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M Warner

Publications and source records attributed to M Warner.

230 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1975

Studies on Z-Fraction. I. Isolation and partial characterization of low molecular weight ligand-binding protein from rat hepatic cytosol.

The Z-fraction has been defined operationally as a ligand-binding (bilirubin sulfobromophthalein) portion of rat hepatic cytosol that elutes in the molecular weight region of 10(4) daltons after gel filtration. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoreses under different conditions, as well as binding stoichiometry, confirm the anticipated heterogeneity of the Z-fraction. Three factors have contributed to the subsequent resolution of the Z-fraction and partial characterization of that protein within the fraction with ligand-binding properties (Z-protein): (1) the use of hexachlorophene as ligand; (2) the inclusion of glycerol, 20%, during isolation to prevent aggregation and loss of binding-activity; and (3) the development of a charcoal binding assay. Upon ion exchange chromatography, the Z-fraction resolves into a group of distinct protein components and an unidentified material with a high 260/280 nm absorbancy ratio. The one protein component with binding capacity exhibits homogeneity on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (11% gel, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 121, 404-427, 1964; and 15% gel with SDS). With use of the charcoal method, apparent dissociation constants for the interaction between Z-protein and hexachlorophene, bilirubin and L-thyroxine, were found to be 20, 50, and 350 muM, respectively. The Scatchard plot generated upon extrapolation an n value of 1.0 with assumption of a molecular weight for Z-protein of 10(4) daltons.

Animals↗
PubMed1969

Serum alkaline phosphatase in adult coeliac disease.

The total alkaline phosphatase levels were determined in 118 patients with adult coeliac disease, 65 of whom had evidence of osteomalacia.The secretor and blood group status, intestinal isoenzyme, and liver alkaline phosphatase played no significant part in the levels of serum alkaline phosphatase found. There was a significant correlation between the levels of serum alkaline phosphatase and the presence of osteomalacia.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Seveso Women's Health Study: does zone of residence predict individual TCDD exposure?

The compound, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), is produced as an unwanted by-product of various chemical reactions and combustion processes, including the manufacture of chlorinated phenols and derivatives. In animals, TCDD exposure is associated with toxic, carcinogenic, developmental, and reproductive effects. In 1976, a chemical plant explosion in Seveso, Italy, exposed the residents in the surrounding community to the highest exposure to TCDD known in humans. Materials from an aerosol cloud of sodium hydroxide, sodium trichlorophenate and TCDD were deposited over an 18.1 km2 area. As evidence of the significant level of TCDD exposure, numerous animals died and 193 cases of chloracne were reported among residents of the area. Initially, the contaminated area was divided into three major exposure Zones (A, B, R) based on the concentration of TCDD in surface soils. To date, the majority of epidemiologic studies conducted in Seveso have used Zone of residence as a proxy measure of exposure. The purpose of the present study is to validate the use of Zone of residence in Seveso as a proxy measure of exposure against individual serum TCDD measurement, and to determine whether questionnaire information can improve the accuracy of the exposure classification. Using data collected from the Seveso Women's Health Study (SWHS), the first comprehensive epidemiologic study of the reproductive health of women in Seveso, we determined that Zone of residence is a good predictor of individual serum TCDD level, explaining 24% of the variance. Using questionnaire information could have improved prediction of individual exposure levels in Seveso, increasing the percent of the variation in serum TCDD levels explained to 42%.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Seveso Women's Health Study: a study of the effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on reproductive health.

Although reproductive effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposure have been reported in numerous investigations of animals, studies of this association in humans are limited. In 1976, an explosion in Seveso, Italy exposed the surrounding population to among the highest levels of TCDD recorded in humans. The relatively pure exposure to TCDD and the ability to quantify individual level TCDD exposure from sera collected in 1976 for the Seveso cohort affords a unique opportunity to evaluate the potential dose-response relationship between TCDD exposure and a spectrum of reproductive endpoints. The Seveso Women's Health Study (SWHS) is the first comprehensive study of the reproductive health of a human population exposed to TCDD. The primary objectives of the study are to investigate the relationship of TCDD and the following endpoints: (1) endometriosis; (2) menstrual cycle characteristics; (3) age at menarche; (4) birth outcomes of pregnancies conceived after 1976; (5) time to conception and clinical infertility; and (6) age at menopause. Included in the SWHS cohort are women who were 0-40 yr old in 1976, who have adequate stored sera collected between 1976 and 1980, and who resided in Zones A or B at the time of the accident. All women were interviewed extensively about their reproductive and pregnancy history and had a blood draw. For an eligible subset of women, a pelvic exam and transvaginal ultrasound were conducted and a menstrual diary was completed. More than 95% of the women were located 20 yr after the accident and roughly 80% of the cohort agreed to participate. Data collection was completed in July 1998, serum TCDD analysis of samples for analysis of endometriosis as a nested case-control study was completed in October 1998, and statistical analysis of these data should be completed in early 1999. Serum samples are now being analyzed in order to relate TCDD levels with the remaining reproductive outcomes.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rationale for selecting exfoliated bladder cell micronuclei as potential biomarkers for arsenic genotoxicity.

