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Biomedical subjects

G D Coleman

Publications and source records attributed to G D Coleman.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Increased macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 in cerebrospinal fluid precedes and predicts simian immunodeficiency virus encephalitis.

Macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) may be a key trigger for the influx of macrophages into the brain in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) encephalitis. In this study, simian immunodeficiency virus-infected macaques that developed moderate-to-severe encephalitis had significantly higher MCP-1 levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than in plasma as early as 28 days after inoculation, which was before the development of brain lesions. In contrast, CSF:plasma MCP-1 ratios remained constant at preinoculation levels in macaques that developed minimal or no encephalitis. Abundant MCP-1 protein and mRNA were detected in both macrophages and astrocytes in the brain. Macaques with increased MCP-1 in CSF had significantly greater expression of markers of macrophage and microglia activation and infiltration (CD68; P= .003) and astrocyte activation (glial fibrillary acidic protein; P= .019 and P= .031 in white and gray matter, respectively). The results suggest that the CSF:plasma MCP-1 ratio may be a valuable prognostic marker for the development of HIV-induced central nervous system disease.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

The poplar bark storage protein gene (Bspa) promoter is responsive to photoperiod and nitrogen in transgenic poplar and active in floral tissues, immature seeds and germinating seeds of transgenic tobacco.

In Populus, seasonal nitrogen storage involves the accumulation of a 32 kDa bark storage protein (BSP) in the inner bark parenchyma and xylem rays. Poplar BSPs are encoded by a multigene family and one member, bspA, has been cloned and sequenced. The regulation of bspA was investigated by transforming either hybrid poplar or tobacco with a chimeric gene consisting of the 2.8 kb bspA promoter fused to the coding region of beta-glucuronidase (uidA). In transformed poplar, the bspA 2.8 kb promoter conferred both short-day (SD) and nitrogen (N) inducibility to GUS and activity was localized to the bark (primary and secondary phloem, and cortex) and xylem rays. Night-break treatments inhibited SD induction of GUS. Deletion of the 1.6 kb distal DNA sequences from the bspA promoter eliminated SD induction of GUS while some N induction was retained. These results indicate that although poplar BSP is encoded by a multigene family, transcriptional activation of bspA per se can account for bsp expression in bark and xylem rays in response to either SD or N treatment. These results also show that the elements responsible for SD or N induction are separable. Because of the long generation intervals associated with trees, the developmental regulation of bspA in flowers, developing seeds, and germinating seeds was investigated by transforming the 2.8 kb bspA-promoter::uidA chimeric gene into tobacco. The bspA promoter was active in developing tobacco floral tissues and in seeds during early stages of embryogenesis, decreased progressively during seed maturation and regained activity upon seed germination. Although seed storage proteins of poplar share some similarities to poplar BSP, the observed developmental expression patterns in tobacco are consistent with a role for bspA in vegetative rather than seed storage protein storage.

Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental↗
PubMed2001

Rhinosporidiosis in a domestic cat.

Rhinosporidiosis was diagnosed in a domestic shorthair cat from a suburb of Washington DC, USA. The clinical presentation of protracted sneezing and epistaxis was associated with a polypoid lesion in the right nostril. Light microscopic examination revealed a polypoid lesion with numerous sporangia containing maturing endospores. Free endospores were present in the stroma of the polyp and lumen of the nasal cavity. Transmission electron microscopy revealed ultrastructural features typical of Rhinosporidium seeberi. The case was followed clinically for a total of 70 months and there were five attempts at surgical excision. This is the first reported case of rhinosporidiosis in a domestic cat.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Ecotypic and genetic variation in poplar bark storage protein gene expression and accumulation.

