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M Reinhard

Publications and source records attributed to M Reinhard.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

The proline-rich focal adhesion and microfilament protein VASP is a ligand for profilins.

Profilins are small proteins that form complexes with G-actin and phosphoinositides and are therefore considered to link the microfilament system to signal transduction pathways. In addition, they bind to poly-L-proline, but the biological significance of this interaction is not yet known. The recent molecular cloning of the vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP), an established in vivo substrate of cAMP- and cGMP-dependent protein kinases, revealed the presence of a proline-rich domain which prompted us to investigate a possible interaction with profilins. VASP is a microfilament and focal adhesion associated protein which is also concentrated in highly dynamic regions of the cell cortex. Here, we demonstrate that VASP is a natural proline-rich profilin ligand. Human platelet VASP bound directly to purified profilins from human platelets, calf thymus and birch pollen. Moreover, VASP and a novel protein were specifically extracted from total cell lysates by profilin affinity chromatography and subsequently eluted either with poly-L-proline or a peptide corresponding to a proline-rich VASP motif. Finally, the subcellular distributions of VASP and profilin suggest that both proteins also interact within living cells. Our data support the hypothesis that profilin and VASP act in concert to convey signal transduction to actin filament formation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

A focal adhesion factor directly linking intracellularly motile Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria ivanovii to the actin-based cytoskeleton of mammalian cells.

The surface-bound ActA polypeptide of the intracellular bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes is the sole listerial factor needed for recruitment of host actin filaments by intracellularly motile bacteria. Here we report that following Listeria infection the host vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP), a microfilament- and focal adhesion-associated substrate of both the cAMP- and cGMP-dependent protein kinases, accumulates on the surface of intracytoplasmic bacteria prior to the detection of F-actin 'clouds'. VASP remains associated with the surface of highly motile bacteria, where it is polarly located, juxtaposed between one extremity of the bacterial surface and the front of the actin comet tail. Since actin filament polymerization occurs only at the very front of the tail, VASP exhibits properties of a host protein required to promote actin polymerization. Purified VASP binds directly to the ActA polypeptide in vitro. A ligand-overlay blot using purified radiolabelled VASP enabled us to identify the ActA homologue of the related intracellular motile pathogen, Listeria ivanovii, as a protein with a molecular mass of approximately 150 kDa. VASP also associates with actin filaments recruited by another intracellularly motile bacterial pathogen, Shigella flexneri. Hence, by the simple expedient of expressing surface-bound attractor molecules, bacterial pathogens effectively harness cytoskeletal components to achieve intracellular movement.

Actins↗
PubMed1995

Molecular cloning, structural analysis and functional expression of the proline-rich focal adhesion and microfilament-associated protein VASP.

The vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP), a substrate for cAMP- and cGMP-dependent protein kinases in vitro and in intact cells, is associated with actin filaments, focal adhesions and dynamic membrane regions. VASP, cloned here from human HL-60 and canine MDCK cells, is organized into three distinct domains. A central proline-rich domain contains a GPPPPP motif as a single copy and as a 3-fold tandem repeat, as well as three conserved phosphorylation sites for cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases. A C-terminal domain contains a repetitive mixed-charge cluster which is predicted to form an alpha-helix. The hydrodynamic properties of purified human VASP together with the calculated molecular mass of cloned VASP suggest that the native protein is a homotetramer with an elongated structure. VASP over-expressed in transiently transfected BHK21 cells was predominantly detected at stress fibres, at focal adhesions and in F-actin-containing cell surface protrusions, whereas truncated VASP lacking the C-terminal domain was no longer concentrated at focal adhesions. These data indicate that the C-terminal domain is required for anchoring VASP at focal adhesion sites, whereas the central domain is suggested to mediate VASP interaction with profilin. Our results provide evidence for the structural basis by which VASP, both a target of the cAMP and cGMP signal transduction pathways and a component of the actin-based cytoskeleton, including the cytoskeleton-membrane interface, may be able to exchange signals between these networks.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

[Alfred Kirstein (1863-1922)--pioneer in direct laryngoscopy].

