Cyclic AMP-elevating agents negatively regulate the activation of p72syk in N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine receptor signaling

Here we investigated the involvement of the non-receptor protein-tyrosine kinase p72syk in formyl methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) receptor signaling. The activity of p72syk began to rise from 15 s and reached to maximum within 2-5 min after 5 microM fMLP stimulation in porcine polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). Cyclic AMP (cAMP)-elevating agents, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and forskolin, or dibutyryl cAMP partially suppressed p72syk activities stimulated by fMLP in PMNs. Pretreatment with an inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase abolished the suppression of the fMLP-induced p72syk activation by these cAMP-elevating agents. It was also observed that cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylates p72syk on serine residues in vitro. These results indicate a possibility that cAMP-dependent protein kinase negatively regulates the activation of p72syk in fMLP-receptor signaling.

Rapid construction of integrated maps using inner product mapping: YAC coverage of human chromosome 11

Inner product mapping (IPM) has been proposed as a hybridization-based method for achieving low-cost, high-throughput, high-resolution radiation hybrid (RH) mapping of clones. Using Alu-PCR products of chromosome 11-specific clones, we serially hybridized a set of RHs against gridded filters of YACs having an average size of 350 kb. We then combined these hybridization data with preexisting RH map data to build an inner product map. This binning of 865 YACs provides the first high-resolution large-scale (> twofold redundancy) clonal coverage of human chromosome 11 and is the first inner product map ever constructed. We verified the accuracy and precision of this chromosome 11 map by performing a novel likelihood analysis on independent YAC hybridization data. These results establish that IPM is a highly rapid, inexpensive, accurate, and precise large-scale long-range mapping method, particularly when preexisting RH maps are available, and that IPM can replace or complement more conventional short-range mapping methods. IPM may enable the rapid construction of sequence-ready maps and the binning of expressed sequences.

Activation and tyrosine phosphorylation of p72syk as well as calcium mobilization after hydrogen peroxide stimulation in peripheral blood lymphocytes

To determine the regulatory role of p72syk in lymphocyte activation, peripheral blood lymphocytes were treated with 10 mM hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide induced a rapid elevation of p72syk activity (4-6-fold) and a dramatic increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of a number of cellular proteins, including phospholipase C gamma 1 (PLC gamma 1) and p72syk. Monoclonal antibodies to PLC gamma 1 co-precipitated p72syk from hydrogen peroxide-stimulated cell lysates, but not from unstimulated cell lysates. Furthermore, we observed a rise in intracellular Ca2+, corresponding to the combination of extracellular Ca2+ influx and the release from intracellular Ca2+ stores. Extracellular Ca2+ influx was necessary for the sustenance of p72syk activity, but not for the initiation of p72syk activation induced by hydrogen peroxide. Taken together, these data suggested that one possible role of p72syk was to activate PLC gamma 1, at least in part through tyrosine phosphorylation, and then to trigger calcium mobilization in pig peripheral blood lymphocytes in response to hydrogen peroxide stimulation.

A YAC contig spanning the ataxia-telangiectasia locus (groups A and C) at 11q22-q23

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is an autosomal recessive disease involving cerebellar degeneration, immunodeficiency, cancer predisposition, chromosomal instability and radiosensitivity. A-T is heterogeneous, and the majority of A-T cases are associated with two complementation groups, A and C. The ATA and ATC loci are closely linked at chromosome 11q22-q23. Recombination mapping and linkage disequilibrium analysis have confined both loci between the markers D11S1817 and D11S927, spaced approximately 3.5 Mb apart. Isolation in yeast artificial chromosomes of the genomic segment defined by these loci is essential to identify the gene or genes containing the ATA and ATC mutations. A YAC contig spanning 4.5 Mb, which includes the D11S1817-D11S927 interval, was constructed using two whole genome libraries (ICRF and St. Louis), and a chromosome 11-specific library. Construction of this contig was expedited by prior generation of a region-specific ICRF sublibrary using Alu-PCR products derived from a radiation hybrid. The contig was expanded further by screening the libraries with Alu-PCR products derived from YAC clones and with STSs from YAC ends. YAC clones were aligned by fingerprinting with moderately repetitive probes.