Bark storage proteins (BSP) store nitrogen (N) translocated from senescing leaves in autumn, and supply reduced N for spring growth. Expression of bsp and BSP accumulation are associated with short day photoperiod. To determine if photoperiod-associated bsp expression varies among poplars native to different latitudes, Populus deltoides Bartr. clones originating from six latitudes were grown under natural conditions at a common location. Relative amounts of BSP mRNA in these clones were measured at 2-week intervals from August 7 to October 16. The date of maximum BSP mRNA accumulation was correlated with latitude of origin, and maximum accumulation of BSP mRNA occurred earlier in clones native to northern latitudes than in clones native to southern latitudes. This pattern of variation is consistent with photoperiodic responses of plants native to temperate climates. Genotypic variations in BSP accumulation, bark protein concentration and bark N concentration were compared among clones of six hybrid poplar (Populus trichocarpa Torr. and Gray x P. deltoides) full-sib families (three F(2) families, two F(1) families and one BC(1) family) after 6 weeks in a short day photoperiod and at midwinter. Significant differences in BSP accumulation occurred among clones within four of the six full-sib families after 6 weeks in a short day photoperiod and also at midwinter for outdoor-grown plants. Bark protein and bark N concentrations also varied significantly among clones within certain families. In general, the greatest variation was found in F(2) and BC(1) families. Within several families, relative BSP amounts were positively correlated with bark protein concentration and total bark N concentration. These results indicate a role of photoperiod in regulating bsp expression and demonstrate a genetic component underlying seasonal BSP accumulation. The results could have significance in selecting for clones with improved N storage capacity and N-use efficiency.

Gene Expression Regulation, Plant↗
PubMed2001

Phytochrome-mediated photoperiod perception, shoot growth, glutamine, calcium, and protein phosphorylation influence the activity of the poplar bark storage protein gene promoter (bspA).

In poplars (Populus), bspA encodes a 32-kD bark storage protein that accumulates in the inner bark of plants exposed to either short-day (SD) photoperiods or elevated levels of nitrogen. In this study, poplars transformed with a chimeric gene consisting of the bspA promoter fused to beta-glucuronidase (uidA) were used to investigate the transcriptional regulation of the bspA promoter. Photoperiodic activation of the bspA promoter was shown to involve perception by phytochrome and likely involves both a low fluence response and a parallel very low fluence response pathway. Activity of the bspA promoter was also influenced by shoot growth. High levels of bspA expression usually occur in the bark of plants during SD but not long day or SD with a night break. When growth was inhibited under growth permissive photoperiods (SD with night break) levels of bark beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activity increased. Stimulating shoot growth in plants treated with SD inhibited SD-induced increases in bark GUS activity. Because changes in photoperiod and growth also alter carbon and nitrogen partitioning, the role of carbon and nitrogen metabolites in modulating the activity of the bspA promoter were investigated by treating excised stems with amino acids or NH4NO3 with or without sucrose. Treatment with either glutamine or NH4NO3 resulted in increased stem GUS activity. The addition of sucrose with either glutamine or NH4NO3 resulted in synergistic induction of GUS, whereas sucrose alone had no effect. Glutamine plus sucrose induction of GUS activity was inhibited by EGTA, okadaic acid, or K-252A. Inhibition by EGTA was partially relieved by the addition of Ca2+. The Ca2+ ionophore, ionomycin, also induced GUS activity in excised shoots. These results indicate that transcriptional activation of bspA is complex. It is likely that SD activation of bspA involves perception by phytochrome coupled to changes in growth. These growth changes may then alter carbon and nitrogen partitioning that somehow signals bspA induction by a yet undefined mechanism that involves carbon and nitrogen metabolites, Ca2+, and protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation.

Calcium↗
PubMed1998

Cystic prostatic disease associated with adrenocortical lesions in the ferret (Mustela putorius furo).

A review of case materials at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology identified six cases of prostatitis in domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Five of these ferrets (83%) had one or more cysts and the remaining ferret had a paraprostatic cyst. Three of the six ferrets (50%) exhibited various degrees of prostatic squamous metaplasia. Inflammation ranged from subacute to chronic-active or pyogranulomatous. In addition to the prostatic lesions, hyperplastic and/or neoplastic adrenocortical lesions were present in 4/6 (66%) ferrets; 1/6 (17%) ferrets had previously been clinically diagnosed with adrenal gland-associated endocrinopathy. The remaining ferret had previously had the right adrenal gland removed, but the reason for the removal is unknown. Based upon the histologic findings in these six ferrets, there appears to be an association between proliferative adrenal lesions and cystic prostatitis in domestic ferrets.

Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms↗
PubMed1997

T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma in a cat.

