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D Mercier

Publications and source records attributed to D Mercier.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Molecular cloning, expression and exon/intron organization of the bovine beta-galactoside alpha2,6-sialyltransferase gene.

In this study, we report the first isolation and characterization of a bovine sialyltransferase gene. Bovine cDNAs prepared from different tissues contain an open-reading frame encoding a 405 amino acid sequence showing 83%, 75%, and 60% identity with human, murine, and chicken ST6Gal I (beta-galactoside alpha2,6-sialyltransferase) sequences, respectively. When transfected into COS-7 cells, a recombinant enzyme was obtained which catalyzed the in vitro alpha2, 6-sialylation of LacNAc (NeuAcalpha2-6Galbeta1-4GlcNAc) and LacdiNAc (NeuAcalpha2-6GalNAcbeta1-4GlcNAc) acceptor substrates. The K (m) values were 2.8 and 6.9 mM, respectively. Different relative efficiencies (Vmax/Km) for the two precursors (36 for LacNAc and 4.3 for LacdiNAc) were observed. Bovine ST6Gal I gene consists of four 5'-untranslated exons E(-2) to E(1), and five coding exons from E(2) to E(6). This later carries a 3'-untranslated region of 2. 7 kb. Gene sequence spans at least 80 kb of genomic DNA. Two processed pseudogenes have been identified. They are 94.3 and 95.6% similar to the bovine cDNA, respectively. Three families of mRNA isoforms were isolated. They differed by their 5'-untranslated regions and could be generated by three tissue-specific promoters. Family 1 is made up of exons E(-2) and E(1) to E(6), family 2 of exons E(-1) to E(6), and family 3 of exons E(1) to E(6). Tissular distribution of transcript families appears noticeably different than those described in human and rat.

5' Untranslated Regions↗
PubMed1999

Complete genomic organization of futb encoding a bovine alpha 3-fucosyltransferase: exons in human orthologous genes emerged from ancestral intronic sequences.

The futb gene, which encodes the first bovine alpha 3-fucosyltransferase described, consists of five exons (a, b, c, d, and e), the first four being located upstream of the coding exon e. Together with the four introns (i1, i2, i3, and i4) they span a DNA genomic sequence of about 10 kb. futb is expressed as four tissue-specific transcripts differing by their 5'-untranslated (5'-UT) regions, but only one transcript includes all exons, while the other three begin at internal sites of exon c. A short sequence of the latter is homologous to distinct 5'-UT exons of FUT6 (alpha 3-fucosylation) and FUT3 (alpha 4-fucosylation), two human genes whose coding sequences are homologous to coding exon e of futb. Upstream and downstream, the exon c intronic regions of the bovine gene are homologous to 5'-UT exons of human FUT3 (exon B) and FUT6 (exons A, B, and C). Thus, exon c appears to be the most ancestral 5'-UT exon known among these alpha 3-fucosyltransferase genes. Interestingly, distribution of short interspersed nuclear elements in the i3 intron adjacent to exon c reveals that two repeat sequences are joined to form a reverse-transcriptase-like encoding sequence highly homologous to an open reading frame located at the 3' end of the bovine gamma globin gene. This organization suggests that duplication events that have generated the primate FUT3-FUT5-FUT6 cluster might have occurred through a long-interspersed-nuclear-element-based mechanism of unequal crossing over, as described for the globin cluster. Complete organization of the bovine futb gene reveals that in addition to duplication events, the lineage leading to primate FUT3, FUT5, and FUT6 genes results from rearrangements of intronic sequences which have created for each new gene specific regulatory 5'-UT exonic sequences.

3' Untranslated Regions↗
PubMed1998

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Accidental Falls↗
PubMed1997

A 'Neural Sampling Theory (NST)' of learning and memory mechanisms.

The purpose of the Neural Sampling Theory (NST) is to propose a plausible neurobiological explanation for some general properties of learning and memory (LM) phenomena, based on the parallelism and redundancy of the nervous system organization; on the psychological side, the NST is inspired by the Stimulus Sampling and Encoding Variability theories. The sampling process which is its core, is not purely random; it depends on temporal and intensity factors. The NST may be implemented at different levels of the nervous system: synapse, neuron, assembly of neurons. Moreover, it may be incorporated in other formal models and improve their degree of neural realism. For instance it allows to give a more realistic representation of the connection weight in the connectionist models and of the noisy character of the nervous system.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Localization of ZNF164, ZNF146, GGTA1, SOX2, PRLR and EEF2 on homoeologous cattle, sheep and goat chromosomes by fluorescent in situ hybridization and comparison with the human gene map.

The six following genes: zinc finger proteins 164 (ZNF164) and 146 (ZNF146), alpha-galactosyltransferase 1 (GGTA1), SRY-related HMG-box 2 (SOX2), prolactin receptor (PRLR) and elongatin factor 2 (EEF2) have been localized by fluorescent in situ hybridization respectively on bovine and caprine chromosomes 17, 18, 11, 1, 20 and 7 and on sheep chromosomes 17, 14, 3, 1, 16, and 5. The comparison of the results with the localization of these genes in man (except for ZNF164) confirm the correspondences between human and bovine chromosomes established from heterologous chromosome painting data.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

A genetic and physical map of bovine chromosome 3.

