Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Whelan

Publications and source records attributed to J Whelan.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Resistance to cytosine arabinoside in acute leukemia: the significance of mutations in CTP synthetase.

The molecular events which confer cellular resistance to cytotoxic drugs such as cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) are poorly understood. Nevertheless, in a proportion of patients with acute leukemia, such events will be responsible for the failure of therapy. Mutations which cause ara-C resistance in a chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell model have been identified as regulatory base substitutions, occurring in specific sites of the gene coding for an enzyme critical in pyrimidine metabolism, CTP synthetase (CTPs). These cells have elevated dCTP pools, a feature common to biochemical studies of other ara-C resistant leukemic cells. A 94% homology exists between the hamster and human ctps genes. In this study, similar mutations were sought in samples taken from 36 patients, with recurrent or resistant acute leukemia. No mutations were identified in the regions indicated by the CHO model using techniques capable of detecting mutations only if present in more than 10% of the cells studied. Thus, mutations in these sites within the human ctps gene do not appear to be a major mechanism of resistance to ara-C in acute leukemia. Further studies should be directed towards developing more sensitive methods of detection, and these then applied both to CTPs and to other enzymes involved in pyrimidine metabolism.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1993

Organic acid activation of the alternative oxidase of plant mitochondria.

Alternative oxidase activity (oxygen uptake in the presence of KCN, antimycin or myxothiazol) in mitochondria isolated from the roots of soybean seedlings was very slow, even with succinate as substrate. This activity was stimulated substantially (100-400%) by the addition of pyruvate, with half maximal stimulation occurring at 0.1 mM pyruvate. Mitochondria from soybean shoots displayed high alternative oxidase activity with succinate and malate as substrates but lower activity with exogenous NADH; addition of pyruvate stimulated the activity with NADH up to that seen with succinate. This stimulation of cyanide-insensitive NADH oxidation was seen also with mitochondria from other species. Hydroxypyruvate and oxoglutarate could substitute for pyruvate, although higher concentrations were required to achieve maximum stimulation. Pyruvate stimulation of cyanide-insensitive oxygen uptake was observed with exogenous quinols as substrates, with sub-mitochondrial particles, and in the presence of the pyruvate transport inhibitor, cyanohydroxycinnamic acid, but was not observed with detergent-solubilised mitochondria. It is suggested that pyruvate acts allosterically on the alternative oxidase to stimulate its activity. The implications of these findings for respiration in vivo are discussed.

Enzyme Activation↗
PubMed1993

DNA-methylation of the E-selectin promoter represses NF-kappa B transactivation.

E-selectin is an adhesion molecule transiently and specifically expressed on endothelial cells upon stimulation with cytokines. We wished to determine whether methylation could play a role in cell-type specific expression of this gene. We found that the E-selectin promoter in cultured endothelial cells is under-methylated in comparison with non-expressing HeLa cells. Plasmid constructs carrying a reporter driven by the E-selectin promoter and methylated in vitro are no longer transcribed in either an in vitro transcription system or in transiently transfected cells. We identified the NF-kappa B site in the promoter as the likely target for this methylation-mediated repression by testing a minimal promoter carrying only this and an associated element. We conclude that methylation is likely to play a role in blocking E-selectin expression in non-endothelial cells.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Synthesis of arachidonic acid metabolites by Syrian hamster platelets and peritoneal cells.

In this study, the metabolism of arachidonic acid by hamster platelets and peritoneal macrophages was assessed. Peritoneal macrophages stimulated in vitro with the calcium ionophore A23187 or stimulated in vivo by intraperitoneal injections of opsonized zymosan produced prostaglandin E2, thromboxane B2 (TxB2) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, as determined by radioimmunoassays. Leukotriene B4 (LTB4), and 11- and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETE), which were identified by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection, were produced by peritoneal cells stimulated in vitro with A23187 but were not found in the peritoneal exudate following in vivo stimulation with opsonized zymosan. Synthesis of 11- and 15-HETE, but not LTB4, was inhibited by 1 microM indomethacin but not by 10 microM nordihydroguaiaretic acid, which did inhibit LTB4 synthesis. Washed hamster platelets were prepared and shown to synthesize TxB2, 12-HETE and 12-hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid following stimulation with thrombin. This paper is the first to report on eicosanoid metabolism in tissues related to atherosclerosis, thrombosis and inflammation in hamsters.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Beta-2 microglobulin: a prognostic factor in diffuse aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

