Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Sun

Publications and source records attributed to L Sun.

At least 505 records · Page 28Linked to original sources

Lipocortin-independent effect of dexamethasone on phospholipase activity in a thymic epithelial cell line.

In the cloned rat thymic endocrine epithelial cell line TEA3A1, treatment with dexamethasone leads to decreased levels of prostaglandin E2, prostaglandin F2 alpha, and thromboxane B2. Dexamethasone treatment also leads to a decrease of both calcium-dependent and calcium-independent phospholipase A2 activity measured in a cell-free assay. Dexamethasone-treated cells also have increased levels of lipocortin-I, a putative modulator of phospholipase A2 activity. The property of calcium-dependent binding of lipocortin to the particulate fraction was used to prepare cytosolic and particulate subcellular fractions which contained phospholiphase A2 activity but no lipocortin-I. Dexamethasone decreased phospholipase A2 activity in both cytosolic and particulate fractions even in the absence of lipocortin, suggesting the presence of a lipocortin-independent mechanism.

Animals↗

Kallikrein stimulates arachidonic acid release and production of prostaglandins from TEA3A1 endocrine thymic epithelial cells.

Using TEA3A1 rat endocrine thymic epithelial cells, we demonstrated that kallikrein (EC 3.4.21.35) not only stimulated the release of arachidonic acid (AA) and its metabolites from TEA3A1 cells but also enhanced the intracellular synthesis of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) by approx. 2-fold. The stimulatory effect of kallikrein was dose- and time-dependent and could be blocked by aprotinin, a kallikrein inhibitor. It was found that the phospholipase A inhibitors ONO RS082 [2-(p-amylcinnamoyl)amino-4-chlorobenzoic acid], and mepacrine (6-chloro-9-[(4-dimethylamino)-1-methyl)]amino-2-methoxyacridine; quinacrine) also inhibited the kallikrein-stimulated release of AA and its metabolites. It is suggested that the kallikrein-induced stimulatory effect might be mediated through a phospholipase A2 pathway. The effect of bradykinin was studied and no significant stimulation was observed, even at a high dose (10 micrograms/ml). This suggested that the formation of kinin does not have a role in the kallikrein-induced stimulation of AA release from TEA3A1 cells. Furthermore, the effect of kallikrein was also totally abolished by adding pepstatin A, a known inhibitor of renin, pepsin and cathepsin D which does not inhibit kallikrein itself. This indicates that kallikrein did not act on the phospholipase-like enzyme directly. There is at least one more enzyme, a pepstatin A-inhibitable proteinase, that acts as a mediator for kallikrein-induced regulation of AA release.

Animals↗

Direct preparations from chorionic villi--relationship between villous morphology and mitotic index.

It has been postulated that chorionic villi with abundant sprouts have a higher mitotic index and are therefore preferable for obtaining direct chromosome preparations from chorionic villus samples. This theory was tested by correlating villous morphology with mitotic index. Surprisingly, no statistically significant relationship was found. Choice of culture medium, however, was found to be important, with serum-free RPMI yielding a higher mitotic index than 40 per cent FCS in MEM. We conclude that villous morphology, as assessed in this study, is not a major factor in determining the success of direct chromosome preparations.

Cells, Cultured↗

Forward masking effects on early auditory evoked potentials.

In early auditory evoked potentials (EAEPs) evoked by click trains, every click had a masking effect on the responses to the clicks following it and the whole response evoked by the click train was the sum of the masked responses to every click in the train. Special attention was paid to the situation when the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) was less than 10 ms and the responses to the individual clicks might be merged to form a continuous wave. The experiments showed that the more the number of the clicks preceding a given click in the train, the stronger the effect on the response to this click until the number was big enough and the effect became saturated; the shorter the ISI when it was less than 10 ms, the stronger the effect; the higher the intensity of the masker, the stronger the effect.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Mouse/human chimeric monoclonal antibody in man: kinetics and immune response.

