Effects of dexamethasone on the synthesis, degradation, and secretion of apolipoprotein B in cultured rat hepatocytes

Oversecretion of apoB and decreased removal of apoB-containing lipoproteins by the liver results in hyperapobetalipoproteinemia, which is a risk factor for atherosclerosis. We investigated how dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid, affects the synthesis, degradation, and secretion of apoB-100 and apoB-48. Primary rat hepatocytes were incubated with dexamethasone for 16 hours. Incorporation of [35S]methionine into apoB-48 and apoB-100 was increased by 36% and 50%, respectively, with 10 nmol/L dexamethasone, despite a 28% decrease of incorporation into total cell proteins. However, Northern blot analysis revealed that dexamethasone (1 to 1000 nmol/L) did not significantly alter the steady-state concentrations of apoB mRNA, suggesting that the net increase in apoB synthesis may involve increased translational efficiency. The intracellular retention and the rate and efficiency of apoB secretion were determined by pulse-chase experiments in which the hepatocytes were labeled with [35S]methionine for 10 minutes or 1 hour, and the disappearance of labeled apoB from the cells and its accumulation in the medium were monitored. Degradation of labeled apoB-100 after a 3-hour chase in both protocols was decreased from about 50% to 30%, whereas degradation of apoB-48 was decreased from 30% to 10% to 20% by treatment with 10 or 100 nmol/L dexamethasone. Additionally, the half-life of decay (time required for 50% of labeled cell apoB-100 to disappear from the peak of radioactivity following a 10-minute pulse) was increased by treatment with 10 nmol/L dexamethasone from 77 to 112 minutes, and the value for apoB-48 increased from 145 to 250 minutes. Treatment with 100 nmol/L dexamethasone also stimulated secretion of 35S-labeled apoB-100 and apoB-48 by twofold and 1.5-fold, respectively. The increased secretion of apoB-100 and apoB-48 after dexamethasone treatment was confirmed by immunoblot analysis for apoB mass, and the effect was relatively specific since albumin secretion was not significantly changed. We conclude that glucocorticoids promote the secretion of hepatic apoB-containing lipoproteins by increasing the net synthesis of apoB-100 and apoB-48 and by decreasing the intracellular degradation of newly synthesized apoB. An increased action of glucocorticoids coupled with a decreased ability of insulin to suppress these effects in insulin resistance can lead to hyperapobetalipoproteinemia and an increased risk of atherosclerosis.

Ultrastructure of the spermatozoa and eggs of the ocean pout (Macrozoarces americanus L.), an internally fertilizing marine fish

Ultrastructure of sperm and eggs of the ocean pout (Macrozoarces americanus L.), an internally fertilizing marine teleost, was examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that the sperm do not have an acrosome but have a very long mid-piece (one to two times the sperm head length) containing numerous well-developed elongated mitochondria. The sperm also have two tails (is biflagellate) each consisting of nine peripheral and one central pair (9 +/- 2) of microtubules. This long mid-piece and the biflagellate nature of the sperm appear to be associated with the long life-span of the sperm and with sperm dispersal in the ovary to fertilize the eggs internally. The ocean pout eggs are enveloped by a porous chorionic membrane similar to that found in other teleosts but have two micropyles, a condition likely related to a mechanism of egg fertilization which increases the egg fertility in the presence of low sperm numbers. Following insemination, some biochemically undefined excretions appeared on the surface of fertilized eggs and led to the acquisition of adherent capability of the eggs which formed a tightly associated egg mass in sea water.

Monophosphoryl lipid A preserves myocardial contractile function following multiple, brief periods of coronary occlusion in dogs

The effects of a 1- or 24-hour pretreatment regimen with monophosphoryl lipid A (MLA, 35 micrograms/kg i.v.) on myocardial stunning produced by repetitive coronary occlusions were studied in barbital-anesthetized dogs. Regional segment function (%SS) and myocardial blood flow were measured by sonomicrometry and the radioactive microsphere technique, respectively. In controls, six 5-min periods of coronary occlusion interpersed with 10-min periods of reperfusion and ultimately followed by 2 h of reperfusion produced regional segment dysfunction. Pretreatment with MLA for 1 h prior to the first occlusion period had no effect on %SS, however, pretreatment with MLA 24 h prior to the first occlusion period resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) improvement in the recovery of %SS at all reperfusion periods as compared to the control group. In addition, segment dysfunction during each occlusion period was significantly less severe in animals receiving a 24-hour pretreatment with MLA as compared to the controls. These results are the first to demonstrate that MLA, a lipid A derivative of endotoxin, preserves contractile function of ischemic myocardium in an in vivo canine model and that its cardio-protection is time dependent.

