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Biomedical subjects

S M Thomas

Publications and source records attributed to S M Thomas.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Cancer awareness and attitudes toward preventive health behavior.

Elevated rates of morbidity and mortality among ethnic minorities have been linked to alterable patterns of behavior, including preventive health practices. African Americans in Louisiana are not only at increased risk for cancer, they also have poorer prognosis. This investigation describes beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to general and cancer-specific preventive health practices in a sample of African Americans (n = 48). Findings suggest a number of important differences exist between males and females in their attitude toward health issues. Females valued and expressed greater concern over their health status. Females also expressed greater confidence in their doctor's ability to diagnose cancer before it is too serious, while males appear to hold a more pessimistic view of the effectiveness of early detection. Although the use of a convenience sample limits the generalizations that can be made, present findings identify issues germane to the development of effective intervention strategies for this population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Ras is essential for nerve growth factor- and phorbol ester-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of MAP kinases.

Treatment of PC12 cells with nerve growth factor (NGF) induces a rapid increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple cellular proteins. Expression of a dominant inhibitory Ras mutant specifically blocked NGF- and TPA-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of two proteins of approximately 42 and 44 kd. Conversely, expression of an oncogenic variant of Ras induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the same 42 and 44 kd proteins. The 44 kd protein was immunoprecipitated with an antibody directed against extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and the 42 kd protein comigrated with a 42 kd MAPK, indicating that at least one and probably both Ras-regulated phosphoproteins are MAPKs. In addition, MAPK activation, as measured by in vitro phosphorylation of myelin basic protein, was also regulated by Ras. Ras was not required for NGF-induced activation of Trk or tyrosine phosphorylation of PLC-gamma 1. Thus, NGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation occurs both prior to and following Ras action, and Ras plays a critical role in the NGF- and TPA-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of MAPKs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Activation of Bacillus subtilis transcription factor sigma B by a regulatory pathway responsive to stationary-phase signals.

Alternative transcription factor sigma B of Bacillus subtilis controls a stationary-phase regulon induced under growth conditions that do not favor sporulation. Little is known about the metabolic signals and protein factors regulating the activity of sigma B. The operon containing the sigma B structural gene has the gene order orfV-orfW-sigB-rsbX, and operon expression is autoregulated positively by sigma B and negatively by the rsbX product (rsbX = regulator of sigma B). To establish the roles of the orfV and orfW products, orfV and orfW null and missense mutations were constructed and tested for their effects on expression of the sigma B-dependent genes ctc and csbA. These mutations were tested in two contexts: in the first, the sigB operon was under control of its wild-type, sigma B-dependent promoter, and in the second, the sigB operon promoter was replaced by the inducible Pspac promoter. The principal findings are that (i) the orfV (now called rsbV) product is a positive regulator of sigma B-dependent gene expression; (ii) the orfW (now called rsbW) product is a negative regultor of such expression; (iii) sigma B is inactive during logarithmic growth unless the rsbW product is absent; (iv) the rsbX, rsbV, and rsbW products have a hierarchical order of action; and (v) both the rsbV and rsbW products appear to regulate sigma B activity posttranslationally. There are likely to be at least two routes by which information can enter the system to regulate sigma B: via the rsbX product, and via the rsbV and rsbW products.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Effects of SH2 and SH3 deletions on the functional activities of wild-type and transforming variants of c-Src.

