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Biomedical subjects

T A Jones

Publications and source records attributed to T A Jones.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Bacterial contig map of the 21q11 region associated with Alzheimer's disease and abnormal myelopoiesis in Down syndrome.

We present a high-resolution bacterial contig map of 3.4 Mb of genomic DNA in human chromosome 21q11-q21, encompassing the region of elevated disomic homozygosity in Down Syndrome-associated abnormal myelopoiesis and leukemia, as well as the markers, which has shown a strong association with Alzheimer's Disease that has never been explained. The map contains 89 overlapping PACs, BACs, or cosmids in three contigs (850, 850, and 1500 kb) with two gaps (one of 140-210 kb and the second <5 kb). To date, eight transcribed sequences derived by cDNA selection, exon trapping, and/or global EST sequencing have been positioned onto the map, and the only two genes so far mapped to this cytogenetic region, STCH and RIP140 have been precisely localized. This work converts a further 10% of chromosome 21q into a high-resolution bacterial contig map, which will be the physical basis for the long-range sequencing of this region. The map will also enable positional derivation of new transcribed sequences, as well as new polymorphic probes, that will help in elucidation of the role the genes in this region may play in abnormal myelopoiesis and leukemia associated with trisomy 21 and Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1998

Tracking the contribution of a family medicine clerkship to the clinical curriculum.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Medical educators are working to articulate the objectives and measure the outcomes of medical education. In clinical training, faculty need methods to identify both the principal educational contributions of individual clerkships and how prior experiences influence student learning. METHODS: We analyzed students' perceived acquisition of clinical knowledge and skills on a 4-week, community-based family medicine clerkship. The data represent 349 third-year medical students who participated in the clerkship during a 2-year time period. Results were summarized by three different combinations of prior clerkship experiences and overall. RESULTS: Students reported gains as a result of the clerkship for the majority of medical problems and procedures. However, there were differences in the clerkship's perceived contribution depending on the timing and sequence of clinical rotations. Even when the family medicine clerkship followed all other primary care rotations, students perceived that the clerkship contributed to gains in knowledge of undifferentiated and commonly seen problems; applications of health promotion, disease prevention, and patient education; importance of family dynamics in patient care; business aspects of medical practice; and appreciation of family practice. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate how a required family medicine clerkship can enhance the clinical learning that occurs on other rotations. The study also demonstrates that it is possible to track a clerkship's contribution to student development and to understand how a clerkship's role may change according to students' prior experiences.

Clinical Clerkship↗
PubMed1997

Mutagenesis of residue 157 in the active site of human glyoxalase I.

Met-157 in the active site of human glyoxalase I was changed by site-directed mutagenesis into alanine, glutamine or histidine in order to evaluate its possible role in catalysis. The glyoxalase I mutants were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified on an S-hexylglutathione affinity gel. The physicochemical properties of the mutant proteins were similar to those of the wild-type enzyme. The glutamine mutant exhibited the same high specific activity as wild-type glyoxalase I, whereas the alanine and histidine mutants had approx. 20% of wild-type activity. The kcat/Km values of the mutant glyoxalase I determined with the hemithioacetal adduct of glutathione and methylglyoxal were reduced to between 10 and 40% of the wild-type value. This reduction was due to lower kcat values for the alanine and histidine mutants and a twofold increase in the Km value for the glutamine mutant. With the hemithioacetal of glutathione and phenylglyoxal, the kinetic parameters of the mutants were also of the same magnitude as those of wild-type glyoxalase I. Studies with the competitive inhibitors S-hexyl- and S-benzyl-glutathione revealed that the affinity was reduced to 7-11% of the wild-type affinity for the glutamine and alanine mutants and to 30-40% for the histidine mutant, as measured by a comparison of Ki values. The results show that Met-157 has no direct role in catalysis, but is rather involved in forming the substrate-binding site of human glyoxalase I. The high activity of the glutamine mutant suggests that a structurally equivalent glutamine residue in the N-terminal half of Saccharomyces cerevisiae glyoxalase I may be part of a catalytically competent active site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

The crystal structure of the catalytic core domain of endoglucanase I from Trichoderma reesei at 3.6 A resolution, and a comparison with related enzymes.

