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M J Walker

Publications and source records attributed to M J Walker.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The common ovine Shiga toxin 2-containing Escherichia coli serotypes and human isolates of the same serotypes possess a Stx2d toxin type.

Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) has been reported as the main Shiga toxin associated with human disease. In addition, the Stx2 toxin type can have a profound impact on the degree of tissue damage in animal models. We have characterized the stx(2) subtype of 168 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates of which 146 were derived from ovine sources (principally feces and meat) and 22 were isolated from humans. The ovine STEC isolates were of serotypes that have been shown to occur commonly in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy sheep. The major stx(2) subtype in the ovine isolates was shown to be stx(2d-Ount) (119 of 146 [81.5%]) and was predominantly associated with serotypes O75:H(-)/H8/H40, O91:H(-), O123:H(-), O128:H2, and OR:H2. However, 17 of 18 (94.4%) ovine isolates of serotype O5:H(-) possessed a stx(2d-O111/OX3a) subtype. Furthermore, STEC isolates of serotypes commonly found in sheep and recovered from both clinical and nonclinical human infections also contained a stx(2d) (stx(2d-Ount/O111/OX3a)) subtype. These studies suggest that a specific stx(2) subtype(s) associates with serotype and may have important epidemiological implications for tracing sources of E. coli during outbreaks of STEC-associated diseases in humans.

Animals↗

Intratumoral injection of dendritic cells derived in vitro in patients with metastatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent initiators of immune responses, and the infiltration of DCs into tumors may confer an improved prognosis. Whether the injection of DCs directly into tumors can mediate biologic activity was examined. METHODS: Patients with metastatic dermal or subcutaneous tumors received granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor to increase the numbers of peripheral blood monocyte precursors. DCs were then generated from monocytes obtained by phlebotomy with granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor and interleukin-4 in autologous plasma. Tumors were injected at multiple sites with 30 million autologous DCs per tumor. RESULTS: Seven patients with melanoma and three patients with breast carcinoma were treated. Injections were well tolerated. Regression of the injected tumors, beginning as early as 4 days after injection, was observed in four patients with melanoma and in two patients with breast carcinoma. Biopsies of regressing lesions showed lymphocyte infiltration associated with DCs and necrosis. Neutrophils and macrophages were not evident. Lymphocytes expanded from the regressing tumors proliferated in response to heat shock proteins, HSP70 and gp96, derived from autologous tumor. The DCs injected produced interferon-alpha and expressed Fas ligand mRNA but did not exhibit cytolytic activity in vitro. Expression of the costimulatory molecule, B7-2 (CD86), decreased on DCs after intratumoral injection. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrates that DCs derived in vitro can exist viably after intratumoral injection and can mediate biologic activity in situ. Tumor-derived heat shock proteins may be involved in the antitumor activity observed.

Adult↗

Co-expression of the Bordetella pertussis leader peptidase I results in enhanced processing and expression of the pertussis toxin S1 subunit in Escherichia coli.

Bordetella pertussis is the causative agent of whooping cough. Traditional vaccines against this disease are inherently reactogenic, thus research is currently focussed on the production of less reactive, acellular vaccines. Expression of candidate antigens for these vaccines in Escherichia coli would be preferable, however, several B. pertussis antigens undergo incorrect post-translational processing in E. coli. The leader peptidase gene (lep) of B. pertussis encodes a protein of 294 amino acid residues that shares homology with other prokaryote leader peptidase I sequences. Hydrophilicity analysis based on the predicted amino acid sequence has demonstrated a similar membrane topology to that of E. coli and Salmonella typhimurium leader peptidase I. Co-expression of the B. pertussis lep gene in E. coli strain TOPP2 expressing the pertussis toxin S1 subunit was found to markedly increase the expression and post-translational processing of the S1 protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Ischaemia selectivity confers efficacy for suppression of ischaemia-induced arrhythmias in rats.

