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Biomedical subjects

J Moss

Publications and source records attributed to J Moss.

At least 559 records · Page 31Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Gangliosides sensitize unresponsive fibroblasts to Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin.

Chemically transformed mouse fibroblasts did not raise their cyclic AMP level in response to Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin. These fibroblasts did, however, incorporate exogenous mono-, di-, and trisialogangliosides. After the uptake of monosialoganglioside galactosyl-N-acetylgalactosaminyl-[N-acetylneuraminyl]-galactosylglucosylceramide (GM1), the cells responded to E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin. The di- and trisialogangliosides were considerably less effective. GM1, the putative cholera toxin (choleragen) receptor, has been implicated previously as the receptor for E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin based on the ability of the free ganglioside to inhibit the effects of toxin. This investigation establishes that the ganglioside, when incorporated into fibroblasts, serves a functional role in mediating the responsiveness to the toxin.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Prophylaxis against ampicillin-associated diarrhea with a lactobacillus preparation.

The efficacy of a lactobacillus preparation (Lactinex) in preventing ampicillin-associated diarrhea in adult inpatients was studied. In a double-blind procedure, 98 patients were assigned randomly to receive one packet of Lactinex (Lactobacillus acidophilus and L bulgaricus) or placebo four times daily for the first five days of ampicillin therapy. Cases of diarrhea were reviewed independently and classified according to etiology. Complete data were obtained for 79 patients--43 received placebo and 36 received Lactinex. Diarrhea occurred in nine (21%) patients receiving placebo and in three (8.3%) patients receiving Lactinex; the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.21, Fisher's Exact Test). When the patients with diarrhea unrelated to ampicillin were excluded (50%), the incidence of ampicillin-induced diarrhea in the placebo group (14%) was significantly greater (p = 0.03, Fisher's Exact Test) than in the Lactinex group (0%). Prophylactic administration of lactobacillus preparations may be effective in preventing ampicillin-induced diarrhea; however, prophylactic administration appears to be justified, on a cost/benefit basis, only in patients with a history of antibiotic-induced diarrhea.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Association in normal human fibroblasts of elevated levels of adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate with a selective decrease in collagen production.

To evaluate the hypothesis that extracellular mediators may affect collagen production by mesenchymal cells via a cyclic AMP coordinated mechanism, normal human fibroblasts were exposed to a variety of agents (prostaglandin E1, isoproterenol, cholera toxin) which independently elevated intracellular cyclic AMP during a 6-h incubation. Concomitantly, each agent caused an average 47% reduction in the percentage of total protein synthesis represented by collagen, yet little change in other major extracellular proteins. Since no active collagenase was found in these cultures, these findings suggest cyclic AMP levels may modulate the differentiated state of normal fibroblasts with respect to collagen production.

Bucladesine↗
PubMed1978

Mechanism of action of choleragen.

Choleragen exerts its effect on cells through activation of adenylate cyclase. Choleragen initially interacts with cells through binding of the B subunit of the toxin to the ganglioside GM1 on the cell surface. Subsequent events are less clear. Patching or capping of toxin on the cell surface may be an obligatory step in choleragen action. Studies in cell-free systems have demonstrated that activation of adenylate cyclase by choleragen requires NAD. In addition to NAD, requirements have been observed for ATP, GTP, and calcium-dependent regulatory protein. GTP also is required for the expression of choleragen-activated adenylate cyclase. In preparations from turkey erythrocytes, choleragen appears to inhibit an isoproterenol-stimulated GTPase. It has been postulated that by decreasing the activity of a specific GTPase, choleragen would stabilize a GTP-adenylate cyclase complex and maintain the cyclase in an activated state. Although the holotoxin is most effective in intact cells, with the A subunit having 1/20th of its activity and the B subunit (choleragenoid) being inactive, in cell-free systems the A subunit, specifically the A1 fragment, is required for adenylate cyclase activation. The B protomer is inactive. Choleragen, the A subunit, or A1 fragment under suitable conditions hydrolyzes NAD to ADP-ribose and nicotinamide (NAD glycohydrolase activity) and catalyzes the transfer of the ADP-ribose moiety of NAD to the guandino group of arginine (ADP-ribosyltransferase activity). The NAD glycohydrolase activity is similar to that exhibited by other NAD-dependent bacterial toxins (diphtheria toxin, Pseudomonas exotoxin A), which act by catalyzing the ADP-ribosylation of a specific acceptor protein. If the ADP-ribosylation of arginine is a model for the reaction catalyzed by choleragen in vivo, then arginine is presumably an analog of the amino acid which is ADP-ribosylated in the acceptor protein. It is postulated that choleragen exerts its effects on cells through the NAD-dependent ADP-ribosylation of an arginine or similar amino acid in either the cyclase itself or a regulatory protein of the cyclase system.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1978

Isolation of an avian erythrocyte protein possessing ADP-ribosyltransferase activity and capable of activating adenylate cyclase.

