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Biomedical subjects

J Field

Publications and source records attributed to J Field.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Psychological adjustment of relinquishing mothers before and after reunion with their children.

A main objective of this study was to compare the emotional well-being of mothers who had already experienced a reunion with children relinquished two to four decades ago, with that of mothers who were still awaiting the possibility of such re-contact. A nationwide postal survey was carried out in New Zealand of the relinquishment experiences and subsequent adjustment of 238 women who had been able to re-contact their children and of 206 women who had not as yet made contact. The two subgroups did not differ on two standardised measures of psychological well-being (GHQ-28 and global self esteem). However, the post-reunion women reported significantly greater improvements in their feelings connected with "adoption events", and also reported higher levels of perceived social support than did the pre-reunion women. Women who still lacked any information about their relinquished child showed significantly more negative affect and poorer psychological well-being than those who had at least obtained some non-identifying information.

Adaptation, Psychological

Evidence for a functional link between profilin and CAP in the yeast S. cerevisiae.

CAP is a component of the S. cerevisiae adenylyl cyclase complex. The N-terminal domain is required for cellular RAS responsiveness. Loss of the C-terminal domain is associated with morphological and nutritional defects. Here we report that cap- cells bud randomly and are defective in actin distribution. The morphological and nutritional defects associated with loss of the CAP C-terminal domain are suppressed by over-expression of PFY, the gene encoding profilin, an actin- and polyphosphoinositide-binding protein. The phenotype of cells lacking PFY resembles that of cells lacking the CAP C-terminal domain. Study of mutated yeast profilins and profilins from Acanthamoeba suggests that the ability of profilin to suppress cap- cells is dependent upon a property other than, or in addition to, its ability to bind actin. This property may be its ability to bind polyphosphoinositides. We propose that CAP and profilin provide a link between growth signals and remodeling of the cellular cytoskeleton.

Actins

Evidence for direct and indirect pathways in the generation of the alloimmune response against pancreatic islets.

The role of the direct and indirect pathways of alloantigen presentation in the generation of the alloimmune response was dissected using the murine mixed lymphocyte-islet coculture system (MLIC). Stimulator DBA/2J (H-2d) pancreatic islet populations consisted of whole islets (MHC class I+, II+) or FACS-purified beta cells (MHC class I+, II-). Responding C57Bl/6 (H-2b) splenocyte populations were either: (1) untreated; (2) depleted of helper T cells with anti-L3T4 monoclonal antibody plus complement; (3) depleted of cytotoxic T lymphocytes with anti-Lyt2 mAb plus complement; or (4) depleted of antigen-presenting cells by passage through a Sephadex G-10 column. Whole islets were capable of stimulating a significant C57Bl/6 anti-DBA cytotoxic T cell response if the responding population was untreated or treated with complement alone. Depletion of responding splenocytes with either anti-Lyt2 or anti-L3T4 mAb plus complement abrogated the generation of allospecific CTL. If the responding splenocyte population was depleted of APCs, the allo-CTL response against whole islets was decreased, but still significant. If, however, the stimulator population consisted of FACS-purified DBA 2J beta cells, APC-depleted C57Bl 6 splenocytes were incapable of generating any CTL response. Adding responder type (C57Bl/6) APCs back to the microwells restored the capacity for both whole islets and purified beta cells to stimulate a strong allo-CTL response. These data demonstrate that both indirect and direct pathways of alloantigen presentation function in the MLIC.

Animals

CAP is a bifunctional component of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae adenylyl cyclase complex.

CAP, a protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae that copurifies with adenylyl cyclase, appears to be required for yeast cells to be fully responsive to RAS proteins. CAP also appears to be required for normal cell morphology and responsiveness to nutrient deprivation and excess. We describe here a molecular and phenotypic analysis of the CAP protein. The N-terminal domain is necessary and sufficient for cellular response to activated RAS protein, while the C-terminal domain is necessary and sufficient for normal cellular morphology and responses to nutrient extremes. Thus, CAP is a novel example of a bifunctional component involved in the regulation of diverse signal transduction pathways.

Adenylyl Cyclases

Cloning and characterization of CAP, the S. cerevisiae gene encoding the 70 kd adenylyl cyclase-associated protein.

Adenylyl cyclase from S. cerevisiae contains at least two subunits, a 200 kd catalytic subunit and a subunit with an apparent molecular size of 70 kd, which we now call CAP (cyclase-associated protein). We cloned a cDNA encoding CAP by screening a yeast cDNA expression library in E. coli with antisera raised against the purified protein. The cDNA contained an open reading frame capable of encoding a 526 amino acid protein that is not homologous to any sequences in the current data bases. Adenylyl cyclase activity in membranes from cells that lacked CAP was not stimulated by RAS2 proteins in vitro. These results suggest that CAP is required for at least some aspects of the RAS-responsive signaling system. Mutants lacking CAP had four additional phenotypes that appear to be unrelated to effects of the RAS/adenylyl cyclase pathway: the inability to grow on rich medium (YPD), temperature sensitivity on minimal medium, sensitivity to nitrogen starvation, and a swollen cell morphology.

Adenylyl Cyclases

Mutations of the adenylyl cyclase gene that block RAS function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The interaction between RAS proteins and adenylyl cyclase was studied by using dominant interfering mutations of adenylyl cyclase from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. RAS proteins activate adenylyl cyclase in this organism. A plasmid expressing a catalytically inactive adenylyl cyclase was found to interfere dominantly with this activation. The interfering region mapped to the leucine-rich repeat region of adenylyl cyclase, which is homologous to domains present in several other proteins and is thought to participate in protein-protein interactions.

