Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Suh

Publications and source records attributed to M Suh.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Formation and persistence of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adducts in mouse epidermis in vivo: importance of adduct conformation.

The formation and repair of benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-N2-deoxyguanosine adducts (BPDE-N2-dG) in DNA isolated from the skin of mice treated topically with benzo[a]pyrene (BP) was studied by 32P-postlabeling and by low-temperature fluorescence spectroscopy under low resolution and under high resolution fluorescence line narrowing (FLN) conditions. In agreement with earlier studies, total BP-DNA binding reached a maximum at 24 h after treatment (dose: 1 mumol/mouse), then declined rapidly until 4 days after treatment and much more slowly thereafter. An HPLC method was developed which resolved the 32P-postlabeled (-)-trans- from (-)-cis-anti-BPDE-N2-dG, and (+)-trans-from (+)-cis-anti-BPDE-N2-dG. High performance liquid chromatography analysis of the major TLC adduct spot (containing > 80% of the total adducts) obtained by postlabeling BP-modified mouse skin DNA showed that it consisted of a major component that coeluted with (-)-cis-/(+)-trans-anti-BPDE-N2-dG and a minor component that coeluted with (-)-trans-/(+)-cis-anti-BPDE-N2-dG and that the minor component was repaired at a slower rate than the major component. Low-temperature fluorescence spectroscopy of the intact DNA identified the major adduct as (+)-trans-anti-BPDE-N2-dG and the minor adduct fraction consisted mainly of (+)-cis-anti-BPDE-N2-dG. In agreement with the 32P-postlabeling results it was observed by fluorescence spectroscopy that the (+)-cis-adducts were repaired more slowly than most other adducts. Moreover, the (+)-trans-adducts exhibited a broad distribution of base-stacked, partially base-stacked and helix-external conformations. Mouse skin DNA samples obtained at early timepoints (2-8 h) after treatment with BP contained substantially more of the 'external' adducts, while samples at later timepoints (24-48 h) contained relatively more adducts in the base-stacked conformation, indicating also that the latter adducts are repaired less readily than the former. The possible biological significance of these novel observations of conformation-dependent rates of DNA adduct repair and their possible dependence on DNA sequence, are discussed.

Animals↗

Dietary fat alters membrane composition in rod outer segments in normal and diabetic rats: impact on content of very-long-chain (C > or = 24) polyenoic fatty acids.

The effect of high n - 3 (5.8%, w/w) vs. a low n - 3 (1.2%, w/w) fatty acids in a diet with a low ratio of polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids (P/S = 0.27) content was investigated to determine the effect of diet on the level of long- and very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA C > or = 24) in phospholipids of rod outer segments (ROS) of normal and diabetic rats. After 6 weeks of feeding, diets high in n - 3 fatty acids increased the levels of 22:5(n - 3) and 22:6(n - 3), while decreasing the 22:5(n - 6) level in all major phospholipid classes. n - 6 and n - 3 VLCFA of C24 to C34 with 4, 5 and 6 double bonds were found only in phosphatidylcholine (PC) while other phospholipid classes contained only C24 fatty acids as minor components. The content of VLCFA in PC was approx. 6.7% (w/w) of total fatty acids in the ROS. Feeding a high n - 3 fatty acid diet significantly reduced n - 6 tetraenoic VLCFA in all phospholipids. In the diabetic state, the levels of n - 6 tetraenes and pentaenes in individual phospholipids were different from control animals. This study demonstrates that the VLCFA content of photoreceptor cells reflects the dietary level of n - 3 fatty acids fed. The unique polyenoic n - 6 and n - 3 VLCFA appear to be synthesized from shorter chain precursors which respond to altering the ratio of n - 6/n - 3 fatty acids fed.

Animals↗

Relationship between fatty acid accretion, membrane composition, and biologic functions.

