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Alan Cooper

Publications and source records attributed to Alan Cooper.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

The genetic origins of the Andaman Islanders.

Mitochondrial sequences were retrieved from museum specimens of the enigmatic Andaman Islanders to analyze their evolutionary history. D-loop and protein-coding data reveal that phenotypic similarities with African pygmoid groups are convergent. Genetic and epigenetic data are interpreted as favoring the long-term isolation of the Andamanese, extensive population substructure, and/or two temporally distinct settlements. An early colonization featured populations bearing mtDNA lineage M2, and this lineage is hypothesized to represent the phylogenetic signal of an early southern movement of humans through Asia. The results demonstrate that Victorian anthropological collections can be used to study extinct, or seriously admixed populations, to provide new data about early human origins.

Anthropology↗
PubMed2002

Identification of key amino acid residues in the assembly of enzymes into the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus: a kinetic and thermodynamic analysis.

Structural studies have shown that electrostatic interactions play a major part in the binding of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (E3) to the peripheral subunit-binding domain (PSBD) of the dihydrolipoyl acyltransferase (E2) in the assembly of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus. The binding is characterized by a small, unfavorable enthalpy change (deltaH degrees = +2.2 kcal/mol) and a large, positive entropy change (TdeltaS degrees = +14.8 kcal/mol). The contributions of individual surface residues of the PSBD of E2 to its interaction with E3 have been assessed by alanine-scanning mutagenesis, surface plasmon resonance detection, and isothermal titration calorimetry. The mutation R135A in the PSBD gave rise to a significant decrease (120-fold) in the binding affinity; two other mutations (R139A and R156A) were associated with smaller effects. The binding of the R135A mutant to E3 was accompanied by a favorable enthalpy (deltaH degrees = -2.6 kcal/mol) and a less positive entropy change (TdeltaS degrees = +7.2 kcal/mol). The midpoint melting temperature (T(m)) of E3-PSBD complexes was determined by differential scanning calorimetry. The R135A mutation caused a significant decrease (5 degrees C) in the T(m), compared with the wild-type complex. The results reveal the importance of Arg135 of the PSBD as a key residue in the molecular recognition of E3 by E2, and as a major participant in the overall entropy-driven binding process. Further, the effects of mutagenesis on the deltaCp of subunit association illustrate the difficulties in attributing changes in heat capacity to specific classes of interactions.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed2002

Vaccinia virus complement control protein is monomeric, and retains structural and functional integrity after exposure to adverse conditions.

Vaccinia virus complement control protein (VCP) possesses the ability to inhibit both classical and alternative pathways of complement activation, as well as bind to heparin or heparan sulfate proteoglycans, making it a unique multifunctional protein with therapeutic potential. Recently, the structure of the complete molecule of VCP was determined by X-ray crystallography. Two or three VCP molecules were packed within the unit cells of both crystal forms. Using gel filtration, VCP has now been shown to exist as a monomer in solution. To test the stability of this molecule, VCP was studied by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) over a range of temperatures and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was also subjected to adverse physical conditions, including, freeze-thawing, changes in pH, changes in temperature, and storage at room temperature. VCP melts fully reversibly, and it maintained its 3-D structure and the ability to inhibit serum-induced hemolysis of sheep red blood cells after exposure to many extreme conditions. The robustness of VCP may be rationalized in terms of its architecture.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

How helminth lipid-binding proteins offload their ligands to membranes: differential mechanisms of fatty acid transfer by the ABA-1 polyprotein allergen and Ov-FAR-1 proteins of nematodes and Sj-FABPc of schistosomes.

