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T Gelbart

Publications and source records attributed to T Gelbart.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Evolution of the genome and the genetic code: selection at the dinucleotide level by methylation and polyribonucleotide cleavage.

Noting the scarcity of CpG dinucleotide in total genomic DNA derived from higher organisms and the scarcity of TpA dinucleotide in total genomic DNA derived from most life forms, we examined the distribution of these dinucleotides in sequences derived from functionally distinct types of human DNA, including mitochondrial DNA, intergenic DNA, intron DNA, and DNA destined to be represented in the cytoplasm as mRNA, tRNA, or rRNA. While CpG frequency has fallen to its lowest levels in DNA that is transcriptionally silent, TpA is most stringently excluded in DNA destined to be expressed as mRNA in the cytosol. This observation suggests that the selective pressures leading to the removal of CpG and TpA operate at different levels. With respect to TpA, dinucleotide scarcity may reflect a requirement for mRNA stability and may indicate the action of UpA-selective ribonucleases. We propose that, by reason of its instability, UpA must have been very rare in primordial RNA. Therefore, tRNA with the anticodon for this dinucleotide may have failed to evolve, making UpA the primordial doublet "stop" codon. The modern triplet code has faithfully conserved this arrangement in the two universal stop codons, UAA and UAG.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Identification of the binding domain for NADP+ of human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by sequence analysis of mutants.

Human erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is normally quite stable in the presence of 10 microM NADP+. Certain glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase variants lose virtually all their activity at this concentration of NADP+ but are reactivated by 200 microM NADP+. Such variants presumably have a defect in their NADP+-binding site. We analyzed the sequence of cDNA or genomic DNA from seven unrelated patients with hemolytic anemia due to the inheritance of variants that are reactivated by NADP+. Six patients had substitutions of one of three adjacent amino acids, and the seventh patient had another amino acid substitution 23 residues downstream. These amino acids are highly conserved, all being present in rat and all but one being found also in Drosophila. The anomalous electrophoretic behavior of some of the variants can be explained by their loss of ability to bind NADP+. We conclude that the region in which these mutations occur defines the binding domain for NADP+ and that binding NADP+ that has been designated as "structural" and as "catalytic" probably occurs at the same site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Mechanism of improved maintenance of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate in stored blood by the xanthone compound 2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-6-(1-H-tetrazole-5-yl)xanthen-9-one (BW A440C).

The effect of the xanthone derivative 2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-6-(1-H-tetrazole-5-yl)xanthen-9-one (BW A440C) on red cells was studied. When added to stored red cells at a concentration of 6 mM, greatly improved preservation of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) was observed. There was no effect on internal pH of the erythrocyte. At a concentration 0.500 mM, many red cell enzyme activities were inhibited completely. At a 0.500 mM concentration, however, inhibition of pyruvate kinase and diphosphoglycerate phosphatase was most striking. Inhibition of either of these enzymes could result in elevation of 2,3-DPG levels. BW A440C in concentrations which elevated 2,3-DPG levels in humans caused a decrease in 2,3-DPG levels in rabbits and markedly impaired the viability of 21-day stored rabbit erythrocytes.

2,3-Diphosphoglycerate↗
PubMed1986

Improved assay of the enzymes of glutathione synthesis: gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and glutathione synthetase.

New methods for the estimation of red cell gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and glutathione synthetase have been developed. gamma-32P ATP is allowed to equilibrate until the gamma and beta phosphate groups are equally labelled. The amount of 32Pi released in the presence of glutamic acid and cysteine, the substrates for GC-S or in the presence of gamma-glutamylcysteine and glycine, the substrates of GSH-S, is measured. This is accomplished by extraction of the phosphomolybdate complex into isobutanol-benzene. The methods are linear with time and hemolysate concentration. Normal values are presented.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1986

G-6-PD Walter Reed: possible insight into "structural" NADP in G-6-PD.