T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma is a neoplasm recognized in humans in which a neoplastic proliferation of large B lymphocytes is present amid a background of reactive T lymphocytes. A 13-year-old Domestic Shorthair cat developed a mass in the region of the left parotid gland. Histologically, the mass was composed of scattered large atypical cells within a dense background of uniform small lymphoid cells. Immunohistochemically, the large cells were uniformly labeled using antiserum directed against the B-lymphocyte marker BLA.36, whereas labeling of nearly all of the small cells was limited to the T-lymphocyte marker CD3. The histomorphologic and immunohistochemical features of this unique feline neoplasm are characteristic of T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma of humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

A family of wound-induced genes in Populus shares common features with genes encoding vegetative storage proteins.

Two wound-inducible cDNAs from poplar leaves show sequence identity to vegetative storage proteins (VSP) that accumulate seasonally in poplar bark tissues. We have compared the genomic organization, cDNA sequences and expression of the genes encoding the wound-inducible cDNAs (win4) with that of a bark VSP (called bark storage protein, or BSP). There appear to be several win4 genes in the poplar genome which segregate as a single locus and are therefore likely to be clustered. The same is true of the BSP genes. The win4 locus is linked (map distance of 5 cM) to the BSP locus, consistent with a common evolutionary origin of the genes. A near full-length win4 cDNA shows 75% sequence identity to BSP cDNAs. Both win4 and BSP are systemically wound-inducible; win4 transcripts accumulate in leaves and stems, whereas BSP transcripts accumulate almost exclusively in stems. A phloem transport-dependent signaling mechanism appears to be involved in systemic win4 expression after wounding. In contrast to BSP gene expression, win4 genes are not expressed in response to short day conditions. The data indicate win4 and BSP genes are differentially regulated, and their products may play important roles in the storage and reallocation of nitrogen in perennial plants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Complementary DNA cloning of poplar bark storage protein and control of its expression by photoperiod.

Bark storage proteins accumulate in the bark of many woody plants during autumn and winter. In poplar (Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh), the accumulation of the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein is controlled by photoperiod. We have isolated a full-length cDNA encoding for the poplar 32-kilodalton bark storage protein and determined its nucleotide sequence. The derived amino acid sequence shows that poplar bark storage protein is rich in serine, leucine, phenylalanine, and lysine. Poplar bark storage protein is similar to the poplar wound-induced cDNA clone 4 and clone 16 (TJ Parsons, HD Bradshaw, MP Gordon [1989] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 86: 7895-7899). DNA gel blot analysis suggests that poplar bark storage protein is encoded by a multigene family of about five genes. Poplar plants grown in long days contained low levels of mRNA for the bark storage protein. Exposure to short days resulted in an increase in bark storage protein mRNA within 7 days. After 21 days of short day exposure, high levels of mRNA were detected. The accumulation of bark storage protein mRNA in response to short days was also observed in plants exposed to natural shortening daylengths. Our results indicate that the accumulation of poplar bark storage protein mRNA is controlled by photoperiod. This finding will provide a useful system for investigating photoperiodism in woody plants.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1991

Photoperiod control of poplar bark storage protein accumulation.

Bark storage proteins (BSPs) accumulate in the inner bark parenchyma of many woody plants during autumn and winter. We investigated the effect of a short-day (SD) photoperiod on the accumulation of the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein of poplar (Populus deltoides Bart. ex Marsh.) under controlled environmental and natural growing conditions. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and protein gel blot analysis revealed that 10 days of SD exposure (8 hours of light) resulted in a 20% increase in the relative abundance of the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein of poplar. After 17 days of SD exposure, the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein accounted for nearly one-half of the soluble bark proteins. In natural field conditions, accumulation of the 32-kilodalton bark storage protein was observed to start by August 18 (daylength 14.1 hours). Immunoprecipitation of in vitro translation products with anti-BSP serum revealed that the SD protein accumulation was correlated with changes in the pool of translatable mRNA. A survey of poplar clones from different geographic origins revealed the presence of the 32-kilodalton BSP in the dormant bark of all the clones tested. These results demonstrate that a SD photoperiod induces, whether directly or indirectly, rapid changes in woody plant gene expression, leading to the accumulation of BSP.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Vaxstrate: an anti-reproductive vaccine for cattle.