beta-2 microglobulin levels were measured in stored serum taken at presentation from 262 patients treated with combination chemotherapy for Kiel classification high-grade lymphoma at a single centre over a 15 year period. A significant association was found between elevated levels and advanced (Ann Arbor stage III or IV) disease or hepatic infiltration, but not with other sites of extranodal involvement or bulky disease. Patients with normal levels at presentation had a 70% remission rate with treatment compared to 37% of those with elevated levels (P < 0.001). With median follow up of 6 years duration of remission was significantly greater in patients with normal beta-2 microglobulin at presentation (plateau at 70%, compared to median remission of 19 months in those with raised levels, P < 0.001). Survival overall was also better in the group with normal levels (actuarial median 9 years compared to 1 year, P < 0.001). Multivariate analyses including treatment type, age, sex, B symptoms, stage, bulk, albumin, sodium, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase and beta-2 microglobulin, placed beta-2 microglobulin among the three most influential independent variables for prediction of response rate, duration of remission and overall survival.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Clustered base substitutions in CTP synthetase conferring drug resistance in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Dominantly acting mutations that eliminate the allosteric regulation of CTP synthetase confer a form of multidrug resistance and a mutator phenotype to cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells. Mutations responsible for this phenotype have been identified in 23 independent strains selected for resistance to arabinosyl cytosine and 5-fluorouracil. All these mutations were due to base substitutions at seven sites within a highly conserved region of the ctps gene. This clustering should make it feasible to assess the role of such mutations in the development of drug resistance encountered in the treatment of malignant disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Dietary arachidonate enhances tissue arachidonate levels and eicosanoid production in Syrian hamsters.

Eicosanoids are oxidative derivatives of arachidonic acid. When produced in excess many of them are proinflammatory agents. This study investigates whether dietary arachidonic acid enhances arachidonic acid phospholipid content of various tissues and whether this enrichment increases eicosanoid production. Male Syrian hamsters were divided into four groups and fed diets supplemented with ethyl esters of oleic acid, linoleic acid, arachidonic acid or eicosapentaenoic acid. Differences in the composition of the phospholipid fatty acids were monitored in liver, lung, heart, spleen, kidney, testes, macrophages and platelets. In all tissues analyzed, the phospholipid content of arachidonic acid was significantly higher in the arachidonic dietary group compared with all other dietary groups (average > 50% higher). In contrast, increasing dietary linoleic acid by 50% had little effect on altering tissue arachidonic acid levels. Following in vitro stimulation, macrophages and platelets from animals maintained on arachidonic acid produced, in general, the highest levels of eicosanoids compared with cells from animals fed the other diets. Significant differences were observed in prostaglandin E2 (macrophages) and thromboxane B2 (platelets) formation when compared with the oleic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid dietary groups. The data demonstrate that including low to moderate levels of arachidonic acid in the diet increases macrophage and platelet arachidonic acid levels and may augment eicosanoid production.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1993

Cyclic AMP-independent ATF family members interact with NF-kappa B and function in the activation of the E-selectin promoter in response to cytokines.

We previously reported that NF-kappa B and a complex we referred to as NF-ELAM1 play a central role in cytokine-induced expression of the E-selectin gene. In this study we identify cyclic AMP (cAMP)-independent members of the ATF family binding specifically to the NF-ELAM1 promoter element. The NF-ELAM1 element (TGACATCA) differs by a single nucleotide substitution from the cAMP-responsive element consensus sequence. We demonstrate that this sequence operates in a cAMP-independent manner to induce transcription and thus define it as a non-cAMP-responsive element (NCRE). We show that ATFa is a component of the NF-ELAM1 complex and its overexpression activates the E-selectin promoter. In addition, ATFa, ATF2, and ATF3 interact directly with NF-kappa B in vitro, linking two unrelated families of transcription factors in a novel protein-protein interaction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the ability of overexpressed NF-kappa B to transactivate the E-selectin promoter in vivo is dependent on the NF-ELAM1 complex. Our results suggest that a direct interaction between ATFs and NF-kappa B is, at least in part, the mechanism by which these factors specifically regulate E-selectin promoter activity.