An ADP-ribosyltransferase was purified approximately 500-fold from the supernatant fraction of turkey erythrocytes. The enzyme hydrolyzed [carbonyl-(14)C]NAD to ADP-ribose and [carbonyl-(14)C]nicotinamide at a low rate. Nicotinamide formation from NAD was enhanced by arginine methyl ester > D-arginine approximately L-arginine > guanidine; lysine, histidine, and citrulline were ineffective. Incubation of [adenine-U-(14)C]NAD and arginine methyl ester or arginine with the purified enzyme resulted in the formation of new compounds that contained (14)C, reacted with ninhydrin, and quenched background fluorescence of thin-layer plates viewed in ultraviolet light. Their mobilities on thin-layer chromatograms were indistinguishable from those of ADP-ribosylarginine methyl ester and ADP-ribosylarginine formed during incubation of choleragen with NAD and arginine methyl ester or arginine, respectively [Moss, J. & Vaughan, M. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 2455-2457]. The purified transferase also catalyzed the incorporation of label from [adenine-(14)C]-NAD into lysozyme, histones and polyarginine. When the (14)C-labeled lysozyme was incubated with snake venom phosphodiesterase, the radioactivity was released and, on thin-layer chromatograms, exhibited a mobility indistinguishable from that of 5'-AMP, as would be expected of an ADP-ribosylated protein, but not of a poly(ADP-ribosylated) product. The purified transferase activated rat brain adenylate cyclase and, as is the case with choleragen, activation was absolutely dependent on NAD. The presence in the avian erythrocyte of a protein that, like choleragen and Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin, apparently activates adenylate cyclase and possesses ADP-ribosyl transferase activity is consistent with the view that the mechanisms through which the bacterial toxins produce pathology are not entirely foreign to vertebrate cells, at least some of which may possess and employ an analogous mechanism for activation of adenylate cyclase.

Adenosine Diphosphate Sugars↗
PubMed1978

Activation of adenylate cyclase by heat-labile Escherichia coli enterotoxin. Evidence for ADP-ribosyltransferase activity similar to that of choleragen.

Highly purified, polymyxin-released, low molecular weight Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) catalyzed the hydrolysis of NAD to ADP-ribose and nicotinamide. This NAD glycohydrolase activity was stimulated by dithiothreitol and was independent of cellular components. Nicotinamide formation was enhanced by arginine methyl ester > d-arginine congruent with l-arginine congruent with guanidine. A 20-fold increase in activity was noted with arginine methyl ester, and maximal activity again required dithiothreitol. When the reaction was initiated with toxin, a delay was observed before a constant rate was established. The reaction products found after incubation of [adenine-U-(14)C]NAD and l-[(3)H]arginine or unlabeled arginine methyl ester with the enterotoxin had mobilities on thin-layer chromatograms similar to the reaction products obtained after incubation of choleragen with these substrates and are consistent with the formation of ADP-ribose-l-arginine and ADP-ribose-l-arginine methyl ester, respectively. Both toxins, which catalyze the NAD-dependent activation of adenylate cyclase, thus appear to possess NAD glycohydrolase and ADP-ribosyltransferase activities. Although the activities of both toxins are dependent on dithiothreitol, Escherichia coli enterotoxin exhibited optimal activity in Tris (Cl(-)) (pH 7.5) and was inhibited by high concentrations of potassium phosphate (pH 7.0) or low pH (sodium acetate, pH 6.2). It appears that the optimal assay conditions as well as the kinetic constants for the reactants differ from those previously noted with choleragen. It is probable therefore that although the two toxins catalyze similar reactions, they differ in primary structure. The presence of transferase and glycohydrolase activities in structurally distinct toxins that activate adenylate cyclase strengthens our hypothesis that the ADP-ribosylation of arginine is a model for the NAD-dependent activation of adenylate cyclase; activation may result from ADP-ribosylation of the cyclase itself or of a protein that regulates its activity.

Adenosine Diphosphate Sugars↗
PubMed1978

Effect of serum on ganglioside uptake and choleragen responsiveness of transformed mouse fibroblasts.

