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Biomedical subjects

J Seyer

Publications and source records attributed to J Seyer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Characterization and chromosomal localization of the cornea-specific murine keratin gene Krt1.12.

Keratins are a group of water-insoluble proteins constituting paired acidic and basic keratin molecules that form 10-nm intermediate filaments in epithelial cells. Expression of the K3/K12 keratin pair characterizes the cornea-type differentiation. However, the mechanism that regulates this cornea-specific K12 expression remains unknown. To provide a better understanding of the cornea-specific expression, we have cloned the K12 cDNA (Liu, C.-Y., Zhu, G., Westerhausen-Larson, A., Converse, R., Kao, C. W.-C., Sun, T.-T., and Kao, W. W.-Y. (1993) Curr. Eye Res. 12, 963-974). In present studies, the murine K12 keratin gene (Krt1.12) was isolated and characterized. The murine Krt1.12 gene spans 6,567 base pairs of genomic DNA, and the mRNA encoding K12 keratin is distributed into eight exons. Chromosome mapping reveals that murine Krt1.12 is located within the Krt1 complex of mouse chromosome 11. In addition to the production of authentic K12 mRNA, the Krt1.12 gene gives rise to several alternate poly(A)+ RNAs by the use of alternative splicing in intron 2, an alternative promoter in intron 1, and/or both. Sequence analysis indicates that the transcripts derived from alternative splicing and/or the alternative promoter do not have a long open reading frame for keratin or keratin-like molecules. It is not known whether these alternate K12 poly(A)+ RNAs have any biological functions, e.g. regulation of K12 gene expression.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Epitope specificity and T cell receptor usage in type II collagen induced autoimmune ear disease.

An immune response directed against type II collagen (CII) has been reported in several autoimmune diseases including the animal models of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and collagen-induced autoimmune ear disease (CIAED). In this communication, we have found that T cells from type II collagen-immunized DBA/1-lac could transfer auricular chondritis to naive mice. The T cells from type II collagen-immunized H-2r and H-2q mice recognize different epitopes from the CB11 peptide of CII. The CII-specific T cells from H-2q background mice recognize peptide residues p121-147 (P1) but do not respond to residues p211-247 (P2). The T cells of H-2r mice immunized with CII respond better to P2 rather than P1. By altering certain amino acids within these epitopes, the response of CII-specific TCR to antigen has been increased or abolished. Our results suggest that the lysine residues at positions 129, 141, and 147 in P1, the arginine residue at position 227, and glutamic acid at position 230 in P2 might play an important role in the trimolecular interaction. Ten clonally distinct T cell hybridomas specific for CII have been established from H-2r B10.RIII mice and the beta chains of their TCR have been analyzed. Three subfamilies, V beta 1, V beta 6, and V beta 8, were utilized with dominant expression of V beta 8 (60%). This is quite similar to the pattern found in type II collagen-induced arthritis in H-2q mice. This preferential use of V beta 8 in CIAED implies that an immunotherapy may make it possible to control this autoimmune disease, even in a MHC-diverse situation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Immuno-identification of two non-amelogenin proteins of developing bovine enamel isolated by affinity chromatography. Further proof that tooth "enamelins" are mainly serum proteins.

Affinity chromatography of "Enamelin Extracts" of developing bovine molar enamel on CNBr activated Sepharose 4B to which polyclonal antibodies of whole bovine serum and fetuin were cross-linked, revealed that at most, only 1-2% of the proteins in the extracts were not bound to the columns. The approximately 98% or more of the proteins in such extracts were bound to the resin and were eluted in the position of the serum proteins and fetuin. The small amount of protein which was not bound to the affinity column and which was eluted very early, was subjected to SDS-PAGE and immunostained with polyclonal antibodies to two non-amelogenin proteins isolated and identified previously (approximately 26kDa and 22kDa). The antibody to the approximately 50kDa protein immunostained strongly with only one protein band of approximately 26kDa. The antibody to the approximately 22kDa band reacted strongly with one protein band of approximately 22kDa, weakly with an approximately 100kDa and very weakly with several lower molecular weight bands, suggesting either aggregation and degredation of the 22kDa component, or more likely that the approximately 22kDa and lower molecular weight proteins are all derived from the approximately 100kDa component. There was no immuno-crossreactivity of the 22kDa and 26kDa antibodies and none of the components eluted in the early first fraction reacted with polyclonal antibodies to amelogenins or to amelogenin peptides.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amelogenin↗

Antibodies against a 30 kilodalton cochlear protein and type II and IX collagens in the serum of patients with inner ear diseases.

