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Biomedical subjects

Y M Li

Publications and source records attributed to Y M Li.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Phytoremediation of soil metals.

The phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils offers a low-cost method for soil remediation and some extracted metals may be recycled for value. Both the phytoextraction of metals and the phytovolatilization of Se or Hg by plants offer great promise for commercial development. Natural metal hyperaccumulator phenotype is much more important than high-yield ability when using plants to remove metals from contaminated soils. The hypertolerance of metals is the key plant characteristic required for hyperaccumulation; vacuolar compartmentalization appears to be the source of hypertolerance of natural hyperaccumulator plants. Alternatively, soil Pb and Cr6+ may be inactivated in the soil by plants and soil amendments (phytostabilization). Little molecular understanding of plant activities critical to phytoremediation has been achieved, but recent progress in characterizing Fe, Cd and Zn uptake by Arabidopsis and yeast mutants indicates strategies for developing transgenic improved phytoremediation cultivars for commercial use.

Biological Transport, Active↗
PubMed1997

The leader peptide is essential for the post-translational modification of the DNA-gyrase inhibitor microcin B17.

Microcin B17 (MccB17) is a ribosomally encoded DNA-gyrase inhibitor. Ribosomally encoded antibiotics are derived from precursors containing an N-terminal leader, which is removed during maturation, and a C-terminal structural peptide. PreMccB17, the translational product of mcbA, is modified into proMccB17 by the action of three enzymes, McbB, McbC, and McbD. A chromosomally encoded peptidase then converts proMccB17 into MccB17. The role of McbB, McbC, and McbD is to convert glycine, cysteine, and serine residues present in preMccB17 into four thiazole and four oxazole rings. Using a modification-specific antibody rather than antimicrobial activity, we show that the 26-amino-acid N-terminal leader of preMccB17 is essential for the conversion of preMccB17 into proMccB17. Neither a preMccB17 peptide lacking the leader nor a preMccB17-beta-galactosidase fusion lacking the leader are post-translationally modified.

Bacteriocins↗
PubMed1997

Diarrhea and human immunodeficiency virus: Western and Eastern perspectives [corrected].

Sixty percent of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States and 90% throughout the world will have diarrhea at some point in their illness. This article provides an introductory exploration and discussion of Western and Eastern perspectives of chronic diarrhea in patients with HIV. Western etiologies and treatment approaches, as well as Eastern views from traditional Chinese medicine pathogenesis and treatment principles involving acupuncture and moxibustion are presented. Whereas their interpretations of the causes of diarrhea are different, both the East and West have something to offer patients with this distressing symptom. Further exploration and clinical research is needed in this area.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1997

Regulation of myeloid growth and differentiation by the insulin-like growth factor I receptor.