Eight novel and three reference antiarrhythmics were investigated in anaesthetised rats for antiarrhythmic actions, as well as for effects on the electrocardiogram (ECG) under normal and "simulated ischaemic" conditions. In rats subjected to coronary artery occlusion lidocaine, (+/-)-trans-[2-(4-morpholinyl)-cyclohexyl]naphthyl-1-acetate, RSD1000 and (+/-)-trans-[2-(4-morpholinyl)-cyclohexyl]-2-(1-naphthyl)propionate, RSD1030, (Group A) produced dose-related and complete antiarrhythmic protection. Group B compounds, such as (+/-)-trans-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]-3, 4-dichlorocinnamamide, RSD995, produced complete antiarrhythmic protection but had aberrant dose-response curves. Group C compounds, such as quinidine and flecainide, failed to give full antiarrhythmic protection and had shallow dose-response curves. The potency of Group A compounds, but not Group B or C compounds, for ECG actions indicative of Na(+) channel blockade (prolongation of PR and QRS intervals) were significantly increased under "simulated ischaemic" conditions ([K(+)] 10 mM and pH 6.4) in isolated rat hearts. Thus, compounds with ischaemia-selective actions provided superior protection against ischaemia-induced arrhythmias in rats.

Animals↗

Expression and purification of recombinant human indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, the first and rate-limiting enzyme in human tryptophan metabolism, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many diseases. The human enzyme was expressed in Escherichia coli EC538 (pREP4) as a fusion protein to a hexahistidyl tag and purified to homogeneity in terms of electrophoretic and mass spectroscopic analysis, by a combination of phosphocellulose and nickel-agarose affinity chromatography. The yield of the fusion protein was 1.4 mg per liter of bacterial culture with an overall recovery of 56% from the crude extract. When the culture medium was supplemented with 7 microM hemin, the purified protein contained 0.8 mol of heme per mole of enzyme and exhibited an absorption spectrum consistent with the ferric form of hemoprotein. The pI value of the recombinant enzyme was 7.09 compared with 6.9 for the native enzyme. This was as expected from the addition of the hexahistidyl tag. Similar to the native enzyme, the recombinant enzyme required methylene blue and ascorbic acid for enzyme activity and oxidized not only l-tryptophan but also d-tryptophan and 5-hydroxy-l-tryptophan. The molecular activities for these substrates and their K(m) values were similar to those of the native enzyme, indicating that the addition of the hexahistidyl tag did not significantly affect catalytic activity. The recombinant protein can therefore be used to investigate properties of the native enzyme. This will aid the development of specific inhibitors of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, which may be effective in halting disease progression.

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗

Epigenetic PTEN silencing in malignant melanomas without PTEN mutation.

A tumor suppressor gene at 10q 23.3, designated PTEN, encoding a dual specificity phosphatase with lipid and protein phosphatase activity, has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of a variety of human cancers. Germline mutations in PTEN cause Cowden syndrome (CS), which is characterized by multiple hamartomas and a high risk of breast and thyroid cancers. Frequent loss of heterozygosity at 10q is found in both early and advanced-stage sporadic melanomas; however, mutations or deletions in PTEN are detected mainly in melanoma cell lines. In this study, we examined PTEN expression in 34 unselected sporadic melanomas (4 primary melanomas, 30 metastases) using immunohistochemistry and correlated this with the results of structural studies of this gene. Immunostaining of 34 melanoma samples revealed no PTEN expression in 5 (15%) and low PTEN expression in 17 (50%), whereas the rest of the tumors (35%) had high levels of expression. Hemizygous deletion was found in 32% of the tumors but neither intragenic PTEN mutation nor biallelic deletion was found in any of the samples. Of the 5 melanomas showing no PTEN expression, 4 had no mutation or deletion of PTEN. Of the 13 tumors having weak PTEN immunoreactivity and informative loss of heterozygosity results, 6 had evidence of hemizygous allelic loss of PTEN while the remaining 7 had intact PTEN. These results strongly support PTEN as a major tumor suppressor on 10q involved in melanoma tumorigenesis and suggest an epigenetic mechanism of biallelic functional inactivation not previously observed in other cancers where PTEN might be involved.