Collagen molecules are major extracellular matrix proteins involved in the development and support of delicate auditory sensory organs. Type II collagen is widely distributed within inner ear tissues, while type IX is found only within the labyrinthine membrane and dense fibers of the tectorial membrane. Antibody specific for type II collagen has been shown to be elevated in some patients with hearing loss due to several presumably autoimmune illnesses (including Meniere's disease, otosclerosis, chronic progressive sensorineural hearing loss, and relapsing polychondritis). Purified human type II and IX collagens and an extract of human cochlear tissue were subjected to isolation by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and transferred to nitrocellulose. The sera of 21 patients with inner ear disease were examined for the presence of anticollagen and anticochlear antibodies; the sera were used to probe Western blots of purified human collagens II, IX, and XI, and cochlear protein extract with peroxidase-conjugated goat anti human polyvalent immunoglobulin as the second antibody. Anti-type II collagen antibodies were seen in 12 of 21 (57%) patients, while 13 of 21 (62%) had anti-type IX antibodies detectable by Western blot. A previously unreported 30 kd (probably noncollagen) protein was 21 (62%) had anti-type IX antibodies detectable by Western blot. A previously unreported 30 kd (probably noncollagen) protein was found by SDS-PAGE of human cochlear tissue extracts, with 3 patients, all with Meniere's disease, having antibody activity to this protein detected by Western blot.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Blotting, Western↗

Tissue-specific expression of type XIV collagen--a member of the FACIT class of collagens.

The collagens represent a highly diverse superfamily of extracellular matrix proteins that can be divided into several distinct families. One of the families, called FACIT (fibril-associated collagens with interrupted triple-helices) family, contains molecules that appear to be associated with cross-striated fibrils composed of members of the fibrillar collagen family. We have determined a portion of the primary structure of a recently discovered member of the FACIT family, chicken alpha 1(XIV) collagen, based on cloning and sequencing cDNAs. A synthetic oligopeptide from within the carboxy-terminal non-triple-helical domain of the alpha 1(XIV) chain has been used for generating specific polyclonal antibodies. The antiserum, PS1, recognizes a 220 kDa polypeptide in immunoblots of extracts of chicken skin, tendons, and cartilage. Sequencing of a tryptic peptide generated from purified, immunoreactive material, gives a sequence identical to that derived from cDNA sequencing, providing strong support for the type XIV-specificity of PS1. We have examined the expression of type XIV collagen in developing chick embryos by immunostaining of sections from 12-day-old embryos with PS1 and by Northern blot analysis of RNA from several tissues from both 12- and 17-day-old embryos. The results show that type XIV collagen is prevalent within relatively dense connective tissues such as dermis, tendons, perichondrium, perimysium, the stroma of lungs and liver, and blood vessels.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase: molecular cloning and the primary structure of the alpha subunit from chicken embryo.

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.11.2) is a key enzyme required for the posttranslational hydroxylation of proline residues in collagen. The enzyme is a tetramer composed of two pairs of nonidentical subunits (alpha 2 beta 2). The beta subunit is protein disulfide-isomerase, a ubiquitous enzyme found in the endoplasmic reticulum of many cell types. We report here the amino acid sequence of the alpha subunit. One cDNA clone (alpha 1) was isolated from a chicken embryo cDNA expression library in lambda gt11 by screening with anti-alpha-subunit polyclonal immunoglobulins. This alpha 1 cDNA contains an open reading frame of 1401 base pairs. A comparison of the translation of the nucleotide sequence with protein sequences obtained from the purified chicken alpha-subunit polypeptide verified that alpha 1 cDNA encoded the alpha subunit. Polymerase chain reactions were used to extend the sequence of alpha 1 cDNA toward the 5' end of alpha-subunit mRNA. The mature alpha subunit is composed of 516 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 59,373 Da. The compiled amino acid sequence contains two potential glycosylation sites, an observation that agrees with a previous demonstration that the alpha subunit contains two N-linked oligosaccharide chains. Blot hybridization analysis of total chicken embryo RNA detected an mRNA of 3.5 kilobases, a size that closely resembles the size of the cloned cDNA. Since the expression of the alpha subunit is confined to cell types that synthesize and secrete collagens, the regulation of the synthesis of the alpha subunit may play a central role in determining the expression of prolyl 4-hydroxylase activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Immunoidentification of type XII collagen in embryonic tissues.