This paper reports a map of nine polymorphic microsatellite markers previously assigned to bovine chromosome 3 (BTA3) by somatic cell genetics. The linkage group covers 101 cM on the chromosome with an average intermarker distance of 13.9 cM. One marker (INRA200) was isolated from a peak of flow sorted chromosomes 2 and 3. Another marker (INRA197) was derived from a cosmid. The localization of the cosmid by in situ hybridization enabled the orientation of the linkage group on BTA3. Markers were relatively evenly spaced and consequently can be used to complement other mapping data about this chromosome. This establishes a framework of polymorphic markers that can be used to search for quantitative trait loci (QTL).

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Analysis of the optical absorption and magnetic-circular-dichroism spectra of peanut peroxidase: electronic structure of a peroxidase with biochemical properties similar to those of horseradish peroxidase.

The electronic structures of the cationic isoenzyme of peanut peroxidase, horseradish peroxidase (isoenzyme C) and bovine liver catalase are compared through analysis of their optical absorption and magnetic c.d. (m.c.d.) spectral properties. The spectral data for the native resting states and compounds I and II of peanut peroxidase (PeP) are reported. The absorption and m.c.d. data for the native PeP exhibit bands characteristic of the high-spin ferric haem. The absorption spectrum of PeP compound I closely resembles that observed for the HRP compound I species. The m.c.d. data for PeP I clearly identifies that ring oxidation has occurred. One-electron reduction forms the PeP compound II species. The absorption and m.c.d. spectra recorded for PeP II exhibit the well-resolved spectral characteristics previously observed for both HRP compound II and catalase compound II. The spectral data of PeP with HRP and catalase are compared. The data clearly indicate that the m.c.d. spectral patterns of both plant peroxidases (PeP and HRP) are very similar and, therefore, the electronic structures of their resting states, and as well their primary and secondary compounds, must be similar. The m.c.d. data suggest that, while the compound I species of PeP and HRP belong to one electronic class, catalase compound I belongs to a different class. These data emphasize how the ground states of these two classes of oxidized haem, may be characterized as predominantly 2A2u (PeP I and HRP I) or 2A1u (catalase I). Peanut peroxidase is the second plant peroxidase for which the electronic structure of the compound I intermediate has been studied using the m.c.d. technique. The similarities with horseradish peroxidase allow us to suggest that plant peroxidases may operate by the same general mechanism, in spite of the low degree of sequence similarity between their polypeptide chains.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A genetic and physical map of bovine chromosome 11.

A genetic map of bovine Chromosome (Chr) 11 (BTA11, synteny group U16) has been constructed from 330 animals belonging to 21 families, which constitute the international bovine reference panel (IBRP). This map is based on 13 polymorphic microsatellite markers, two of which were chosen in previously published maps. Three markers have been isolated from cosmids. Two of the three cosmids have been physically localized by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), to anchor the genetic map on the chromosome. In addition, a biallelic polymorphism in the beta-lactoglobulin gene (LGB) has been genetically positioned relative to the microsatellite markers. The most probable order of the markers is: cen-INRA044-BM716-INRA177-(TGLA327, INRA198, INRA131)-INRA111-INRABERN169-(INRA115, INRA032)-INRA108-INRABERN162-INRA195-LGB. The total linkage group spans 126 cM, which probably corresponds to most of the chromosome length. The average intermarker distance is about 10.5 cM, allowing the potential detection of a genetic linkage with any Economic Trait Loci (ETL) of this chromosome. Seven of these markers have been previously published by Vaiman and coworkers (1994), two will be published as part of a set of markers (Eggen et al. in preparation), two are described in this paper, and two (BM716, TGLA327) were chosen from the published maps of BTA11 in order to integrate our data with existing maps. All these markers were assigned to synteny group U16 by use of a previously characterized panel of hamster/bovine somatic hybrid cell lines (Guérin et al. 1994).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A set of 99 cattle microsatellites: characterization, synteny mapping, and polymorphism.

