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Biomedical subjects

J F Wang

Publications and source records attributed to J F Wang.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

AIDS-related knowledge, fear, and behavioral change among nurses in Taiwan.

Current literature documents a phenomenon of fear that affects the willingness of health care professionals to care for persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We attempted to identify differences between nurses who exhibit fearful attitudes toward AIDS and those who do not, based on knowledge and behavior. Taiwan, site of the study, is only beginning to identify the first of its citizens with AIDS. The subjects were a population of caregivers from a culture with little exposure, therefore, either through education or experience, to the disease and the issues it engenders. A cross-sectional, self-administered survey was conducted in 1990 of 1759 nurses in 12 institutions throughout Taiwan. Data on AIDS-related knowledge, fear, and behavior, as well as selected demographic data, were gathered. Analysis revealed significantly less fear of AIDS among nurses who reported three behavioral changes related to AIDS than among those who reported fewer changed behaviors (F = 4.43, df = 3; P < 0.004); those with higher levels of education (F = 3.54, df = 3; P < 0.014); and those who were single rather than married (t = 2.81; P < 0.005).

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1993

Effects of lisinopril and captopril on calcium in rat heart.

We studied the effects of lisinopril (Lis) and captopril (Cap), two angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, on calcium in ischemia/reperfusion and normal rat hearts. Ischemia/reperfusion hearts were subjected to 15 min ischemia followed by 1 or 30 min reperfusion. Lis 0.1 mumol.L-1 and Cap 200 mumol.L-1 decreased the concentration of calcium in ischemia/reperfusion hearts (the content of calcium in reperfusion 1 min heart were reduced from 4.0 +/- 0.6 to 2.7 +/- 0.5 and 3.0 +/- 0.9 mumol/g dry wt respectively). In cultured cell of neonatal rat heart, both drugs inhibited the uptake of 45Ca2+. The activity of Na+,K(+)-ATPase prepared from rat heart was increased (activity increased from 15.7 +/- 2.3 in control group to 21.2 +/- 2.0 and 22.0 +/- 3.1 mumol/h mg protein in Lis and Cap groups, respectively). This calcium lowering effects of Lis and Cap may be important in protecting the ischemia/reperfusion damage of myocardium.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMed1992

Tertiary structure around the guanosine-binding site of the Tetrahymena ribozyme.

A cleavage reagent directed to the active site of the Tetrahymena catalytic RNA was synthesized by derivatization of the guanosine substrate with a metal chelator. When complexed with iron(II), this reagent cleaved the RNA in five regions. Cleavage at adenosine 207, which is far from the guanosine-binding site in the primary and secondary structure, provides a constraint for the higher order folding of the RNA. This cleavage site constitutes physical evidence for a key feature of the Michel-Westhof model. Targeting a reactive entity to a specific site should be generally useful for determining proximity within folded RNA molecules or ribonucleoprotein complexes.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Solution studies of staphylococcal nuclease H124L. 1. Backbone 1H and 15N resonances and secondary structure of the unligated enzyme as identified by three-dimensional NMR spectroscopy.

The backbone 1H and 15N resonances of unligated staphylococcal nuclease H124L (recombinant protein produced in Escherichia coli whose sequence is identical to the nuclease produced by the V8 strain of Staphylococcus aureus) have been assigned by three-dimensional (3D) 1H-15N NOESY-HMQC NMR spectroscopy at 14.1 tesla. The protein sample used in this study was labeled uniformly with 15N to a level greater than 95% by growing the E. coli host on a medium containing [99% 15N]ammonium sulfate as the sole nitrogen source. The assignments include 82% of the backbone 1HN and 1H alpha resonances as well as the 15N resonances of non-proline residues. Secondary structural elements (alpha-helices, beta-sheets, reverse turns, and loops) were determined by analysis of patterns of NOE connectivities present in the 3D spectrum.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Solution studies of staphylococcal nuclease H124L. 2. 1H, 13C, and 15N chemical shift assignments for the unligated enzyme and analysis of chemical shift changes that accompany formation of the nuclease-thymidine 3',5'-bisphosphate-calcium ternary complex.

