Biomedical subjects

E Saxon

Publications and source records attributed to E Saxon.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Chemical and biological strategies for engineering cell surface glycosylation.

Oligosaccharides play a crucial role in many of the recognition, signaling, and adhesion events that take place at the surface of cells. Abnormalities in the synthesis or presentation of these carbohydrates can lead to misfolded and inactive proteins, as well as to several debilitating disease states. However, their diverse structures, which are the key to their function, have hampered studies by biologists and chemists alike. This review presents an overview of techniques for examining and manipulating cell surface oligosaccharides through genetic, enzymatic, and chemical strategies.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

A "traceless" Staudinger ligation for the chemoselective synthesis of amide bonds.

[reaction: see text] Here we report a novel modification of our previously reported "Staudinger ligation" that generates an amide bond from an azide and a specifically functionalized phosphine. This method for the selective formation of an amide bond, which does not require the orthogonal protection of distal functional groups, should find general utility in synthetic and biological chemistry.

Amides↗

PubMed2000

Cell surface engineering by a modified Staudinger reaction.

Selective chemical reactions enacted within a cellular environment can be powerful tools for elucidating biological processes or engineering novel interactions. A chemical transformation that permits the selective formation of covalent adducts among richly functionalized biopolymers within a cellular context is presented. A ligation modeled after the Staudinger reaction forms an amide bond by coupling of an azide and a specifically engineered triarylphosphine. Both reactive partners are abiotic and chemically orthogonal to native cellular components. Azides installed within cell surface glycoconjugates by metabolism of a synthetic azidosugar were reacted with a biotinylated triarylphosphine to produce stable cell-surface adducts. The tremendous selectivity of the transformation should permit its execution within a cell's interior, offering new possibilities for probing intracellular interactions.

Acetylation↗

PubMed1991

Diagnosis of measles by fluorescent antibody and culture of nasopharyngeal secretions.

An indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA) was evaluated using commercial mouse anti-measles monoclonal antibody and FITC-labeled goat anti-mouse immunoglobulin. For measles isolation, specimens were inoculated into Rhesus monkey kidney (RMK) cells and, when available, CV-1 cells. 381 specimens were tested by IFA and 408 specimens were cultured from patients suspected of having measles. For the 381 specimens tested by both methods, IFA and culture were positive for 31%, culture alone for 14%, IFA alone for 15%, and both negative for 40%. This study indicates that both IFA and culture are required for maximum measles virus detection. Of the positive specimens, 48% were detected either by IFA only (24%) or culture only (24%). IFA was positive in 69% of the culture-positive specimens and therefore, provided rapid diagnosis for many patients.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed1979

Diagnostic virology in clinical practice.

Viral illnesses are among the most common clinical problems encountered in medicine. Some have important epidemiologic implications and some are preventable by immunization, improved sanitation or other means. Recently, drugs have been developed which show promise for specific prophylaxis or treatment. It is thus increasingly important that physicians in practice be acquainted with methods of identification of common viral illnesses so they can intervene with appropriate counsel, preventive measures or treatment for their own patients. Physicians should also consider the larger epidemiologic implications of many viral illnesses and cooperate with local, state and national efforts to accurately determine the number of patients involved and the severity of their illnesses. It is only with this sort of information that an estimate of medical, social and economic impact of the common viral diseases can be made, so that attention will be given to development of better prevention and methods of control.

Adult↗

PubMed1979

Treatment of chlamydial pneumonia of infancy.

Infants with untreated chlamydial pneumonia shed Chlamydia trachomatis and are symptomatic for may weeks. We used sulfisoxazole, 150 mg/kg/day, or erythromycin ethyl succinate, 40 mg/kg/day, for approximately 14 days to treat 32 patients with chlamydial pneumonia of infancy, and observed them for nasopharyngeal shedding of C trachomatis and changing clinical status. All infants stopped shedding chlamydiae soon after treatment was started. After treatment, three of the 25 infants tested again became culture positive (but did not have clinical relapse). All infants improved clinically. In 24 (83%) of 29 infants, where the onset of improvement could be times, improvement began within seven days of starting treatment. Progression to complete recovery was observed in 27 of 28 infants examined between two weeks and two months of treatment completion. Neither the existence of concomitant viral infection nor the duration of illness or hospitalization before starting treatment influenced the interval between initiation of treatment and onset of clinical improvement. While these observations do not prove, they are at least compatible with the hypotheses that C trachomatis plays a central etiologic role in this illness and that termination of chlamydial infection is beneficial clinically. Pending the availibility of data from controlled studies, we believe that either of the treatment programs outlined warrant consideration in the clinical management of patients with chlamydial pneumonia of infancy.

Chlamydia trachomatis↗