Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S K Law

Publications and source records attributed to S K Law.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

The gene organisation of the human beta 2 integrin subunit (CD18).

We have studied the gene of the human beta 2 integrin subunit (CD18) and found it to be organised into 16 exons spanning a region of about 40 kb. All exon/intron boundaries conform to the GT/AG splicing consensus. The exons coding for the cysteine-rich region, which has been postulated to consist of 3 or 4 repeating elements, are not organised correspondingly. Transcription of the gene initiates from multiple sites which may be due to the absence of an upstream TATA box. The polyadenylation site is also heterogeneous. Five different sites were identified over a stretch of 10 bases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Quantitative representation of the upper surface of the human head.

A three dimensional digitizer was used to locate 62 positions on an electrode cap placed on the heads of nine subjects. Nonlinear regression methods were used to obtain the best fit sphere, ellipsoid, and perturbed ellipsoid. RMS errors varied from approximately 1 cm to 2 mm, depending on subject and surface chosen. The spherical coordinates of the standard 10/20 electrodes on best fit spheres were obtained. A method to estimate ellipsoid axes using only three standard EEG head dimensions with an ordinary tape measure is derived from the data. The results have at least two potential applications: the forward/inverse problem in EEG and MEG, and the estimation of surface Laplacians from EEG data.

Electrodes↗
PubMed1991

A visual study of surface potentials and Laplacians due to distributed neocortical sources: computer simulations and evoked potentials.

A "picture book" of surface potentials, Laplacians, and magnetic fields due to distributed, neocortical sources is presented. The mathematically simulated data is based on 4200 current sources at the macrocolumn scale. Estimated scalp surface maps are based on the three-concentic spheres model of the head. Emphasis is placed on the effects of sampling with a limited number of electrodes, the choice of reference electrode, and the use of the spline Laplacian to improve spatial resolution. The spline Laplacian is applied to median and ulnar nerve somatosensory evoked potentials and to auditory evoked potentials including P300. Substantial improvement in spatial resolution over conventional methods is obtained. The implementation of practical high resolution EEG systems based on the spline Laplacian is considered.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1991

A 19-year-old man with leucocyte adhesion deficiency. In vitro and in vivo studies of leucocyte function.

We describe a male patient with leucocyte adhesion molecule deficiency (LAD) of moderate phenotype. Although diagnosis was made only 2 years before his death, the patient survived until 19 years of age. This enabled us to perform a number of novel investigation, both in vivo and in vitro, relating to his leucocyte biology. Monocytes cultured in vitro matured into morphologically normal, phagocytically capable macrophages, which were able to recognize aged 'apoptotic' neutrophils. By injection of radiolabelled autologous neutrophils we demonstrated a prolonged neutrophil half-life, but normal margination, de-margination on exercise, and splenic pooling. Neutrophil adherence in vitro to vascular endothelium was normal. Histological examination of the patient's lungs at post-mortem showed intravascular aggregation of polymorphonuclear leucocytes but a paucity of cells in the interstitium and alveolar spaces. These findings indicate that the peripheral blood leucocytosis commonly observed in these patients may be due to prolonged intravascular neutrophil survival, and suggest that CD11/18 molecules have an important role in facilitating neutrophil emigration from blood vessels at sites of inflammation.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The complement component C4 of mammals.

Human complement component C4 is coded by tandem genes located in the HLA class III region. The products of the two genes, C4A and C4B, are different in their activity. This difference is due to a degree of 'substrate' specificity in the covalent binding reactions of the two isotypes. Mouse also has a duplicated locus, but only one gene produces active C4, while the other codes for the closely related sex-limited protein (Slp). In order to gain some insight into the evolutionary history of the duplicated C4 locus, we have purified C4 from a number of other mammalian species, and tested their binding specificities. Like man, chimpanzee and rhesus monkey appear to produce two C4 types with reactivities similar to C4A and C4B. Rat, guinea pig, whale, rabbit, dog and pig each expresses C4 with a single binding specificity, which is C4B-like. Sheep and cattle express two C4 types, one C4B-like, the other C4A-like, in their binding properties. These results suggest that more than one locus may be present in these species. If this is so, then the duplication of the C4 locus is either very ancient, having occurred before the divergence of the modern mammals, or there have been three separate duplication events in the lines leading to the primates, rodents and ungulates.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The leukocyte cell surface receptor(s) for the iC3b product of complement.

