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Biomedical subjects

W J Dreyer

Publications and source records attributed to W J Dreyer.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Rapid ventricular pacing in dogs with right ventricular outflow tract obstruction: insights into a mechanism of sudden death in postoperative tetralogy of Fallot.

OBJECTIVES: We explored the hypothesis that residual outflow tract obstruction and ventricular hypertrophy associated with rapid ventricular rhythm contribute to sudden death, in part because they result in humoral or hemodynamic changes that predispose to ventricular fibrillation, such as increased catecholamine release or decreased coronary flow, or both. BACKGROUND: Ventricular arrhythmia after surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot has been associated with sudden death, particularly in patients with residual right ventricular hypertension. However, the mechanisms by which sudden death occurs remain unclear. METHODS: Seven awake, unanesthetized mature beagles with chronically elevated right ventricular pressure (high pressure group: right ventricular/left ventricular systolic pressure ratio > 0.5) were compared with six beagles with low right ventricular pressure at rest and at the end of 5 min of ventricular pacing at 240 beats/min (low pressure group). RESULTS: In the high pressure group, cardiac output decreased during ventricular pacing (compared with sinus rhythm) from 304 +/- 21 to 218 +/- 21 ml/min per kg (p < 0.01) and plasma norepinephrine increased substantially from 673 +/- 64 to 1,047 +/- 92 pg/ml (p < 0.01). Comparable changes were not observed in the low pressure group. Plasma epinephrine levels were similar in both groups at rest and did not change with pacing. Postpacing norepinephrine levels from both groups correlated positively with both right ventricular systolic and diastolic pressure at rest and correlated negatively with the change in cardiac output from rest to pacing. Regional right ventricular myocardial blood flow increased with pacing in the low pressure group, whereas in the high pressure group it was increased at rest and did not increase further with pacing. CONCLUSION: During ventricular pacing, dogs with right ventricular outflow tract obstruction and high right ventricular pressure had a decrease in cardiac output and an increase in plasma norepinephrine, coupled with a loss of right ventricular myocardial blood flow reserve. Similar changes may occur in postoperative patients with similar hemodynamics and tachyarrhythmia and could contribute to the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation and sudden death.

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A method for the generation of monoclonal antibodies against rare cell-surface molecules.

Monoclonal antibodies provide a powerful tool for the identification and analysis of novel cell-surface molecules. We present here a method for antigen preparation and an immunization protocol that facilitates generation of mAb reactive with cell-surface molecules of low abundance and/or low antigenicity. The procedure involves isolation and extensive fractionation of cell-surface and detergent-soluble extracellular-matrix molecules prior to immunization. Cell-surface proteins on intact tissue are biotin-labeled using a reagent that does not penetrate cells. Avidin affinity chromatography is then used to purify these biotinylated molecules. Size-exclusion HPLC is used to separate these surface molecules on the basis of apparent molecular mass. Finally, immunization with antigen coupled to keyhole-limpet hemocyanin is combined with long-term booster immunizations to generate a hyperimmune response resulting in high-affinity IgG. A test application of this approach was aimed at the generation of mAb against cell-surface molecules of approximately 135 kDa in the developing chicken retinotectal system. Immunochemical analyses using antibodies produced by this approach which showed restricted patterns of tissue staining reveal that mAb were generated against all previously identified immunoglobulin superfamily molecules of this size in this system. Furthermore, we produced many additional antibodies that labeled retinotectal tissue in novel staining patterns. In the two cases analyzed in detail, these new patterns reflect the distributions of previously uncharacterized members of the immunoglobulin superfamily. The success of this initial study suggests that this method may represent a broadly applicable approach towards the preparation of extensive libraries of antibodies against cell-surface molecules expressed on cells from numerous sources.

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Bravo/Nr-CAM is closely related to the cell adhesion molecules L1 and Ng-CAM and has a similar heterodimer structure.

