Staurosporine advances interblastomeric flattening of the mouse embryo

Staurosporine, an inhibitor of protein kinase activity, causes premature intercellular flattening of blastomeres but does not induce their premature polarisation. The flattening induced is calcium dependent, is reversed transiently at mitosis and requires the continuing presence of the drug. Staurosporine also blocks the decompacting effect of phorbol ester on 8-cell embryos.

Social and biological factors contributing to caries of the maxillary anterior teeth

Caries prevalence among 3- to 4-year-old Head Start children and psychosocial information from their parents were obtained. The prevalence of maxillary anterior caries in the 369 children was 16%, with the most severely affected tooth surfaces being the mesial surfaces of the central incisors. Approximately 90% of parents whose children were found to have maxillary anterior caries knew that allowing their child to take a bottle to bed would harm the child's teeth. Significant differences were found in mutans streptococci levels between children with and without the anterior caries pattern. Although 86% of children with anterior caries were reported to have taken a bottle to bed, 69% of those children who did not have anterior caries also were reported to have taken a bottle to bed. Of the children with maxillary anterior caries, 87% had posterior caries, suggesting that anterior caries subsequently may contribute to an increased caries risk in other teeth.

Modulation of prostaglandin E2 synthesis in rat skeletal muscle

The effect of muscle denervation, inhibitors of protein synthesis, G proteins, and sphingolipids on prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release by rat soleus muscle in vitro was investigated. To assess the effect of muscle denervation, the sciatic nerve in one hindlimb of rats was interrupted, and soleus muscles from the denervated hindlimb and the contralateral sham (control) hindlimb were excised 1-5 days after surgery. Compared with corresponding sham muscles, PGE2 release by denervated muscles was increased 56, 230, and 435% at 1, 3, and 5 days after denervation, respectively. Protein synthesis inhibitors cycloheximide (10 microM) and puromycin (10 microM) lowered PGE2 release by sham and denervated muscles 62-80%. The release of PGE2 by sham and denervated muscles was not altered by pertussis toxin (1 microgram/ml) but was inhibited 30-51% by AlF4-. Addition of 100 microM guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) to saponin-permeabilized sham and denervated muscles had only a moderate, if any, stimulatory effect on PGE2 release. This effect was not counteracted by 1 mM guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate). Increasing muscle ceramide concentration by incubation with sphingomyelinase (100 mU/ml) increased PGE2 release by sham and denervated muscles 43 and 157%, respectively. Because degradation of ceramides yields sphingosine, the effect of sphingosine was also tested. Sphingosine (25 microM) increased PGE2 release by sham and denervated muscles 139 and 187%, respectively, without affecting muscle viability, as assessed by the release of lactate dehydrogenase. The data indicate that muscle denervation, treatment with sphingomyelinase, and sphingosine stimulate, whereas inhibitors of protein synthesis inhibit PGE2 synthesis by muscle.

1,2-Diacylglycerol and ceramide levels in rat liver and skeletal muscle in vivo

1,2-Diacylglycerol and ceramide levels were measured in liver and skeletal muscle of rats under the following four experimental conditions: 1) during rapid fetal growth in the second half of gestation and during postnatal aging, 2) during tissue anoxia lasting up to 10 min, 3) during fasting for up to 6 days, and 4) during stress induced by injection of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella enteritidis). 1,2-Diacylglycerol and ceramide levels in fetal liver were 77 and 58% lower, respectively, than those of young rats after weaning. 1,2-Diacylglycerol and ceramide concentrations in liver of postnatal rats were not influenced by aging. Anoxia produced a 41-64% increase in liver 1,2-diacylglycerol levels and a 9-21% increase in liver ceramides. Fasting of adult rats for up to 6 days had no effect on 1,2-diacylglycerol and ceramide levels in liver. However, fasting increased skeletal muscle concentrations of 1,2-diacylglycerol and ceramides 88 and 44%, respectively. Injection of endotoxin had a biphasic effect on liver 1,2-diacylglycerol levels, causing a transient 52% increase at 1 h, followed by a 24-38% decrease below the control level at 17 h after endotoxin administration. Liver ceramide levels were increased 66, 52, and 27% at 1, 3, and 5 h after endotoxin, respectively, but did not differ from control at 17 h after injection. Endotoxin had no effect on muscle 1,2-diacylglycerol and ceramide concentrations at any interval.

