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Consumer Behavior↗
Biomedical subjects
M P Thompson
Publications and source records attributed to M P Thompson.
Brown adipose tissue in lean and fat selection lines of sheep identified by immunodetection of uncoupling protein in western blots of tissue homogenates.
1. Uncoupling protein (UCP) was purified from perirenal adipose tissue of 2-day-old lambs by a procedure involving Triton solubilization and hydroxyapatite treatment. It has an apparent Mr of 34,000. 2. Rabbit anti-sheep UCP and rabbit anti-rat UCP each cross-reacted with both rat and sheep UCP in Western blots, indicating that the major antigenic determinants of the sheep UCP and rat UCP are similar. 3. In Western blots, the anti-sheep UCP showed tissue specificity by detecting a band corresponding to UCP only in brown adipose tissue, but not in heart or liver homogenates. 4. The Western blotting procedure was used to analyse sheep tissues. UCP was detected in samples of perirenal, omental, back and lymph node fat from 2-day-old lambs, but not in heart, liver, muscle or kidney samples. 5. UCP was not detected in any tissue samples from 34-day-old or 7-month-old lambs. 6. Comparison of the amount of UCP in perirenal fat of 2-day-old lambs from lean, fat and control selection lines, using the Western blotting procedure, showed no apparent difference.
Adipose Tissue↗
Purification and Characterization of Calmodulins from Papaver somniferum and Euphorbia lathyris.
Calmodulins (CaM) were isolated and characterized from two well-known latex producing plants, Papaver somniferum and Euphorbia lathyris. The molecular weights of both were determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to be 17,000 comparable to that of bovine brain CaM. Amino acid compositions also compared similarly with those of known CaMs, with regard to the presence of trimethyllysine and the ratio of phenylalanine to tyrosine. The Cornish-Bowden equation (SDeltan) revealed strong statistical correlations of P. somniferum and E. lathyris CaM with those of other plants and animals, although their amino acid compositions were not identical. Both plant CaM stimulated CaM dependent cAMP phosphodiesterase: for Papaver somniferum the K(a) was found to be 1.09 nanomolar and for Euphorbia lathyris, 2.01 nanomolar.
Journal Article↗
Phylogenetic variations in the calcium-dependent electrophoretic shift of alpha-lactalbumin.
alpha-Lactalbumin undergoes a calcium-dependent electrophoretic shift at pH 8.3. When Ca2+ is removed by a chelator, the mobility of the protein increases, reflecting the exposure of negative electrical charges. The shift, however, is not observed by electrophoresis in the presence of SDS, which demonstrates that alpha-lactalbumin does not undergo a measurable conformational change upon debinding of Ca2+. Relative electrophoretic mobilities vary from 1.0 (no shift) to 1.4 among alpha-lactalbumins of different orders of mammals. The differences suggest a variable number of gram atoms of Ca2+ bound to alpha-lactalbumin or substitution of amino acid Ca2+ ligands in the calcium-binding loop.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
The calcium-dependent electrophoretic shift of alpha-lactalbumin, the modifier protein of galactosyl transferase.
alpha-Lactalbumin, the modifier protein of galactosyl transferase in the synthesis of lactose by the mammary gland, has been shown to undergo a Ca2+-dependent electrophoretic shift. Such shifts, characteristic of most calcium modulated proteins, are related to gross conformational changes upon binding calcium when detected in the presence of detergent (SDS-PAGE). However, we detected the calcium shift for alpha-lactalbumin using non-denaturing PAGE (ND-PAGE) where electrical charge changes are observed upon binding calcium. In order for a shift to be observed between the apo and calcium bound protein, calcium ion binding to proteins must have minimal dissociation constants (Kdiss) of 10(-7) M; alpha-lactalbumin is reported to bind calcium at Kdiss = 10(-10) to 10(-12) M. The electrophoretic shift identifies alpha-lactalbumin in complex milk whey patterns of many species of mammals.
Animals↗
Calcium-induced associations of the caseins: a thermodynamic linkage approach to precipitation and resolubilization.
