Biomedical subjects

Jörg Peters

Publications and source records attributed to Jörg Peters.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

StAR expression and the long-term aldosterone response to high-potassium diet in Wistar-Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

ANG II and potassium are known to increase steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) levels. However, a corresponding increase in StAR mRNA levels has so far been observed only in response to ANG II. We therefore studied the regulation of adrenal StAR mRNA expression in the context of dietary potassium-stimulated aldosterone production. Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were fed a diet containing either 1 or 4% KCl for 5 days. The high-potassium diet increased StAR mRNA levels within the zona glomerulosa in both strains, as demonstrated by in situ hybridization. However, aldosterone production increased in WKY but not in SHR (WKY: from 22.8 +/- 4.8 to 137 +/- 25 ng/100 ml, P < 0.001, vs. SHR: from 29 +/- 3.8 to 51 +/- 10.2 ng/100 ml, not significant). This increase was associated with an increase in Cyp11b2 mRNA levels in WKY (3-fold; P < 0.001) but not in SHR. In both strains, the 4% KCl diet was associated with increased plasma renin-independent aldosterone production, as indicated by the marked increase of the aldosterone-to-renin ratios (from 1.4 +/- 0.3 to 9 +/- 3 in WKY and from 3 +/- 1 to 14 +/- 5 in SHR; P < 0.002). We conclude that an increase of StAR mRNA levels within the outer cortex is involved in the long-term adrenal response to potassium. This increase alone is not sufficient to increase aldosterone production in the presence of normal Cyp11b2 mRNA levels.

Adrenal Cortex↗

PubMed2006

Elevated blood pressure and heart rate in human renin receptor transgenic rats.

Recently, a receptor for renin was described that may be important for vascular uptake and activation of (pro)renin, thus leading to local generation of angiotensin II. To assess the in vivo relevance of this protein, we generated transgenic rats overexpressing the human renin receptor gene in smooth muscle tissue, under the control of a 16-kb fragment of the mouse smooth muscle myosin heavy chain gene [TGR(SMMHC-HRR)]. Four lines of transgenic animals were obtained. The correct pattern of expression of the transgene was confirmed by RNase protection assay and in situ hybridization. TGR(SMMHC-HRR) rats are fertile and develop normally. After 6 months of age, transgenic rats develop a cardiovascular phenotype with an elevated systolic blood pressure (137.8+/-5 versus 118.9+/-3.7 mm Hg; P=0.008), and an augmentation in heart rate (349.1+/-7.7 versus 303.1+/-16.16 bpm; P=0.023) in TGR(SMMHC-HRR) and controls, respectively. These alterations are progressively increasing with aging. Although kidney function and plasma renin were normal in TGR(SMMHC-HRR), an increase in plasma aldosterone [TGR(SMMHC-HRR) 428+/-64.9 versus 207.3+/-73.24 pg/mL in control; P=0.02] and in aldosterone/renin ratio [TGR(SMMHC-HRR) 8.04+/-2.2 versus 2.8+/-0.55 in control; P=0.03] was observed. This suggests that renin receptor overexpression has resulted in increased intraadrenal angiotensin II, thereby provoking enhanced aldosterone generation in the absence of changes in plasma renin. The rise in aldosterone may underlie, at least in part, the observed cardiovascular phenotype of TGR(SMMHC-HRR).

Aldosterone↗

PubMed2006

Time-based analysis of silver-stained proteins in acrylamide gels.

Silver staining of proteins after PAGE often remains the method of choice in many laboratories. Nevertheless, it is known that quantification of protein levels is keenly restricted to a small range of protein concentrations leading to an over- or underestimation of protein amounts. To overcome this, a time-based analysis method was developed to avoid the saturation effect of the silver-staining reaction, thus resulting in an improved dynamic range of the gel image produced and therefore better quantification of proteins. Instead of the well-known end-point image analysis, gray intensities of time series images of a developing gel are determined and times until a threshold gray value is reached are calculated. These times are used to calculate a new grayscale image which can be analyzed using commercial image processing software.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Simulation for training with the Autosuture Endo Stitch device.

The rapid development and deployment of novel laparoscopic instruments present the surgical educator and trainee with a significant challenge. Several useful instruments have been particularly difficult to teach the novice. We have developed a platform that allows the combination of the actual instrument handle with a virtual re-creation of the instrument tip. We chose the Autosuture Endo Stitch device as the prototypical instrument because it satisfies our subjective experience of "useful, but hard to teach." A software package was developed to support the re-creation of the needle and suture that accompany the device. The apparatus has haptic capabilities and collision detection so that the needle driver is "aware" of suture and instrument contact. The developed virtual environment allows re-creation of the necessary motion to simulate the instrument, the trainee can use the actual instrument handle, and the system can be altered to accommodate other instruments.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2006

Exploiting graphics hardware for haptic authoring.