DNA gyrase improves DNA transformation of E.coli cells with large recombinant plasmids

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[Expression of exogenous porcine transforming growth factor beta-1 gene in ES cells and its effect on their differentiation in vitro]

A TGF-beta 1 gene expression plasmid was constructed by inserting the porcine 1.7 Kb TGF-beta 1 cDNA into BamHI site of retrovirus vector Dol. The plasmid DNA was introduced into mouse embryonic stem cells (ES-5 line) by calcium phosphate mediated transfection, and transfected ES-5 cells were then selected by stepwise increase in G418 concentration. Finally, we obtained 21 clones that could be stably grown in culture medium with G418 at 500 micrograms/ml and were designated as ES-T cells. Dot blot and Northern analysis of total RNA and polyA+ RNA extracted from those ES-T cells were shown in FIg. 2 and 3, demonstrating that 6 clones could express exogenous porcine TGF-beta 1 mRNA. The stronger hybridized signal in two clones (ES-T6 and ES-T 16) of them were further proved by southern hybridization of genomic DNA from these ES-T cells with 1.7 Kb TGF-beta 1 cDNA probe (Fig. 4). The product of TGF-beta 1 gene overexpression in ES-T 6 cells was shown in Fig. 5 and 6 by SE-LISA for TGF-beta 1 immunoreactivity to TGF-beta 1 antibodies and biological assay for CCL/64 cell growth inhibition, respectively. With respect to some biological characteristics, ES-T 6 cells, like their parent ES-5 cells, retained their pluripotent properties and positive SSEA-1 antigen (Plate I, Fig. 1). ES-T6 cells were expanded and used for studies of in vitro differentiation. Both of ES-T 6 cells and control ES-5 cells could form a lot of simple aggregates and differentiate into embryoid bodies by hanging drop culture for 3 days in the presence of retinoic acid (RA) at 10(-9) mol/L. Then individual embryoid bodies were plated on gelatinized tissue culture wells. On the third day of further culture without RA, a large amounts of epithelial-like and round cells occurred around the embryoid bodies formed either from ES-T 6 cells or ES-5 cells (Plate I, Fig. 4). However, with further culture of embryoid bodies, only the cells differentiated from ES-T6 embryoid bodies could arrange themselves and differentiate into a lot of radially arranged tubular structures (Plate II, Fig. 5). The frequency of tubular structures present in ES-T6 embryoid bodies were about 95.5%, but in ES-5 group there was only about 17.8% cases giving less defined tubular structures (Plate III, Fig. 8).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Evidence for involvement of opioid receptors in ischemic preconditioning in rat hearts

The purpose of the present study was to investigate a possible role of opioid receptors in ischemic preconditioning (PC). To test this hypothesis, anesthetized, open-chest, male Wistar rats were subjected to five different protocols. In group I, the control group was subjected to 30 min of left coronary artery occlusion and 2 h of reperfusion. In group II, ischemic PC was elicited by three 5-min occlusion periods interspersed with 5 min of reperfusion. In group III, naloxone (NL, 3 mg/kg iv), a nonselective opioid antagonist, was given to nonpreconditioned rats 10 min before the 30-min occlusion period. Finally, NL was administered 10 min before preconditioning (NL + PC, group IV) or immediately after the last 5-min preconditioning period (PC + NL, group V). Infarct size (IS) as a percentage of the area at risk (AAR) (IS/AAR) was determined by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. PC resulted in a marked reduction in myocardial IS from 45 +/- 5 to 8 +/- 1 (P < 0.05). NL treatment before or immediately after PC abolished this protective effect; however, NL had no effect on IS in non-PC rats. These results are the first to support the hypothesis that activation of opioid receptors may play an important role in ischemic PC in the rat myocardium.