The amino-termina, noncatalytic half of Src contains two domains, designated the Src homology 2 (SH2) and Src homology 3 (SH3) domains, that are highly conserved among members of the Src family of tyrosine kinases. The SH2 domain (which can be further divided into the B and C homology boxes) and the SH3 domain (also referred to as the A box) are also found in several proteins otherwise unrelated to protein tyrosine kinases. It is believed that these domains are important for directing specific protein-protein interactions necessary for the proper functioning of Src. To determine the importance of the SH2 and SH3 domains in regulating the functions of c-Src, we evaluated mutants of c-Src lacking the A box (residues 88 to 137), the B box (residues 148 to 187) or the C box (residues 220 to 231). Each of these deletions caused a 14- to 30-fold increase in the in vitro level of kinase activity of c-Src. Chicken embryo fibroblasts expressing the deletion mutants displayed a transformed cell morphology, formed colonies in soft agar, and contained elevated levels of cellular phosphotyrosine-containing proteins. Src substrates p36, p85, p120, p125, the GTPase-activating protein (GAP), and several GAP-associated proteins were phosphorylated on tyrosine in cells expressing the A, B, or C box deletion mutant. p110 was highly phosphorylated in cells expressing the C box mutant, was weakly phosphorylated in cells expressing the B box mutant, and was not phosphorylated in cells expressing the A box mutant. Expression of the mutant proteins caused a reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton similar to that seen in v-Src-transformed cells. In addition, deletion of the A, B, or C box did not diminish the transforming or enzymatic activity of an activated variant of c-Src, E378G. These data indicate that deletion of the A, B, or C homology box causes an activation of the catalytic and transforming potential of c-Src and that while these mutations caused subtle differences in substrate phosphorylation, the homology boxes are not required for many of the phenotypic changes associated with transformation by Src.

Actins↗
PubMed1992

Models for the in vitro assessment of neurotoxicity in the nervous system in relation to xenobiotic and neurotrophic factor-mediated events.

We have been investigating the use of three culture types for both screening and mechanistic neurotoxicology in vitro. These are the neuroblastoma cell lines (IMR32 - human; C-1300 - mouse), primary mixed monolayer cultures of the rat and chick embryonic midbrain ('micromass' systems) and organotypic whole rat brain reaggregate cultures. The performance of these models for neurotoxicity resting has been investigated with ethylcholine mustard aziridinium (ECMA), vincristine, aluminium, glutamate receptor antagonists, MPTP, and 'hypothyroidism'. From a 'screening' viewpoint, in vitro exposure through a tiered testing system (ranging from simple cytotoxicological parameters in the neural cell lines to neurotransmitter measurements in the organotypic cultures) may permit detection of CNS neurotoxicity and delineation of possible mechanisms. The type of developmental neurotoxicological information gained is highlighted in the cases of aluminum and the glutamate receptor antagonists. High concentrations of aluminum caused significant neural cell death in differentiated neuroblastoma cell lines after approximately two weeks exposure in vitro. In contrast, cell death was detected in the developing midbrain cultures as early as 24 - 48 hr. Studies in whole brain reaggregates suggest that cholinotoxicity may occur in a similar time-frame and is consistent with some of aluminium's effects in vivo. Preliminary experiments have shown that exposure of immature developing midbrain rat primary cultured neurones to the glutamate receptor antagonists, AP3 and MK-801 induces neural cell death which may relate to control of NGF by glutamate cells. Developing neural culture systems may prove useful for testing agents which cause neurotoxicity through disturbances of neurotrophic function.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1992

Meeting the needs of special populations: a formative evaluation of a school-based smoking prevention program.

The National Cancer Institute has recommended three minimum components for school-based smoking prevention programs: short-term physiological effects, social consequences, and refusal skills. This investigation compares these minimum components with participant evaluations of the usefulness of content areas of a prevention program. Three hundred 9th grade students participated in the study. Results indicate that Health Hazards, Nonsmokers' Rights, Decision-Making Skills, and Peer Influences were most often rated as "Very Helpful" in resisting pressures to smoke. Assessment of initial knowledge of the health hazards and consequences associated with tobacco use indicate that 77% of the students received a "D" or lower. Results suggest that this group of adolescents, who are at risk for becoming adult smokers, may not be adequately served by public information sources and may therefore benefit from the inclusion of an additional minimum component: information about the long term health consequences associated with smoking.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Different mechanisms for SOS induced alleviation of DNA restriction in Escherichia coli.

