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Biomedical subjects

Y Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Y Zhang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Distinct phenotypic consequences of cholangiocarcinoma-associated FGFR2 alterations depend on biliary epithelial cell state.

Epithelial cancers disrupt tissue architecture and are often driven by mutations in genes that play important roles in normal epithelial morphogenesis. The intrahepatic biliary system is an epithelial tubular network that forms within the developing liver via the de novo initiation and expansion of apical lumens. Intrahepatic biliary tumors (intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma) commonly harbor activating genomic alterations in the FGFR2 receptor tyrosine kinase, which plays important roles in epithelial morphogenesis in other developmental settings. Using a physiologic and quantitative 3D model we demonstrate that FGFR signaling is important for biliary morphogenesis and that oncogenic FGFR2 fusions and in-frame deletions disrupt biliary architecture. Importantly, we show that the trafficking of and signaling from the FGFR2 mutants, as well as their phenotypic impacts, are governed by the epithelial state of the cell. Unexpectedly, we also found that distinct tumor-driving FGFR2 mutants disrupt biliary morphogenesis in completely different and clinically relevant ways, informing our understanding of morphogenesis and tumorigenesis and highlighting the importance of convergent studies of both.

Journal Article

Neutrophil recruitment by tumor necrosis factor from mast cells in immune complex peritonitis.

During generalized immune complex-induced inflammation of the peritoneal cavity, two peaks of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were observed in the peritoneal exudate of normal mice. In mast cell-deficient mice, the first peak was undetected, and the second peak of TNF and neutrophil influx were significantly reduced. Antibody to TNF significantly inhibited neutrophil infiltration in normal but not in mast cell-deficient mice. Mast cell repletion of the latter normalized TNF, neutrophil mobilization, and the effect of the antibody to TNF. Thus, in vivo, mast cells produce the TNF that augments neutrophil emigration.

Animals

Transcriptional repression of interleukin-6 gene by adenoviral E1A proteins.

Transcription of interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene in human HepG2 and HeLa cells was induced by treatment with interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, or dibutyryl cyclic AMP. These agents enhanced the expression of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity in cells transfected with chimeric CAT genes driven by the transcriptional regulatory regions of human IL-6 gene. Both induced and basal levels of CAT expression were severely repressed upon co-transfection of expression vectors encoding the adenoviral E1A289R or E1A243R protein. The conserved region 1 of E1A proteins was required for this activity. IL-6-CAT expression could also be induced by co-transfecting expression vectors containing cDNAs of the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A or c-jun. E1A repressed transcriptional induction by these agents as well. Similar inhibition was observed when a CAT gene driven by the NF kappa B element of the IL-6 gene was used as a reporter plasmid. In a cell line stably transfected with the E1A gene, IL-1 or TNF-alpha failed to induce IL-6 mRNA. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays were carried out with nuclear extracts of these cells using, as probes, the NF kappa B element or the multiple regulatory element of the IL-6 gene. With either probe, additional faster migrating DNA-protein complexes were formed in the extracts of E1A-expressing cells as compared with the extracts of the corresponding control cells. Experiments with NF kappa B antibody revealed differences between the different DNA-protein complexes formed in the extract of E1A-expressing cells. These observations suggest that E1A represses IL-6 gene transcription by interfering with the formation of appropriate DNA-protein complexes.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins

Cloning and expression of a rat brain L-glutamate transporter.

Synaptic transmission of most vertebrate synapses is thought to be terminated by rapid transport of the neurotransmitter into presynaptic nerve terminals or neuroglia. L-Glutamate is the major excitatory transmitter in brain and its transport represents the mechanism by which it is removed from the synaptic cleft and kept below toxic levels. Here we use an antibody against a glial L-glutamate transporter from rat brain to isolate a complementary DNA clone encoding this transporter. Expression of this cDNA in transfected HeLa cells indicates that L-glutamate accumulation requires external sodium and internal potassium and transport shows the expected stereospecificity. The cDNA sequence predicts a protein of 573 amino acids with 8-9 putative transmembrane alpha-helices. Database searches indicate that this protein is not homologous to any identified protein of mammalian origin, including the recently described superfamily of neurotransmitter transporters. This protein therefore seems to be a member of a new family of transport molecules.