Improved targeting of radiolabeled streptavidin in tumors pretargeted with biotinylated monoclonal antibodies through an avidin chase

Radiolabeled streptavidin can be accumulated in tumors pretargeted with biotinylated anti-tumor antibodies. However, circulating biotinylated antibody and endogenous biotin may interfere with the tumor targeting of streptavidin. To reduce biotinylated antibody concentration in the blood, we injected avidin before streptavidin administration. The effects of avidin administration on the biodistribution and tumor targeting of radiolabeled streptavidin were examined.

METHODS

Biotinylated anti-human colon cancer monoclonal antibody (MAb) MLS128 was injected intravenously into nude mice bearing human colon cancer xenografts for pretargeting. After intraperitoneal injection of avidin, radioiodinated streptavidin was administered and its biodistribution and tumor accumulation was investigated.

RESULTS

Radioiodinated streptavidin specifically localized in the tumor pretargeted with biotinylated antibody. Avidin preadministration accelerated the tumor uptake and blood clearance of radioiodinated streptavidin. The tumor-to-blood radioactivity ratio at 6 and 24 hr after radiolabeled streptavidin injection were 1.23 +/- 0.29 and 3.04 +/- 0.86, respectively, in mice with avidin chase (mean +/- s.d., n = 7), and 0.82 +/- 0.17 and 2.29 +/- 0.29, respectively, in those without chase (mean +/- s.d., n = 7).

CONCLUSION

Localization of radiolabeled streptavidin in tumors pretargeted with biotinylated MAb could be improved by avidin chase. This approach may be useful for tumor radioimmunoimaging and radioimmunotherapy.

The enhanced association of apolipoprotein E with apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins in serum-stimulated hepatocytes occurs intracellularly

Synthesis and secretion of VLDL in HepG2 cells are stimulated by several lipogenic factors, including serum. We previously found that the amount of apolipoprotein (apo) E associated with large lipoproteins such as VLDL increased under conditions of stimulated lipogenesis. The present study was designed to determine if the increased apoE association with VLDL occurs intracellularly or after secretion. In addition to HepG2, we studied rat hepatoma McA-RH7777 cells for production of endogenous rat apoE and transfected human apoE3. In both hepatoma cell lines stimulation of lipogenesis and production of large apoB-containing lipoproteins by serum resulted in increased apoE association with these particles and in decreased apoE association with HDL without affecting the total apoE output. Although evidence of apoE redistribution was seen among lipoproteins in the media, the apoE newly secreted under conditions of stimulated lipogenesis mainly associated with apoB-containing lipoproteins at the expense of its association with HDL. However, this effect was not attributable to reduced HDL lipid and apoA-I mass. Finally, redistribution of apoE from HDL to apoB-containing lipoproteins was also observed intracellularly in both HepG2 and transfected McA-RH7777 cells expressing human apoE3. These data suggest that the redistribution of apoE from HDL to apoB-containing lipoproteins upon activated lipogenesis in hepatoma cells occurs intracellularly and is not attributable to a decrease in HDL production.

Evidence for involvement of opioid receptors in ischemic preconditioning in rat hearts

The purpose of the present study was to investigate a possible role of opioid receptors in ischemic preconditioning (PC). To test this hypothesis, anesthetized, open-chest, male Wistar rats were subjected to five different protocols. In group I, the control group was subjected to 30 min of left coronary artery occlusion and 2 h of reperfusion. In group II, ischemic PC was elicited by three 5-min occlusion periods interspersed with 5 min of reperfusion. In group III, naloxone (NL, 3 mg/kg iv), a nonselective opioid antagonist, was given to nonpreconditioned rats 10 min before the 30-min occlusion period. Finally, NL was administered 10 min before preconditioning (NL + PC, group IV) or immediately after the last 5-min preconditioning period (PC + NL, group V). Infarct size (IS) as a percentage of the area at risk (AAR) (IS/AAR) was determined by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. PC resulted in a marked reduction in myocardial IS from 45 +/- 5 to 8 +/- 1 (P < 0.05). NL treatment before or immediately after PC abolished this protective effect; however, NL had no effect on IS in non-PC rats. These results are the first to support the hypothesis that activation of opioid receptors may play an important role in ischemic PC in the rat myocardium.