Diverse cell-surface molecules of the nervous system play an important role in specifying cell interactions during development. Using a method designed to generate mAbs against neural surface molecules of defined molecular weight, we have previously reported on the surface protein, Bravo, found in the developing avian retinotectal system. Bravo is immunologically detected on developing optic fibers in the retina, but absent from distal regions of the same fibers in the tectum. We have isolated cDNA clones encompassing the entire coding region of Bravo, including clones containing five alternative sequences of cDNA. These putative alternatively spliced sequences encode stretches of polypeptide ranging in length from 10-93 amino acids and are predicted to be both extra- and intracellular. The deduced primary structure of Bravo reveals that, like the cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) chicken Ng-CAM and mouse L1, Bravo is composed of six Ig-like domains, five fibronectin type III repeats, a transmembrane domain, and a short cytoplasmic region. Recently, the cDNA sequence of a related molecule, Nr-CAM, was reported and its possible identity with Bravo discussed (Grumet, M., V. Mauro, M. P. Burgoon, G. E. Edelman, and B. A. Cunningham. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 113:1399-1412). Here we confirm this identity and moreover show that Bravo is found on Müller glial processes and end-feet in the developing retina. In contrast to the single polypeptide chain structure of Nr-CAM reported previously, we show that Bravo has a heterodimer structure composed of an alpha chain of M(r) 140/130 and a beta chain of 60-80 kD. As with L1 and Ng-CAM, the two chains of Bravo are generated from an intact polypeptide by cleavage at identical locations and conserved sites within all three molecules (Ser-Arg/Lys-Arg). The similar domain composition and heterodimer structure, as well as the 40% amino acid sequence identity of these molecules, defines them as an evolutionarily related subgroup of CAMs. The relationship of Bravo to molecules known to be involved in cell adhesion and process outgrowth, combined with its pattern of expression and numerous potential isoforms, suggests a complex role for this molecule in cell interactions during neural development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Kinetics of C5a release in cardiac lymph of dogs experiencing coronary artery ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Previous studies of myocardial ischemia suggest that complement activation may play a central role in the inflammatory response during reperfusion. Our previous work has demonstrated neutrophil chemotactic activity to be present in reperfusion canine cardiac lymph after myocardial ischemia and infarction. To evaluate the contribution of the complement-dependent anaphylatoxin C5a to this neutrophil chemotactic activity, rabbit antiserum to canine C5a was prepared. At dilutions > 1:500 but < 1:2,000, the antiserum abolished the ability of zymosan-activated dog serum to induce a ruffled, bipolar morphology in isolated neutrophils used as a bioassay of chemotactic stimulation. This antiserum did not affect similar morphological changes in neutrophils exposed to platelet activating factor (10(-7)-10(-6) M) or recombinant human interleukin-8 (10(-9)-10(-8) M); thus, we deemed it functionally specific for canine C5a. In a pattern similar to what we previously reported, cardiac lymph collected before a 1-hour ligation of the left circumflex coronary artery had little ability to alter the morphology of canine neutrophils (shape change index, 11.3 +/- 4.6, mean +/- SEM; n = 7), but by 1 hour of reperfusion, lymph activated neutrophils significantly in five of seven dogs (mean shape change index, 72.6 +/- 17.7; p < 0.01). At 2 hours of reperfusion, neutrophil activation by lymph occurred in six of seven dogs (mean shape change index, 103.1 +/- 22.2). At 3 hours of reperfusion, cardiac lymph of only three of six dogs caused neutrophil activation, and at 4 hours of reperfusion, this activity was evident in lymph from only two of five dogs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Inflammation in the course of early myocardial ischemia.

