[The selection of highly lung metastatic salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma clone]

After 5 times repeated selection in vivo, combined with cloning technique in vitro and analysing of platelet aggregation activity, we had selected a highly lung metastatic salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma clone M-5clone24 (Acc-M). Compared with Acc-2, its metastatic rate was 96% vs. 18%; the weight of metastatic lung was 0.88 g vs. 0.31 g. The metastatic rate and the weight of metastatic lung positively correlated with platelet aggregation activity. The aggregation activity might be used as a useful parameter to assess Acc metastasis potential.

Detection of RNA polymerase II promoters and polyadenylation sites in human DNA sequence

Detection of RNA polymerase II promoters and polyadenylation sites helps to locate gene boundaries and can enhance accurate gene recognition and modeling in genomic DNA sequence. We describe a system which can be used to detect polyadenylation sites and thus delineate the 3' boundary of a gene, and discuss improvements to a system first described in Matis et al. (1995) [Matis S., Shah M., Mural R. J. & Uberbacher E.C. (1995) Proc. First Wrld Conf. Computat. Med., Public Hlth, Biotechnol. (Wrld Sci.) (in press).], which predicts a large subset of RNA polymerase II promoters. The promoter system used statistical matrices and distance information as inputs for a neural network which was trained to provide initial promoter recognition. The output of the network was further refined by applying rules which use the gene context information predicted by GRAIL. We have reconstructed the rule-based system which uses gene context information and significantly improved the sensitivity and selectivity of promoter detection.

Alignments of DNA and protein sequences containing frameshift errors

Molecular sequences, like all experimental data, are subject to error. Many current DNA sequencing protocols have very significant error rates and often generate artefactual insertions and deletions of bases (indels) which corrupt the translation of sequences and compromise the detection of protein homologies. The impact of these errors on the utility of molecular sequence data is dependent on the analytic technique used to interpret the data. In the presence of frameshift errors, standard algorithms using six-frame translation can miss important homologies because only subfragments of the correct translation are available in any given frame. We present a new algorithm which can detect and correct frameshift errors in DNA sequences during comparison of translated sequences with protein sequences in the databases. This algorithm can recognize homologous proteins sharing 30% identity even in the presence of a 7% frameshift error rate. Our algorithm uses dynamic programming, producing a guaranteed optimal alignment in the presence of frameshifts, and has a sensitivity equivalent to Smith-Waterman. The computational efficiency of the algorithm is O(nm) where n and m are the sizes of two sequences being compared. The algorithm does not rely on prior knowledge or heuristic rules and performs significantly better than any previously reported method.

Reduction of growth and acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity by expression of a chimeric streptavidin gene in Escherichia coli

The streptavidin gene from Streptomyces avidinii was expressed in E. coli as a non-fusion protein and as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein. The streptavidin protein accumulated primarily in the inclusion bodies and did not alter cell growth. In contrast, the glutathione-S-transferase-streptavidin fusion protein was soluble. Nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the chimeric glutathione-S-transferase-streptavidin protein was present mostly as a monomer, with some detectable polymeric forms. Cells grown in the presence of [3H]-biotin had label specifically associated with the expressed glutathione-S-transferase-streptavidin fusion protein, indicating this protein bound biotin in vivo. The majority of the radiolabeled biotin was associated with polymeric forms of the glutathione-S-transferase-streptavidin protein. The growth rates of biotin auxotrophs of E. coli growing in biotin-deficient media were substantially decreased by the expression of the glutathione-S-transferase-streptavidin gene. The decreased growth rate correlated with a decrease in acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity.

Inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication and enhancement of growth in BALB/c 3T3 cells treated with connexin43 antisense oligonucleotides

Many studies have correlated reductions in gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) with altered cellular growth, tumor promotion, and neoplastic transformation. To test directly whether reduced GJIC affects cellular growth, GJIC was inhibited in murine BALB/c 3T3 fibroblasts by treatment with a phosphorothioate-modified antisense oligonucleotide targeted against the connexin43 translation start codon, and in vitro cell growth was monitored. The cells were incubated with the oligonucleotide (0.1-0.5 microM) in liposomes in serumless culture medium for 16 h; washed and refed with serum-containing medium; and analyzed for dye-coupling, connexin43 protein and mRNA levels, and cell growth over the next 5 d. The antisense oligonucleotide inhibited dye-coupling and reduced connexin43 protein levels in a concentration-dependent manner but had no effect on connexin43 mRNA levels. Cell growth rate was not affected, but saturation density was increased approximately threefold by the oligonucleotide. These data support a role for GJIC in the establishment of contact inhibition of in vitro cell growth.