On April 23rd 1895, in Berlin, Alfred Kirstein performed the first direct examination of the interior of the larynx. 23 days after his first view of larynx, he gave a comprehensive demonstration of autoscopy to the Berlin Medical Association. Until then laryngologists had been content with the technique of indirect laryngoscopy using mirrors, a method popularised by Garcia, Türck and Czermak. Kirstein named the combination of the electroscope and the oesophagoscope "The autoscope" and direct examination of the larynx he termed "autoscopy". Despite the infancy of autoscopy and the autoscope, Kirstein already recognised the potential of his new discovery. He reported that the removal of foreign bodies from the trachea must be easier through an autoscope then by means of a tracheostomy; furthermore, catheterisation of the bronchi should now present no great difficulties. The similarity between the blades he used and those described in the 1940s by Macintosh and Miller is remarkable.

Germany↗
PubMed1994

Curt Schimmelbusch (1850-1895)--development of a mask for chloroform and ether anesthesia based on primary aseptic principles.

The German surgeon Curt Schimmelbusch is not generally recognised as a pioneer in anaesthesia, although he is well known by his investigations concerning the development and scientific foundation of mechanical sterilisation methods which he performed under Ernst von Bergmann in Berlin at the end of the 19th century. His book "Anleitung zur aseptischen Wundheilung" is one of the classics in the history of asepsis. Curt Schimmelbusch was born on November 16th, 1860, as the son of a lord of a manor in Gross-Nogath/West-Prussia. Having graduated from high school in 1882, he studied medicine at Würzburg, Göttingen, Berlin and Halle. The physician who was awarded the doctor's degree in Halle in 1886 as a co-worker of the histologist and pathologist Eberth at first dealt with research in the field of thrombosis. His surgical training took place in Cologne where he worked in 1888 with the famous surgeon Bardenheuer at the Bürgerhospital. A year later he returned to Berlin to do research work at the institute at the Ziegelstrasse. Under the main aspects of hygiene he described a mask in 1890, which he used predominantly for ether anaesthesia, although he considered it to be suitable also for chloroform anaesthesia, in itself an exciting contribution he has made characterising the progress of anaesthesia in German-speaking countries up to the mid-50's of the 20th century.

Anesthesiology↗
PubMed1993

Role of cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases and their common substrate VASP in the regulation of human platelets.

The activation of human platelets is inhibited by two intracellular pathways regulated by either cGMP- or cAMP-elevating agents. There is considerable evidence that the inhibitory effects of cGMP and cAMP are mediated by the cGMP-PK and cAMP-PK, respectively, in human platelets. The cGI-PDE is an additional target for cGMP, and the cGMP-mediated elevation of cAMP levels contributes to the well known synergism between cAMP- and cGMP-elevating platelet inhibitors. Stimulation of both cAMP-PK and cGMP-PK prevents the agonist-induced activation of MLCK and PKC and inhibits the agonist-induced calcium mobilization from intracellular stores without any major effect on the ADP-regulated cation channel. These studies suggest that the inhibition of an early event of platelet activation, e.g. activation of PLC, is an effect common to both cGMP-PK and cAMP-PK stimulation. A common substrate of both cGMP-PK and cAMP-PK, the 46/50 kDa protein VASP, has been recently identified as a novel microfilament- and focal contact-associated protein whose phosphorylation correlates very well with platelet inhibition. Future investigations will have to identify the precise molecular mechanism of cyclic nucleotide inhibition of Ca2+ discharge from intracellular stores and whether cGMP-PK- and cAMP-PK-mediated VASP phosphorylation is an important component of this effect of cyclic nucleotides in human platelets.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1992

The 46/50 kDa phosphoprotein VASP purified from human platelets is a novel protein associated with actin filaments and focal contacts.

Vasoactive agents which elevate either cGMP or cAMP inhibit platelet activation by pathways sharing at least one component, the 46/50 kDa vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP). VASP is stoichiometrically phosphorylated by both cGMP-dependent and cAMP-dependent protein kinases in intact human platelets, and its phosphorylation correlates very well with platelet inhibition caused by cGMP- and cAMP-elevating agents. Here we report that in human platelets spread on glass, VASP is associated predominantly with the distal parts of radial microfilament bundles and with microfilaments outlining the periphery, whereas less VASP is associated with a central microfilamentous ring. VASP is also detectable in a variety of different cell types including fibroblasts and epithelial cells. In fibroblasts, VASP is concentrated at focal contact areas, along microfilament bundles (stress fibres) in a punctate pattern, in the periphery of protruding lamellae, and is phosphorylated by cGMP- and cAMP-dependent protein kinases in response to appropriate stimuli. Evidence for the direct binding of VASP to F-actin is also presented. The data demonstrate that VASP is a novel phosphoprotein associated with actin filaments and focal contact areas, i.e. transmembrane junctions between microfilaments and the extracellular matrix.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗
PubMed1992

The midgestational human fetal pancreas contains cells coexpressing islet hormones.