Adenylyl Cyclases

High-field localized in vivo proton spectroscopy on micro volumes.

A water-suppressed volume-selected in vivo 1H spectrum of 0.2 ml of a rat brain has been obtained at 200 MHz using the SPACE localization method. Good signal-to-noise and spectral resolution were obtained by averaging 256 acquisitions. The spectrum shows little T2 weighting effect.

Animals

Application of volume-selected, two-dimensional multiple-quantum editing in vivo to observe cerebral metabolites.

The volume selection technique SPACE has been combined with a two-dimensional multiple-quantum editing sequence to uniquely detect certain J-coupled cerebral metabolites. In vivo results demonstrating edited glutamate/glutamine and lactate from 0.4 ml of a rat's brain at 4.7 T are presented. The sequence was optimized to balance multiple-quantum generation and signal loss due to T2 relaxation. Without due regard to T2 relaxation little signal is observed.

Animals

Signal-to-noise ratio improvements in in vivo high resolution micro-volume selected spectroscopy.

A system capable of in vivo volume selected 1H NMR spectroscopy of voxels as small as 0.2 cm3 is described. Signal-to-noise ratio improvements with probe design and a novel signal steering device are detailed. A high-resolution, image-directed proton spectrum from 0.2 cm3 of a rat's brain at 200 MHz obtained using the SUBMERGE/SPACE pulse sequence is presented. Single-scan voxel shimming was implemented to improve spectral resolution.

Animals

Mutational mapping of RAS-responsive domains of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae adenylyl cyclase.

Large deletion and small insertion mutations in the adenylyl cyclase gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used to map regions required for activation by RAS protein in vitro. The amino-terminal 605 amino acids were found to be dispensable for responsiveness to RAS protein. All other deletions in adenylyl cyclase destroyed its ability to respond to RAS. Small insertion mutations within the leucine-rich repeat region also prevented RAS responsiveness, while other insertions did not.

Adenylyl Cyclases

Mutants of H-ras that interfere with RAS effector function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We report a class of interfering mutants of the human H-ras gene capable of inhibiting phenotypes arising from the expression of the activated RAS2 gene, RAS2val19, in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. All these mutants encode unprocessed H-ras proteins that remain in the cytoplasm. One of the mutants, H-rasarg186, was examined in detail. H-rasarg186 protein is a competitive inhibitor of RAS2val19 protein. It does not interfere with processing and membrane localization of RAS2val19, nor does it appear to compete with RAS protein for its proposed regulator, the CDC25 protein. By several criteria the RAS2val19 adenylate cyclase interaction is unaffected by H-rasarg186. We infer from our results that H-rasarg186 protein interferes with an alternative function of RAS2val19.

Adenylyl Cyclases

Water suppression with B0 field gradient homospoil pulses in high-resolution NMR spectroscopy.

The combination of a frequency nonselective excitation suppression method (1331 sequence) with selective excitation followed by gradient-induced dephasing of water transverse magnetization yielded suppression ratios of greater than 10,000:1. The need for gradient preemphasis and correction of B0 field shifts is discussed. The suppression efficiency of this method compared favorably to results obtained using the CPMG spin-echo technique to observe metabolite resonances in a urine sample.

Equipment Design

In vivo high-resolution volume-selected proton spectroscopy and T1 measurements in the dog brain.

Successful in vivo NMR spectroscopy requires a combination of techniques to address the problems of volume selection, water suppression, and resolution. All this needs to be done in the very heterogeneous environment found in living organisms. Previously published techniques are used to obtain 1H spectra from a dog brain, observing metabolites with concentrations below 1 mM. Measurements of spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) are also presented. The 1H relaxation times are long (T1 greater than 1.0 s) yielding information about the fluidity of the molecular environment. Comments are made concerning the achievable linewidth in vivo and the deficiencies that phase-encoding spectroscopic methods may have in obtaining high-resolution 1H spectra.

Animals

The adenylyl cyclase gene from Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

We cloned the adenylyl cyclase gene from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe using low-stringency hybridization to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae adenylyl cyclase gene. The Sc. pombe gene encodes a 1692-amino acid-residue protein. The identity of this gene was confirmed by studies of its expression in Sa. cerevisiae. Expression of the carboxyl-terminal region of the Sc. pombe adenylyl cyclase protein will suppress a temperature-sensitive mutation in the Sa. cerevisiae adenylyl cyclase gene. Furthermore, Sa. cerevisiae that lack their endogenous adenylyl cyclase gene and express the carboxyl-terminal region of the Sc. pombe adenylyl cyclase protein have measurable adenylyl cyclase activity. The carboxyl-terminal region of this protein has strong homology with the catalytic domain of the Sa. cerevisiae adenylyl cyclase. Also, Sc. pombe adenylyl cyclase, like Sa. cerevisiae adenylyl cyclase, contains a tandemly repeated motif rich in leucine. Neither yeast protein is particularly homologous to the recently cloned Gs-responsive mammalian adenylyl cyclase [Krupinski, J., Coussen, F., Bakalyar, H. A., Tang, W.-J., Feinstein, P. G., Orth, K., Slaughter, C., Reed, R. R. & Gilman, A. G. (1989) Science 244, 1558-1564].

Adenylyl Cyclases