Flow cytometry was used to examine the expression of type I insulin-like growth factor receptors (IGF-IR) on three types of human hematopoietic cells that represent different stages of myeloid lineage development. Both HL-60 (promyeloid) and U-937 (monocytic) cells express abundant IGF-IR protein (> 79% cells positive for the IGF-IR), whereas KG-1 myeloblasts express negligible levels of IGF-IR (< 1% IGF-IR-positive cells). Exogenous IGF-I, IGF-II, and an IGF-I analog that binds poorly to IGF-binding protein-3 (des-IGF-I) increased DNA synthesis of HL-60 and U-937 cells in a dose-dependent (1-25 ng/ml) fashion by 2- to 4-fold in serum-free medium, whereas KG-1 cells did not respond to any of these growth factors. The IGF-induced increase in proliferation of HL-60 promyeloid cells was inhibited by soluble IGF-binding protein-3 (500 ng/ml) when these cells were stimulated with 10 ng/ml of either IGF-I (53 +/- 8%) or IGF-II (59 +/- 8%), but not with des-IGF-I (3 +/- 1%). In contrast, the anti-IGF-IR monoclonal antibody (mAb; alpha IR-3) inhibited the DNA synthesis caused by 10 ng/ml exogenous IGF-I (67 +/- 6%), IGF-II (72 +/- 8%), and des-IGF-1 (82 +/- 9%). Proliferation of KG-1 myeloblasts, however, was neither stimulated by the IGFs nor inhibited by the anti-IGF-IR mAb. In the absence of exogenous IGF-I, the mAb directed against the IGF-IR significantly suppressed basal DNA synthesis of HL-60 promyeloid (72 +/- 5%) and U-937 monocytic (39 +/- 7%) cells, but did not affect DNA synthesis of KG-1 myeloblasts (8 +/- 1%) compared to an isotype-matched control mAb. Similarly, the alpha IR-3 mAb abrogated vitamin D3-induced differentiation of the HL-60 cells into macrophages in serum-free medium, as assessed by expression of the leucam surface protein, CD11b. As the alpha IR-3 mAb inhibits DNA synthesis in the presence and absence of exogenous IGF-I on receptor-bearing cells, but not IGF-IR-negative cells, these data demonstrate that both endocrine and autocrine IGF-I are potent growth factors in human myeloid cells where expression of the surface receptor, rather than the ligand, is the critical control element. More importantly, these data support the hypothesis that autocrine IGF-I may play a significant role in the differentiation of promyeloid cells into macrophages.

Bone Marrow Cells↗
PubMed1997

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) co-localize with AGE receptors in the retinal vasculature of diabetic and of AGE-infused rats.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs), formed from the nonenzymatic glycation of proteins and lipids with reducing sugars, have been implicated in many diabetic complications; however, their role in diabetic retinopathy remains largely unknown. Recent studies suggest that the cellular actions of AGEs may be mediated by AGE-specific receptors (AGE-R). We have examined the immunolocalization of AGEs and AGE-R components R1 and R2 in the retinal vasculature at 2, 4, and 8 months after STZ-induced diabetes as well as in nondiabetic rats infused with AGE bovine serum albumin for 2 weeks. Using polyclonal or monoclonal anti-AGE antibodies and polyclonal antibodies to recombinant AGE-R1 and AGE-R2, immunoreactivity (IR) was examined in the complete retinal vascular tree after isolation by trypsin digestion. After 2, 4, and 8 months of diabetes, there was a gradual increase in AGE IR in basement membrane. At 8 months, pericytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells of the retinal vessels showed dense intracellular AGE IR. AGE epitopes stained most intensely within pericytes and smooth muscle cells but less in basement membrane of AGE-infused rats compared with the diabetic group. Retinas from normal or bovine-serum-albumin-infused rats were largely negative for AGE IR. AGE-R1 and -R2 co-localized strongly with AGEs of vascular endothelial cells, pericytes, and smooth muscle cells of either normal, diabetic, or AGE-infused rat retinas, and this distribution did not vary with each condition. The data indicate that AGEs accumulate as a function of diabetes duration first within the basement membrane and then intracellularly, co-localizing with cellular AGE-Rs. Significant AGE deposits appear within the pericytes after long-term diabetes or acute challenge with AGE infusion conditions associated with pericyte damage. Co-localization of AGEs and AGE-Rs in retinal cells points to possible interactions of pathogenic significance.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Elevated AGE-modified ApoB in sera of euglycemic, normolipidemic patients with atherosclerosis: relationship to tissue AGEs.

