Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M G Battelli

Publications and source records attributed to M G Battelli.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Purification and properties of a new glutathione-dependent thiol:disulphide oxidoreductase from rat liver.

A new GSSG-dependent thiol:disulphide oxidoreductase was extensively purified from rat liver cytosol. The enzymic protein shows molecular weight 40 000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and 43 000 as determined by thin-layer gel filtration on Bio-Gel P-100. The pI is 8.1. This enzyme converts rat liver xanthine dehydrogenase into an oxidase, in the presence of oxidized glutathione. Other disulphide compounds are either inactive or far less active than oxidized glutathione in the enzymic oxidation of rat liver xanthine dehydrogenase. The enzyme also catalyses the reduction of the disulphide bond of ricin and acts as a thioltransferase and as a GSH:insulin transhydrogenase. The enzymic activity was measured in various organs of newborn and adult rats.

Animals↗

DNA repair after gamma radiation and superoxide dismutase activity in lymphocytes from subjects of far advanced age.

DNA repair after gamma radiation was studied in purified T lymphocytes from young and aged subjects. Two different assays were employed. In the first, T lymphocytes were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) for 72 h and then treated with hydroxyurea, irradiated with 30 K rads and pulsed with [3H]thymidine (TdR) for 4 h. In the second, T lymphocytes were first irradiated with graded doses of gamma rays (200-800 rads) and then stimulated with PHA, cultured for 72 h and pulsed with 3H-TdR for the last 6 h of culture. T lymphocytes from aged subjects showed a lack of DNA repair synthesis in the first assay whereas only minor differences were found in the second assay between the two groups, i.e., a certain degree of radioresistance in aged lymphocytes. Lymphocyte superoxide dismutase activity showed great individual variations in both groups and a slight increase in old subjects.

Adolescent↗

Milk xanthine oxidase type D (dehydrogenase) and type O (oxidase). Purification, interconversion and some properties.

1. The xanthine oxidase of cow's milk, crude or purified, appears as an oxidase (type O), and can be converted almost completely into a NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenase (type D) by treatment with dithioerythritol or dihydrolipoic acid, but only to a small extent by other thiols. 2. The D form of the enzyme is inhibited by NADH, which competes with NAD(+). 3. The kinetic constants of the two forms of the enzyme are similar to those of the corresponding forms of rat liver xanthine oxidase. 4. Milk xanthine oxidase is converted into an irreversible O form by pretreatment with chymotrypsin, papain or subtilisin, but only partially with trypsin. 5. The enzyme as purified shows a major faster band and a minor slower band on gel electrophoresis. The slower band is greatly reinforced after xanthine oxidase is converted into the irreversible O form by chymotrypsin.

Animals↗

On the distribution of ribosome-inactivating proteins amongst plants.

The extracts from various parts (mostly seeds) of 56 different plants were examined for inhibition of protein synthesis by a rabbit reticulocyte lysate. Most extracts inhibited protein synthesis with an ID50 (concentration giving 50% inhibition) of 100 micrograms extract protein per ml, or less. The extracts with high activity were partially purified by CM cellulose chromatography. Protein-containing fractions were separated which inhibited protein synthesis and resembled the ribosome-inactivating proteins from plants previously described. Thus, ribosome-inactivating proteins appear to be virtually ubiquitous in plants.

Animals↗

Toxicity of xanthine oxidoreductase to malignant B lymphocytes.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) were toxic to B lymphoma-derived Raji cells (positive for 8A monoclonal antibody, mAb). The sensitivity of these malignant cells to the hypoxanthine/XOR system was higher than that observed in peripheral human lymphocytes. The understanding of the mechanisms of cytotoxicity induced by XOR-produced ROS is essential in view of a possible clinical application. Cell death mostly had the feature of apoptosis and post-apoptotic necrosis and depended on the activity of XOR. Catalase, but not superoxide dismutase, protected cells from the toxicity of XOR, thus indicating that cell damage depended on the production of hydrogen peroxide. The toxicity of ROS was selectively targeted to malignant Raji cells by antibody-XOR conjugation, either directly, with an 8A-XOR conjugate, or indirectly, with an 8A mAb plus an anti-mouse IgG-XOR. Both direct and indirect immunotoxins induced apoptotic death to target cells in a dose-dependent manner. These conjugates showed no aspecific cytotoxicity in conditions very similar to the ex vivo treatment of cell suspension for bone marrow transplantation. Moreover, the prevalence of apoptotic death over necrosis may reduce the in vivo inflammatory response and its local and systemic consequences, thus becoming relevant in the construction of immunotoxins with therapeutic potential.

Animals↗

CD38 as a target of IB4 mAb carrying saporin-S6: design of an immunotoxin for ex vivo depletion of hematological CD38+ neoplasia.

An anti-CD38 mAb (IB4) coupled to saporin-S6, a type 1 ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP), was designed for ex vivo or loco-regional therapeutical applications in myeloma and lymphoma. The ability of this immunotoxin to eliminate CD38+ cells was studied in vitro on selected CD38+ human cell lines (Raji, HBL6, L540 and CEM) and on CD38+ neoplastic cells from a Non Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) patient. HBL6, Raji and L540 cells resulted very sensitive to the IB4/saporin-S6 conjugate, concentrations as low as 100 pM of the immunotoxin completely inhibited protein synthesis. CD38+ neoplastic cells from the NHL patient were completely eliminated after treatment with immunotoxin at 10 nM concentration. CFU-c rescue by bone marrow precursors was maintained after exposure to the immunotoxin. These results indicate that IB4/saporin-S6 is endowed with strong and specific cytotoxic effects on selected CD38+ tumor cells lineages. Consequently, it is reasonable to propose a clinical use of the IB4/saporin-S6 for ex vivo purging of unwanted cells (e.g. depletion of contaminating neoplastic cells in aphereses obtained from G-CSF-treated patients) or for loco-regional therapies of CD38+ tumors.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1↗