Dietary fat affects metabolic pathways for phospholipid biosynthesis in tissues in a coordinated fashion. This may be important to aspects of development that concern phosphatidylcholine metabolism or regulatory processes that depend on signals from a changing milieu in the microenvironment of the membrane. Dietary fat influences the phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) composition in many membranes of the brain and retina and may by altered by small changes in the content of 20:4(6) and 22:6(3). Membrane PE fatty acids that contain one, four, or six double bonds and the ratio of 22:5(6) to 22:6(3) in PE that contains four to six double bonds are also affected. An increase in the omega 6 fatty acid content of membranes is associated with increased PE methyltransferase activity and decreased phosphocholine transferase activity, thus indicating a mechanism by which change in an exogenous factor (e.g., dietary fat intake) may alter neural phospholipid biosynthesis. Small changes in the composition of dietary fat intake change the composition of brain membranes during development. It is provocative to ponder whether diet could be used to induce formation of membrane structures that are more resistant to specific insults that cause degeneration of brain structural material, to ensure optimal functional compositions, or to reverse degenerative changes that occur in neural membrane structure and function.

Animals↗

Flanking base effects on the structural conformation of the (+)-trans-anti-benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide adduct to N2-dG in sequence-defined oligonucleotides.

Conformations of the trans adduct of (+)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene -7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide (BPDE) to N2-guanine, the major stable DNA adduct of the environmental carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene, were studied as a function of flanking bases in single-stranded and in double-stranded oligonucleotides. Three 11mer oligonucleotides d(CTAT-G1G2G3TATC) were synthesized containing the (+)-trans-anti-BPDE adduct at one specific guanine of the GGG sequence (a known mutational hot spot). Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the three single-stranded oligonucleotides showed that the adduct bound to G2 or G3 (5'-flanking base guanine) caused significantly stronger retardation than the same adduct bound to G1 (5'-flanking base thymine). The strength of the carcinogen-base interaction was reflected in the spectroscopic properties of the pyrenyl moiety. Low temperature fluorescence measurements under line-narrowing (FLN) or non-line-narrowing (NLN) conditions showed that in single-stranded form the adduct at G2 or G3 (5'-flanking base guanine) adopts a conformation with strong interaction with the bases. This was also observed for the same adduct at the sequence AGA. In contrast, the (+)-trans-anti-BPDE adduct with a 5'-flanking thymine exists in a primarily helix-external conformation. Similar differences were observed in the double-stranded oligonucleotides: the adducts at G2 and G3 were found to exist in similar conformational equilibria, again with significant carcinogen-base interactions, while the adduct at G1 showed a predominantly external conformation. The nature of the 3'-flanking base appeared to have little influence on the conformational equilibrium of the (+)-trans-anti-BPDE-guanine adduct. The results could provide insight into the mutational specificity and flanking base effects observed for (+)-anti-BPDE.

7,8-Dihydro-7,8-dihydroxybenzo(a)pyrene 9,10-oxide↗

Localization of sulfated glycoprotein-2/clusterin mRNA in the rat brain by in situ hybridization.

Sulfated glycoprotein-2 (SGP-2) gene expression seems to be constitutively expressed in a variety of tissues and organs, although levels of expression vary widely from one tissue to the other. SGP-2, also known as clusterin, has been reported to be expressed in the central nervous system (CNS). Some possible roles for brain SGP-2 have been postulated. In order to provide a substrate for a better understanding of the functions of this glycoprotein in the CNS, we investigated the detailed anatomical and cellular distribution of SGP-2 mRNA in the adult rat brain as well as the variation in its cellular expression after excitotoxin lesion. Transcripts for SGP-2 were found to be distributed throughout the rat CNS, although regional differences in their prevalence were readily observed. The ependymal lining of the ventricles showed the highest level of expression followed by various gray matter areas, some of which contained very intensively labeled cells. These cells were mostly found among several hypothalamic and brainstem nuclei, the habenular complex, as well as in the ventral horn of the spinal cord, which displayed striking hybridization signals over motoneurons. Occasional cells expressing high levels of SGP-2 transcripts were found in fiber tracts. Highly SGP-2 mRNA-positive resting glial cells were mainly located near the glial limitans and blood vessels. Two areas of relatively low constitutive SGP-2 mRNA expression are shown to produce strong hybridization signals 10 days after the local administration of the excitotoxin kainic acid. This overexpression of SGP-2 transcripts appears to involve GFAP-positive cells. Taken together, these results indicate that in the intact adult rat CNS, various cell populations, including neurons, constitutively express SGP-2 transcripts, whereas in the injured brain, reactive astrocytes become the major producers.