A mouse/human chimeric monoclonal antibody (mAb) composed of the variable regions of murine 17-1A mAb and the constant regions of human IgG-1K immunoglobulin was administered to 10 patients with metastatic colon cancer. Four patients received single infusion of 10 mg (n = 2) or 40 mg (n = 2). Six patients received three infusion of 10 mg (n = 3) or 40 mg (n = 3) at 2-week intervals. The pharmacokinetics were similar at both dose levels and at the second and third infusions. The plasma disappearance curves were best fit by a two-compartment model having a mean alpha T1/2 of 17.5 hr (range 13-23 hr) and a mean beta T1/2 of 100.5 hr (range 65-139 hr). One patient who received three 40-mg doses of chimeric IgG-1K 17-1A mAb (day 0, 14, and 28) was the only patient to exhibit a detectable but modest antibody reactivity to chimera on days 63 and 84. The antibody reactivity was inhibited by murine 17-1A mAb, indicating that the antibody response was directed to the murine variable region of the chimera. The patients had no toxic or allergic reactions. This chimeric form of 17-1A mAb has an approximate 6-fold longer circulation time and appears to be substantially less immunogenic than its murine counterpart. These characteristics may provide an advantage in the clinical application of such chimeric molecules in therapeutic trials in humans.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Visualization of NORs in relation to the precise chromosomal localization of ribosomal RNA genes.

Use of prometaphase chromosome preparations has led to significant improvements in the localization of both NORs and ribosomal gene clusters in the short arms of human acrocentric chromosomes. An improvement of the NOR silver-staining method, followed by trypsin-Giemsa banding, was used to identify the precise location of the NOR on each human acrocentric chromosome. For comparison, the satellite, stalk, and centromeric region were also identified with the aid of both Q- and G-banding techniques. The amount of silver impregnation present in the stalk region of the D- and G-group chromosomes was unique for each of these acrocentric chromosomes and depended on the length of the stalk. In situ hybridization was used to locate the ribosomal gene clusters. A plasmid containing 5.6 kb of the 18S rDNA gene was first oligolabeled with bio-16-dUTP, then hybridized in situ to metaphase chromosomes and visualized by an alkaline phosphatase color-detection system. Our results indicated that, in most cases, the location of the 18S rDNA gene cluster in the stalk region was indistinguishable from the site of silver impregnation. However, exceptions were noted, suggesting a multiplicity of arrangements of the ribosomal gene clusters. A model is proposed to describe the spatial relationship of NORs (transcriptional activity) and the ribosomal gene clusters.

Chromosome Mapping↗

[Selective inducing ability of DL-111-1T towards mixed function oxidase in female rat liver and human amnion fluid cell].

Following pretreatment of adult female rats with contragestational agent 3-(2-ethylphenyl)-5-(3-methoxyphenyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazol (DL 111-1T) 20 mg/kg.d for 2 consecutive days, the hepatic microsomal MFO and UDPGT activities were induced to a constant level, being characteristic of arylhydrocarbon type of induction. Coincubation of human amnion FL cell with 0.1 mumol/L of DL-111-1T for 24 h produced a 4.5-fold induction of AHH activity of the cell. This inducing ability was 3 times that of PB, but 1/2 that of 3-MC. According to these observations, DL-111-1T may also be considered as a polycyclic arylhydrocarbon type inducer toward human amnion FL cell's MFO which contains mainly of cytochrome P-448. UDS test showed that DL-111-1T itself could not induce UDS of FL cell.

Abortifacient Agents↗

Expression of Light-Harvesting Chlorophyll a/b-Protein Genes Is Phytochrome-Regulated in Etiolated Arabidopsis thaliana Seedlings.

Phytochrome action results in a large and rapid increase in the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein (LHCP) mRNA level in etiolated seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana: the RNA increase is detectable within 1 hour after 1 minute red illumination, reaches a maximum 30-fold higher than the dark level at ca. 2 hours, and decays back to dark levels by about 8 hours after the brief red illumination. S1 nuclease analysis distinguishes two kinds of mRNAs transcribed from the three members of the LHCP gene family previously characterized for Arabidopsis (LS Leutwiler, EM Meyerowitz, EM Tobin, 1986 Nucleic Acids Res 14: 4051-4064). One of these arises from the AB140 gene, while the other represents the product(s) of the AB165 and/or AB180 gene(s) (AB165/AB180 mRNA). In mature, white light-grown plants, the two kinds of mRNAs are present in nearly equal amounts. In contrast, in etiolated seedlings, 1 minute red light causes a sixfold greater increase in the level of AB140 mRNA than in the level of AB165/AB180 mRNA, although both levels are regulated by phytochrome action. The kinetics of the responses to 1 minute red light are similar for both kinds of transcripts. Additional evidence suggests that this differential expression is developmentally regulated. Because the AB140 gene offers an attractive target for further analysis of phytochrome-regulated gene expression in Arabidopsis, we have further characterized this gene by mapping its 5' and 3' transcript termini.