Biomarkers of effect have important potential in epidemiology, since they may enable ascertainment of exposure-effect associations in relatively inexpensive cross-sectional studies, with confirmation by short follow-up after cessation of exposure. Arsenic is known to cause human skin and lung cancer, and may also cause various internal cancers including bladder, kidney, and liver cancer. The strongest epidemiological association between arsenic ingestion and an internal cancer is that with bladder cancer. Epidemiological studies of a Taiwanese population exposed to high levels of arsenic from drinking water reported relative risks for bladder cancer well above any other known environmental carcinogen. Populations at increased risk for bladder cancer from other exposures, such as smoking and schistosomiasis infection, have elevated frequencies of micronuclei in exfoliated bladder cells. We have therefore proposed that the bladder cell micronucleus assay could be an appropriate biological marker of genotoxic effect of arsenic exposure. In this paper, we present the rationale for choosing the bladder cell micronucleus assay as a potential biomarker of effect for arsenic. We also briefly describe the studies we are conducting using this biomarker in currently exposed populations.

Arsenic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glucose, insulin, potassium protection during the course of hypothermic global ischemia and reperfusion: a new proposed mechanism by the scavenging of free radicals.

Glucose, insulin, potassium (GIK: 300 g glucose + 50 U insulin + 80 mEq KC1/L) was administered to anesthetized dogs as a 30-ml bolus followed by 1.5 ml/kg/h for 2 h. Five populations were studied: control (C, n = 6); 60 min hypothermic arrest both without (I, n = 6) and with pretreatment (I + GIK, n = 6); 60 min hypothermic arrest followed by reperfusion without (R, n = 6) and with pretreatment (R + GIK, n = 6). Glycogen content declined during the ischemic and reperfusion periods whether or not GIK pretreatment was utilized. Glycogen values did not differ significantly among the four groups. GIK pretreatment significantly protected sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium uptake rates. SR Ca2+ + Mg2+ adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity was unaffected in the I group, depressed in the R group, but protected by GIK pretreatment. Myofibrillar pCa-ATPase activity was significantly depressed in the I group and unaffected by GIK pretreatment. In the R + GIK group, myofibrillar pCa-ATPase activity was identical to controls at all calcium concentrations except for Vmax. In vitro, generation of the superoxide anion by a xanthine-xanthine oxidase system at pH 7.0 significantly depressed both SR calcium uptake and ATPase activity, and this depression was partially reversible by glucose. Generation of the hydroxyl free radical and pH 6.4 significantly depressed calcium uptake but not ATPase activity, and this depression was reversible with glucose + superoxide dismutase. GIK pretreatment exerts a protective effect on the excitation-contraction coupling system during hypothermic global ischemia and reperfusion. Glycogen augmentation after short-term GIK infusion was not significantly different. It is hypothesized that an additional mechanism by which GIK may protect subcellular function is by serving as a scavenger of free radicals generated during the ischemic/reperfusion process.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chromatographic and electrophoretic heterogeneity of the cytochromes P-450 solubilized from untreated rat liver.

When the hepatic microsomes prepared from one or two untreated male rats were incubated for 3 hr at room temperature in buffered Emulgen 911, cholate, glycerol, and EDTA, almost complete recovery of the cytochromes P-450 in solubilized form was obtained. The intact cytochromes P-450 in this preparation were retained by Sephadex G-200. They could be resolved by anion-exchange chromatography into four fractions with 70--80% recovery of cytochrome P-450 and little or no conversion to P-420. In the process, the p-450 hemoproteins were separated from cytochrome b5, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, and hemoglobulin. Each of the four fractions of cytochrome P-450 could be further resolved by electrofocusing in polyacrylamide into numerous protein bands, more than eight of which stained for heme. Extracts from focused gels retained P-450 spectral character. Mixtures of the various fractions electrofocused additively. Added hematin focused only in the acidic region of the gels. Although these results indicate extensive heterogeneity in the cytochromes P-450, the complexities of electrofocusing in the presence of detergent warrants cautious interpretation. These methods, however, should provide a basis for subsequent chemical, physical, catalytic, and immunological investigations of the heterogeneity, and its significance.

Animals↗