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The role of apolipoprotein A-II (apoA-II) in high density lipoprotein (HDL) structure and metabolism has been studied previously in transgenic mice overexpressing either human or murine apoA-II. These studies have shown differences between these two groups of transgenic animals in the levels of very low density, low density, and high density lipoproteins, in the HDL particle size distribution, and in the relationship between apoA-II levels and lipoprotein levels. To determine whether these differences are due to the fact that human apoA-II is dimeric and murine apoA-II monomeric, we have examined the effects of monomeric human apoA-II (hA-IImon) in transgenic mice. Site-directed mutagenesis (Cys6 -> Ser) was used to generate 15 transgenic founder lines of hA-IImon mice, that contained plasma hA-IImon concentrations over a 10-fold range (11 mg/dl to 185 mg/dl). The hA-IImon floated in the d < or = 1.21 g/ml fraction and migrated as an apoA-II monomer by nonreducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. HDL levels were not correlated with hA-IImon levels (r = -0.26); HDL particle size and size distribution, as well as very low density and low density lipoprotein levels and sizes, were unchanged compared to nontransgenic control mice. These results suggest that differences between mice overexpressing human dimeric apoA-II and those overexpressing murine apoA-II are the result of sequence differences between these two apoA-II molecules and are not solely due to the fact that human apoA-II exists as a dimer.

DNA topoisomerase I (topo I) is involved in the regulation of DNA supercoiling, gene transcription, and rDNA recombination. However, little is known about interactions between topo I and other nuclear proteins. We used affinity chromatography with a topo I fusion protein to screen U-937 leukemic cell extracts and have identified nucleolin as a topo I-binding protein. Coimmunoprecipitation and other studies demonstrate that the interaction between topo I and nucleolin is direct. Furthermore, deletion analyses have identified the 166-210-amino acid region of topo I as sufficient for the interaction with nucleolin. Since nucleolin has been implicated in nuclear transport and in a variety of transcriptional processes, the interaction with topo I may relate to the cellular localization of topo I or to the known role of this topoisomerase in transcription.

The binding of ethanol to rat liver microsomes is shown to be saturable at clinically relevant ethanol concentrations, whereas this effect is not observed in extracted microsomal phospholipids. Brief exposure of the microsomes to heat abolishes saturable ethanol binding. Equilibrium binding data analysis, although only approximate in this context, suggests the presence of at least two groups of specific sites: high capacity sites with affinities near the pharmacological range and low capacity sites at lesser levels. The results indicate that the specificity of ethanol for tissue is considerably greater than previously recognized.

We have explored the application of fetal hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants for cellular replacement in a murine model of beta-thalassemia. Liver-derived HSCs from nonthalassemic syngeneic murine fetal donors were transplanted into nonirradiated neonatal beta-thalassemic recipients. Significant erythrocyte chimerism (9-27%) was demonstrated in the majority of recipients at 1 month and remained stable or increased (up to 55%) during long-term follow-up in almost all cases. Chimeras had improved phenotypes, as evidenced by decreased reticulocyte counts, increased mean erythrocyte deformability, and decreased iron deposits in comparison to controls. To investigate whether the high degree of peripheral blood chimerism was predominantly a feature of erythroid elements or was a general feature of all hematopoietic elements, chimeras were created using donor HSCs "tagged" with a DNA transgene. Whereas donor hemoglobin comprised > 30% of total hemoglobin, nucleated tagged nonerythroid donor cells comprised < 1% of peripheral blood elements. Explanations for the observed selective increase in erythroid chimerism include longer survival of normal donor red cells compared to that of thalassemic red cells and the effective maturation of the donor erythroid elements in the bone marrow in chimeric animals. The latter explanation bears consideration because it is consistent with the process of ineffective erythropoiesis, well documented to occur in thalassemia, in which the majority of thalassemic erythroid cells are destroyed during erythropoiesis prior to release from the bone marrow. Overall, these data demonstrate the potential for significant erythroid chimerism and suggest that fetal HSC transplantation may play a significant role in future treatment.

