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Biomedical subjects

H Durand

Publications and source records attributed to H Durand.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Physical interaction of the HIV-1 Nef protein with beta-COP, a component of non-clathrin-coated vesicles essential for membrane traffic.

Nef is a 27-kDa myristylated protein conserved in most human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1, HIV-2, and simian immunodeficiency virus isolates. Simian immunodeficiency virus Nef is required in macaques for both high viral load and full pathological effects. Nef down-regulates the cell surface expression of CD4 by a post-translational mechanism that is not yet fully elucidated. We have used the yeast two-hybrid system to identify cellular proteins that interact with Nef. A cDNA was isolated which encodes a COOH-terminal fragment of human beta-COP, a major coat component of non-clathrin-coated vesicles. Nef and beta-COP interacted in vitro and were found to be physically associated in HIV-1-infected cells by co-immunoprecipitation. These observations suggest that beta-COP might be one of the cellular mediators of Nef function in HIV-1-infected cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Tyr394 and Tyr505 are autophosphorylated in recombinant Lck protein-tyrosine kinase expressed in Escherichia coli.

The activity of the Src family protein-tyrosine kinase p56lck is regulated by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of two critical tyrosine residues Tyr394 and Tyr505. Tyr394 is autophosphorylated after p56lck activation, whereas phosphorylation of Tyr505 is believed to be due to p50csk which negatively modulates p56lck activity. To determine whether Tyr505 could be autophosphorylated, we used the prokaryotic glutathione S-transferase expression system to express wild-type Lck, the mutants [Y394F]Lck and [Y505F]Lck, a kinase-deficient p56lck with a mutation of the ATP-binding site [K273E]Lck and a double mutant [Y394F, Y505F]Lck. We studied the kinase activities and the patterns of autophosphorylation for tyrosine residues in these mutants and wild-type Lck both in vivo and in vitro. Wild-type Lck, [Y505F]Lck and [Y394F]Lck were phosphorylated on tyrosine. Both the kinase-deficient mutant[K273E]Lck and the double mutant [Y394F, Y505F]Lck did not react with monoclonal anti-phosphotyrosine antibody [anti-Y(P) mAb], thus providing evidence that (a) the bacterial strains used lacked intrinsic protein-tyrosine kinase activities, and therefore tyrosine phosphorylations of wild-type Lck, [Y505F]Lck and [Y394F]Lck are due to autophosphorylation occurring in vivo in bacteria, and (b) that p56lck can only be autophosphorylated on two tyrosine residues, namely Tyr394 and Tyr505. Phosphopeptide mapping analysis confirmed that p56lck can undergo autophosphorylation on these two tyrosine residues. We propose that autophosphorylation at Tyr505 of p56lck may represent an accessory mechanism for the down-regulation of the tyrosine kinase activity of p56lck.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Development of a transformation system for the thermophilic fungus Talaromyces sp. CL240 based on the use of phleomycin resistance as a dominant selectable marker.

A transformation system for the thermophilic cellulolytic fungus Talaromyces sp. CL240 has been developed, using the phleomycin resistance gene from Streptoalloteichus hindustanus (Sh ble) as a dominant selectable marker. The plasmids (pAN8-1 and pUT720) carrying the Sh ble gene under the control of the Aspergillus nidulans glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd) promoter, allowed selection of phleomycin-resistant transformants. A new promoter sequence cloned from chromosomal DNA of Trichoderma reesei (pUT737) was also able to drive efficient expression of the Sh ble gene in Talaromyces sp. CL240, resulting in the selection of transformants that were highly resistant to phleomycin.

Drug Resistance, Microbial↗

Efficient secretion of human lysozyme fused to the Sh ble phleomycin resistance protein by the fungus Tolypocladium geodes.

Tolypocladium geodes strain NC50 was transformed by different integrating vectors bearing both a synthetic gene encoding human lysozyme (HLz) and the Sh ble phleomycin resistance marker, either in separate expression cassettes or in transcriptional or translational fusion configurations. Clones derived from all vectors were able to secrete HLz. The highest productivities in shake flasks (up to 150 mg l-1 in 5 days) were obtained when HLz was fused at the C-terminal end of the Sh ble protein. The fusion protein is efficiently secreted and release of active lysozyme occurs by extracellular proteolytic cleavage in the junction peptide.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

High efficiency transformation of Tolypocladium geodes conidiospores to phleomycin resistance.