Experimental models of acute ischemic myocardial injury indicate that the inflammatory response after the ischemic event contributes to tissue damage. This is especially apparent with reperfusion of the ischemic tissue. In such models some therapeutic strategies designed to reduce neutrophil accumulation or function have resulted in apparently beneficial effects. Although such findings are encouraging, interventions into these pathological processes using specific molecular targets will require greater understanding of specific mechanisms. Current evidence indicates that potential sites of therapeutic intervention will be found in pathways leading to complement activation, generation of lipid-derived mediators, adhesion of neutrophils to endothelial cells and cardiac myocytes, and activation of neutrophil secretory processes releasing, for example, proteolytic enzymes and reactive oxygen. Understanding the dynamic interplay between the mediators, adhesion pathways, and secretory processes that results in myocardial damage will allow a rational approach to controlling the detrimental inflammatory consequences of ischemia and reperfusion.

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Neutrophil accumulation in ischemic canine myocardium. Insights into time course, distribution, and mechanism of localization during early reperfusion.

BACKGROUND: We have previously demonstrated that chemotactic factors released from the ischemic canine myocardium peak early during reperfusion and that they elicit neutrophil adherence reactions in vitro that are dependent on the CD18 glycoprotein family. In this study we investigated the hypothesis that neutrophil localization in ischemic canine myocardium in vivo occurs over a similar time course during early reperfusion and involves a CD18-dependent mechanism. METHODS AND RESULTS: We occluded the circumflex coronary artery for 1 hour in acute, open-chest dogs, followed by reperfusion for 1, 2, 3, or 4 hours. Regional myocardial blood flow was determined using radiolabeled microspheres, and localization was traced using technetium-99m-labeled autologous neutrophils. In the first hour of reperfusion, neutrophil localization occurred preferentially within the subendocardial region and was inversely related to flow. Neutrophil localization diminished across the ischemic myocardium from endocardium to epicardium but remained negatively related to flow in the midmyocardial region. Regardless of flow, little neutrophil localization occurred in the subepicardial region. Neutrophil localization was greatest in the first hour of reperfusion and diminished thereafter. By 4 hours of reperfusion, the rate of localization was markedly attenuated relative to 1 hour. Dogs given anti-CD18 monoclonal antibody R15.7 (1 mg/kg i.v.) before occlusion underwent 1 hour of occlusion followed by 1 hour of reperfusion. When compared with 1-hour reperfusion controls, the R15.7-treated dogs demonstrated significant attenuation of neutrophil localization in the subendocardial region. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the concepts that rapid neutrophil localization during reperfusion occurs within regions of previous myocardial ischemia and that neutrophils preferentially localize within the subendocardial region. The rate of neutrophil localization is greatest within the first hour after the initiation of reperfusion, and localization is, at least in part, CD18 dependent. Therapies directed against neutrophil-mediated reperfusion injury should be initiated with these considerations in mind.

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Topologically restricted appearance in the developing chick retinotectal system of Bravo, a neural surface protein: experimental modulation by environmental cues.

A novel neural surface protein, Bravo, shows a pattern of topological restriction in the embryonic chick retinotectal system. Bravo is present on the developing optic fibers in the retina; however, retinal axons in the tectum do not display Bravo. The appearance of Bravo in vitro is modulated by environmental cues. Axons growing out from retinal explants on retinal basal lamina, their natural substrate, express Bravo, whereas such axons growing on collagen do not. Retinal explants provide a valuable system to characterize the mechanism of Bravo restriction, as well as the cellular signals controlling it. Bravo was identified with monoclonal antibodies from a collection generated against exposed molecules isolated by using a selective cell surface biotinylation procedure. The NH2-terminal sequence of Bravo shows similarity with L1, a neural surface molecule which is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. This possible relationship to L1, together with its restricted appearance, suggests an involvement of Bravo in axonal growth and guidance.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Neutrophil adherence to isolated adult canine myocytes. Evidence for a CD18-dependent mechanism.