1,2-Diacylglycerol and ceramide levels in insulin-resistant tissues of the rat in vivo

Phorbol esters have been reported to decrease sensitivity or responsiveness to insulin in cells in vitro. Since phorbol esters are analogues of endogenously produced 1,2-diacylglycerol, the present study investigated whether 1,2-diacylglycerol concentration is elevated in insulin-resistant tissues of the rat in vivo. Studies were done on 11-12-week-old genetically obese Zucker rats, which are insulin-resistant. Lean Zucker rats served as controls. Levels of 1,2-diacylglycerol in obese rats were increased 82% in liver, 136% in calf muscles, 72% in soleus muscle, a slow-twitch muscle, and 40% in plantaris muscle, a fast-twitch muscle. Ceramide levels in the same tissues were increased 26, 52, 69, and 13%, respectively. Studies were also done on normal, non-obese Sprague-Dawley rats 3 h, 1, 3, 8, and 15 days after interrupting the nerve supply to hindlimb muscles. We have previously shown that 3-17 days after denervation, soleus muscles are completely unresponsive to insulin and do not increase glucose uptake in response to insulin stimulation in vivo, whereas plantaris muscles show a normal glucose uptake when stimulated by insulin; however, the insulin-induced increment in glucose uptake is reduced 68% because it is superimposed on already elevated basal glucose uptake (Turinsky, J. (1987) Am. J. Physiol. 252, R531-R537). In the present study, the denervated soleus muscles exhibited a sustained increase of 23-56% in 1,2-diacylglycerol concentration between 3 h and 15 days after interruption of nerve supply. The denervated soleus muscles also showed 34 and 42% increases in ceramide concentration at 3 and 8 days after denervation, respectively. In contrast, no increases in 1,2-diacylglycerol concentration were observed in plantaris muscles at shorter intervals than 15 days after denervation. Ceramide concentrations in plantaris muscles were increased 43 and 75% at 8 and 15 days after denervation, respectively. These observations demonstrate that tissue insulin resistance is frequently associated with a long term increase in tissue 1,2-diacylglycerol concentration. This suggests the possibility that augmented 1,2-diacylglycerol levels contribute to the development of some types of tissue insulin resistance.

1,2-Diacylglycerol and ceramide levels in rat skeletal muscle and liver in vivo. Studies with insulin, exercise, muscle denervation, and vasopressin