Three different classes of small lipid-binding protein (LBP) are found in helminth parasites. Although of similar size, the ABA-1A1 (also designated As-NPA-A1) and Ov-FAR-1 (formerly known as Ov20) proteins of nematodes are mainly alpha-helical and have no known structural counterparts in mammals, whereas Sj-FABPc of schistosomes is predicted to form a beta-barrel structure similar to the mammalian family of intracellular fatty acid binding proteins. The parasites that produce these proteins are unable to synthesize their own complex lipids and, instead, rely entirely upon their hosts for supply. As a first step in elucidating whether these helminth proteins are involved in the acquisition of host lipid, the process by which these LBPs deliver their ligands to acceptor membranes was examined, by comparing the rates and mechanisms of ligand transfer from the proteins to artificial phospholipid vesicles using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay. All three proteins bound the fluorescent fatty acid 2-(9-anthroyloxy)palmitic acid (2AP) similarly, but there were clear differences in the rates and mechanisms of fatty acid transfer. Sj-FABPc displayed a collisional mechanism; 2AP transfer rates increased with acceptor membrane concentration, were modulated by acceptor membrane charge, and were not diminished in the presence of increasing salt concentrations. In contrast, transfer of ligand from Ov-FAR-1 and ABA-1A1 involved an aqueous diffusion step; transfer rates from these proteins were not modulated by acceptor membrane concentration or charge but did decrease with the ionic strength of the buffer. Despite these differences, all of the proteins interacted directly with membranes, as determined using a cytochrome c competition assay, although Sj-FABPc interacted to a greater extent than did Ov-FAR-1 or rABA-1A1. Together, these results suggest that Sj-FABPc is most likely to be involved in the intracellular targeted transport and metabolism of fatty acids, whereas Ov-FAR-1 and ABA-1A1 may behave in a manner analogous to that of extracellular LBPs such as serum albumin and plasma retinol binding protein.

Allergens↗
PubMed2002

Variant Gaucher disease characterized by dysmorphic features, absence of cardiovascular involvement, laryngospasm, and compound heterozygosity for a novel mutation (D409H/C16S).

A 20-month-old girl with developmental delay, dysmorphic features, horizontal supranuclear gaze palsy, retrocollis, and episodes of laryngospasm was diagnosed with variant neuronopathic Gaucher disease. The diagnosis was made enzymatically. Mutation analysis showed compound heterozygosity for D409H and a previously unreported mutation C16S. The presence of dysmorphic features, laryngospasm, absent cardiac findings, and the severe clinical phenotype distinguishes our case from other cases of variant neuronopathic Gaucher disease. We therefore propose to extend the spectrum of variant Gaucher disease.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed2002

Retrovirally mediated correction of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells from patients with mucopolysaccharidosis type I.

We have investigated the utility of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as targets for gene therapy of the autosomal recessive disorder mucopolysaccharidosis type IH (MPS-IH, Hurler syndrome). Cultures of MSCs were initially exposed to a green fluorescent protein-expressing retrovirus. Green fluorescent protein-positive cells maintained their proliferative and differentiation capacity. Next we used a vector encoding alpha-L-iduronidase (IDUA), the enzyme that is defective in MPS-IH. Following transduction, MPS-IH MSCs expressed high levels of IDUA and secreted supernormal levels of this enzyme into the extracellular medium. Exogenous IDUA expression led to a normalization of glycosaminoglycan storage in MPS-IH cells, as evidenced by a dramatic decrease in the amount of (35)SO(4) sequestered within the heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate compartments of these cells. Finally, gene-modified MSCs were able to cross-correct the enzyme defect in untransduced MPS-IH fibroblasts via protein transfer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A Gondwanan origin of passerine birds supported by DNA sequences of the endemic New Zealand wrens.

Zoogeographic, palaeontological and biochemical data support a Southern Hemisphere origin for passerine birds, while accumulating molecular data suggest that most extant avian orders originated in the mid-Late Cretaceous. We obtained DNA sequence data from the nuclear c-myc and RAG-1 genes of the major passerine groups and here we demonstrate that the endemic New Zealand wrens (Acanthisittidae) are the sister taxon to all other extant passerines, supporting a Gondwanan origin and early radiation of passerines. We propose that (i) the acanthisittids were isolated when New Zealand separated from Gondwana (ca. 82-85 Myr ago), (ii) suboscines, in turn, were derived from an ancestral lineage that inhabited western Gondwana, and (iii) the ancestors of the oscines (songbirds) were subsequently isolated by the separation of Australia from Antarctica. The later spread of passerines into the Northern Hemisphere reflects the northward migration of these former Gondwanan elements.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Variable clinical presentation of lysosomal beta-mannosidosis in patients with null mutations.

