Biomedical subjects

M Zhao

Publications and source records attributed to M Zhao.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Reduced expression of p27(Kip1) correlates with an early stage of cancer invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Down-regulation of p27(Kip1) has been reported to correlate with poor survival of various carcinoma patients including oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). It is still unclear, however, at what stage of oral carcinogenesis the down-regulation of this protein occurs. In this study, therefore, we evaluated immunoexpression of p27(Kip1) protein in 17 cases of oral epithelial dysplasia and succeeding invasive OSCC in the same patient. We reported here that 88% cases showed high p27(Kip1) expression in dysplastic lesions, whereas 82% cases of succeeding invasive OSCC exhibited reduced expression. The reduction of p27(Kip1) expression was also observed in 16 of 19 (84%) early invasive lesions and well correlated with Ki-67 expression which is good indicator of cell proliferation. We also investigated immunoexpression of p53 protein of which abnormality has been known to occur during the early stage of OSCC development. Overexpression of p53 protein was demonstrated in 29% of dysplastic lesions, 42% of early invasive and 71% of invasive OSCCs. These findings suggest that abnormalities of both p53 and p27(Kip1) are involved in the carcinogenesis of OSCC, but they seem to play their role at different stages of oral cancer development, respectively. Reduced expression of p27(Kip1) may concern the cancer invasion directly or indirectly as well as abnormal proliferation.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗

PubMed2000

Diabetes-associated mutations in a beta-cell transcription factor destabilize an antiparallel "mini-zipper" in a dimerization interface.

Maturity-onset diabetes of the young, a monogenic form of Type II diabetes mellitus, is most commonly caused by mutations in hepatic nuclear factor 1alpha (HNF-1alpha). Here, the dimerization motif of HNF-1alpha is shown to form an intermolecular four-helix bundle. One face contains an antiparallel coiled coil whereas the other contains splayed alpha-helices. The "mini-zipper" is complementary in structure and symmetry to the top surface of a transcriptional coactivator (dimerization cofactor of homeodomains). The bundle is destabilized by a subset of mutations associated with maturity-onset diabetes of the young. Impaired dimerization of a beta-cell transcription factor thus provides a molecular mechanism of metabolic deregulation in diabetes mellitus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2000

In vivo treatment of mutant FLT3-transformed murine leukemia with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Somatic mutation of the FLT3 gene, in which the juxtamembrane domain has an internal tandem duplication, is found in 20% of human acute myeloid leukemias and causes constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation of the products. In this study, we observed that the transfection of mutant FLT3 gene into an IL3-dependent murine cell line, 32D, abrogated the IL3-dependency. Subcutaneous injection of the transformed 32D cells caused leukemia in addition to subcutaneous tumors in C3H/HeJ mice. To develop a FLT3-targeted therapy, we examined tyrosine kinase inhibitors for in vitro growth suppression of the transformed 32D cells. A tyrosine kinase inhibitor, herbimycin A, remarkably inhibited the growth of the transformed 32D cells at 0.1 microM, at which concentration it was ineffective in parental 32D cells. Herbimycin A suppressed the constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation of the mutant FLT3 but not the phosphorylation of the ligand-stimulated wild-type FLT3. In mice transplanted with the transformed 32D cells, the administration of herbimycin A prolonged the latency of disease or completely prevented leukemia, depending on the number of cells inoculated and schedule of drug administration. These results suggest that mutant FLT3 is a promising target for tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the treatment of leukemia.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Apoptotic cells actively inhibit the expression of CD69 on Con A activated T lymphocytes.

Although apoptosis is commonly viewed as a silent cell death without damage to adjacent tissues, the effect of apoptosis on immunity has been unclear. We have investigated the influence of apoptotic cells on T-cell activation. The K562 or HL-60 human leukemia cell lines that had been induced apoptosis by FTY720 or cycloheximide (CHX) were added into the culture of mouse spleen cells stimulated with Con A. Six to 20 h later, the expression of CD69, an early T-cell activation antigen, was detected using flowcytometry. Living cells and necrotic cells served as control groups. Apoptotic K562 or HL-60 cells induced by either FTY720 or CHX unanimously inhibited CD69 expression on the CD3+ mouse T cells while living and necrotic cells did not. The inhibition was proportional to the number of apoptotic cells and was different in the T-cell subsets, showing a rapid and transient inhibition on the CD3+CD8+ T-cell activation but with a slow and continuous inhibition on CD3+CD8- T-cell activation. In conclusion, the apoptotic cells actively inhibit a T-cell activation that is independent of the cell lines or the apoptotic inducers, indicating that the apoptotic cells dominantly regulate T-cell immunity.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Comparative study of the toxic effects of gallium arsenide, indium arsenide and arsenic trioxide following intratracheal instillations to the lung of Syrian golden hamsters.