Cellulose is the most abundant polymer in the biosphere. Although generally resistant to degradation, it may be hydrolysed by cellulolytic organisms that have evolved a variety of structurally distinct enzymes, cellobiohydrolases and endoglucanases, for this purpose. Endoglucanase I (EG I) is the major endoglucanase produced by the cellulolytic fungus Trichoderma reesei, accounting for 5 to 10% of the total amount of cellulases produced by this organism. Together with EG I from Humicola insolens and T. reesei cellobiohydrolase I (CBH I), the enzyme is classified into family 7 of the glycosyl hydrolases, and it catalyses hydrolysis with a net retention of the anomeric configuration. The structure of the catalytic core domain (residues 1 to 371) of EG I from T. reesei has been determined at 3.6 A resolution by the molecular replacement method using the structures of T. reesei CBH I and H. insolens EG I as search models. By employing the 2-fold non-crystallographic symmetry (NCS), the structure was refined successfully, despite the limited resolution. The final model has an R-factor of 0.201 (Rfree 0.258). The structure of EG I reveals an extended, open substrate-binding cleft, rather than a tunnel as found in the homologous cellobiohydrolase CBH I. This confirms the earlier proposal that the tunnel-forming loops in CBH I have been deleted in EG I, which has resulted in an open active site in EG I, enabling it to function as an endoglucanase. Comparison of the structure of EG I with several related enzymes reveals structural similarities, and differences that relate to their biological function in degrading particular substrates. A possible structural explanation of the drastically different pH profiles of T. reesei and H. insolens EG I is proposed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Crystal structure of human glyoxalase I--evidence for gene duplication and 3D domain swapping.

The zinc metalloenzyme glyoxalase I catalyses the glutathione-dependent inactivation of toxic methylglyoxal. The structure of the dimeric human enzyme in complex with S-benzyl-glutathione has been determined by multiple isomorphous replacement (MIR) and refined at 2.2 A resolution. Each monomer consists of two domains. Despite only low sequence homology between them, these domains are structurally equivalent and appear to have arisen by a gene duplication. On the other hand, there is no structural homology to the 'glutathione binding domain' found in other glutathione-linked proteins. 3D domain swapping of the N- and C-terminal domains has resulted in the active site being situated in the dimer interface, with the inhibitor and essential zinc ion interacting with side chains from both subunits. Two structurally equivalent residues from each domain contribute to a square pyramidal coordination of the zinc ion, rarely seen in zinc enzymes. Comparison of glyoxalase I with other known structures shows the enzyme to belong to a new structural family which includes the Fe2+-dependent dihydroxybiphenyl dioxygenase and the bleomycin resistance protein. This structural family appears to allow members to form with or without domain swapping.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Template convolution to enhance or detect structural features in macromolecular electron-density maps.

A conceptually simple real-space convolution method has been developed which can be used to detect or enhance structural features in experimental macromolecular electron-density maps. The method has been implemented in a computer program (ESSENS). One application of the method is in selectively visualizing secondary-structure elements in multiple isomorphous replacement (MIR) maps of proteins, prior to map interpretation. This application is demonstrated for MIR maps of P2 myelin protein [Jones, Bergfors, Sedzik & Unge (1988). EMBO J. 7, 1597-1604; Cowan, Newcomer & Jones (1993). J. Mol. Biol. 230, 1225-1246] and glyoxalase I [Cameron, Olin, Ridderström, Mannervik & Jones (1997). In preparation]. Another application is in finding the optimal orientation and position of a known structural fragment (e.g. a protein domain or a ligand) in any type of electron-density map (real-space or phased molecular replacement). This application is demonstrated for the complex of acetylcholinesterase and the snake toxin fasciculin II [Harel, Kleywegt, Ravelli, Silman & Sussman (1995). Structure, 3, 1355-1366] where the toxin was located in a map phased using the molecular-replacement solution for the acetylcholinesterase alone.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1997

Purification, characterization, and crystallization of Escherichia coli ribokinase.