The alleviation of DNA restriction during the SOS response in Escherichia coli has been further investigated. With the EcoK DNA restriction system UV irradiated wild-type cells show a 10(4)-fold increase in ability to plate non-modified lambda phage and a 3-4 fold increase in transformation by non-modified plasmid DNA. A role for the umuDC genes of E coli in the process of SOS-induced restriction alleviation was identified by showing that a umuC122::Tn5 mutant could alleviate EcoK restriction to only 5% that of wild-type levels. Although umuDC are better characterized for their pivotal role in SOS induced mutagenesis, it is demonstrated here that umu-dependent alleviation of EcoK restriction is a transient process in which umu-dependent mutagenesis plays little part. A second form of SOS induced alleviation of DNA restriction is described in this paper involving the McrA restriction system. The mcrA gene is shown to be encoded within a defective prophage called e14 situated at the 25 min region on the Escherichia coli genetic map. e14 is known to abortively excise from the chromosome after SOS induction and it is demonstrated in this report that mcrA is lost from the genome after SOS induction as part of e14. This results in co-ordinate decrease in the level of McrA restriction within a population of cells.

Bacteriophage lambda↗
PubMed1991

Signal transduction by nerve growth factor and fibroblast growth factor in PC12 cells requires a sequence of src and ras actions.

We have investigated the roles of pp60c-src and p21c-ras proteins in transducing the nerve growth factor (NGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signals which promote the sympathetic neuronlike phenotype in PC12 cells. Neutralizing antibodies directed against either Src or Ras proteins were microinjected into fused PC12 cells. Each antibody both prevented and reversed NGF- or FGF-induced neurite growth, a prominent morphological marker for the neuronal phenotype. These data demonstrate the involvement of both pp60c-src and p21c-ras proteins in NGF and FGF actions in PC12 cells, and establish a physiological role for the pp60c-src tyrosine kinase in signal transduction pathways initiated by receptor tyrosine kinases in these cells. Additional microinjection experiments, using PC12 transfectants containing inducible v-src or ras oncogene activities, demonstrated a specific sequence of Src and Ras actions. Microinjection of anti-Ras antibody blocked v-src-induced neurite growth, but microinjection of anti-Src antibodies had no effect on ras oncogene-induced neurite growth. We propose that a cascade of Src and Ras actions, with Src acting first, is a significant feature of the signal transduction pathways for NGF and FGF. The Src-Ras cascade may define a functional cassette in the signal transduction pathways used by growth factors and other ligands whose receptors have diverse structures and whose range of actions on various cell types include mitogenesis and differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Leukemia inhibitory factor and interleukin-6 trigger the same immediate early response, including tyrosine phosphorylation, upon induction of myeloid leukemia differentiation.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), two multifunctional cytokines lacking structural homology and binding to distinct receptors, share interesting functional similarities, which include induction of hematopoietic differentiation in normal and myeloid leukemia cells, induction of neuronal cell differentiation, and stimulation of acute-phase protein synthesis in hepatocytes. Structural information on the LIF receptor is not yet available, whereas recent cloning of the IL-6 receptor has shown it to be bipartite, with a signal-transducing subunit that lacks sequence homology to known protein kinases and produces second messengers of unknown nature. The molecular nature of the mechanisms which LIF and IL-6 use to induce cell differentiation is not known. To address this issue, we took advantage of a clone of M1 myeloblastic leukemia cells capable of being induced for terminal differentiation by both LIF and IL-6 directly activate the same set of immediate early response genes upon induction of M1 myeloid differentiation. At least two mechanisms of gene activation, one transcriptional and the other posttranscriptional, are shown to be involved. It is also shown that the LIF and IL-6 immediate early response, at suboptimal cytokine concentrations, is additive. Using a variety of protein kinase activators and inhibitors, we have shown that the intracellular signalling pathways for both LIF and IL-6 are distinct from those of known second messengers and involve protein phosphorylation, notably tyrosine phosphorylation of a 160-kDa protein, as an essential step(s) in the immediate early activation of MyD gene expression. These observations indicate that the functional similarities of LIF and IL-6 as inducers of cell differentiation prevail at the level of the complex differentiation immediate early response and implicate common mechanisms of signal transduction for LIF- and IL-6-induced differentiation.

