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Biomedical subjects

R Banerjee

Publications and source records attributed to R Banerjee.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Enhanced expression of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene in mouse cells cotransfected with synthetic polynucleotides able to form Z-DNA.

Recent studies have demonstrated that the left-handed, Z-DNA conformation is favored in polymers containing alternating purine/pyrimidine sequences that can exist in vivo and may play a role in gene expression. On the basis of this assumption, we have studied the effect of various cotransfected polynucleotides on the transient expression of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene in thymidine kinase-deficient murine L cells. Cotransfections were performed by calcium phosphate coprecipitation of CAT gene plasmids with various polymers, and the CAT enzymatic activity was measured in cell lysates after 48 hr. About 2- to 10-fold stimulation of CAT gene expression was observed when the cells were cotransfected with 10 micrograms (per 10-cm culture dish) of plasmid pSV2cat, which contains simian virus 40 (SV40) promoter and enhancer sequences, and 2-10 micrograms of polymers that can form Z-DNA, such as poly(dG-m5dC) X poly(dG-m5dC) or poly(dG-dC) X poly(dG-dC), as compared to transfection with pSV2cat alone. Further, enhanced CAT gene expression was also observed when cotransfections were performed with these polymers and two other plasmid vectors, one containing the SV40 promoter but no enhancer and the other lacking any SV40 regulatory sequences. However, poly(dA-dC) X poly(dG-dT), which can form Z-DNA, did not induce any stimulation. Similarly, no or very little stimulation was observed after cotransfection of pSV2cat with either poly(dG) X poly(dC) or poly(dA-dT) X poly(dA-dT), which do not adopt the Z conformation. These results suggest that certain polynucleotides may enhance transcription of the CAT gene.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1986

Placental transfer and fetal distribution of 3H-retinoic acid in rats.

The placental transfer of 3H-retinoic acid in vitamin A deprived and vitamin A supplemented pregnant female rats was studied on 20th day of gestation and compared with 3H-retinyl acetate. Radiolabelled compounds were administered to pregnant mothers orally in groundnut oil six hours before sacrifice. The distribution of radioactivity of the two compounds was studied in maternal intestine, liver and plasma and fetal brain, heart liver lung and placenta. The transfer of 3H-retinoic acid across placenta was restricted as compared to that of 3H-retinyl acetate which may explain the reason why retinoic acid does not support fetal growth.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Inhibition of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene transfection in Ltk- cells by potential Z-DNA forming polymers.

It has been demonstrated that certain alternating purine and pyrimidine sequences may assume a left-handed Z-DNA conformation. In order to evaluate the possibility that Z-DNA is involved in the modulation of gene expression, we examined the ability of various synthetic DNA polymers to affect the transfection of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene in Ltk- cells using the DNA-calcium phosphate cotransfection technique. We found that potential Z-DNA forming polymers such as, poly(dG-m5dC) X poly(dG-m5dC) and poly(dG-dC) X poly(dG-dC), cotransfected with the tk gene decreased the level of Tk+ transformed colonies. In contrast, cotransfection of the tk gene with polymers which do not assume Z-conformation such as, poly(dG) X poly(dC) or poly(dA-dT) X poly(dA-dT) showed no effect on the number of colonies formed. About 50% inhibition of the Tk+ colony formation was obtained by 0.4 micrograms of poly(dG-m5dC) X poly(dG-m5dC), or by 2 micrograms of poly(dG-dC) X poly(dG-dC). DNA uptake into Ltk- cells was not significantly affected by any of these polymers. Approximately 20-42 base pairs (bp) long alternating dG-dC sequence linked at either the 5'-end or 3'-end of tk gene were cloned into plasmids. These recombinant plasmids, however, showed no remarkable effect upon the transfection of Ltk- cells. The DNAs of Tk+ colonies obtained by transfecting these recombinant plasmids were digested with BssH II and analyzed by Southern blotting. We demonstrated that the dG-dC sequences proximal to the tk gene were integrated into cellular DNA. All the presented results indicate that only larger polymers with the potential to assume a Z-DNA conformation may affect tk gene transfection either by inhibiting transcription or more probably by affecting the stable integration of the tk gene into the host chromosome.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Dynamics of dioxygen and carbon monoxide binding to soybean leghemoglobin.

