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T Berg

Publications and source records attributed to T Berg.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Uptake, intracellular transport, and degradation of polyethylene glycol-modified asialofetuin in hepatocytes.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is attached to proteins in order to increase their half-life in the circulation and reduce their immunogenicity in vivo. For many applications involving "targeting" molecules, it is important to know how PEG modification of the molecule affects its interaction with a receptor and the subsequent internalization, intracellular transport, and lysosomal degradation. As a model system, we used asialofetuin, which binds to the galactose receptor of hepatocytes, because removal of sialic acid exposes galactose residues. We modified asialofetuin by attaching various amounts of PEG of molecular weight 1900 or 5000. The preparations were labeled with 125I so that endocytosis and degradation could be followed in suspended hepatocytes. Depending on the number of PEG molecules attached, receptor-mediated uptake was affected to varying degrees. If two-thirds of the exposed amino groups of the asialofetuin molecule were modified, the rate of uptake decreased to less than one-fourth of controls; degradation of endocytosed molecules was 12% of controls. The reduction in endocytic uptake was due to a reduced rate of formation of the receptor-ligand complex. Subcellular frationation in density gradients showed that PEG-modified asialofetuin is transported intracellularly and degraded in the same manner as the native protein, but the rate of proteolysis is reduced. This observation explains the paradoxical result of experiments with injection of modified asialofetuin into rats in vivo: even though the clearance of one preparation of PEG-asialofetuin was much slower than that of the native protein, accumulation of radioactivity in the liver from the modified protein was twice as high. The hepatocytes accounted for 85% of the hepatic accumulation of either PEG-modified or native asialofetuin in vivo.

Animals

Characterization of retroendocytosis in rat liver parenchymal cells and sinusoidal endothelial cells.

After receptor-mediated endocytosis, internalized ligands may be recycled to the cell surface instead of being routed to lysosomes for degradation, a process termed retroendocytosis. We have investigated the kinetics and extent of retroendocytosis of neoglycoproteins after internalization via two carbohydrate-specific receptors in rat liver cells: galactose receptors in parenchymal cells (PC) and mannose receptors in sinusoidal endothelial cells (EC). Retroendocytosis in both cell types occurred with first-order kinetics, and the rate of recycling of internalized ligands was about 4 times higher in EC than in PC. As the length of the internalization pulse was increased, the extent of subsequent retroendocytosis decreased, indicating that retroendocytosis takes place from a relatively early stage in the endocytic pathway. Furthermore, as the degree of carbohydrate substitution of the neoglycoprotein ligands increased, the affinities of the receptors for the ligands and the extent of ligand retroendocytosis increased. In the EC, the relationship between degree of substitution and extent of retroendocytosis was not immediately apparent, as some of the neoglycoprotein ligands used may also bind to and be internalized by scavenger receptors on the EC, causing a decreased apparent retroendocytosis. However, when this interaction was inhibited, this relationship was restored. We conclude that retroendocytosis mainly occurs because of incomplete dissociation of ligands from receptors before receptor recycling to the cell surface and that the affinities of a receptor for its ligand at the cell surface and in the endosomal environment are major factors in determining the extent of retroendocytosis.

Animals

Heterogeneity of carboxylesterases in rat liver cells.

Rat liver cells were separated into parenchymal cells (PC), Kupffer cells (KC) and endothelial cells (EC). The distribution of carboxylesterases (EC 3.1.1.1) between these cell types was investigated by PAGE and chromatogenic substrate staining, and compared with the results for total liver preparation and individual isoenzymes isolated by chromatofocusing. All of the liver carboxylesterase isoenzymes could be detected in the PC, whereas in both KC and EC only those with isoelectric point (pI) 6.4/6.2 could be detected. Use of carboxylesterase inhibitors like bis-(4-nitrophenyl)phosphate and paraoxon, and organophosphorus compound hydrolase inhibitors like 4-hydroxymercuribenzoate and EDTA confirmed that these esterases were of the carboxylesterase type.

Animals

Evidence for carbohydrate-independent endocytosis of tissue-type plasminogen activator by liver cells.

