Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Y C Yang

Publications and source records attributed to Y C Yang.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Human IL-3 (multi-CSF): identification by expression cloning of a novel hematopoietic growth factor related to murine IL-3.

A cDNA clone encoding a novel hematopoietic growth factor activity produced by a gibbon T cell line has been identified using a mammalian cell expression cloning system. The sequence of this cDNA proved to have significant homology to the sequence encoding murine interleukin 3 (IL-3). The human gene, which was readily identified because of its high degree of homology to the gibbon sequence, also displayed significant homology with the murine IL-3 sequence. The recombinant gibbon IL-3 protein proved to have multipotent colony stimulating activity when tested with normal human bone marrow cells, proving that this primate hematopoietin is not only structurally but also functionally related to murine IL-3.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

The E5 transforming gene of bovine papillomavirus encodes a small, hydrophobic polypeptide.

Bovine papillomavirus (BPV-1) contains two independent transforming genes that have been mapped to the E5 and E6 open reading frames (ORF's). The E5 transforming protein was identified by means of an antiserum against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the 20 COOH-terminal amino acids of the E5 ORF. The E5 polypeptide is the smallest viral transforming protein yet characterized; it had an apparent size of 7 kilodaltons. The transforming polypeptide is encoded entirely within the second half of the E5 ORF and its predicted amino acid composition is very unusual; 68% of the amino acids are strongly hydrophobic and 34% are leucine. Cell fractionation studies localized this polypeptide predominantly to cellular membranes.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

The primary structure and functional characterization of the neutral histidine-rich polypeptide from human parotid secretion.

The neutral histidine-rich polypeptide (HRP) from human parotid secretion was isolated by ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. The complete amino acid sequence determined by automated Edman degradation of the protein, tryptic and Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease peptides, and digestion with carboxypeptidase A is: (Formula: see text) where Pse represents phosphoserine. The polypeptide contains 38 residues and has Mr 4929. The charged amino acids predominate with 7 histidine, 4 arginine, 3 lysine, 3 aspartic acid, 3 glutamic acid residues, and 1 phosphoserine. Assuming minimal charge contributions from histidine and one negative charge from phosphoserine at pH 7, the net charge of HRP is balanced by an equal contribution of basic and acidic residues. Furthermore, the distribution of hydrophilic and hydrophobic residues along the polypeptide chain indicates that there is no structural polarity. The polypeptide lacks threonine, alanine, valine, cysteine, methionine, and isoleucine. HRP did not display sequence similarity with any protein sequence in the National Biomedical Research Foundation Data Bank. HRP is an active inhibitor of hydroxyapatite crystal growth from solutions supersaturated with respect to calcium phosphate salts and therefore must play a role in the stabilization of mineral-solute interactions in oral fluid. In addition, HRP is a potent inhibitor of Candida albicans germination and therefore may be a significant component of the antimicrobial host defense system in the oral cavity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

Brain injury due to head trauma. Epidemiology in urban areas of the People's Republic of China.

A door-to-door survey was carried out in six cities of the People's Republic of China during 1983 in a well-defined population of 63,195 to determine the prevalence of frequently occurring neurologic disorders, including brain injury. In the survey, trained health workers conducted a complete census and administered a questionnaire that had been pretested to assure a high level of sensitivity in identifying individuals suffering from brain injury due to head trauma. All those with responses suggesting brain injury were examined by senior neurosurgeons who used uniform diagnostic criteria and reviewed available medical records to establish a diagnosis. There was 100% cooperation with the screening and diagnostic phases of the survey. Based on this investigation, the age-adjusted (to the 1960 US population) prevalence ratio for brain injury due to head trauma is seven per 1,000, and the incidence rate is 56 per 100,000 per year. The ratios and rates are higher in male than female subjects. The main cause of brain injury due to head trauma in the People's Republic of China is bicycle accidents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Papillomavirus transforming functions.

The bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) has served as a model for unravelling the molecular genetics of the papillomaviruses. BPV-1 transformation of rodent cells in tissue culture has provided a means to study the viral functions involved in latent infection of cells and in the induction of cellular proliferation functions. BPV-1 has been shown to encode two independent transforming genes, each of which can induce cellular transformation in susceptible rodent cells. These two genes apparently act synergistically in transforming mouse C127 cells. Deletion mutagenesis studies have shown that the expression of one of these genes (E6) is required for efficient tumorigenesis and anchorage independence. BPV-1 also encodes functions which may act indirectly to affect transformation. BPV-1 contains transcriptional enhancers which can act in a position-independent and orientation-independent manner to increase the transcriptional activity of a heterologous gene. One of these elements, which is located in a non-coding region of the genome, can be trans-activated by a specific viral gene product encoded by the E2 open reading frame. Mutations which eliminate this trans-activation function also have a dramatic effect on transformation and on stable plasmid maintenance.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Bovine papillomavirus type 1 3' early region transformation and plasmid maintenance functions.

We examined bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) DNAs mutated in the E2 open reading frame (ORF) to determine their ability (i) to transform C127 cells and (ii) to remain extrachromosomal in transfected cells. Results obtained with deletion mutants and insertion mutants containing a linker with translational termination codons in all possible reading frames indicated that an E2 ORF gene product(s) is necessary for efficient transformation, as well as viral plasmid replication and maintenance in the context of the full BPV-1 genome. Complementation assays in which mutant BPV-1 DNAs were transfected into cell lines expressing some viral functions from integrated BPV-1 cDNAs demonstrated that the E2 ORF product, when provided in trans, could allow BPV-1 E2 mutants to remain extrachromosomal. The E2 function could also augment transformation of some, but not all, BPV-1 E2 mutants, allowing identification of another region of BPV-1 involved in cellular transformation. It is likely that the role of the BPV-1 E2 product(s) in transformation and plasmid maintenance is indirect. A BPV-1 mutant altered in the E5 ORF is transformation defective and unable to replicate as a stable plasmid in C127 cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Transactivation of a bovine papilloma virus transcriptional regulatory element by the E2 gene product.