Activating Transcription Factors↗
PubMed1992

A T-cell enhancer cooperates with NF-kappa B to yield cytokine induction of E-selectin gene transcription in endothelial cells.

ELAM1 (endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule 1, also known as E-selectin) is a highly tissue-specific adhesion molecule that is transiently and exclusively expressed on cytokine-induced endothelial cells. We have identified two proximal ELAM1 promoter elements and their DNA-binding factors that are, in addition to NF-kappa B, essential for ELAM1 transcription. Mutation of either element in promoter constructs carrying the first 383 nucleotides of the ELAM1 promoter markedly diminshed the expression of a fused chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene. Although multimers of either element failed to display enhancer activity on its own, fusion of the most upstream of these to the NF-kappa B element had a strong stimulatory effect. This site, ACATCAT, is recognized by a factor we have called NF-ELAM1. The site corresponds to NF-ELAM1's preferential binding sequence (A/T)CA(G/T)CA(G/T) as determined in a target definition assay. This element is identical to the T-cell delta A enhancer found in the T-cell receptor-alpha, -beta, and CD3 delta genes. Our results suggest that the delta A/NF-ELAM1 element can function as a modulator of NF-kappa B in endothelial cells both as well as a T-cell enhancer.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Labile proteins play a dual role in the control of endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1) gene regulation.

Endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1) is a membrane protein exclusively expressed on endothelial cells, where it plays a key role in the inflammatory response by adhering to a subset of leukocytes. The expression of the ELAM-1 gene is very tightly regulated. ELAM-1 is undetectable in uninduced cells, and it is transiently expressed following cytokine induction. Treatment of resting endothelial cells with three different protein synthesis inhibitors, cycloheximide (CHX), anisomycin, and emetine, caused an increase in the steady-state level of ELAM-1 mRNA above that observed with IL (interleukin)-1 alone. Furthermore, ELAM-1 mRNA was found in the presence of all three protein synthesis inhibitors without IL-1 treatment. Analysis of the mRNA half-life indicated that the protein synthesis inhibitors act, in part, by stabilizing ELAM-1 mRNA. In addition, protein synthesis inhibitors potentiate the effect of IL-1 beta at the level of transcription initiation as shown by nuclear run-on experiments. The NF kappa B-like binding activity to the ELAM-1 promoter sequence induced by IL-1 beta is augmented by inhibitors of protein synthesis. The NF kappa B binding sequence was found to be necessary and sufficient for superinduction of the ELAM-1 gene by CHX. These results show that regulation at the level of protein synthesis is implicated in the overall regulation of ELAM-1 gene expression. Mechanisms which could explain these effects are discussed.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Evidence for mechanisms of the hypotriglyceridemic effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Ingestion of modest amounts of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (2.8% w/w) decreased plasma triglyceride levels in Syrian hamsters by 49%. This was associated with a 45% increase in hepatic carnitine palmitoyl transferase activity. Significantly, at this low level of n-3 PUFA intake, hepatic peroxisomal oxidation measured as CN- insensitive palmitoyl-CoA dependent NAD reduction was unaffected. Consumption of increasing amounts of dietary n-3 PUFA up to 2% (w/w) in hamster diets containing 15% fat, gradually decreased plasma triglycerides to 56% of the control levels. The diet induced changes in plasma triglyceride levels were highly correlated (r = -0.97, P less than 0.01) with changes in hepatic carnitine palmitoyl transferase activity. A gradual decrease up to 59% in hepatic phosphatidate phosphohydrolase activity with n-3 fatty acid consumption was also observed. The hypotriglyceridemic effects of moderate intakes of n-3 fatty acids are, therefore, associated with changes in key enzymes in hepatic triglyceride synthesis and mitochondrial oxidation, but not peroxisomal oxidation.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Murine endothelial leukocyte-adhesion molecule 1 is a close structural and functional homologue of the human protein.

