Biomedical subjects

J J Kroll

Publications and source records attributed to J J Kroll.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Lipopolysaccharide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for experimental use in detection of antibodies to Lawsonia intracellularis in pigs.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Lawsonia intracellularis was developed and compared with a whole-cell antigen-based immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). The antigen-containing lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was derived from Percoll gradient purified cultures of L. intracellularis by using a modification of the Westphal hot phenol procedure. The antigen was bound directly to polystyrene 96-well microtiter plates, and the assay was performed in an indirect ELISA format. Specificity and sensitivity values based on 80 known positive and 80 known negative serum samples from controlled experimental trials were 93.7% and 88.7%, respectively. Serological results from a controlled L. intracellularis challenge exposure study confirmed the high specificity and sensitivity of this assay (100% and 99.5%, respectively). Comparisons between the LPS ELISA and the IFAT in detecting anti-Lawsonia antibodies in this controlled study revealed significantly more LPS ELISA-positive pigs than IFAT-positive pigs on days 21, 28, 35, and 42 (P = 0.003, 0.030, 0.002, and 0.006, respectively). This indirect ELISA (LPS ELISA) test is an improved method of detecting antibodies in pigs soon after exposure to L. intracellularis, regardless of isolate type (vaccine or wild type) in experimental studies. The LPS ELISA may be used as a tool to support future research trials on vaccine efficacy and to further understand the immune response induced by L. intracellularis.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Selective inhibition of sequence-specific protein-DNA interactions by incorporation of 6-thioguanine: cleavage by restriction endonucleases.

Incorporation of the antileukemic agent 6-thioguanine (TG) into cellular DNA has been demonstrated to be a major determinant of its cytotoxicity. We have previously shown that complete replacement of G by TG within one DNA strand of the SV40 origin of replication can completely inhibit sequence-specific binding of the viral replication protein T antigen. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of more selective TG substitutions on DNA-protein interactions, by utilizing the simpler base recognition sequence motifs of restriction endonucleases. In the first part of our study, we replaced G with TG in one or two of four possible sites within the duplex hexameric recognition sequence of BamHI (5'-G decreases GATCC-3'), by enzymatic extension of primed oligonucleotides. This extension was stalled, but not completely inhibited, at locations where insertion of consecutive TG moieties was required. Both strands of molecules containing a single substitution were cleaved by BamHI at reduced rates, with the substituted strand inhibited to a greater degree. In molecules containing two substitutions, neither strand was cut by BamHI. In contrast, we found that scission of these same mono- and disubstituted substrates by the less stringent isoschizomer MboI (5'-N decreases GATCN-3') was inhibited only slightly. In the second part of our study, we investigated the effect of analog substitution on scission by the type II-S enzymes AlwI and FokI, in order to separately determine the effects of restriction site modification versus scission site modification. We found that the reactivity of these enzymes was completely abolished by TG substitution within the recognition site, whereas substitution at the scission site had no effect. Our results demonstrate that infrequent TG substitutions within symmetric DNA sequences can inhibit sequence-specific interactions in an asymmetric fashion. In addition, although previous reports have shown that TG forms a relatively weak base pair with cytosine, it appears that the inhibition of restriction endonuclease-mediated cleavage resulting from TG incorporation is a function of the sequence requirements of the protein and not a general consequence of disrupted base-pairing at the recognition locus. These data support the idea that the cytotoxic consequences of TG incorporation may be due to inhibition of sequence-specific protein-DNA interactions.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1987

Effects of incorporation of 6-thioguanine into SV40 DNA.

The antileukemic agent 6-thioguanine (TG) is thought to inhibit DNA synthesis as a result of its incorporation into DNA. In the present study we have examined the nature of this inhibition, using replication of SV40 viral DNA as a model system. Addition of TG to SV40-infected CV1P cells from 22 to 24 hr post infection causes a dose-dependent inhibition of viral DNA synthesis. This inhibition plateaus between 250 and 2500 microM TG, resulting in a maximum decrease of viral DNA synthesis of about 50%. Pulse-chase experiments showed no detectable slowing of elongation of nascent DNA chains, whereas measurement of the conversion of incorporated 3H-dThd into supercoiled viral DNA suggested that elongation might be slightly inhibited, but by no more than 20%. Since inhibition of elongation could not account for the total depression of DNA synthesis, we hypothesized that inhibition of initiation of DNA replication takes place. This hypothesis was tested by radioactively labeling newly synthesized viral DNA and then assessing the ability of these molecules to reenter the replicating pool by density labeling with bromodeoxyuridine. The fraction of TG-containing molecules able to re-initiate replication was decreased 15%, compared to control. This effect, which was dependent on the concentration of TG added to the medium, was closely correlated to the extent of TG incorporation into the viral genome. We concluded that a portion of SV40 viral DNA synthesis inhibited by TG is due to an effect on initiation, and hypothesized that this effect may be caused by the substitution of TG for guanine in critical recognition sequences at the origin of replication. We proceeded to test this hypothesis by constructing SV40 origin sequences containing TG and then measuring their ability to bind T-antigen in vitro. The necessary deoxynucleoside triphosphate, TdGTP, was obtained by chemical phosphorylation of thiodeoxyguanosine. In order to selectively place TG within the desired region, a plasmid containing the T-antigen binding sequences was linearized so as to place these sequences at one end of the molecule, and then digested briefly with exonuclease III. The excised strand was resynthesized by use of the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I along with various nucleotide mixtures. Although resynthesis with mixtures containing TdGTP in place of dGTP was impeded somewhat, it was possible to achieve complete resynthesis with this analog.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed1973