In the fetal development of the mouse pancreas, endocrine cells have been found that express more than one hormone simultaneously. Our objective was to evaluate the existence of such cells in the human fetal pancreas. We found cells coexpressing two of the major pancreatic hormones (insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin) in sections of eight midgestational (12-18 weeks) pancreata and in 0-7% of cells in single-cell suspensions from midgestational pancreata. By electron microscopy, using granule morphology and immunoelectron microscopic techniques, we could confirm these findings and even detect cells containing three hormones. Morphologically different granules contained different immunoreactivities, suggesting parallel regulation of hormone production and packaging. In six newborn pancreata (born after 22-40 weeks of gestation), we could not find any multiple-hormone-containing cells. Subsequently, we evaluated whether multiple-hormone-containing cells proliferate by using pancreatic fragments and single-cell preparations at the light and electron microscopic level (six pancreata). No endocrine hormone-containing cells incorporated bromodeoxyuridine during a 1-hr culture period, indicating that these cells have lost the ability to proliferate under the conditions chosen. We conclude that, as in mice, the human fetal pancreas of 12-18 weeks of gestation contains endocrine cells that express multiple hormones simultaneously. These (multiple) hormone-containing cells do not seem to proliferate under basal conditions.

Bromodeoxyuridine↗
PubMed1992

Microbial degradation of toluene under sulfate-reducing conditions and the influence of iron on the process.

Toluene degradation occurred concomitantly with sulfate reduction in anaerobic microcosms inoculated with contaminated subsurface soil from an aviation fuel storage facility near the Patuxent River (Md.). Similar results were obtained for enrichment cultures in which toluene was the sole carbon source. Several lines of evidence suggest that toluene degradation was directly coupled to sulfate reduction in Patuxent River microcosms and enrichment cultures: (i) the two processes were synchronous and highly correlated, (ii) the observed stoichiometric ratios of moles of sulfate consumed per mole of toluene consumed were consistent with the theoretical ratio for the oxidation of toluene to CO2 coupled with the reduction of sulfate to hydrogen sulfide, and (iii) toluene degradation ceased when sulfate was depleted, and conversely, sulfate reduction ceased when toluene was depleted. Mineralization of toluene was confirmed in experiments with [ring-U-14C]toluene. The addition of millimolar concentrations of amorphous Fe(OH)3 to Patuxent River microcosms and enrichment cultures either greatly facilitated the onset of toluene degradation or accelerated the rate once degradation had begun. In iron-amended microcosms and enrichment cultures, ferric iron reduction proceeded concurrently with toluene degradation and sulfate reduction. Stoichiometric data and other observations indicate that ferric iron reduction was not directly coupled to toluene oxidation but was a secondary, presumably abiotic, reaction between ferric iron and biogenic hydrogen sulfide.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗
PubMed1992

Anaerobic degradation of toluene and xylene by aquifer microorganisms under sulfate-reducing conditions.

Toluene and the three isomers of xylene were completely mineralized to CO2 and biomass by aquifer-derived microorganisms under strictly anaerobic conditions. The source of the inoculum was gasoline-contaminated sediment from Seal Beach, Calif. Evidence confirming that sulfate was the terminal electron acceptor is presented. Benzene and ethylbenzene were not degraded under the experimental conditions used. Successive transfers of the mixed cultures that were enriched from aquifer sediments retained the ability to degrade toluene and xylenes. Greater than 90% of 14C-labeled toluene or 14C-labeled o-xylene was mineralized to 14CO2. The doubling time for the culture grown on toluene or m-xylene was about 20 days, and the cell yield was about 0.1 to 0.14 g of cells (dry weight) per g of substrate. The accumulation of sulfide in the cultures as a result of sulfate reduction appeared to inhibit degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons.

