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Biomedical subjects

J Boyle

Publications and source records attributed to J Boyle.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Posttranslational regulation of cyclin D1 by retinoic acid: a chemoprevention mechanism.

The retinoids are reported to reduce incidence of second primary aerodigestive cancers. Mechanisms for this chemoprevention are previously linked to all-trans retinoic acid (RA) signaling growth inhibition at G1 in carcinogen-exposed immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells. This study investigated how RA suppresses human bronchial epithelial cell growth at the G1-S cell cycle transition. RA signaled growth suppression of human bronchial epithelial cells and a decline in cyclin D1 protein but not mRNA expression. Exogenous cyclin D1 protein also declined after RA treatment of transfected, immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells, suggesting that posttranslational mechanisms were active in this regulation of cyclin D1 expression. Findings were extended by showing treatment with ubiquitin-dependent proteasome inhibitors: calpain inhibitor I and lactacystin each prevented this decreased cyclin D1 protein expression, despite RA treatment. Treatment with the cysteine proteinase inhibitor, E-64, did not prevent this cyclin D1 decline. High molecular weight cyclin D1 protein species appeared after proteasome inhibitor treatments, suggesting that ubiquitinated species were present. To learn whether RA directly promoted degradation of cyclin D1 protein, studies using human bronchial epithelial cell protein extracts and in vitro-translated cyclin D1 were performed. In vitro-translated cyclin D1 degraded more rapidly when incubated with extracts from RA treated vs. untreated cells. Notably, this RA-signaled cyclin D1 proteolysis depended on the C-terminal PEST sequence, a region rich in proline (P), glutamate (E), serine (S), and threonine (T). Taken together, these data highlight RA-induced cyclin D1 proteolysis as a mechanism signaling growth inhibition at G1 active in the prevention of human bronchial epithelial cell transformation.

Bronchi↗

In vitro formation of mineralized cartilagenous tissue by articular chondrocytes.

Study of the deep articular cartilage and adjacent calcified cartilage has been limited by the lack of an in vitro culture system which mimics this region of the cartilage. In this paper we describe a method to generate mineralized cartilagenous tissue in culture using chondrocytes obtained from the deep zone of bovine articular cartilage. The cells were plated on Millipore CMR filters. The chondrocytes in culture accumulated extracellular matrix and formed cartilagenous tissue which calcified when beta-glycerophosphate was added to the culture medium. The cartilagenous tissue generated in vitro contains both type II and type X collagens, large sulfated proteoglycans, and alkaline phosphatase activity. Ultrastructurally, matrix vesicles were seen in the extracellular matrix. Selected area electron diffraction confirmed that the calcification was composed of hydroxyapatite crystals. The chondrocytes, as characterized thus far, appear to maintain their phenotype under these culture conditions which suggests that these cultures could be used as a model to examine the metabolism of cells from the deep zone of cartilage and mineralization of cartilagenous tissue in culture.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Anti-M isoimmunization: management and outcome at the Ohio State University from 1969 to 1995.

OBJECTIVE: To review the management strategies and outcome in gravidas with anti-M isoimmunization over the past 26 years at The Ohio State University. METHODS: Data collected from 115 pregnancies found to have anti-M antibody at The Ohio State University from September 1969 through February 1996 were reviewed retrospectively. We analyzed indirect antiglobulin tests, amniotic fluid with spectrophotometric examination, direct antiglobulin tests, M antigen status, antepartum course, and perinatal outcome. RESULTS: Anti-M antibody was found in 90 women who had 115 pregnancies over 26 years. Among those with positive indirect antiglobulin tests, 104 pregnancies had titers at or below 1:4. Only one patient with an initial low titer experienced more than a three-fold increase to 1:64. Two women underwent a total of eight amniocenteses when titers were at or above 1:128. Forty-two (60%) of the 70 infants tested were positive for M antigen. Nine infants required phototherapy. Eight of these infants were delivered preterm. There was an increase in the number of women seen with anti-M antibody in pregnancy at our institution, with nearly 10% of all gravidas with a positive antibody screen having anti-M alloantibodies. There were no cases of hemolytic disease of the newborn, mild or severe. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of anti-M isoimmunization may be increasing. The incidence of severe hemolytic disease of the newborn due to anti-M is extremely low. We found no cases in our review of 115 pregnancies, although there have been several cases of severe hemolytic disease of the newborn reported. If anti-M is detected in pregnancy, the titer is low (no more than 1:4), and there is no history of prior pregnancy complications suggesting a hemolytic disease process, we recommend no further testing other than an indirect antiglobulin test at 28 weeks to look for the emergence of other alloantibodies. However, if the initial titer is elevated or there is a concerning obstetric history, serial titers should be performed and amniocenteses reserved for rising titers.

Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic↗

Exploring novel chemotherapy treatments using the WWW.

A JAVA application, The Oncologists Workbench, which allows oncologists to estimate the influence of new cancer treatment schedules is being developed. The requirement for a rational approach to the design of chemotherapeutic regimens is well established [1]. Our prototype allows oncologists using the World Wide Web (WWW) to graphically construct treatment regimens while considering various toxic side effects. A simulation engine makes predictions of tumour growth based on previous clinical knowledge of response to treatment. The oncologist can then examine the predicted tumour response information with a specially constructed interactive viewer. These interlinked tools allow oncologists to develop and predict the effectiveness of novel chemotherapeutic regimens. This work is part of an ongoing collaboration between oncologists, mathematicians and computer scientists to provide tools for improving cancer chemotherapy.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

A previously undescribed mutation within the tetramerisation domain of TP53 in a family with Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

We report details of a family with classic Li-Fraumeni syndrome in which there is a mutation in codon 344 of the tumour suppressor gene TP53. Codon 344 is a key residue within the tetramerisation domain, and the amino acid substitution of a proline for a leucine is predicted to have profound implications for tetramerisation and potentially DNA binding. This is the first report of a mutation at this residue in either sporadic tumours or in the germline and the first report of a germline mutation within the tetramerisation domain. The family does not appear to be remarkable in the spectrum of tumours, and there is loss of the wild-type allele in a leiomyosarcoma from the proband. A cell line has been established from the tumour of the proband and cytogenetic and molecular studies carried out, providing an extensive analysis in this family.

Adult↗

Disposition, metabolism, and toxicity of methyl tertiary butyl ether, an oxygenate for reformulated gasoline.

Studies of the toxicology of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) were reviewed as a possible information base for evaluating the health effects of evaporative emissions from reformulated gasoline (RFG). The major metabolites of the oxidative demethylation of MTBE in vivo were methanol and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA), whereas formaldehyde and TBA were the principal products of hepatic microsomal oxidation by cytochrome P-450. Pharmacokinetic studies in rats treated with intragastric MTBE in corn oil gave an initial disposition T1/2 for MTBE of 0.32 h. The decline in the serum drug versus time curve for MTBE in rats was accompanied by a progressive increase in serum methanol concentrations to levels more than 50-200 times those of the parent compound. Repeated exposure of MTBE vapor by inhalation in rats resulted in dose-dependent increases in MTBE in the blood, brain, and adipose tissue compartments. Blood concentrations of TBA were also dose dependent and provided an estimate of the total amount of MTBE distributed to peripheral drug metabolizing compartments. Perirenal fat/blood MTBE concentration ratios ranged from 9.7 to 11.6 after 15 wk of intermittent exposure. During an oxyfuels program in Fairbanks, AK, blood levels of occupationally exposed workers were 0.2-31.5 microgram/L MTBE and 1.6 to 72.2 microgram/L TBA with a mean TBA:MTBE blood concentration ratio of 4.2. In patients who received MTBE by percutaneous, transhepatic puncture for the dissolution of cholesterol gallstones, concentrations of MTBE in fat tissue reached 60 and 300 microgram/g at a treatment time when mean blood MTBE was less than 20 microgram/ml. The results of laboratory and clinical studies indicate that metabolites of MTBE may contribute to the nephropathy, neoplasms, and other pathological changes associated with repeated exposure to MTBE in experimental animals. It is concluded that such studies can provide a well-defined database for quantitative safety comparisons and health risk-benefit analyses of MTBE and other oxygenates in RFG.

Air Pollutants↗

Clinical and laboratory findings in four patients with the non-progressive hepatic form of type IV glycogen storage disease.