Sequence polymorphism in the HLA-B promoter region

Transcription of major histocompatibility complex class I genes is controlled by the class I regulatory complex in the 5' flanking region. To investigate the molecular basis of this region, we studied the polymorphism of the promoter of the HLA-B locus extending from the ATG transcription initiation signal to -284 base pairs (bp) which includes a number of cis-acting elements: interferon response sequence (IRS), enhancer A and enhancer B. Genomic DNA from 35 homozygous cell lines from the 10th International Histocompatibility Workshop and from eight heterozygous panel members was amplified using two primers designed to specifically amplify the HLA-B locus. The double-stranded polymerase chain reaction products were sequenced using the cycle sequencing technique and an ABI 373A automatic sequencer. Promoter sequences of thirty-one different HLA-B alleles were determined in this study. Within the 284 bp upstream of the ATG signal, base substitutions were observed in 23 different nucleotide positions. Our study shows a high degree of polymorphism of the HLA-B promoter region, but conserved sequences of the known cis-acting elements with the exception of enhancer B in which there are two base substitutions for B7 and B42 (position -93 and position -95). The 23 polymorphic sites can be grouped into 12 different HLA-B promoter types (groups A to M) for 31 HLA-B locus alleles. Some of the groups of alleles sharing the same promoter sequence such as, for example, group A with B51, B52, B53, and B35, might have been predicted on the basis of serological similarity and/or exon 2, 3 sequence. In other groups, such as G (B18, B37, B27), it could not have been anticipated from serological experience that B18 and B27 carry the same promoter. Several sequencing errors were detected in the HLA-B promoter sequences published previously.

Characterization of recombinant human apoB-48-containing lipoproteins in rat hepatoma McA-RH7777 cells transfected with apoB-48 cDNA. Overexpression of apoB-48 decreases synthesis of endogenous apoB-100

We studied the effect of overexpression of apolipoprotein (apo) B-48 on the synthesis and secretion of endogenous apoB-100 in rat hepatoma McA-RH7777 cell lines stably transfected with human apoB-48 cDNA under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter. Three cell lines that secrete 40 to 60 ng human apoB.mg cell protein-1.h-1 were used. The recombinant human apoB-48 exhibited physicochemical characteristics (buoyant density, 1.06 to 1.21 g/mL; beta-electrophoretic mobility and diameters, 16 to 20 nm) indistinguishable from those of endogenous rat apoB-48. Overexpression of the recombinant human apoB-48 resulted in a 50% decrease in the secretion of endogenous apoB-100 but did not affect the secretion of apoE or apoA-I. Several possible mechanisms for the decreased secretion of apoB-100 were evaluated. First, recruitment of lipids into lipoproteins was shown to be unaffected since no major changes in the physicochemical properties of apoB-100-containing lipoproteins were observed. Second, the intracellular degradation of apoB-100 was not altered as the intracellular retention half-time and secretion efficiency remained unaffected by apoB-48 overexpression. Third, the posttranslational regulatory mechanisms for apoB-100 remained normal, as demonstrated by a twofold increase in apoB-100 secretion after supplementation with oleic acid. Unexpectedly, a 35% to 50% decrease in the steady-state synthesis of endogenous apoB-100 was observed in apoB-48-transfected cells compared with control cells. These data suggested that decreased secretion of apoB-100 was secondary to decreased synthesis. The decreased apoB-100 synthesis was not due to decreased steady-state levels of rat apoB-100 mRNA. These results suggest that overexpression of recombinant human apoB-48 may interfere with posttranscriptional events, possibly at the translation-translocation level, and decrease translational yield of apoB-100. These posttranscriptional events prior to the complete synthesis of the apoB-100 polypeptide can be important in the control of apoB-100 secretion.

