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Biomedical subjects

M Stanley

Publications and source records attributed to M Stanley.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Autoradiographic demonstration of increased serotonin 5-HT2 and beta-adrenergic receptor binding sites in the brain of suicide victims.

Suicidal behavior has been linked to a deficiency in serotonin neurotransmission, but it is not known which brain regions are involved. We determined the pattern of alteration in serotonin 5-HT2 (5-HT2) receptor binding sites in suicide victims in prefrontal cortex compared with temporal cortex using a matched-pairs design to study 11 suicide victims and 11 matched controls, by both membrane binding and quantitative receptor autoradiography. Since a relationship between the serotonergic and noradrenergic systems has been proposed, we also examined beta-adrenergic receptor binding sites. Binding to 5-HT2 and beta-adrenergic sites in slide-mounted sections correlated strongly with binding site number in membrane preparations. A specific laminar distribution of 5-HT2 binding sites was found in both the control and suicide groups, whereas beta-adrenergic binding sites did not differ across cortical layers. A significant increase was found in suicide victims across all cortical layers in both receptor subpopulations in the prefrontal cortex, but only beta-adrenergic sites were increased in the temporal cortex. We conclude that suicide is associated with a localized increase in 5-HT2 binding sites.

Adolescent↗

Detection of novel splicing patterns in a HPV16-containing keratinocyte cell line.

The W12 cell line was derived from a low grade cervical lesion, and is unique among HPV16-containing cell lines in carrying its HPV16 genome as a multicopy episome. As such it is thought to be more representative of a premalignant HPV16-induced tumor than the cervical cancers from which other cell lines have been derived. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we report here the identification and cloning of a number of novel cDNA species, which appear to be characteristic of the W12 cell line. Two species were identified with E6* coding capacity (E6*I and E6*III). The smaller of these (1009 bp) was predicted to encode a novel E6*III polypeptide containing C-terminal amino acids derived from an out of frame region of the E2/E4 ORFs. The larger species (1480 bp) contained, in addition to the E6*I ORF, an intact E7 ORF and probably represents the transcript for E7 expression, as the E7 protein was readily detectable in the W12 cell line. Both species appeared to be transcribed from the p97 promoter which has been shown to be active in other cell lines. A putative E2 repressor cDNA (891 bp), an E1/E4 message (883 bp), and two novel late cDNA species (1757 and 2031 bp) were also detected, allowing the identification of a splice acceptor immediately in front of the L1 open reading frame (nt 5637) and a splice donor at nt 3631. Although the 1757-base species has the capacity to encode a full-length L1 protein, both messages use a splice donor at nt 1301, and are thus not analogous to late species previously identified in HPV11. Of the six cDNAs cloned, only the 1480-bp E7 message has been observed in other HPV16-containing cell lines. The presence of L1 transcripts, and an E2 repressor mRNA, although unexpected, may reflect the different origins of the W12 cell line.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Detection of human immunodeficiency virus DNA using the polymerase chain reaction in a well-characterized group of homosexual and bisexual men.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA was performed on specimens from 197 homosexual and bisexual men enrolled in studies of HIV-1 infection. Thirty cycles of amplification were conducted, followed by detection with probes corresponding to two gag primer pairs (SK 38/39 and SK 101/145). Of 107 men who were HIV-1 antibody-negative, 105 (98%) were PCR-negative. Two who were initially PCR-positive antibody-negative were PCR- and antibody-negative on repeat testing of both the same specimen and specimens drawn 8-10 months later; this suggests that the first PCR results were false-positive. Of 90 men who were antibody-positive, PCR was positive in 87 (97%), including all 13 with AIDS, all 22 with AIDS-related conditions, all 11 with generalized lymphadenopathy only, and 41 (93%) of 44 without signs or symptoms of HIV-1 infection. On repeat testing, all 3 PCR-negative, antibody-positive men were PCR-positive. In this population and with this technique, PCR had excellent agreement with the HIV-1 antibody test.

Base Sequence↗

Platelet imipramine binding in children and adolescents with impulsive behavior.