Cell Differentiation↗
PubMed1991

Induction of neurite outgrowth by v-src mimics critical aspects of nerve growth factor-induced differentiation.

PC12 cells treated with nerve growth factor (NGF) or infected with Rous sarcoma virus differentiate into sympathetic, neuronlike cells. To compare the differentiation programs induced by NGF and v-src, we have established a PC12 cell line expressing a temperature-sensitive v-src protein. The v-src-expressing PC12 cell line was shown to elaborate neuritic processes in a temperature-inducible manner, indicating that the differentiation process was dependent on the activity of the v-src protein. Further characterization of this cell line, in comparison with NGF-treated PC12 cells, indicated that the events associated with neurite outgrowth induced by these two agents shared features but could be distinguished by others. Both NGF- and v-src-induced neurite outgrowths were reversible. In addition, NGF and v-src could prime PC12 cells for NGF-induced neurite outgrowth, and representative early and late NGF-responsive genes were also induced by v-src. However, unlike NGF-induced neurite growth, v-src-induced neurite outgrowth was not blocked at high cell density. A comparison of phosphotyrosine containing-protein profiles showed that v-src and NGF each increase tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple cellular proteins. There was overlap in substrates; however, both NGF-specific and v-src-specific tyrosine phosphorylations were observed. One protein which was found to be phosphorylated in both the NGF- and v-src-induced PC12 cells was phospholipase C-gamma 1. Taken together, these results suggest that v-src's ability to function as an inducing agent may be a consequence of its ability to mimic critical aspects of the NGF differentiation program and raise the possibility that Src-like tyrosine kinases are involved in mediating some of the events triggered by NGF.

Cell Count↗
PubMed1991

Assessment of attitudes toward school-based health promotion programs.

Teachers from Orleans Parish public junior and senior high schools completed a survey designed to assess their health-related behaviors and their attitudes toward school-based health promotion programs. Findings suggest that teachers' behaviors and attitudes, as well as school policies toward smoking, are not optimal to creating a pro-health promotion environment. While teachers recognize the value of preventive programs for adolescents and many feel well qualified to implement such programs, few actually do. Resolution of these discrepancies are necessary early steps in increasing primary efforts needed for cancer control in Louisiana.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Isolation of a secY homologue from Bacillus subtilis: evidence for a common protein export pathway in eubacteria.

Genetic and biochemical studies have shown that the product of the Escherichia coli secY gene is an integral membrane protein with a central role in protein secretion. We found the Bacillus subtilis secY homologue within the spc-alpha ribosomal protein operon at the same position occupied by E. coli secY. B. subtilis secY coded for a hypothetical product 41% identical to E. coli SecY, a protein thought to contain 10 membrane-spanning segments and 11 hydrophilic regions, six of which are exposed to the cytoplasm and five to the periplasm. We predicted similar segments in B. subtilis SecY, and the primary sequences of the second and third cytoplasmic regions and the first, second, fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth membrane segments were particularly conserved, sharing greater than 50% identity with E. coli SecY. We propose that the conserved cytoplasmic regions interact with similar cytoplasmic secretion factors in both organisms and that the conserved membrane-spanning segments actively participate in protein export. Our results suggest that despite the evolutionary differences reflected in cell wall architecture, Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria possess a similar protein export apparatus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Similar organization of the sigB and spoIIA operons encoding alternate sigma factors of Bacillus subtilis RNA polymerase.

