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Biomedical subjects

J T Dunn

Publications and source records attributed to J T Dunn.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

The effects of oral iodized oil on intelligence, thyroid status, and somatic growth in school-age children from an area of endemic goiter.

One hundred goitrous school children received 475 mg iodized oil by mouth, while 100 controls received mineral oil, on a double-blind basis. On follow-up 22 months later the urinary iodine had increased and goiter size had decreased in both groups, more strikingly in the iodine-treated children. There were no consistent differences between the two treatment groups in rate of somatic growth or performance on the Stanford-Binet and Bender tests. Because of the complexities introduced by increases in urinary iodine in the controls, we compared goiter reduction with improvement in IQ score in all children, regardless of group, and found a significant relationship (p = 0.014), particularly in girls (p = 0.029). We conclude that oral iodized oil is an attractive alternative to its injection but we recommend an approximate doubling of the dose used here for more effective control. Also, while our data are not conclusive, they support the possibility that correction of iodine deficiency may improve mental performance in school age children, particularly girls.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1982

Formation and structure of human Hageman factor fragments.

Autodigestion of activated Hageman factor (HFa) yields a 40,000-mol wt activated enzyme as well as Hageman factor fragment (HFf); HFf consists of two molecular weight species of 28,500 and 30,000. We have investigated the structure of these active fragments and demonstrate that upon reduction, each possesses a heavy chain of 28,000. The associated light chains were identified by subjecting iodinated proteins to two-dimensional slab gel electrophoresis in which the second dimension is run reduced. The 40,000-dalton enzyme has a light chain of 15,000, the 30,000-dalton form of HFf has a light chain of 2,000 and we have suggestive evidence of a light chain associated with the 28,500-dalton form of HFf (putative mol wt approximately 500). We also demonstrate that the 30,000-dalton form of HFf precedes the 28,500 form. These data indicate that digestion of native HF to form HFa precedes cleavages that fragment the molecule and diminish its molecular weight. The 28,500-dalton light chain of HFa becomes the heavy chain of each of the fragmentation products while cleavage at different points along the heavy chain of HFa determines which fragments will be produced. In contrast to autoactivation, kallikrein digestion of HFa yields primarily HFf; however, the 40,000-dalton enzyme may be seen when prekallikrein-deficient (Fletcher trait) plasma is activated.

Enzyme Activation↗
PubMed1982

Thyroglobulin degradation by thyroidal proteases: action of purified cathepsin D.

Cathepsin D has been purified from rabbit thyroids, and its action on thyroglobulin has been examined. The enzyme was obtained in an electrophoretically homogenous form by gel filtration, followed by ion exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography with immobilized pepstatin. In some preparations, the enzyme occurred in a high molecular weight form. The ability of cathepsin D to hydrolyze [125I]thyroglobulin to fragments with a molecular weight of less than 100K was determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. This activity showed a pH optimum of 3.5, was greater with reduced thyroglobulin as substrate than with the native protein, and was unaffected by potassium iodide (1-10 mM). Purified cathepsin D rapidly hydrolyzed thyroglobulin to a number of peptide intermediates. Those in the 20-45K molecular weight range had an iodothyronine content equal to or less than that of intact thyroglobulin, but the smallest peptides (apparent molecular weight, less than 2K) were iodothyronine enriched. No evidence was obtained for the release of free hormone by cathepsin D under the experimental conditions used. We conclude that cathepsin D plays a role in the initial breakdown of thyroglobulin in the thyroid and may have some selectivity for the iodothyronine portion of the molecule. The rapid hydrolysis of thyroglobulin that occurs in vivo, however, probably requires the concerted action of cathepsin D with other lysosomal endopeptidases and exopeptidases.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Thyroglobulin degradation by thyroidal proteases: action of thiol endopeptidases in vitro.

