cell line but not in the glioma cell line. These data indicate that, while both cisplatin and hyperthermia can induce apoptosis in human tumour cell lines, the degree of induction is highly cell line dependent.

Antineoplastic Agents↗