Anaerobiosis↗
PubMed1992

Metabolic by-products of anaerobic toluene degradation by sulfate-reducing enrichment cultures.

Two dead-end metabolites of anaerobic toluene transformation, benzylsuccinic acid and benzylfumaric acid, accumulated in sulfate-reducing enrichment cultures that were fed toluene as the sole carbon source. Stable isotope-labeled toluene and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to confirm that the compounds resulted from toluene metabolism. The two metabolites constituted less than 10% of the toluene carbon (over 80% was mineralized to carbon dioxide, according to a previous study). This study demonstrates that the novel nonproductive pathway proposed by Evans and coworkers (P. J. Evans, W. Ling, B. Goldschmidt, E. R. Ritter, and L. Y. Young, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 58:496-501, 1992) for a denitrifying pure culture applies to disparate anaerobic bacteria.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMed1980

Methanogenic decomposition of ferulic Acid, a model lignin derivative.

Ferulic acid, a model lignin derivative, was observed to be biodegradable to methane and carbon dioxide under strict anaerobic conditions. This conversion appears to be carried out by a consortium of bacteria similar to that previously described for the methanogenic degradation of benzoic acid. A temporary buildup of acetate in these cultures indicates that it is a likely intermediate and precursor for methane formation. An analog of coenzyme M, 2-bromoethanesulfonic acid (BESA), inhibited gas production and enhanced the buildup of propionate, butyrate, isobutyrate, and isovalerate. Phenylacetate, cinnamate, 3-phenylpropionate, benzoate, cyclohexane carboxylate, adipate, and pimelate were also detected in BESA-inhibited cultures. A pathway is proposed which includes these various acids as possible intermediates in the methanogenic degradation of ferulic acid. This model overlaps previously described benzoic acid degradation pathways, suggesting that this type of anaerobic degradation may be common for aromatic compounds.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1978

Bile acid pattern in human amniotic fluid.

Individual bile acids were determined in twenty-nine amniotic fluid specimens obtained from twenty-six women between the 32nd and 41st week of gestation. Total bile acid concentration ranged from 0.4 to 4.8 mumol/l with a mean of 1.57 mumol/l. Besides the two major bile acids of man, cholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid, 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid was found in all, lithocholic acid in ten and deoxycholic acid in nine of the twenty-nine amniotic fluid samples. 3beta-Hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid averaged 39.8% of total bile acids during 32-37 weeks of gestation and 20.2% at term (P less than 0.01). These findings point towards important differences between fetal and adult bile metabolism and may reflect maturation of hepatic bile acid biosynthesis near term.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1977

[Detection of 3 beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid in human amniotic fluid].

Studies of the bile acids of human meconium suggest that a fetal pathway of bile acid synthesis exists which leads to formation of 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid, a bile acid not found in serum of healthy pregnant women. To obtain additional support for this hypothesis, cholic, chenodeoxycholic, and 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid were measured in amniotic fluid specimens from 18 pregnant women without liver disease. The finding of a considerable percentage of 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid (mean: 34 molar %; range 3-71 molar % of total bile acids) in amniotic fluid strengthens the hypothesis that a fetal pathway of bile acid synthesis exists which begins with oxidation of the cholesterol side chain.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Interaction of sodium alkyl sulfates with everted rat small intestinal membrane.

The effect of sodium alkyl sulfates (C6-C14) on the loss of protein from the everted rat small intestine was measured. At a surfactant concentration of 10 mM, a peak effect on protein release was noted with sodium decyl sulfate (C10). Measurement of proten release as a function of sidium lauryl sulfate (C12) concentration resulted in the observation that the effect appears to be due to the micellar phaseof the surfactant solution. At concentrations of C12 above the CMC, the loss of protein from the intestinal preparation increased as the concentration of surfactant was increased. There may be a maximum amount of protein that can be released from the everted rat small intestinal sacs by surface-active agents. At equivalent micellar concentrations of C8-C14 (12.5 times the CMC), there was no difference in the amount of protein released in the presence of the individual alkyl sulfate solutions. Other studies on salicylate transfer across the everted rat small intestine indicate that permeability changes occur with anionic and cationic surfactants but not with nonionics.

Animals↗