Cattle microsatellite clones (136) were isolated from cosmid (10) and plasmid (126) libraries and sequenced. The dinucleotide repeats were studied in each of these sequences and compared with dinucleotide repeats found in other vertebrate species where information was available. The distribution in cattle was similar to that described for other mammals, such as rat, mouse, pig, or human. A major difference resides in the number of sequences present in the bovine genome, which seemed at best one-third as large as in other species. Oligonucleotide primers (117 pairs) were synthesized, and a PCR product of expected size was obtained for 88 microsatellite sequences (75%). Synteny or chromosome assignment was searched for each locus with PCR amplification on a panel of 36 hamster/bovine somatic cell hybrids. Of our bovine microsatellites, eighty-six could be assigned to synteny groups of chromosomes. In addition, 10 other microsatellites--HEL 5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13 (Kaukinen and Varvio 1993), HEL 4, 7, 14, 15--as well as the microsatellite found in the kappa-casein gene (Fries et al. 1990) were mapped on the hybrids. Microsatellite polymorphism was checked on at least 30 unrelated animals of different breeds. Almost all the autosomal and X Chr microsatellites displayed polymorphism, with the number of alleles varying between two and 44. We assume that these microsatellites could be very helpful in the construction of a primary public linkage map of the bovine genome, with an aim of finding markers for Economic Trait Loci (ETL) in cattle.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Assignment of bovine synteny group U2 to chromosome 9.

One cosmid containing a microsatellite (INRA144, D9S14) was assigned to bovine synteny group U2 by somatic cell genetics and localized to bovine chromosome 9q25 by fluorescent in situ hybridization. These results permitted the assignment of one more synteny group to a bovine chromosome. There are now 22 out of 31 bovine synteny groups which are related to a chromosome. The mapping data have been entered in the BovMap database, Jouy-en-Josas, France.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

A five-year experience with second-trimester induced abortions: no increase in complication rate as compared to the first trimester.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the complication rate of first-trimester suction curettage with that of second-trimester dilation-and-evacuation abortions in the same clinical setting. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis (chart review) of the 3772 induced abortions performed between 1986 and 1990 at the Family Planning Clinic of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. RESULTS: Among the 3355 cases with known follow-up (89%), the complication rate was 5.1% for the 2908 suction curettages at < 15 weeks' gestation compared with 2.9% for the 447 dilation-and-evacuation procedures at 15 to 20 weeks' gestation. Serious complications were few and not increased among patients undergoing dilation and evacuation. CONCLUSION: A careful approach to second-trimester dilation-and-evacuation procedures can make them comparatively as safe as suction curettages, contrary to common belief derived from large surveys done in the late 1970s.

Abortion, Incomplete↗
PubMed1992

Characterization of five new bovine dinucleotide repeats.

Five new bovine (TG)n microsatellite sequences were characterized. During the screening procedure, one-third of the clones had essentially the same flanking sequences. A fast technique was devised to eliminate these clones.

Alleles↗
PubMed1990

Susceptibility of RDM4 lymphoma cells to LAK-mediated lysis is decreased in tumor bearers fed fish oil high fat regimen.

RDM4 lymphoma cells were grown intraperitoneally in genetically compatible AKR mice fed either regular mouse chow, or diet supplemented with either saturated fat (hydrogenated beef tallow = HBT) or unsaturated fat (fish oil = FO). It was observed that the lymphoma cells number was significantly greater in FO-fed hosts and lower in HBT-fed hosts, than in the mice fed regular chow. The tumor bearers diet did not dramatically influence the rate of DNA synthesis of RDM4 cells, as measured by [3H]thymidine uptake in culture, a few hours after harvesting from the peritoneal cavity. It was repeatedly found that FO feeding of the tumor bearers elicited an increased resistance of RDM4 cells to lysis by LAK effectors, as appraised in vitro by 51Cr release test and in vivo by the "Winn assay". Different FO percentage of the diet (16%, 8%, 4%) resulted in comparable reduction of susceptibility of RDM4 cells to lysis by LAK effectors. Lipid analysis showed that RDM4 cells grown in mice fed FO diet or HBT diet differed markedly in their fatty acid composition and that their resistance to lysis by LAK cells correlated with the quantity of oxidizable fatty acids especially of the n-6 type.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

The multistage 20 metre shuttle run test for aerobic fitness.

A maximal multistage 20 m shuttle run test was designed to determine the maximal aerobic power of schoolchildren, healthy adults attending fitness class and athletes performing in sports with frequent stops and starts (e.g. basketball, fencing and so on). Subjects run back and forth on a 20 m course and must touch the 20 m line; at the same time a sound signal is emitted from a prerecorded tape. Frequency of the sound signals is increased 0.5 km h-1 each minute from a starting speed of 8.5 km h-1. When the subject can no longer follow the pace, the last stage number announced is used to predict maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) (Y, ml kg-1 min-1) from the speed (X, km h-1) corresponding to that stage (speed = 8 + 0.5 stage no.) and age (A, year): Y = 31.025 + 3.238 X - 3.248A + 0.1536AX, r = 0.71 with 188 boys and girls aged 8-19 years. To obtain this regression, the test was performed individually. Right upon termination VO2 was measured with four 20 s samples and VO2max was estimated by retroextrapolating the O2 recovery curve at time zero of recovery. For adults, similar measurements indicated that the same equation could be used keeping age constant at 18 (r = 0.90, n = 77 men and women 18-50 years old). Test-retest reliability coefficients were 0.89 for children (139 boys and girls 6-16 years old) and 0.95 for adults (81 men and women, 20-45 years old).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