Toxic effects of gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium arsenide (InAs) and arsenic trioxide (As2O3) were studied in male Syrian golden hamsters. GaAs (7.7 mg/kg) and As2O3 (1.3 mg/kg) particles were instilled intratracheally twice a week a total of 16 times, while InAs (7.7 mg/kg) was instilled a total of 14 times. As a control, hamsters were treated with the vehicle, phosphate buffer solution. During the instillation period, the cumulative body weight gain of the InAs-, but not the GaAs- or As2O3-treated hamsters was suppressed significantly, when compared with the control group. Slight to severe inflammatory responses were observed in the lung for all treatment groups. The most severe inflammatory change, characterized by an accumulation of neutrophils and macrophages, exudation, thickness of the pleura and fibrotic proliferation was found in the InAs-treated hamsters. Extensive alveolar or bronchiolar cell hyperplasia with or without keratinizing squamous cell metaplasia was observed in almost all the InAs-treated hamsters. Furthermore, squamous cell metaplasia or squamous cell hyperplasia developed in some of the InAs-treated hamsters, but not in the GaAs- or As2O3-treated hamsters. Slight to mild lesions were found in the convoluted tubules of the kidney in both the GaAs and InAs groups. From the present study, the toxic potency of these particles was provisionally estimated to be in the following order: InAs > GaAs > As2O3, at the dosage level used in this study. Furthermore, there was evidence that InAs particles could induce pulmonary, renal or systemic toxicity, and as such, InAs particles may produce pulmonary precancerous change when instilled intratracheally into hamsters.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Identification of amino acids in the factor XI apple 3 domain required for activation of factor IX.

Activated coagulation factor XI (factor XIa) proteolytically cleaves its substrate, factor IX, in an interaction requiring the factor XI A3 domain (Sun, Y., and Gailani, D. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 29023-29028). To identify key amino acids involved in factor IX activation, recombinant factor XIa proteins containing alanine substitutions for wild-type sequence were expressed in 293 fibroblasts and tested in a plasma clotting assay. Substitutions for Ile(183)-Val(191) and Ser(195)-Ile(197) at the N terminus and for Ser(258)-Ser(264) at the C terminus of the A3 domain markedly decreased factor XI coagulant activity. The plasma protease prekallikrein is structurally homologous to factor XI, but activated factor IX poorly. A chimeric factor XIa molecule with the A3 domain replaced with A3 from prekallikrein (FXI/PKA3) activated factor IX with a K(m) 35-fold greater than that of wild-type factor XI. FXI/PKA3 was used as a template for a series of proteins in which prekallikrein A3 sequence was replaced with factor XI sequence to restore factor IX activation. Clotting and kinetics studies using these chimeras confirmed the results obtained with alanine mutants. Amino acids between Ile(183) and Val(191) are necessary for proper factor IX activation, but additional sequence between Ser(195) and Ile(197) or between Phe(260) and Ser(265) is required for complete restoration of activation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1999

Stimulation of bone formation in vitro and in rodents by statins.

Osteoporosis and other diseases of bone loss are a major public health problem. Here it is shown that the statins, drugs widely used for lowering serum cholesterol, also enhance new bone formation in vitro and in rodents. This effect was associated with increased expression of the bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) gene in bone cells. Lovastatin and simvastatin increased bone formation when injected subcutaneously over the calvaria of mice and increased cancellous bone volume when orally administered to rats. Thus, in appropriate doses, statins may have therapeutic applications for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Nitroxide scanning electron paramagnetic resonance of helices IV and V and the intervening loop in the lactose permease of Escherichia coli.