BACKGROUND: Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic vascular disease of diabetic and nondiabetic etiology. Recent research suggests that advanced glycation of ApoB contributes to the development of hyperlipidemia. AGE-specific receptors, expressed on vascular endothelium and mononuclear cells, may be involved in both the clearance of, and the inflammatory responses to AGEs. The aim of this study was to examine whether there is a relationship between serum AGE-ApoB and AGEs in arterial tissue of older normolipidemic nondiabetic patients with occlusive atherosclerotic disease, compared with age-matched and younger asymptomatic persons. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum AGE-ApoB was measured by ELISA in 21 cardiac bypass patients. Furthermore, an AGE-specific monoclonal antibody, and polyclonal antibodies against anti-AGE-receptor (anti-AGE-R) 1 and 2 were used to explore the localization and distribution of AGEs and AGE-R immunoreactivity (IR) in arterial segments excised from these patients. RESULTS: Serum AGE-ApoB levels were significantly elevated in the asymptomatic, older population, compared with those in young healthy persons (259 +/- 24 versus 180 +/- 21 AGE U/mg of ApoB, p < 0.01). Higher AGE-ApoB levels were observed in those patients with atherosclerosis (329 +/- 23 versus 259 +/- 24 AGE U/mg ApoB, p < 0.05). Comparisons of tissue AGE-collagen with serum AGE-ApoB levels showed a significant correlation (r = 0.707, p < 0.01). In early lesions, AGE-IR occurred mostly extracellularly. In fatty streaks and dense, cellular atheromatous lesions, AGE-IR was visible within lipid-containing smooth muscle cells and macrophages, while in late-stage, acellular plaques, AGE-IR occurred mostly extracellularly. AGE-R1 and -R2 were observed on vascular endothelial and smooth-muscle cells and on infiltrating mononuclear cells in the early-stage lesions, whereas in dense, late-stage plaques, they colocalized mostly with lipid-laden macrophages. On tissue sections, scoring of AGE-immunofluorescence correlated with tissue AGE and plasma AGE-ApoB. CONCLUSIONS: (1) The correlation between arterial tissue AGEs and circulating AGE-ApoB suggests a causal link between AGE modification of lipoproteins and atherosclerosis. AGE-specific receptors may contribute to this process. (2) Serum AGE-ApoB may serve to predict atherosclerosis in asymptomatic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The impact of the neonatal resuscitation program guidelines (NRPG) on the neonatal mortality in a hospital in Zhuhai, China.

AIM: The neonatal resuscitation program (NRPG) was first introduced in our hospital to replace the traditional resuscitation (TR) program in 1993. TR has been in existence in China for a long time. The implementation of NRPG was timely in reducing the number of infant mortality and also to disseminate to the many hospitals in China which are still practising TR. METHOD: A perspective study of 4,751 newborns with 366 asphyxiated babies in a period of 2 years was carried out. A previous sample of 1,722 live births under the TR program was compared as a controlled group statistically. RESULTS: From August 1993 to August 1995, when NRPG was exclusively implemented in our hospital, only 16 newborns died within 7 days, out of 4,751 births (3.4%) with 2 deaths in the delivery room. Seventeen newborns died within 7 days out of 1,722 births (9.9+) in the TR group, with 10 deaths in the delivery room. From the data shown, it can be clearly seen that perinatal neonatal mortality rate was reduced almost 3 times after NRPG was implemented (chi(2) = 10.54, p < 0.01). The follow-up results of 21 cases of severe asphyxia at 2 months--1 year of age were normal except for one with cerebral palsy. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that NRPG was indeed a very effective and feasible technique during the delivery process in the reduction of neonatal mortality. It is important to disseminate widely the knowledge and technique of NRPG in places where TR is still being widely practiced especially in developing countries.