The serotonergic system has been implicated in the regulation of impulsive aggressive behavior either toward oneself or others. Imipramine binding sites were measured in the platelets of 23 impulsive aggressive children. Subjects ratings of total behavior, externalizing behavior, hostility, and aggression, as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist, were inversely correlated with the platelet imipramine binding. These findings are consistent with previous studies that suggest that decreased serotonergic activity is associated with impulsive aggressive behavior.

Adolescent↗

Increased antibody responses to human papillomavirus type 16 L1 protein expressed by recombinant vaccinia virus lacking serine protease inhibitor genes.

The L1 gene of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) driven by the vaccinia virus major late 4b gene promoter has been inserted into three different sites of the vaccinia virus genome. Insertion into the thymidine kinase (TK) gene was achieved by selection of TK- mutants in BUdR on TK- cells. Insertion into two vaccinia virus serine protease inhibitor (serpin) genes was achieved by co-insertion of the Escherichia coli xanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase gene linked to the vaccinia virus 7.5K promoter and selection of mycophenolic acid-resistant recombinant viruses. Each recombinant virus expressed a 57K L1 protein at similar levels and with similar kinetics. However, immunization of mice with these recombinant viruses induced different levels of antibody to the L1 protein. Viruses lacking serpin genes B13R and B24R induced significantly higher antibody levels than did viruses lacking the TK gene. The presence of functional B13R and B24R gene products is therefore somehow immunosuppressive at least for antibody responses to the L1 protein of HPV-16.

Animals↗

Production of human papillomavirus type 16 virions in a keratinocyte cell line.

Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) is strongly associated with carcinoma of the cervix, but the complete life cycle of the virus cannot be studied because no experimental system is available in which HPV-16 progeny are produced, and there is currently no source of HPV-16 virus particles. Most cell lines that harbor HPV-16 DNA contain the viral genome as integrated or concatenated DNA in which open reading frames are disrupted or deleted, but a human cervical keratinocyte cell line has been described which maintains HPV-16 DNA in monomeric episomal form (M.A. Stanley, H.M. Brown, M.W. Appleby, and A.C. Minson, Int. J. Cancer 43:672-676, 1989). This cell line was induced to form a stratified differentiating epithelium by grafting onto nude mice. Long-term grafts displayed the histological features of a low-grade cervical dysplasia, and terminally differentiated cells contained amplified levels of HPV-16 DNA, virus capsid antigen, and virus particles. This experimental system appears to permit the completion of the HPV-16 life cycle in virus-containing keratinocytes.

Cell Line↗

Production and characterisation of a monoclonal antibody to human papillomavirus type 16 using recombinant vaccinia virus.

A monoclonal antibody was raised against the major capsid protein L1 of human papillomavirus type 16, using a recombinant vaccinia virus that expresses the L1 protein, as a target for screening. This antibody, designated CAMVIR-1, reacted with a 56 kilodalton protein in cells infected with L1-vaccinia virus, and the protein was present in a predominantly nuclear location. The antibody also detects the HPV-16 L1 antigen in formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded biopsy specimens and on routine cervical smears. The antibody reacts strongly and consistently with biopsy specimens containing HPV-16 or HPV-33, but very weak reactions were occasionally observed with biopsy specimens or smears containing HPV-6 or HPV-11. The potential advantages of using a vaccinia recombinant are (i) the target protein is synthesised in a eukoryotic cell so that its "processing" and location are normal; (ii) cells infected with vaccinia recombinants can be subjected to various fixing procedures similar to those used for routine clinical material. This greatly increases the probability that an identified antibody will be useful in a clinical setting.

Animals↗

CSF 5-HIAA and HVA concentrations in elderly depressed patients who attempted suicide.

CSF findings distinguished 12 elderly depressed patients who attempted suicide from nine depressed patients who did not and from seven normal control subjects. Psychosocial factors and measures of psychopathology did not differentiate suicidal from nonsuicidal patients. Biochemical factors may be important in evaluating suicide risk in the elderly.

Age Factors↗

Postmortem evidence for serotonin's role in suicide.