Isolation of YAC insert sequences by representational difference analysis

We present a method for the isolation of YAC insert sequences by representational difference analysis (RDA). To achieve maximal representation of the sequences, the amplicons were generated from a Mbol digestion product. RDA was performed using a 970 kb insert YAC clone. After two rounds of re-association and selective amplification 92% of the difference product represented sequences derived from the YAC insert. Twenty insert-specific sequence-tagged sites were readily defined. The difference product was also successfully used to isolate microsatellite markers, to identify clones from a human PAC library and as a chromosome painting probe in fluorescence in situ hybridization.

An integrated high-resolution physical map of the DPC/BRCA2 region at chromosome 13q12

We identified a homozygous deletion in a pancreatic carcinoma (DPC) that localized to a 1-cM region at chromosome 13q12.3, which lay within the 6-cM locus of familial breast cancer susceptibility (BRCA-2). Here we present a physical map of the region, consisting of YAC, PAC, and cosmid contigs. The YAC contig comprises 16 clones that together span the entire BRCA2 region. The PAC contig comprises 22 clones that together span the DPC region. Seventy cosmid clones were localized within and near the DPC region. Thirty-five sequence-tagged sites were defined and localized within the map. The map indicates the size of the DPC region to be near 250 kb, and provides mapped and cloned resources for the search for the putative tumor suppressor gene(s) in the region.

Down-regulation by butylated hydroxytoluene of the number and function of gap junctions in epithelial cell lines derived from mouse lung and rat liver

The mouse pneumotoxicant and lung and liver tumor promoter butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) was examined for its effects on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) in mouse lung epithelial (C10) and rat liver epithelial (WB-F344) cell lines. GJIC, as measured by fluorescent dye microinjection, was inhibited in both types of cells by BHT in dose- and time-dependent fashions. Inhibition was detected in WB-F344 cells at BHT concentrations > or = 62.5 microM and in C10 cells at concentrations > or = 150 microM after 4 h treatment. Inhibition occurred within 15-30 min and was reversed by removing BHT from the culture medium. The highly toxic BHT metabolite 6-t-butyl-2-(hydroxy-t-butyl)-4-methylphenol (BHTOH) and the non-toxic BHT metabolite, 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxymethylphenol (BHTBzOH) were also tested. In both cell lines BHTOH was a more potent inhibitor of GJIC than BHT, whereas BHTBzOH was ineffective. The mechanisms of inhibition of GJIC by BHT were also examined. The initial rapid inhibition detected within 15-30 min may have been due to gap junction channel closure or blockage, since no changes in gap junction number, connexin (Cx) 43 levels or Cx43 phosphorylation were observed. By 2-4 h, however, gap junctions were internalized into the cytoplasm, the number of immunodetectable plasma membrane gap junctions was reduced and phosphorylated Cx43-P2 was decreased. Treatment of the cells for 24 h with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) prevented inhibition of GJIC by TPA, but not by BHT. Western blot analyses of TPA-treated WB-F344 or C10 cells revealed the presence of a hyperphosphorylated form of Cx43 (Cx43-P3) and no reduction in Cx43-P2, in contrast to BHT-treated cells. These data suggest that BHT and TPA inhibit lung and liver epithelial cell GJIC through distinct mechanisms.

Changes in gap junction permeability, gap junction number, and connexin43 expression in lindane-treated rat liver epithelial cells