Animals↗

Herpes simplex virus ICP0 and ICP4 immediate early proteins strongly enhance expression of a retrovirus harboured by a leptomeningeal cell line from a patient with multiple sclerosis.

A leptomeningeal cell line (LM7) harbouring an unknown retrovirus was recently isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with multiple sclerosis. However, spontaneous expression of the LM7 retrovirus in this primary culture is quite low. We present results showing that in vitro infection of LM7 cells with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), but not that of control cells, results in (i) potent stimulation of the specific reverse transcriptase (RT) activity detected in the culture supernatant and (ii) co-expression of both typical HSV-1 virions and abundant retrovirus-like particles. Transfection of LM7 cells with plasmids expressing HSV-1 immediate early (IE) ICP0 and ICP4 proteins produced a similar enhancement of RT activity in culture supernatants with retrovirus-like particles being identifiable by electron microscopy. These effects were not observed with a plasmid expressing ICP27 or with the parental plasmid in LM7 cells, nor with any of these four plasmids in control cells. These results show that HSV IE trans-activating proteins strongly enhance the expression of the latent retrovirus present in LM7 cells. The possible role in vivo of herpesviruses as 'triggering' cofactors in the retrovirus hypothesis for multiple sclerosis aetiology is also discussed.

Arachnoid↗

Impact of dietary fatty acid balance on membrane structure and function of neuronal tissues.

Neural tissue has generally been viewed as resistant to structural changes induced by exogenous factors. Research has shown that the brain responds to changes in diet by altering neurotransmitter synthesis, and by shifting neuroendocrine controls over a variety of physiological events. Animal model research also indicates that fatty acid constituents and synthesis of brain structural lipid in membranes undergoing turnover can be altered by changing the composition of dietary fat. In growing animals, the balance between dietary omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids influences brain phospholipid fatty acid composition, phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase activity, and rate of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis via the CDP-choline pathway. It is concluded that biosynthetic control mechanisms regulating synthesis of brain structural lipid, in particular phosphatidylcholine, respond to exogenous factors and represent a normal physiological response by the brain. This response may provide a mechanism for therapeutic treatment of disorders involving degeneration of brain structural lipid.

Animals↗

Failure of thumbtacks used in control of presacral hemorrhage.

We report a case of failure of thumbtacks used in achieving last-resort hemostasis in a gunshot injury to the presacral venous plexus/sacrum. Four of five thumbtacks used detached. The exact mechanism of failure is not known. To our knowledge, there are no reports of failure of these hemostatic devices in the literature. This finding suggests to us that thumbtack hemostasis is not without complication. It is not known whether injury to internal viscera and organs occurred secondary to the loose thumbtacks. We suggest that surgeons as well as pathologists use caution when exploring pelvic or abdominal cavities following pelvic vascular trauma due to the considerable danger posed by these sharp objects.

Abdominal Injuries↗

Human gliomas and epileptic foci express high levels of a mRNA related to rat testicular sulfated glycoprotein 2, a purported marker of cell death.

Clone pTB16 has been isolated by differential screening of a human glioma cDNA library. Northern blot analysis has shown that pTB16 expression is several times (greater than 11-fold) higher in gliomas than in a primitive neuroectodermal tumor. This observation was supported by in situ hybridization and extended to nine other gliomas. Expression was virtually absent in adenocarcinoma cells metastasized to brain. Malignant gliomas showed stronger hybridization than benign gliomas, while blood capillaries did not show hybridization. pTB16 mRNA was also shown to be expressed in established glioma cell lines and at high levels in epileptic foci, indicating that expression of the gene may be limited to certain cell types and that its upregulation is not merely a consequence of cellular proliferation. Nucleotide sequence analysis identified pTB16 as the human counterpart for rat testicular sulfated glycoprotein 2 (SGP-2), whose function in the reproductive system remains unknown. Although SGP-2 transcripts, and hence pTB16, were recently shown to be increased in neurodegenerative diseases such as scrapie in hamsters and Alzheimer disease in humans, our observations with brain tumors and epilepsy are suggestive of a role for pTB16 in neuropathologies in general and support the hypothesis of its involvement in tissue remodeling and cell death.

