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Biomedical subjects

T Kozu

Publications and source records attributed to T Kozu.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Size difference in catalytic polypeptides of two active forms of mouse DNA polymerase alpha and separation of the primase subunit from one form, DNA replicase.

There are two active forms of DNA polymerase alpha in mouse cells. One form (DNA replicase) is a DNA polymerase associated with primase activity and the other form (7.3 S polymerase) has no primase activity (Yaugar, T., Kozu, T. and Seno, T. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 11121-11127). The primase activity was dissociated from partially purified DNA replicase by hydroxyapatite column chromatography in buffer containing dimethyl sulfoxide and ethylene glycol. Nearly homogeneous primase, consisting of a 58 kDa polypeptide was obtained by glycerol gradient sedimentation and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. Experiments on the effect of proteinase treatment and measurement of the molecular weight of the catalytic polypeptide of DNA replicase after its dissociation from the primase polypeptide indicated that the primase is not part of the DNA polymerase molecule, but an independent protein associated with DNA polymerase alpha, and that the latter is a 115 kDa catalytic polypeptide. The other form of DNA polymerase alpha, 7.3 S polymerase, consists of a 72 kDa catalytic polypeptide. Thus, the two forms of mouse DNA polymerase alpha have partially, if not completely, different catalytic polypeptide structures, suggesting that the 7.3 S polymerase is not simply formed from DNA replicase by dissociation of the primase subunit.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

[The role of endoscopic lithotomy in the treatment of intrahepatic stones].

Although hepatolithiasis is a benign disease, its treatment is still the most difficult one in medical field. Before 1977, we had tried bilioenterostomy at the porta hepatis to expect spontaneous dislodgement of stones. However their results were very poor because of frequent occurrence of cholangitis which leads to hepatic failure or death in 8 of 15 patients. From 1977 to 1981, 35 patients had undergone postoperative cholangioscopy (POC). Complete stone removal was obtained in 24 patients. There were 13 difficult local problems in the remaining 11 patients including 6 being too narrow to permit the passage of the fiberscope, 3 having stones incarcerated, 3 having abnormal distribution of biliary tract and one being a missed stone. From 1981, we have carried out percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopic lithotomy (PTCL) for the treatment of intrahepatic stones in 16 patients. Because abnormal distribution of biliary tract can be easily detected by PTC and incarcerated stones can be made into small pieces before removal following LASER application. We had succeeded in complete stone removal in 12 patients. 2 patients needed biliary reconstruction or liver resection after PTCL. We concluded that for treatment of the disease of intrahepatic stone PTCL should be considered as the first choice before surgery in order to avoid unnecessary hepatic resection or biliary reconstruction.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Novel form of DNA polymerase alpha associated with DNA primase activity of vertebrates. Detection with mouse stimulating factor.

With a specific stimulating factor of mouse DNA replicase for its detection, a novel form of DNA polymerase alpha (DNA replicase) associated with DNA primase activity was partially purified from several vertebrates, i.e. the cherry salmon Oncorhyncus masou, the frog Xenopus laevis, the chick, and human (HeLa cells). Activity similar to DNA replicase was also partially purified from embryos of the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina. In all vertebrates examined, two forms of DNA polymerase alpha were separated by chromatography on ion-exchange columns; one form (DNA replicase) was associated with DNA primase activity and could utilize unprimed single-stranded DNAs as template, and the other could not utilize unprimed single-stranded DNAs. The sedimentation coefficient of the former, the novel form, obtained from each vertebrate in a glycerol gradient at high ionic strength was slightly larger than that of the other form which had no primase activity, except in the case of chick embryos where the sedimentation coefficients of the two forms were almost the same. The initiator RNA synthesized with the DNA primase activity associated with DNA replicase obtained from salmon, chick, HeLa cells, and sea urchin was 8 to 10 nucleotides long. The stimulating factor obtained from Ehrlich ascites cells has been found to stimulate both the activities of DNA primase and DNA polymerase in DNA replicase obtained from all the vertebrates examined, when unprimed single-stranded DNA was used as template, while the factor failed to stimulate both the activities of the enzyme of sea urchin embryos. This factor thus should be an effective tool in studies on the mechanism of vertebrate DNA replication.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Mechanism of stimulation by a specific protein factor of de novo DNA synthesis by mouse DNA replicase with fd phage single stranded circular DNA.