DNA Mutational Analysis↗

RSD1019 suppresses ischaemia-induced monophasic action potential shortening and arrhythmias in anaesthetized rabbits.

The electrophysiological actions of lidocaine, tedisamil and RSD1019 were assessed on normal and ischaemic cardiac tissue using monophasic action potentials (MAPs) recorded from the epicardium of anaesthetized rabbits. Drug effects on ischaemia-induced arrhythmias were assessed simultaneously in the same rabbits. Lidocaine, infused at 2.5, 5 and 10 micromol kg(-1) min(-1) i.v., accelerated and worsened the electrophysiological derangement caused by ischaemia, had profibrillatory actions and reduced the time to the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation (VF) relative to controls. Tedisamil, infused at 0.063, 0.125 and 0.25 micromol kg(-1) min(-1) i.v., prolonged MAP duration at 90% repolarization (MAPD(90%)) before induction of ischaemia in a dose-related manner; however, this effect was not maintained 5 min after induction of ischaemia. Tedisamil had no significant antiarrhythmic actions over the dose-range tested. RSD1019, infused at 2, 4 and 8 micromol kg(-1) min(-1) i.v., produced a small increase in MAPD(90%) before induction of ischaemia and only at the highest dose tested. In contrast to tedisamil, RSD1019 suppressed ischaemia-induced MAP shortening assessed 5 min after induction of ischaemia. This effect was dose-related. RSD1019 completely prevented ischaemia-induced tachyarrhythmias at the mid and highest infusion levels tested. The results of this study illustrate a pathologically targeted approach for preventing ischaemia-induced arrhythmias. Suppression of ischaemia-induced MAP shortening, demonstrated herein for RSD1019, represents a novel antifibrillatory approach.

Action Potentials↗

Role of phosphoglucomutase of Bordetella bronchiseptica in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis and virulence.

The phosphoglucomutase (PGM)-encoding gene of Bordetella bronchiseptica is required for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis. An insertion mutant of the wild-type B. bronchiseptica strain BB7865 which disrupted LPS biosynthesis was created and characterized (BB7865pgm). Genetic analysis of the mutated gene showed it shares high identity with PGM genes of various bacterial species and forms part of an operon which also encompasses the gene encoding phosphoglucose isomerase. Functional assays for PGM revealed that enzyme activity is expressed in both bvg-positive and bvg-negative strains of B. bronchiseptica and is substantially reduced in BB7865pgm. Complementation of the mutated PGM gene with that from BB7865 restored the wild-type condition for all phenotypes tested. The ability of the mutant BB7865pgm to survive within J774. A1 cells was significantly reduced at 2 h (40% reduction) and 24 h (56% reduction) postinfection. BB7865pgm was also significantly attenuated in its ability to survive in vivo following intranasal infection of mice, being effectively cleared from the lungs within 4 days, whereas the wild-type strain persisted at least 35 days. The activities of superoxide dismutase, urease, and acid phosphatase were unaffected in the PGM-deficient strain. In contrast, the inability to produce wild-type LPS resulted in a reduced bacterial resistance to oxidative stress and a higher susceptibility to the antimicrobial peptide cecropin P.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Expression of urease does not affect the ability of Bordetella bronchiseptica to colonise and persist in the murine respiratory tract.

To investigate the role played by urease during the Bordetella bronchiseptica infection process, the ability to colonise and persist in the mouse respiratory tract of a urease-negative B. bronchiseptica BB7865 and a BB7865 derivative constitutively expressing urease was compared with that of the wild-type strain. The results obtained showed that neither constitutive expression nor abolishment of urease activity had any significant effect on the course of B. bronchiseptica infection. Therefore, under our experimental conditions, urease is not essential for B. bronchiseptica to colonise and persist within the murine host.

Animals↗

Regulation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, the first enzyme in UV filter biosynthesis in the human lens. Relevance for senile nuclear cataract.