Cardiac myocytes were isolated from adult dogs and incubated with isolated canine neutrophils (PMN). Intercellular adhesion was low and unchanged by stimulation of the PMN with zymosan activated serum or platelet activating factor (PAF) at concentrations that significantly enhance PMN adhesion to protein-coated glass and canine endothelial cell monolayers. Intercellular adhesion was significantly increased only when both myocytes and PMN were stimulated (e.g., myocytes incubated with IL-1, tumor necrosis factor, or phorbol myristate acetate, and PMN were chemotactically stimulated). Inhibitors of protein synthesis diminished the IL-1 beta-induced effect by greater than 80%. The IL-1 beta, PAF-stimulated PMN-myocyte adhesion was associated with substantial H2O2 production. Under conditions with low PMN-myocyte adhesion (i.e., IL-1 beta alone, PAF alone, or no stimulus) H2O2 production was generally less than 5% of that occurring with high adhesion. An anti-CD18 monoclonal antibody (R15.7) inhibited stimulated PMN-myocyte adhesion by greater than 95% and reduced H2O2 production by greater than 90%. Control isotype-matched, binding, and nonbinding antibodies were without effect on adherence or H2O2 production. The results indicate that cytokine stimulation of adult myocytes induces expression of a ligand involved in CD18-dependent adherence of canine neutrophils.

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Canine neutrophil activation by cardiac lymph obtained during reperfusion of ischemic myocardium.

Cardiac lymph from a canine model of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion was examined for evidence of chemotactic activity. Lymph was continuously collected from awake animals before and during a 60-minute coronary artery occlusion and up to 6 hours after the initiation of reperfusion. It was assessed for the ability to activate the following proinflammatory functions in neutrophils isolated from the blood of healthy dogs: 1) morphological changes characteristic of chemotactic stimulation, which were assessed by phase contrast microscopy, 2) orientation of canine neutrophils in a gradient of cardiac lymph, which was assessed in Zigmond chambers, 3) the binding of monoclonal antibodies reactive with CD11b and CD18 adherence glycoproteins, which was assessed by flow cytometry, and 4) adherence of canine neutrophils to monolayers of canine jugular vein endothelium, which was assessed in vitro by a visual assay. Lymph samples collected after 1 hour of reperfusion in animals demonstrating ECG evidence of ischemia and histological evidence of infarction exhibited significant stimulatory activity for each of the functions tested. Shape change-inducing activity was evaluated at more frequent intervals than other functions and was found to peak at 1 hour after initiation of reperfusion and to disappear by 6 hours. In addition, the CD11b/CD18 levels on neutrophils isolated from cardiac lymph collected during reperfusion were significantly greater than neutrophils obtained before or during occlusion. Animals that failed to exhibit evidence of infarction also failed to exhibit increased stimulatory activity in lymph collected during reperfusion, and surface levels of CD11b/CD18 on neutrophils collected from reperfusion lymph were not elevated. This study provides direct evidence supporting the hypothesis that chemotactic activity is generated in ischemic and reperfused myocardium.

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The effects of hypoxemia on myocardial blood flow during exercise.

We evaluated the adequacy of regional and transmural blood flow during exercise and rapid pacing after 1 wk of hypoxemia. Seven mature mongrel dogs were made hypoxemic (mean O2 saturation = 72.4%) by anastomosis of left pulmonary artery to left atrial appendage. Catheters were placed in the left atrium, right atrium, pulmonary artery, and aorta. Atrial and ventricular pacing wires were placed. An aortic flow probe was placed to measure cardiac output. Ten nonshunted dogs, similarly instrumented, served as controls. Recovery time was approximately 1 wk. Cardiac output, mean aortic pressure, and oxygen saturation were measured at rest, with ventricular pacing, atrial pacing, and with treadmill exercise. Ventricular and atrial pace and exercise were at a heart rate of 200. Right ventricular free wall, left ventricular free wall, and septal blood flow were measured with radionuclide-labeled microspheres. Cardiac output, left atrial blood pressure, and aortic blood pressure were similar between the two groups of dogs in all testing states. Myocardial blood flow was significantly higher in the right and left ventricular free wall in the hypoxemic animals during resting and exercise testing states. Myocardial oxygen delivery was similar between the two groups of animals. Pacing resulted in an increase in myocardial blood flow in the control animals but not the hypoxemic animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Endogenous opioids do not mediate HCl-induced myocardial dysfunction.