Amino Acid Sequence

Maltose chemotaxis involves residues in the N-terminal and C-terminal domains on the same face of maltose-binding protein.

The periplasmic maltose-binding protein (MBP) of Escherichia coli is the recognition component of the maltose chemoreceptor and of the active transport system for maltose. It interacts with the Tar chemotactic signal transducer and the integral cytoplasmic-membrane components (the MalF and MalG proteins) of the maltose transport system. Maltose binds in a cleft between the globular N-terminal and C-terminal domains of MBP, which are connected by a moveable hinge. The two domains undergo a large motion relative to one another as the protein moves from the open, unbound state to the closed, ligand-bound state. We generated, by doped-primer mutagenesis, amino acid substitutions that specifically disrupt the chemotactic function of MBP. These substitutions cluster in two well-defined regions that are nearly contiguous on the surface of MBP in its closed conformation. One region is in the N-terminal domain and one is in the C-terminal domain. The distance between the two regions is expected to change substantially as the protein goes from the open to the closed form. These results support a model in which ligand binding brings two recognition sites on MBP into the proper spatial relationship to interact with complementary sites on Tar. Mutations in MBP that appear to cause defects in interaction with MalF and MalG are distributed differently from mutations that primarily affect maltose taxis. We conclude that the regions of MBP that contact Tar and those that contact MalF and MalG are adjacent on the face of the protein opposite the hinge connecting the two domains and that those regions are largely, although perhaps not entirely, distinct.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters

Characterization of adriamycin-resistant and radiation-sensitive Chinese hamster cell lines.

A series of cell lines derived from Chinese hamster V79 cells by selection in increasing concentrations of Adriamycin (ADRM) was developed to study the mechanisms of drug resistance and its relationship to radiation response. Survival studies revealed that selection in increasingly higher concentrations of ADRM positively correlated with increased cellular drug resistance. Increased cellular resistance correlated positively with amplification of the hamster multidrug-resistance gene (pgp 1) as detected with dot blot analysis using the pCHP1 probe. Southern blot analysis of restriction endonuclease digested DNA (Eco RI, Hind III, Pst I, or Bam HI) showed that (1) some fragments were preferentially amplified compared to others in the ADRM-resistant lines; and (2) no major gene rearrangement appeared to have occurred during the selection for greater ADRM resistance. Levels of pgp 1 gene expression assayed with dot blot and Northern analysis showed a parallel increase of mRNA with gene amplification and increased ADRM resistance. The amounts of the pgp 1 gene product, P-glycoprotein (P-gp), in the cell membrane of the ADRM-resistant cells correlated with the amount of gene amplification/expression. However, levels of P-gp only correlated with degree of drug resistance as measured by cell survival in earlier selection stages (77A and LZ-3). In later selection stages (LZ-8 and LZ-24), higher levels of ADRM resistance were achieved but levels of P-gp did not increase beyond approximately 20% of plasma membrane proteins. These results suggest that (1) the LZ cell plasma membrane may have a physical limit as to the amount of P-gp it can accommodate and/or there is a cellular mechanism for regulating the amount of P-gp in the plasma membrane, and (2) additional resistance mechanisms are present in LZ-8 and LZ-24 cells. Microscopic observations of intracellular drug distribution in these cell lines revealed that (1) ADRM appeared to be sequestered in cytoplasmic vesicles, and (2) the amount of sequestration (number of vesicles) exhibited correlated with the degree of drug resistance attained by the cell lines. These results suggest that drug sequestration is another mechanism of resistance in LZ cells in addition to P-gp-mediated drug efflux.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem

An enhanced ability for transforming adriamycin into a noncytotoxic form in a multidrug-resistant cell line (LZ-8).

