Affinity labeling of endothelin receptors in bovine and rat lung membranes by N epsilon 9-azidobenzoyl-125I-endothelin-1.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent, vasoconstrictive peptide isolated from culture media of vascular endothelial cells. The binding of ET-1 to membrane preparations from rat and bovine lung was studied using radioiodinated ET-1 (125I-ET-1). With both membrane preparations, 125I-ET-1 showed saturable binding to a single class of high affinity sites. Scatchard analysis of the binding data gave dissociation constants (Kd) for ET-1 of 0.22 nM and 0.15 nM, and receptor densities (Bmax) of 6.1 pmol/mg and 2.7 pmol/mg for rat and bovine lung membranes, respectively. Photo-reactive radioiodinated ET-1, N epsilon 9-azidobenzoyl-125I-ET-1, was synthesized and purified as a mono-reactive affinity labeling reagent. This reagent was used for affinity labeling of ET-1 receptor in bovine and rat lung membranes. Photoaffinity labeling followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis and autoradiography gave a radiolabeled protein band with an apparent Mr of 34,000 in both membrane preparations. The labeling of this protein band was inhibited by cold ET-1 in a concentration-dependent manner. Labeling was not abolished by unrelated peptides such as angiotensin II and [Arg8]-vasopressin, or by structurally related bee venom apamin. These results indicate that the ET-1 receptor or its ligand binding subunit consists of a 34,000 Da polypeptide.     

Measurement of material elastic constants of trabecular bone: a micromechanical analytic study using a 1 GHz acoustic microscope.

The propagation speed (C) of surface acoustic waves (SAW), e.g. Rayleigh (R-waves) and longitudinal lateral waves (L-waves), the latter being the surface manifestation of the longitudinal waves, strongly reflect mechanical properties of materials. In view of an increasing interest in ultrasonic methodology in the field of bone biomechanics, we tested the hypothesis that both R- and L-waves can be excited in trabecular bone using an acoustic microscope at 1 GHz and that their speeds (C(R) and C(L)) can be extracted from V(z)-curves, i.e. plots of lens output voltage as a function of the lens focal point position with respect to the specimen surface. In accordance with V(z)-curves theoretically synthesized on the basis of incident field theory, experimental curves for canine femoral trabecular bone showed evidence of both R- and L-waves in almost all regions of recording. The measured CR ranged between 1.93 and 2.07 km/s (mean +/- SD.: 2.00=0.06 km/s) and the C(L) ranged between 2.33 and 4.33 km/s (3.37+/-0.61 km/s). Knowledge of both speeds allowed computation of a number of material constants by means of simple theory of elasticity and assumptions of the material density. We found values of Poisson ratio (v) ranging from 0.14 to 0.32 (0.23+/-0.07). Young's modulus (E) from 15 to 22.8 GPa (19.9+/-2.5 GPa) and the shear modulus (G) from 7.6 to 8.9 GPa (8.4+/-0.5 GPa). Anisotropy in the trabecular bone material was clearly detected at the micrometer level. In conclusion, the V(z)-curve method was successfully used to determine the distribution of material elastic constants of trabecular bone with micrometer resolution.     

Extraskeletal chondroma of the hand--a case report

Extraskeletal chondroma is a rare entity. A fairly benign condition, it is usually seen in adults. It presents as an enlarging mass, most commonly in the hand. Local excision is the treatment of choice. We present a case of extraskeletal chondroma of hand in a 12 year male child. Its variable histological appearance not infrequently leads to a mistaken diagnosis of chondrosarcoma.     

Prospective adverse event risk evaluation in clinical trials

Health Care Management Science - Proactive and objective regulatory risk management of ongoing clinical trials is limited, especially when it involves the safety of the trial. We seek to...     

Bioprosthetic heart valves--replacing order with chaos: electron microscopic study

Rheumatic heart disease is a significant clinical entity in young children, especially in the developing world. One of the major long-term effects of ill managed rheumatic fever is irreversible damage to the cardiac valve leaflets, primarily on the left side. With the limited success of currently available mechanical and bioprosthetic valves, there is an urgent need for new directions in bioprosthetic valves, both in material, including source, degree of fixation, surface, bulk modifications, etc., and design. In the present paper, new proposals in the material selection and fabrication of bioprosthetic valves are proposed based on electron microscopic studies of natural valve leaflets and the pericardial surface. Current approaches for bioprosthetic valve fabrications include the wide use of the pericardium as a leaflet material. The present study indicates a need for nondestructive surface examination of pericardial sheets for the elimination of areas of surface voids resulting from gross fiber disorientation. Also, there seems to be a need for incorporation of an in situ fiber renewal mechanism in bioprosthetic leaflets to emulate the natural valve more closely. Apparently natural leaflets have built-in fiber renewal mechanism(s).     