Accurate 1H, 15N, and 13C chemical shift assignments were determined for staphylococcal nuclease H124L (in the absence of inhibitor or activator ion). Backbone 1H and 15N assignments, obtained by analysis of three-dimensional 1H-15N HMQC-NOESY data [Wang, J., Mooberry, E.S., Walkenhorst, W.F., & Markley, J. L. (1992) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)], were refined and extended by a combination of homo- and heteronuclear two-dimensional NMR experiments. Staphylococcal nuclease H124L samples used in the homonuclear 1H NMR studies were at natural isotopic abundance or labeled randomly with 2H (to an isotope level of 50%); nuclease H124L samples used for heteronuclear NMR experiments were labeled uniformly with 15N (to an isotope level greater than 95%) or uniformly with 13C (to an isotope level of 26%). Additional nuclease H124L samples were labeled selectively by incorporating single 15N- or 13C-labeled amino acids. The chemical shifts of uncomplexed enzyme were then compared with those determined previously for the nuclease H124L.pdTp.Ca2+ ternary complex [Wang, J., LeMaster, D. M., & Markley, J.L. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 88-101; Wang, J., Hinck, A.P., Loh, S. N., & Markley, J.L. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 102-113; Wang, J., Hinck, A.P., Loh, S.N., & Markley, J.L. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 4242-4253]. The results reveal that the binding of pdTp and Ca2+ induces large shifts in the resonances of several amino acid segments. These chemical shift changes are interpreted in terms of changes in backbone torsion angles that accompany the binding of pdTp and Ca2+; changes at the binding site appear to be transmitted to other regions of the molecule through networks of hydrogen bonds.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Inhibition of superoxide and nitric oxide release and protection from reoxygenation injury by Ebselen in rat Kupffer cells.

Luminol chemiluminescence in phorbolester-activated cultured rat liver Kupffer cells was strongly inhibited by the selenoorganic compound ebselen (IC50 = 2 mumol/L). Ebselen (2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3[2H]one) also diminished reduction of ferricytochrome c (IC50 = 10 mumol/L), indicating a suppression of superoxide anion formation. Likewise, in lipopolysaccharide-pretreated Kupffer cells, ebselen proved to be a potent inhibitor of the conversion of oxyhemoglobin to methemoglobin (IC50 = 3 mumol/L) as a measure of nitric oxide formation. The sulfur-containing analog (2-phenyl-1,2-benzisothiazol-3[2H]one) and the ebselen derivative, methylselenobenzanilide, were inactive. These results indicate that ebselen is a potent inhibitor of NADPH oxidase in Kupffer cells, as has been reported for other macrophages and granulocytes. In addition, they suggest a novel characteristic of ebselen, namely very effective inhibition of nitric oxide synthase of macrophages. In line with its inhibitory effects on the release of reactive oxygen species by macrophages, complemented by its antioxidant properties, ebselen was potent in the prevention of reoxygenation injury of Kupffer cells (IC50 approximately 5 mumol/L).

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1992

Mobilization of calcium from intracellular store as a possible mechanism underlying the anti-opioid effect of angiotensin II.

Angiotensin II (AII), injected intracerebroventricularly, has been shown to antagonize opioid analgesia. The mechanism for this was obscure. In the neuroblastoma X glioma NG 108-15 hybrid cell line, the K(+)-induced increase in [Ca2+]i can be suppressed by the delta opioid agonist [D-Pen2, D-Pen5]enkephalin (DPDPE) at 0.01-1 microM, an effect completely reversed by the opioid antagonist naloxone. Angiotensin II (AII) at concentrations of 0.1 and 1 microM mobilized free Ca2+ from an intracellular pool, and this effect was antagonized by the AII receptor antagonist saralasin. All (1 microM) had no significant effect on the increase in [Ca2+]i induced by K+, but it blocked the suppressive effect of DPDPE on the K(+)-induced [Ca2+]i increase. The results indicate that mobilization of intracellular calcium may underlie the anti-opioid effect of AII.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1992

A comparison of the variable antigens expressed by clone IV-1 and subgroup III of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A.

Serogroup A Neisseria meningitidis of subgroup III has caused two pandemics of meningococcal meningitis since 1966 and recently spread to East Africa. The last epidemics in West Africa in the early 1980s were caused by clone IV-1. Surface antigens of clone IV-1 strains from West Africa and subgroup III strains from both pandemic waves were analyzed. Lipopolysaccharide was stable within clone IV-1 but variable in subgroup III. Pili from clone IV-1 possessed class I epitopes, while those from subgroup III also possessed class IIa epitopes. Certain class 5 protein variants were expressed by both bacterial clones, possibly reflecting either inheritance of primeval genes or horizontal transmission. Exposure of Gambians to clone IV-1 bacteria stimulated production of bactericidal antibodies cross-reactive with subgroup III bacteria in some individuals but of type-specific antibodies in others. Gambians without bactericidal antibodies usually became healthy carriers rather than developing meningococcal disease on exposure to virulent meningococci.