Journal Article↗

EGF receptors on TEA3A1 endocrine thymic epithelial cells.

Thymic endocrine epithelial cell line TEA3A1 can be maintained and passaged in a serum-free WAJC404A medium supplemented with insulin, transferrin, dexamethasone and EGF. EGF not only promotes the growth of these cells but also regulates the activation of phospholipase A2 enzyme activity. The binding of [125I]EGF to the TEA3A1 cells is temperature and time dependent, saturable and can be blocked by excess unlabelled EGF. Two classes of EGF receptors are found on these cells. One with Kd of 5 X 10(-11)M (approximately 3000 sites/cell) and the other with Kd of 5 X 10(-9)M (approximately 30,000 sites/cell). The resynthesis of EGF receptor in TEA3A1 cells after down-regulation requires about 24 hrs and can be blocked by both actinomycin D and cycloheximide.

Animals↗

A test using cultured cells with induced mixed-function oxygenase in the unscheduled DNA synthesis assay for detecting promutagens/procarcinogens.

The human FL cell line contains very low levels of constitutive AHH activity, but it could be greatly induced by NE, beta-NF and 3-MC, and induced slightly by PB. When two different types of inducer, for example, 3-MC and PB or 3-MC and NE were given in combination, an additive inductive effect was not observed. Both the constitutive and induced AHH in FL cells have characteristics of MFO, namely, NADPH-dependence and CO-sensitivity. The fact that the constitutive and induced AHH in FL cells could be inhibited by a known hydroxylase inhibitor 7,8-BF indicated that the AHH in FL cells belongs to the cytochrome P-448 dependent MFO type. After removal of inducer from the medium, the induced AHH activity remained at a high level for at least 24-36 h. By using AHH-induced FL cells in the UDS assay system for the detection of promutagens/procarcinogens, we found that AFB1 and 3-MC did not induce a UDS reaction in uninduced FL cells, while in beta-NF induced cells, 10(-6)-10(-4) M AFB1 and 10(-7)-10(-6) M 3-MC elicited a very significant UDS reaction, which was concordant with the results obtained in the UDS assay system using HeLa cells or FL cells supplemented with liver microsomes or using primary cultured hepatocytes as indicator cells. B(a)P elicited the UDS reaction at concentrations of 10(-6)-10(-3) M in beta-NF induced cells, whereas 10(-4)-10(-3) M was required in uninduced cells. The results above indicate that this new design is feasible, but further study is needed to assure its accuracy.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Deregulation of c-myc by translocation of the alpha-locus of the T-cell receptor in T-cell leukemias.

Two human T-cell leukemias carrying a t(8;14)(q24;q11) chromosome translocation were studied for rearrangements and expression of the c-myc oncogene. For one leukemia, rearrangement was detected in a region immediately distal (3') to the c-myc locus; no rearrangements of c-myc were observed in the second case (DeF). However, studies with hybrids between human and mouse leukemic T cells indicated that in the leukemic cells of DeF, the breakpoint in chromosome 14 occurred between genes for the variable (V alpha) and the constant (C alpha) regions for the alpha chain of the T-cell receptor. The C alpha locus had translocated to a region more than 38 kilobases 3' to the involved c-myc oncogene. Since human c-myc transcripts were expressed only in hybrids carrying the 8q+ chromosome but not in hybrids containing the normal chromosome 8, it is concluded that the translocation of the C alpha locus 3' to the c-myc oncogene can result in its transcriptional deregulation.

Animals↗

Regulation of immune responses by I-J gene products. VI. Recognition of I-E molecules by I-J-bearing suppressor factors.

Poly(Glu50Tyr50) (GT) is not immunogenic in most inbred mouse strains. GT injection produces an I-J--bearing, GT-specific T-cell--derived suppressor factor (GT-TsF1) in H-2b,d,k haplotype mice. GT-TsF1 generates second-order suppressor T cells (Ts2) in H-2a,d,k haplotype mice. Here, we show that in order for GT-TsF1 to act, the recipient strain must express I-E molecules. This suggests that T cells are not the primary target of GT-TsF1. GT-TsF1 can be presented by Ia+ A20-2J B lymphoma cells. GT-TsF1 presentation is blocked by anti-I-E, but not by anti--I-A, mAb, whereas GAT presentation is blocked by anti-I-A, but not by anti--I-E, mAbs. These data suggest that I-J recognizes (or is recognized by) I-E. The existence and role of I-J molecules in immune regulation are discussed in light of these data.

Animals↗