A convenient and efficient transformation system has been developed for the filamentous fungus Tolypocladium geodes. In contrast to most of the commonly described techniques requiring prior preparation of protoplasts or spheroplasts, this method leads to high efficiency transformation of T. geodes conidiospores following moderate lytic enzyme treatment. Competent cells so obtained are still resistant to osmotic pressure and can be stored frozen without loss of viability. The highest transformation frequency (3-5 x 10(3) transformants per microgram of DNA) was obtained with plasmid pUT737 containing the Sh ble gene conferring phleomycin resistance under the control of a strong promoter isolated from Trichoderma reesei. Southern hybridization revealed multiple integration sites of plasmid DNA into the T. geodes nuclear DNA despite the absence of homology between the transforming DNA and the recipient genome. Instability could not be detected for the phleomycin phenotype during more than five generations of mitotic growth under non-selective conditions.

Blotting, Southern↗

Cell signalling associated with fibrinolytic ligand binding to human colorectal carcinoma cells.

Addition of purified plasmin or plasminogen (0.1 microM) to serum-free culture media elevated cellular D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) levels in human colorectal carcinoma cells within 1 h to double those of control cells. This was accompanied by decreases in cellular phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate by 40% in cells exposed to fibrinolytic ligands for up to 1 h. The effect was not due to opening of Ca2+ channels of the type blocked by 5 microM nifedipine, and 100 microM EGTA, a Ca2+ chelator, did not suppress plasmin's ability to elevate InsP3. Binding assays at 4 degrees C with 125I-labelled plasmin indicated maximum binding within 1 h suggesting that the effects of plasmin may be associated with its cell-binding function. These cells could convert exogenous plasminogen to plasmin with endogenous activation and this was accompanied by a decrease in radioactive phosphatidylinositol well below control levels (13% of control). Our results contribute to evidence for the association of plasmin-binding sites with a signalling system. A cell signalling system indirectly or directly associated with plasmin binding, would permit carcinoma cells to coordinate extracellular fibrinolysis with cell migration and motility through second messengers.

Cell Communication↗

Proteolytic events in the processing of secreted proteins in fungi.

Secreted heterologous proteins have been found to be produced much less efficiently by fungi than secreted homologous ones. This could be due, at least in part, to proteolytic cleavage by site-specific endoproteases of the secretory pathway, similar to the yeast KEX2 protease and the mammalian dibasic endoproteinases found in secretory pathways. Mature secreted fungal proteins may be protected from such cleavage due to the absence of cleavable sites in exposed regions. A comparison of the dipeptide distributions of 33 secreted and 34 cytoplasmic proteins from fungal producers of extracellular enzymes indicated a significant bias for some doublets, including the basic dipeptides Lys-Arg, Arg-Arg and Arg-Lys which have also been demonstrated to be KEX2 substrates. Other combinations were also found to be rare in secreted proteins, which could indicate either a broader specificity of the considered endopeptidase, or the presence either in the secretory organelles or among the secreted proteins of additional proteases with different specificities. Experimental evidence that the Lys-Arg site is processed in Tolypocladium geodes was provided by cloning a synthetic prosequence upstream of a phleomycin resistance (Sh ble) gene and analyzing the N-terminus of the corresponding protein purified from the culture supernatant. This system also provides a tool for further studies of specific proteases of fungi.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Allergic angiitis with granulomatosis: Churg-Strauss syndrome. Retrospective study of 16 cases].