Blotting, Northern↗

Expression in bacteria of a polypeptide encoded by a transforming fragment of herpes simplex virus type 2.

We have constructed a plasmid (pMD2) containing the 38,000 MW polypeptide (38K polypeptide) gene from the transforming Bg1II-N fragment of HSV-2 fused to the amino-terminal portion of the beta-galactosidase gene in plasmid pUC8. Nucleotide sequence determination around the fusion-junction confirmed that the viral gene sequences starting at its second codon is in the correct reading frame in relation to the translation initiation codon of beta-galactosidase. The lac control sequences direct the synthesis of a 39K protein. This protein was shown to be structurally related to the 38K protein from HSV-2-infected cells by partial proteolytic cleavage analysis. Furthermore, antiserum directed against HSV-2-infected cells, as well as a monoclonal antibody against the 38K viral polypeptide and antibodies raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the nine C-terminal amino acid residues of the 38K viral protein, detected the fusion protein in bacteria containing the recombinant plasmid pMD2 but not in Escherichia coli containing a related plasmid or no plasmid.

Animals↗

Failure to detect viral genomic sequences of three viruses (herpes simplex, simian virus 40 and adenovirus) in human and rat brain tumors.

Little is known about oncogenesis in brain tumors. Viruses are thought to be involved in some neurological diseases, the presence of subfractions of viral DNA has been reported in various circumstances and the oncogenicity of some viruses has been demonstrated in animal experiments. The discovery of homologies between retroviral oncogenes and normal cellular genes (proto-oncogenes) has stimulated once again the search for viral responsibility in oncogenesis. Having a large bank of tumor material available, we systematically examined 39 brain tumors using Southern blot hybridization with DNAs of three viruses, known to be involved in neurological diseases: herpes simplex virus (HSV), simian virus 40 (SV40) and adenovirus type 2 (Ad2). We detected no homology between the DNAs of the examined material and the viral DNA probes. We compare these negative results with those of other published studies and discuss the experimental conditions, with special reference to the possibility of non-specific hybridization, which could account for the positive results reported. The present negative results could be interpreted either as absence of involvement of the three investigated viruses in brain tumor oncogenesis, or an indirect involvement through a hit-and-run mechanism or a highly dispersed state of the viral sequences among the host genome, which would prevent hybridization with the probe, as it has been supposed to be the case during the latency phase of herpes virus.

Adenoviridae↗

Serum amyloid A protein-related mRNA expression in herpes simplex virus type 2-transformed hamster cells.

A nearly full-length cDNA very similar to murine serum amyloid A protein was cloned from herpes simplex virus type 2-transformed hamster cells. The expression of mRNA was constitutive in these cells and could be superinduced by conditioned medium. Higher rates of nuclear runoff transcription in transformed and induced cells indicated some regulation at the transcriptional level.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of a proliferation-related transcript with an elevated expression in the mid-gestation mouse embryo.

Polyadenylated RNA enriched in transformation specific sequences from hamster embryo fibroblast cells transformed by HSV-2 was used to construct a cDNA library. A cDNA clone (pKG4) contained a sequence which was upregulated in HSV-2 transformed cells and also in fibroblastic cell lines transformed by SV40 and 3-methylcholanthrene. The expression of the KG4 sequences in HSV-2-transformed cells was found to be modulated by the growth state of the cells. In confluent cells its level was reduced 5-times compared to the homologous RNAs from exponentially growing cells. Expression of the KG4 sequence was also examined in mouse embryos from day 8 onwards and in adult tissues. During development, KG4 is expressed at all times examined. However, there is a dramatic increase in expression on day 11. In adult tissues, a low and variable level of expression was observed. These findings suggest that the KG4 sequence is related to cellular proliferation.

