Biomedical subjects

R W Scott

Publications and source records attributed to R W Scott.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1987

Proviral sequences that restrict retroviral expression in mouse embryonal carcinoma cells.

Embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells are nonpermissive for retrovirus replication. Restriction of retroviral expression in EC cells was studied by using DNA transfection techniques. To investigate the activity of the Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV)enhancer and promoter sequences, the M-MuLV long terminal repeat and the defined long terminal repeat deletions were linked to neo structural gene sequences that encode resistance to the neomycin analog G418. Transient expression data and drug resistance frequencies support the findings that the M-MuLV enhancer is not active in EC cells but that promoter sequences are functional. In addition, a proviral DNA fragment that encodes the leader RNA sequence of a M-MuLV recombinant retrovirus was found to restrict expression specifically in EC cells. Deletion analysis of the leader fragment localized the inhibitory sequences to a region that spans the M-MuLV tRNA primer binding site. It is not known whether restriction occurs at a transcriptional or posttranscriptional level, but steady-state RNA levels in transient expression assays were significantly reduced.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

A differentiation between peripheral and central neurokinin receptors using phenoxybenzamine.

Concentrations of phenoxybenzamine ranging from 0.33-33 micron produced a competitive block of kassinin-, neurokinin A- and neurokinin B-induced contractions of the guinea-pig ileum with pA2 values of 6.6, 5.6 and 6.2, respectively. Physalaemin- and substance P-induced contractions were insensitive to phenoxybenzamine treatment. Differences in sensitivity to phenoxybenzamine and pA2 values suggest the existence of at least two and possibly three neurokinin receptors in the guinea-pig ileum. Injected intrathecally to mice, phenoxybenzamine blocked neurokinin-induced, but not bombesin- or somatostatin-induced, reciprocal hind limb scratching. Phenozybenzamine was 6-32 times more effective in blocking neurokinin B-induced scratching than substance P, kassinin, physalaemin or neurokinin A-induced scratching. These results suggest that multiple peripheral and central neurokinin receptors can be differentiated from one another by phenoxybenzamine treatment. They also suggest the existence of a distinct neurokinin B receptor in the mouse spinal cord and the apparent identification of a third neurokinin receptor in the guinea-pig ileum.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Inhibition of tumor-cell-mediated extracellular matrix destruction by a fibroblast proteinase inhibitor, protease nexin I.

Human fibrosarcoma (HT-1080) cells, in contrast to normal fibroblasts, rapidly hydrolyze the glycoprotein, collagen, and elastin extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesized by cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells. This degradation occurs at a rapid rate in the presence of serum, indicating that the cellular proteases responsible are relatively insensitive to serum proteinase inhibitors. Here it is shown that protease nexin I (PNI), a fibroblast-secreted inhibitor of urokinase, plasmin, and certain other serine proteinases, effectively inhibited the HT-1080 cell-mediated degradation of this ECM. PNI at 2.0 nM significantly inhibited matrix destruction for 1-2 days and at 0.2 microM caused a virtually complete inhibition that persisted for the entire 10-day period of observation. Inhibition of ECM destruction was accompanied by a transient arrest of HT-1080 cell proliferation that took place during the first 3 days after PNI addition. PNI did not inhibit the growth of normal fibroblasts and also did not inhibit the growth of HT-1080 cells that were seeded onto plastic dishes rather than onto ECM. Like many types of malignant cells, HT-1080 cells release large amounts of urokinase. Antibody against this plasminogen activator partially protected ECM from HT-1080 cell-mediated hydrolysis, indicating that it may have been a target of PNI. One potential physiological function of PNI could be to help maintain the integrity of connective tissue matrices, protection that malignant cells could overcome by secreting proteinases in excessive amounts.

Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor↗

PubMed1985

Protease nexin. Properties and a modified purification procedure.

