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D Balinsky

Publications and source records attributed to D Balinsky.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

The cloning, expression, and nucleotide sequence of a gene coding for an immunogenic Brucella abortus protein.

Brucella abortus is the causative agent for brucellosis in cattle and man. Development of a single diagnostic test for the differentiation of vaccinated from infected animals and the development of a nonviable 'subunit' vaccine are top priorities of the brucellosis research program in the United States. Preliminary evidence previously showed that a purified 31-kDa protein (thought to be localized at or near the bacterial cell surface) protects against experimental brucellosis in rodents. The gene for this 31-kDa protein has now been cloned in Escherichia coli. The protein is expressed well, apparently from its native promoter, when placed in several different E. coli plasmids. The nucleotide sequence of the flanking and encoding sequences has been determined, and comparison with the N-terminal amino acid (aa) sequence of the mature protein indicates the presence of a putative 28-aa signal sequence. The availability of the 31-kDa protein free of Brucella contaminants now allows rigorous study of the immunological properties of this protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

Variations in the amount of glucose phosphate isomerase in lymphocytes and erythrocytes from A/J and C57BL/6J mice.

In a comparative study of A/J (Gpi-1a) and C57BL/6J (Gpi-1b) mice, we observed that erythrocytes of A/J mice exhibited significantly higher glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) activity compared to erythrocytes of C57BL/6J mice on a per cell, per gram of protein, or per gram of hemoglobin basis. Higher GPI activity per cell was detected for peripheral blood lymphocytes of A/J compared to C57BL/6J mice. (A/J X C57BL/6J)F1 mice expressed erythrocyte and peripheral blood lymphocyte GPI activities intermediate to those of the parental mouse strains. The GPI activities of spleen lymphocytes from A/J, C57BL/6J, or (A/J X C57BL/6J)F1 mice were not significantly different from each other. The higher activity in the A/J mice could be due to GPI of a higher catalytic rate or to the presence of more GPI molecules. In order to distinguish these two possibilities, GPI was purified to homogeneity from both strains of mice. The specific activities (activity per milligram of protein) of the purified enzymes from the two strains were found to be similar, indicating that GPI from the A/J strain was not a more active enzyme. Antibody to the purified enzymes was prepared and used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to compare the relative amounts of enzyme molecules in cells of A/J and C57BL/6J mice. Results of the ELISA tests on peripheral blood lymphocytes indicated that A/J mice contain more molecules of GPI per cell and, therefore, have a higher GPI activity than C57BL/6J mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Lymphocyte aging in allophenic mice.

Allophenic mice are chimeras which are produced from the aggregation of two genotypically distinct embryos. In this study, embryos from the C57BL/6J and A/J strains were used to produce C57BL/6J----A/J allophenic mice. These strains were chosen because of their markedly different lifespans, their different glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) isozymes, and their different H-2 haplotypes [C57BL/6J: long-lived, Gpi-1b, H-2b; A/J: short-lived, Gpi-1a, H-2a]. The mice were bled at two month intervals and the composition of their peripheral blood lymphocytes determined at each point from analysis of GPI isozymes and H-2 antigens. It was found that the proportion of long-lived (C57BL/6J) lymphocytes tended to increase with age. Moreover, the total lifespan of the allophenic mice was directly related to the percentage of long-lived lymphocytes in their peripheral blood.

Aging↗
PubMed1985

Glucose phosphate isomerase activity in C57BL/6 and a mice of different ages.

Glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) enzyme activity was measured in two strains of mice, A/HeNNial (Gpi-1a) and C57BL/6NNia1 (Gpi-1b). Seven solid tissues (muscle, brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, spleen) and three cell types (peripheral blood lymphocytes, spleen lymphocytes, erythrocytes) were analyzed for GPI activity in mice from 6 to 36 months of age. No major changes in enzyme activity with age were found. The most striking observation was that A/HeNNial mice showed a significantly higher GPI activity than C57BL/6NNia1 mice in four of the solid tissues (muscle, heart, kidney, spleen) and two of the cell types (peripheral blood lymphocytes, erythrocytes) analyzed.

Aging↗
PubMed1984

Enzyme activities in normal, dysplastic, and cancerous human breast tissues.