The association of dioxygen and carbon monoxide to soybean leghemoglobin (Lb) has been studied by laser flash photolysis at temperatures from 10 to 320 K and times from 50 ns to 100 s. Infrared spectra of the bound and the photodissociated state were investigated between 10 and 20 K. The general features of the binding process in leghemoglobin are similar to the ones found in myoglobin. Below about 200 K, the photodissociated ligands stay in the heme pocket and rebinding is not exponential in time, implying a distributed enthalpy barrier between pocket and heme. At around 300 K, ligands migrate from the solvent through the protein to the heme pocket, and a steady state is set up between the ligands in the solvent and in the heme pocket. The association rate, lambda on, is mainly controlled by the final binding step at the heme, the bond formation with the heme iron. Differences between Lb and other heme proteins show up in the details of the various steps. The faster association rate in Lb compared to sperm whale myoglobin (Mb) is due to a faster bond formation. The migration from the solvent to the heme pocket is much faster in Lb than in Mb. The low-temperature binding (B----A) and the infrared spectra of CO in the bound state A and the photodissociated state B are essentially solvent-independent in Mb, but depend strongly on solvent in Lb. These features can be correlated with the x-ray structure.

Carbon Monoxide↗
PubMed1985

Effect of Malvaviscus conzattii flower extract on male fertility.

Chronic administration of Malvaviscus conzattii (MCV) flower extract at a dose level of 800 mg/kg b.w. for 30 consecutive days in male rats significantly reduced sperm counts and motility together with histological changes in testes. Mating with these treated animals three weeks following the drug schedule proved to be consistently infertile.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Effect of inhalation of coal fly ash on vitamin A distribution in organs of the rat.

Fly ash contains several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The effect of inhalation of coal fly ash on vitamin A distribution in various organs of rat has been studied. Inhalation of fly ash for 6 h daily, for 15 d, decreased vitamin A content in liver. The absorption of orally given [3H]retinyl acetate was decreased and so was its localization in liver of rats inhaling coal fly ash.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1983

Sister chromatid exchanges and chromosome aberrations induced by radiosensitizing agents in bone marrow cells of treated tumor-bearing mice.

The frequency of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in vivo and chromosome aberrations and/or alterations were analyzed from the bone marrow cells of the treated dbrB tumor-bearing DBA/1J inbred mouse host. The results were compared with analogous data obtained from the bone marrow cells of untreated tumor-bearing mice for evaluation of the "indirect," i.e., somatic stress, effect on the normal host cells following triple-agent therapy intended for a mammary adenocarcinoma. Misonidazole (MIS), which is a known radiosensitizing drug, microwave hyperthermia (delta), and X-radiation (X) were used as therapeutic agents. Significant (P less than 0.05) numbers of SCE were induced in the bone marrow cells of the mice whose tumors received these triple-agent treatments (MIS + delta + X) simultaneously as compared with values of SCE per cell noted in bone marrow cells of untreated tumor-bearing control mice. The highest number of chromosome aberrations and alterations, including an increase in heteroploidy, was also noticed in the bone marrow cells of the mice whose tumors were treated simultaneously with MIS + delta + X. The triple-agent therapy on dbrB tumor also resulted in an unusually high polyploid metaphase plate in the bone marrow cell consisting of 320 chromosomes, indicating that this mode of therapy may act directly on the genetic material of the tumor-bearing host cells, inducing cytogenetic abnormalities as a side effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Combined effects of misonidazole, microwave hyperthermia, and X-rays on the in vivo sister chromatid exchanges and chromosomal abnormalities of the dbrB tumor and on the survival of its host.