Real-time, plausible visual and haptic feedback of deformable objects without shape artifacts is important in surgical simulation environments to avoid distracting the user. We propose to leverage highly parallel stream processing, available on the newest generation graphics cards, to increase the level of both visual and haptic fidelity. We implemented this as part of the University of Florida's haptic surgical authoring kit.

Computer Graphics↗

PubMed2005

Implementation of a crystallization step into the purification process of a recombinant protein.

Identification of crystallization conditions of new proteins is still regarded as a tedious trial-and-error work, especially when the crystallization step has to meet the requirements of a given purification process. The traditional screening kit method and a multifactorial approach were compared against each other with regard to their ability to find new crystallization conditions that are compatible to the purification process of a recombinant aprotinin variant. Overall, the multifactorial approach turned out to be 10-fold more efficient. The new crystallization conditions were scaled up and implemented into the purification process as a bulk storage step. The aprotinin variant derived from this process was fully characterized biochemically.

Aprotinin↗

PubMed2004

Accelerated exchange of a buried water molecule in selectively disulfide-reduced bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor.

Using magnetic relaxation dispersion (MRD), we have previously shown that the four internal water molecules in bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) exchange with bulk water on time scales between 10(-8) and 10(-4) s at room temperature. Because this exchange is controlled by the protein structure, internal water molecules can be used to probe rare conformational fluctuations. Here, we report (2)H and (17)O MRD data at three temperatures for wild-type BPTI and two BPTI variants where the 14-38 disulfide bond has been cleaved by a double Cys --> Ser mutation or by disulfide reduction and carboxamidomethylation. The MRD data show that the internal water molecules are conserved on disulfide cleavage. However, the exchange rate of the water molecule buried near the disulfide bond is enhanced by 2-4 orders of magnitude. The relation of water exchange to other dynamic processes in BPTI is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Expression, purification, biochemical and pharmacological characterization of a recombinant aprotinin variant.

Aprotinin (GAS 9087-70-1) is known as a potent inhibitor of serine proteases such as trypsin, plasmin, tissue and plasma kallikrein. In this study, an aprotinin variant was designed by means of rationale mutagenesis that differs from aprotinin by two amino acids in the active site and by seven amino acids in the backbone. The recombinant protein is expressed in a secretory yeast system enabling large scale production. A purification procedure was developed to yield high amounts of pure and correctly processed aprotinin variant. The changes in the active site of the aprotinin variant increase the potency towards inhibition of plasma kallikrein whereas the inhibition of plasmin is only marginally reduced. The net charge of the molecule is reduced from the basic (IP 10.5) to the neutral range (IP 5.6). The recombinant aprotinin variant shows a decrease of immunogenicity in several models. No cross-reactivity with human and rabbit antibodies directed against aprotinin was observed both in in vivo and in ex vivo studies. In addition, the variant is more potent in a rat brain edema model of acute subdural hematoma compared to aprotinin.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed2004

Human skin: source of and target organ for angiotensin II.

The present study examined the expression of angiotensin receptors in human skin, the potential synthesis of angiotensin II (Ang II) in this location and looked for a first insight into physiological functions. AT1 and AT2 receptors were found within the epidermis and in dermal vessel walls. The same expression pattern was found for angiotensinogen, renin and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). All components could additionally be demonstrated at mRNA level in cultured primary keratinocytes, melanocytes, dermal fibroblasts and dermal microvascular endothelial cells, except for AT2 receptors in melanocytes. The ability of cutaneous cells to synthesize Ang II was proved by identifying the molecule in cultured keratinocytes. Furthermore, in artificially wounded keratinocyte monolayers, ACE-mRNA expression was rapidly increased, and enhanced ACE expression was still found in cutaneous human scars 3 months after wounding. These findings suggest that the complete renin-angiotensin system is present in human skin and plays a role in normal cutaneous homeostasis as well as in human cutaneous wound healing.

Angiotensinogen↗

PubMed2002

Functional significance of prorenin internalization in the rat heart.

Intracardiac renin is considered to be involved in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and myocardial infarction. Cardiac renin is predominantly derived from the circulation, because preprorenin is not expressed locally and uptake of renin has been demonstrated. One mechanism of internalization recently described involves the mannose-6-phosphate receptor and requires glycosylation of renin. Based on previous observations, we considered the existence of another pathway of uptake, not requiring glycosylation and predominantly involving prorenin. This hypothesis and its functional consequences were investigated in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate that isolated adult cardiomyocytes internalize unglycosylated prorenin, which is followed by the generation of angiotensins. We further show that transgenic rats, expressing the ren-2(d) renin gene in an inducible manner, exhibit markedly enhanced levels of unglycosylated renin within intracellular compartments in the heart as a consequence of the induction of hepatic transgene expression and the rise of circulating unglycosylated prorenin levels. Because in this model severe cardiac damage occurs as a consequence of the rise of circulating prorenin levels, internalization of prorenin into cardiac cells is likely to play a key role in this process.