Mouse DNA replicase is a functional multienzyme complex consisting of DNA polymerase and DNA primase. The DNA and initiator RNA syntheses by DNA replicase with single stranded DNA as template are stimulated by a stimulating factor (T. Yagura, T. Kozu and T. Seno, 1982, J. Biochem. (Tokyo).91, 607-618). The action mechanism of the stimulating factor on this novel DNA synthesis with fd phage single stranded circular DNA as template was studied. The stimulating factor directly stimulated initiator RNA synthesis but did not change the length of either initiator RNA (8 to 10 nucleotides long) or the product DNA (300 to 1,000 nucleotides long). Kinetic studies and analysis of the products by neutral agarose gel electrophoresis show that the stimulating factor increased the affinity of DNA replicase for template DNA without changing the apparent Km values for deoxy- and ribonucleotide substrates. Thus, in combination with a sufficient amount of the stimulating factor, DNA replicase quantitatively converted the template DNA to the position of double-stranded circular replicative form II DNA, as shown by agarose gel electrophoresis.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Tight association of DNA primase with a subspecies of mouse DNA polymerase alpha.

Evidence was obtained for tight association of DNA primase activity with a subspecies of mouse DNA polymerase alpha by study with immunoadsorption assay using two monoclonal antibodies specific for human DNA polymerase alpha that have been shown to react with mouse murine myeloma DNA polymerase alpha (Tanaka, S., Hu, S.-Z., Wang, T.-S.-F. & Korn, D. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 8386-8390). This result was supported by the finding that ethidium bromide at concentrations of less than 20 microM somewhat stimulated the syntheses of DNA and initiator RNA on unprimed poly(dT) by the novel subspecies of DNA polymerase alpha, but strongly inhibited DNA synthesis with poly(dT) X oligo(rA), suggesting that the conversion of synthesis from initiator RNA to DNA is continuous. Furthermore, the results of neutralization assay with the antibodies and experiment using aphidicolin suggested that the primase site is functionally distinguishable from the catalytic site of DNA polymerase activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Size maturation process of nascent DNA intermediates into chromosomal-sized DNA in Tetrahymena pyriformis macronuclear DNA replication.

An analysis was made of the size maturation process of nascent DNA intermediates in macronuclear DNA replication of Tetrahymena pyriformis. The first discrete size class of nascent intermediates larger than Okazaki fragments were replicon-sized DNA (about 2 X 10(7) D single-stranded (ss) DNA) and accumulated in cells treated with cycloheximide. On removal of cycloheximide, the replicon-sized intermediates were converted to middle-sized intermediates (about 10 X 10(7) D ssDNA) and then merged into chromosomal-sized DNA. As indicated by either aphidicolin inhibition or the technique of the photolysis of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-substituted DNA with long-wave ultraviolet light, four to eight replicon-sized intermediates were joined together to form a middle-sized intermediate after rapid sealing by DNA synthesis of the late-replicating regions located between adjacent replicon-sized intermediates. The late-replicating regions may represent the short gaps or terminal regions where DNA synthesis was retarded by cycloheximide, since the size of late-replicating regions was suggested to be shorter than the replicon size by DNA fiber autoradiography. Therefore, it is probable that four to eight completed replicons are joined as a group such as a replicon cluster, as has been reported in DNA replication of other eukaryotic cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

[Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), serum amylase and pancreozymin-secretin test in relation to stages of pancreatic cancer].

In cases of surgically proved pancreatic carcinoma, preoperative values of serum CEA, serum amylase and pancreozymin-secretin test (PST) were seen if they related to the macroscopic stages of the tumor determined by "General Rules for Surgical and Pathological Studies on Cancer of Pancreas" offered by Japanese Pancreatic Society in April 1982. Serum CEA was determined in 43 cases, serum amylase in 34 cases and PST was done in 28 cases. All of CEA, amylase and PST showed no statistically significant relationship to the stages of the carcinoma. This may suggest that these tests may not be a useful indicator of the stage of tumor.

Amylases↗
PubMed1982

Mouse DNA replicase. DNA polymerase associated with a novel RNA polymerase activity to synthesize initiator RNA of strict size.