Using the spin probe 5-doxylstearic acid, we studied the structural perturbations of rat liver mitochondrial membranes produced by exposure to ethanol in vitro and by chronic ethanol feeding. The addition of ethanol in vitro to mitochondria from control animals appears to "fluidize" the membranes, as evidenced by a pronounced decrease in the order parameter. By contrast, in membranes from rats fed ethanol chronically, there was no effect on the order parameter. This resistance of the mitochondrial membranes from chronically intoxicated animals to the fluidizing effect of ethanol probably results from a change in the composition of the phospholipids, because the same differential response to ethanol was observed upon using vesicles of mitochondrial phospholipids extracted from control and chronically treated rats. In the presence of 0.025--0.1 M ethanol, a range that prevails in the blood of chronic alcoholics, the order parameter of mitochondrial membranes from rats fed ethanol was comparable to that of control membranes without ethanol in vitro. Analysis of extracted mitochondrial phospholipids showed that the cardiolipin from ethanol-fed animals had fatty acyl residues that are more saturated than those of controls. These findings point to the underlying molecular mechanism of our previous observation that mitochondria from chronic alcoholic rats are more resistant to uncoupling by ethanol at physiological temperature [Rottenberg, H., Robertson, D. E. & Rubin, E. (1980) Lab. Invest. 42, 318--326]. We suggest that an adaptive change in the phospholipid composition leads to structural alterations, which result in increased resistance to disruption of mitochondrial membranes by ethanol. These changes in lipid composition and structure may explain many, if not all, of the mitochondrial abnormalities that have been previously reported to result from chronic ethanol intoxication.

Exoenzyme C3 from Clostridium botulinum types C and D specifically ADP-ribosylated a 21-kilodalton cellular protein, p21.bot. Guanyl nucleotides protected the substrate against denaturation, which implies that p21.bot is a G protein. When introduced into the interior of cells, purified exoenzyme C3 ADP-ribosylated intracellular p21.bot and changed its function. NIH 3T3, PC12, and other cells rapidly underwent temporary morphological alterations that were in certain respects similar to those seen after microinjection of cloned ras proteins. When injected into Xenopus oocytes, C3 induced migration of germinal vesicles and potentiated the cholera toxin-sensitive augmentation of germinal vesicle breakdown by progesterone, also as caused by ras proteins. Nevertheless, p21.bot was immunologically distinct from p21ras.

The involvement of leukotrienes (LTs) in antigen-induced airway hyper-reactivity (AHR) was characterized pharmacologically by using several 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) inhibitors and LTD4 antagonists in guinea pigs. AHR was evidenced by consistent and significant increases in sensitivity to bronchoconstriction induced by i.v. methacholine in anesthetized and ventilated animals 24 hr after a single ovalbumin aerosol challenge, but maximum methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction did not increase. Animals were pretreated with maximum doses of WY-50,295 tromethamine (WY-50,295), LY-171,883, MK-886 or zileuton, based upon inhibition of antigen-induced LT-dependent bronchoconstriction. WY-50,295, having a long duration of action, was the only compound that prevented AHR when given once before antigen challenge. However, LY-171,883 and MK-886 prevented AHR when a second dose was given 4 hr after challenge. Zileuton, having a short duration of action, failed to prevent AHR when given before and after challenge. The prevention of AHR did not result from functional antagonism (bronchodilation) by any compound. In bronchoalveolar lavage studies, neither WY-50,295 nor MK-886 inhibited the influx of eosinophils into the airways 24 hr after antigen challenge. The results provide pharmacological evidence that LTs play an important role in the pathogenesis of antigen-induced AHR in guinea pigs. Furthermore, the effectiveness of 5-LO inhibitors and LTD4 antagonists in this model depends upon a long duration of drug action and appears to result from inhibition of a direct airway effect of LTs rather than inhibition of eosinophil influx into the airways.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The stress-activated protein (SAP) kinases are induced by tumor necrosis factor, oncoproteins, and UV light. The present studies demonstrate that ionizing radiation (IR) activates p54 SAP kinase. IR-induced activation of SAP kinase is associated with binding to the SH2/SH3-containing adaptor protein Grb2. This interaction is mediated by the SH3 domains of Grb2 and the proline-rich sequence PPPKIP in the carboxy-terminal region of SAP kinase. We also demonstrated that SAP kinase and the p85 alpha-subunit of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase form a complex in irradiated cells. The results indicate that this complex involves binding of the p85 alpha subunit of PI 3-kinase to the SH2 domain of Grb2. The functional role of linking SAP kinase to PI 3-kinase is further supported by the finding that wortmannin, an inhibitor of PI 3-kinase, stimulates SAP kinase activity. These results suggest that the cellular response to IR may include regulation of SAP kinase by a PI 3-kinase-dependent signaling pathway.