Angiotensins↗

PubMed2002

Intracellular sorting of renin: cell type specific differences and their consequences.

Renin is commonly known as a secretory glycoprotein, which is expressed, stored and released in a regulated manner by the kidney. Besides this, a number of extrarenal tissues, such as adrenal gland and heart express or internalise renin. In the heart a local RAS may exert prohypertrophic, proliferative, antiproliferative or apoptotic properties. The local RAS in kidney, adrenal gland and heart are each unique and their modes of action are distinct. This is due to the expression of different renin transcripts and different intracellular sorting and transport events for renin. In the rat kidney exclusively the commonly known preprorenin is expressed encoding for secretory renin. This is targeted to lysosomes, which become secretory renin granules. The cells of the rat adrenal cortex express preprorenin as well, but this is partially targeted to the regulated secretory pathway. Rat adrenocortical cells additionally express an alternative renin transcript, termed exon1A renin, which encodes for a truncated prorenin that is imported into mitochondria. Its function is not known to date. Interestingly, in the rat heart exclusively the alternative transcript is expressed. Even in hypertrophic hearts or after myocardial infarction, preprorenin remains undetectable. Exon1A renin transcript levels, in contrast, markedly increased after myocardial ischemia. This provides a new molecular basis for a function of locally expressed renin. In addition, there are different pathways of renin internalisation by cardiac cells. A mannose-6-phosphate receptor mediated uptake has been described. We recently described another pathway independently of the mannose-6-phosphate receptor. Such a pathway is apparently of functional significance. Subsequent generation of angiotensins and myocyte hypertrophy and proliferation by prorenin through angiotensin generation has been described.

Adrenal Glands↗

PubMed2002

Identification of regional varieties by intonational cues. An experimental study on Hamburg and Berlin German.

Two experiments examined the commonly held belief that regional varieties of German can be identified by intonational features alone. In both experiments, listeners were presented with regional intonational contours of German. In the first experiment, listeners judged contours of Hamburg urban vernacular compared with contours of Northern Standard German. In the second experiment, listeners judged contours of Berlin urban vernacular compared with contours of both Northern Standard German and Low Alemannic German. The performance of listeners was found to vary with their linguistic experience. Listeners who were familiar both with the local variety and with some nonlocal variety by personal contact performed better than listeners who were familiar with the local variety only. Moreover, also listeners not familiar with Hamburg German and Berlin German, respectively, were found to perform the identification test with some success. This led to the conclusion that overall success rates do not only depend on true recognition of local contours but may additionally be enhanced by using some kind of elimination strategy. A second factor that affected performance was the choice of speaker for generating the carrier utterances. In the first experiment, all carrier utterances were produced by a speaker of Northern Standard German. In the second experiment, two sets of carrier utterances were used. The first set was obtained from a speaker of Northern Standard German and the second set from a speaker of Berlin urban vernacular. As expected, Berlin contours were better identified when presented with an utterance that was produced by a speaker of Berlin urban vernacular. However, no uniform effect was found for the different contours that were examined.

Berlin↗

PubMed2002

Effects of celecoxib and diclofenac on blood pressure, renal function, and vasoactive prostanoids in young and elderly subjects.

Cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors are among the most widely used drugs, especially in the elderly. It has been claimed that the new COX-2 inhibitors offer advantages in terms of drug safety. To test this hypothesis, the authors compared in a double-blind, randomized trial the effects of celecoxib (200 mg bid) and diclofenac (75 mg bid) on blood pressure and renal function in two groups (each n = 12) of young (mean age = 32 years) and elderly (mean age = 68 years) normotensive subjects. Changes from baseline in the 24-hour blood pressure profiles, parameters of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, inulin clearance, urinary marker proteins, and eicosanoid excretion were monitored during the treatment period of 2 weeks. Comparison between celecoxib and diclofenac showed no significant difference in minor alterations of blood pressure. During daytime, there was a trend to elevation of mean arterial blood pressure (mmHg) by celecoxib in the elderly of 2.8 (95 % confidence interval [CI) = -2.5 to 8.2) in comparison with the young subjects of -1.3 (95% CI= -3.7 to 1.0); there was also a trend to elevation of mean arterial blood pressure by diclofenac in the elderly of 4.1 (95% CI= -1.2 to 9.4) in comparison with the young subjects of 0.4 (95% CI= -2.4 to 3.2). In both populations, the authors found no significant drug effects on the parameters of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, inulin clearance, and urinary marker proteins. As expected, diclofenac reduced excretion of allprostanoids, whereas celecoxib did not affect production of TxB2 and its metabolites. Neither in young nor in elderly normotensive subjects were blood pressure and renal function significantly affected by a short-term treatment with standard doses of celecoxib and diclofenac. Therefore, normal aging appears not to represent a special risk factor in therapy with these two agents.

Adult↗