A rapidly proliferating mammary adenocarcinoma designated dbrB growing s.c. in isogeneic female DBA/1J mice in their 278th passage of transfer constituted the experimental host tumor system. A 5-bromodeoxyuridine pellet (2.5 mg/g body weight) was used for sister chromatid exchange analysis of the 0.5-cu cm dbrB tumor. Experiments were performed on Group I, untreated tumor-bearing mice, and Group II, tumor-bearing mice treated with triple agents: misonidazole (1 mg/g body weight); 42.5 degrees microwave hyperthermia for 10 min; and X-rays administered singly or in combination at about 4 hr following the implantation of a 5-bromodeoxyuridine pellet. The X-ray treatments consisted of 400, 1000, 1500, and 2000 rads, respectively. X-rays and hyperthermia were delivered to the tumors directly, while the rest of the mouse body was lead shielded. Survival of the untreated tumor-bearing control mice in Group I was 12 +/- 3 (S.D.) days, whereas the mice in Group II whose tumors were treated with misonidazole, hyperthermia, and 2000 rads of X-rays survived 27 +/- 3 days. 5-bromodeoxyuridine per se had no effect on the survival of the experimental mice. Only a dose of 400 rads administered to the dbrB tumors permitted detailed evaluation of chromosomal analyses, whereas the larger doses of radiation caused cellular destruction. Simultaneous treatment with triple agents resulted in sister chromatid exchanges of 33.78 +/- 0.39/cell as compared with sister chromatid exchanges of 14.74 +/- 0.39/cell of untreated control tumors. This mode of treatment also induced various types of chromosomal abnormalities in the tumor cells.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1981

Protoheme conformations in low-spin ferrohemoproteins. Resonance Raman spectroscopy.

The low-frequency regions of resonance Raman spectra of various low-spin ferrous forms of normal human hemoglobin, soybean leghemoglobin alpha and of horse myoglobin are reported. Differences observed among the spectra of oxygenated and nitrosyl forms of these hemoproteins show that their globins impose various low-spin heme structures. A quantitative correlation between the variable frequency of resonance Raman band II (215-271 cm-1) and the iron atom-heme plane distance was observed for hemoproteins and heme models, either ferrous or ferric, high-spin or low-spin. From this correlation, the iron atom-heme plane distance should be 0.3 A in nitrosyl and oxymyoglobin (band II at 256 cm-1) whereas the iron position should be near to or in the heme plane for nitrosyl and oxy forms of hemoglobin and leghemoglobin (band II between 266 and 273 cm-1). A new method is proposed for monitoring the photodissociation processes in ferrohemoproteins.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Sister chromatid exchanges in vivo in mouse mammary adenocarcinoma.

The proliferation and genetic characteristics of a mouse mammary adenocarcinoma designated dbrB are described. This tumor was maintained as subcutaneous serial transplants in syngeneic inbred mice of the DBA/1J strain. Quantitative in vivo sister chromatid exchange(s) (SCE) were determined in the tumor cells and in the bone marrow cells of the host strain. Over a twofold increase in SCE, frequency was noted in the dbrB tumor cells compared to the bone marrow cells. The high frequency of SCE in the dbrB tumor was assumed to be caused by the high degree of malignancy of this tumor. Such information indicating genetic stress may serve for evaluation of the degree of malignancy in neoplasms.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1980

13C nuclear magnetic resonance studies of the binding of alkyl isocyanides to soybean leghemoglobin; comparison with animal myoglobins.

