Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to O Larsson.
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By immunohistochemistry it was found that PHI- and VIP-like immunoreactivity (-IR) occurred in the same autonomic neurons in the upper respiratory tract, tongue and salivary glands with associated ganglia in rat, guinea-pig, cat, pig and man. VIP- and PHI-like immunoreactivity was also found in similar locations in the human heart. The N-terminally directed, but not the C-terminally directed, PHI antiserum or the VIP antiserum stained endocrine cells in the pig duodenum. This suggests the existence of an additional PHI-like peptide. Ligation of nerves acutely caused marked overlapping axonal accumulations of PHI- and VIP-IR central to the lesion. Two weeks after transection of the nerves, both types of immunoreactivities were still observed in accumulations both in the axons as well as in the corresponding cell bodies. The levels of PHI- and VIP-IR in normal tissues from the cat were around 10-50 pmol/g with a molar ratio of about 1 to 2. Systemic administrations of PHI and VIP induced hypotension, probably due to peripheral vasodilation in both guinea-pig and cat. Furthermore, both PHI and VIP caused an inhibition of the vagally induced increase in respiratory insufflation pressure in guinea-pig. PHI and VIP relaxed the guinea-pig trachea in vitro, suggesting a direct action on tracheobronchial smooth muscle. VIP was about 5-10 times more potent than PHI with regard to hypotensive effects and 2-3-fold, considering respiratory smooth muscle-relaxant effects in the guinea-pig. PHI was about 50-fold less potent to induce hypotension in the cat than in the guinea-pig. Although species differences seem to exist as regards biological potency, PHI should also be considered when examining the role of VIP as an autonomic neurotransmitter.
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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utilization of fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy to obtain material for reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the detection of the t(X;18)(p11.2;q11.2) translocation in synovial sarcomas. STUDY DESIGN: We applied RT-PCR to detection of synovial sarcoma fusion gene transcripts on fine needle aspirates. Five clinical samples were first analyzed: one was a tumor previously diagnosed as malignant hemangiopericytoma, one was a poorly defined tumor, and three were suspected synovial sarcomas. FNA material was transferred directly to the RT-PCR reaction tube without RNA extraction. RESULTS: The t(X;18) translocation could be detected on the limited amount of material that FNA provides. In each of the cases studied the representivity of the tumor samples was confirmed microscopically. CONCLUSION: Our protocol permits analysis directly on representative samples without extraction of RNA. The results imply that RT-PCR offers reliable detection of sarcoma fusion gene transcripts on fine needle aspirates. The procedure, apart from being applicable to outpatients, is rapid and sensitive.
Eighteen individuals with IDDM (type I) and diabetic nephropathy in whom the initial glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was reduced but not below 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 were observed for an average of 3 yr. The rate of further decline of GFR was found to range between -2 and 21 ml/min/yr. The duration of diabetes until the GFR was first found to be reduced varied between 14 and 33 yr and was not correlated to the ensuing rate of decline in GFR (r = -0.13). In 10 individuals who developed uremia 40 yr or more after onset of IDDM, the development of persistent proteinuria was followed by hypertension and increased serum creatinine 2 yr later and by terminal uremia after an average of 8 yr. This is also the normal time span for individuals who develop terminal uremia after shorter duration of diabetes. We conclude that the course of clinical diabetic nephropathy is not more favorable in individuals with late onset of this complication and that there is no point at which a person with diabetes can be considered to be spared from developing diabetic nephropathy.
The proliferative rate as well as the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA (HMG CoA) reductase, which regulates de novo synthesis of mevalonate, was comparable in the two human breast cancer cell lines Hs578T and MDA-231 when cultured in the presence of serum. Upon treatment with mevinolin (an HMG CoA reductase inhibitor) the proliferation of the cell lines was depressed with similar dose response kinetics. A depression of the enzymatic activity to a level of 1-1.5 pmol mevalonate/min/mg protein decreased DNA-synthesis by approximately 90%. In contrast, at slightly higher enzymatic activities, ie 2-2.5 pmol/min/mg protein, there was only a mild decrease in DNA-synthesis. Addition of mevalonate to a final concentrations of 0.77 mM completely prevented the mevinolin-induced block on cell proliferation in both cell lines. Exposure to serum-free medium caused by itself a depression of HMG CoA reductase activity to 2.5-3 pmol/min/mg protein in both cell lines. Whereas the proliferation of MDA-231 was not inhibited at all by serum depletion, this treatment decreased DNA-synthesis in Hs578T by nearly 80%. Interestingly, the addition of mevalonate also prevented this growth inhibition in Hs578T, irrespective of whether mevinolin was present or not. However, this required a 30-fold increase in the mevalonate concentration (23.1 mM) as compared to MDA-231. The present data indicate that mevalonate is not only necessary for cell proliferation, but also that mevalonate is involved in the serum-dependent control of cell proliferation in serum-sensitive cells. In this respect, serum seems to affect the utilization of mevalonate in the formation of mevalonate-derived growth-regulatory molecules, rather than regulating the de novo synthesis of mevalonate.