Asphyxia Neonatorum↗
PubMed1997

[Effect of xuefuzhuyu pill on patients with carotid atherosclerosis by colour Doppler ultrasonography].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Xuefuzhuyu Pill (XFZYP) on carotid atherosclerosis. METHODS: The patients were randomly divided into XFZYP group and aspirin control group. The status of the carotid plaque vessel wall and blood flow were observed by colored Doppler ultrasonography. RESULTS: (1) Plaque of 6 cases regressed, of 6 cases unchanged, of 1 case progressed after treatment of XFZYP. The area of plaques between baseline and after treatment decreased 0.11 +/- 0.05 cm and that of thickness reduced for 0.09 +/- 0.04 cm2 (P < 0.05) in XFZYP group. While plaque of 3 cases regressed, of 6 unchanged, of 2 cases progressed after treatment of aspirin. The area and thickness of plaque were reduced to 0.05 +/- 0.04 cm and 0.04 +/- 0.03 cm respectively. There were no statistic difference in aspirin group. (2) The intima-media thickness of common carotid artery decreased 0.13 +/- 0.03 mm in XFZYP group (P < 0.001 versus baseline), but there were no significant change after treatment of aspirin (P > 0.05). (3) There were no distinct change about peak systole, minimal diastole time average peak, pulsative index, resistive index in common carotid artery and internal carotid artery after treatment of XFZYP and aspirin. CONCLUSION: Colour Doppler ultrasonography of carotid artery provide a noninvasive, safe and valid opportunities for clinical trail. XFZYP can be useful for the treatment of carotid atherosclerosis.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

From peptide precursors to oxazole and thiazole-containing peptide antibiotics: microcin B17 synthase.

Esherichia coli microcin B17 is a posttranslationally modified peptide that inhibits bacterial DNA gyrase. It contains four oxazole and four thiazole rings and is representative of a broad class of pharmaceutically important natural products with five-membered heterocycles derived from peptide precursors. An in vitro assay was developed to detect heterocycle formation, and an enzyme complex, microcin B17 synthase, was purified and found to contain three proteins, McbB, McbC, and McbD, that convert 14 residues into the eight mono- and bisheterocyclic moieties in vitro that confer antibiotic activity on mature microcin B17. These enzymatic reactions alter the peptide backbone connectivity. The propeptide region of premicrocin is the major recognition determinant for binding and downstream heterocycle formation by microcin B17 synthase. A general pathway for the enzymatic biosynthesis of these heterocycles is formulated.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1996

Immobilized liposome chromatography of drugs on capillary continuous beds for model analysis of drug-membrane interactions.

Liposomes were immobilized in capillary continuous beds with covalently linked C4 or C8 alkyl ligands for chromatographic analysis of drug interaction with phospholipid bilayers, as reflected by drug retention volumes and calculated differences in interaction free energies. This procedure is a high-resolution micro-scale version of immobilized liposome chromatography for prediction of diffusion of drugs across biological membranes. The logarithm of the specific capacity factors of several structurally unrelated drugs showed a linear correlation with the logarithm of known apparent drug permeabilities through Caco-2 epithelial cell monolayers. The latter values are used for prediction of absorption of orally administered drug doses.

Lipid Bilayers↗
PubMed1996

Molecular identity and cellular distribution of advanced glycation endproduct receptors: relationship of p60 to OST-48 and p90 to 80K-H membrane proteins.

Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are derivatives of nonenzymatic reactions between sugars and protein or lipids, and together with AGE-specific receptors are involved in numerous pathogenic processes associated with aging and hyperglycemia. Two of the known AGE-binding proteins isolated from rat liver membranes, p60 and p90, have been partially sequenced. We now report that the N-terminal sequence of p60 exhibits 95% identity to OST-48, a 48-kDa member of the oligosaccharyltransferase complex found in microsomal membranes, while sequence analysis of p90 revealed 73% and 85% identity to the N-terminal and internal sequences, respectively, of human 80K-H, a 80- to 87-kDa protein substrate for protein kinase C. AGE-ligand and Western analyses of purified oligosaccharyltransferase complex, enriched rough endoplasmic reticulum, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and plasma membranes from rat liver or RAW 264.7 macrophages yielded a single protein of approximately 50 kDa recognized by both anti-p60 and anti-OST-48 antibodies, and also exhibited AGE-specific binding. Immunoprecipitated OST-48 from rat rough endoplasmic reticulum fractions exhibited both AGE binding and immunoreactivity to an anti-p60 antibody. Immune IgG raised to recombinant OST-48 and 80K-H inhibited binding of AGE-bovine serum albumin to cell membranes in a dose-dependent manner. Immunostaining and flow cytometry demonstrated the surface expression of OST-48 and 80K-H on numerous cell types and tissues, including mononuclear, endothelial, renal, and brain neuronal and glial cells. We conclude that the AGE receptor components p60 and p90 are identical to OST-48, and 80K-H, respectively, and that they together contribute to the processing of AGEs from extra- and intracellular compartments and in the cellular responses associated with these pathogenic substances.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Prevention of cardiovascular and renal pathology of aging by the advanced glycation inhibitor aminoguanidine.