This paper describes the development of a vaccine for the prevention of pregnancy in female cattle. The vaccine is based on the established principle that antibodies to the hypothalamic releasing hormone, gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) block the action of GnRH on pituitary secretion of luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone, leading to gonadal atrophy in mammals. The vaccine comprises an immunogenic GnRH:ovalbumin conjugate formulated in a novel double adjuvant system and is administered in a two-dose treatment regimen. Field trials have confirmed efficacy and the product, Vaxstrate, has now been registered and commercialized.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Baptizing dying infants not always required.

St. Augustine taught that infants who died unbaptized suffered the pains of hell, although in ameliorated form. Medieval theologians developed the notion of limbo to mitigate Augustine's teaching, and ideas about limbo have become progressively milder throughout Church history. Contemporary scholars are increasingly questioning the theory. Yet the sense of urgency regarding baptism that was first occasioned by Augustine's doctrine persists today. The sacrament of baptism can best be understood as intended more for the Christian community than for the individual's salvation. It binds the community to demonstrate a faith so alive and dynamic that the child may eventually find fulfillment in it. As for the individual, the Church teaches that persons are fully incorporated into the beatific vision by means other than the sacrament of baptism. Some form of baptism is required, but it may be either sacramental baptism or the baptism of desire. Many theologians have taught that the parents' desire or the Church's faith can provide for the faith of the child that has died unbaptized. Papal teaching, canon law, and contemporary theology combine to obviate the need for Catholic health facilities to baptize dying infants without the consent of the parents. If such a policy is maintained, it should be clearly communicated to parents when they accept the hospital's services. In any event, the mentality of dire urgency that characterized previous generations should be avoided at all costs.

Catholicism↗
PubMed1985

Catholic theology and the "right to die".

Catholic moral theology teaches that life is sacred but not absolute. Because life and all activities are subordinated to spiritual ends, it is moral to allow oneself to die when efforts to prolong life will bring no significant benefit and may even make it more difficult to finish life in peace, composure, and union with God. This is not the moral equivalent of suicide, but rather an acceptance of the human condition. In making such a decision, the distinction between morally ordinary and extraordinary means is crucial and based on the patient's total good. Ordinary means are those which offer a reasonable hope of benefit without excessive expense, pain, or other inconvenience. Extraordinary means are those which cannot be obtained without excessive burden or which, if used, would not offer a reasonable hope of benefit. Whether a medical procedure is standard or experimental does not, from a moral viewpoint, affect whether it is ordinary or extraordinary. In Catholic teaching, the patient has the paramount right to decide whether life-preserving measures will be used. If the patient is unable to make this decision, then the family should make it as the patient's representative.

Catholicism↗
PubMed1981

Hazard of lead exposure in the home from recycled automobile storage batteries.

Two families from rural areas of North Carolina had excessive lead exposure which resulted from either recycling exhausted automobile storage batteries in the home or burning the discarded battery casings for home heating. One child developed encephalopathy resulting in permanent brain damage. Decontamination efforts reduced the quantity of lead in the home environment by greater than 50%. Rural children, previously considered to be at low risk, may in fact receive profound exposures which may go unrecognized until encephalopathy occurs. Occupational histories should be obtained from parents in order to detect children at risk from environmental toxins brought into the home on workmen's bodies and clothing.

Automobiles↗
PubMed1977

Epidemic adenovirus inclusions body hepatitis of the chicken in Australia.

The occurrence of inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) on 11 properties in Australia is described. The 6 Victorian cases occurred between 1967 and 1973 and were identified as incidental findings accompanying other diseases or occurred as ill-defined, minor economic disease episodes. In well-managed flocks the extra mortality attributable to IBH was as low as 1.8% which represented a 50% increase in total mortality. The 1973 epidemic in New South Wales on 5 related farms resulted in flock mortality of 8.4% to 32.3% and an average mortality of 19.5% of 814,000 birds. For uninfected flocks of 307,000 birds the average mortality was 8.5%. Higher mortality in male flocks was statistically highly significant as was lowered efficiency of feed conversion. Growth rate in both sexes was depressed by about 0.15 kg in 70 days and heavy downgrading at processing occurred. Secondary infections were important. The cardinal features of IBH were fatal necrotising hepatitis with Cowdry type-A intranuclear inclusion body formation; secondary bacterial infections were also important causes of loss.

Adenoviridae Infections↗