Bacterial expression of immunoglobulin VH proteins

A bacterial expression system in Escherichia coli has been developed that produces as much as 10 mg/l of culture of the VH protein associated with monoclonal antibodies specific for the 5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-2-sulfonyl (Dns) group. This system has been applied to the expression of the VH genes derived from a low-affinity, IgM-producing hybridoma and from a high-affinity, IgG-producing cell line. The plasmid vectors (contributed by Dr William F. Studier) utilize a T7 expression cassette whose activity is initiated by infection with a lambda phage derivative carrying the T7 RNA polymerase gene. The VH proteins were extracted from the bacterial pellet in 8 M urea and purified by chromatography in 8 M urea. Recombinants with the homologous light (L) chains were prepared to yield VHL molecules. These were used to measure intrinsic affinity for Dns-lysine by resonance energy transfer. The association constants were 7 x 10(6) M-1 and 7 x 10(9) M-1 for the low- and high-affinity systems, respectively. These values are not significantly different from those observed with monoclonal antibodies secreted from the corresponding cell lines. This system lends itself to the quantitative evaluation of the binding properties of the VH protein itself as well as the modulation of affinity by site-directed mutagenesis.     

Both the antioxidant and D3 agonist actions of pramipexole mediate its neuroprotective actions in mesencephalic cultures

Pramipexole (PPX) is a full intrinsic activity, direct-acting dopamine (DA) agonist possessing 7-fold higher affinity for D3 than for D2 receptors. It also is a potent antioxidant. PPX was previously shown to be neuroprotective because it dose dependently attenuated the DA neuron loss produced by levodopa in mesencephalic cultures. Several different drugs with properties similar to PPX were studied here to better understand the mechanism or mechanisms responsible for this neuroprotective effect. The D3-preferring agonist 7-hydroxy-diphenylaminotetralin (7-OH-DPAT) and the D3 antagonist U99194, respectively, increased and decreased the neuroprotective effects of PPX in a dose-dependent fashion. Addition of the selective D2 agonist U95666 or the D2/D3 antagonists domperidone or raclopride did not affect PPX's neuroprotective effect. Interestingly, 7-OH-DPAT by itself did not attenuate the DA neuron loss produced by levodopa. However, when 7-OH-DPAT was combined with a low dose of the antioxidants U101033E or alpha-tocopherol, the toxic effects of levodopa were attenuated. Similar results were observed when the D3-preferring agonist PD128, 907 was studied. In addition, media conditioned by exposure of mesencephalic cultures incubated with all D3-preferring agonists studied was shown to enhance the growth of DA neurons in freshly harvested recipient cultures implicating a D3-mediated trophic activity in the neuroprotective effect. These data suggest that PPX's neuroprotective actions in the levodopa toxicity model are a consequence of its combined actions as a D3 receptor agonist and an antioxidant.     

Human endothelin-1 clearance kinetics revealed by a radiotracer technique

Levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1) are elevated in many disease states, although its total body kinetics of elimination are poorly understood. Therefore, it remains uncertain whether the presence of elevated levels of ET-1 in the setting of disease are secondary to changes in production or clearance or some combination thereof. Using a 125I-labeled ET-1 infusion technique, the volume of distribution and kinetics of clearance of endothelin were described in five normal volunteers. Heart rate, blood pressure, right atrial pressure, and arterial blood samples for the counting of 125I and the measurement of ET-1 were obtained at multiple time points before and up to 45 h after the start of the infusion. The radiotracer infusion had no effect on heart rate, blood pressure, right atrial pressure, or endogenous ET-1 levels. ET-1 clearance was best described by a three-compartment model, which revealed that ET-1 has a much longer terminal half-life and volume of distribution than was previously reported. This suggests extensive uptake of ET-1 in various organ systems and slow clearance. These new findings have important implications for the understanding of the pathophysiology of ET-1 in disease states as well as for the understanding and development of ET-1 receptor blockers and endothelin-converting enzyme inhibitors.     

Intra-arterial rtPA treatment of stroke assessed by diffusion- and perfusion-weighted MRI

BACKGROUND: Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) and perfusion-weighted MRI (PWI) are new techniques that can be used for the evaluation of acute ischemic stroke. However, their potential role in the management of patients treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) has yet to be determined. CASE DESCRIPTION: The authors present the case of a 73-year-old man who was treated with intra-arterial rtPA, and they compare findings on DWI and PWI scans with angiography. PWI revealed decreased cerebral perfusion corresponding to an area that was not successfully recanalized, but revealed no abnormality in regions in which blood flow was restored. DWI was unremarkable in the region that was reperfused early (3 hours) but revealed hyperintensity in an area that was reperfused 3. 5 hours after symptom onset and in the area that was not reperfused. CONCLUSIONS: Findings on PWI correlated well with angiography, and DWI detected injured tissue in the hyperacute stage, whereas conventional MRI findings were negative. This suggests that these techniques may be useful to noninvasively evaluate the success of thrombolytic therapy.     

Bicyclic tripeptide mimetics with reverse turn inducing properties

Analogues of the hypertensive octapeptide angiotensin II, comprising novel constrained 5,8-bicyclic and 5,9-bicyclic tripeptide units adopting nonclassical beta-turn geometries, as deduced from theoretical conformational analysis, have been synthesized. Spontanous bicyclization upon acid-catalyzed deprotection of a model peptide, encompassing a protected omega-formyl alpha-amino acid in position 5 and cysteine residues in positions 3 and 7, revealed a strong preference for bicyclization toward the C-terminus. The bicyclic thiazolidine related angiotensin II analogues synthesized exhibited no affinity for the angiotensin II AT1 receptor.     

Angiotensin II analogues encompassing 5,9- and 5,10-fused thiazabicycloalkane tripeptide mimetics

A simple experimental procedure on solid phase for the construction of new tripeptidic 5,9- and 5,10-fused thiazabicycloalkane scaffolds that adopt beta-turns has been developed. This N-terminal-directed bicyclization, relying on masked aldehyde precursors derived from glutamic acid as key building blocks, provides a complement to the related bicyclization previously reported, where an aspartic acid-derived precursor was employed to induce cyclization toward the C-terminal end of the peptide. Thus, the regioselectivity of the bicyclization can be altered simply by varying the chain length of the incorporated aldehyde precursor. Four analogues of the hypertensive octapeptide angiotensin II, comprising the new scaffolds in the 3-5- and 5-7-positions, were synthesized. One of these conformationally constrained angiotensin II analogues exhibited AT(1) receptor affinity (K(i) = 750 nM). Results from theoretical conformational analysis of model compounds of the bicyclic tripeptide mimetics are presented, and they demonstrate that subtle differences in geometry have a strong impact on the affinity to the AT(1) receptor.