The pesticide lindane (gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane) is a mammalian neurotoxin and hepatocarcinogen. Lindane can inhibit gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) and this effect may contribute to its toxic properties. The mechanism of inhibition of GJIC by lindane in WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells was studied to determine if altered gap junction permeability, gap junction number, and/or gap junction protein (connexin43) expression were involved. GJIC was monitored by fluorescent Lucifer Yellow CH dye microinjection (dye-coupling). Gap junction number was quantified visually after indirect immunostaining of gap junctions using an anti-connexin43 monoclonal antibody. Connexin43 mRNA and protein levels were determined by Northern and Western blotting, respectively. Short-term treatment (10-30 min) with lindane (50 microM) resulted in the rapid (within 10 min), nearly complete loss of dye-coupling but no changes in gap junction number of connexin43 mRNA or protein levels. Medium-term treatment (1-4 hr) resulted in the loss of dye-coupling, gap junctions, and phosphorylated connexin43 proteins. Long-term treatment (1-14 days) led to reductions in dye-coupling, total connexin43 protein, and connexin43 mRNA. Nuclear run-on assays indicated that transcription of the connexin43 gene was reduced nonspecifically by lindane. These data indicate that reductions in gap junction permeability, number, and expression may be involved in the inhibition of GJIC depending on pesticide treatment duration.

Detection of chromosome 12q amplification in sarcomas by chromosome microdissection and interphase fish

We describe the microdissection of a homogeneously staining region (hsr) in the neuroblastoma cell line NGP-127 which contains the SAS gene. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of this probe to NGP-127 cells confirms its derivation from the hsr, while FISH to normal chromosomes establishes that the hsr is composed of sequences from two segments of chromosome 12q. The hsr microdissection probe yields fluorescent signals which are sufficiently intense to readily identify amplification of homologous sequences in interphase nuclei.

Operational stabilization of a high-power ultrashort dye oscillator-amplifiers laser chain

Stable operation of a high-power ultrashort dye laser chain is achieved with an inexpensive heating technique. The femtosecond oscillator and its pumping laser are separately covered with boxes to isolate them from external temperature fluctuations. Both laser-isolating boxes are lined with a heating pellicle that permanently and uniformly warms the lasers to preset operating temperatures. The power, spectrum, and duration of the laser-chain output pulse remain constant from day to day. This technique could be applied to other ultrafast laser devices that require long-term performance stability.

Taurine conjugation of ibuprofen in humans and in rat liver in vitro. Relationship to metabolic chiral inversion

Following administration of a single oral dose (400 mg) or RS-ibuprofen (RS-IBP) to humans, a novel metabolite was isolated from urine and identified by tandem mass spectrometry as the taurine conjugate of IBP (IBP-Tau). The corresponding glycine conjugate was sought but was not detected in these studies. Quantitative analyses indicated that taurine conjugation represents a minor biotransformation pathway for IBP (1.52 +/- 0.43% of the dose over 24 h, n = 4), but it is nonetheless one of mechanistic significance in that it requires the prior formation of the coenzyme A thioester of IBP (IBP-CoA). The latter conjugate, which has not been detected in vivo because of its intracellular compartmentalization, plays a key role in the metabolic chiral inversion of R- to S-IBP. By means of stereoselective gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, it was found that IBP liberated from the urinary IBP-Tau under nonracemizing conditions consisted mainly (ca. 87%) of molecules of S configuration. From separate experiments with volunteers given a pseudoracemic mixture of the drug (R-IBP/S-[2H3]IBP), it was shown that the majority of the S-IBP-Tau was derived from S-IBP, rather than from R-IBP by way of chiral inversion. These findings, together with the results of in vitro experiments with rat liver mitochondrial preparations and isolated rat hepatocytes, demonstrate that although activation of IBP to its CoA thioester favors the R enantiomer over its antipode, S-IBP also participates in CoA-dependent reactions, including metabolic chiral inversion.

L-dopa reverses castration-induced disruption of dishabituation responses to female chemical cues in male rats

In the present experiment, habituation/dishabituation behavioral tests were conducted to measure discriminatory olfactory recognition responses to chemical cues among control, castrated, and castrated+L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA)-treated male rats. Castration produced a disruption of dishabituation responses to female urine, and this effect was reversed by treatment with L-DOPA. In the posterior olfactory bulb, 3,4-dihydroxyphenlacetic acid (DOPAC) levels were significantly increased in L-DOPA-treated animals compared with the vehicle-treated control and castrated groups. No significant differences in olfactory bulb norepinephrine or dopamine concentrations among the three treatment groups were obtained. The restoration of behavioral dishabituation responses following L-DOPA treatment suggests that the catecholaminergic system of the olfactory bulb may play a critical role in the recognition and possibly attractions for or preferences to female chemical cues.