In the liver, tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is endocytosed by hepatic parenchymal (PC), endothelial (EC) and Kupffer (KC) cells. Although the endocytosis is receptor-mediated, it remains a matter of discussion which receptors are involved in this catabolic process. To evaluate the role of a protein-specific receptor, as well as the possible involvement of the galactose receptor on PC and the mannose receptor on EC, we have employed different glycosylation variants of t-PA in biochemical and immunocytochemical studies. Partial or total removal of carbohydrate side-chains by endoglycosidases did not prevent clearance and hepatic endocytosis of t-PA by either of the liver cell types. Blockade of the galactose and mannose receptors by co-application of a large excess of the glycoprotein ovalbumin remained without effect on the binding and uptake of t-PA by hepatic cells. However, the contribution of different liver cell types to the hepatic clearance of t-PA was to a certain extent dependent on the type of oligosaccharide chains removed. The mannose receptor on EC is partially responsible for the clearance of t-PA by this cell type, whereas the galactose receptor does not seem to be involved in this process. The results obtained in this study further demonstrate that the major portion of the hepatic catabolism of t-PA is independent of its carbohydrate side-chains.

Amidohydrolases

Metabolism of high-density lipoproteins in rainbow trout.

Trout high-density lipoproteins have been labelled with residualizing tracers for the lipid and protein moieties ([3H]cholesteryloleyl ether and 125I-tyramine-cellobiose, respectively). Plasma kinetics and tissue site of catabolism were determined for both tracers. The lipid tracer was cleared about twice as fast from the blood as the protein tracer (half lifes were 63.5 and 125.3 h, respectively). This selective removal of lipid from the lipoprotein was mainly accomplished by the higher liver uptake of the cholesteryl ether. The main catabolic site for HDL protein was kidney tissue. This data established the existence of differential HDL catabolism in a lower vertebrate, in which HDL is the dominant plasma lipoprotein. In addition, the findings confirm the importance of fish kidney as a major site of endocytosis of macromolecules, of both exogenous and endogenous origin.

Animals

Endocytosis and intracellular processing of tissue-type plasminogen activator by rat liver cells in vivo.

Endocytosis of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) by different types of rat liver cells was studied in immunocytochemically labelled cryosections as well as in biochemical experiments. For morphological localization of the ligand in different endocytic compartments involved in its catabolism, rat livers were fixed at various times (1-24 min) after injection of t-PA. Late-endosomal and lysosomal compartments were identified by double-labelling the sections with antibodies to the lysosomal proteins glycoprotein Igp 120 and cathepsin D. In liver t-PA was localized in sinusoidal endothelial cells (EC), parenchymal cells (PC) and to some extent in Kupffer cells (KC), indicating that it is internalized and degraded in all three cell types. In specimens fixed 6 min after injection PC, EC and KC were found to contribute to 69, 24 and 7% respectively of total t-PA endocytosed. The transfer from late endosomes to lysosomes was found to be faster in EC than in PC. The morphological findings were supported by studies of the endocytic mechanisms employing isolated perfused livers and primary hepatocytes. The presence of monensin, an inhibitor of lysosomal protein degradation, reduced the amount of t-PA degraded to about 50% of the control values. The catalytic site seems not to be required for the catabolism of t-PA in hepatic cells. The inhibition of t-PA by D-phenylalanyl-L-prolylarginyl-chloromethane did not influence receptor recognition and catabolic processing, as determined in morphological studies using labelled cryosections, in binding studies employing liver cell membranes and primary hepatocytes, as well as in liver-perfusion experiments.

Animals

Clearance of purified human liver gamma-glutamyltransferase after intravenous injection in the rat.

The clearance of gamma-glutamyltransferase was studied by injecting the purified human liver enzyme intravenously in the rat. The results show a biphasic clearance, with a rapid initial rate of removal. The initial uptake is more rapid for neuraminidase-treated GT. Liver accounts for the bulk organ uptake and the enzyme is almost exclusively taken up into the parenchymal cells. We suggest that the uptake of circulating GT is receptor mediated, most likely by the galactose receptor of the parenchymal cells.

Animals

Characterization of a new kallikrein-like enzyme (KLP-S3) of the rat submandibular gland.