We evaluated the hypothesis that increased endogenous opioid activity mediates part or all of the left ventricular contractile and pump dysfunction previously demonstrated in HCl-induced metabolic acidemia. Eighteen Western newborn lambs were catheterized and instrumented; pacing wires were sutured to the right atrial appendage; a catheter mounted micromanometer pressure transducer was inserted into the left ventricle; and a 2.5 F thermistor was inserted into the distal abdominal aorta. The lambs were studied 3 days after surgery. Metabolic acidemia was produced with an infusion of 0.5 N HCl into the inferior vena cava. Inhibition of endogenous opioids was achieved with a bolus of 2 mg/kg of intravenous naloxone, which was demonstrated to inhibit morphine sulfate-induced myocardial dysfunction. The effects of opioid inhibition were contrasted with our previously published results after restoration of a normal arterial pH with intravenous sodium bicarbonate. In agreement with our previous study, we found that reducing the arterial pH from 7.41 +/- 0.01 to 6.97 +/- 0.04 was associated with a 45% reduction in cardiac output which resulted from a 50% reduction in stroke volume. These changes in turn were mediated by a 35% reduction in the maximal first derivative of left ventricular pressure and/or a 63% increase in systemic vascular resistance which we used to estimate contractility and afterload, respectively. Left ventricular end diastolic pressure increased during acidemia. Although opioid inhibition produced a consistent increase in the maximal first derivative of left ventricular pressure, this increase was relatively small and was not associated with a significant change in cardiac output, stroke volume, or systemic vascular resistance.

Acidosis↗

Augmentation of cardiac output with intravenous catecholamines in unanesthetized hypoxemic newborn lambs.

We compared the effects of three different sympathetic-type agonist drugs upon cardiac output (pump function) and its determinants during hypoxemia, a condition of increased endogenous catecholamines. At 1-3 days after birth, 15 lambs were instrumented with catheters in the aorta, the left atrium, and a vein, and thermistors were placed in the abdominal aorta for cardiac output sampling. In eight animals, a pressure transducer was placed in the left ventricle. After a 2- to 3-day recovery, sequential measurements were made of blood gases, cardiac output, aortic and left atrial pressure and left ventricular maximal first derivative of pressure with respect to time (LV dP/dtmax) in room air and in hypoxemia (FiO2 = 0.08-0.10). Measurements were repeated during continued hypoxemia with increasing doses of isoproterenol (0.1, 0.4, 0.7, and 1.0 microgram/kg/min) and dopamine and dobutamine (10, 20, 40, and 80 micrograms/kg/min). Hypoxemia alone was associated with no significant change in cardiac output, but cardiac output rose significantly during continued hypoxemia with each drug (maximum increases-dobutamine 58%, isoproterenol 51%, dopamine 31% all p less than 0.05). Studies with continued hypoxemia alone showed no rise in cardiac output over time. Augmentation of contractility, demonstrated by a doubling of LV dP/dtmax by each of the drugs, contributed to the increases in cardiac output. Differences in cardiac output responses could not be explained by contractile effects of the drugs alone, since LV dP/dtmax increased in similar fashion for all three. The relatively limited cardiac output response and downward trend at the highest dosage of dopamine occurred with a reduction in heart rate and an increase in systemic vascular resistance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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A partial genomic DNA clone for the alpha subunit of the mouse complement receptor type 3 and cellular adhesion molecule Mac-1.