We have obtained evidence of thiol endopeptidases in the thyroid which are active in thyroglobulin degradation in vitro. Four pepstatin-insensitive endopeptidase fractions were distinguished in extracts of rabbit thyroids by gel filtration on Bio-Gel A-0.5m. An enzyme from one fraction was obtained in highly purified form and was found to be identical to cathepsin B described in other tissues. Endopeptidases in the three remaining fractions were designated as cathepsins 180K, 110K, and 45K, respectively, on the basis of their estimated molecular size. These were partially purified by either organomercurial affinity chromatography or DEAE-cellulose chromatography. They are identified as thiol endopeptidases on the basis of their sensitivity to inhibition by both leupeptin and the thiol-blocking agent iodoacetic acid and by their activation with the reducing agent glutathione. Each is distinguished from cathepsin B on the basis of molecular size and limited ability to hydrolyze benzoylarginine-2-naphthylamide. The action of the thiol endopeptidases on [125I]thyroglobulin was analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate or in sodium dodecyl sulfate and urea. In each instance, the initial peptide fragments were approximately 40-45K and 30K, with iodothyronine contents similar to or less than that of intact thyroglobulin. Later products of digestion than that of intact thyroglobulin. Later products of digestion included first, 20K peptides, which showed a low iodothyronine content, and finally, peptides of approximately 10K, which showed a 1.5-fold enrichment of T4 and T3 over that of intact thyroglobulin. Each of the thiol endopeptidases had a synergistic effect when incubated with cathepsin D and [125I]thyroglobulin. Among the products of such incubations were small iodopeptides, which were iodothyronine-enriched, and free T4, itself. The results show that thiol endopeptidases are present in the thyroid gland and are collectively as important as cathepsin D in the hydrolysis of thyroglobulin in vitro. The action of these enzymes must be considered along with that of cathepsin D in understanding thyroglobulin hydrolysis in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Mechanisms for Hageman factor activation and role of HMW kininogen as a coagulation cofactor.

Our present concept of the initiating reactions of the intrinsic coagulation pathway is outlined in Figure 5. Although we remain unsure of the etiology shown in Figures 3 and 4, the major function of HMW kininogen is to bind prekallikrein and factor XI in plasma and attach them to surfaces in a conformation that allows activation by HFa. The HMW kininogen--dependent augmentation of the binding of prekallikrein and factor XI to the surface that is seen in plasma (but not buffer systems) would appear to be of lesser importance. Once activated, however, dissociation of kallikrein from the surface allows it to attack adjacent Hageman factor molecules on the same or other particles; this reaction appears to be more rapid than the rate of Hageman factor autoactivation. Thus, the rapid burst of HFa formation seen in normal plasma is kallikrein dependent. It is also dependent upon HMW kininogen, but this appears to be an indirect relationship. The HMW kininogen augments the amount of prekallikrein bound, allows activation to kallikrein, and is needed for kallikrein dissociation from the surface. These three effects all yield a marked increase in the effective ratio of kallikrein/Hageman factor at the surface-fluid interface, and this may be the condition required for rapid HFa formation.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1980

Autoactivation of human Hageman factor. Demonstration utilizing a synthetic substrate.

The kallikrein substrate H-D-Pro-Phe-Arg-p-nitroanilide was used in a direct spectrophotometric assay for activated Hageman factor (HF). An 80,000-dalton two-chain, disulfide-linked enzyme, termed HFa, and a 28,000-dalton Hageman factor cleavage product, HFf, were not distinguished in this assay and had a Km of 190 microM and kcat of 15/s. Treatment of HF with 10(-2) M diisopropylfluorophosphate yielded preparations containing 0.2 to 0.9% activated HF as assessed in plastic cuvettes. In quartz cuvettes, concave upward progress curves were obtained. Secondary plots of absorbance/time against time were also nonlinear and consistent with an increased rate of formation of activated enzyme. The curves varied with total protein content and synthetic substrate concentration in a manner consistent with autoactivation; increasing synthetic substrate competed with native HF for interaction with activated HF. Accelerated cleavage of surface-bound radiolabeled HF was demonstrated after incubation with HFa but not HFf, indicating that HFa is the form of active enzyme responsible for autocleavage. The autoactivation described herein may provide a sufficient initial concentration of activated HF to initiate the intrinsic coagulation, fibrinolytic, and kinin-forming cascade.

Anilides↗
PubMed1979

Effects of iodine deficiency and high-fat diet on N-nitrosomethylurea-induced mammary cancers in rats.

The effects of an altered content of dietary iodine and fat on the development of N-nitrosomethylurea-induced mammary tumors in rats were studied and correlated with thyroid and pituitary function studies. In three separate experiments, animals fed a semisynthetic diet containing 11.8% fat had an earlier time of tumor appearance and greater tumor burden than did controls maintained on a diet containing 4.6% fat. These diet-associated changes were markedly inhibited by ovariectomy, indicating that the tumor growth was hormone responsive. We examined the possibility that the diet with increased fat content enhanced tumor growth through alterations in prolactin metabolism but could find no consistent elevation in serum prolactin and no increase in pituitary prolactin synthesis in vitro. Our data further showed that rats on an iodine-deficient form of the high-fat diet had no greater tumor growth than did animals receiving an iodine-supplemented form of the same diet. We conclude from these results that iodine deficiency does not promote mammary tumorigenesis. An incidental finding of great interest was that ovariectomy led to a highly significant depression of thyroid-stimulating hormone production in vitro. This suggests that estrogens may directly influence thyroid-stimulating hormone synthesis in vivo and thus contribute to the sex-related differences in thyroid physiology.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Variations in the structure of thyroglobulins from normal and goitrous human thyroids.

