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Biomedical subjects

L Austin

Publications and source records attributed to L Austin.

120 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Regenerating neurons. Changes in protein phosphorylation.

We have been studying the phosphorylation of proteins of both normal and regenerating superior cervical ganglia of the rat. Here we report the incorporation of radioactive phosphate into proteins of ganglia homogenates incubated with 32P-labeled ATP under various conditions at day 3 after postganglionic axotomy. The proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis followed by autoradiography. Incubation in the presence of Ca2+ or Ca2+ plus cyclic AMP produced only about 20 spots corresponding to distinctly labeled proteins. This number was reduced to about five under EGTA plus cyclic AMP conditions, whereas the presence of EGTA alone suppressed the phosphorylation reaction almost totally. All these proteins fell within the narrow pI range of 4-6, whereby no qualitative differences between regenerating and control cases were observed. However, the growth-associated protein, variously designated GAP-43, B-50, F-1, and pp-46, had enhanced levels of phosphate incorporation in regenerating ganglia compared to controls. Injury also caused consistently higher levels of phosphorylation of proteins running in the position of alpha- and beta-tubulin. Since these three proteins are major constituents of regenerating axons, these results suggest that the changes in their phosphorylation induced by injury may be involved in the regulation of their transport.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

In vitro myoblast to myotube transformations in the presence of leukemia inhibitory factor.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a pleiotropic cytokine which exerts a variety of effects on many cell types including neuronal cells, and is a potent mitogen for myoblasts. At concentrations of 0.1-0.3 ng/ml, the peptide stimulates a maximal increase in cell number. LIF initiates a prolonged proliferative response lasting up to 13 days, when myoblasts are exposed to it in culture. LIF expression can be detected in vivo during development of limb muscle and in adult regenerating skeletal muscle tissue. Here, we studied the levels of expression of alpha-bungarotoxin-binding sites as a measure of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs), myosin light chain pattern and rate of myotube formation in fused, control and LIF-treated muscle cultures derived from mouse hind-limb muscles. We found that both the level of expression of AChRs and myosin light chain pattern, are normal, following exposure of the cells to LIF. There was no difference in the rate of myotube formation between LIF-stimulated and control myoblasts over a 10-fold concentration range (0.3-3.0 ng/ml) as determined by nuclei counts. Taken together, these results suggest that LIF, in combination with other cytokines, may act in vivo to stimulate rapid growth, without significant differentiation, during the early phases of myogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patients' views of nurse prescribing.

In 1994 the law was changed to allow nurses to prescribe from a limited formulary. The Department of Health commissioned research to evaluate nurse prescribing in eight pilot sites in England. This article presents part of this research. In particular, it examines how patients perceived the role of nurses and health visitors as prescribers. The study involved interviewing patients seen by community nurses before and after the introduction of nurse prescribing. The advantages patients identified coincided with the anticipated benefits, while the disadvantages that had been anticipated before the study were not confirmed. Patients were positive about nurses as prescribers and in some instances preferred nurses to doctors.

Attitude to Health↗