Recognition and unfolding of human telomeric G-quadruplex by short peptide binding identified from the HRDC domain of BLM helicase

Research in recent decades has revealed that the guanine (G)-quadruplex secondary structure in DNA modulates a variety of cellular events that are mostly related to serious diseases. Systems capable of regulating DNA G-quadruplex structures would therefore be useful for the modulation of various cellular events to produce biological effects. A high specificity for recognition of telomeric G-quadruplex has been observed for BLM helicase. We identified peptides from the HRDC domain of BLM using a molecular docking approach with various available solutions and crystal structures of human telomeres and recently created a peptide library. Herein, we tested one peptide (BLM HRDC peptide) from the library and examined its interaction with human telomeric variant-1 (HTPu-var-1) to understand the basis of G4-protein interactions. Our circular dichroism (CD) data showed that HTPu-var-1 folded into an anti-parallel G-quadruplex, and the CD intensity significantly decreased upon increasing the peptide concentration. There was a significant decrease in hypochromicity due to the formation of G-quadruplex-peptide complex at 295 nm, which indicated the unfolding of structure due to the decrease in stacking interactions. The fluorescence data showed quenching upon titrating the peptide with HTPu-var-1-G4. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay confirmed the unfolding of the G4 structure. Cell viability was significantly reduced in the presence of the BLM peptide, with IC₅₀ values of 10.71 μM and 11.83 μM after 72 and 96 hours, respectively. These results confirmed that the selected peptide has the ability to bind to human telomeric G-quadruplex and unfold it. This is the first report in which a peptide was identified from the HRDC domain of the BLM G4-binding protein for the exploration of the G4-binding motif, which suggests a novel strategy to target G4 using natural key peptide segments.

Schematic representation of (HTPu–var-1-G4) located at the 3′ end, formation of G-quadruplex, model of the G-quadruplex structure, base stacking between G-quadruplex planes, G-quadruplex structure-peptide complex and twisting of G-quadruplex planes upon peptide binding.     

A GoldenBraid-Compatible Virus-Based Vector System for Transient Expression of Heterologous Proteins in Plants

We have developed a Potato virus X (PVX)-based vector system compatible with the GoldenBraid 2.0 (GB) cloning strategy to transiently express heterologous proteins or peptides in plants for biotechnological purposes. This vector system consists of three domestication vectors carrying three GB parts—the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter with PVX upstream of the second subgenomic promoter of the PVX coat protein (PVX CP SGP), nopaline synthase (NOS) terminator with PVX downstream of the first PVX CP SGP and the gene of interest (GOI). The full-length PVX clone carrying the sequence encoding a green fluorescent protein (GFP) as GOI was incorporated into the binary GB vector in a one-step reaction of three GB parts using the four-nucleotide GB standard syntax. We investigated whether the obtained vector named GFP/pGBX enables systemic PVX infection and expression of GFP in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. We show that this GB-compatible vector system can be used for simple and efficient assembly of PVX-based expression constructs and that it meets the current need for interchange of standard biological parts used in different expression systems.     

Annexin A1, formyl peptide receptor,and NOX1 orchestrate epithelial repair

N-formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) are critical regulators of host defense in phagocytes and are also expressed in epithelia. FPR signaling and function have been extensively studied in phagocytes, yet their functional biology in epithelia is poorly understood. We describe a novel intestinal epithelial FPR signaling pathway that is activated by an endogenous FPR ligand, annexin A1 (ANXA1), and its cleavage product Ac2-26, which mediate activation of ROS by an epithelial NADPH oxidase, NOX1. We show that epithelial cell migration was regulated by this signaling cascade through oxidative inactivation of the regulatory phosphatases PTEN and PTP-PEST, with consequent activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and paxillin. In vivo studies using intestinal epithelial specific Nox1^–/–IEC and AnxA1^–/– mice demonstrated defects in intestinal mucosal wound repair, while systemic administration of ANXA1 promoted wound recovery in a NOX1-dependent fashion. Additionally, increased ANXA1 expression was observed in the intestinal epithelium and infiltrating leukocytes in the mucosa of ulcerative colitis patients compared with normal intestinal mucosa. Our findings delineate a novel epithelial FPR1/NOX1-dependent redox signaling pathway that promotes mucosal wound repair.     

An echo-cardiographic (M-mode & 2D) analysis of thalassaemia major

25 cases of thalassaemia major were studied by 2D and M-mode echocardiography. A significantly increased (p less than 0.001) mean value (100.8 +/- 27.37 msec, range 80 to 140 msec) of A2-E (early relaxation period) interval on M-mode was observed in thalassemia in comparison to mean level (82.6 +/- 5.7, range 60 to 100 msec) of control population. No significant differences were noted in FS % (fractional shortening) and EF% (ejection fraction) when compared to corresponding normal values respectively. Mean serum iron concentration (142.2 +/- 29.1 micrograms/dl, range 102 to 192 micrograms/dl) was significantly higher in thalassaemia as compared to normal population (mean 106.3 +/- 11.4 micrograms/dl, range 75 to 120 micrograms/dl). There was also a direct correlation between serum iron concentration and A2-E interval. 11 patients (44%) showed abnormal A2-E interval but only 3 patients (12%) showed abnormal percentage of FS and EF. It is therefore concluded that A2-E interval will help to detect early left ventricular dysfunction much before overt and irreversible heart failure becomes manifest and which will also help to optimise transfusion and chelation therapy.