Ribokinase phosphorylates ribose to form ribose-5-phosphate in the presence of ATP and magnesium. The phosphorylated sugar can enter the pentose phosphate pathway or be used for the synthesis of nucleotides, histidine, and tryptophan. Ribokinase belongs to the PfkB family of carbohydrate kinases, for which no three-dimensional structure is currently known. We describe an improved purification protocol for Escherichia coli ribokinase and give evidence from light-scattering and gel filtration studies that the protein forms a dimer in solution. Several types of crystals are also described that have been obtained of apo ribokinase, ribokinase in the presence of ATP, and in a ternary complex with an ATP-analogue and ribose. The latter crystals give the best X-ray diffraction. A complete data set has been collected at the synchrotron source in Hamburg, to 2.6 A resolution using a frozen crystal. The crystals belong to space group P6(1)22 or P6(5)22 with cell parameters a = b = 95 A and c = 155 A.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗
PubMed1997

Induction of multiple synapses by experience in the visual cortex of adult rats.

This study examined experience effects upon the formation of multiple synaptic contacts among individual dendritic and axonal elements. Axonal boutons and dendritic spines forming contacts with more than one process were assessed within layer IV of the visual cortex in adult rats following 60 days of housing in standard laboratory cages (IC) or in complex environments (EC). Multiple synaptic boutons (MSBs) that formed synaptic contacts with both a dendritic spine and a dendritic shaft were found to be markedly increased in number per neuron in EC rats in comparison to those in IC rats. In contrast, single-synaptic contacts were not increased, indicating that the formation of new single-synaptic boutons is, at most, merely sufficient to replace boutons that may have been recruited into the population of MSBs. This apparent tendency to reutilize presynaptic processes may indicate a constraint upon the formation of neural circuitry and a fundamental form of plastic synaptic change.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Short latency vestibular evoked potentials in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

Short-latency vestibular-evoked potentials to pulsed linear acceleration were characterized in the quail. Responses occurred within 8 ms following the onset of stimuli and were composed of a series of positive and negative peaks. The latencies and amplitudes of the first four peaks were quantitatively characterized. Mean latencies at 1.0 g ms-1 ranged from 1265 +/- 208 microseconds (P1, N = 18) to 4802 +/- 441 microseconds (N4, N = 13). Amplitudes ranged from 3.72 +/- 1.51 microV (P1/N1, N = 18) to 1.49 +/- 0.77 microV (P3/N3, N = 16). Latency-intensity (LI) slopes ranged from -38.7 +/- 7.3 microseconds dB-1 (P1, N = 18) to -71.6 +/- 21.9 microseconds dB-1 (N3, N = 15) and amplitude-intensity (AI) slopes ranged from 0.20 +/- 0.08 microV dB-1 (P1/N1, N = 18) to 0.07 +/- 0.04 microV dB-1 (P3/N3, N = 11). The mean response threshold across all animals was -21.83 +/- 3.34 dB re: 1.0 g ms-1 (N = 18). Responses remained after cochlear extirpation showing that they could not depend critically on cochlear activity. Responses were eliminated by destruction of the vestibular end organs, thus showing that responses depended critically and specifically on the vestibular system. The results demonstrate that the responses are vestibular and the findings provide a scientific basis for using vestibular responses to evaluate vestibular function through ontogeny and senescence in the quail.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Activity studies and crystal structures of catalytically deficient mutants of cellobiohydrolase I from Trichoderma reesei.