Studies on BC3H-1 myocytes suggest that the insulin-induced increase in cellular diacylglycerol level mediates the insulin-stimulated glucose transport in these cells (Standaert, M. L., Farese, R. V., Cooper, D. R., and Pollet, R. J. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 8696-8705). The present study tested whether diacylglycerol could mediate the insulin-induced and exercise-induced increases in glucose uptake by rat skeletal muscle in vivo. Glucose uptake by calf muscles of the rat was assessed by measuring cellular 2-deoxyglucose uptake in vivo. Diacylglycerol and ceramides in muscles frozen in situ were assayed with diacylglycerol kinase. Intravenous injection of 0.1 unit of insulin/rat resulted in a 6-fold increase in muscle 2-deoxyglucose uptake during the subsequent 25-min period. In contrast, no statistically significant changes in muscle diacylglycerol or ceramide levels were observed at 2, 5, 10, and 25 min after insulin injection. When calf muscles of the hindlimb were exercised in vivo for 25 min by electrical stimulation inducing one contraction/s, 2-deoxyglucose uptake by muscles was increased 15-fold. However, no statistically significant changes in muscle diacylglycerol or ceramide content were observed at 5, 10, 15, and 25 min of exercise. Although the findings do not exclude the possibility of a compartmentalized increase in diacylglycerol level, the present data suggest that diacylglycerol is not a mediator of the insulin-induced or exercise-induced augmentation of glucose uptake by skeletal muscle in vivo. Since interruption of nerve supply to the muscles makes the muscles insulin resistant (Turinsky, J., (1987) Am. J. Physiol. 252, R531-R537), the effect of denervation on diacylglycerol and ceramide levels in calf muscles of the rat was also examined. The denervation resulted in 21, 51, and 117% increases in muscle diacylglycerol levels at 3, 16, and 32 days after denervation, respectively. No statistically significant changes in muscle ceramide levels were observed at any postdenervation interval. Finally, the measured lipids were studied in muscles and livers of rats infused with supraphysiological doses of vasopressin (86 pmol/min). In controls, diacylglycerol concentrations of the muscles and liver did not significantly differ, but the liver exhibited a 5-fold higher level of ceramides than the muscles. Infusion of vasopressin for 5 min did not have a statistically significant effect on diacylglycerol concentration of the liver but continuation of the same infusion for 10 min resulted in a 63% increase in liver diacylglycerol. The 10-min infusion had no effect on muscle diacylglycerol concentration or ceramide levels in any of the tissues studied.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Assessment of genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease among first-degree relatives

Life table methods were used to determine the relative risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in relatives of index cases with AD. Risk of AD was assessed in 967 first-degree relatives of 128 probands with clinically diagnosed AD and 572 first-degree relatives of a control group consisting of 84 subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD). Using a method that weights likelihood of correct diagnosis of AD, cumulative risk among AD relatives by age 93 was 24%, whereas relatives of the PD probands had a weighted risk of 16% by age 90. Overall, the total lifetime risk of developing dementia was similar among first-degree relatives of patients with AD and those of patients with PD. The age-specific risks were much different, however; from the age of 65 years to the age of 80 years, relatives of patients with AD had a twofold to fourfold increased risk of dementia. Equal risks were found for parents and siblings and for male and female relatives after adjustment for sex-specific patterns of survivorship. Relatives of probands with early-onset (less than or equal to 67 years) and late-onset (greater than 67 years) AD had equivalent risks of developing illness. Because onset age was found to cluster in families, the apparent increase in cumulative incidence for dementia in relatives of early-onset cases was likely due to relatives of the late-onset cases dying before developing illness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Four Ia invariant chain forms derive from a single gene by alternate splicing and alternate initiation of transcription/translation

We determined the structural basis for the presence of electrophoretically-distinct, antigenically-related forms of invariant chains in Ia oligomers, and established the mechanisms by which they can be expressed from a single gene. S1 nuclease protection assays indicated that, in B cells, transcription of this gene initiates at a minimum of three sites. Thus, unlike previously thought, invariant chain mRNAs have heterogeneous 5' untranslated segments that may differentially affect initiation of translation. Further, restriction mapping and nucleotide sequencing of cDNAs revealed two kinds of invariant chain mRNAs differing by an internal coding segment of 192 bp. This segment represents an alternatively spliced exon, as demonstrated by nucleotide sequencing of corresponding genomic regions. The exon (exon X) encodes a cysteine-rich stretch of 64 amino acids near the COOH terminus that displays a striking and surprising homology to an internal amino acid repeat of thyroglobulin, suggesting an evolutionary mechanism of exon shuffling. Transient expression of cDNAs indicated that both types of alternatively spliced mRNAs contain two in-frame AUGs functioning as alternate start sites for translation. Thus, transfections with exon X-lacking cDNAs resulted in the expression of Mr 33,000 and 31,000 proteins, detected by immunoprecipitation with anti-invariant chain antisera, and identical by two-dimensional gel (2-D) analyses to the B cell invariant-chain forms gamma 1 (Mr 31,000), gamma 2, and gamma 3 (Mr 33,000). Similarly, exon X-containing cDNAs expressed Mr 43,000 and 41,000 proteins, also identical by 2-D migration to Ia-associated proteins. Thus, human Ia molecules contain four forms of invariant chain of closely related but nonidentical primary structure that are generated from a single gene by a complex pattern of alternate transcriptional start, exon splicing, and translational start.