Age related changes of social memory/recognition in male Fischer 344 rats

Two different habituation-dishabituation test paradigms were used to evaluate differences in social memory/recognition among 3-, 15- and 22-month-old male Fischer 344 rats. For test 1, males received three 2-min exposures to the same stimulus ovariectomized female, followed by three 2-min exposures to a different stimulus female with an inter-trial interval of 6 min. All groups showed a habituation response with investigation times decreasing on trials 2 and 3. Introduction of a different stimulus female on trial 4 (dishabituation) resulted in significant differences with investigation times of the 3-month animals being significantly greater than both the 15- and 22-month animals and those of the 15- being greater than the 22-month animals. Notably, the 22-month-old animals failed to dishabituate on this task. For test 2, all animals received two trials with different stimulus females used in each trial. While investigation times of the 3-month animals remained elevated in trial 2, indicative of an absence of habituation to these different stimuli, those of the 15- and 22-month-old animals decreased significantly, suggesting that habituation had occurred to the task and these animals failed to recognize differences in the stimuli. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the 22-month-old rats show enhanced habituation, but markedly deficient dishabituation responses compared to the 3-month-old animals, while the performance of the 15-month animals was intermediate. These results suggest an age dependent decrement in social memory/recognition processes in the male Fischer 344 rat.

Loss of gap junctions from DDT-treated rat liver epithelial cells

The mechanism by which the liver tumor promoter 1,1-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroethane (DDT) inhibits gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) in WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells could involve gap junction loss and/or decreased gap junction channel permeability. We examined these two possibilities in the present study. Immunohistochemical studies using antibodies specific to connexin43, the major gap junction protein expressed by these cells, revealed that gap junction number and size were reduced during exposure to DDT. The reductions in gap junctions (33-91%) correlated with dose-dependent (1-10 microM) and time-dependent (0.5-4 h) decreases in cell-to-cell fluorescent dye-coupling (64-85%), as well as cellular levels of phosphorylated connexin43. These effects were reversible following removal of the tumor promoter from the culture medium, although cycloheximide reduced the level of gap junction reformation. The losses in gap junctions were not due to decreased connexin43 gene expression since steady-state levels of connexin43 mRNA were not similarly affected by DDT. Fenarimol (10 microM), a structural analog of DDT, did not inhibit GJIC and had no effect on gap junction structure or connexin43 expression. These data suggest that the inhibition of GJIC by DDT resulted from the removal of gap junctions from the plasma membrane and their degradation rather than simply a decrease in their permeability.

Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate stimulates proliferation and ductal morphogenesis and inhibits functional differentiation of normal rat mammary epithelial cells in primary culture

The effect of the tumor promoter phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on proliferation and differentiation of normal mammary epithelial cells from 50-day-old virgin rats was investigated using a model system that allows for full morphological and functional development of the cells. In this model, mammary epithelial cells are grown within a reconstituted basement membrane in a defined serum-free medium. PMA at a concentration of 10(-6) M effected translocation of protein kinase C from cytosol to membrane. At the same concentration, it stimulated cell proliferation both in the presence and absence of EGF, and this stimulation was observed even when PMA exposure was limited to 15 min at the time of each media change. In contrast to the effect on proliferation, PMA at concentrations of 10(-7) and 10(-6) M inhibited functional differentiation as assessed by casein accumulation. Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate at 10(-6) M also stimulated proliferation and inhibited casein accumulation and was more effective than PMA in both cases. In contrast, the nonactive tumor promoter 4-alpha PMA had no effect on either proliferation or differentiation. One of the most striking effects of PMA was its ability to stimulate an atypical ductal morphogenesis, as manifested by the formation of intricate web-like colonies, and to inhibit the development of the well-differentiated alveolar-like multilobular colonies. PMA was also shown to completely suppress the growth of the squamous-like colonies that develop when EGF is absent or deficient. These effects of phorbol esters in mammary epithelial cells to stimulate proliferation, inhibit functional differentiation, and stimulate the development of ductal colonies are consistent with the suggestion that the signal transduction pathways evoked by PMA could act to stimulate the growth of initiated cells or render normal cells more sensitive to carcinogen.