The present paper describes chemical and functional properties of protease nexin, a serine protease inhibitor released from cultured human fibroblasts. It is shown that protease nexin is actually synthesized by fibroblasts and represents about 1% of their secreted protein. Analysis of the amino acid composition of purified protease nexin indicates that it is evolutionarily related to antithrombin III and heparin cofactor II. Protease nexin contains approximately 6% carbohydrate, with 2.3% amino sugar, 1.1% neutral sugar, and 3.0% sialic acid. The Mr calculated from equilibrium sedimentation analysis is 43,000. Protease nexin is a broad specificity inhibitor of trypsin-like serine proteases. It reacts rapidly with trypsin (kassoc = 4.2 +/- 0.4 X 10(6) M-1 s-1), thrombin (kassoc = 6.0 +/- 1.3 X 10(5) M-1 s-1), urokinase (kassoc = 1.5 +/- 0.1 X 10(5) M-1 s-1), and plasmin (kassoc = 1.3 +/- 0.1 X 10(5) M-1 s-1), and slowly inhibits Factor Xa and the gamma subunit of nerve growth factor but does not inhibit chymotrypsin-like proteases or leukocyte elastase. In the presence of heparin, protease nexin inhibits thrombin at a nearly diffusion-controlled rate. Two heparin affinity classes of protease nexin can be detected. The present characterization pertains to the fraction of protease nexin having the higher affinity for heparin. The low affinity material, which is the minor fraction, is lost during purification.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed1984

Purification of human fibroblast urokinase proenzyme and analysis of its regulation by proteases and protease nexin.

Recently we presented evidence that normal human foreskin fibroblasts (HF cells) limit the activity of secreted urokinase by secreting it as a proenzyme and by secreting protease nexin , an inhibitor of urokinase and certain other serine proteases (Scott, R.W., Eaton, D. L. Duran , N., and Baker, J.B. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 4397-4403). Using immunoaffinity chromatography we have now purified the HF cell urokinase proenzyme. It is a single 52-kDa polypeptide chain that is inactive toward both plasminogen and low molecular weight substrates. After proteolytic activation, this material (specific activity of 3 X 10(4) Committee on Thrombolytic Agents units/mg) is composed of two disulfide-bridged 33- and 19-kDa chains, and is thus similar to the predominant form of urokinase found in urine. Plasmin at 2 X 10(-10) M causes 50% activation of the proenzyme (1 X 10(-9) M) in 30 min at 37 degrees C. Thrombin and trypsin are one-twentieth as effective as plasmin. Activated HF cell 125I-urokinase forms sodium dodecyl sulfate stable complexes with purified protease nexin or protease nexin present in medium conditioned by HF cells. Purified protease nexin inhibits purified HF cell urokinase action on both plasminogen and low molecular weight substrates. The association rate constant for the reaction between protease nexin and HF cell urokinase is approximately 1.7 X 10(5) M-1 S-1. In contrast, the association rate constants for reactions between protease nexin and the one- and two-chain forms of tissue-type plasminogen activator are approximately 2 X 10(3) and approximately 3 X 10(4) M-1 S-1, respectively. The importance of protease nexin as a regulator of HF cell urokinase is supported by the finding that anti-protease nexin antibody potentiates the fibrinolytic activity of HF cell-conditioned medium incubated with plasminogen.

Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor↗

PubMed1983

Purification of human protease nexin.

Addition of several arginine-specific serine proteases to culture medium conditioned by fibroblasts results in the proteases being taken into sodium dodecyl sulfate-stable complexes with a secreted factor termed protease nexin (PN) (Baker, J. B., Low, D. A., Simmer, R. L., and Cunningham, D. D. (1980) Cell 21, 37-45). PN not only inhibits these degradative enzymes but also mediates their binding, internalization, and degradation by the cells (Low, D. A., Baker, J. B., Koonce, W. C., and Cunningham, D. D. (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 78, 2340-2344). Here we describe a simple procedure for purifying milligram quantities of PN from serum-free medium conditioned by human foreskin cells. Accumulation of PN in the medium is increased by using high density microcarrier cultures supplemented with epidermal growth factor and bovine serum albumin. Application of ultrafiltration-concentrated medium to a heparin-Sepharose column followed by extensive washing of the column with buffer containing 0.2 M NaCl and elution with buffer containing 1.0 M NaCl results in the recovery of 60-90% of the input PN in a form that is 90-97% pure. This preparation can be further purified by hydrophobic chromatography on octyl-agarose. Purified PN has a molecular mass of approximately 51 kilodaltons. On nonequilibrium pH gradient electrophoresis it migrates as five bands with isoelectric points between 7.5 and 7.8. Purified PN exhibits all the properties attributed to PN in culture medium. These include: 1) formation of sodium dodecyl sulfate-stable complexes with thrombin, urokinase, and plasmin; 2) inhibition of protease activity; 3) heparin-enhanced inhibition of thrombin; and 4) cellular binding of protease-PN complexes in a heparin-sensitive reaction. When thrombin-PN complexes are dissociated with 1 M hydroxylamine a smaller form of PN (approximately 46 kilodaltons) is detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, indicating that the complexed PN is proteolytically modified.

Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor↗

PubMed1983

Regulation of extracellular plasminogen activator by human fibroblasts. The role of protease nexin.

When the plasminogen activator urokinase was radioiodinated and incubated at 40 ng/ml in medium conditioned by human foreskin (HF) cells, within 30 min over 80% of the added plasminogen activator was complexed to cell-released protease nexin (PN). The urokinase complexed to PN had little if any activity. Incubation of purified PN with urokinase confirmed that PN is an inhibitor of this plasminogen activator. However, a widely used plasminogen-dependent fibrinolysis assay for plasminogen activator indicated that abundant endogenous plasminogen activator activity co-existed with PN in HF cell-conditioned medium. The source of this activity was electrophoretically and immunologically indistinguishable from urokinase. Furthermore, gel exclusion chromatography showed that about 90% of the urokinase antigen detected in conditioned medium had a molecular weight similar to that of free active urokinase. These paradoxical findings are resolved by evidence that this "PN-resistant urokinase-like" plasminogen activator is actually urokinase proenzyme that is activated by plasmin or conditions in the fibrinolysis assay for plasminogen activator. It is shown that the activated form of HF cell plasminogen activator is sensitive to inhibition by PN. PN may thus be an important component in the cellular regulation of endogenous plasminogen activator activity.

Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor↗

PubMed1983

Transient expression of a mouse alpha-fetoprotein minigene: deletion analyses of promoter function.

The constitutive transcription of a mouse alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) minigene was examined during the transient expression of AFP-simian virus 40-pBR322 recombinant DNAs introduced into HeLa cells by Ca3(PO4)2 precipitation. We tested three constructs, each of which contains the AFP minigene and pBR322 DNAs inserted in the late region of simian virus 40 and found that the relative efficiency of AFP gene expression was dependent on the arrangement of the three DNA elements in the vector. The transcripts begin at the authentic AFP cap site and are properly spliced and polyadenylated. To define a sequence domain in the 5' flanking region of the AFP gene required for constitutive expression, sequential 5' deletion mutants of the AFP minigene were constructed and introduced into HeLa cells. All AFP deletion mutants which retained at least the TATA motif located 30 base pairs upstream from the cap site were capable of directing accurate and efficient AFP transcription. However, when the TATA sequence was deleted, no accurately initiated AFP transcripts were detected. These results are identical to those obtained from in vitro transcription of truncated AFP 5' deletion mutant templates assayed in HeLa cell extracts. The rate of AFP transcription in vivo was unaffected by deletion of DNA upstream of the AFP TATA box but was greatly affected by the distance between the simian virus 40 control region and the 5' end of the gene. The absence of any promoter activity upstream of the TATA box in this assay system is in contrast to what has been reported for several other eucaryotic structural genes in a variety of in vivo systems. A sequence comparison between the 5' flanking region of the AFP gene and these genes suggested that the AFP gene lacks those structural elements found to be important for constitutive transcription in vivo. Either the AFP gene lacks upstream promoter function in the 5' flanking DNA contained within the minigene, or the use of a viral vector in a heterologous system precludes its identification.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

Cells regulate their mitogenic response to thrombin through release of protease nexin.

We previously reported that human and mouse fibroblast-like cells release into their growth medium a protein that we termed protease nexin. Protease nexin forms a covalent acyl linkage with thrombin and certain other serine proteases via the protease active site and mediates their binding, internalization and degradation by cells. Binding of thrombin-protease nexin to cells is mediated by the protease nexin portion of the complex to a high-affinity cellular binding site. As thrombin is a potent mitogen for a variety of fibroblast-like cells in culture, we examined whether protease nexin itself regulates thrombin-stimulated cell division. Recently, we showed that heparin virtually blocked the binding of thrombin-protease nexin complexes to both mouse and human cells without affecting the ability of these cells to respond to thrombin. Thus, protease nexin does not appear to be a positive modulator in thrombin-induced cell division. Here, we show that protease nexin negatively regulates the mitogenic response of cells in culture to thrombin.

Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor↗

PubMed1982

Construction and expression in vivo of an internally deleted mouse alpha-fetoprotein gene: presence of a transcribed Alu-like repeat within the first intervening sequence.

An alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) 'minigene' was constructed by joining the first two exons along with 0.9 kilobases of 5' flanking sequence of the mouse AFP gene to its last exon and 0.4 kilobases of 3' flanking sequence. This 'minigene' was tested for activity by inserting it into an SV40 vector and infecting African green monkey kidney cells. Correct initiation, termination, polyadenylation and splicing were observed. Furthermore a 220 nucleotide transcript was detected and mapped to a mouse Alu-like or B1 repeat on the opposite strand to that encoding the AFP gene in the first intervening sequence.

Animals↗

PubMed1981

Intragenic amplification and divergence in the mouse alpha-fetoprotein gene.

The DNA sequences of the 14 exon junctions in the murine alpha-fetoprotein gene were determined using cloned genomic DNA. When these exons were examined with respect to the polypeptide segments they encoded, a direct correspondence between a threefold repeat of four exons and three protein domains was observed. Nucleotide sequence comparisons among the four exons of each domain were used to deduce the likely structure of the primordial domain, and the order and mechanism of its triplication to form the tripartite ancestral gene from which both alpha-fetoprotein and serum albumin arose. Sequence homologies among the four exons that constitute a single domain also suggest that they were derived, at least in part, from a common sequence which underwent successive amplification and divergence.

Animals↗

PubMed1981

alpha-Fetoprotein and albumin genes are in tandem in the mouse genome.

The urine alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and serum albumin genes most probably arose in evolution as the consequence of a duplication of a common ancestral gene. They have both been previously mapped to chromosome 5 in the mouse. We now have evidence that these genes are closely linked. By using a unique copy DNA probe derived from previously cloned AFP 5' flanking DNA, a recombinant DNA phage has been isolated, from a bacteriophage DNA library, that contains sequences flanking the 5' end of the AFP gene and the 3' end of the albumin gene. Restriction endonuclease mapping and DNA sequence determination of the recombinant phage and comparison to total genomic DNA confirmed that the genes are in tandem, 13.5 kilobase pairs apart, with the albumin gene to the 5' side of the AFP gene. Thus, they are transcribed from the same strand of DNA.

Albumins↗

PubMed1980

Enrichment of estradiol-receptor complexes in a transcriptionally active fraction of chromatin from MCF-7 cells.

We have examined the interaction of the estradiol receptor molecule with chromatin in MCF-7 cells, a human breast tumor cell line responsive to estradiol. Receptor was found associated with the various nucleosomal products produced by digestion with micrococcal nuclease. In order to determine whether these receptor binding sites were distributed in a random or nonrandom manner within the chromatin, we have fractionated MCF-7 cell chromatin into transcriptionally active and inactive fractions by limited micrococcal nuclease digestion followed by Mg(2+) precipitation. A comparison of the Mg(2+)-soluble and insoluble chromatin fractions showed that the Mg(2+)-soluble fraction: (i) was composed predominantly of mononucleosomes; (ii) was enriched in nonhistone proteins; (iii) apparently lacked histone H1; (iv) was enriched approximately 5-fold in transcribed sequences as measured by a cDNA probe to cytoplasmic poly(A)-RNA sequences; and (v) was depleted at least 5-fold of globin sequences, which is presumably a nontranscribed gene in these cells. When these cells were stimulated with beta-[(3)H]estradiol, the Mg(2+)-soluble fraction showed a significant enrichment in chromatin-bound estradiol receptor: the Mg(2+)-soluble mononucleosomes showed a 3- to 4-fold enrichment and the di- and trinucleosomes, a 7- to 19-fold enrichment, when compared to the corresponding subunits in the Mg(2+)-insoluble chromatin fraction. This cofractionation of chromatin enriched in transcribed sequences and bound estradiol receptor indicated that receptor binding to MCF-7 cell chromatin was not random but, rather, occurred preferentially in specific regions of the chromatin.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed1978