Bacillus subtilis sigma-B is an alternate sigma factor implicated in controlling stationary-phase gene expression. We characterized the genetic organization and regulation of the region containing the sigma-B structural gene (sigB) to learn which metabolic signals and protein factors govern sigma-B function. sigB lay in an operon with four open reading frames (orfs) in the order orfV-orfW-sigB-orfX, and lacZ gene fusions showed that all four frames were translated in vivo. Experiments with primer extension, S1 nuclease mapping, and lacZ transcriptional fusions found that sigB operon transcription initiated early in stationary phase from a site 32 nucleotides upstream of orfV and terminated 34 nucleotides downstream of orfX. Fusion expression was abolished in a strain carrying an in-frame deletion in sigB, suggesting that sigma-B positively regulated its own synthesis, and deletions in the sigB promoter region showed that sequences identical to the sigma-B-dependent ctc promoter were essential for promoter activity. Fusion expression was greatly enhanced in a strain carrying an insertion mutation in orfX, suggesting that the 22-kilodalton (kDa) orfX product was a negative effector of sigma-B expression or activity. Notably, the genetic organization of the sigB operon was strikingly similar to that of the B. subtilis spoIIA operon, which has the gene order spoIIAA-spoIIAB-spoIIAC, with spoIIAC encoding the sporulation-essential sigma-F. The predicted sequence of the 12-kDa orfV product was 32% identical to that of the 13-kDa SpoIIAA protein, and the 18-kDa orfW product was 27% identical to the 16-kDa SpoIIAB protein. On the basis of this clear evolutionary conservation, we speculate these protein pairs regulate their respective sigma factors by a similar molecular mechanism and that the spoIIA and sigB operons might control divergent branches of stationary-phase gene expression.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Structural characterization of the Salmonella typhimurium LT2 umu operon.

The umuDC operon of Escherichia coli encodes functions required for mutagenesis induced by radiation and a wide variety of chemicals. The closely related organism Salmonella typhimurium is markedly less mutable than E. coli, but a umu homolog has recently been identified and cloned from the LT2 subline. In this study the nucleotide sequence and structure of the S. typhimurium LT2 umu operon have been determined and its gene products have been identified so that the molecular basis of umu activity might be understood more fully. S. typhimurium LT2 umu consists of a smaller 417-base-pair (bp) umuD gene ending 2 bp upstream of a larger 1,266-bp umuC gene. The only apparent structural difference between the two operons is the lack of gene overlap. An SOS box identical to that found in E. coli is present in the promoter region upstream of umuD. The calculated molecular masses of the umuD and umuC gene products were 15.3 and 47.8 kilodaltons, respectively, which agree with figures determined by transpositional disruption and maxicell analysis. The S. typhimurium and E. coli umuD sequences were 68% homologous and encoded products with 71% amino acid identity; the umuC sequences were 71% homologous and encoded products with 83% amino acid identity. Furthermore, the potential UmuD cleavage site and associated catalytic sites could be identified. Thus the very different mutagenic responses of S. typhimurium LT2 and E. coli cannot be accounted for by gross differences in operon structure or gene products. Rather, the ability of the cloned S. typhimurium umuD gene to give stronger complementation of E. coli umuD77 mutants in the absence of a functional umuC gene suggests that Salmonella UmuC protein normally constrains UmuD protein activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among black adolescents: a comparison across gender, grade, and school environment.

Self-report measures of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use were administered to 2,748 black adolescents, grades 7 through 12. The proportion of students who had tried any of the substances increased by grade. Males and females were not significantly different in their use of cigarettes and alcohol. Males were more likely to have tried smokeless tobacco, smoked marijuana, and used combinations of substances. Females who reported using more than one substance preferred the combination of cigarettes and alcohol. Significant effects of school environment were noted. Increasing age-related experimentation is exacerbated by school setting (junior high versus senior high). Given that blacks have disproportionately high cancer prevalence and mortality rates, intervention programs may also need to consider school environment, substance specific initiation points, and combined use preferences in order to maximize the desired effect within this population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Recurrent inguinal hernia in relation to ideal body weight.

The records of 686 patients who underwent herniorrhaphy for primary or initially recurrent inguinal hernia during the years 1975 through 1985 were reviewed. Patients were divided into groups according to percentage of ideal body weight. Analysis showed that, compared with the patients with primary hernia, a larger proportion of patients with recurrent hernia were near or below ideal body weight. A follow-up survey of 64 patients who underwent primary repair of hernia indicated that the percentage of ideal body weight of a patient had no apparent effect on the recurrence rate of inguinal hernia.

Adult↗