Glu126 and Arg144 in helices IV and V, respectively, in the lactose permease of Escherichia coli, which play an indispensable role in substrate binding, are charge-paired and in close proximity [Venkatesan, P., Kaback, H. R. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95, 9802-9807; Zhao, M., Zen, K.-C., et al. (1999) Biochemistry 38, 7407-7412]. Since hydropathy plots indicate that these residues are at the membrane-water interface at the cytoplasmic surface of the membrane, site-directed nitroxide scanning electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has been carried out on this region of the permease. Thirty-one single-Cys permease mutants were spin-labeled and examined by conventional and power saturation EPR. The motional freedom of the side chains, as well as accessibility to O(2) or potassium chromium oxalate (CrOx), indicates that the loop between helices IV and V (loop IV/V) is considerably smaller than predicted by hydropathy plots, extending only from about Val132 to Phe138 and that Glu126 and Arg144 are probably within the membrane. Although ligand binding has no effect on the mobility of the labeled side chains, a marked increase in CrOx and O(2) accessibility is observed at position 137, as well as significant changes in accessibility to CrOx on one face of helix V. It is concluded that ligand binding induces a conformational change in the vicinity of the binding site, resulting in increased accessibility of position 137 in loop IV/V to solvent.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1999

Quantification of substance P mRNA in human mononuclear phagocytes and lymphocytes using a mimic-based RT-PCR.

We have recently demonstrated that human monocytes and lymphocytes express the substance P (SP) gene at both the mRNA and protein level [Ho, W.Z., Lai, J.P., Zhu, X.H., Uvaydova, M., Douglas S.D., 1997. Human monocytes and macrophages express substance P and neurokinin-1 receptor. Journal of Immunology, 159, p. 5654; Lai, J.P., Douglas, S. D., Ho, W.Z., 1998. Human lymphocytes express substance P and its receptor. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 86, p. 80; Lai, J.-P., Douglas, S.D., Rappaport, E., Wu, J., Ho, W.-Z., 1998. Identification of a delta isoform of preprotachykinin mRNA in human mononuclear phagocytes and lymphocytes. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 91, p. 121]. Using RT-PCR assay with several specific human SP primer pairs, we were able to differentiate four isoforms of preprotachykinin (PPT-A, the SP precursor) mRNA transcripts on ethidium bromide-stained agarose gels and clone the PCR amplified cDNA of the four isoforms (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta) of the PPT-A gene. In an effort to quantitatively measure PPT-A mRNA levels, we have developed a mimic-based RT-PCR assay to analyze total PPT-A mRNA levels in human monocytes and lymphocytes. We designed a specific human SP primer pair (HSP4/HSP3) to amplify a single fragment of cDNA derived from all four isoforms of PPT-A mRNA transcripts, with a sensitivity of 120 molecules per reaction. Thus the PPT-A mRNA transcripts in an unknown sample can be quantitatively analyzed using the mimic-based RT-PCR. The accuracy and reproducibility of this assay were confirmed by the plasmids containing alpha, beta, gamma and delta cDNA inserts and by in vitro synthesized mRNA from a plasmid containing beta isoform cDNA insert. Our data indicate that the SP mimic-based RT-PCR assay has potential advantages in studies of SP levels in a variety of human cells as well as in clinical specimens.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Synthesis and antitumour activity of novel diterpenequinone salvicine and the analogs.

A novel diterpenequinone named salvicine (4), structurally modified derivative of a natural product, and a series of the novel analogs have been prepared. Most of the analogs were found to be potently active against tumor cell lines in vitro. Further study on 4 in vivo demonstrated that it possessed a significant antineoplastic activity against murine S-180 Sarcoma and Lewis lung cancer, and human lung adenocarcinoma xenografts A-549 and LAX-83. The preclinical studies of 4 are now under way.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Reduced expression of p27(Kip1) protein in relation to salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a malignant tumor of salivary gland origin. It tends to grow slowly but shows frequent recurrence and metastasis, ultimately with a poor outcome. Reduced expression of a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p27(Kip1), has been reported to correlate with poor survival for patients with various types of carcinoma. However, there has been no previous study reported of p27(Kip1) expression in ACC, to the authors' knowledge. METHODS: To evaluate p27(Kip1) as a prognostic marker, the authors examined the immunohistochemical expression of p27(Kip1) protein in 29 ACCs and correlated its expression with clinicopathologic findings. Eleven pleomorphic adenomas (PAs) were also examined to compare the p27(Kip1) expression in benign and malignant salivary gland tumors. RESULTS: All PAs expressed p27(Kip1) at high levels, whereas 83% of ACCs (24 of 29) showed reduced expression of this protein. Furthermore, the expression levels were significantly lower in ACCs with metastasis than in those without metastasis. The authors also examined the expression of p27(Kip1) in 2 ACC cell lines (ACCh and ACC3) by Northern and Western blot analysis to elucidate the possible mechanism of p27(Kip1) reduction in ACC. Both ACCh and ACC3 expressed p27(Kip1) mRNA, but ACCh did not produce p27(Kip1) protein. In ACCh, the expression of p27(Kip1) protein was induced by treatment with a proteasome inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these findings suggest that reduced expression of p27(Kip1) may correlate with the development and progression of salivary ACC and can be an indicator of its malignant behavior. They also suggest that increased proteasome-mediated degradation may play an important role in this reduction of p27(Kip1) expression.