[Cryosurgery of acute hemorrhagic necrotizing pancreatitis]

Acute hemorrhagic necrotizing pancreatitis (AHNP) was induced by introduct retrograde injection of the autologous bile in canine. The cryoprobe was under the influence of temperature ranging from -160C to -190C for fifteen to eighteen seconds, and the frozen areas were about 80% surface of pancreas. Cryotherapy of AHNP strongly inhibited the development of the inflammation in pancreatic parenchyma. Postcryotherapy 24hr for remarkably decreased the activities of pancreatic enzymes. The activities of phospholipase A, lipase and amylase in serum decreased by 502.1%, 355.8%, 502.5% respectively in 7 days. The level of blood glucose decreased. At the second week, the fibroblasts were growing around the residual pancreatic aciner cells and insular cells rich in intact zymogen granules. The mortality (6.89%) of the treatment group within 48 hours was significantly lower than that of the control group (100%).

Radioimmunoimaging of colon cancer xenografts with anti-Tn monoclonal antibody

Tn antigen is a glycosylated tumor associated antigen and a murine monoclonal antibody, MLS128, has been identified to react with it. The potential of MLS128 for the radioimmunoimaging of colorectal cancer was studied. MLS128 was labeled with radioiodine by the chloramine-T method or indium-111 (111In) by using isothiocyanatobenzyl EDTA, and was injected into nude mice bearing human colon cancer xenografts. Radiolabeled MLS128 showed a high and specific localization in xenografted tumor. At 48 h after injection, the %ID/g of 125I-labeled MLS128 in the tumor was 34.69, whereas that of isotype matched control antibody, FLOPC21, was 5.58 and the tumor-to-nontumor radioactivity ratios of 125I-labeled MLS128 reached to 4.56, 17.84 and 23.62 for the blood, liver and bone, respectively. 111In-labeled MLS128 showed similar results. High accumulation of MLS128 in xenografted tumors suggested that the monoclonal antibody MLS128 is promising for radioimmunoimaging of colorectal cancer.

[Antidepressant active constituents in the roots of Morinda officinalis How]

Five compounds having antidepressant activities have been isolated from the roots of Morinda officinalis, a Chinese traditional Yang-tonic drug. These compounds were identified as succinic acid (1), nystose (2), 1F-fructofuranosylnystose (3), inulin-type hexasaccharide (4) and heptasaccharide (5) by chemical and spectroscopic methods. All of the compounds are isolated from the species of genus Morinda for the first time.

Identification of two major HLA-B44 subtypes and a novel B44 sequence (B*4404). Oligotyping and solid phase sequencing of polymerase chain reaction products

PCR-based analyses were performed for the identification of HLA-B44 subgroups. Genomic DNA from six homozygous cell lines and 44 healthy individuals who had serologically tested positive for HLA-B44 was investigated for polymorphism in exons 2 and 3 of the HLA-B44 genes. Two primers were designed for specific amplification of the B*4401 allele in exon 2. None of the tested genomic DNAs, including the cell line "BAU-J" from which the sequence of B*4401 was derived, was amplified successfully using these primers, indicating that the B*4401 sequence may not be correct in position 242-244. For identification of the B*4402 and *4403 subtypes we specifically amplified the B44 gene in exon 3 using two sequence-specific primers. The PCR products, which were obtained from all B44-positive samples (n = 50) and from none of the B44-negative controls (n = 20), were subsequently hybridized with the dig-ddUTP-labeled oligonucleotides. The base substitution at position 146, as described previously for B*4401 and *4402 (C for G), could not be confirmed by oligonucleotide hybridization. In contrast, the oligonucleotide typing for G in position 146 gave positive signals in all B44-positive samples. Except for one, HLA-B44-positive DNAs from LCLs and healthy individuals could be divided into two subgroups according to the polymorphic region in position 195-197. Out of 44 unrelated individuals with B44, 27 (61%) were positive for B*4402 and 16 (36%) were positive for B*4403.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Clinical fracture of joint prostheses]

Ten Ti6Al4V joint prostheses, including 8 hips and 2 knees, were fractured after 1 to 13 years in vivo service following the primary arthroplasty. The metallographs and electronic microscopies, taken from the retrieved components, demonstrated that there are typical characteristics of stress corrosion fatigue. The excessive chemical content of raw material, the presence of interior defects, such as inclosures and porosities, incorrect design features, which violate biomechanic principles, the overheating and improper surface finishing of the parts, and the clinical varus positioning of the hip stem contribute to the device failure. Policies are proposed to overcome this problem. Among them are drawing national mandatory standards on surgical implants, taking strigent administration measures to ensure the quality of joint prostheses and the establishment of training centers for arthroplasty.