A new G-6-PD variant, G-6-PD Walter Reed, causing hereditary nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia is characterized. This variant is unusual in that its stability requires the presence of high concentrations of NADP, while its Km for NADP is normal. This finding is consistent with the suggestion that G-6-PD has two separate binding sites, a high affinity "structural" site and a lower affinity catalytic site. The mutation in G-6-PD Walter Reed, like that of the previously described variant, G-6-PD Torrance, may be due to a mutation of the "structural" site for NADP.

Anemia, Hemolytic, Congenital↗
PubMed1986

Blood cell phosphogluconolactonase: assay and properties.

6-Phosphogluconolactonase (6-PGL) catalyses the second reaction of the hexosemonophosphate pathway. Although the delta-lactone of 6-phosphogluconic acid is the natural substrate for this enzyme, the more stable gamma-lactone may also be used. We prepared the gamma-lactone of 6-phosphogluconic acid from 6-phosphogluconate. When stored in dimethylsulfoxide, this material was found to be stable in liquid nitrogen for several months. A method for measuring 6-phosphogluconolactonase (6-PGL) using the gamma-lactone as substrate has been developed, after defining conditions under which spontaneous hydrolysis of the lactone is relatively slow and the enzymatic velocity is relatively rapid. The enzyme had no divalent cation requirement and was not significantly inhibited by a 50-fold excess of gluconolactone. It was distinct, therefore, from gluconolactonase. At 25 degrees C normal human red cells were found to contain approximately 50 IU of 6-phosphogluconolactonase/g Hb. The activity of the enzyme was independent of red cell age. Based on protein content, human lymphocytes, monocytes, granulocytes and platelets, contained approximately 10 times the activity of red blood cells. The activity of 6-PGL was stable for at least 6 d in red cells stored at 22 degrees C and for at least 20 d in red cells stored at 4 degrees C.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Erythrocyte glutathione synthetase deficiency leads not only to glutathione but also to glutathione-S-transferase deficiency.

Glutathione synthetase (GSH-S) is one of the two known hereditary causes of glutathione deficiency. We describe a family whose two children have hemolytic anemia. The children's erythrocytes lack GSH and are severely deficient in GSH-S activity. No neurologic findings or 5-oxoprolinuria were present. A concurrent deficiency of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) was also detected in the erythrocytes. Residual glutathione could be detected in the erythrocytes using a sensitive cycling assay. The deficiency was found to be most severe in reticulocyte-depleted preparations. The GSH-S activity of the erythrocytes of the parents was one-half normal, while the glutathione S-transferase activity was normal. We conclude that the primary defect is one of GSH-S. Glutathione stabilizes GST in vitro, and it is assumed that the deficiency of GST in the erythrocytes of the patients is due to the instability of this enzyme in the absence of adequate intracellular GSH levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

The mechanism of removal of leukocytes by cellulose columns.

Cellulose columns efficiently remove leukocytes from whole blood. Interaction of leukocytes with cellulose particles is not affected by glucose, galactose, fructose, mannose, or cellobiose. Although red cells normally pass through cellulose columns, they are retained after fixation in glutaraldehyde. We conclude that the leukocyte-removing activity of cellulose columns is due to mechanical filtration rather than to specific adherence of leukocytes to the cellulose particles.

Carbohydrates↗
PubMed1985

6-Phosphogluconolactonase deficiency, a hereditary erythrocyte enzyme deficiency: possible interaction with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.

Partial deficiency of 6-phosphogluconolactonase (EC 3.1.1.31) of the erythrocytes was discovered as an autosomal dominant disorder. Hemolytic anemia occurred in an individual who had inherited both the gene for 6-phosphogluconolactonase deficiency and that for deficiency of a nonhemolytic variant of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49). It is proposed that the interaction of this hereditary erythrocyte abnormality with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency may explain hemolysis in some other patients who have inherited polymorphic variants of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Anemia, Hemolytic↗
PubMed1985

Heterogeneity in type I Gaucher disease demonstrated by restriction mapping of the gene.