Calcium-induced changes in protein solubility play a role in a variety of important biological processes including the deposition of bone and dentin and the secretion of milk. The phenomena of salt-induced (calcium) precipitation of proteins (salting-out), and the resolubilization of these proteins at higher salt concentrations (salting-in) have been studied and quantitated using an approach based on the concepts of Wyman's thermodynamic linkage. Salting-out has been described by a salt-binding constant, k1, the number of moles of salt bound per mole of protein, n, and S1, the fraction soluble at saturation of n; salting-in has been described by corresponding constants k2, m, and S2. Analysis of salt-induced solubility profiles was performed using nonlinear regression analysis. Results of calcium-induced solubility profiles of two genetic variants of alpha s1-casein (alpha s1-A), (alpha s1-B), and beta-casein C (beta-C) at 37 degrees C, where hydrophobic interactions are maximized, showed no salting-in behavior and for salting-out, yielded k1 values of 157, 186, and 156 liters.mol-1 and n values of 8, 8, and 4, respectively. The values of k1 can be correlated with the apparent association constant for calcium binding to casein, while the values of n can be correlated with the number of calcium binding sites of the respective caseins. At 1 degree C, where hydrophobic interactions are minimized, nominally only hydrophilic and electrostatic interactions can be linked to the salt-induced solubility profiles; here beta-C is totally soluble at all calcium concentrations and alpha s1-B and alpha s1-A were now found to have salting-in parameters, k2 and m, of 2.5 liters.mol-1 and 4, and 11 liters.mol-1 and 8, respectively. alpha s1-A is more readily salted-in and studies on the variation of S1 with added KCl for this protein at 1 degree C indicated that salting-in is also mainly electrostatic in nature and may result from competition between K+ and Ca2+ for binding sites rather than from solute-solvent interactions as previously proposed. Comparison of k1 and k2 values between the two genetic variants, coupled with the known sequence differences (the A variant is a linear deletion of 13 amino acids) suggest the existence of a hydrophobically stabilized ion pair in alpha s1-B which is deleted in alpha s1-A; it is speculated that such bonds may play a role in other calcium-induced changes in protein solubility.
Calcium↗
Is routine influenza immunization indicated for people over 65 years of age? An affirmative view.
Influenza is usually a minor, self-limiting illness, but for the elderly, especially the elderly who have chronic illnesses, it may be a severe or fatal disease. During influenza epidemics this disease may not always be recognized clinically as influenza but may appear as an acute decompensation in a patient with a known chronic illness. The influenza vaccine is not perfect, but it has been shown to be effective in the elderly. Reactions to the vaccine are usually minor and administration costs are low. Experience with influenza vaccine since the early 1940s has led to an improved, more pure vaccine formulation, has developed worldwide systems of tracking the dominant circulating viral strains, and has refined recommendations for vaccine usage based on clinical studies of its efficacy and cost effectiveness. Physicians should be aware of the present limitations of the existing studies and the imperfections of the vaccines, but in the elderly population, a proven intervention that will offer a substantial degree of protection during the influenza season should not be withheld. Most of the existing evidence suggests that the vaccine is effective and that physicians should be more stringent in their influenza immunization practices with the elderly. The elderly who are at high risk should be of high priority for receiving influenza vaccine, and the vaccine should also be recommended to healthy individuals aged 65 years and older because of its proven efficacy for reducing attack rates when appropriate viral strains are used.
Aged↗
The effects of meal-feeding and the diurnal cycle on lipogenesis in brown adipose tissue of rats.
A significant diurnal variation in the rates of lipogenesis in vivo in brown adipose tissue occurred in both virgin and lactating rats. On a meal-feeding regime of either a chow, high-sucrose, or high-lipid diet, there was a very large increase in BAT lipogenesis following the meal. The rates observed after the sucrose meal are the highest so far reported. There was no significant difference in BAT lipogenesis between lactating and virgin rats, contrary to previous reports by others. The pattern of stimulation of BAT lipogenesis by these feeding regimes was different from that for white adipose tissue and liver and was not correlated with plasma insulin levels.