CR3 is probably the major adhesion molecule on monocytes and neutrophils. Its function as a phagocytic receptor for iC3b-coated particles has been well characterized. CR3 also has binding affinity for other ligands, including those that compete with iC3b such as fibrinogen, factor X, and beta-glucan, and those that do not such as bacterial LPS. CR3 binding to endothelial cells probably plays an important role in the extravascular migration of monocytes and neutrophils, but the ligand that it recognizes on endothelial cells has not been identified. Structurally CR3 belongs to the integrin family, and it shares a common subunit with p150,95 and LFA-1. The expression of these three membrane antigens appear to be limited to leukocytes, and they are sometimes referred to collectively as the leukocyte integrins. All three antigens have a common binding affinity for bacterial LPS. p150,95 also has affinity for iC3b, but p150,95/iC3b-dependent cellular responses has not been demonstrated. Its status as a complement receptor therefore awaits further experimental support.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

The low C5 convertase activity of the C4A6 allotype of human complement component C4.

We have compared the C5-convertase-forming ability of different C4 allotypes, including the C4A6 allotype, which has low haemolytic activity and which has previously been shown to be defective in C5-convertase formation. Recent studies suggest that C4 plays two roles in the formation of the C5 convertase from the C3 convertase. Firstly, C4b acts as the binding site for C3 which, upon cleavage by C2, forms a covalent linkage with the C4b. Secondly, C4b with covalently attached C3b serves to form a high-affinity binding site for C5. Purified allotypes C4A3, C4B1 and C4A6 were used to compare these two activities of C4. Covalently linked C4b-C3b complexes were formed on sheep erythrocytes with similar efficiency by using C4A3 and C4B1, indicating that the two isotypes behave similarly as acceptors for covalent attachment of C3b. C4A6 showed normal efficiency in this function. However, cells bearing C4b-C3b complexes made from C4A6 contained only a small number of high-affinity binding sites for C5. Therefore a lack of binding of C5 to the C4b C3b complexes is the reason for the inefficient formation of C5 convertase by C4A6. The small number of high-affinity binding sites created, when C4A6 was used, were tested for inhibition by anti-C3 and anti-C4. Anti-C4 did not inhibit C5 binding, whereas anti-C3 did. This suggests that the sites created when C4A6 is used to make C3 convertase may be C3b-C3b dimers, and hence the low haemolytic activity of C4A6 results from the creation of low numbers of alternative-pathway C5-convertase sites.

Alleles↗
PubMed1988

Structural basis of the binding specificity of the thioester-containing proteins, C4, C3 and alpha-2-macroglobulin.

We have previously noted a large difference in the specificity of the covalent binding reaction of human C4-A and C4-B. Here we report data on three other thioester-containing proteins. Human C3 is unreactive with glycine but its reactivity with glycerol (k'/ko = 23.0 M-1) is similar to that of human C4-B (k'/ko = 15.5 M-1). Human alpha 2-macroglobulin reacts with glycine (k'/ko = 206 M-1) in a manner similar to C4-B (k'/ko = 119 M-1) but its reactivity with glycerol (k'/ko = 1.2 M-1) is C4-A like (k'/ko = 1.3 M-1). Mouse C4 is C4-B like in its reaction with both glycine (k'/ko = 136 M-1) and glycerol (k'/ko = 26.0 M-1). Of these proteins, only C4-A shows a very high rate of reaction with glycine (k'/ko = 13,400 M-1). The comparison of the primary structures of these proteins has allowed us to propose the Leu Asp:Ile His substitutions at positions 1105 and 1106 in the human pro-C4 molecule as the residues largely responsible for the binding specificities of these proteins. The Leu:Ile change would not markedly affect the reactivity of these proteins, but may be necessary for allosteric reasons. The Asp in C4-A and His in C4-B seem likely to be the major specificity-defining residues.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

C3 receptors on macrophages.

