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S N Ho

Publications and source records attributed to S N Ho.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Gene splicing by overlap extension: tailor-made genes using the polymerase chain reaction.

Gene Splicing by Overlap Extension or "gene SOEing" is a PCR-based method of recombining DNA sequences without reliance on restriction sites and of directly generating mutated DNA fragments in vitro. By modifying the sequences incorporated into the 5'-ends of the primers, any pair of polymerase chain reaction products can be made to share a common sequence at one end. Under polymerase chain reaction conditions, the common sequence allows strands from two different fragments to hybridize to one another, forming an overlap. Extension of this overlap by DNA polymerase yields a recombinant molecule. This powerful and technically simple approach offers many advantages over conventional approaches for manipulating gene sequences.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Site-directed mutagenesis by overlap extension using the polymerase chain reaction.

Overlap extension represents a new approach to genetic engineering. Complementary oligodeoxyribonucleotide (oligo) primers and the polymerase chain reaction are used to generate two DNA fragments having overlapping ends. These fragments are combined in a subsequent 'fusion' reaction in which the overlapping ends anneal, allowing the 3' overlap of each strand to serve as a primer for the 3' extension of the complementary strand. The resulting fusion product is amplified further by PCR. Specific alterations in the nucleotide (nt) sequence can be introduced by incorporating nucleotide changes into the overlapping oligo primers. Using this technique of site-directed mutagenesis, three variants of a mouse major histocompatibility complex class-I gene have been generated, cloned and analyzed. Screening of mutant clones revealed at least a 98% efficiency of mutagenesis. All clones sequenced contained the desired mutations, and a low frequency of random substitution estimated to occur at approx. 1 in 4000 nt was detected. This method represents a significant improvement over standard methods of site-directed mutagenesis because it is much faster, simpler and approaches 100% efficiency in the generation of mutant product.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Engineering hybrid genes without the use of restriction enzymes: gene splicing by overlap extension.

Gene splicing by overlap extension is a new approach for recombining DNA molecules at precise junctions irrespective of nucleotide sequences at the recombination site and without the use of restriction endonucleases or ligase. Fragments from the genes that are to be recombined are generated in separate polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). The primers are designed so that the ends of the products contain complementary sequences. When these PCR products are mixed, denatured, and reannealed, the strands having the matching sequences at their 3' ends overlap and act as primers for each other. Extension of this overlap by DNA polymerase produces a molecule in which the original sequences are 'spliced' together. This technique is used to construct a gene encoding a mosaic fusion protein comprised of parts of two different class-I major histocompatibility genes. This simple and widely applicable approach has significant advantages over standard recombinant DNA techniques.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Inhibition of T-cell antigen receptor-mediated transmembrane signaling by protein kinase C activation.

The murine T-lymphoma cell line LBRM-33 is known to require synergistic signals delivered through the antigen receptor (Ti-CD3) complex, together with interleukin 1 (IL-1), for activation of IL-2 gene expression and IL-2 production. Although 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) was capable of replacing IL-1 as an activating stimulus under certain conditions, biologic studies indicated that TPA failed to synergize with Ti-CD3-dependent stimuli under conditions in which IL-1 was clearly active. Acute exposure to TPA and other active phorbol esters resulted in a concentration-dependent inhibition of the increases in phosphoinositide hydrolysis and intracellular free Ca2+ concentration stimulated by phytohemagglutinin or anti-Ti antibodies. TPA treatment induced no direct alteration of phospholipase C enzymatic activities in LBRM-33 cells. In contrast, both Ti-CD3 cross-linkage and TPA rapidly stimulated the phosphorylation of identical CD3 complex polypeptides, presumably via activation of protein kinase C. Exposure of LBRM-33 cells to TPA resulted in a time-dependent, partial down-regulation of surface Ti-CD3 expression. Thus, TPA treatment inhibited the responsiveness of LBRM-33 cells to Ti-CD3-dependent stimuli by inducing an early desensitization of Ti-CD3 receptors, followed by a decrease in membrane receptor expression. These studies indicate that phorbol esters deliver bidirectional signals that both inhibit Ti-CD3-dependent phosphoinositide hydrolysis and augment IL-2 production in LBRM-33 cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Interleukin 1-mediated activation of interleukin 4 (IL 4)-producing T lymphocytes. Proliferation by IL 4-dependent and IL 4-independent mechanisms.