Mechanisms in CD4 antibody-mediated transplantation tolerance: kinetics of induction, antigen dependency and role of regulatory T cells

CBA/Ca mice may be made tolerant to minor histoincompatible B10.BR skin grafts by treatment with a short course of non-depleting anti-mouse CD4 and CD8 monoclonal antibodies (mAb), during the transplantation period. We wished to determine when, in relation to antibody therapy, the T cells became tolerant. This was investigated by a series of adoptive transfer experiments in which mAb-treated cells were removed from therapeutic antibody at defined times after skin grafting, and exposed to fresh antigen in the absence of further mAb treatment. We show here that T cells do not become fully tolerant until 5 weeks after skin grafting. If antibody therapy is continued for the full 5 weeks, T cell tolerance can still be established, suggesting that antibody therapy does not prevent lymphocytes from registering the presence of antigen. Once the tolerant state is established, it is difficult to break that tolerance by lymphocyte infusions from normal donors. This "resistance" is mediated by T cells of the tolerant host. We show that the maintenance of both tolerance and "resistance" requires a continuous supply of antigen. When tolerant cells were "parked" in T cell-depleted mice, tolerance and "resistance" were eventually lost by 6 months. In contrast, "parked" cells exposed to fresh antigen at any time up to 4 months remained tolerant and "resistant" indefinitely. Finally, we wished to establish whether "resistance" was peculiar to this form of peripheral tolerance, or whether it might also be present in tolerance considered to be classically central. We observed resistance to be greater in the mAb-treated peripherally tolerant group, but noted that some of the centrally tolerant animals also exhibited a level of resistance above that of T cell-ablated controls. This suggests that a tolerance mechanism whose role is only minor in central tolerance may have a major role in antibody-mediated peripheral tolerance.

Interleukin 2 mediates p72syk activation in peripheral blood lymphocytes

The ability of interleukin 2 (IL-2) to stimulate p72syk activity in intact porcine peripheral blood lymphocytes was examined. We demonstrated that IL-2 activated p72syk in a time- and dose-dependent manner, for which its peak time and maximum responsive dose were 5 min and 100 U/ml, respectively. This activation was observed only in cytosolic fractions and not in membrane ones. However, IL-2 failed to induced calcium mobilization. Moreover, IL-2-inducible p72synk activation was not affected when extra- intracellular calcium was depleted. These data suggest that the IL-2 signaling pathway through p72syk in peripheral blood lymphocytes is different, at least in part, from other agonists, such as concanavalin A in polymorphonuclear neutrophils which can trigger both the activation of p72syk and intracellular calcium mobilization.

Dephosphorylation of the small heat shock protein Hsp27 in vivo by protein phosphatase 2A

The phosphorylation of the Hsp27 complex is rapidly altered in MRC-5 cells when they are exposed to mitogens, cytokines, stress, or serine/threonine protein phosphatase inhibitors. Here we performed experiments to identify which cellular protein phosphatase (PP1, PP2A, or PP2B) is responsible for the in vivo phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of Hsp27. In their purified forms, PP2A dephosphorylates Hsp27 more effectively than PP2B, whereas PP1 is weakly active. Measurements of enzyme activity of lysates derived from inhibitor-treated cells indicated that Hsp27 phosphatase activity is equally sensitive to okadaic acid (PPI/PP2A inhibitor) and cyclosporin (PP2B inhibitor) and that both okadaic acid and cyclosporin treatment inhibited Hsp27 phosphatase activity additively. Together the in vitro data suggest that both PP2A and PP2B can dephosphorylate Hsp27. However, the phosphorylation of Hsp27 in vivo is only affected when cells are treated with PP1 and PP2A inhibitors (okadaic acid, calyculin A) or cantharidin (PP2A inhibitor), but not the PP2B inhibitor, cyclosporin A, suggesting PP2A to be the main enzyme dephosphorylating Hsp27 in the cells. Purification and immunoblotting of Hsp27 phosphatase from MRC-5 cells also suggest it to be PP2A and not PP1 or PP2B. The ability of PP2A to dephosphorylate Hsp27 is shown to be regulated by the phosphorylation state of PP2A itself.