Adenoma, Pleomorphic↗

PubMed1999

Molecular identification of the ryanodine receptor pore-forming segment.

A sequence motif, GXRXGGGXGD, located in the putative channel-forming domain, is conserved in all known ryanodine receptors and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors. The functional significance of this conserved region was investigated by using site-directed mutagenesis together with functional assays consisting of Ca(2+) release measurements, [(3)H]ryanodine binding, and single channel recordings in planar lipid bilayers. We report here that single point mutations introduced into this region of the mouse cardiac ryanodine receptor reduce or abolish high affinity [(3)H]ryanodine binding. Single channel analysis revealed that a single substitution of alanine for glycine 4824 within this region reduced the single channel conductance by 97%, from 798 picosiemens (pS) for the wild type channel to 22 pS. The G4824A mutant channel was modulated by Ca(2+), Mg(2+), ATP, caffeine, ruthenium red, and ryanodine. Co-expression of the wild type and G4824A mutant proteins produced single channels that have intermediate unitary conductances of 516, 256, 176, and 60 pS. These data suggest that this conserved region constitutes an essential part of the ryanodine binding site and the channel conduction pathway of the ryanodine receptor.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1999

Inhibition of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis following induction of apoptosis in HL-60 cells.

Induction of apoptosis in HL-60 cells, using a variety of cytotoxic drugs, resulted, in all cases, in inhibition of CDP-choline:1, 2-diacylglycerol choline phosphotransferase, leading to an accumulation of its substrate, CDP-choline, and inhibition of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis. Incubation of the cells with phosphatidylcholine reduced the number displaying an apoptotic morphology following drug treatment, and this was inversely related to the degree to which the drugs inhibited phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis. Inhibition of choline phosphotransferase by two of the drugs, farnesol and chelerythrine, was shown to be due to direct inhibition of the enzyme, while inhibition by the other drugs, etoposide and camptothecin, could be explained by the intracellular acidification that followed induction of apoptosis.

Alkaloids↗

PubMed1999

Proximity between Glu126 and Arg144 in the lactose permease of Escherichia coli.

Evidence has been presented [Venkatesan, P., and Kaback, H. R. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95, 9802-9807] that Glu126 (helix IV) and Arg144 (helix V) which are critical for substrate binding in the lactose permease of Escherichia coli are charge paired and therefore in close proximity. To test this conclusion more directly, three different site-directed spectroscopic techniques were applied to permease mutants in which Glu126 and/or Arg144 were replaced with either His or Cys residues. (1) Glu126-->His/Arg144-->His permease containing a biotin acceptor domain was purified by monomeric avidin affinity chromatography, and Mn(II) binding was assessed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The mutant protein binds Mn(II) with a KD of about 40 microM at pH 7.5, while no binding is observed at pH 5.5. In addition, no binding is detected with Glu126-->His or Arg144-->His permease. (2) Permease with Glu126-->Cys/Arg144-->Cys and a biotin acceptor domain was purified, labeled with a thiol-specific nitroxide spin-label, and shown to exhibit spin-spin interactions in the frozen state after reconstitution into proteoliposomes. (3) Glu126-->Cys/Arg144-->Cys permease with a biotin acceptor domain was purified and labeled with a thiol-specific pyrene derivative, and fluorescence spectra were obtained after reconstitution into lipid bilayers. An excimer band is observed with the reconstituted E126C/R144C mutant, but not with either single-Cys mutant or when the single-Cys mutants are mixed prior to reconstitution. The results provide strong support for the conclusion that Glu126 (helix IV) and Arg144 (helix V) are in close physical proximity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1999

A small, physiological electric field orients cell division.