Reduced bone marrow uptake of indium-111 labelled monoclonal antibody after radiotherapy

Uptake of indium-111 in bone marrow is seen in patients who have received 111In-labelled antibody. We report a case in which 111In uptake was not seen in the area of previous irradiation whereas fairly high uptake was noted in other bone marrow areas. 111In-labelled monoclonal antibody, which reacts with mucin, was injected into a patient with cancer of the sigmoid colon who had received radiotherapy for uterine cervical cancer 5 years previously. Marked accumulation of the antibody was observed in the tumour. Uptake of 111In in bone marrow was also seen except in the previously irradiated pelvic region. This phenomenon supports the idea that bone marrow uptake of 111In is the result of transchelation of 111In from antibody to transferrin.

Activation of ATP-sensitive potassium channels lowers threshold for ischemic preconditioning in dogs

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether enhanced activation of myocardial ATP-dependent potassium channels (KATP) with a potassium channel opener, bimakalim, can reduce the time necessary to produce the protective effect of ischemic preconditioning and to determine whether this effect is mediated via accelerating the rate of action potential shortening during preconditioning. Barbital-anesthetized dogs were subjected to 60 min of left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) occlusion followed by 4 h of reperfusion. Ten minutes of preconditioning was found to markedly reduce myocardial infarct size from 30.6 +/- 4.7 to 7.1 +/- 2.6%. Subsequently, it was observed that either 3 min of LAD occlusion or a 3-min intracoronary infusion with 0.3 micrograms/min of bimakalim did not reduce myocardial infarct size. However, intracoronary infusion with bimakalim during the 3-min preconditioning period markedly reduced myocardial infarct size to a similar extent as that of ischemic preconditioning (12.2 +/- 1.9%). In addition, it was observed that bimakalim markedly accelerated the ischemia-induced shortening of the action potential during preconditioning. These results are the first to demonstrate that activation of KATP channels with a potassium channel opener reduces the threshold of time necessary to produce preconditioning in anesthetized dogs. These data also suggest that KATP channel activation may produce this effect by enhancing the rate of ischemic myocardial action potential shortening during preconditioning.

Deletion of the propeptide of apolipoprotein A-I impairs exit of nascent apolipoprotein A-I from the endoplasmic reticulum

Human apolipoprotein (apo) A-I is secreted as a proprotein of 249 amino acids and is processed extracellularly to the mature form (243 amino acids) by removal of a six-residue propeptide segment. We have examined the role of the apoA-I propeptide in intracellular transport and secretion using transfected baby hamster kidney cells that secreted either proapoA-I (from the wild-type cDNA, A-Iwt) or mature-form apoA-I (from A-I delta pro, a cDNA in which the propeptide sequence was deleted). Deletion of the propeptide from the apoA-I sequence did not affect the rate of apoA-I synthesis, nor did it affect the fidelity of proteolytic removal of the prepeptide. However, the propeptide deletion caused mature-form apoA-I to accumulate within the cells as determined by pulse-chase experiments; the intracellular retention times for the mature-form apoA-I in which the propeptide was prematurely removed was three times longer than that of proapoA-I (t1/2 > 3 h compared with approximately 50 min). There was no detectable degradation of either form of newly synthesized apoA-I. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that, whereas the proapoA-I was located predominantly in the Golgi apparatus, large quantities of the mature-form apoA-I were detected in the endoplasmic reticulum and very little was in the Golgi apparatus of A-I delta pro-transfected cells. These findings suggest that the propeptide sequence may be involved in the intracellular transport of apoA-I from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus. We propose that the function of the propeptide sequence is to facilitate efficient transport of apoA-I through the secretory pathway.