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S Ma

Publications and source records attributed to S Ma.

211 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

Initiation of bone development by osteogenin and promotion by growth factors.

The cellular and molecular basis of bone development and its regulation by differentiation and growth factors is an exciting area of current research. This article briefly reviews the historical progress in the isolation of osteogenin, a novel bone differentiation factor, and its modulation by well known growth factors. Endochondral bone development is a multistep sequential cascade and the process must be operationally dissected. It has been accomplished with the demineralized bone matrix-induced bone formation model. The reproducible development of cartilage and bone in an extraskeletal site permits the study of the initiation of the first cycle of endochondral bone formation and mineralization. Recent progress in the isolation of osteogenin, a specific bone differentiation factor, by heparin affinity chromatography permits the further investigation of the commitment and clonal expansion of the putative osteoprogenitor stem cells. Once initiated, bone formation is promoted by growth factors such as platelet derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, insulin like growth factor, transforming growth factor beta and a plethora of non specific cytokines. Finally bone development is further modulated by systemic hormones and nutrition and a host of physical signals including electrical, gravitational and mechanical forces.

Animals↗

Chromosome analysis of human oocytes failing to fertilize in vitro.

To assess the contribution of chromosome anomalies to the high failure of in vitro fertilization (IVF), 94 unfertilized eggs from 43 women participating in the IVF program were cytogenetically investigated. The mean age of the oocyte donors was 33.6 years. Chromosome karyotypes were obtained in 65 of 94 oocytes: 34 oocytes (52.3%) had a normal haploid chromosome complement; 10 (15.4%) were hypohaploid; 7 (10.8%) were hyperhaploid; 8 were diploid; and 6 were hypodiploid or hyperdiploid (from 36 to 53). Eleven eggs showed prematurely condensed chromosomes of the G1-phase from sperm, as well as a set of maternal metaphase II chromosomes. These results are compared to similar reports in the literature.

Adult↗

Dose-dependence of and threshold for optimal bone induction by collagenous bone matrix and osteogenin-enriched fraction.

Subcutaneous implantation of demineralized collagenous bone matrix results in local induction of new bone formation. The dose dependence of bone induction was investigated using different amounts of rat demineralized bone matrix (DBM) and also osteogenin-enriched fraction with and without inactive collagenous bone matrix (ICBM). There is a threshold for bone induction; at least 10 mg of DBM is required. There is a dose dependent increase in bone induction between 10 to 25 mg. Exogenous type I collagen was found to be stimulatory to bone induction when suboptimal doses of DBM are employed. The activity of osteogenin-enriched dissociative extract was enhanced by addition of ICBM. These results imply that optimal bone induction requires the combined action of soluble osteogenin-enriched fraction and insoluble collagenous substratum.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Genomic 5-methyldeoxycytidine decreases with age.

Significant losses of DNA 5-methyldeoxycytidine residues in old age could disrupt cellular gene expression and contribute to the physiological decline of the animal. Thus, the 5-methyldeoxycytidine content of DNAs, isolated from the tissues of two rodent species of various ages, were determined. Mus musculus lost DNA methylation sites at a rate of about 4.7 X 10(4) (approximately 0.012% of the newborn level)/month. Peromyscus leucopus lost DNA 5-methyldeoxycytidine residues at a rate of only 2.3 X 10(4) (approximately 0.006% of the newborn level)/month. Since P. leucopus generally live twice as long as M. musculus, the rate of loss of DNA 5-methyldeoxycytidine residues appears to be inversely related to life span. Similar losses in genomic 5-methyldeoxycytidine content were also observed to correlate with donor age in cultured normal human bronchial epithelial cells.

Aging↗

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 induce activation of MAP kinase and SAP kinase in human neuroma fibroblasts.