13C NMR of labelled alkyl isocyanide ligands has been used with a view to probe the protein environment around the heme site of Soybean leghemoglobin, and comparatively, those of sperm whale myoglobin and monomeric Glycera hemoglobin. The terminal carbon of the isocyanide, which is known to be highly sensitive to change in hybridization of the nitrogen, could be expected to reflect the movement of the alkyl group through steric interactions. Three alkyl isocyanides (alkyl = methyl, ethyl & n-butyl) have therefore been used and the 13C0 chemical shift values were measured for each ligand bound to the various proteins studied. In all cases, the 13C0 resonance of the bound ligand were shifted considerably down-field with respect to those of the free unbound species, but the pattern of these displacements revealed more pronounced steric hindrance in the case of some proteins compared to others. The modifications of the chemical shift values of binding delta delta = delta bound -- delta free) were least in the case of leghemoglobin; moreover, the delta delta values were insensitive to the length of the alkyl chain (methyl to n-butyl) when bound to leghemoglobin, in contrast to the other proteins examined. The results are interpreted as arising from a diminished steric hindrance to isocyanide binding with leghemoglobin, in conformity with the recently published X-ray structure which reports the existence of a large heme pocket on the distal side.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Binding of alkylisocyanides with soybean leghemoglobin. Comparisons with sperm whale myoglobin.

The binding of various linear and branched chain alkylisocyanides to soybean leghemoglobin has been studied with respect to association and dissociation kinetics and the results compared with those obtained in parallel on sperm whale and horse heart myoglobins; the linear ligands used (methyl to n-heptyl) cover a greater distribution of chain lengths than hitherto used. The association rate constants are much higher for leghemoglobin than for myoglobin, while the dissociation rates are slower. For a given protein, the dissociation rate constants are not much different when different isocyanides are used (except for methyl), whereas the association rates show complex behavior in relation with the alkyl chain length; singular differences are observed between leghemoglobin and sperm whale myoglobin in this regard. For myoglobin, the binding rate constants decrease from methyl to n-propyl, but remain approximately the same when the ligand carries a still longer alkyl chain. In contrast, for leghemoglobin, although the rate constants decrease from methyl to n-propyl, they show a progressive and important rise with longer alkyl substituents: n-butyl and n-pentyl.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Low-frequency vibrations in resonance Raman spectra of horse heart myoglobin. Iron-ligand and iron-nitrogen vibrational modes.

The low-frequency regions (150--700 cm-1) of resonance Raman (RR) spectra of various complexes of oxidized and reduced horse heart myoglobin were examined by use of 441.6-nm excitation. In this frequency range, RR spectra show 10 bands common to all myoglobin derivatives (numbered here for convenience from I to X). Relative intensities of bands IV, V, and X constitute good indicators of the doming state of the heme and, consequently, of the spin state of the iron atom. An additional band is present for several complexes (fluorometmyoglobin, hydroxymetmyoglobin, azidometmyoglobin, and oxymyoglobin). Isotopic substitutions on the exogenous ligands and of the iron atom (56Fe leads to 54Fe) allow us to assign these additional lines to the stretching vibrations of the Fe-sixth ligand bond. Similarly, bands II are assigned to stretching vibrations of the Fe-N-(pyrrole) bonds. An assignment of bands VI to stretching vibrations of the Fe-Nepsilon(proximal histidine) bonds is also proposed. Mechanisms for the resonance enhancement of the main low-frequency bands are discussed on the basis of the excitation profiles and of the dispersion curves for depolarization ratios obtained for fluorometmyoglobin and hydroxymetmyoglobin.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

A new method of preparing Ca2+-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum: extraction with octylglucoside.

A fast method for preparing Ca2+-ATPase from rabbit muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum was devised. The method involves extracting extrinsic membrane proteins with the non-ionic detergent octylglucoside at high salt concentration. A Ca2+-ATPase of consistently high specific activity (about 25 mumoles/mg.min) is found in the insoluble residue. The method was optimized with respect to the concentrations of detergent and salt, pH, and other extraction conditions. By the criteria of the protein pattern in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, dependence of the hydrolytic activity on the presence of Ca2+, and the phosphoprotein formation, the preparation is identical with the Ca2+-ATPase isolated previously by MacLennan [10] and other authors. The main advantages of the new method are its rapidity, its reliability, and the high specific activity of the purified enzyme.

Animals↗