Role of tumor necrosis factor in neonatal sepsis

In order to assess the role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in neonatal sepsis, plasma TNF levels were determined by a method using L929 cells at the time of septic work-up in 67 neonates. Thirty-three patients with sepsis were found to have significantly higher TNF levels (533.33 +/- 468.74 U/ml; 1 U corresponding to 1.67 pg recombinant TNF) as compared with 34 non-sepsis patients (100.0 +/- 188.97 U/ml) and 30 healthy newborns (27.33 +/- 16.17 U/ml, P < 0.05, respectively). The upper limit of normal plasma TNF levels was 60 U/ml and the best cutoff value for predicting neonatal sepsis was 160 U/ml. This had remarkable sensitivity (88%), specificity (82%), positive predictive value (83%), and negative predictive value (88%). Plasma TNF levels were significantly associated with the occurrence of shock, organ failure, scleroma and outcome. Thus, anti-TNF antibodies might be used in protecting newborns from septic death.

Differential induction of nuclear NF-kappa B by protein phosphatase inhibitors in primary and transformed human cells. Requirement for both oxidation and phosphorylation in nuclear translocation

Phosphoseryl/threonyl protein phosphatase inhibitors, viz. okadaic acid and calyculin-A, failed to induce nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) nuclear translocation in several primary human cells although a marked and rapid induction was observed in their simian virus 40 transformed counterparts. Inability to induce NF-kappa B cannot be due to a non-activatable system since NF-kappa B was strongly activated by tumor necrosis factor in all the five primary cell types tested. It is also unlikely that the differential induction was due to differential sensitivity of primary and transformed cells to phosphatase inhibitors as the intracellular phosphatase activities of both cell types were equally inhibited by these inhibitors. However, pretreatment with hydrogen peroxide or buthionine sulfoximine, chemicals known to directly or indirectly elevate the intracellular free-radical levels, enabled okadaic acid to induce nuclear translocation of NF-kappa B in primary cells. Conversely cysteine, an antioxidant and precursor of the free radical scavenger, glutathione, inhibited the induction of NF-kappa B by tumor necrosis factor in primary cells, and by okadaic acid or tumor necrosis factor in transformed cells. These data, taken together, suggest that free radical-dependent oxidation and protein phosphorylation are not independent modes of NF-kappa B induction, but are both required for the release of NF-kappa B from I kappa B. Furthermore, the differential induction of NF-kappa B nuclear translocation by okadaic acid in primary and transformed human cells, reported herein, reflects intrinsic differences in the intracellular oxidative state between the two groups of cells. The induction of NF-kappa B by tumor necrosis factor in primary cells suggests that this cytokine fulfills the requirement for oxidation, possibly by inducing the production of free radicals.

A chromosome 11 YAC library

A targeted yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) library for chromosome 11 has been constructed from the J1 cell line that carries a single human chromosome 11 within a hamster DNA background. Interspecies chimeric clones generated during construction of the library were detected during the screening process and eliminated from the library. Contig assembly becomes much less difficult using such a library as the complexity is decreased and the ends of the clone inserts can be rescued for walking to neighboring clones. The library contains > 1824 clones with an average insert length of 337 kb. This represents a fourfold coverage of chromosome 11 or a > 95% chance of recovering a unique single-copy sequence from the library. Two hundred YAC clones were localized by fluorescence in situ hybridization and found to be randomly distributed along the chromosome. The library has been screened with probes for the chromosome 11 markers HBB, GLUR4, H19, and D11S193. Corresponding YAC clones have been isolated for each locus. This analysis has indicated that the library is unbiased, that cognate YAC clones can be recovered with chromosome 11 markers, and that extensive contig assembly should be feasible.

"Infectious" transplantation tolerance

The maintenance of transplantation tolerance induced in adult mice after short-term treatment with nonlytic monoclonal antibodies to CD4 and CD8 was investigated. CD4+ T cells from tolerant mice disabled naïve lymphocytes so that they too could not reject the graft. The naïve lymphocytes that had been so disabled also became tolerant and, in turn, developed the capacity to specifically disable other naïve lymphocytes. This process of "infectious" tolerance explains why no further immunosuppression was needed to maintain long-term transplantation tolerance.