A genomic clone coding for the alpha subunit of the mouse complement receptor type 3 and the cellular adhesion molecule Mac-1 has been isolated directly from a genomic library using synthetic oligonucleotide probes based on the amino-terminal amino acid sequence of the protein. The identity of the clone has been established by DNA sequencing and in vitro translation of hybrid-selected mRNA. The gene is present in a single copy in the murine genome. The region containing the amino-terminal exon has been sequenced. RNA gel blotting shows that the Mac-1 alpha-subunit mRNA is 6 kilobases in length. Mac-1 alpha-subunit mRNA is present in macrophages but not T lymphoma or L cells. During gamma interferon-stimulated maturation of the mouse premyelocytic cell line M1, Mac-1 alpha-subunit mRNA is induced. This corresponds with the tissue distribution of the Mac-1 alpha subunit, showing expression is regulated at least partially at the message level.

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Primary structure of the human melanoma-associated antigen p97 (melanotransferrin) deduced from the mRNA sequence.

p97 is a cell-surface glycoprotein that is present in most human melanomas but only in trace amounts in normal adult tissues. To determine the structure of this tumor-associated antigen and to identify its functional domains, we have purified and cloned p97 mRNA and determined its nucleotide sequence. The mRNA encodes a 738-residue precursor, which contains the previously determined N-terminal amino acid sequence of p97. After removal of a 19-residue signal peptide, the mature p97 molecule comprises extracellular domains of 342 and 352 residues and a C-terminal 25-residue stretch of predominantly uncharged and hydrophobic amino acids, which we believe acts as a membrane anchor. Each extracellular domain contains 14 cysteine residues, which form seven intradomain disulfide bridges, and one or two potential N-glycosylation sites. Protease digestion studies show that the three major antigenic determinants of p97 are present on the N-terminal domain. The domains are strikingly homologous to each other (46% amino acid sequence homology) and to the corresponding domains of human serum transferrin (39% homology). Conservation of disulfide bridges and of amino acids thought to compose the iron binding pockets suggests that p97 is also related to transferrin in tertiary structure and function. We propose that p97 be renamed melanotransferrin to denote its original identification in melanoma cells and its evolutionary relationship to serotransferrin and lactotransferrin, the other members of the transferrin superfamily.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Unusual phylogenetic conservation of the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the central nervous system-specific membrane glycoprotein F3-87-8 (CNSgp130).

CNSgp130 is a CNS-specific membrane glycoprotein abundantly expressed throughout the mature mammalian CNS. The molecule is recognised by the mouse monoclonal antibody F3-87-8, which reacts with a determinant of CNSgp130 common to all mammals tested to date. Rat and human CNSgp130 were purified by a combination of F3-87-8 monoclonal antibody affinity and gel permeation chromatography, and the N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined by gas-phase sequencing techniques. The results show a remarkable conservation of the N terminus of the CNSgp130 polypeptide between rats and humans, with complete identity of the first 20 amino acid residues. There was an unusually high and phylogenetically conserved number of cysteines in this region. The sequence showed no homology to other known sequences and should prove useful in precisely identifying the relationship of CNSgp130 to other CNS membrane molecules.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Regulatory region of the heat shock-inducible capR (lon) gene: DNA and protein sequences.

The CapR protein is an ATP hydrolysis-dependent protease as well as a DNA-stimulated ATPase and a nucleic acid-binding protein. The sequences of the 5' end of the capR (lon) gene DNA and N-terminal end of the CapR protein were determined. The sequence of DNA that specifies the N-terminal portion of the CapR protein was identified by comparing the amino acid sequence of the CapR protein with the sequence predicted from the DNA. The DNA and protein sequences established that the mature protein is not processed from a precursor form. No sequence corresponding to an SOS box was found in the 5' sequence of DNA. There were sequences that corresponded to a putative -35 and -10 region for RNA polymerase binding. The capR (lon) gene was recently identified as one of 17 heat shock genes in Escherichia coli that are positively regulated by the product of the htpR gene. A comparison of the 5' DNA region of the capR gene with that of several other heat shock genes revealed possible consensus sequences.

Amino Acid Sequence↗