We have mapped a transcriptional regulatory sequence within the 1.0 kb noncoding region of the bovine papilloma virus (BPV-1) genome, using an enhancer dependent expression vector for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase. This transcriptional regulatory element works independently of position and orientation, and its function is significantly augmented in BPV-1 transformed C127 cells and in monkey CV-1 cells acutely transfected with plasmids expressing BPV-1 early gene products. Using defined deletion mutants of the BPV-1 DNA and full-length viral cDNAs expressed from an SV40 early promoter, we demonstrate that the expression of this trans-activating factor maps to the 3' open reading frames of the viral transforming region. A premature termination codon engineered into the E2 ORF eliminates expression of this diffusible transactivation function establishing the E2 gene product as the diffusible trans-activating factor.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1985

Bovine papillomavirus contains multiple transforming genes.

Bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) and its cloned full-length DNA can transform rodent cells in vitro, and the viral DNA persists as an extrachromosomal multicopy plasmid in these transformed cells. Previous studies have identified at least five discrete viral RNAs that are expressed in BPV-1 transformed cells and have shown that these transcripts share a 3' coterminus. To further define the structure of these RNAs and to characterize the functions of individual viral transcripts, we constructed a cDNA library with mRNA from BPV-1-transformed mouse C127 cells using an Okayama and Berg plasmid. From a library of 10(5) independent clones, 200 BPV-1 specific clones were isolated and characterized. Sequence analysis has revealed differential splicing patterns for the mRNA species in BPV-1 transformed cells. In conjunction with the open reading frames (ORFs) deduced from the BPV-1 DNA sequence, it is possible to predict the structure of the potential encoded proteins. The vector used to generate these cDNA clones contains mammalian cell transcriptional regulatory elements, facilitating their functional characterization. We have identified two distinct classes of cDNA clones that can each independently transform mouse C127 cells. One class of cDNA clones contains the E2 ORF intact and the second contains the E6 ORF intact. These two putative viral functions appear to act synergistically in transforming mouse C127 cells in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Improved synthesis and antitumor evaluation of 5,8-dideazaisofolic acid and closely related analogues.

A new synthetic route to 5,8-dideazaisofolic acid (IAHQ) is described which precludes the possibility of contamination due to its 4-amino counterpart 5,8-dideazaisoaminopterin. Substitution of D-glutamic acid in this synthetic scheme gave D-IAHQ. The 9-formyl, 9-methyl, 5-methyl, and 5,9-dimethyl modifications of IAHQ were also prepared. These compounds, together with several structurally related or isomeric analogues, were studied for inhibitory effects upon the growth of four human gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma cell lines in vitro. In general, the compounds having a normal folate configuration at positions 9 and 10 are more active than their reversed bridge isomers. The lack of antitumor activity of D-IAHQ provides indirect evidence concerning the mechanism of action of IAHQ.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1984

Localization and analysis of bovine papillomavirus type 1 transforming functions.

Bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) or cloned BPV-1 DNA can transform susceptible rodent cells, and the viral DNA remains as a stable extrachromosomal plasmid in the transformed cells. The transforming region of the BPV-1 genome has previously been localized to a specific fragment comprising 69% of the genome, which also contains the elements sufficient for extrachromosomal plasmid maintenance. To define more precisely the viral DNA sequences which are involved in cellular transformation, we have tested the ability of defined deletion mutants of BPV-1 DNA to morphologically transform mouse C127 cells. Cells containing the mutated DNAs have been examined for anchorage independence and tumorigenicity in nude mice. Several distinct regions of the BPV-1 genome were found to influence expression of the viral transformation functions. A transcriptional regulatory region located in the noncoding region 5' to the early open reading frames is essential for transcriptional activity and transformation. A transcriptional enhancer element, located 3' to the polyadenylation site for the viral RNAs expressed in transformed cells, has previously been shown to be essential for transformation (Lusky et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 3:1108-1122, 1983). Deletion mutants affecting the E2 open reading frame, particularly the NH2 half, are significantly impaired in their ability to transform, suggesting that the E2 gene product is an important transforming protein of BPV-1. Mutants lacking the E6 and E7 open reading frames are still able to induce transformation but at a lowered efficiency, and the transformants have altered characteristics. Mutations localized within the E1 open reading frame do not significantly affect the transforming functions but result in the integration of the viral genome in the transformed cells, implicating the E1 gene product in stable plasmid replication and maintenance.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Improved synthetic routes to 5,8-dideazapteroylglutamates amenable to the formation of poly-gamma-L-glutamyl derivatives.

A variety of quinazoline analogues of folic acid (5,8-dideazafolates) are of interest as potential antineoplastic agents, biochemical probes, and/or affinity ligands for the purification of folate requiring enzymes. Chief among these are 5,8-dideazaisopteroylglutamate, 5,8-dideazaisoPteGlu, (IAHQ), a compound with proven activity against the growth of human colon adenocarcinoma cells in vitro, and 10-formyl-5,8-dideazapteroylglutamic acid, which serves as a substrate for glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase and is also an effective inhibitor of mammalian thymidylate synthase. New methods for preparing these compounds in excellent purity as determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) have been developed. In each case the carboxyl groups of L-glutamic acid are protected with t-butyl ester groups, since these can subsequently be removed readily using trifluoroacetic acid without decomposition or racemization of the final product. This approach has proven to be of particular value in the formation of gamma-L-glutamyl derivatives of IAHQ containing 1-3 additional glutamyl residues.

Cell Line↗