The activities of six different enzymes were compared in 29 normal, 34 dysplastic, and 80 cancerous (both primary and metastatic) human breast tissues; in MCF-7 cells; and in primary rat mammary tumors. Benign lesions generally showed enzyme activities similar to those of normal breast tissues. Malignant tumors had significantly increased activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, hexokinase (HK), pyruvate kinase (PK), and creatine kinase. Enzyme activity in the malignant tumor was always higher than that in apparently normal or fibrocystic tissue from the same patient. Enzyme activities did not correlate with the levels of estrogen and progesterone receptors. LDH, MDH, and HK were elevated to a similar extent in all the tissues examined. Conversely, PK was elevated to a much greater extent in cancerous tissues, particularly in MCF-7 cells. The elevated activities of these enzymes may have diagnostic potential, especially when tumor tissue and apparently normal tissue from the same patient are compared.

Adenofibroma↗
PubMed1984

Enzyme activities and isozyme patterns in human lung tumors.

The isozyme patterns and activities of six enzymes were determined in surgical biopsy samples of lung tumors and non-neoplastic pulmonary areas. Fetal lungs were also examined. No tissue differences were found in the isozyme pattern of hexokinase or alkaline phosphatase; small differences in pyruvate kinase isozyme proportions were observed. The tumors exhibited significant deviations with respect to the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) isozyme patterns. Despite the diversity of cell types, the proportions of the M-subunit of LDH in each tumor and that of the mitochondrial isozyme of MDH in all but one tumor were higher than in control samples from the same lung. In contrast, the normal fetal lung showed a higher LDH-H proportion than did adult lung and a mature MDH isozyme pattern. The alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and adenylate kinase activities of the tumors were about one-tenth and one-fourth, respectively, of those of nonneoplastic adult lung. These lower activities (evident also in normal fetal lung) were accompanied by 3- to 5-fold increases in the LDH, MDH, pyruvate kinase, and hexokinase activities of the tumors; fetal lungs had lesser increases (2- to 3-fold) for the first 3 enzymes. The common features of tumors with different cell types and histological grade identified here point to several enzymes the quantitation or isozyme analysis of which may be of practical use in distinguishing cancerous from nonneoplastic human lung samples. A combination of different indicators, such as opposite changes in LDH and alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase activity, coupled with elevated proportions of LDH-M, may be used to diagnose neoplasia most reliably.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1983

Unusual glucose phosphate isomerase isozyme patterns in lymphocytes from two C57BL/6J in equilibrium A/J allophenic mice.

Analysis of C57BL/6J in equilibrium A/J allophenic mice for their lymphocyte composition, using H-2 antigens as external markers, and glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) isozymes as internal markers, has led to the discovery of two unusual mice. Both mice showed heterodimers of GPI isozymes upon electrophoresis of the lymphocyte lysate. Specific anti-H-2 antisera confirmed that the cells of the mice were of C57BL/6J and A/J origin, as expected, but that the "A/J" cells seemed to behave as F1 hybrids containing the Gpi-1a and Gpi-1b alleles. Possible origins of the Gpi-1b allele in the "A/J" cells are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Isozyme patterns of normal, benign, and malignant human breast tissues.

Isozyme patterns of 23 different enzymes were compared in normal, benign, and malignant breast tissues; in MCF-7 cells; and in organoids of normal human breast tissue. Benign lesions generally showed isozyme patterns similar to those of normal tissues. Lactate dehydrogenase isozyme 5 was significantly increased in malignant tumors; MCF-7 cells had only lactate dehydrogenase (L-lactate:NAD oxidoreductase; EC 1.1.1.27). The mitochondrial form of malate dehydrogenase was also significantly increased in human malignant tumors; this was especially evident when comparing tumor and apparently uninvolved breast tissue from the same patient. The K4 isozyme of pyruvate kinase was the major form in most malignant breast tumors, but in only 41% of normal tissues, 30% of fibrocystic disease specimens, and 46% of fibroadenomas. A more anodal band of pyruvate kinase, probably a K3M or K3Kpm hybrid, predominated in most normal and benign tissues, but in only 63% of primary and 56% of secondary tumors. All specimens had predominantly creatine kinase BB, aldolase A4, and hexokinase I. Traces of aldolase A3C and of hexokinase II were observed in some tumors. None of the tumors had the Regan variant of alkaline phosphatase. The isozymes of lactate and malate dehydrogenases and of pyruvate kinase appear to be the most promising as putative tumor markers.

Breast↗
PubMed1980

Activities of some enzymes of pyrimidine and DNA synthesis in a rat transplantable hepatoma and human primary hepatomas, in cell lines derived from these tissues, and in human fetal liver.