The presence of ethanol disorders (fluidizes) biological membranes, but its chronic administration confers resistance to this perturbation (membrane tolerance). The latter effect has been invoked as an explanation for behavioral tolerance in alcoholics, but the molecular basis for membrane tolerance is obscure. To study the molecular mechanisms of this acquired resistance to disordering, we fed rats ethanol (36% of total calories) for 35 days, after which we quantitatively separated the phospholipids of hepatic microsomal membranes by high-performance liquid chromatography. Multilamellar vesicles were prepared from the recombined phospholipid classes, and their physical properties were examined by electron spin resonance. Vesicles composed of phospholipids from untreated rats were disordered (fluidized) in the presence of ethanol, whereas those made from phospholipids of ethanol-fed rats were resistant to this effect. When phosphatidylcholine (66.5 mol %), phosphatidylethanolamine (21 mol %), or phosphatidylserine (4.0 mol %) from ethanol-fed rats replaced their corresponding phospholipids in vesicles prepared from microsomal phospholipids from untreated rats, the membranes were still disordered by ethanol. In contrast, when 2.5-8.5 mol % phosphatidylinositol from ethanol-fed rats replaced phosphatidylinositol from untreated rats, the reconstituted membranes were rendered resistant to ethanol-induced disordering. Liver microsomal phosphatidylinositol (2.5-8.5 mol %) from ethanol-fed rats also conferred membrane tolerance to vesicles composed of bovine liver and brain phospholipids, an effect which demonstrates that the ability of phosphatidylinositol to confer membrane tolerance is not restricted to the microsomal membrane.

Primary cultures of adult rat hepatocytes were used to study the effects of 100 mM ethanol on various neutral amino acid transport systems. Ethanol exposure for 24 h selectively decreased amino acid uptake by the A and N systems by 40-70%, but had no significant effect on the ASC and L systems. The decrease in the A system was significant after 3 h of ethanol exposure, and the activity was not affected by the presence or absence of ethanol during the uptake measurements. Kinetic analysis showed that ethanol treatment affected predominantly the high-affinity component of A system activity by decreasing the apparent Vmax without significantly changing the apparent Km. Ethanol treatment did not prevent the cells from increasing A system activity in response to insulin and glucagon, but the magnitude of hormone-stimulated uptake was reduced.

In explaining the erythrocyte sedimentation reaction the majority of investigators have limited themselves to the study of the physicochemical changes that occur in the plasma and have paid little attention to the erythrocytes. The few attempts made to study the latter have been on citrated or oxalated blood. These anticoagulants, however, as will be shown later, so alter the quantitative relationship between the plasma and the cells as to render their use unsuitable for the study of the erythrocytes. The use of hirudin offers the best available means of keeping the blood in fluid condition without otherwise changing its composition. Its recent use by Gram and Norgaard1 for the determination of standards of hemoglobin, cell count and cell volume for healthy persons suggested its employment in studying the same factors in conjunction with the sedimentation reaction. METHODS Specimens of blood were obtained before breakfast from ten healthy adults (physicians and

Summary A technique is presented for the numerical solution of quasi-one-dimensional, viscous, heat conducting, compressible Laval nozzle flows. A time-dependent finite difference scheme is used to integrate the unsteady flow equations yielding second-order accurate steady-state solutions. Several features of the shock wave solution are shown and discussed.