Despite major advances in psychiatry in the past three decades, the rate of suicide has not declined. In an effort to better understand suicide, recent research has examined the importance of biochemical factors in this behavior. Biochemical studies of suicide victims and attempters have indicated that either serotonin (5-HT) or its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) is reduced in this population when compared with individuals who do not exhibit suicidal behavior. Also, alterations in 5-HT receptors have been observed in suicide victims. While the biochemical findings are promising, it appears that an approach that combines psychosocial and biochemical factors offers the greatest promise for improved identification of suicide risk.

Adolescent↗

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha increases hepatic DNA and RNA and hepatocyte mitosis.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) has been reported to increase DNA synthesis in normal rat liver. Therefore, we examined the effects of TNF on rat liver regeneration. TNF, 1.5 micrograms ip every 4 h for 5 d, significantly increased hepatic DNA and RNA contents of regenerating and sham operated livers by up to 45%. Mitotic figures in sham operated liver, usually rare, were increased substantially by TNF. ODC mRNA content and enzyme activity were increased in regenerating liver, and were further increased by TNF. These data indicate that TNF, although not specific for regenerating liver, is a potent stimulus for hepatocyte DNA synthesis and mitosis.

Animals↗

Alterations in growth properties of human papilloma virus type 16 immortalised human cervical keratinocyte cell line correlate with amplification and overexpression of c-myc oncogene.

Clinical and epidemiological data support a role for human papilloma virus (HPV) type 16 in the pathogenesis of cervical carcinoma. The W12 cell line contains HPV16 sequences, predominantly as a high copy number episome, and is immortalised in vitro, but non-tumourigenic. A morphologically distinct sub-line of the parental W12 cell line was isolated which displayed increased growth rate, increased capacity for self-renewal and increased resistance to differentiation in comparison with the parental W12 cell line. The structure and expression of the HPV16 sequences was virtually identical in the two cell lines. However, expression of the c-myc proto-oncogene was elevated in the morphologically distinct sub-line, and this was associated with amplification, but not rearrangement, of the c-myc locus. Karyotype analysis demonstrated that amplification of the c-myc locus was a result of duplication of the long arm of chromosome eight.

Blotting, Northern↗

Brainstem serotonergic hyperinnervation modifies behavioral supersensitivity to 5-hydroxytryptophan in the rat.

Rat pups were injected intracisternally (i.c.) or intraperitoneally (i.p.) with 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) or saline and challenged 2 and 14 weeks later with the 5-HT precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), which evokes behavioral supersensitivity in adult rats, 5,7-DHT induced transient postinjection convulsions in rats injected i.c. but not i.p. Rats with either type of 5,7-DHT lesions displayed supersensitive behavioral responses to 5-HTP. However, rats lesioned by i.p. injections exhibited significantly greater shaking behavior (+1445%) in response to 5-HTP than their i.c. counterparts, who instead showed more forepaw myoclonus (+250%) and head weaving (+270%), the core features of the 5-HT syndrome. Differences in 5-HT syndrome behaviors were already present 2 weeks after lesioning, whereas the difference in shaking behavior was not. After 14 weeks, 5-HT was selectively depleted (-43 to -92%) in hippocampus, spinal cord, and frontal cortex, and differences between i.c. and i.p. 5,7-DHT routes were insignificant except in frontal cortex. Brainstem 5-HT concentrations were significantly increased (+35%) after i.p. 5,7-DHT injections in contrast to reduction (-89%) after i.c. 5,7-DHT; 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid/5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HIAA/5-HT) ratios were decreased (-20%) with either route. These data suggest that brainstem 5-HT hyperinnervation following i.p. 5,7-DHT injection modifies the functional consequences of injury in abating the 5-HT syndrome, but does not result in complete recovery since shaking behavior is enhanced. Loss of presynaptically mediated autoregulation or receptor dysregulation may play a major role in behavioral supersensitivity induced by 5-HTP in rats with 5,7-DHT lesions. To the extent that the 5-HT syndrome is mediated by 5-HT1A receptors and shaking behavior by 5-HT2 sites, differential responses to injury of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors may contribute to these behavioral differences.