The role of IL 1 in the activation of IL 4-producing murine T cell clones was investigated by using a calcium ionophore (ionomycin) or a phorbol ester (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate; TPA) as T cell receptor-independent costimuli. The use of these pharmacologic agents to investigate IL 1-mediated T cell activation revealed two distinct mechanisms of activation. IL 1 in combination with ionomycin (iono/rIL 1) stimulated a proliferative response that was associated with the production of IL 4 as measured by lymphokine bioassay and mRNA studies. Furthermore, inhibition of this proliferative response with an anti-IL 4 monoclonal antibody or cyclosporine indicated that IL 4 functions as an autocrine growth factor. In contrast, IL 1 synergized with TPA (TPA/rIL 1) to induce proliferation in the absence of either IL 4 or IL 2 gene transcription or lymphokine secretion. The IL 4-independence of this activation mechanism was further supported by the failure of both anti-IL 4 antibodies and cyclosporine to inhibit the response. In addition, activation by TPA/rIL 1 caused no detectable alteration in cytoplasmic calcium levels. Both IL 4-dependent and IL 4-independent activation responses were associated with the expression of functional receptors for IL 2 as well as IL 4. Characterization of these activation responses suggests that the synergistic activity of IL 1 during T cell activation is multipotential. The nature of an IL 1-dependent T cell growth response, therefore, may vary depending on the balance of intracellular signals generated concurrently through the T cell receptor complex and other regulatory surface molecules.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Differential bioassay of interleukin 2 and interleukin 4.

The T cell-derived lymphokines interleukin 2 (IL-2) and interleukin 4 (IL-4, originally BSF-1) both exhibit T cell growth-promoting activity. Recent observations that T cell lines commonly used as indicator cells in IL-2 bioassays also proliferate in response to IL-4 demonstrate the lack of specificity of these bioassays for IL-2. In this report we describe a bioassay method to differentiate IL-2 and IL-4 through the parallel use of two T cell lines with defined lymphokine specificity. The IL-2-responsive CT6 cell line, when used in conjunction with the IL-2- and IL-4-responsive HT-2 cell line, allows for the differentiation of IL-2 and IL-4 in conditioned media.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Transmembrane signaling during interleukin 1-dependent T cell activation. Interactions of signal 1- and signal 2-type mediators with the phosphoinositide-dependent signal transduction mechanism.

The murine T lymphoma line, LBRM-33 1A5, requires synergistic signals delivered by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and interleukin 1 (IL1) for activation to high level interleukin 2 production. The activation signals provided by PHA and IL1 were replaced by the Ca2+ ionophore, ionomycin, and the phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), respectively. These observations supported a two-signal model for T cell activation involving increases in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) (signal 1) and activation of protein kinase C (signal 2) as necessary and sufficient events. However, biochemical analyses revealed that additional signals were involved in the activation of LBRM-33 cells by both receptor-dependent and -independent mediators. Both signal 1-type mediators, PHA and ionomycin, exerted pleiotropic effects at the concentrations required for synergy with signal 2-type mediators (IL1, TPA). Within 1-2 min of addition, PHA stimulated phospholipid turnover, including hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, Ca2+ mobilization, and protein kinase C activation. The [Ca2+]i increase induced by PHA was due to influx from both intracellular and extracellular Ca2+ pools. Similarly, ionomycin increased phospholipid turnover, [Ca2+]i, and directly affected protein kinase C activity in LBRM-33 cells. In contrast, the signal 2-type mediators, TPA and IL1, appeared to act by distinct intracellular mechanisms. TPA induced a protracted association of cellular protein kinase C with the plasma membrane, consistent with the two-signal activation model. Furthermore, acute TPA treatment inhibited PHA-stimulated inositol phosphate release and Ca2+ mobilization, suggesting that this mediator partially antagonized signal 1 delivery. IL1, in contrast, neither activated protein kinase C directly nor did it positively modulate the coupling of signal 1-type mediators to [Ca2+]i or protein kinase C via the phosphoinositide pathway. The intracellular signal delivered by IL1 is, therefore, generated through a mechanism distinct from or distal to the activation of protein kinase C. These studies indicate that the two-signal hypothesis, in its simplest form, is inadequate to explain the signals required for the initiation of IL1-dependent T cell activation.

Animals↗