Human endothelial leukocyte-adhesion molecule 1 (ELAM-1), a cell-surface glycoprotein expressed solely on cytokine-activated endothelial cells, mediates the adhesion of blood neutrophils, memory T-cells and some monocytes. ELAM-1, also known as E-selectin or leukocyte endothelial-cell-adhesion molecule 2, is a member of the lectin/epidermal-growth-factor/complement-regulatory-protein-like cell-adhesion molecule family, which includes structurally related molecules referred to as selectins. They are all involved in cell/cell adhesion, playing roles in leukocyte trafficking which are currently only partially defined. We report here the isolation and characterization of the murine equivalent of human ELAM-1. Murine ELAM-1 is encoded by a single-copy gene, spanning about 13 kb, which is structurally organized into 14 exons and 13 introns; very similar to that of its human counterpart. The exon/intron architecture exactly parallels the domain structure of the encoded protein. A murine ELAM-1-specific cDNA was cloned from heart tissue of an interleukin-1-(IL-1)-treated mouse. Its nucleotide sequence shows an overall similarity of 70% to human ELAM-1 cDNA. Transiently expressed in Cos cells, the encoded protein promotes the adhesion between recombinant cells and both human polymorphic nuclear cells, as well as HL60 cells expressing S-Lewis-x sugar moiety. Northern blot studies revealed by far the highest expression of the murine ELAM-1 gene in heart tissue and only low expression in lung tissue of IL-1-treated mice. Within the promoter, most of the recently identified regulatory elements are conserved. An exception is the nuclear factor (NF) kappa B box sequence, which, in the murine ELAM-1 promoter, does not correspond to the consensus NF kappa B sequence (Lenardo and Baltimore, 1989). Band-shift analyses show no binding to NF kappa B-like proteins. However, fusion of the murine ELAM-1 promoter to a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter confers cytokine-inducible transcription, although at a lower level, when compared to the human ELAM-1 promoter. Our results demonstrate the existence of a murine homologue of the human gene and demonstrate for adhesion functional equivalence between the homologous proteins from the two species. In addition, we provide the first evidence of the utility of the murine model in addressing biological questions about the role which ELAM-1 plays in inflammation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Cloning of ndhK from soybean chloroplasts using antibodies raised to mitochondrial complex I.

A soybean shoot cDNA expression library was screened with polyclonal antibodies raised against red beet complex I and several clones were identified. One clone, consisting of a 1 kb insert, was fully sequenced. The sequence of 1025 bp was found to contain two extended open reading frames and the proteins encoded were identified as the ndhK and ndhJ products of the chloroplast genome. Nuclear, mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA was isolated and probed with a ndhK-specific probe. The chloroplast DNA contained a single copy of the cloned insert. With nuclear DNA, positively hybridising bands of 1.2, 2.7 and 3.2 kb were observed indicating that at least one gene homologous to ndhK of the chloroplast genome, is also present in the nucleus. The mitochondrial DNA did not hybridise with the ndhK probe. Western analysis of thylakoid proteins with the mitochondrial complex I antibodies revealed several bands. It is suggested that soybean contains two copies of the ndhK gene, one, on the plastid genome, coding for a subunit of a chloroplast NAD(P)H dehydrogenase, and the other, in the nucleus, coding for a subunit of mitochondrial complex I.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Dietary arachidonic and linoleic acids: comparative effects on tissue lipids.

The effects of preformed dietary arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4n-6) on murine phospholipid fatty acid composition in tissues capable (liver) and incapable (peritoneal exudate cells, PEC) of desaturating and elongating linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6) to AA were investigated. The results were compared with those obtained on matched animals on LA diets by either substituting or supplementing dietary LA with AA. Modest amounts of AA ethyl ester (0.5 wt%) included in the diet significantly increased tissue phospholipid AA levels by 39% and 57% in the liver and in PEC, respectively. The changes were further enhanced when dietary LA and AA intakes were equivalent, i.e., 57% and 68% in liver and PEC, respectively. This enrichment was observed in all phospholipid classes analyzed, with the greatest impact on phosphatidylcholine. In addition, the doubling of dietary LA had little effect on tissue phospholipid AA levels. The data suggest that while the level of n-6 PUFA may have an important effect on tissue fatty acid composition, the type of n-6 PUFA in the diet could be of greater significance.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Tissue-specific expression of the alternative oxidase in soybean and siratro.