De novo DNA synthesis on poly(dT) by a novel mouse DNA polymerase, here named "DNA replicase," was examined for the synthesis of RNA which functions as a primer in the subsequent synthesis of DNA. As has been reported previously (Yagura, T., Kozu, T., and Seno, T. (1982) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 91, 607-618), a novel RNA polymerase activity, which is distinguished from those of classical RNA polymerases, is associated with DNA replicase. The synthesis of RNA and DNA by DNA replicase (Mr = 16 X 10(4), by glycerol gradient sedimentation analysis) was greatly stimulated by a specific stimulating factor (Mr = 13 X 10(4), by glycerol gradient sedimentation analysis) which was found to consist of two subunits (Mr = 63 X 10(3), by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). Nearest neighbor analysis in which transfer of 32P from alpha-labeled nucleoside triphosphates to ribo- and deoxyribonucleotides was examined, showed th at RNA of 8-10 nucleotides long was covalently linked to the 5'-end of the DNA product molecule. This RNA, named initiator RNA, had a triphosphate group at its 5' terminus and its size and synthesis were little affected by the addition of high concentrations of deoxynucleoside triphosphate, while in these conditions deoxyribonucleotides were incorporated into initiator RNA to a limited extent. The characteristics of the DNA replicase and stimulating factor that cooperate to synthesize initiator RNA for subsequent DNA synthesis on single-stranded DNA are important because these components seem to be involved in a reaction required to initiate the synthesis of discontinuous earliest DNA intermediates (Okazaki fragments) in chromosomal DNA replication of eukaryotic cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Mouse DNA polymerase accompanied by a novel RNA polymerase activity: purification and partial characterization.

A mouse DNA polymerase accompanied by a novel RNA polymerase activity and its specific protein factor (stimulating factor) were purified from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells and partially characterized. The DNA polymerase was thought to be a subspecies of DNA polymerase alpha, and to be accompanied by or copurified with RNA polymerase activity capable of synthesizing RNA, which was probably utilized as a primer for subsequent DNA polymerization on a template of poly(dT) or poly(dC). This coupled reaction by RNA and DNA polymerase activities required the stimulating factor in addition to ribo- and deoxyribonucleotide substrates, although the degree of requirement depended on the kind of template and ribonucleotide substrate: the activity to incorporate dATP with poly(dT) plus ATP depended greatly on the stimulating factor, while the activity to incorporate dGTP with poly(dC) did not when GTP was added at high concentrations. GDP could be substituted for GTP, but the activity with poly(dC) plus GDP depended largely on the stimulating factor. Involvement of known RNA polymerases in the activity with poly(dT) was excluded, because addition of purified mouse RNA polymerases I and II had no effect on the incorporation of dATP, and alpha-amanitin (100 micrograms/ml) did not inhibit the incorporations of dATP and ATP. Analysis of the inhibition by the nucleotide analog 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside 5'-triphosphate (ddNTP) further supported the involvement of new RNA polymerase; ddNTPs inhibited the activities with poly(dT) and poly(dC) significantly more than RNA polymerases I and II or DNA polymerase alpha activity with poly(dT) . oligo(rA) and poly(dC) . oligo(dG) as template. Lineweaver-Burk analysis of the inhibitions showed that ddATP inhibited competitively with respect to ATP, and ddGTP inhibited competitively with respect to GDP but noncompetitively with respect to GTP.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Arrest of chain growth of replicon-sized intermediates by aphidicolin during rat fibroblast cell chromosome replication.

The effect of aphidicolin, a specific inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha, on size maturation of nascent DNA intermediates was studied in cultured rat fibroblast cells. Results provided the first evidence of DNA synthesis associated with merging of intermediates of larger than replicon size. Aphidicolin at a concentration (1.4 micrograms/ml) causing 90-95% inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation, resulted in accumulation of intermediates of nearly the same size as the replicon (2-5 x 10(-7) Da); although the synthesis of short nascent fragments (referred to as Okazaki fragments) continued in the presence of aphidicolin, the rate of their elongation to the replicon size was greatly decreased. On removal of aphidicolin, these accumulated intermediates merged into high-molecular-weight DNA. This merging of the intermediates was associated with DNA synthesis in gaps between adjacent intermediates, as revealed by photolysis of bromodeoxyuridine-DNA leader with long-wave ultraviolet light; when the cells had been pulse-labeled for 5 min with bromodeoxyuridine immediately after removal of the drug, the large DNA arising from aphidicolin-arrested intermediates was cut into fragments of the original size by long-wave ultraviolet light irradiation. The arrest of chain elongation at the replicon-size by aphidicolin might be due to inhibition of this DNA synthesis in gaps, because aphidicolin did not cause degradation of nascent DNAs.

Animals↗