Beta-mannosidosis is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease resulting from a deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme beta-mannosidase. The clinical manifestations of this disease in reported human cases are very heterogeneous ranging from relatively mild to moderately severe. This is in contrast with the severe prenatal onset seen in ruminant beta-mannosidosis. In humans, mental retardation, hearing loss, frequent infections, and behavioral problems are relatively common. Dysmorphology and skeletal involvement such as those seen in ruminants are unusual. The purpose of this study is to determine the range of clinical expression in human beta-mannosidosis resulting from null mutations. We determined that the beta-mannosidase gene consists of 17 exons. Intron-based PCR primers were designed and used to amplify each of the exons in genomic DNA isolated from patient fibroblasts. We identified two patients with null mutations. Results of the analysis showed that one patient was heterozygous for nonsense mutations G334T (E83X) in exon 2 and C1363T (Q426X) in exon 10, resulting in truncation of the deduced peptide sequence from 879 to 82 and 425 amino acids, respectively. The second patient was homozygous for a deletion mutation in exon 11 (1541delAT). This deletion causes a reading frame shift and 26 out of frame amino acids before a stop codon occurs in exon 12, resulting in truncation of the deduced peptide sequence from 879 to 510 amino acids. Because disease presentation in these patients with null mutations is very variable, ranging from mild to severe, we conclude that beta-mannosidosis in humans may indeed be milder than typical of other lysosomal storage disorders.

DNA Mutational Analysis↗
PubMed2002

Thermodynamic analysis of the binding of component enzymes in the assembly of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The peripheral subunit-binding domain (PSBD) of the dihydrolipoyl acetyltransferase (E2, EC 2.3.1.12) binds tightly but mutually exclusively to dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (E3, EC 1.8.1.4) and pyruvate decarboxylase (E1, EC 1.2.4.1) in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments demonstrated that the enthalpies of binding (DeltaH degrees ) of both E3 and E1 with the PSBD varied with salt concentration, temperature, pH, and buffer composition. There is little significant difference in the free energies of binding (DeltaG degrees = -12.6 kcal/mol for E3 and = -12.9 kcal/mol for E1 at pH 7.4 and 25 degrees C). However, the association with E3 was characterized by a small, unfavorable enthalpy change (DeltaH degrees = +2.2 kcal/mol) and a large, positive entropy change (TDeltaS degrees = +14.8 kcal/mol), whereas that with E1 was accompanied by a favorable enthalpy change (DeltaH degrees = -8.4 kcal/mol) and a less positive entropy change (TDeltaS degrees = +4.5 kcal/mol). Values of DeltaC(p) of -316 cal/molK and -470 cal/molK were obtained for the binding of E3 and E1, respectively. The value for E3 was not compatible with the DeltaC(p) calculated from the nonpolar surface area buried in the crystal structure of the E3-PSBD complex. In this instance, a large negative DeltaC(p) is not indicative of a classical hydrophobic interaction. In differential scanning calorimetry experiments, the midpoint melting temperature (T(m)) of E3 increased from 91 degrees C to 97.1 degrees C when it was bound to PSBD, and that of E1 increased from 65.2 degrees C to 70.0 degrees C. These high T(m) values eliminate unfolding as a major source of the anomalous DeltaC(p) effects at the temperatures (10-37 degrees C) used for the ITC experiments.

Calorimetry, Differential Scanning↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Activated protein C prevents inflammation yet stimulates angiogenesis to promote cutaneous wound healing.

Activated protein C (APC) is a serine protease that plays a central role in physiological anticoagulation, and has more recently been shown to be a potent anti-inflammatory mediator. Using cultured human cells, we show here that APC up-regulates the angiogenic promoters matrix metalloproteinase-2 in skin fibroblasts and umbilical vein endothelial cells, vascular endothelial growth factor in keratinocytes and fibroblasts, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in fibroblasts. In the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane assay, APC promoted the granulation/remodeling phases of wound healing by markedly stimulating angiogenesis as well as promoting reepithelialization. In a full-thickness rat skin-healing model, a single topical application of APC enhanced wound healing compared to saline control. APC-treated wounds had markedly more blood vessels on day 7 and a significantly lower infiltration of neutrophils at days 4 and 7. The broad spectrum matrix metallo-proteinase, GM6001, prevented the ability of APC to promote wound healing. In summary, our results show that APC promotes cutaneous wound healing via a complex mechanism involving stimulation of angiogenesis and inhibition of inflammation. These unique properties of APC make it an attractive therapeutic agent to promote the healing of chronic wounds.

Animals↗