3-Hydroxykynurenine (3OHKyn), the precursor of UV filters in human lens, is highly autooxidizable, generates H2O2, and binds to lens proteins, yielding a tanned/yellow product resembling senile nuclear cataractous materials. Thus, if 3OHkyn can be shown to be the causative agent in cataract, it may be possible to prevent the disease by lowering the level of 3OHKyn. To this end, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, the first enzyme in UV filter synthesis, was studied using lens epithelial cell lines. The results indicated that the IDO expression is mediated by IFN-gamma. Immuno-suppressants which inhibit production of IFN-gamma may act as anti-cataract agents. Another way to lower the level of 3OHKyn is to use specific inhibitors for IDO. A recombinant human IDO was expressed to develop the inhibitors.

Aged↗

Routine preoperative lymphoscintigraphy is not necessary prior to sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: This prospective study was performed to ascertain the added benefit of lymphoscintigraphy to a standard method of intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer. METHODS: Patients with invasive breast cancer were injected with 99mTc sulfur colloid prior to sentinel node biopsy; preoperative lymphoscintigraphy was then performed in half of the patient population. RESULTS: Sentinel node identification was possible in 45 of 50 patients (90%). All 14 patients (31%) with axillary nodal metastases had at least one histologically positive sentinel node (0% false negative rate). Lymphoscintigraphy revealed sentinel nodes in 17 of the 24 patients (70.8%) imaged. All 17 of these patients had one or more axillary sentinel nodes identified using intraoperative lymphatic mapping. In addition, 5 of 7 patients with a negative preoperative lymphoscintogram had an axillary sentinel lymph node(s) identified intraoperatively. None of the tumors showed drainage to the internal mammary lymph node chain by lymphoscintigraphy despite the fact that there were 5 patients with inner quadrant tumors. There was no significant advantage with respect to sentinel lymph node localization (91.7% versus 88.5%, P = not significant) or false negative rate (0%, both groups, P = not significant) in the group undergoing preoperative lymphoscintigraphy when compared with the patients in whom lymphoscintigraphy was not performed. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy adds little additional information to intraoperative lymphatic mapping, and its routine use is not justified.

Axilla↗

Cardiac transplantation does not effect ischaemia-induced arrhythmias in rats.

OBJECTIVE: In many species arrhythmias induced by myocardial ischaemia appear to be in part dependent upon cardiac sympathetic nerves. However, previous experiments in rats did not suggest that myocardial or other catecholamines are involved in ischaemic arrhythmogenesis in this species. The aim of this study was to investigate this further using transplanted hearts. METHODS: We transplanted 'donated' hearts onto the abdominal aorta of recipient rats and, at varying periods after transplantation, subjected donated and recipient hearts to occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. Donated and recipient hearts were tested at various times after transplantation for responsiveness to drugs acting upon aspects of the autonomic nervous system. The intention of this latter study was to assess the status of innervation and receptors simultaneously in both donated and recipient hearts. RESULTS: Donated (transplanted) hearts showed responses consistent with denervation and receptor supersensitivity. Changes varied with the duration of the transplant. Over the same period recipient hearts did not change in responsiveness to drugs. When subjected to coronary artery occlusion, transplanted hearts responded to occlusion with the same frequency and severity of arrhythmias as recipient and other control hearts, regardless of the duration of transplant, or sensitivity to drugs. CONCLUSIONS: The results of these experiments suggest that cardiac innervation is not an important factor in the genesis of ischaemia-induced arrhythmias in rats.

Acetylcholine↗

Use of a sentinel system for field measurements of Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst inactivation in soil and animal waste.

