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Biomedical subjects

C Reich

Publications and source records attributed to C Reich.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

[Persistent leg pain].

A 72 year old patient suddenly experienced severe lumbar pain irradiating into the right leg. Later on, weakness of the muscles thigh appeared. A thorough radiological investigation which showed degenerative alterations of the vertebral column did not supply an explanation. After a pathological titer against Borrelia burgdorferi was found in serum and radiculitis was detected on EMG, the diagnosis of Lyme-Borreliosis of the nervous system could be confirmed by analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid. Under intravenous antibiotic treatment with Ceftriaxone (2 to 4 g daily for three weeks) the symptoms regressed completely, and the pathological findings in the CSF regressed. The significance of some findings in CSF in relation to Borreliosis of the CNS.

Aged↗

Evolutionary origin of the U6 small nuclear RNA intron.

U6 is the most conserved of the five small nuclear RNAs known to participate in pre-mRNA splicing. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the single-copy gene encoding this RNA is itself interrupted by an intron (T. Tani and Y. Ohshima, Nature (London) 337:87-90, 1989). Here we report analysis of the U6 genes from all four Schizosaccharomyces species, revealing that each is interrupted at an identical position by a homologous intron; in other groups, including ascomycete and basidiomycete fungi, as well as more distantly related organisms, the U6 gene is colinear with the RNA. The most parsimonious interpretation of our data is that the ancestral U6 gene did not contain an intron, but rather, it was acquired via a single relatively recent insertional event.

Base Sequence↗

Role of the protein moiety of ribonuclease P, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme.

The Bacillus subtilis ribonuclease P consists of a protein and an RNA. At high ionic strength the reaction is protein-independent; the RNA alone is capable of cleaving precursor transfer RNA, but the turnover is slow. Kinetic analyses show that high salt concentrations facilitate substrate binding in the absence of the protein, probably by decreasing the repulsion between the polyanionic enzyme and substrate RNAs, and also slow product release and enzyme turnover. It is proposed that the ribonuclease P protein, which is small and basic, provides a local pool of counter-ions that facilitates substrate binding without interfering with rapid product release.

Bacillus subtilis↗

Developmental study of neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity in the neurohypophysis and intermediate lobe of the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta).

The purpose of this study was to examine the development and distribution of neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive fibers in the neurohypophysis of the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) throughout life and the relationship of these fibers to the hypothalamo-hypophyseal portal vasculature. In rhesus monkeys, which varied in age from fetal life to 34 years, neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive fibers were present at all ages examined. In adult monkeys, varicose neuropeptide Y-labeled fibers were concentrated in the upper infundibular stem in association with capillary loops of the portal vasculature and the long portal vessels. Other fibers travelled down the infundibular stem and were distributed at the junction of the lower infundibular stem and infundibular process in the vicinity of the short portal vessels. In the infundibular process, neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive fibers were concentrated along the border of the intermediate lobe. Other stained fibers were sparsely distributed in the infundibular process and were often associated with small vessels. Neuropeptide Y-immunoreactivity was also located in a few fibers and cells of the intermediate lobe. Very few labeled fibers were seen in the fetal neurohypophysis, but their number increased gradually during the first postnatal year. At two years of age, a high density of stained fibers was observed, especially in the infundibular process. The number of axons in the infundibular process was lower at 12 years and continued to decline until 34 years of age. Neuropeptide Y may modulate hormone release at these sites and may also be released directly into vessels in the infundibular process. The close association of neuropeptide Y-labeled fibers with capillaries of the portal vasculature strongly suggests that neuropeptide Y is released into the portal blood of monkeys throughout life and may influence hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary gland.

Aging↗

A clinicopathologically distinctive primary splenic histiocytic neoplasm. Demonstration of its histiocyte derivation by immunophenotypic and molecular genetic analysis.

We describe a primary splenic neoplasm composed of cytomorphologically malignant-appearing erythrophagocytic histiocytoid cells reminiscent of those seen in malignant histiocytosis. However, this neoplasm displayed certain distinctive clinicopathologic features--including localization to the spleen, where it grew as separate discrete nodules--that distinguish it from all previously reported cases of malignant histiocytosis. The cells expressed a monocyte/histiocyte immunophenotype and lacked clonal immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor beta-chain gene rearrangements. Our results suggest that this neoplasm represents a clinicopathologically distinctive and possibly unique tumor derived from the tissue macrophage lineage.