Human aging is impacted severely by cardiovascular disease and significantly but less overtly by renal dysfunction. Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) have been linked to tissue damage in diabetes and aging, and the AGE inhibitor aminoguanidine (AG) has been shown to inhibit renal and vascular pathology in diabetic animals. In the present study, the effects of AG on aging-related renal and vascular changes and AGE accumulation were studied in nondiabetic female Sprague-Dawley (S-D) and Fischer 344 (F344) rats treated with AG (0.1% in drinking water) for 18 mo. Significant increases in the AGE content in aged cardiac (P < 0.05), aortic (P < 0.005), and renal (P < 0.05) tissues were prevented by AG treatment (P < 0.05 for each tissue). A marked age-linked vasodilatory impairment in response to acetylcholine and nitroglycerine was prevented by AG treatment (P < 0.005), as was an age-related cardiac hypertrophy evident in both strains (P < 0.05). While creatinine clearance was unaffected by aging in these studies, the AGE/ creatinine clearance ratio declined 3-fold in old rats vs. young rats (S-D, P < 0.05; F344, P < 0.01), while it declined significantly less in AG-treated old rats (P < 0.05). In S-D but not in F344 rats, a significant (P < 0.05) age-linked 24% nephron loss was completely prevented by AG treatment, and glomerular sclerosis was markedly suppressed (P < 0.01). Age-related albuminuria and proteinuria were markedly inhibited by AG in both strains (S-D, P < 0.01; F344, P < 0.01). These data suggest that early interference with AGE accumulation by AG treatment may impart significant protection against the progressive cardiovascular and renal decline afflicting the last decades of life.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1996

Continuous beds for microchromatography: reversed-phase chromatography.

Simple and cost-effective methods for the preparation of microcolumns (i.d. 0.025-0.32 mm) for reversed-phase chromatography are described. The procedure includes (1) synthesis in the column tube of a continuous bed matrix from a monomer solution (piperazine diacrylamide, methacrylamide) containing allyl glycidyl ether and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and (2) linking of C18 ligands by reacting 1,2-epoxyoctadecane with the epoxy and hydroxy groups in the matrix. The derivatization can be accomplished within 20 min. The columns prepared in this way showed high performance in the separation of proteins and peptides and permitted short analysis times (100 s).

Acrylamides↗
PubMed1996

Macrophages synthesize and secrete a 25-kilodalton protein that binds insulin-like growth factor-I.

Primary (thymus) and secondary (spleen) murine lymphoid tissues express a 25-kDa protein that binds IGF-I. To determine the cellular source of this insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP), 11 murine or human cell lines representing T, B, and myeloid cells at various stages of differentiation were characterized by IGF-I affinity cross-linkage and Western ligand blotting. Mature myeloid cells, but not T or B cells, secrete a 25-kDa protein that is capable of binding IGF-I. CSF-1-derived bone marrow macrophages also synthesize this 25-kDa IGFBP. Thymic macrophages, which were estimated to secrete 2 ng of binding protein/10(6) cells-h, were used in conjunction with [125I] IGF-I affinity cross-linking to develop a protein binding immunomobility-shift assay to identify which IGFBP is produced by these cells. An anti-IGFBP-4Ab, but not an anti-IGFBP-2 Ab or normal rabbit serum, shifted the [125I] IGF-IGFBP complex to a higher m.w. position, indicating that the single 25-kDa IGFBP is IGFBP-4. Northern blotting confirmed that transcripts for IGFBP-4 as well as IGF-I are expressed in thymic macrophages. A putative 278-bp IGFBP-4 cDNA fragment (residues 341-618) of rat) that contains two unique cysteine residues found only in IGFBP-4 was cloned and sequenced from thymic macrophages. These clones differed from the rat sequence at only six residues (97% homology), and the deduced amino acid sequence from the murine cDNA was identical with that of the rat sequence. Subsequent studies revealed that IGF-I stimulates DNA synthesis in thymic macrophages. However, two different IGF-I analogues differing in the amino-terminus that bind equally well to the IGF-I receptor but poorly to IGFBPs are as effective as IGF-I at 100-fold lower concentrations. These data demonstrate that murine macrophages are a source of a single 25-kDa secreted protein that binds IGF-, that the molecular identity of this protein is IGFBP-4, and that this binding protein may antagonize the extracellular effects of IGF-I.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Capillary zone electrophoresis of minocycline.