The HLA-class II-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan expressed by class II positive T and monocyte-like cell lines is larger than that expressed by EBV-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell lines

The human class II-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) was originally detected as an approximately 40-70 kd species from normal human tonsil cells and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell lines. The identification of the invariant chain as the core protein of the CSPG allowed us to directly assay for the CSPG on both class II positive and negative immunocompetent cells of other lineages. Our results indicate that the CSPG is present on the class II-positive monocyte-like cell line U937 and T-cell line HUT-102, but not on the class-II negative T-cell line CCRF/CEM. No class II positive cells were found that did not also express the CSPG. The expression of the CSPG on U937 cells is increased after stimulation with gamma-interferon and PMA, paralleling the previously described increase in class II and invariant chain expression. In addition, the CSPGs from U937, HUT-102, and Raji, all cell lines derived from human malignancies, migrate as an approximately 55-90 kd species, larger than the CSPG previously characterized. However, the core proteins of the CSPG from all cells studied appear as two bands of 38 and 28 kd, indicating the size difference in the CSPG is attributable to differences in the glycosaminoglycan chains.

The human invariant chain is the core protein of the human class II-associated proteoglycan

The human class II-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) was analyzed biochemically and immunologically to determine a possible relationship with the human invariant chain (gamma 1) and its related components. The CSPG was purified by a three-step procedure involving associative ion-exchange chromatography, immunoprecipitation, and dissociative ion-exchange chromatography. Treatment of the CSPG with chondroitinase revealed core proteins of Mr approximately 46,000, 38,000, and 28,000, with the 38,000 species most highly represented. Tryptic peptide analysis revealed identity of the peptides of the 38,000 Mr core protein and gamma 1, and of the 28,000 Mr species and p25. The CSPG and its core proteins were shown to react directly with the mouse anti-human invariant chain monoclonal antibody VIC-Y1 and a rabbit antiserum produced against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal end of invariant chain. These results demonstrate that the invariant chain is the core protein of the class II-associated CSPG. In addition, virtually all the CSPG was shown to be present on the cell surface.

Structure of the human Ia-associated invariant (gamma)-chain gene: identification of 5' sequences shared with major histocompatibility complex class II genes

The human gene encoding the Ia-associated gamma (or invariant) chain was isolated by screening a genomic library in phage lambda with cDNA probes. The frequency of positive clones in the library, the overlapping restriction maps of the cloned fragments, and the patterns of genomic hybridization suggested that the gamma-chain gene exists as a single copy per haploid genome. The gene consists of 8 exons, spanning approximately 12 kilobases of DNA. All exon sequences were in an open reading frame, contained appropriate splice junction sequences, and encompassed the entire sequence of full-length gamma-chain mRNA, suggesting that the gene we isolated is most likely functional. Furthermore, "CAAT"-type and "TATA"-type promoter sequences were found at the expected positions upstream from the proposed cap site. The organization of the gamma-chain gene has none of the distinctive features of the immunoglobulin superfamily of genes, of which Ia alpha and beta chains are members. Therefore, the evolutionary origins, and perhaps the functions, of the Ia gamma chains are distinct from those of the other two Ia subunits alpha and beta. Despite the unrelatedness of these genes, consensus sequences found approximately 150 base pairs upstream from all the Ia alpha- and beta-chain genes sequenced to date were also found in analogous positions in the gamma-chain gene, suggesting a possible role in the coregulation of expression of these genes.