Multidrug-resistant LZ-8 cells are 9000-fold more resistant to Adriamycin (ADRM) exposure than wild-type V79 cells. To understand more about the mechanisms producing such high level resistance, we tested whether LZ-8 cells inactivate ADRM toxicity to a greater extent than wild-type V79 cells. ADRM was recovered from (1) culture media of wild-type V79 and ADRM-resistant LZ-8 cells; (2) V79 and LZ-8 cells; and (3) LZ-8 cell plasma membrane, and the cytotoxicity was determined by treating V79 cells for 1 hr with a known concentration of the recovered ADRM. ADRM obtained from LZ-8 cells or its culture medium exhibited less cytotoxicity than that recovered from V79 cells or its culture medium. ADRM extracted from LZ-8 cell plasma membrane was noncytotoxic. HPLC analysis revealed that the extracted ADRM was structurally changed compared to stock ADRM. The retention time in the column was 7 min for stock ADRM, and 23 min for the recovered ADRM. Thus, LZ-8 cells have an increased ability to transform ADRM into a noncytotoxic form compared to wild-type V79 cells. This transformation involves structural conversion into a previously unidentified ADRM metabolite. The greatly increased survival of LZ-8 cells compared to V79 cells after ADRM treatment is due to at least two mechanisms: (1) an enhanced ability to inactivate the cytotoxicity of ADRM, and (2) increased drug efflux resulting from the amplification and overexpression of the pgp 1 gene in these cells. Our results suggest the possibility that P-glycoprotein participates in drug binding/inactivation in addition to serving as a drug efflux pump.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem

Characterization of Chlorella virus PBCV-1 CviAII restriction and modification system.

A second DNA site-specific (restriction) endonuclease (R.CviAII) and its cognate adenine DNA methyltransferase (M.CviAII) were isolated from virus PBCV-1 infected Chlorella strain NC64A cells. R.CviAII, a heteroschizomer of the bacterial restriction endonuclease NlaIII, recognizes the sequence CATG, and does not cleave CmATG sequences. However, unlike NlaIII, which cleaves after the G and does not cleave either CmATG or mCATG sequences, CviAII cleaves between the C and A and is unaffected by mCATG methylation. The M.CviAII and R.CviAII genes were cloned and their DNA sequences were determined. These genes are tandemly arranged head-to-tail such that the TAA termination codon of the M.CviAII methyltransferase gene overlaps the ATG translational start site of R.CviAII endonuclease. R.CviAII is the first chlorella virus site-specific endonuclease gene to be cloned and sequenced.

Amino Acid Sequence

Immunohistochemical studies of noradrenergic-induced expression of c-fos in the rat CNS.

Previous studies have shown that stimulation of adrenergic receptors in the rat brain causes increased levels of mRNA of the immediate early gene, c-fos. The present studies were undertaken to determine if this stimulation also induces increased levels of c-fos immunoreactivity in the central nervous system (CNS). Rats were treated with the alpha-2 adrenoceptor blockers, yohimbine or atipamezole, or with restraint stress to activate central noradrenergic activity and were perfused 2 h later for immunohistochemical analysis of the cerebral cortex. Yohimbine, atipamezole and restraint stress each was found to cause increases in c-fos-like immunoreactivity (c-fos-li). Western blot analysis revealed increased c-fos protein in the cortex after yohimbine treatment. The c-fos-li response to yohimbine was blocked by prior administration of the beta receptor antagonist, dl-propranolol, and to a lesser degree by the alpha-1 antagonist, prazosin. It is concluded that adrenergic receptor stimulation in the cortex causes increased production of c-fos or fos related antigens and that this (these) immediate early gene product(s) may play a role in noradrenergic function in the CNS.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists

Mast cells enhance the antibody-mediated injury of skin basement membrane in mice.