The roles of the residues in the catalytic trio Glu212-Asp214-Glu217 in cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI) from Trichoderma reesei have been investigated by changing these residues to their isosteric amide counterparts. Three mutants, E212Q, D214N and E217Q, were constructed and expressed in T. reesei. All three point mutations significantly impair the catalytic activity of the enzyme, although all retain some residual activity. On the small chromophoric substrate CNP-Lac, the kcat values were reduced to 1/2000, 1/85 and 1/370 of the wild-type activity, respectively, whereas the KM values remained essentially unchanged. On insoluble crystalline cellulose, BMCC, no significant activity was detected for the E212Q and E217Q mutants, whereas the D214N mutant retained residual activity. The consequences of the individual mutations on the active-site structure were assessed for two of the mutants, E212Q and D214N, by X-ray crystallography at 2.0 A and 2.2 A resolution, respectively. In addition, the structure of E212Q CBHI in complex with the natural product, cellobiose, was determined at 2.0 A resolution. The active-site structure of each mutant is very similar to that of the wild-type enzyme. In the absence of ligand, the active site of the D214N mutant contains a calcium ion firmly bound to Glu212, whereas that of E212Q does not. This supports our hypothesis that Glu212 is the charged species during catalysis. As in the complex of wild-type CBHI with bound o-iodobenzyl-1-thio-beta-D-glucoside, cellobiose is bound to the two product sites in the complex with E212Q. However, the binding of cellobiose differs from that of the glucoside in that the cellobiose is shifted away from the trio of catalytic residues to interact more intimately with a loop that is part of the outer wall of the active site.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1996

Synaptogenesis and dendritic growth in the cortex opposite unilateral sensorimotor cortex damage in adult rats: a quantitative electron microscopic examination.

Unilateral lesions of the forelimb area of the sensorimotor cortex in adult rats resulted in time-dependent increases in the number of synapses per neuron and the volume and membrane surface area of dendritic processes per neuron within layer V of the contralateral motor cortex in comparison to sham-operated rats. Based on previous findings of a behavioral relationship with increased dendritic arborization, these changes may be related to lesion-induced compensatory changes in the use of the non-impaired (ipsilateral to the lesion) forelimb.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

A re-evaluation of the crystal structure of chloromuconate cycloisomerase.

It is shown here that the reported 3 A crystal structure of chloromuconate cycloisomerase from Alcaligenes eutrophus [Hoier, Schlömann, Hammer, Glusker, Carrell, Goldman, Stezowski & Heinemann (1994). Acta Cryst. D50, 75-84] was refined in the incorrect space group I4. In addition, a stretch of about 25 residues near the N-terminus is out-of-register with the density in the original structure. From the coordinates and structure factors deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), it was possible to determine the correct space group to be I422. The structure was then re-refined, using the original data reduced to I422, to a crystallographic free R factor of 0.264 at 3 A resolution (conventional R factor 0.189). With conservative refinement and rebuilding methods, the errors in the chain tracing could be identified and remedied. Since the two molecules per asymmetric unit in the original structure are actually related by crystallographic symmetry, the observed differences between them are artefacts. In particular, the differences between, and peculiarities of the metal-binding sites are unreal. This case shows the dangers of crystallographic refinement in cases with unfavourable data-to-parameter ratios, and the importance of reducing the number of parameters in such cases to prevent gross errors (for instance, by using NCS constraints). It also demonstrates how the evaluation and monitoring of model quality during the entire refinement and rebuilding process can be used to detect and remedy serious errors. Finally, it presents a strong case in favour of depositing not only model coordinates, but also experimental data (preferably, both merged and unmerged data).

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

xdlMAPMAN and xdlDATAMAN - programs for reformatting, analysis and manipulation of biomacromolecular electron-density maps and reflection data sets.

Two user-friendly computer programs are described for use in macromolecular X-ray crystallography, xdlMAPMAN provides an interface for electron-density map exchange between some of the most commonly used phase refinement, structure refinement and model- building programs. In addition, it contains several options to analyse and abstract such maps. xdlDATAMAN provides similar functionality for the analysis and manipulation of macromolecular reflection data sets. Both programs have a simple graphical user interface, and their source code has been put into the public domain.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Towards the automatic interpretation of macromolecular electron-density maps: qualitative and quantitative matching of protein sequence to map.

The matching of the known polypeptide sequence to the electron density is a critical step in solving protein structures by the crystallographic method. Tools have been developed to help in defining the placement of the sequence, both qualitatively and quantitatively. They have been tested with good results on two proteins whose structures were solved by the MIR method.

Journal Article↗