Alternative oxidase activity (cyanide-insensitive respiration) was measured in mitochondria from the shoots, roots, and nodules of soybean (Glycine max L.) and siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum) plants. Activity was highest in the shoots and lowest in the nodules. Alternative oxidase activity was associated with one (roots) or two (shoots) proteins between 30 and 35 kilodaltons that were detected by western blotting with a monoclonal antibody against Sauromatum guttatum alternative oxidase. No such protein was detected in nodule mitochondria. Measurements of oxygen uptake by isolated soybean root and nodule cells in the presence of cyanide and salicylhydroxamic acid indicated that alternative oxidase activity was confined to the uninfected cortex cells of the nodule. Immunoprecipitation of translation products of mRNA isolated from soybean shoots revealed a major band at 43 kilodaltons that is assumed to be the precursor of an alternative oxidase protein. This band was not seen when mRNA from nodules was treated in the same fashion. The results indicate that tissue-specific expression of the alternative oxidase occurs in soybean and siratro.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

Kinetics of tumour necrosis factor and prostaglandin production by murine resident peritoneal macrophages as affected by dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Cell-associated and secreted tumour necrosis factor (TNF), prostaglandin (PG) E2, and 6-keto PGF1 alpha were monitored at various times following in vitro stimulation of resident peritoneal macrophages with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Macrophages were obtained from mice maintained on diets containing 1.5 wt% n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)+ 1.5 wt% n-6 fatty acids; 1.5 wt% n-6 fatty acids; or 3 wt% n-6 fatty acids, for 4 weeks. Cell-associated TNF increased transiently in the resident peritoneal macrophages from mice consuming all diets and decreased after TNF secretion had reached maximum and plateaued. Macrophages from mice consuming the n-3 PUFA contained more cell-associated TNF and secreted more TNF than macrophages from mice consuming diets containing n-6 fatty acids only, at all time-points studied. Macrophages from mice consuming the n-3 PUFA showed an earlier increase in cell-associated and secreted TNF compared with macrophages from mice consuming n-6 fatty acids only. Kinetics of maximum TNF production was not affected by the diets and dietary n-3 PUFA did not cause a prolonged increase in TNF secretion. Macrophages from mice consuming the n-3 PUFA produced less PG than macrophages from mice consuming the n-6 fatty acids only. PG secretion increased following appearance of cell-associated TNF but when PG had accumulated in the medium there was no further increase in TNF production.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗
PubMed1992

Dependence on dietary cholesterol for n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-induced changes in plasma cholesterol in the Syrian hamster.

Male Syrian hamsters consumed diets containing incremental increases in dietary n-3 fatty acids from fish oil with either low (0.015% w/w) or moderate (0.1% w/w) dietary cholesterol content. Animals consuming diets containing moderate cholesterol, but not animals consuming diets containing low cholesterol, had increased plasma very low (VLDL)- and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels with increasing fish oil consumption. The plasma concentration of high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol decreased by 43 and 32% with the consumption of the highest fish oil diets in the low and moderate dietary cholesterol groups, respectively. Hepatic LDL-receptor binding activity did not change with the consumption of low cholesterol diets, but gradually decreased with fish oil consumption in animals consuming the moderate cholesterol diets. Hepatic LDL-receptor binding and plasma LDL-cholesterol levels of the different dietary fish oil groups were highly correlated (r = -0.91). Fish oil consumption also caused an increase in hepatic free cholesterol but a decreased cholesteryl ester content. Therefore, in the Syrian hamster, the consumption of n-3 fatty acids increases LDL-cholesterol levels which can be partially explained by decreased hepatic LDL-receptor binding and this response to dietary n-3 fatty acids is dependent on the dietary cholesterol content. However, the effects of dietary n-3 fatty acids on HDL-cholesterol are independent of dietary cholesterol content.

Animals↗