Immunologic basement membrane injury occurs in certain human diseases. We investigated the role of mast cells in the initiation of inflammation induced by selective deposition of antibody on the basement membrane in the skin. Intradermal injection of the antibody into mast cell-deficient WBB6F1-W/Wv mice and their congenic controls, WBB6F1-+/+, caused C (C3) deposition and tissue damage preferentially at the dermo-epidermal junction (basement membrane). Damage occurred earlier and was more extensive in normal than in WBB6F1-W/Wv mice. Hemorrhage in WBB6F1-W/Wv was reduced by 50%. In both groups of mice, a dose- and time-dependent neutrophil infiltration reached maximum at 8 h. At the peak, neutrophil accumulation in WBB6F1-W/Wv was only 50% of that in normal mice. Mast cell reconstitution of WBB6F1-W/Wv mice normalized the inflammatory response. Pretreatment with a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor, A-63162, reduced neutrophil infiltration by 60% in normal but not in WBB6F1-W/Wv mice. Mast cell repletion restored the effect of A-63162. The results indicate that mast cells are important for the initiation of inflammation induced by the deposition of antibody on the basement membrane and the production of leukotrienes participating in neutrophil elicitation.

Animals

Steady-state polypeptide modulations associated with nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced terminal differentiation and NGF deprivation-induced apoptosis in human neuroblastoma cells.

Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells differentiate terminally in culture upon exposure to nerve growth factor (NGF) for 4-5 weeks. The neuronal phenotypic properties acquired in response to prolonged NGF treatment include morphological differentiation, cessation of mitotic activity, neuronal marker expression, increased membrane electrical potentials, and a survival dependence upon NGF for trophic support (Jensen, L.M. (1987) Dev. Biol. 120, 56-64). Thus, differentiated cultures survive indefinitely in the continued presence of NGF, however, withdrawal of NGF from differentiated cultures effects the loss of cellular viability within 3-6 days. Here, we show that death of differentiated SH-SY5Y cells caused by NGF deprivation is characteristic of apoptosis. To compare the differentiation promoting and the neurotrophic properties of NGF, whole SH-SY5Y cell extracts were analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using isoelectric focusing and nonequilibrium pH gradient electrophoresis gels in the first dimension. Steady-state levels of polypeptides extracted from whole-cell lysates of naive (untreated) cells, terminally differentiated cells, and NGF-deprived differentiated cells were compared. Over 1,000 spots from each were analyzed using computer-aided spot matching and densitometry. We noted 25 polypeptides that decreased during differentiation, including 15 that decreased by a factor of 10 or more. The levels of five polypeptides were induced from very low or undetectable levels in naive cells. Withdrawal of NGF from terminally differentiated cells produced alterations in steady-state protein patterns substantially distinct from those occurring during differentiation. While levels of most proteins do not appear affected early after NGF withdrawal, others rapidly return to levels comparable with those of the naive state and some changes occurring with differentiation are enhanced further upon NGF withdrawal. Three polypeptides were regulated uniquely by NGF withdrawal, including two that were induced, on average, 20- and 28-fold and another that was depressed more than 7-fold after NGF deprivation, before cell death. These data indicate that NGF elicits both constitutive and nonconstitutive changes in gene expression and suggest that the differentiation promoting and the neurotrophic properties of NGF correlate with the regulation of different gene products.

Cell Death

Functional implication of disulfide bond, Cys250 -Cys283, in bovine chymosin.

The reduction, carboxymethylation and mercuration of disulfide bond, Cys250-Cys283, located on the surface of bovine chymosin molecule resulted in the loss of about 25% of enzyme activity, suggesting that Cys250-Cys283 is not intimately involved in catalytic mechanism. Cys250 and Cys283 were substituted with Asp. and Ser. by site- directed mutagenesis of the structural gene coding for bovine prochymosin B. All three mutants (C250D/C283S, C250D, C283S) failed to be activated to chymosin in acid, indicating that Cys250-Cys283 might have some contribution to the correct refolding of the unfolded prochymosin.

Animals

Spectroscopic quantitation of organic isothiocyanates by cyclocondensation with vicinal dithiols.