We report on an observation that the orientation of cell division is directed by small, applied electric fields (EFs). Cultured human corneal epithelial cells were exposed to a direct-current EF of physiological magnitude. Cells divided while attached to the culture dish, and most did so with a cleavage plane perpendicular to the EF vector. There are many instances in which cell divisions in vivo occur in the presence of direct-current physiological EF, for example, during embryonic morphogenesis, neuronal and epithelial differentiation, wound healing, or tumor formation. Endogenous physiological EFs may play important roles in some or all of these processes by regulating the axis of cell division and, hence, the positioning of daughter cells.

Cell Division↗

PubMed1999

Optimization of a matrix solid-phase dispersion method with sequential clean-up for the determination of alkylphenol ethoxylates in biological tissues.

A modified Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion (MSPD) method with sequential clean-up has been developed to isolate and purify alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) and alkylphenols in biological tissues. Elution profile, sequential clean-up adsorbent and experimental set up were optimized. Octadecylsilica was used as the solid-phase for matrix dispersion. Methanol was found to be the optimal eluting solvent for APEs. Aluminium oxide was quite efficient for removing the coeluting interferences. Quantitative analysis was done by reversed-phase HPLC with fluorescence detection. The optimized procedure was applied to analyze both fish and mussel samples. Average recoveries for all spiked tissue samples were greater than 90%. Typical limits of detection amount to tens of ppbs on a wet weight basis.

Aluminum Oxide↗

PubMed1999

Histopathological evidence that spermatogonia are the target cells of 2-bromopropane.

To confirm the target cell of 2-bromopropane within the testis, 1355 mg/kg of 2-bromopropane was subcutaneously injected to rats for 1-5 days and the numbers of spermatogonia and spermatocytes were examined 6 h after each last injection. The number of stage I spermatogonia decreased after the first 2-bromopropane injection and the number of spermatogonia at the other stages also decreased following repetitive injection. The number of these spermatogonia decreased further by the repetition of 2-bromopropane injection. In addition, the delay in mitotic division of type B spermatogonia was frequently observed after the fifth 2-bromopropane injection. The number of stage I pachytene spermatocytes also decreased slightly after the first 2-bromopropane injection, although it did not decrease further following repetitive injection. Therefore, we concluded that spermatogonia are the target cells of 2-bromopropane in rats.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Cloning and characterization of RLPK, a novel RSK-related protein kinase.

A novel protein kinase whose activity can be stimulated by mitogen in vivo was cloned and characterized. The cDNA of this gene encodes an 802-amino acid protein (termed RLPK) with the highest homology (37% identity) to the two protein kinase families, p90(RSK) and p70(RSK). Like p90(RSR), but not p70(RSK), RLPK also contains two complete nonidentical protein kinase domains. RLPK mRNA is widely expressed in all human tissues examined and is enriched in the brain, heart, and placenta. In HeLa cells, transiently expressed epitope-tagged RLPK can be strongly induced by epidermal growth factor, serum, and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, but only moderately up-regulated by tumor necrosis factor-alpha and other stress-related stimuli. The activity of RLPK stimulated by epidermal growth factor was not inhibited by several known protein kinase C inhibitors nor by rapamycin, a known specific inhibitor for p70(RSK), but could be inhibited by herbimycin A, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and partially inhibited by PD98059 or SB203580, inhibitors for the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Recombinant RLPK possesses high phosphorylation activity toward histone 2B and the S6 peptide, RRRLSSLRA. Although purified recombinant RLPK can be phosphorylated by ERK2 and p38alpha in vitro, its activity is not affected by this phosphorylation. Moreover, the treatment of RLPK with acid phosphatase did not reduce its in vitro kinase activity. These data suggest that RLPK is structurally similar to previously isolated RSKs, but its regulatory mechanism may be distinct from either p70(RSK) or p90(RSK)s.

Amino Acid Sequence↗