Depletion of olfactory bulb norepinephrine by 6-OHDA disrupts chemical cue but not social recognition responses in male rats

In the present experiment, 6-OHDA was infused directly into the olfactory bulb (OB) to produce a localized neurotoxic lesion. Habituation/dishabituation behavioral tests were then conducted to measure recognition responses to chemical cues (urine as a stimulus) and to social stimuli (ovariectomized rat as a stimulus). Infusion of 6-OHDA resulted in a near complete depletion of OB-norepinephrine (NE), whereas it had little effect (15% reduction) on OB dopamine (DA) contents. Nor were any significant effects on hypothalamic, hippocampal, olfactory tubercle, and corpus striatal NE and DA contents observed. Behaviorally, dishabituation responses to chemical cues were greatly impaired, however, there was relatively little effect on social behavior dishabituation responses. These results demonstrate that 6-OHDA can be used to produce a near complete but localized depletion of OB-NE. This treatment impairs dishabituation responses to chemical cues but not social stimuli indicating that OB-NE appears necessary for processing of chemical cue, but not social memory recognition process.

Role of olfactory bulb norepinephrine in the identification and recognition of chemical cues

In this report the role of olfactory bulb (OB) norepinephrine (NE) in the identification and recognition of urinary chemical cues was examined. In Experiment 1, sexually naive adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with either the noradrenergic neurotoxin, DSP-4, or the water vehicle, and tested for their ability to identify and recognize urinary chemical cues using a habituation-dishabituation paradigm. Treatment with DSP-4 produced an overall decrease in the amount of investigation directed to urine stimuli, with greatest reductions to urine from Zucker females. Overall, DSP-4 treatment did not alter habituation-dishabituation responses. Animals treated with DSP-4 showed a significant reduction in OB-NE, but not dopamine, concentrations. In Experiment 2, hypothalamic catecholamine concentrations and serum samples assayed for testosterone were determined from identically treated animals. Although the NE and dopamine content in MBH was significantly lower in the DSP-4 group, no significant differences in testosterone concentrations were obtained between DSP-4 and controls. These results demonstrate that DSP-4 produces significant reductions in OB-NE and in the amount of investigation directed to urinary chemical cues from females without altering serum testosterone levels. Treatment with DSP-4 treatment does not impair the male rats' ability to demonstrate a habituation-dishabituation response.

Puberty acceleration in female mice induced with a partially purified male urine extract: effects on catecholamine release from the olfactory bulbs and hypothalamus

In the present experiment peri-pubertal female mice were treated with a partially purified puberty accelerating urine extract (PAUE). Mice treated with the PAUE showed an advance in the onset of puberty as indicated by significantly increased uterine weights. Treatment with the PAUE did not alter basal or potassium- (K+, 30 mM) stimulated release of catecholamines (dopamine or norepinephrine) from either anterior or posterior superfused olfactory bulb tissue fragments. There was, however, an overall significantly greater amount of basal and K(+)-stimulated release of NE from the posterior vs. the anterior olfactory bulb. Potassium-stimulated-, but not basal, release of catecholamines from the medial basal hypothalamus of PAUE-treated female mice were increased, with dopamine showing a statistically significant difference compared to water-treated females. These data demonstrate that treatment with the PAUE is a very effective means to accelerate the onset of puberty and results in accompanying increases in catecholaminergic activity, in particular dopamine, within the medial basal hypothalamus.

An artificial intelligence approach to DNA sequence feature recognition

The ultimate goal of the Human Genome project is to extract the biologically relevant information recorded in the estimated 100,000 genes encoded by the 3 x 10(9) bases of the human genome. This necessitates development of reliable computer-based methods capable of analysing and correctly identifying genes in the vast amounts of DNA-sequence data generated. Such tools may save time and labour by simplifying, for example, screening of cDNA libraries. They may also facilitate the localization of human disease genes by identifying candidate genes in promising regions of anonymous DNA sequence.

The rise of technology in Chinese hospitals

Chinese hospitals in the 1980s are in the midst of a technological revolution. Based upon data from several regions in China, this paper describes the political, organizational, economic, and philosophical changes which have accompanied the shift in focus from primary care medicine to high technology tertiary care. The increased authority of physicians, greater contact with the West, and increased funding for medical equipment are key factors in these changes. Although the Chinese state continues to control the administration and financing of most hospitals, the decentralizing reforms of Deng Xiaoping have undermined its ability to effectively plan for, and assess new technology. At present, limited resources prevent most regions from excessive technology acquisition, but the state must rebuild its planning capacity in order to foster rational allocation of scarce medical resources.