A method is described for analysis of the tetracycline antibiotic minocycline using capillary zone electrophoresis. Potential impurities are 4-epiminocycline, 6-deoxy-6-demethyltetracycline, 7-didemethylminocycline, 7-monodemethylminocycline and 9-minocycline. Method development was undertaken with a mixture consisting of minocycline and its related substances mentioned above. Using a fused silica capillary, the type of buffer and its pH and concentration were investigated. In all cases 1 mM EDTA was added to prevent metal ion complexation. Instrumental parameters such as capillary temperature and applied voltage were optimised. The effects of the sample solvent and of organic modifiers in the buffer were also investigated. The following method is proposed: capillary: fused silica, l = 38 cm, L = 44 cm, 50 microns i.d.; buffer: 25 mM sodium tetraborate, 1 mM EDTA at pH 11.75; voltage, 13 kV; temperature, 15 degrees C; UV detection performed at 254 nm. Relative standard deviations, linearity, LOD and LOQ are reported and compared with those of liquid chromatography.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1996

Frequent type 2 neurofibromatosis gene transcript mutations in sporadic intramedullary spinal cord ependymomas.

OBJECTIVE: To further investigate the role of Type 2 neurofibromatosis (NF2) gene transcript mutations in the sporadically occurring counterparts of NF2-associated tumors. METHODS: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction followed by agarose gel electrophoresis, single strand conformation polymorphism analysis, and automated deoxyribonucleic acid sequence analysis were used to screen for mutations in the NF2 gene transcript in seven unrelated patients with sporadic intramedullary spinal cord ependymomas. RESULTS: Five of seven intramedullary spinal cord ependymomas harbored detectable mutations. All of these mutations occurred in the region of the transcript that is homologous to known cytoskeletal proteins and resulted in significant truncation of the predicted protein product. CONCLUSION: Mutations of the NF2 transcript occur in the majority of sporadic intramedullary spinal cord ependymomas. These mutations are frequent in a region of the transcript that is homologous to a family of cytoskeletal proteins, and they probably render the protein product inactive. These results add to the body of knowledge concerning the role of the NF2 gene transcript in tumorigenesis.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Capillary liquid chromatography-fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry using a high-resolving cation exchanger, based on a continuous chromatographic matrix. Application to studies on neuropeptide peptidases.

Hyphenated mass spectrometric techniques such as LC-MS are advantageous over standard MS methods, because they provide increased sensitivity and minimize signal suppression by other compounds present in the reaction mixture. Recently, we have introduced so-called continuous beds, and applied this technique to prepare a 0.32 mm I.D. cation-exchange capillary column, in order to separate the reaction product substance P(1-7) after proteolytic cleavage of substance P by an endopeptidase recovered from human cerebrospinal fluid. The use of a volatile buffer for elution provides very good flow stability. Ion-exchange microcolumns may be particularly useful for the separation of those peptides that co-elute in reversed-phase chromatography because the separation mechanisms of these two methods are different.

Cation Exchange Resins↗