Organic isothiocyanates are widely distributed in plants and are responsible for a variety of beneficial and toxic biological effects. No direct and generic method for quantitating isothiocyanates has been described. Under mild conditions nearly all organic isothiocyanates (R-NCS) react quantitatively with an excess of vicinal dithiols to give rise to five-membered cyclic condensation products with release of the corresponding free amines (R-NH2). The products of the condensation of propyl-NCS with 1,2-ethanedithiol, 2,3-dimercaptopropanol, and 1,2-benzenedithiol have been isolated and identified as 1,3-dithiolane-2-thione, 4-hydroxymethyl-1,3-dithiolane-2-thione, and 1,3-benzodithiole-2-thione, respectively. Since 1,3-benzodithiole-2-thione (lambda max 365 nm and alpha m 23,000 M-1 cm-1) can be sensitively measured spectroscopically, the reaction of organic isothiocyanates with 1,2-benzenedithiol has been developed for analytical purposes. All aliphatic and aromatic isothiocyanates tested (except tert-butyl and other tertiary isothiocyanates) reacted quantitatively with an excess of 1,2-benzenedithiol. Thiocyanates, cyanates, isocyanates, cyanides, or related compounds did not interfere with this reaction under assay conditions. The method can be used to measure 1 nmol or less of pure isothiocyanates or isothiocyanates in crude mixtures. It can also be used to measure isothiocyanates in chromatographic fractions obtained from plant extracts and for the assay of the rate of cleavage of glucosinolates by myrosinase (thioglucoside glucohydrolase; EC 3.2.3.1).

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid

The catalase-peroxidase gene and isoniazid resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is responsible for one in four of all avoidable adult deaths in developing countries. Increased frequency and accelerated fatality of the disease among individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus has raised worldwide concern that control programmes may be inadequate, and the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has resulted in several recent fatal outbreaks in the United States. Isonicotinic acid hydrazide (isoniazid, INH) forms the core of antituberculosis regimens; however, clinical isolates that are resistant to INH show reduced catalase activity and a relative lack of virulence in guinea-pigs. Here we use mycobacterial genetics to study the molecular basis of INH resistance. A single M. tuberculosis gene, katG, encoding both catalase and peroxidase, restored sensitivity to INH in a resistant mutant of Mycobacterium smegmatis, and conferred INH susceptibility in some strains of Escherichia coli. Deletion of katG from the chromosome was associated with INH resistance in two patient isolates of M. tuberculosis.

Amino Acid Sequence

Characterization of structural defects in the lipopolysaccharides of symbiotically impaired Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae VF-39 mutants.

The lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of a wild type strain of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae (strain VF-39) and two symbiotically defective Tn5 mutants (VF-39-32 and VF-39-86) have been studied. The LPS of the mutants reflected impaired synthesis of the O-antigen. In the LPS of one mutant, the core tetrasaccharide was lacking and in that of the other it was truncated to a disaccharide containing mannose and 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (KdO). The latter mutant also synthesized an unusual carbohydrate component containing mannose, galactose, and an unidentified saccharide. The lipid A composition was similar to that found in other strains of R. leguminosarum biovar viciae. The O-antigen of the wild-type bacterium contained 2-O-methylfucose, fucose, 3,6-dideoxy-3-(methylamino)hexose, glucose, 2-amino-2,6-dideoxyhexose, and heptose. This study clearly defines a role for the bacterial LPS in the proper functioning of the Rhizobium legume symbiosis.

Carbohydrate Conformation

O-acetylated gangliosides in bovine buttermilk. Characterization of 7-O-acetyl, 9-O-acetyl, and 7,9-di-O-acetyl GD3.

Three O-acetylated gangliosides, G1, G2, and G3, were purified from bovine buttermilk by using chloroform/methanol extraction, Folch partitioning, chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-25, and Iatrobeads columns. The final yields of gangliosides G1, G2, and G3 were 2 mg, 37 mg, and 40 mg per 1.7 kg of the buttermilk powder, respectively. On the basis of immunostaining on high performance thin layer chromatography with specific monoclonal antibodies, mild alkaline treatment, gas-liquid chromatographic analysis, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance studies, G1 and G2 are characterized as O-acetylated GD3 and G3 as O-acetylated GT3, and the structures of these gangliosides are as follows: [formula: see text] The major fatty acids of these gangliosides were C18:0, C22:0, C23:0, and C24:0, and the long chain base was C18-sphingosine.

Acetylation