Sixteen patients with Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS), a disorder characterized by hypereosinophilia and systemic vasculities which complicate preexisting asthma, were analyzed. The mean duration of asthma before CSS was 8 years; peripheral blood eosinophilia was always greater than 1,900/microliters and exceeded 5,000/microliters in 14 cases. The clinical manifestations were the following: 16 in generally poor condition with fever; 12 peripheral neuropathies; 11 cutaneous lesions; 9 pericardial or myocardial involvement; 9 digestive disorders; 9 muscular or articular diseases; 5 renal involvement, all associated with the vasculitis; 7 upper respiratory tract disorders. Chest radiographs showed pleuropulmonary or cardiac anomalies in 11 patients. The diagnosis was confirmed histologically in 11 cases, however, no clinical, biological or evolutive differences were observed between these patients and those with negative biopsies (5). Follow-up for 6.35 +/- 5.55 years was characterized by relapses always preceded by increased eosinophilia. Fourteen patients were successfully treated with corticosteroids, associated with cyclophosphamide in 7 of them. Five-year survival was 87%. Four deaths occurred, all CSS-associated, two because of a poorly adapted therapeutic regimen. The need for rapid and effective treatment must be stressed. The diagnosis can be made based on clinical manifestations alone before histological confirmation can be obtained.

Adolescent↗

Free erythrocyte protoporphyrin assay in the diagnosis of iron deficiency in the anemic aged subject. A prospective study of 103 anemic patients.

We determined the relative value of the free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP) assay compared to those of total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) and serum ferritin in the diagnosis of iron deficiency in a population of elderly anemic subjects. One hundred and three patients, 65 to 98 years old (mean +/- SD: 81.5 +/- 8.8), with hemoglobin levels of less than 110 milligrams (mean +/- SD: 97 +/- 12, range 53-109) were included in the study. In the patients with iron-deficiency anemia due solely to chronic bleeding, mean values for the three parameters were highly different from those in patients without chronic bleeding. In the patients with anemia due to an association of chronic bleeding and chronic inflammation, the mean FEP value was very significantly different (p less than 0.001) from that in the patients with chronic inflammation but without bleeding, whereas this was not the case for TIBC or serum ferritin. The sensitivity of FEP in the diagnosis of iron deficiency due to chronic bleeding in this population of anemic subjects was 60% (specificity 90%), compared to 13% (specificity 96%) for TIBC and 20% (specificity 100%) for serum ferritin. The FEP assay thus emerges as being highly suitable for the diagnosis of iron-deficiency anemia in the elderly subject, particularly when bone marrow is not examined.

Aged↗

Ganglioside inhibition of (125I)-plasmin binding to colorectal carcinoma cells.

The pre-incubation of human colorectal carcinoma cells SW 1116 with 25 to 100 uM purified gangliosides resulted in 35-60% inhibition of specific (125I)-plasmin binding to the cell surface. After 5 to 6 days in culture, tumor cells were pre-incubated at 4 degrees for 1 to 4 h followed by post-incubation with (125I)-plasmin by techniques previously described. At 25 uM the capacity for inhibition of plasmin binding was GT1b greater than GQ1b greater than or equal to GD1a greater than GM1 less than or equal to GgOse 4Cer. Thus a terminal sialyl moiety appears to be necessary (p less than 0.05) although exogenous N-acetyl neuraminic acid was ineffective (p greater than 0.05), indicating a role for the lipid portion of the ganglioside. Other (glyco)lipids such as sphingosine, fucolipid H-1 and sulfatide were without significant effect. The inhibition could not be reversed by the presence of 10 mM Ca+2, EDTA, pre-treatment of the cell with carboxypeptidase or pretreatment of plasmin with neuraminidases. The inhibition was however reversed by post-incubation in control medium without exogenous ganglioside. Cell counts determined prior to, and after ganglioside incubation showed that the effect was not due to cell death or detachment from the culture surface. The dissociation constant for (125I)-plasmin binding was 5.6 x 10(-8) M (700,000 sites/cell), but in the presence of trisialoganglioside (GT1b), Scatchard plots suggested diversification of binding sites with 280,000 sites/cell at Kd 2.6 x 10(-8) M and 820,000 sites/cell at Kd 2.1 x 10(-7) M. Another interpretation of the Scatchard plot in the presence of ganglioside was that the glycolipid imposed negative cooperativity on plasmin binding to the cell surface. These results suggest that certain gangliosides can affect tumor cell invasiveness by altering protease binding to the cell surface.

Binding Sites↗