A small-volume sentinel chamber was developed to assess the effects of environmental stresses on survival of sucrose-Percoll-purified Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in soil and animal wastes. Chambers were tested for their ability to equilibrate with external chemical and moisture conditions. Sentinel oocysts were then exposed to stresses of the external environment that affected their viability (potential infectivity), as indicated by results of a dye permeability assay. Preliminary laboratory experiments indicated that temperatures between 35 and 50 degrees C and decreases in soil water potential (-0.003 to -3.20 MPa) increased oocyst inactivation rates. The effects of two common animal waste management practices on oocyst survival were investigated on three dairy farms in Delaware County, N.Y., within the New York City watershed: (i) piling wastes from dairy youngstock (including neonatal calves) and (ii) spreading wastes as a soil amendment on an agricultural field. Sentinel containers filled with air-dried and sieved (2-mm mesh) youngstock waste or field soil were wetted and inoculated with 2 million oocysts in an aqueous suspension and then placed in waste piles on two different farms and in soil within a cropped field on one farm. Controls consisted of purified oocysts in either phosphate-buffered saline or distilled water contained in sealed microcentrifuge tubes. Two microdata loggers recorded the ambient temperature at each field site. Sentinel experiments were conducted during the fall and winter (1996 to 1997) and winter (1998). Sentinel containers and controls were removed at 2- to 4-week intervals, and oocysts were extracted and tested by the dye permeability assay. The proportions of potentially infective oocysts exposed to the soil and waste pile material decreased more rapidly than their counterpart controls exposed to buffer or water, indicating that factors other than temperature affected oocyst inactivation in the waste piles and soil. The effect of soil freeze-thaw cycles was evident in the large proportion of empty sentinel oocysts. The potentially infective sentinel oocysts were reduced to <1% while the proportions in controls did not decrease below 50% potentially infective during the first field experiment. Microscopic observations of empty oocyst fragments indicated that abrasive effects of soil particles were a factor in oocyst inactivation. A similar pattern was observed in a second field experiment at the same site.

Animal Husbandry↗

RSD1000: a novel antiarrhythmic agent with increased potency under acidic and high-potassium conditions.

This study reports the use of a novel agent, RSD1000 [(+/-)-trans-[2-(4-morpholinyl)cyclohexyl]naphthalene-1-acetate mono hydrochloride], to test the hypothesis that a drug with pKa close to the pH found in ischemic tissue may have selective antiarrhythmic actions against ischemia-induced arrhythmias. The antiarrhythmic ED50 for RSD1000 against ischemic arrhythmias was 2.5 +/- 0.1 micromol/kg/min in rats. This value was significantly lower than doses that suppressed electrically induced arrhythmias. In isolated rat hearts, RSD1000 was approximately 40 times more potent in producing ECG changes (i.e., P-R and QRS prolongation) in acid (pHo = 6.4) and high [K+]o (10.8 mM) buffer than in normal buffer (pHo = 7.4; [K+]o = 3.4 mM). In patch-clamped, whole-cell rat cardiac myocytes, inhibition of sodium (INa) currents by RSD1000 was pH- and use-dependent. The IC50 for INa blockade was lower (P <.05) in acid (0.8 +/- 0.1 microM) than in pH 7.3 (2.9 +/- 0.3 microM), respectively, whereas the IC50 for blockade of transient outward potassium current (ITO) at pH = 6.4 and 7.3 was 3.3 +/- 0.4 and 2.8 +/- 0.1 microM, respectively. Mixed ion channel block in ischemic myocardium with minimal effects on normal cardiac tissue, as governed by the low pKa of RSD1000, may account for its antiarrhythmic activity against ischemia-induced arrhythmias.

Animals↗

Pharmacology--a unique discipline for unique questions?

This article discusses the nature and responsibilities of the biomedical subject known as pharmacology. It will attempt to show how pharmacology is a very special subject that is uniquely positioned to ask fundamental questions about drugs, such as how they produce their actions, and how they may be used more effectively in man. Furthermore, pharmacology is a most important subject to the pharmaceutical industry as it is pharmacology, combined with medicinal chemistry and toxicology, that is responsible for the introduction of the vast majority of new drugs. Thus, pharmacologists are to be found in universities, research institutes and industry. In universities, pharmacologists are concerned more with discovering new drug-like entities in the body and natural world and in understanding how current drugs work. In industry, pharmacologists seek new drugs. Over the last decade there have been many discoveries in molecular biology, the new biology. The enthusiasm and revolutionary spirit which greets such discoveries leads to an assumption by some that pharmacology in its present form has been rendered redundant. This article refutes such a conclusion and shows how pharmacology has unique attributes and approaches that are as important now as they always were. Indeed, it argues for improvements in the understanding of pharmacology and how it remains a unique and special subject that should be nurtured.