Activites of the enzymes DNA polymerase, thymidine kinase, thymidylate kinase, thymidylate synthase, and deoxycytidylate deaminase have been measured in rat and human normal and neoplastic liver, in human fetal liver, and in cell lines derived from human hepatomas and rat transplantable hepatomas. The activities of these enzymes were increased in rat transplantable hepatomas, relative to rat normal or host liver, to a degree corresponding to the rapid growth rate of these tumors. With the exception of thymidine kinase, which did not change, the activities of these enzymes increased in human hepatomas relative to the corresponding host liver (apparently normal liver tissue from the same patient) and to human normal liver. The increases in enzyme activity observed in human hepatomas were small in comparison with those found in the rapidly growing rat hepatomas. The activities of deoxycytidylate deaminase in both human and rat liver tissues were 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than those of the other enzymes assayed. Activities of the enzymes of DNA synthesis in a slow-growing cell line derived from a human hepatoma were similar to those in human hepatoma tissues. In the case of rapidly growing cell lines derived from rat and human hepatomas, enzyme activities were higher than those in the corresponding tissues.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Hexokinase III from Rana catesbeiana.

1. Hexokinase III was partially purified from the liver of the American bullfrong, Rana catesbeiana, using DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. 2. It was inhibited by glucose concentrations above 5 x 10(-5) M (pH 5.9), 10(-4) M (pH 6.7) or 10(-3) M (pH 7.5). 3. There was virtually no inhibition by excess glucose at pH 8.7. 4. The maximum velocity of the reaction increased with increasing pH. 5. Galactose could not be utilized as a substrate. 6. Classical Michaelis-Menten kinetics were obtained with respect to ATP, with no evidence of allostery. 7. The apparent Michaelis constant for ATP was 0.23 +/- 0.013 mM in the presence of 0.2 mM glucose at pH 7.5.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Activities of key gluconeogenic enzymes and glycogen synthase in rat and human livers, hepatomas, and hepatoma cell cultures.

The activities of pyruvate carboxylase (PC), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), and glycogen synthetase (GS) were determined in the cancerous and in the apparently uninvolved (host) regions of livers from primary hepatoma patients as well as in normal adult human livers and human fetal livers. The activities of these enzymes were also assayed in a fairly fast-growing, 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene-induced transplantable rat hepatoma and in hepatoma cell lines derived from both rat and human tumors. In the human hepatoma, as in the rat hepatoma, the activities of PC, PEPCK, and G6Pase were considerably reduced, compared to those in the host liver. The activities of both the a (glucose 6-phosphate-independent) and b (glucose 6-phosphate-dependent) forms of GS were also lower in human and rat hepatomas than in the respective host livers. Activities of PC, PEPCK, and G6Pase in the human hepatomas were often comparable with those of fetal livers. In rat and human hepatoma cells, the activities of PC, PEPCK, and G6Pase were similar to or lower than the activities in the respective hepatomas; the activities of GS a were also similar to those in the hepatoma, whereas the activities of GS b were somewhat higher.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase Porbandar: a new slow variant with slightly reduced activity in a South African family of Indian descent.

A new variant of the red cell enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase has been detected in a South African male of Indian descent and in several of his relatives. The enzyme variant is characterized by slow electrophoretic mobility, low Michaelis constants for the substrates glucose-6-phosphate and NADP, and increased utilization of the substrate analogues 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate and deamino-NADP relative to the normal (B+) enzyme. There is no evidence that the enzyme variant, for which the name "G6PD Porbandar" is suggested, is associated with any hematological abnormality.

Anemia↗
PubMed1975

G6PD hillbrow: a new variant of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase associated with drug-induced haemolytic anaemia.

A new genetic variant of the red cell enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is described. It was observed in a patient presenting with severe haemolytic anaemia and renal failure following ingestion of an overdose of Beserol (paracetamol and chlormezanone). The enzyme in the red cell had 12% of the activity of a normal B+ control, but only slightly lower activity in the kidney compared with a normal control. The red cell enzyme showed normal electrophoretic mobility and thermostability, a biphasic pH optimum curve, higher than normal utilization of the substrate analogues 2-deoxy-glucose-6-phosphate and deamino-NADP, and lower than normal Michaelis constants for both substrates, glucose-6-phosphate and NADP. The enzyme was strongly inhibited in vitro by high concentrations of paracetamol and chlormezanone. The extent of inhibition was similar to that for the enzyme from a normal B+ individual.

Acetaminophen↗