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Biomedical subjects

H M Scott

Publications and source records attributed to H M Scott.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Permeability of rat liver microsomal membrane to glucose 6-phosphate.

Light-scattering measurements of osmotically induced changes in the size of rat liver microsomal vesicles pre-equilibrated in a low-osmolality buffer revealed the following. (1) The increase in extravesicular osmolality by addition of glucose 6-phosphate or mannose 6-phosphate (25 mM each) caused a rapid shrinking of microsomal vesicles. After shrinkage, a rapid swelling phase (t1/2 approx. 22 s) was present with glucose 6-phosphate but absent with mannose 6-phosphate, indicating that the former had entered microsomal vesicles, but the latter had not. (2) Almost identical results were obtained in the absence of any glucose 6-phosphate hydrolysis, i.e. with microsomes pre-treated with 100 microM-vanadate. (3) The anion-channel blocker 4,4'-di-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (DIDS) suppressed the glucose 6-phosphate-induced swelling phase. (4) The swelling phase was more prolonged as the glucose 6-phosphate concentration increased (t1/2 = 16 +/- 3, 22 +/- 3 and 35 +/- 4 s with 25 mM, 37.5 mM- and 50 mM-glucose 6-phosphate respectively). The behaviour of glucose-6-phosphatase activity of intact and disrupted microsomes measured in the presence of high concentrations (less than 30 mM) of substrate also indicated the saturation of the glucose 6-phosphate permeation system by extravesicular concentrations of glucose 6-phosphate higher than 20-30 mM. Additional experiments showed that vanadate-treated microsomes pre-equilibrated with 0.1 mM- and 1.0 mM-glucose 6-phosphate (and [1-14C]glucose 6-phosphate as a tracer) rapidly (t1/2 less than 20 s) released [1-14C]glucose 6-phosphate when diluted in a glucose 6-phosphate-free medium. The efflux of [1-14C]glucose 6-phosphate was largely prevented by DIDS, allowing an evaluation of the intravesicular space of glucose 6-phosphate of approx. 1.0 microliter/mg of microsomal protein.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid

Analysis of human hepatic microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase in clinical conditions where the T2 pyrophosphate/phosphate transport protein is absent.

The availability of a rare set of human hepatic microsomes in which T2, a pyrophosphate/phosphate transport protein of the glucose-6-phosphatase system, has been shown immunologically to be completely absent, has permitted further characterization of multicomponent glucose-6-phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.9). Pyrophosphatase activity in intact microsomes was found to be totally absent, but was normal in disrupted microsomes. However, Pi did not accumulate within the lumen of the microsomes when glucose 6-phosphate was the substrate. This was not as predicted if there is only one transport protein in the endoplasmic reticulum capable of transporting Pi, produced by glucose-6-phosphatase, out of the lumen. The results suggest that the pyrophosphate/phosphate transport system of human hepatic endoplasmic reticulum must be more complex than previously thought, as it must comprise at least two protein components.

Adult

Pentamidine activates T1 the hepatic microsomal glucose 6-phosphate transport protein of the glucose-6-phosphatase system.

The mechanism of activation of hepatic microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.9) in vitro by pentamidine has been investigated in both intact and fully disrupted microsomes. The major effect of pentamidine is a 4.7-fold reduction in the Km of glucose-6-phosphatase activity in intact diabetic rat liver microsomes. The site of action of pentamidine is T1 the hepatic microsomal glucose 6-phosphate transport protein. The activation of T1 by pentamidine may contribute to the disturbed blood glucose homeostasis seen in many patients after the administration of the drug pentamidine.

Animals

Biomedical knowledge in explanations of clinical problems by medical students.

This paper was motivated by a controversy concerning the role of basic sciences in medical education. A problem underlying this issue is that it is unknown how basic science is used in clinical reasoning. The experiment was designed to address this issue. Three texts were constructed dealing with basic science knowledge relevant to a clinical problem. Subjects were asked to read and recall the texts. Next, the subjects were required to read and recall the clinical text describing a patient problem. Finally, they were asked to provide a diagnosis and an explanation of the underlying pathophysiology. Subjects were first-, second- and fourth-year medical students. Detailed analysis of subjects' protocols are presented. In general, the results show that when basic science information is given before the clinical problem, the basic science knowledge is used either incorrectly or inconsistently in explaining the clinical problem by all subjects. The authors interpret these results to indicate that the basic sciences and the more practical clinical knowledge form two separate domains with their own individual structures and the clinical information cannot be embedded into the basic science knowledge structure.

Biology

A theoretical method for the determination of amino acid availabilty utilizing 14C labeled protein sources.

A theoretical method is described whereby the availabilities of amino acids from test proteins are determined relative to the availabilities of amino acids from egg albumen. The method requires that both the test protein and the egg albumen be 14C labeled. The relative availabilities of the amino acids are determined from the change in specific activities of the dietary amino acids and those recovered in the feces.

Amino Acids