Forecasting↗

Characterisation of the urease gene cluster in Bordetella bronchiseptica.

Bordetella bronchiseptica is a common ureolytic mammalian respiratory pathogen. The urease operon of this organism is encoded within an 8.9 kb DNA fragment which contains the structural genes (ureA, ureB and ureC) and accessory genes (ureD and ureG) homologous to other urease genes. Uniquely, the ureE and ureF genes are fused to form a hybrid protein, UreEF, which may result in tighter coordination of the putative functions of the individual accessory genes, nickel donation to the urease active site, and prevention of nickel incorporation until correct formation of the active site, respectively. The operon contains an additional open reading frame, UreJ, found only also in the Alcaligenes eutrophus urease operon. UreJ is also 37% homologous with HupE from Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae, and may potentially be involved in nickel transport. A transcriptional activator, designated Bordetella bronchiseptica urease regulator (BbuR), is located directly upstream and in the opposite orientation to the urease operon. BbuR shares homology with members of the LysR regulatory protein family. LysR proteins have been shown to regulate urease in Klebsiella aerogenes (NAC), and catalase in Escherichia coli (OxyR), which offers the intracellular bacterium protection from phagolysosome damage. A putative BbuR binding site (5'-ATA-N9-TAT-3'), identical to the NAC-binding consensus sequence, was found 27 bp upstream of the urease promoter in B. bronchiseptica. We hypothesise that BbuR controls urease expression which is involved in protection of intracellular B. bronchiseptica from phagolysosomal damage. Comparison of the urease promoter regions of B. bronchiseptica, Bordetella parapertussis ATCC15311 and the urease-negative strain B. pertussis Tohama I revealed no differences in the ureD open reading frame between each species. A cluster of mutations in both B. pertussis and B. parapertussis was found upstream of the urease promoter, in a region proximal to the putative bbuR promoter. The inability of B. pertussis to produce urease may therefore reflect mutations in regulatory elements, and not mutations in the urease locus itself.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Glibenclamide does not prevent action potential shortening induced by ischemia in anesthetized rabbits but reduces ischemia-induced arrhythmias.

The possible ischemia-selective Class III anti-arrhythmic action (selective action potential widening in ischemia) of the IKATP blocker glibenclamide was assessed in anesthetized rabbits during ischemia induced by complete occlusion of a coronary artery. Coronary artery occlusion caused an initial prolongation in monophasic action potential (MAP) duration at 90% repolarization from 145 +/- 2.8 ms (mean +/- S.E.M., n = 14) to 162 +/- 4.5 ms (P < 0.05) 1 min after ischemia. This was followed by a rapid and sustained shortening to 104 +/- 4.9 ms 5 min after the onset of ischemia (P < 0.05 from both values). Glibenclamide (3, 6, 12 or 24 mg/kg, i.v.) caused a statistically significant, dose-related reduction in the rate of MAP shortening induced by ischemia, whereas 0.3 mg/kg was without effect. The effective dose for a 50% maximal effect (ED50) was 13 +/- 0.8 mg/kg (n = 28). Despite this, there was no effect on the final magnitude of MAP shortening. Five min after induction of ischemia, there were no longer any detectable effects of glibenclamide on MAP duration. Glibenclamide significantly reduced the incidence of ventricular fibrillation, although the effect was not dose related. No differences were found in the latency to ventricular fibrillation between groups. Ventricular fibrillation occurred 10.6 +/- 1.1 min (n = 19) after the start of ischemia. In a similar experiment, 0.3 mg/kg glibenclamide i.v. did not affect the rate of MAP shortening, the final magnitude of MAP shortening or the occurrence of arrhythmias caused by ischemia. Since the action potential widening effects of glibenclamide in ischemic tissue were not observed at the time when arrhythmias occurred, it is unlikely that an ischemia-selective Class III anti-arrhythmic action contributes to the limited antiarrhythmic actions of glibenclamide.

Action Potentials↗