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Biomedical subjects

L You

Publications and source records attributed to L You.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

[Study on the compatibility of slip casting aluminous ceramic crowns]

One of the key factors for a good slip casting aluminous ceramic crown is good compatibility between its core material and the veneering porcelain.The chemical and thermal compatibility of two slip casting aluminous ceramic crown systems(In-Ceram and GI-I) were investigated by means of SEM and EDAX,thermal shock tests were also performed to evaluate the crazing resistance.The results showed: the crazing resistance of In-Ceram was 158 degrees centigrade,and that of GI-I was degrees centigrade;there existed tightly bonded interfaces between the slip casting aluminous ceramic cores and the veneering porcelains in both of the two systems,where ion transferences were found.The results also suggested good compatibility of the two slip casting aluminous ceramic crown systems.

Journal Article↗

Carcinogenicity, DNA adduct formation and K-ras activation by 7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole in strain A/J mouse lung.

N-Heterocyclic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (NHA) are environmental pollutants formed during the combustion of organic materials. 7-H-Dibenzo[c,g]carbazole (DBC) is a potent carcinogen in lung, liver and skin. We undertook these studies to determine whether tissue specificity for DBC lung carcinogenicity in the strain A/J mouse is mirrored by formation of DBC-DNA adducts in lung tissue and whether these adducts are consistent with mutation patterns in the K-ras gene. Strain A/J mice were given a single i.p. injection of DBC at doses of 0, 5, 10, 20 or 40 mg/kg and levels of DNA adducts in the lung were monitored by 32P-postlabeling on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 21. The remaining animals were sacrificed 8 months after DBC treatment and lung tumor multiplicity and K-ras mutation patterns in the tumors were determined. The lung tumor response to DBC was dose related, with an average of 4.7 +/- 1.2 tumors/mouse at 5 mg/kg and 48.1 +/- 5.5 tumors/mouse at 40 mg/kg. As many as seven DBC-DNA adducts were observed in the lung. DNA binding levels in the lung were highest at 40 mg/kg, with maximum binding at 5-7 days. At lower dose levels the maximum binding to DNA decreased and shifted to earlier time points. The DBC-DNA adduct in the lung with the highest level of binding at all dose levels was DBC-DNA adduct 3. The majority of DBC-induced mutations in the K-ras gene in the lung were A-->T (80%) transversions in the third base of codon 61, a mutation that has not been previously observed in chemically induced lung tumors in strain A/J mice.

Animals↗

Directed evolution of subtilisin E in Bacillus subtilis to enhance total activity in aqueous dimethylformamide.

Sequential rounds of error-prone PCR to introduce random mutations and screening of the resultant mutant libraries have been used to enhance the total catalytic activity of subtilisin E significantly in a non-natural environment, aqueous dimethylformamide (DMF). Seven DNA substitutions coding for three new amino acid substitutions were identified in a mutant isolated after two additional generations of directed evolution carried out on 10M subtilisin E, previously "evolved' to increase its specific activity in DMF. A Bacillus subtilis-Escherichia coli shuttle vector was developed in order to increase the size of the mutant library that could be established in B.subtilis and the stringency of the screening process was increased to reflect total as well as specific activity. This directed evolution approach has been extremely effective for improving enzyme activity in a non-natural environment: the resulting-evolved 13M subtilisin exhibits specific catalytic efficiency towards the hydrolysis of a peptide substrate succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide in 60% DMF solution that is three times that of the parent 10M and 471 times that of wild type subtilisin E. The total activity of the 13M culture supernatant is enhanced 16-fold over that of the parent 10M.

Anilides↗

Cloning, sequencing and analysis of a gene encoding Escherichia coli proline dehydrogenase.

Using a genomic subtraction technique, we cloned a DNA sequence that is present in wild-type Escherichia coli strain CSH4 but is missing in a presumptive proline dehydrogenase deletion mutant RM2. Experimental evidence indicated that the cloned fragment codes for proline dehydrogenase (EC 1.5.99.8) since RM2 cells transformed with a plasmid containing this sequence was able to survive on minimal medium supplemented with proline as the sole nitrogen and carbon sources. The cloned DNA fragment has an open reading frame of 3942 bp and encodes a protein of 1313 amino acids with a calculated Mr of 143,808. The deduced amino acid sequence of the E. coli proline dehydrogenase has an 84.9% homology to the previously reported Salmonella typhimurium putA gene but it is 111 amino acids longer at the C-terminal than the latter.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Frameshift mutation in codon 176 of the p53 gene in rat esophageal epithelial cells transformed by benzo[a]pyrene dihydrodiol.

Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene have been associated with exposure to environmental chemical carcinogens. Cultured rat esophageal epithelial cells were transformed in vitro by treatment with benzo[a]pyrene dihydrodiol (BP-DHD). A BP-DHD-transformed cell line and control cell lines were analyzed for mutations in the p53 gene and in the Ha-ras gene by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of polymerase chain reaction-amplified products and direct DNA sequencing. The deletion of one cytosine in codons 174-176 (TGCCCCCAC-->TGCCCCAC) of the p53 gene was found only in the BP-DHD-transformed cell line. The BP-DHD-transformed cells were highly invasive and tumorigenic when transplanted into syngeneic rats, whereas control lines either were nontumorigenic or formed epithelial cysts. BP-DHD-transformed cells and control lines were negative for mutations in the Ha-ras gene. Our results suggest that the tumorigenic potential of the BP-DHD-transformed cell line is associated with a frameshift mutation in codon 176 of the p53 gene but not with mutations in the Ha-ras gene. The G/C-rich codons 174-176 in the rat p53 gene may be specific targets for BP-DHD.