Two cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 (IL-1), which are released by macrophages during the early inflammatory phase of nerve injury, are known to induce activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK), which locate at different signal transduction pathways and are involved in cell cycle G0/G1 transition and cellular proliferation in human fibroblasts. Activation of these two protein kinases by the cytokines may stimulate fibroblast proliferation in damaged nerves and thereby play a role in the formation of a neuroma, a disorganized mass of tissue that interferes with neural regeneration and repair. To investigate the possibility that this mechanism is operative in neuroma formation, we used cultured, serum-starved fibroblasts from surgically removed human neuromas stimulated with TNF-alpha and/or IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta, and measured the activation of MAPK and SAPK using myelin basic protein (MBP) and human c-Jun (1-169) glutathione S-agarose transferase (GST) fusion protein as substrates. For comparison, neuroma fibroblast cultures were also stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and platelet-derived growth factor-AB (PDGF-AB), a potent activator for MAPK. TNF-alpha and both forms of IL-1 produced a rapid activation of MAPK, with a peak at 15 min for TNF-alpha stimulation, and a peak at 30 min for IL-1 stimulation. TNF-alpha combined with either IL-1 alpha or IL-1 beta produced a synergistic effect on the activation of MAPK. The increases in MAPK induced by TNF-alpha and IL-1 were similar to the increases induced by PMA and PDGF-AB. To confirm the presence of MAPK, immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting were carried out on experimental and control lysates. TNF-alpha and IL-1 also increased activation of SAPK, but to a lesser extent than MAPK. PMA and PDGF-AB were also much less effective in stimulating activation of SAPK. Our findings indicate that TNF-alpha and IL-1 activate parallel signal transduction pathways in human neuroma fibroblasts, and that they are relatively stronger activators of MAPK than of SAPK. Previous studies have convincingly demonstrated that MAPK and SAPK are involved in human fibroblast proliferation. The results of our study suggest that TNF-alpha and IL-1 may play a role in frustrating functional nerve regeneration after injury by stimulating these two kinases, which, in turn, leads to fibroblast proliferation and formation of neuromas.

Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases↗

Genetic construction and characterization of an anti-monkey CD3 single-chain immunotoxin with a truncated diphtheria toxin.

We have previously developed a chemically conjugated anti-rhesus monkey CD3 immunotoxin FN18-CRM9 that can deplete in vivo T cells and induce long term tolerance of mismatched renal allograft in rhesus monkeys. This immunotoxin is a monkey analogue of anti-human CD3 immunotoxin UCHT1-CRM9. In this study, we cloned the light and heavy chain variable regions of anti-monkey CD3 monoclonal antibody FN18 and constructed a single-chain Fv (sFv) by linking variable light and variable heavy regions with a (Gly4Ser)3 linker. The single-chain immunotoxin DT390-FN18sFv was constructed by ligating the sFv to the carboxyl terminus of DT390, a truncated form of diphtheria toxin. The DT390-FN18sFv fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified with Ni-RTA affinity and anion exchange columns. Similar to the chemically conjugated immunotoxin FN18-CRM9, DT390-FN18sFv can also specifically inhibit protein synthesis in primary monkey T cells in a dose-dependent manner. DT390-FN18sFv at 10(-7) mol/L or FN18-CRM9 at 10(-8) mol/L is sufficient to reduce protein synthesis of monkey primary T cells to less than 5% of the control. The 50% inhibition dosage (IC50) of FN18-CRM9 is 1 x 10(-10) mol/L, while the IC50 of DT390-FN18sFv is 1 x 10(-8) mol/ L, reflecting the lowered affinity of monovalent Fab' FN18 to its parental divalent antibody. The availability of functional FN18sFv will provide the basis for the construction of divalent anti-CD3 immunotoxins for preclinical studies on the induction of tolerance in organ transplantation and experimental autoimmune diseases.

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗

The rat Nb2 lymphoma: a novel model for tumor progression.

Tumor progression of cancers is manifested by phenotypic property changes including development of hormone/growth factor independence and metastatic ability. The progression results from acquired genomic alterations leading to clonal heterogeneity and outgrowth of more aggressive and therapy-resistant sublines. Previously, a cultured rat "Nb2 lymphoma" cell line was established, whose viability depends critically on the hormone, prolactin, acting as the principal growth factor. By prolactin starvation, prolactin-independent sublines were generated which possessed the parent karyotype plus extra acquired chromosomal changes (clonal evolution). In this study, the parent line (Nb2-U17) and a cloned subline (SFJCD1) were compared for metastatic ability using single s.c. tumor transplants in Noble rats. Rats (22) bearing Nb2-U17 tumors showed no evidence of metastases at autopsy, even when tumors at implantation site reached a size of 9 cm (length + width). In contrast, rats (19) bearing SFJCD1 tumors showed multiple metastases (liver, kidney) when transplants exceeded 5 cm. This difference in metastatic ability may be related to the acquisition of an inversion in chromosome 1, i.e. inv(1)(q31q41). The 1q41 locus is adjacent to the reported H-ras-1 proto-oncogene locus (1q41-q42). In another subline, tetraploidization (flow cytometric analysis, karyotyping) occurred spontaneously following prolonged culturing (20 mo). Together, the parent Nb2 lymphoma line and its clonal derivatives provide a novel system for studying cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying tumor progression to the metastatic phenotype.

Animals↗