A cloned fragment of human glucocerebrosidase cDNA has been used as a probe to study restriction polymorphisms in the region of the gene for Gaucher disease. Variability in the size of fragments produced by digestion with the restriction endonucleases Pvu II and Kpn I was discovered. The Pvu II polymorphism was found to be a very prevalent one with a gene frequency of 0.65 for the Pv1.1- allele and 0.35 for the Pv1.1+ allele. Similar frequencies were encountered among diverse ethnic groups. Five of eight Jewish patients with Gaucher disease were found to be heterozygous for the Pvu II restriction polymorphism. One non-Jewish patient with type I Gaucher disease was heterozygous for the Kpn I variant. The existence of Gaucher disease genes in association with either allele of the ancient Pvu II polymorphism clearly indicates that, even within the Jewish population, the Gaucher disease mutation has occurred independently more than once. Presumably, different mutations have also occurred in the non-Jewish population.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

Plasma glutathione in health and in patients with malignant disease.

The total glutathione concentration (oxidized plus reduced) of human plasma was investigated. Glutathione was found to disappear when added to plasma, the loss of reduced glutathione being much more rapid than the loss of oxidized glutathione. The glutathione content of plasma from normal humans was found to be 0.91 +/- 0.24 mumol/L (mean +/- 1 SD) when plasma extracts were prepared exactly 10 minutes after the blood had been drawn. The glutathione content of rat plasma was about 15 times as high as that of human plasma. Patients with a variety of malignant disorders were found to have markedly lowered plasma glutathione levels. This did not seem to be associated with chemotherapy or with type of neoplasm. The administration of acetaminophen to rabbits and to human volunteers did not affect plasma glutathione levels.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1984

Globin-methionine complexes formed during labelling studies.

In implementing globin synthetic measurements using our recently described technique of Cellogel separation of 35S-methionine-labelled globin chain we sometimes encountered aberrant results. We discovered the presence of prominent radioactive bands trailing both the alpha and beta globin chains. Such bands were not present when 3H-leucine served as a label. These bands were not due to contaminants in the 35S-methionine. Their formation could be prevented by including in the incubating mixture 1 mM cystine, cysteine or homocysteine. The bands could not be removed by trichloracetic acid or acid acetone precipitation but did disappear almost entirely after prolonged dialysis against a urea-containing buffer. The trailing bands appear to represent the result of the firm, but not covalent, binding of methionine to globin during the protein synthetic process. Since methionine is commonly used as a label for newly synthesized protein, this phenomenon may be important not only in the investigation of globin synthesis, but also in the study of the synthesis of other proteins.

Chromatography, Thin Layer↗
PubMed1981

Falsely normal value in fluorometric transferase screening of galactosemic blood. A cautionary note.

A blood sample from a galactosemic infant gave a normal result with the fluorescent screening test for galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase. The generation of fluorescence from this sample was found to be property of the plasma; the erythrocytes manifested no galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase activity. The plasma was found to contain a high level of isocitrate dehydrogenase, presumably a result of the infant's liver disease, and of isocitrate, presumably derived from citrate in the anticoagulant solution by action of aconitase derived from leukocytes which lysed during shipment. The oxidation of the isocitrate by the dehydrogenase apparently resulted in reduction of NADP to NADPH. False negative results have not been reported previously using the fluorescent transferase assay. They can be avoided in the future by using EDTA rather than citrate as an anticoagulant, particularly if blood samples are to be shipped at ambient temperature.

False Negative Reactions↗
PubMed1981

The effects of oxygen affinity and gelation of hemoglobin S crosslinked by reaction with methyl acetimidate.