The luminance threshold for horizontal contours which move upward is raised by prior exposure of any of wide range of different directions of movement. The threshold for a stationary grating of horizontal bars is raised only by prior exposure of similarly oriented bars. It is also found that sensitivity to changes in orientation of a stationary grating is greater than sensitivity to changes in the direction in which a grating moves. It is proposed that the interactions between pre-exposed adapting stimuli and the stimuli for which thresholds are determined reflect the orientation and direction selectivities of the underlying mechanisms.

The radiological features of the perivesicular air-cap of pulmonary hydatid cysts are briefly described and illustrated. These features may, rarely, be perfectly simulated by non-hydatid lesions. An illustrative case of simple lung abscess is described.

A method for the radiographic delineation of articular cartilage without the aid of contrast media is described. It is particularly applicable to the knee joint, though the articular cartilage of the shoulder and metacarpo-phalangeal joints are also demonstrable. If an effusion be present in the joint the outline of the cartilage cannot be visualised. If failure to delineate the cartilage is encountered in a joint in which there is no effusion clinically, it probably indicates that an excess of fluid is never-theless present in the joint, provided that the articular cartilage is successfully delineated in the contra-lateral joint. Successful delineation of the articular cartilage excludes even a small effusion into the joint. The full clinical value of this method of delineating articular cartilage has not yet been appraised, but the information the method has already yielded merits for it a full clinical investigation.

Two cases of chronic pericarditis are recorded, neither of whom had any cardiac symptoms.Case1. Had a huge pericardial effusion present for at least nine months, but apart from symptoms referable to localised areas of bone infection, he was quite well and absolutely free from cardiac distress, although doing manual work.Case2. Had an extensive calcified pericarditis, known to have been present for at least four years, during which time the patient was able to lead a very active life, free from symptoms.

Several tests have been recently advocated for the determination of "activity" in tuberculosis. The more prominently mentioned are the Frisch and Starlinger,1 Gerlóczy,2 Mátéfy,3 Darányi,4 and erythrocyte sedimentation5 reactions. These tests are not specific for tuberculosis and are obtainable in all conditions in which there is an accompanying tissue destruction, their utility being comparable to that of a clinical thermometer. We have had occasion to observe the sedimentation reaction on several hundred tuberculous patients and have been impressed with its usefulness in gaging the toxicity of a tuberculous process. When used in conjunction with other clinical and laboratory means of investigation, the test offers a valuable addition to the study of a patient's progress. The results that have been reported from the use of the other named tests, although not as favorable as those that have been obtained with the sedimentation reaction, nevertheless seem to indicate that the physicochemical structure

The pulmonary artery lends itself readily to direct visualisation by X rays. The X-ray appearances of the normal pulmonary artery and of its main branches are described and illustrated. Certain deviations from the normal are also included and illustrated, and the importance of their recognition pointed out. The study of the pulmonary artery and its main branches forms an essential part of the X-ray examination of the heart.

Diseases caused by mycobacterial species result in millions of deaths per year globally, and present a substantial health and economic burden, especially in immunocompromised patients. Difficulties inherent in working with mycobacterial pathogens have hampered the development and application of high-throughput genetics that can inform genome annotations and subsequent functional assays.

Human and mouse genomic sequence comparisons are being increasingly used to search for evolutionarily conserved gene regulatory elements. Large-scale human-mouse DNA comparison studies have discovered numerous conserved noncoding sequences of which only a fraction has been functionally investigated A question therefore remains as to whether most of these noncoding sequences are conserved because of functional constraints or are the result of a lack of divergence time.