Animals↗

Morphometric evaluation on myocardial protection of cold crystalloid versus warm blood cardioplegia.

Twenty patients undergoing open-heart valve replacement were divided randomly into two groups in this study; intermittent perfusion of cold crystalloid (St. Thomas Hospital solution) with hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) (hypothermic group) and continuous administration of warm blood cardioplegia with normothermic CPB (normothermic group) respectively. Tissue samples were taken from the right atrium before weaning from CPB and from the right appendage 30 minutes after removal of the cross-clamp. The results of pathological study in these two groups were as follows: the structural alterations were most severe during the ischemic period in the hypothermic group. Damages of the myocardial mitochondria examined with transmission electron microscope were found more severe in the hypothermic group than in the normothermic group, and in the reperfusion period than in the ischemic period. Loss of integrity of the mitochondrial membrane could be noted during reperfusion in the hypothermic group. The surface to volume ratios of mitochondria of each period of the two groups were calculated by computerizing the microphotographs of the myocardium. It was shown that the average of the surface to volume ratios was smallest in the reperfusion period in the normothermic group. It seemed that the volumes of the mitochondria were larger in the warm group than in the cold one. Probably the results were due to more severe damages of the mitochondrial membranes in the hypothermic group, which led to the release of the contents out of the mitochondria while in the normothermic group, the sodium-pump was disordered and it made the mitochondria swell. Pathologically, blood cardioplegic perfusion with the use of normothermic CPB is a feasible method for myocardial protection in open-heart surgery.

Bicarbonates↗

Comparisons between operant response and 1,1,1-trichloroethane toxicokinetics in mouse blood and brain.

The effect of 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TRI) inhalation on operant response was evaluated in relation to the concentration of TRI in blood and brain tissue in mice during exposure. Male CD-1 mice were trained to lever-press for an evaporated milk reinforcer on a variable interval (VI 60) schedule for 2 h. Trained mice were then exposed to either 3500 or 5000 ppm TRI for 100 min, and the changes in the schedule-controlled performance were measured. Additional groups of mice were exposed under the same conditions as those used in the behavioral study and sacrificed at various times during exposure, and the blood and brain samples were collected and subsequently analyzed for TRI content by headspace gas chromatography. Uptake of TRI into blood and brain was rapid, with near steady-state levels reached after approximately 40-60 min of exposure. Inhalation of 5000 ppm, but not 3500 ppm TRI was seen to cause inhibition of operant response, starting approximately 30 min following the initiation of inhalation exposure and beginning to recover after 80 min of exposure. The threshold concentrations for the maximal behavioral inhibition were approximately 110 micrograms/g and 130 micrograms/ml in mouse brain and blood, respectively. It appears that in addition to TRI concentrations in blood and brain tissue, the time it takes to reach the apparent threshold TRI concentration was also a determinant for the onset of TRI neurobehavioral depression.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Tumor multiplicity, DNA adducts and K-ras mutation pattern of 5-methylchrysene in strain A/J mouse lung.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the carcinogenic potential of 5-methylchrysene (5-MeC) in strain A/J mouse lung and to correlate the 5-MeC-DNA adduct profile in lung tissue with the mutation spectrum in the K-ras gene of lung tumors. Strain A/J mice received a single i.p. injection of 5-MeC at doses of 10, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg and after 24, 48 and 72 h their lungs were collected for DNA adduct analysis. Eight months later, lungs from the remaining mice were harvested and the lung tumors counted and collected for subsequent mutational analysis of the K-ras gene. 5-MeC was found to be a potent lung carcinogen in strain A/J mice, inducing more than 100 tumors/mouse at a concentration of 200 mg/kg. Six 5-MeC-DNA adducts were observed; one adduct comigrated with the standard N2-deoxyguanosine adduct of 5-MeC-diol-epoxide I [1R,2S,3S-trihydroxy-4R-(N2-deoxy-guanosyl-3'-phosphate)- 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-5-methyl-chrysene], derived from the bay-region diol-epoxide of 5-MeC. DNAs isolated from 5-MeC-induced lung tumors were evaluated for activating mutations in the K-ras gene by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism and direct DNA sequencing analysis. Mutations were detected in 44 of 49 (90%) 5-MeC-induced tumors and the mutations were GGT-->TGT (50%), GGT-->GTT (23%) and GGT-->CGT (27%) in codon 12 of the gene. These results suggest that the N2-deoxyguanosine adduct of 5-MeC-diol-epoxide I may be one of the promutagenic adducts of 5-MeC in strain A/J mouse lung.

Animals↗

Allele-specific activation and expression of the K-ras gene in hybrid mouse lung tumors induced by chemical carcinogens.

A mouse hybrid, (C3H x A/J)F1 or C3A, was developed by crossing male A/J mice (high lung tumor susceptibility) with female C3H mice (low lung tumor susceptibility). The lung tumor responses of the C3A mice to dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) or benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) were found to be intermediate between those of the two parental strains. Mutational activation of the K-ras gene was found at a high frequency in both the B[a]P- and DMN-induced C3A lung tumors. To explore the genetic basis of the K-ras gene involvement in mouse lung tumor susceptibility, the parental origin of the K-ras oncogene in the chemically induced C3A lung tumors was determined. K-ras oncogenes were found on the allele inherited from the susceptible A/J parent in 14/16 of DMN-induced tumors and 15/17 of B[a]P-induced tumors from C3A mice. Furthermore, the K-ras mRNA transcribed from the A/J allele was 5-20 times more than C3H K-ras transcripts in 10/10 DMN-induced and 10/10 B[a]P-induced C3A lung tumors. These data suggest that an activated A/J K-ras allele could be more tumorigenic than an activated C3H allele due to the differential expression of the two alleles in lung cells.

Alleles↗