The contribution of the high molecular weight hemoglobin (HMW Hb) to the antisickling effect produced by treatment of sickle cell erythrocytes with methyl acetimidate (MAI) was investigated. Erythrocytes obtained from sickle cell anemia and normal individuals were incubated with varying concentrations of MAI. The presence of intermolecularly crosslinked HMW Hb was detected by gel filtration of dialyzed hemolysates obtained from the incubated cells. HMW Hb has an increased oxygen affinity and a decreased Hill constant. Intermolecular crosslinking per se was shown to have no additional effect on Hb oxygen affinity other than that due to Hb amino group modification. Modified deoxy Hb S of normal molecular weight has a higher minimum gel concentration (MGC) than control deoxy Hb S. Deoxy HMW Hb did not gel at intracellular Hb concentrations. Therefore, the intracellular concentration of deoxy Hb S that gels necessarily decreases as the HMW Hb concentration increases. This "excluded volume effect" of the non-gelling Hb would be expected to increase the MGC of completely deoxygenated hemolysate obtained from the treated cells. The HMW Hb contributes to the inhibition of sickling resulting from treatment of sickle erythrocyte with MAI by increasing both MGC and oxygen affinity of the modified Hb.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1980

In vivo survival studies of 51Cr-labeled methyl acetimidate treated erythrocytes in patients with sickle cell disease.

Studies of the survival time of 51Cr labeled erythrocytes treated in vitro with methyl acetimidate (MAI) were conducted in 13 patients with sickle cell disease in order to assess the suitability of this antisickling agent for more extensive clinical testing. In comparison with previously measured control values (average t1/2 8.4 +/- 1.1 days a), the survival time of the treated erythrocytes in 10 of the patients who were not transfused was initially prolonged (average t1/2 24.4 +/- 4.6 days). However, 5 of the 13 patients studied developed circulating antibody against the MAI treated erythrocytes, markedly reducing the survival time of MAI treated erythrocytes in subsequent studies. Two patients, each challenged 3 times with infused MAI treated erythrocytes, failed to show evidence of antibody production, suggesting that not all subjects become immunized even after repeated exposure. In spite of many other promising properties of MAI as an antisickling agent of potential value, consideration of its use in further clinical testing must depend on successful avoidance of immunization in patients receiving infusions of treated erythrocytes.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Synergy between TLR2 and TLR4: a safety mechanism.

BACKGROUND: The Toll (Tlr) receptors facilitate innate immunity by detecting products that are unique to invading microorganisms. Stimulation of these receptors can produce severe reactions and death. We propose that synergy between receptors for different microbial products would provide a safety mechanism, preventing inappropriate, potentially fatal reactions by reacting to low concentrations of ligands when more than a single ligand is present. RESULTS: Striking synergy is noted between the ligand for Tlr4, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and a ligand for Tlr2, muramyl dipeptide (MDP), in the release of tumor necrosis factor from RAW cells. CONCLUSIONS: Synergy between a ligand for Tlr2 and Tlr4 can be demonstrated in a simple in vitro system. The greater sensitivity of MDP-stimulated cells to LPS may explain the data that were once interpreted incorrectly as indicating that Tlr2 is the endotoxin receptor.

Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A study of genes that may modulate the expression of hereditary hemochromatosis: transferrin receptor-1, ferroportin, ceruloplasmin, ferritin light and heavy chains, iron regulatory proteins (IRP)-1 and -2, and hepcidin.

We have examined transferrin receptor-1, ferroportin, ceruloplasmin, ferritin light and heavy chains, iron regulatory proteins (IRP)-1 and -2, and hepcidin for mutations that might modulate the iron burden of individuals harboring the common mutant hemochromatosis HFE genotype C282Y/C282Y or cause hemochromatosis independent of mutations in the HFE gene. In a group of white, Asian, and African-American normal and iron-overloaded individuals, the coding and flanking regions of these genes were completely sequenced. Numerous coding region and promoter polymorphisms were detected. These were further examined for association with differences in iron accumulation as measured by plasma transferrin saturation and ferritin levels, but no such association could be documented.

Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides↗