The submandibular gland of the rat contains several enzymes belonging to the kallikrein family. These include tissue kallikrein, antigen gamma (T-kininogenase), esterase B and tonin. In the present study, a new member of this family, which we have named KLP-S3, was identified and purified from the submandibular gland. KLP-S3 was classified as a kallikrein-like enzyme on the basis of its immunological similarity to other kallikrein-like enzymes and its showing 70% and 73% identity in partial amino acid sequence with tissue kallikrein and tonin respectively. Furthermore, the 44 sequenced amino acid residues showed complete correspondence to the mRNA S3 of the kallikrein gene family, which was the rationale for the name kallikrein-like protein (KLP) S3. KLP-S3 consisted of three isoenzymes with pI 6.75, 6.90 and 6.95, which significantly differed from those of other kallikrein-like enzymes. In conjunction with its immunological relationship to kallikrein, this parameter (pI) was considered robust enough to identify the enzyme during purification, since a specific physiological substrate for KLP-S3 has yet to be identified. In SDS/PAGE the three isoenzymes ran as one band with a molecular mass of 25,800 Da, which after reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol was split into two chains with molecular masses of 16,500 and 13,300 Da. In common with other kallikrein-like enzymes, KLP-S3 was inhibited by phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride, and was thus classified as a serine protease. It was also inhibited by soya-bean trypsin inhibitor but not by aprotinin. It showed weak reactivity against the chromogenic substrates S2288, S2266, S2366 and S2302 (D-Ile-Pro-Arg 4-nitroanilide, D-Val-Leu-Arg 4-nitroanilide, Glu-Pro-Arg 4-nitroanilide and D-Pro-Phe-Arg 4-nitroanilide respectively) and did not cleave rat T-kininogen or dog high-molecular-mass/low-molecular-mass kininogen. Its specific angiotensin II-generating activity (angiotensin I as substrate) was 0.04% of that of rat tonin. KLP-S3 (1-100 nM) induced a statistically significant angiotensin-independent contraction of isolated rat aorta rings. The maximum contraction was 15% of the response to the alpha-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine (1 microM). The concentration of KLP-S3 in the rat submandibular gland was by single radial immunodiffusion estimated to be 47 +/- 3 micrograms/mg of protein.

Amino Acid Sequence

Identification of proteins of the kallikrein family by isoelectrofocusing and immunoblotting.

We have found that kallikrein-like proteins differ in their isoelectric point but share antigenic determinants. For identification of kallikrein-like proteins an initial separation was carried out in flat-bed isoelectrofocusing gels. The kallikrein-like nature was demonstrated by an immunological similarity to kallikrein-like proteins by immunoblotting using antiserum against a kallikrein family member for staining. We used this system to identify different kallikrein-like proteins during purification of both known as well as new enzymes.

Amino Acid Sequence

Productive and perceptual constraints on speech-error correction.

Two incentives underlie the present study on speech-error detection and correction. First, this area of research has up to now almost completely been approached through experimental techniques. Since it is not all clear whether speakers' detection and correction behaviour is identical inside and outside the laboratory, a comparison is made between experimental and naturalistic data. While the experimental materials are taken from the literature, the naturalistic findings are based upon the analysis of a corpus of more than 6,000 German slips of the tongue. It is shown that the same trends emerge in both data sets, thereby confirming the ecological validity of the experimental, and the reliability of the naturalistic, results. Secondly, the question arises as to the reasons for error correction and its occasional failure. Two working hypotheses are explored. Speakers fail to correct their errors because they have not detected them or because they assume that the error does not interfere with the listener's decoding process. The former reason is understood as a productive, the latter as a perceptual, constraint on the correction of self-produced errors. The empirical analysis discloses a large overlap between the effects of perceptual and productive constraints. However, whereas perceptual constraints can be subsumed under productive ones, the reverse is not possible. On the basis of this outcome it is argued that productive constraints are primary, and perceptual constraints secondary, reference points for error correction. Although the empirical data do not require the postulation of perceptual constraints, it is suggested that both speaker- and listener-based aspects form part of a highly integrated processing system.

Attention

Load transfer by a maxillary distal-extension removable partial denture with cap and ring extracoronal attachments.

This study photoelastically compared the stress distribution characteristics of maxillary, bilateral, distal-extension removable partial dentures retained by light and heavy ERA extracoronal attachments. One prosthesis included supporting rests and the other had no rests. Both designs were tested with and without abutment splinting. The most favorable stress distributions were obtained with light retention elements, supporting rests, and splinting of the abutments. In this configuration the attachment prosthesis compared favorably in stress distribution with the maxillary I-bar retained removable partial denture in a previous study that used a comparable maxillae model.

Dental Prosthesis Retention

Comparison of load transfer by maxillary distal extension removable partial dentures with a spring-loaded plunger attachment and I-bar retainer.

This study photoelastically compared the stress distribution characteristics of two maxillary bilateral distal-extension removable partial denture designs, one using I-bar retention and the other using a semiprecision spring-loaded plunger attachment. Each prosthesis was subjected to vertical and horizontal extension-base loads. Comparisons were made from photographic recordings of isochromatic fringe distributions. The two retention designs produced comparable stresses with splinting of abutments for the plunger attachment. The attachment-retained prosthesis proved less stable with some loadings. Stress patterns followed three trajectories in the maxilla. A basis for stress distribution comparisons to other maxillary removable partial denture attachments is established.