NCTC 2071 cells, transformed mouse fibroblasts, did not respond to choleragen when grown in chemically defined medium. When grown in medium containing 10 percent fetal calf serum, however, the cells accumulated cyclic AMP upon exposure to the toxin. Gangliosides isolated from the fetal calf serum were as effective as whole serum in inducing choleragen responsiveness in the cells. The putative choleragen receptor, the monosialo-ganglioside GM1, could not be detected by chemical analysis in cells exposed to serum. 3H-Labeled GM1 was detected in these cells, however, following sequential exposure to galactose oxidase and sodium borotritide. Thus, uptake of minute amounts of GM1 from serum by these cells sensitized them to choleragen.

Blood Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed1978

Effect of general anesthetics on handling- and decapitation-induced increases in sympathoadrenal discharge.

The effect of five anesthetics--cyclopropane, pentobarbital, urethane, chloralose or ketamine hydrochloride--on handling- or decapitation-induced increases in adrenergic tone were studied in the intact rat. The anesthetic agents tested prevented or markedly reduced stress-induced increases in levels of plasma total catecholamines and norepinephrine. Similar changes in norepinephrine were seen in corticosterone- treated adrenalectomized rats in which this catecholamine seemed to be the only one present in plasma. During anesthesia with cyclopropane, blood pressure fell; there was no additional decrease in total plasma catecholamines when the concentration of the inhaled anesthetic agent was increased. With increased length of cyclopropane anesthesia, however, total catecholamine and norepinephrine concentrations increased. Thus, the different effects of anesthetics on the cardiovascular system cannot be solely explained by their effects on stress-induced increases in sympathetic neuronal activity as reflected by circulating catecholamine levels.

Adrenal Medulla↗
PubMed1977

Substrate and effector specificity of a guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterase from rat liver.

Guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterases, which appear to be under allosteric control, have been partially purified from rat liver supernatant and particulate fractions. The preferred substrate for both phosphodiesterases was cGMP (Km values: cGMP less than cIMP less than cAMP). At subsaturating concentrations of substrate, the phosphodiesterases were stimulated by purine cyclic nucleotides. The order of effectiveness for activation of cyclic nucleotide hydrolysis was cGMP greater than cIMP greater than cAMP greater than cXMP. Using cAMP derivatives as activators of cIMP hydrolysis, modifications in the ribose, cyclic phosphate, and purine moieties were shown to alter the ability of the cyclic nucleotide to activate the supernatant enzyme. cGMP, at concentrations that stimulated cyclic nucleotide hydrolysis, enhanced chymotryptic inactivation of the supernatant phosphodiesterase. At similar concentrations, cAMP was not effective. It appears that on interaction with appropriate cyclic nucleotides, this phosphodiesterase undergoes conformational changes that are associated with increased catalytic activity and enhanced susceptibility to proteolytic attack. Divalent cation may not be required for the nucleotide-phosphodiesterase interaction and resultant change in conformation.

Allosteric Regulation↗
PubMed1977

Synthesis and uptake of gangliosides by choleragen-responsive human fibroblasts.

Human fibroblasts, cultured in medium containing 10% fetal calf serum, responded dramatically to choleragen with an increase in cyclic adenosine monophosphate content to greater than 48 times basal levels. Analysis of these cells for gangliosides indicated that the major ganglioside was N-acetylneuraminylgalactosylglucosylceramide (GM3) with trace amounts (less than or equal to 100 pmol/mg of protein) of other gangliosides including GM1, the putative choleragen receptor. Although the cells contained three glycosyltransferases required for ganglioside synthesis, the N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase activity necessary for the conversion of GM3 to more complex gangliosides was not detected. When the cells were grown in medium containing [14C]galactose or N-acety[3H]mannosamine, however, all of the gangliosides became labeled, indicating that the cells can synthesize complex gangliosides. Although fetal calf serum contains gangliosides including GM1, [3H]GM1 was taken up poorly from the growth medium and uptake at the rate observed could have accounted for less than 2% of the GM1 content of the cells. When the cells were incubated in chemically defined medium containing [3H]GM1 at the concentrations present in fetal calf serum, rapid uptake of the ganglioside occurred and the total GM1 content of the cells increased threefold in less than 3 h. Thus, although the cells are capable of binding exogenous gangliosides, the gangliosides in fetal calf serum are in a form not readily available to the cells.

Bacterial Toxins↗