Adult↗

Brain extraction of a calcium channel blocker.

Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers may be effective treatment for acute cerebral ischemia, but the uptake of these drugs into the brain is unknown. A 0.2-ml bolus of [14C]nicardipine hydrochloride and [3H]water was injected into the common carotid arteries of 7 normal and 7 ischemic rats. The corrected first-pass extraction of nicardipine, compared to water, was calculated to be 30.7% into the hemispheres and 42.3% into the hippocampi. The uptake was greater into the ischemic hemispheres (p less than 0.001). These data suggest that dihydropyridines are available to binding sites and calcium channels in neurons.

Animals↗

The RNA component of the Bacillus subtilis RNase P. Sequence, activity, and partial secondary structure.

The gene defining the catalytic RNA component of RNase P in Bacillus subtilis 168 was cloned into bacteriophage lambda and plasmid vectors. The nucleotide sequence of the gene and its surroundings was determined from the cloned DNA and by directly sequencing or reverse transcribing the RNase P RNA. The B. subtilis RNase P RNA sequence (400-401 nucleotides) is remarkably different from that of Escherichia coli (377 nucleotides) (Reed, R. E., Baer, M. F., Guerrier-Takada, C., Donis-Keller, H., and Altman, S. (1982) Cell 30, 627-636; Sakamoto, H., Kimura, N., Nagawa, F., and Shimura, Y. (1983) Nucleic Acids Res. 11, 8237-8251). At best the two are less than 50% similar in sequence. To verify that the RNase P RNA gene was analyzed, a modified, putative gene was cloned adjacent to a bacteriophage T7 promoter and various transcripts were tested for RNase P activity. The intact gene transcript, but not fragments, showed full activity. Full catalytic activity was restored upon mixing the fragments. The extensive differences between the B. subtilis and E. coli RNase P RNAs precluded full covariance analysis of secondary structure, but phylogenetically consistent foldings for portions of both molecules could be derived.

Bacillus subtilis↗

Synchronization of bacteriophage Mu DNA replicative transposition: analysis of the first round after induction.

The lytic cycle of bacteriophage Mu includes a large number of coupled DNA replication and integration events, each of which is equivalent in several respects to the process of transposition of genetic elements. To aid us in studying the process of Mu DNA replicative transposition, we developed a technique for synchronizing the first round of replication following induction of a lysogen. Synchronization was achieved by inducing a lysogen in the absence of DNA replication for a time sufficient to develop the potential for Mu DNA replication in all cells in the population; upon release of the inhibition of replication, a synchronized round of Mu DNA replication was observed. Development of the potential for Mu DNA replication in the entire population took approximately 12 min. Protein synthesis was required for development of the potential, but the requirement for protein synthesis was satisfied by approximately 9 min suggesting that other, as yet unspecified, reactions occupied the last 3 min. Replication proceeded predominantly from the left end of the prophage, though a significant amount of initiation from the right end was observed. The usefulness of the technique for studying the mechanism of replicative transposition and the end products of a single round of replication are discussed.

Bacteriophage mu↗

Stoichiometric use of the transposase of bacteriophage Mu.

The transposase of bacteriophage Mu (gene A protein) mediates the coupled replication and integration processes that constitute transposition during the lytic cycle. Our previous results showed that the activity of the A protein is unstable, as its continued synthesis is required to maintain Mu DNA replication throughout the lytic cycle. We present here the results of experiments in which the A protein is used stoichiometrically and must be synthesized de novo for each round of Mu DNA replication. Induction of a Mu lysogen in the absence of DNA replication allows accumulation of potential for a single round of Mu DNA replication. Once achieved, this potential is stable even in the absence of further protein synthesis. Release of inhibition of DNA replication leads to a single semi-conservative replicative transposition event, followed by later rounds only if additional synthesis of the A protein is allowed.

Bacteriophage mu↗

Instability of transposase activity: evidence from bacteriophage mu DNA replication.