Classical transplantation tolerance in the adult: the interaction between myeloablation and immunosuppression

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in the neonate is an effective way of inducing permanent tolerance to donor tissue. To do the same in the immunocompetent adult requires immunosuppression to counter host-versus-graft alloreactivity. Conditioning with monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to CD4 and CD8 has been sufficient where donor and recipient are mismatched at only multiple "minor" histocompatibility loci, or at major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I plus "minor" loci, but not where the mismatch involves the entire MHC. Tolerance across the MHC barrier requires extra conditioning with agents that happen to be both immunosuppressive and myeloablative, so obscuring the assessment of which effect is important. By using dimethylmyleran as a selective "space"-creating myeloablative agent, and CD4 plus CD8 mAb as sole immunosuppressive agents, we have been able to dissect the relative requirements for immunosuppression and myeloablation. We show here that transplantation tolerance could only be achieved when both types of agent were combined together so as to guarantee sufficient donor-type hemopoietic chimerism. We argue that the donor marrow, given sufficient space, will engraft and provide a sustained source of tolerogen overriding any host resistance that antibodies cannot control.

[Changes in lymphocyte beta-receptor density in patients with heart failure before and after metoprolol or captopril administration]

Human lymphocyte beta-receptor density in heart diseases with various degrees of heart function of 41 cases was determined. beta-receptor density and ejection fraction in congestive heart failure (CHF) before and after conventional therapy with small dose of beta-blocker (metoprolol) or captopril were compared. The aim was to clarify the action and safety of beta-blocker in the treatment of CHF. The results revealed that there was no statistical difference between beta-receptor density in CHF with cardiac function of degree I and II (516.57 +/- 85.93 fmol/10(7) cells, mean +/- s) and in normal controls (576.56 +/- 97.18 fmol/10(7) cells, P > 0.05), while beta-receptor density in CHF of degree III and IV was much lower than that in normal controls (decreased by 50%). There was no statistical difference of beta-receptor density between rheumatic heart disease and cardiomyopathy. Metoprolol up-regulated beta-receptor density from 302.40 +/- 100.91 to 459.60 +/- 174.34 fmol/10(7) cells (P < 0.05), but no change was observed after treatment by captopril. Ejection fraction was increased in both groups (P < 0.01). The results revealed that beta-receptor density was decreased in certain kinds of CHF but no relationship was observed between CHF of different etiology. beta-receptor density was up-regulated by beta-blocker, thus it indicates that it is rational to use beta-blocker for the treatment of certain kinds of CHF. And the use of small dose of beta-blocker with conventional therapy of heart failure might reduce the negative inotropic action of the former.

[A mid-infrared spectra study of a series of benzocrown ether and macrocyclic polyether diester]

With a Nicolet 20 SX B Fourier Transform infrared spectrometer, the mid-infrared spectra in region of 4000-400 cm-1 were observed for a series of benzocrown ether and macrocyclic polyether diester. A difference in the wavelength of absorption of the ether bond was found between benzocrown ether and macrocyclic polyether diester. The wavelength of absorption of the ether bond of the compounds I-IV moved down about 25 cm-1, as compared with that of the compounds V-IX.

Cloning and characterization of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene encoding a new member of the ubiquitin-conjugating protein family

Ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s), which participate in the post-translational conjugation of ubiquitin to proteins, are encoded by a multigene family in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. E2s function in a variety of cellular activities including intracellular proteolysis, DNA repair, sporulation, and cell cycle traverse. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of a new member of the yeast UBC gene family, UBC8. UBC8 encodes a 206-amino acid protein containing a highly acidic carboxyl terminus. The primary structure of the protein is similar to that of all other known E2s, with the highest homology being to the E2 (23 kDa) of wheat germ. Haploid strains in which the UBC8 gene is disrupted are viable, and the disruption does not produce any obvious phenotype. The UBC8 protein, produced in Escherichia coli, forms thiol ester adducts with ubiquitin and, apparently, diubiquitin, but does not transfer ubiquitin to histones.