Thyroglobulin samples were prepared individually be gel chromatography from the thyroids of five persons without thyroid disease and four with goiters. Gel electrophoresis at different pHs and gel concentrations showed a single major band corresponding to 19S thyroglobulin in rabbits, with occasional faint bands corresponding to 12S and 27S species. The thyroglobulins of the normals differed from each other in electrophoretic pattern on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-urea gels and in composition of iodine, monosaccharides, and amino acids. Nine amino acids showed significant variation among the five thyroglobulins at the P less than 0.01 level, and only two (lysine and alanine) did not vary. The content of both sialic acid and fucose varied widely, but their sum was similar among the five samples. Thyroglobulin samples from the goiters differed from the normals and from each other in composition and in pattern on SDS-urea gels. The variability itself was more impressive than were differences in any particular component. Relative to the normals, these thyroglobulins showed increases in content of sialic acid (P less than 0.01) and lysine (P less than 0.10), and increases in the faster bands on gel electrophoresis in SDS-urea. Two goiters were from patients with the multiple hamartoma syndrome, and the only metabolic abnormality found was a low content of iodothyronine in thyroglobulin. The other two goiters also showed inadequate coupling of iodotyrosyls. In addition, one contained a soluble iodoprotein of very high molecular weight, which was immunologically identical to 19S thyroglobulin but differed in chemical composition. We conclude from the compositional data that there is not a single structure for "normal" thyroglobulin, but that multiple molecular configurations occur naturally and are compatible with adequate hormone synthesis. Extensive variations in thyroglobulin structure are frequently found with goiter, and we suggest that these may be involved in its pathogenesis.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Lack of correlation between thyroid size and body growth in an area of endemic goiter.

There is conflicting information in the literature about the relationship between thyroid size and body growth in endemic goiter. This study reports data from highland Bolivia where 408 children were examined for thyroid size, height, weight, head circumference, and academic performance, the latter as measured by teacher evaluation. The presence or size of goiter showed no consistent correlation with height, weight, or head circumference. School performance was significantly correlated with all other variables in boys and not in girls, but there are severe limitations involved in the use of school grades alone for assessment of intelligence. Height and weight were less than for normals in the United States at each age level, but did not differ from those of other Quechuan children in neighboring Peru who were reportedly nongoitrous. Our data support the conclusion that there is no clear relationship between thyroid size and body growth in areas of endemic goiter.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Choriocarcinoma with hyperthyroidism: probable identity of the thyrotropin with human chorionic gonadotropin.

A 15-year-old girl developed severe hyperthyroidism secondary to metastatic choriocarcinoma. Her serum contained high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) by radioimmunoassay and had a thyroid-stimulating activity different from that of pituitary thyrotropin (TSH) or of long-acting thyroid stimulator (LATS) in the McKenzie mouse bio-assay. Gradient ultracentrifugation localized this thyroid stimulator to a narrow zone midway between markers of transferrin and ovalbumin. On gel filtration it emerged just before albumin as a single peak coinciding with the peak for HCG. Her HCG was identical to an authentic sample of HCG in position to gel filtration columns and on gel electrophoresis. These results suggest that the thyrotropin of choriocarcinoma is HCG.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Changes in the structure of thyroglobulin following the administration of thyroid-stimulating hormone.

In each of three separate experiments, female guinea pigs in groups of 20 were given 4 units of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) each day for 3 days, while controls were given saline. Na125I was injected on the 3rd day, and the animals were killed 22 hours later. The pooled throids of each group were homogenized, and thyroglobulin was purified by one of the following methods: gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 followed by density gradient ultracentrifugation, two sequential filtrations on 4 percent agarose, or filtration on 4 percent agarose followed by Sephadex G-200. TSH administration was associated with the folling changes in thyroglobulin: (1) an increase in the ratio of tri-iodothyronine to thyroxine; (2) a decrease in dissociation of the 19 S to the 12 S form; (3) an alteration in its pattern on gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate-urea; and (4) changes in its amino acid composition, with significant increases in the content of lysine (by 15 percent), isoleucine (by 15 percent), and methionine (by 7 percent) relative to leucine. Over-all, there were no significant changes in the content of iodine, fucose, hexosamine, or sialic acid. These data show that TSH can alter the composition of thyroglobulin independently of its effects on iodine content. We suggest that these changes may stem from alterations in the subunit composition of thyroglobulin. There were also small but significant variations in amino acid composition among the three preparations of thyroglobulin from saline-treated animals and among the three from the TSH-treated. This finding shows that thyroglobulin can be heterogeneous in its protein portion as well as in its iodine content.

Amino Acids↗