Africa, Western↗
PubMed1992

Clonal and antigenic analysis of serogroup A Neisseria meningitidis with particular reference to epidemiological features of epidemic meningitis in the People's Republic of China.

Representative strains of serogroup A Neisseria meningitidis were chosen from all major meningitis epidemics worldwide since 1960 and subjected to analysis for the electrophoretic variation of 15 cytoplasmic allozymes and four outer membrane proteins. The 290 strains defined 84 unique electrophoretic types which were classified in nine subgroups. Tests with monoclonal antibodies specific for conserved pilin epitopes showed that the class I, IIa, and IIb epitopes were uniform within the subgroups. Similarly, the subgroups were uniform for expression of different variable regions of class 1 outer membrane protein, with a few minor exceptions. Many of the bacteria tested were isolated in the People's Republic of China, and the epidemiology of Chinese epidemics of meningococcal meningitis is described. The analysis approaches a global description of epidemic meningitis caused by serogroup A meningococci in the past 30 years.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Regulation of thyroid hormone synthesis in cultured ovine thyroid follicles.

Primary cultures of sheep thyroid follicles were used to study the regulatory control mechanisms of thyroid hormone production. When maintained under serum-free conditions in vitro these follicles exhibit hormone-dependent iodide transport, iodine organification, and physiological de novo thyroid hormone formation. In previous studies we have also shown that thyroid follicles condition their culture media with insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and IGF-binding proteins which are of potential autocrine or paracrine significance in thyroid hormonogenesis. TSH (100 microU/ml) alone modestly stimulated iodine uptake and organification, which was further potentiated by pharmacological or physiological concentrations of insulin and by physiological concentrations of IGF-I or IGF-II. A combination of TSH and cortisol (10 nM) optimally stimulated iodine uptake and organification without additive or synergistic effects among combinations of cortisol with insulin or IGFs. Insulin, IGF-I, IGF-II, or cortisol alone were without effect on iodine uptake and organification. The effect of TSH was mimicked by forskolin or (Bu)2cAMP, and the synergistic effect of cortisol with TSH was duplicated in incubations of dexamethasone with TSH. In long term studies of the same experimental conditions, with 10(-6) M NaI added to the culture medium, an increase in radioimmunoassayable T4 and T3 in conditioned cell culture media and cell layer extracts was confirmed for all conditions, with the exception of physiological concentrations of insulin. IGF-I and IGF-II were equipotent in their stimulation of thyroid hormonogenesis in the presence of TSH. The effect of high concentrations of insulin may be explained by a combined action through insulin and type I IGF receptors. We have previously reported that the stimulation of iodine uptake and organification (de novo thyroid hormone formation here) by TSH and cortisol is inversely correlated with their inhibition of IGF-binding proteins released by the cells while IGF release is unchanged. Overall, these data suggest that the regulation of thyroid hormonogenesis involves the endocrine hormones TSH and cortisol, acting in synergy with locally produced IGFs.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

In vitro and in vivo effects of PGE2 on cementless fixation of implant.

The effects of prostaglandin E2(PGE2) in vivo and in vitro on cementless fixation of porous coated implant were studied. The results revealed that high levels of PGE2 in the local tissue benefit bone ingrowth in the early stage of implantation. Co-Cr-Mo alloy itself hampers the growth of osteoblasts and decreases the local secretion of PGE2. In the early stage of arthroplasty, the use of PGE2 inhibitors should be forbidden, and proper loading stimulation is preferable. High level PGE2 of local tissue in the later stage indicates bone resorption.

Alloys↗
PubMed1992

[Efficacy of danggui funing pill in treating 162 cases of abdominal pain].

Therapeutic effect of Danggui Funing (DGFN) pill in treating 207 patients with abdominal pain were studied with control. Among 207 patients with abdominal pain, 162 of DGFN pill group and 45 of control groups (35 atropine group and 10 placebo group). The effective rate of abdominal pain in the three groups were 93.27%, 97.14% and 0% respectively. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between the DGFN pill group and the atropine group, but the difference were statistically significant (P < 0.01) between the above-mentioned two groups and the placebo group. These results revealed that the therapeutic effect of DGFN pill was reliable. There were three pharmacological effects of DGFN pill: The blocking on M, alpha and H1 receptors, the analgesic effect and the antiseptic effect. The DGFN pill was the drug of rapid-efficacy and low toxicity.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1991

Contribution of nitric oxide synthase to luminol-dependent chemiluminescence generated by phorbol-ester-activated Kupffer cells.

Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-induced luminol chemiluminescence in rat Kupffer cells was doubled by the addition of L-arginine and significantly (up to 70%) inhibited by NG-nitro-L-arginine and NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, competitive inhibitors of L-arginine-dependent nitric oxide (NO) formation. The release of superoxide anion (O2-) by NADPH oxidase was neither affected by L-arginine nor by the inhibitors. Only very slight luminol chemiluminescence was detectable in lipopolysaccharide-pretreated Kupffer cells, a condition in which significant amounts of NO were formed but no O2-. In a cell-free system, significant luminol chemiluminescence only occurred when both authentic NO and the O2-/H2O2- generating system xanthine/xanthine oxidase were present. The results indicate that luminol chemiluminescence in phorbol-ester-activated Kupffer cells largely depends on L-arginine metabolism by NO synthase, requiring the concurrent formation of NO and O2-/H2O2.

Acridines↗
PubMed1991

O2-. release by activated Kupffer cells upon hypoxia-reoxygenation.

Primary cultures of rat liver Kupffer cells generated large amounts of superoxide anion radical (O2-.) when subjected to reoxygenation after a hypoxic period of at least 2 h. O2-. formation reached its maximum rate of approximately 25 nmol/10(6) cells within 1 h after reoxygenation. Two to four hours after reoxygenation, the number of injured cells began to increase and after 10 h approximately 60% of the cells were dead. During the period of O2-. release no significant difference in cell viability was observed between reoxygenated and hypoxically incubated cells, indicating a distinct time lag between O2-. release and onset of cell damage. Addition of diphenyliodonium, a specific inhibitor of the neutrophilic NADPH oxidase, to the Kupffer cells just before reoxygenation diminished both O2-. formation and cell injury up to 70%. Reoxygenation injury was completely prevented when superoxide dismutase and catalase were added immediately before reoxygenation. The results indicate that Kupffer cells subjected to hypoxia-reoxygenation generate a burst of reactive oxygen species and that this kind of "activation," probably by activating the NADPH oxidase, contributes to the self-destruction of the cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Hormonal regulation of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding proteins secreted by isolated sheep thyroid epithelial cells: relationship with iodine organification.

Isolated sheep thyroid follicles release specific insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs). Since IGFBPs can modulate IGF bioactivity, at least in vitro, their presence in thyroid tissue may influence synergistic interactions between TSH and endogenous IGF-I or -II which are known to control both thyroid growth and function. We have examined the hormonal control of IGFBP release in relation to iodine organification. Sheep thyroid follicles were isolated by incubation with collagenase and differential centrifugation, grown in Coon's modified Ham's F12M medium with the addition of transferrin, glycylhistidyl-lysine, somatostatin (3H), TSH, cortisol and insulin (6H), and maintained in OH (hormone-free) or 3H medium with or without further supplements for 48 h. Conditioned culture medium was separated by 8% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, transferred to nitrocellulose and incubated with 125I-labelled IGF-II followed by autoradiography (ligand blot). Additionally, the radioactive bands were cut from the filters and quantified by gamma-spectrometry. Iodine organification was assessed by incubation of follicles with 10(6) c.p.m. Na125I for 3 h before washing, solubilization in 0.1 mol NaOH/l and the precipitation of organified radioisotope with 10% (v/v) trichloroacetic acid. Cells conditioned in OH or 3H medium released specific IGFBPs of 46, 34, 28 and 19 kDa on ligand blot analysis. The proteins of 34 and 19 kDa were immunopositive on Western blot analysis using anti-bovine IGFBP-2 antiserum. The 46-kDa IGFBP was retained by Concanavalin A-Sepharose chromatography and demonstrated to be glycoprotein. This is probably ovine IGFBP-3. The addition of TSH, or TSH plus cortisol to OH or 3H medium significantly decreased the 125I-labelled IGF-II associated with the 34- and 28-kDa IGFBP species. All IGFBP species were substantially reduced in 6H medium, which was predominantly due to the effects of TSH and cortisol. When total 125I-labelled IGF-II associated with IGFBPs was considered, a significant (P less than 0.01) inverse correlation existed between IGFBP activity and iodine organification in the same cultures; the latter being greatest in OH or 3H medium supplemented with TSH and cortisol. None of these hormone additions altered the endogenous release of IGF-II by the cells. These results suggest that endogenous IGFs, under hormonal control, may modulate the action of endogenous IGF in the regulation of thyroid function.

Animals↗