The classic clinical presentation for type IV glycogen storage disease (branching enzyme deficiency, GSD IV) is hepatosplenomegaly with failure to thrive occurring in the first 18 months of life, followed by progressive liver failure and death by age 5 years. Although there have been two patients without apparent liver progression previously reported, no long-term follow-up clinical data have been available. We present here the clinical spectrum of the non-progressive liver form of GSD IV in four patients, and long-term follow-up of the oldest identified patients (ages 13 and 20 years). None has developed progressive liver cirrhosis, skeletal muscle, cardiac or neurological involvement, and none has been transplanted. Branching enzyme activity was also measured in cultured skin fibroblasts from patients with the classic liver progressive, the early neonatal fatal, and the non-progressive hepatic presentations of GSD IV. The residual branching enzyme activity in the patients without progression was not distinguishable from the other forms and could not be used to predict the clinical course. Our data indicate that GSD IV does not always necessitate hepatic transplantation and that caution should be used when counselling patients regarding the prognosis of GSD IV. Patients should be carefully monitored for evidence of progression before recommending liver transplantation.

1,4-alpha-Glucan Branching Enzyme↗

Coronary artery disease in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus of pregnancy (class H): a review of the literature.

Coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction are uncommon complications during pregnancy. Women with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) have a much greater risk of serious coronary heart disease, but few cases of myocardial infarctions occurring during pregnancy have been reported. Significant maternal morbidity has been reported in half of these cases. This is a case of a myocardial infarction occurring at 21 weeks of gestation in a patient with class R/F IDDM and the subsequent pregnancy management as well as a review of the literature concerning Class H IDDM in pregnancy.

Adult↗

Randomized, controlled phase I/II, trial of combination therapy with delavirdine (U-90152S) and conventional nucleosides in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected patients.

Delavirdine mesylate (DLV) is a potent nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor with activity specific for human immunodeficiency virus type 1. In the present phase I/II study we evaluated the safety, toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and antiretroviral activities of two-drug and three-drug combinations of DLV and conventional doses of nucleoside analogs compared with those of both DLV monotherapy and two-drug nucleoside analog therapy. A total of 85 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infected patients with CD4 counts of 100 to 300 cells per mm3 were enrolled in two periods: in the first period patients were randomized to receive either zidovudine (ZDV) plus didanosine (group 1) or ZDV plus didanosine plus escalating doses (400 to 1,200 mg/day) of DLV (group 2). In the second period, patients were randomized to receive either 1,200 mg of DLV alone per day (group 3) or ZDV plus 1,200 mg of DLV per day (group 4). DLV demonstrated good oral bioavailability at all five doses tested. The major toxicity was a transient mild rash which appeared in 44% of all DLV recipients. Overall, group 2 patients demonstrated more sustained improvements in CD4 counts, percent CD4 cells, branched DNA levels, p24 antigen levels, and virus titers in plasma than group 1, 3, or 4 patients. The magnitude of the response correlated with the intensity of prior nucleoside analog treatment, the non-syncytium-inducing or syncytium-inducing viral phenotype at baseline, and the presence of a wild-type codon at amino acid position 215 in the baseline reverse transcriptase genotype. Despite a transient rash, DLV therapy was well tolerated. Combination therapy with DLV and nucleoside analogs appears promising, with the three-drug combination appearing to be more potent that either two-drug combinations or monotherapy.

Adult↗

Characterization of proteoglycan accumulation during formation of cartilagenous tissue in vitro.

In order to study proteoglycan retention and accumulation, we optimized a chondrocyte cell culture system in which isolated bovine articular chondrocytes accumulate extracellular matrix to form a continuous layer of cartilagenous tissue. The tissue can attain a thickness of up to 110 microns by 35 days. The cells synthesize large keratan sulfate containing proteoglycans and type II collagen indicating that the chondrocytes maintain their phenotype in these culture conditions. Matrix accumulation is enhanced by increased cell density and the presence of serum and ascorbic acid. The amount of proteoglycans synthesized by the chondrocytes increases up to day 21 and then decreases to the same levels as are synthesized during the first week of culture. The percentage of newly synthesized proteoglycans retained in the matrix increases from 20% on day 6 to a maximum of 85% by day 35. The proteoglycan and collagen content in the tissue increases with time in culture. The changes in the percentage of proteoglycans retained parallels the increase in proteoglycan content. After day 35, there is no further increase in the amount of proteoglycans and collagen nor in the percentage of newly synthesized proteoglycans retained in the extracellular matrix. These studies demonstrate that the cultures are going through two phases: one of matrix accumulation and then one of maintaining the existing matrix. The period of matrix accumulation occurs between days 10-21 whereas matrix maintenance is observed after day 35. Using this culture system to study proteoglycan accumulation and maintenance during these culture periods may prove useful in identifying the mechanisms regulating these processes.