The complement receptors on macrophage are responsible for their binding and ingestion of opsonized targets. The two established receptors are CR1, which recognizes C3b, and CR3, which recognizes iC3b, the natural product of C3b from cleavage by the complement control protein factor I and its cofactors. CR1 belongs to a group of proteins that contain a structural element characterized by its size of 60-65 amino acids, and four conservatively positioned cysteines, which engage in a self-contained 1-3, 2-4 disulphide arrangement. This structural unit is called SCR (short consensus repeat) and is found in the complement proteins C1r, C1s, C2, factor B, factor H, C4BP, DAF, MCP and CR2, each of which interacts with some cleavage products of C3 and/or C4. CR1 has 30 SCR units accounting for its entire extracellular structure. It has a transmembrane segment and a small cytoplasmic domain. CR3 is a heterodimer containing an alpha and beta subunit held together by non-covalent forces. The beta subunit is also found in the two leukocyte antigens, LFA-1 and p150,95, which have alpha subunits distinct from that of CR3. The beta subunit contains 56 cysteine residues, 42 of which lie in a span of 256 residues immediately adjacent to the transmembrane segment. It shares extensive sequence homology with subunits of membrane protein complexes that bind fibronectin and vitronectin, implicating that they all belong to an extended set of surface adhesion molecules not restricted to the immune system. p150,95 is also expressed on macrophages and it has iC3b binding activity. It also shares some functional properties with CR3 as an adhesion surface molecule.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1987

The primary structure of the beta-subunit of the cell surface adhesion glycoproteins LFA-1, CR3 and p150,95 and its relationship to the fibronectin receptor.

The lymphocyte-function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), the complement receptor type 3 (CR3) and the antigen p150,95 are cell-surface glycoproteins. They are heterodimeric complexes, each containing a unique alpha-subunit noncovalently associated with a common beta-subunit. We have purified the beta-subunit from human spleen and obtained limited peptide sequences. What appears to be the complete primary structure for the fully processed beta-subunit was obtained by cDNA sequencing of clones from a phorbol ester (PMA) stimulated U937 cDNA library. There are five possible glycosylation sites and a transmembrane segment. The sequence contains a high level of cysteine (7.6%), with 24 of the 57 cysteine residues being found in three repeating units each with eight residues. The entire primary structure has 47% identity to a subunit of a fibronectin binding protein from chicken fibroblasts. It seems that LFA-1, CR3 and p150,95 antigens may belong to an extended family of cell surface molecules including the fibronectin binding protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Serial sectioning techniques for a modified LKB Historesin.

A glycol methacrylate-based plastic that is capable of producing serial sections has been introduced by LKB. This plastic, provided in the LKB 2218-500 Historesin Embedding Kit, has been tested in our laboratory for its ribbon forming capacity. Various block sizes, concentrations of the softening agent polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG), and tissue types have been examined to determine the optimal conditions for ribbon formation. Although unmodified LKB Historesin is capable of forming ribbons, these ribbons often break. The addition of PEG to the embedding solution enhances ribbon formation. When sectioning with glass knives the best results are achieved with the addition of 0.2 ml of PEG/5.0 ml of embedding medium. A conventional AO rotary microtome can be used to produce ribbons if, in addition to the added PEG (optimal concentration 0.25-0.30 per 5 ml of embedding medium) a thin layer of dental wax is added to the upper and lower surfaces of the block. Ribbons form more easily on microtomes, such as the LKB Historange, that have a retractable specimen arm. If serial sections are to be produced it is very important that the upper and lower faces of blocks be parallel.

Acrylates↗
PubMed1986

The purification and properties of some less common allotypes of the fourth component of human complement.

Human complement component C4 is coded by two genes situated between HLA-D and HLA-B. Both genes are highly polymorphic; C4-A gene products normally carry the blood group antigen Rodgers and C4-B proteins usually carry the Chido antigen. Using a monoclonal antibody which binds Rodgers-positive and Chido-positive proteins with different affinities, we have purified a number of less common C4 allotypes and compared their properties. All C4-B allotypes tested have similar specific hemolytic activities and binding efficiencies to small molecules. All C4-A proteins tested had similar binding to small molecules and hemolytic activities except for the C4-A6 proteins from two individuals with different extended haplotypes, both of which had identical hemolytic activities and much lower ones than other C4-A allotypes. Two allotypes, C4-A1, Rodgers-negative but Chido-positive, and C4-B5, Chido-negative but probably Rodgers-positive, were found to behave as typical C4-A and C4-B proteins, respectively, apart from the switch in their antigenic properties.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