Adipose Tissue, Brown↗
Diurnal regulation of milk lipid production and milk secretion in the rat: effect of dietary protein and energy restriction.
Lactating rats consuming a control diet (20% casein) ad libitum and kept on a 12-h light-dark cycle produced milk during the dark phase at a rate 50% greater than that during the light period. Diurnal variations in the food consumptions of these animals, maternal live weights and litter weight gains were also observed. This diurnal variation with respect to milk production and food consumption appears to be abolished by feeding a low protein (10% casein) diet. However, the variation was amplified when the amount of the control diet was restricted to 25 g/d and made available at the middark period; this was probably related to the meal-feeding behavior of these rats because they consumed all their food within 6 h after it was made available. The rates of fatty acid synthesis in the mammary glands, livers and adipose tissue measured in vivo from [3H]H2O incorporation also varied diurnally with maximal rates at the middark period. Similar rates were obtained for the rats receiving restricted amounts of the control diet measured in the feeding period, whereas the values for the rats fed the low protein diet in the dark period tended to be significantly lower. The milk fatty acids were also analyzed, and whereas no diurnal differences were detected in the samples taken from control rats, a marked reduction in the proportion of the medium-chain acids was observed in the samples from rats receiving restricted amounts of the control diet taken immediately before the normal feeding period.
Animals↗
Effect of dietary protein and food restriction on milk production and composition, maternal tissues and enzymes in lactating rats.
Lactating rats have been fed either a protein-restricted diet (10 vs. 20% casein in the control diet) or the control diet at 80, 60 and 40% of the voluntary intake for 7 d from d 7 of lactation. Food consumption, changes in maternal live weight, litter live weight gain and the mass of several maternal tissues were determined together with the activity of several mammary and liver enzymes, including 10 that are essential for fatty acid and complex lipid synthesis. Milk production was estimated from the litter weight gain and litter weight. Lactating rats fed the 20% protein diet ad libitum consumed three times that of nonlactating rats; their liver and kidney masses were significantly higher and their adipose mass was lower. The livers of the lactating rats were fatty, containing 118 mg lipid/g compared with 42 mg/g for the nonlactating rats. Lactating rats fed either the protein-restricted diet or the control diet at 40 and 60% of the ad libitum intake of the control diet had lower mammary, liver and kidney masses than rats consuming the control diet ad libitum. Both protein and food restriction led to lower rates of milk production than those of ad libitum-fed control rats as evidenced by the decrease in litter live weight gains. The concentrations of total lipid, total protein and lactose in milk were not affected by these dietary treatments. The concentration of alpha-lactalbumin in milk of rats fed the low protein diet was, however, lower than that in the milk of all rats receiving the control diet, irrespective of intake. Consumption of the restricted diets resulted in only small changes in specific activities (mu/mg protein) of 15 mammary enzymes. In the livers, lactation led to higher specific activities of all four soluble lipogenic enzymes examined but did not affect the particulate enzymes involved in complex lipid synthesis. The dietary restrictions resulted in lower specific activities of the soluble enzymes compared with those of the lactating rats consuming the control diet ad libitum without affecting the particulate enzymes. Total activities of these enzymes were, however, lower than those for the control rats as a result of the smaller liver mass in the rats receiving the restricted diets.
Animals↗
Comparison of dietary intake of urban and rural elderly patients in family practice centers.
To compare dietary intake of urban and rural patients, we interviewed 50 patients over age 64 at each of two family practice centers, one urban and one rural, using the 24-hour dietary recall method for nutrient comparison. A deficiency of calcium was evident in the intake of both elderly populations, but other specific deficiencies were evident in the rural group. We discuss the need for dietary evaluation and intervention in the elderly, with emphasis on the rural population, and offer specific strategies for application by primary care physicians.
Black or African American↗
Absence of detectable calmodulin in cows' milk by a modified gel electrophoresis method.