Animals↗

Cyclosporin enhancement of cisplatin chemotherapy in patients with refractory gynecologic cancer. A Gynecologic Oncology Group Study.

BACKGROUND: Cyclosporin has been demonstrated to reverse resistance to several antineoplastic agents including cisplatin in vitro. The purpose of this Phase I trial was to study the potential clinical application of cyclosporin modulation of cisplatin and to establish a tolerable dose of cyclosporin when combined with a standard dose of cisplatin of 75 mg/m2. METHODS: A course of therapy consisted of two cyclosporin infusions over 2 hours each, 24 hours apart, with cisplatin given 6 hours after the first dose. Treatment was repeated every 21 days. Cyclosporin was studied in a Phase I fashion at five different levels, from 1-5 mg/kg per dose. Twenty patients with refractory gynecologic cancer received 81 courses of therapy. All patients had received extensive prior chemotherapy containing cisplatin. RESULTS: Grade 4 nephrotoxicity was seen in 4 of 20 patients: 1 treated at 1 mg/kg, 1 at 2 mg/kg, and 2 at 5 mg/kg of cyclosporin. The patient treated at the 1 mg/kg level was a partial clinical responder and tolerated six courses. The patient at the 2 mg/kg level had received 14 prior courses of cisplatin and tolerated only two additional courses before a Grade 4 renal toxicity developed. Grade 4 nephrotoxicity developed in the two patients receiving 5 mg after two courses of chemotherapy. Two of the 20 patients achieved a complete response (CR) and 3 patients achieved a partial response (PR), for a total response rate of 25% (5 of 20). The two women who achieved CR started treatment with symptomatic ascites; one of whom also had multiple pulmonary lesions that were no longer evident after three courses of therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Cyclosporin at a dose of 4 mg/kg per day given for 2 consecutive days in association with 75 mg/m2 of cisplatin can be given with reasonable assurance of safety.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Radical moral disagreement in contemporary health care: a Roman Catholic perspective.

This paper addresses the moral challenges presented by the existence of radical moral disagreement in contemporary health care. I argue that there is no neutral moral perspective for understanding and resolving these challenges, but that they must be formulated and resolved from within the various perspectives that generate the disagreement. I then explore the natural law tradition's approach to these issues as a test case for my thesis.

Attitude↗

Effects of DNA polymer length on its adsorption to soils.

Three different DNA fragments ranging size from 2.69 kbp (1.75 MDa) to 23 kbp (14.95 MDa) were used as tracers to study the adsorption of polydisperse solutions of calf thymus DNA to eight model soils. The adsorption of the three tracers to all soils was described by the Freundlich adsorption model, with adsorption coefficients (K) ranging from 1.1 for acid-washed sand to over 300 for one soil. An inverse relationship between tracer size and K was observed with six of the eight soils, indicating that smaller fragments are sorbed preferentially versus larger fragments in these soils. No significant correlation between K and the organic carbon contents, clay contents, pHs, or cation exchange capacities of the model soils was observed.

Journal Article↗

Internal fixation or hemiarthroplasty for undisplaced fractures of the femoral neck in octogenarians.

We compared the reoperation rate after internal fixation for minimally displaced or impacted intracapsular fractures of the femoral neck in patients aged 80 years and above with that in similar patients aged 65 to 79 years. We also compared the results of internal fixation with those of hemiarthroplasty for displaced intracapsular fracture in an age- and sex-matched group of elderly patients. We found that a significantly greater proportion of the older patients treated by internal fixation required reoperation than either the younger group or the age-matched group treated by hemiarthroplasty. Our results indicate that internal fixation may not be the best treatment for extremely elderly patients with minimally displaced or impacted intracapsular fractures of the femoral neck.

Aged↗