Analysis of Variance

Phonological harmony as a processing problem.

This investigation focuses upon an outstanding aspect of child phonology--that of consonant harmony, relabelled 'phonological harmony'--and inquires whether representational or processing deficits are responsible for its occurrence. A detailed analysis of the oral output of one German-speaking girl (2;7.15-2;11) supports the contention that the Imperfect Processing Model fares much better in accounting for her harmony strategy than the Incomplete Representation Model. It is established that bilabial harmony is the only type of assimilation she has recourse to, and that this process is mainly used to cope with difficult sounds, although it also implicates consonants which do not pose a production problem. The difficult sounds are arguably not absent from the child's system because they can be uttered in some positions though not in others. The harmonizing tendency is interpreted within the interactive activation model of language production and is claimed to emanate from two particularities of her processing system. She has represented even the difficult elements as network nodes, but some connections between the segment and the feature level are ill developed. As a result, activation cannot spread smoothly between these levels and the relevant units cannot be made available for production. In addition, an excessive linkage strength has been built up among the node [bilabial] and all its associates at the segment level. This puts bilabial consonants into a state of hyperactivation and allows them even to intrude upon those segments which have been perfectly mastered. It is finally shown why these two mechanisms are very unlikely to become permanent features of the child's processing system.

Child Development

Immunohistochemical localization of rat submandibular gland esterase B (homologous to the RSKG-7 kallikrein gene) in relation to other serine proteases of the kallikrein family.

The rat submandibular gland contains several members of the kallikrein family. In the present study we purified and raised an antiserum against one of these enzymes, i.e., esterase B, which was first described by Khullar et al. in 1986. N-terminal amino acid analysis revealed complete homology between esterase B and the kallikrein family gene RSKG-7. For characterization of the antiserum, flat-bed isoelectrofocusing with immunoblotting was superior to immunoelectrophoresis and double immunodiffusion in detecting and identifying crossreacting proteins. This was due to the fact that kallikrein-like enzymes were readily separated by isoelectrofocusing, and immunoreactivity was easily detected by the sensitive peroxidase-anti-peroxidase staining after blotting onto nitrocellulose membrane. Immunohistochemical controls were carried out accordingly, including homologous as well as crossreacting antigens. In the submandibular gland, esterase B was detected exclusively in all granular convoluted tubular cells, co-localized with tissue kallikrein and tonin. Some staining was also observed in striated duct cells; however, this staining reaction was induced by cross-reactivity with kallikrein, since staining was abolished by addition of kallikrein as well as esterase B to the primary antiserum. It was therefore concluded that like tonin and antigen gamma, but unlike kallikrein, esterase B was not detected in the striated ducts of the submandibular, parotid, or sublingual glands. This separation in anatomic distribution between esterase B and kallikrein may indicate that prokallikrein activation is not the only biological function of esterase B.

Amino Acid Sequence

Role of liver endothelial and Kupffer cells in clearing low density lipoprotein from blood in hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

The role of liver endothelial and Kupffer cells in the hepatic uptake of cholesterol-rich low density lipoprotein (LDL) was studied in rabbits fed a diet containing 2% (w/w) cholesterol for 3 weeks. 125I-labeled tyramine cellobiose-labeled cholesterol-rich LDL was injected intravenously into rabbits, and parenchymal and nonparenchymal liver cells were isolated 24 h after injection. The hepatic uptake was 9 +/- 3% of injected dose in cholesterol-fed rabbits 24 h after injection, as compared to 36 +/- 9% in control-fed rabbits (n = 6 in each group; significant difference, P less than 0.005). Endothelial and Kupffer cells took up 2.7 +/- 0.5% and 1.2 +/- 0.8% of injected dose in the hypercholesterolemic rabbits, as compared to 1.9 +/- 0.8% and 0.8 +/- 0.3% in control animals. The amount accounted for by the parenchymal cells was markedly reduced in the cholesterol-fed rabbits to 7.3 +/- 2.7% of injected dose, as compared to 32.8 +/- 7.6% in controls (P less than 0.02). On a per cell basis, the nonparenchymal cells of cholesterol-fed rabbits took up as much LDL as the parenchymal cells (0.6 +/- 0.2, 0.7 +/- 0.1, and 0.6 +/- 0.4% of injected dose per 10(9) parenchymal, endothelial, and Kupffer cells, respectively). This is in marked contrast to the control animals, in which parenchymal cells took up about 6 times more LDL per cell than endothelial and Kupffer cells (3.2 +/- 0.9, 0.7 +/- 0.3, and 0.5 +/- 0.1% of injected dose per 10(9) cells). Thus, 30% of the hepatic uptake of LDL in the cholesterol-fed rabbits took place in nonparenchymal cells, as compared to 6% in controls. Consistent with these data, the concentrations of cholesteryl ester in endothelial and Kupffer cells in rabbits fed the high cholesterol diet were about twofold higher than in parenchymal cells (428 +/- 74 and 508 +/- 125 micrograms/mg protein, respectively, vs. 221 +/- 24 micrograms/mg protein in parenchymal cells). In contrast to cells from normal rabbits, Kupffer and endothelial cells from cholesterol-fed rabbits accumulated significant amounts of Oil Red O-positive material (neutral lipids). Electron microscopic examination of these cells in situ as well as in culture revealed numerous intracellular lipid droplets. Slot blot hybridization of RNA from liver parenchymal, endothelial, and Kupffer cells showed that cholesterol feeding reduced the level of mRNA specific for the apoB,E receptor to a small and insignificant extent in all three cell types (to 70-80% of that observed in control animals).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals

T-kininogenase activity of the rat submandibular gland is predominantly due to the kallikrein-like serine protease antigen gamma.

T-kininogen, the major kininogen in rat plasma, releases Ile-Ser-bradykinin (T-kinin) when incubated with trypsin, but is not a substrate for tissue kallikrein. Enzymes able to release T-kinins from T-kininogen have been found in the rat submandibular gland, but precise identification of these enzymes and their possible relationship to kallikrein-like enzymes has not been established. We studied T-kininogenase activity in fractionated submandibular gland homogenate. The main T-kininogen catalytic enzyme was purified and characterized, and found to be identical to antigen gamma, a kallikrein-like enzyme which we have previously characterized. Of other identified kallikrein-like enzymes only tonin showed weak T-kininogenase activity, which was about 0.25% of that of antigen gamma. No other T-kininogen catalytic enzymes were observed. Antigen gamma released a kinin which was identified as T-kinin by reverse-phase h.p.l.c. The T-kininogenase activity of antigen gamma had a Km of 29 +/- 4 microM and a kcat/Km of 140 M-1.s-1, and was comparable with its high and low molecular mass-kininogenase activity (7.4 and 10 micrograms of kinin/h per mg respectively). In contrast, tissue kallikrein released 0.2 and 42,200 micrograms of kinin/h per mg respectively. Thus antigen gamma is a weak kininogenase. The isoelectric point of antigen gamma, but not its molecular mass, differed from that of other kallikrein-like enzymes. Isoelectrofocusing in flat-bed gels combined with immunostaining was therefore a convenient method for identification. The kallikrein-like nature of antigen gamma was demonstrated by its immunological similarity to tissue kallikrein and tonin and by 91% and 87% amino acid sequence similarity with tonin and kallikrein respectively (67 amino acids sequenced). Complete identity was also not observed with other sequenced kallikrein genes, mRNAs or proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence

Interactions of ricin with sinusoidal endothelial rat liver cells. Different involvement of two distinct carbohydrate-specific mechanisms in surface binding and internalization.

We have investigated the interactions of the plant toxin ricin with sinusoidal endothelial rat liver cells (EC). In these cells, ricin can be bound and internalized via either cell surface galactosyl residues or mannose receptors. Binding and uptake via galactosyl residues and mannose receptors was studied in the presence of mannan (1 mg/ml) and lactose (50 mM) respectively. Whereas most of the ricin binding was accounted for by cell surface galactosyl residues, uptake of ricin via mannose receptors was much more efficient than uptake via galactosyl residues. Internalized ricin is subject to extensive retroendocytosis (recycling to the cell surface from an early endocytic compartment). Retroendocytosis occurs after internalization of ricin via either pathway and to a much greater extent than for other glycoproteins taken up via mannose receptors of the EC. Hyperosmolarity (150 mM-sucrose), which is known to inhibit endocytosis from coated pits, strongly inhibited ricin uptake via mannose receptors, but had less effect on uptake via galactosyl residues. This suggests that only part of the galactose-specific uptake takes place from coated pits. Protein synthesis in EC was very sensitive to ricin [concn. causing half-maximal inhibition (IC50) = 1.3 x 10(-13) M]. Mannan was slightly more effective than lactose in protecting the EC protein synthesis from ricin toxicity.

Animals