With a simple, sensitive, and rapid SDS-PAGE procedure, developed during the course of this study, calmodulin was not found in cows' milk. The absence of calmodulin at the level of detection provided by this procedure (.4 micrograms) was unexpected. Because milk is a repository for many protein and enzyme systems, and because the mammary gland is known to contain calmodulin, it was conjectured that at least some "leakage" of the protein into milk would occur, especially into colostrum.
Animals↗
Isolation and characterization of bovine mammary calmodulin.
Bovine mammary gland calmodulin, purified by conventional fractionation procedures, was compared with similarly purified bovine brain calmodulin. Affinity chromatography on W-7 agarose of the crude fractions from mammary gland and brain yielded pure proteins containing one trimethyllysine residue per 16,800 daltons with essentially identical amino acid compositions. Kinetic parameters of these two proteins with respect to their ability to activate phosphodiesterase were determined. The constants for half maximum activation were .39 and .44 nM for bovine brain and bovine mammary gland calmodulins, respectively; both proteins gave similar maximum velocities. Based on the amino acid composition and kinetic data, it is concluded that the two proteins are essentially identical.
Amino Acids↗
The diagnosis of mononucleosis in the office laboratory.
Infectious mononucleosis has been known for a long time to be a common infection in young adults. It also infects children. In particular, children under the age of 2 years may not express the illness clinically. Diagnostic criteria vary but in young adults usually include the symptoms of fever, exudative tonsillitis, and cervical lymphadenopathy. Usually, there is a relative and absolute lymphocytosis, with 10 to 20 per cent or greater atypical lymphocytes. Rapid slide tests are accurate and economical and support the diagnosis when positive. False-positive results are known to occur with several other important disease processes; therefore, the clinical presentation and laboratory results must be interpreted in their appropriate context. Quality control is essential even for the rapid slide tests, and experienced examiners are required to review blood smears. The morphology of atypical lymphocytes varies greatly. In addition, morphology interpretation can be hampered by problems in preparation of slides or the holding of blood samples awaiting slide preparation. EBV-specific serodiagnosis has significantly enhanced our ability to study further and differentiate heterophil-negative syndromes that share clinical features with infectious mononucleosis. Acute, past, chronic, and no EBV infection can now be differentiated. Further diagnostic tests for other etiologic agents are necessary when all EBV tests are negative and the clinical situation requires appropriate diagnosis.
Adolescent↗
Removing objects from the external auditory canal.
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Adhesives↗
Purification and partial characterization of a putative mediator of insulin action on cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.
An insulin mediator which inhibits cAMP-dependent protein kinase has been purified approximately 1000-2000-fold from skeletal muscle. Following heat treatment, charcoal adsorption and Sephadex G-25 sieving, Sephadex G-15 sieving and HPLC over an anion exchange column were performed. The mediator has characteristics of a relatively low molecular weight peptide or derivatized peptide which acts on cAMP-dependent protein kinase but not on mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase.
Animals↗
Glucose tolerance and hormonal changes in rats bearing a transplantable sarcoma.
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Animals↗
Modified lipoprotein lipase activities, rates of lipogenesis, and lipolysis as factors leading to lipid depletion in C57BL mice bearing the preputial gland tumor, ESR-586.
The biochemical basis for the observed depletion of adipose tissue in C57BL mice bearing a transplantable nonmetastasizing preputial gland tumor, ESR-586, has been investigated. The results have shown that there are a number of significant changes in both deposition and mobilization of lipid as the tumor grows. The first change, before the tumor reached 2 g, was a decline in the activity of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase to levels normally found in starved animals. This was accompanied by a slight increase in lipoprotein lipase activity in heart and appearance of substantial activity in large tumors. Together, these would result in impaired uptake of exogenous fatty acids by adipose tissue, and dietary lipid would be directed away from storage. This was followed by a marked decline in endogenous lipid synthesis in adipose tissue which commenced when the tumor weighed between 2 and 3 g, as measured in vivo by the incorporation of radioactivity into lipid from tritiated water. The basal rate of lipolysis was enhanced 2-fold in epididymal fat pads from mice bearing tumors that weighed between 2 and 4 g, although there was no difference in the epinephrine-stimulated activity.
Adipose Tissue↗