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine↗

Cultured keratinocyte grafts are recognized, but not rejected by CD8+ T cells in vivo.

It has been shown in the mouse that cultured keratinocyte allografts [fully major histocompatibility complex (MHC) mismatched] survive for at least 100 days without evidence of rejection. In an attempt to analyze the immune mechanisms underlying this phenomenon we have investigated the induction of tolerance to such grafts. Primary cultures of BALB/c keratinocytes were prepared using irradiated 3T3 feeder cells, and the cultured cell sheets were grafted, using a silicone transplantation chamber, onto CBA recipients. After the cultured grafts had been in place for 4-6 weeks full-thickness tail skin from BALB/c donors was grafted onto the dorsal flank opposite the cultured graft. The median graft survival time of these full-thickness allografts was 15.5 days compared to 13 days in the control group. These data show that in the absence of Langerhans cells and MHC class II expression, keratinocytes expressing class I and minor histocompatibility antigens induce a prolonged survival of full-thickness skin allografts. The results from experiments in which T cell subsets were depleted in vivo suggest that CD8+ cells (a) recognize the class I alloantigens of the cultured graft, (b) do not reject the cultured graft and (c) do not progress further in their maturation pathway. We propose that these CD8+ T cells might have been partially primed by receiving only the first signal of activation and that they may be equivalent to "poised" cytotoxic T cells. These CD8+ cells can reject non cultured full-thickness skin grafts, and do so more effectively after removing CD4+ cells.

Animals↗

CSF corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in Alzheimer's disease: its relationship to severity of dementia and monoamine metabolites.

The concentration of corticotropin-releasing factor-like immunoreactivity (CRF-LI) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 15 probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with mild to moderate dementia and 10 neurologically normal age-matched controls was examined. There were no significant alterations in the mean CSF CRF-LI concentration in AD compared to controls. However, in the AD group, CSF CRF-LI correlated significantly with the global neuropsychological impairment ratings, suggesting that greater cognitive impairment was associated with lower CSF CRF-LI concentrations. There was a significant reduction in the CSF concentration of homovanillic acid (HVA) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the AD patients, and there was a positive correlation between the concentration of CRF-LI and 5-HIAA in CSF. This latter finding suggests that serotoninergic neuronal systems may interact with CRF-containing neurons.

Aged↗

Biochemical aspects of suicidal behavior.

1. In completed suicides, studies of brain regions and CSF indicate a dysfunction of the serotonergic system. 2. In suicidal patients, regardless of diagnoses, analyses of monoamine metabolites in lumbar CSF reveal decreased concentrations of the serotonin metabolite 5-HIAA. 3. In depressed suicidal patients, both low CSF 5-HIAA and low concentrations of the dopamine metabolite HVA are associated with suicidality. In addition, pathological dexamethasone-tests may indicate an increased suicide-risk in these patients. 4. In depressed patients, there is evidence that the association between CSF 5-HIAA and corticosteroids is in contrast to findings in depressed suicidal patients.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Constitutive expression of c-myc oncogene confers hormone independence and enhanced growth-factor responsiveness on cells transformed by human papilloma virus type 16.

The effect of constitutive expression of the c-myc oncogene on the biological properties of cells transformed or immortalized by human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16) was studied. Whereas transfection of HPV16 alone into primary baby mouse kidney (BMK) cells failed to generate any immortalized cell lines unless the tumor promoter phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate was present, cotransfection of HPV16 with a plasmid that constitutively expresses murine c-myc (pSVc-myc-1) generated numerous rapidly growing colonies of cells. Cell lines transformed by HPV16 and pSVc-myc-1 did not require phorbol ester or steroid hormones for growth and were tumorigenic in syngeneic immunocompetent mice. Transfection of pSVc-myc-1 into established cell lines transformed by HPV16 and the v-fos oncogene increased the growth rate and saturation density of these lines severalfold, allowed growth in low-serum medium, and abolished the requirement of these cell lines for glucocorticoids or progestogens. Transfection of the EJ-ras oncogene into these lines did not significantly affect any of these properties.

Animals↗