Transposition of genetic elements involves coupled replication and integration events catalyzed in part by a class of proteins called transposases. We have asked whether the transposase activity of bacteriophage Mu (the Mu A protein) is stable and capable of catalyzing multiple rounds of coupled replication/integration, or whether its continued synthesis is required to maintain Mu DNA replication. Inhibition of protein synthesis during the lytic cycle with chloramphenicol inhibited Mu DNA synthesis with a half-life of approximately 3 min, demonstrating a need for continued protein synthesis to maintain Mu DNA replication. Synthesis of specific Mu-encoded proteins was inhibited by infecting a host carrying a temperature-sensitive suppressor, at permissive temperature, with Mu amber phages, then shifting to nonpermissive temperature. When Aam phages were used, Mu DNA replication was inhibited with kinetics essentially identical to those with chloramphenicol addition; hence, it is likely that continued synthesis of the Mu A protein is required to maintain Mu DNA replication. The data suggest that the activity of the Mu A protein is unstable, and raise the possibility that the Mu A protein and other transposases may be used stoichiometrically rather than catalytically.

Bacteriophage mu↗

Circular dichroism and fluorescence-detected circular dichroism of deoxyribonucleic acid and poly[d(A-C).d(G-T)] in ethanolic solutions: a new method for estimating circular intensity differential scattering.

A method is presented for determining the circular dichroism (CD) of systems whose CD spectra contain contributions from CD differential scattering. The technique is shown to detect light over 4 pi steradians, and thus, for the first time, a complete correction for scattering is possible. The method is applied to ethanol-condensed DNA and poly[d(A-C).d(G-T)]. From the results obtained, the former are proposed to have an A-type secondary structure. The condensed polynucleotide particles are shown to exhibit behavior similar to that of cholesteric liquid crystals. CD difference spectra, obtained from the scattering corrections and showing the contributions to different sections of the scattering envelope, are displayed. It is asserted that these scattering patterns contain information about the tertiary structure of the condensed DNA particles studied.

1-Naphthylamine↗

Contribution of light scattering to the circular dichroism of deoxyribonucleic acid films, deoxyribonucleic acid-polylysine complexes, and deoxyribonucleic acid particles in ethanolic buffers.

The contribution of scattering to the circular dichroism (CD) of DNA films with twisted structures, DNA-polylysine complexes, and condensed DNA aggregates in ethanolic buffers of defined salt concentrations has been studied by the use of novel measuring techniques. These techniques include fluorscat cuvettes, fluorescence-detected circular dichroism (FDCD) methods, backscattering capturing devices, and beam-mounted goniometer detectors. The result of the experimental measurement is that DNA films can be made which have very large ellipticities or CD at sharp specific wavelengths. The sign of these ellipticities is related to the handedness of the twists, with a right-handed twist producing large positive rotations and a left-handed one producing negative rotations. The film show nodal angles at which the interaction with light is minimal. The scattering patterns of both films, DNA-polylysine particles and DNA-EtOH condensates, show that the main interaction is light scattering produced by a resonance phenomenon similar to that produced in cholesteric liquid crystals and twisted-nematic liquid crystals. From this result we propose that the so-called psi-type CD spectrum is a manifestation of a side-by-side packing of DNA molecules with a long-range twisting order whose helical parameters match the helical parameter of circularly polarized light at specific resonance or critical wavelengths. Application of the Bragg law for cholesteric liquid crystals gives the periodicity of the long-range ordered structures.

Animals↗

Properties of prostatic cultures transformed by SV40.

SV-40-transformed hamster prostatic tissue has been previously evaluated as a model for human prostatic carcinoma. Because the original cell line was lost, Syrian golden hamster prostatic tissue has been established in explant culture and infected with a 10-6-cell tissue culture infectious dose (50 percent effective) of SV40. After in vitro transformation, the cells were produced in quantity and 60 times 10-6 cells were injected into adult male Syrian golden hamsters 24 hours after 400 rads of whole-body radiation. After 60-90 days, a small palpable tumor developed. These tumors could be serially transplanted in adult male animals without immunosuppression. The tumor cells were established in tissue culture and the cells were returned to adult animals without immunosuppression where they rapidly produced fast-growing tumors. The solid tumors were composed of sheets of pleomorphic polygonal cells with large nuclei and many nucleoli; they resembled undifferentiated human prostatic carcinoma. In vitro, the cultures contained small, rapidly growing cells with a population doubling time of about 1.3 days. The cells carried the SV 40-specific antigen. The modal chromosome number was 66-68 with a distribution of 47-120. Cells exposed to 2-bromo-5'-deoxyuridine in culture did not release particles with RNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity. Endocrine sensitivity in vivo and in vitro is undertermined to date.

Animals↗