The expression of the protooncogene c-myc was examined in twelve canine mammary tumours of different histological type. Only in one tumour--a poorly differentiated carcinoma--was the amount of RNA that hybridized with our cDNA probe for the myc gene significantly increased. Restriction fragment length analysis of genomic DNA from this tumour did not reveal any amplification or other rearrangements in this gene locus.
The expression of the protooncogene c-myc in a canine rhabdomyosarcoma was examined. It was found that this highly malignant tumour contained vast quantities of RNA that hybridized with a cDNA probe for c-myc. Restriction fragment length analysis after endonuclease digestion of tumour DNA did not reveal any rearrangements in this gene locus. The potential role of this oncogene in the development of canine rhabdomyosarcoma is discussed.
The possible growth regulatory role of isoprenoids (mevalonate-derived products) in secondary cultures of normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC), as compared to the two human breast cancer cell lines Hs578T and MDA231, was investigated. All three cell types responded promptly to inhibitors of HMG CoA reductase and thereby became arrested. Whereas the growth of MDA231 cells was totally independent of exogenous growth factors, the proliferation of HMEC and Hs578T was blocked or partially blocked, respectively, following growth factor-depletion. Closer analysis showed that the depressive effects on cell growth, induced by HMG CoA reductase inhibition and growth factor depletion, were from a kinetic point of view identical. These data suggest that the biosynthesis of isoprenoids may comprise one event involved in the intracellular mechanisms lying behind the growth factor-mediated growth of mammary epithelial cells. The effects of addition of different known isoprenoids on growth of cells subjected to HMG CoA reductase inhibition or growth factor depletion were also investigated. It was found that coenzyme Q and dolichol significantly delayed growth arrest in all three cell types. In contrast, cholesterol and isopentenyladenine were ineffective.
Treatment with 25-hydroxycholesterol, an inhibitor of HMG CoA reductase activity, efficiently blocked the proliferation of both human normal mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) and breast cancer cells (MDA231). Upon release of the block there was a rapid increase in the HMG CoA reductase activity, which reached a maximum 4 h after removal of the inhibitor, in both cell types. In MDA231 this increase in enzymatic activity was followed by a rapid initiation of DNA synthesis, whereas this process started considerably later in HMEC. Even in HMEC stimulated to DNA synthesis by insulin, there was first an increase in HMG CoA reductase activity with a maximum 4 h after the addition of the mitogen. If 25-hydroxycholesterol was added along with insulin, the subsequent initiation of DNA synthesis was prevented. Following a 25-hydroxycholesterol treatment as short as 4 h, the onset of DNA synthesis was delayed, indicating that a certain level of HMG CoA reductase activity (= mevalonate synthesis) in the early and mid stage of the prereplicative phase is required for the transduction of the signal leading to initiation of DNA synthesis. In concurrence with these data, it was also demonstrated that giving an exogenous supply of mevalonate to the insulin-stimulated HMEC results in a faster initiation of DNA synthesis.
In this study we show that proliferation of cycling tumor-transformed human fibroblasts (line 90VAV1) is blocked specifically in G1 by HMG CoA reductase inhibition. This inhibition also resulted in a drastic depression of N-linked glycosylation, measured as incorporation of radioactive glucosamine into acid-insoluble material. Following addition of mevalonate to cells arrested by HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, the depression of N-linked glycosylation was overcome and the cells initiated DNA synthesis. However, if the mevalonate-induced increase in protein glycosylation was prevented, due to addition of tunicamycin (an inhibitor of N-linked glycosylation), the cells were not able to proliferate. If instead tunicamycin was added 4 h after the addition of mevalonate, the cells synthesized DNA normally. Upon addition of tunicamycin, to cycling cells the progression through G1 was blocked in a similar way to that following HMG CoA reductase inhibition. Taken together, our data provide strong evidence for involvement of N-linked glycosylation in the mevalonate-controlled cell cycle progression and growth activation of tumor-transformed human fibroblasts.