Animals↗

Specific induction of cellular gene transcription in herpes simplex virus type 2-transformed cells.

In spite of much work, the mechanism of oncogenic transformation by herpes simplex virus (HSV) is as yet unknown. It has been proposed that HSV type 2 (HSV-2) can transform cells by a 'hit and run' mechanism. In the past we have demonstrated that several polypeptides can be immunoprecipitated from HSV-2-transformed cells, but not from control cells or adenovirus-transformed cells, by rabbit hyperimmune sera to HSV-2. It is possible that the expression of these proteins might be the result of activation of cellular genes during transformation. We have now isolated cDNAs representing transcripts of genes that are expressed at higher levels in HSV-2-transformed hamster embryo fibroblasts than in the parental cells. Cytoplasmic transcripts and genomic sequences homologous to three clones (pAA8, pHD1 and pLC7) were analysed. Northern blot analyses showed that 0.75 kb transcripts which hybridize to the three cDNAs were present in HSV-2-transformed cells and were completely absent or present at low levels in control hamster fibroblasts. These transcripts were not present in mouse cells transformed by other DNA viruses or by a chemical carcinogen. The expression of these transcripts seemed to be confined to certain HSV-2-transformed cell lines. Southern blot analysis suggested that the 0.75 kb transcripts corresponding to these cDNAs may have arisen from a single gene. Nuclear run-off experiments indicated that activation occurred at the level of transcription. The activation of the gene or genes corresponding to these cDNAs may be an integral part of the mechanism of transformation by HSV-2.

Animals↗

Activities of both ribonucleotide reductase subunits, M1 and M2, decrease upon serum starvation of baby hamster kidney 21/C13 cells.

Ribonucleotide reductase from mammalian cells is composed of two nonidentical subunits M1 and M2 which are both required to form the catalytic site. The level of ribonucleotide reductase activity is cell cycle controlled and several reports suggest that this control is achieved mainly by the regulation of M2 subunit synthesis. In the present study, we have found that the activities of both subunits decreased markedly upon serum starvation in the Syrian baby hamster kidney 21/C13 cell line. These decreases did not seem to be correlated with the appearance of an inhibitory factor in serum-starved cells. Quantification of the amount of the M1 subunit protein (89,000 molecular weight) by [32P]dTTP photoaffinity labelling revealed that the decrease in M1 activity was not due to variation in M1 protein level. Therefore, a posttranslational mechanism probably exists which inactivates M1 subunit when cells stay in the quiescent (G0) state and this mechanism could play an important role in the control of ribonucleotide reductase activity.

Animals↗

Lymph node primary immunization of mice for the production of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies.

Primary immunization of mice by lymph node injection of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in doses as low as 1 ng followed by a secondary immunization with 1 microgram each for intraperiteonal and intravenous injections was sufficient to elicit the production of circulating antibodies. The lowest efficient dose tested was the injection of 100 ng of BSA in the lymph nodes and booster injections of 1 ng each. This method was extended to the production of monoclonal antibodies using less than 20 micrograms of a 35 kDa polypeptide purified from hamster cells transformed by Herpes simplex type 2 viruses.

Animals↗

Herpes-related polypeptides from a human cervical carcinoma cell line.

Using antiserum against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infected cells, eight polypeptides with similar molecular weights could be immunoprecipitated from the nearly diploid, human cervical carcinoma cell line C4II and from HSV-2 transformed hamster and mouse cells. Only two of these polypeptides corresponded to those from HSV-2 infected cells, including the putative HSV-2 transformation-related 35K protein. Partial proteolytic cleavage products of the immunoprecipitated 35K polypeptides from C4II and HSV transformed hamster and infected cells were indistinguishable; however, viral DNA and mRNA corresponding to the 35K polypeptide could not be detected in C4II or in transformed hamster or mouse cells by dot blot hybridization. A similar mechanism of transformation for the human cervical carcinoma cell line and HSV-2 transformed cells is proposed.

Animals↗