We have generated a monoclonal antibody against a synthetic peptide whose sequence was derived from the nucleotide sequence of a cDNA encoding alpha 1(XII) collagen. The antibody, 75d7, has been used to identify the alpha 1(XII) chain on immunoblots of SDS-PAGE tendon extracts as a 220-kD polypeptide, under reducing conditions. Amino-terminal amino acid sequence analysis of an immunopurified cyanogen bromide fragment of type XII collagen from embryonic chick tendons gave a single sequence identical to that predicted from the cDNA, thus confirming that the antibody recognizes the type XII protein. Immunofluorescence studies with the antibody demonstrate that type XII collagen is localized in type I-containing dense connective tissue structures such as tendons, ligaments, perichondrium, and periosteum. With these data, taken together with previous results showing that a portion of the sequence domains of type XII collagen is similar to domains of type IX, a nonfibrillar collagen associated with cross-striated fibrils in cartilage, we suggest that types IX and XII collagens are members of a distinct class of extracellular matrix proteins found in association with quarter-staggered collagen fibrils.

Animals↗

[Acute intestinal ischemia from arterial thrombosis. Value of emergency arteriography and revascularization].

A 77 year old woman undergoing surgery for acute digestive arterial thrombosis, was successfully revascularized without intestinal resection. Early diagnosis is difficult and is based upon evaluation of past history and an arteriography when there is the slightest doubt. Apart from when necrosis is already developed, revascularization by aorto-superior mesentric by-pass using an autologus saphenous vein and a routine "second look" to assess intestinal viability is the best therapeutic approach.

Aged↗

Partial characterization of a low molecular weight human collagen that undergoes alternative splicing.

A cDNA library prepared from RNA isolated from a cultured human tumor cell line, HT-1080, was screened with a mouse cDNA clone coding for part of the -Gly-Xaa-Yaa- domain of the alpha 2(IV) collagen chain. Four overlapping cDNA clones were characterized that coded for a low molecular weight human collagen. The cDNA clones did not, however, code for the short-chain collagens, types IX and X. The amino acid sequences derived from the clones resembled type IV collagen in that there were short interruptions in the repeating -Gly-Xaa-Yaa- sequence. The noncollagenous, carboxyl-terminal domain was, however, much shorter and contained only 18 amino acid residues. Interestingly, one of the cDNA clones contained an additional 36 nucleotides not found in an overlapping clone. The 36 nucleotides encoded four -Gly-Xaa-Yaa- repeats without changing the reading frame. Nuclease S1 mapping demonstrated that the difference between the clones was due to existence of two different mRNAs. A synthetic 24-residue peptide corresponding to the last two -Gly-Xaa-Yaa- triplets and the entire carboxyl-terminal domain was used to generate polyclonal antibodies. Electrophoretic transfer blot analysis of HT-1080 cells and normal human skin fibroblasts identified two polypeptides, Mr 67,000 and Mr 62,000, that were sensitive to bacterial collagenase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Postoperative gastrointestinal transit. Results of the measurement of segmental transit times].

The postoperative transit times of radioopaque markers through the gastrointestinal tract where measured in 6 patients after gastric surgery, in 13 patients after cholecystectomy, in 10 patients after appendicectomy and in 7 other patients who underwent general anesthesia without laparotomy. After ingestion of 20 markers, overall and segmental transit times were calculated according to their distribution on serial plain films of the abdomen taken 6 and 24 h after the operation, and every 24 h thereafter until complete evacuation of the markers. Overall transit times of the 3 groups of patients with laparotomy (171, 130 and 113 h respectively) were greater than overall transit times of patients without laparotomy (25 h). Overall transit times of patients with gastric operations were greater than overall transit times of patients with cholecystectomy (p less than 0.05) or appendicectomy (p less than 0.01). The increase in overall transit time was mainly due to an increased gastric transit time in patients after gastric surgery and an increased transit time through the right colon in patients who underwent cholecystectomy and appendicectomy. Once markers began to be defecated, their disappearance rate was the same in the 4 groups of patients. These results show that an increased overall transit time may be the consequence either of an increased transit time through the stomach or through the right colon, depending on the type of operation. As well, when digestive propulsive activity returns, it is de novo normal.

Abdomen↗

Variability in the phenotypic expression of abnormal sarcosine metabolism in a family.

A retarded child with hypersarcosinemia and his family were studied by loading tests to determine the probable site of his defect. On the basis of his response to folate treatment, a partially-reversible defect in the formation of activated formaldehyde in the reaction catalyzed by sarcosine dehydrogenase was considered to be the most likely site. During a glycine loading test, sarcosine levels in the plasma and urine increased, indicating that the direct transmethylation of glycine to sarcosine could occur in this patient. The father of the proband tolerated a load of sarcosine poorly, resembling the proband in his plasma sarcosine levels. No evidence that glycine could be transmethylated to sarcosine was found in the father, despite the fact that his peak glycine level was four times higher than the proband's. These findings provide indirect evidence that sarcosine formation may be affected by two additional components besides the apo moiety of sarcosine dehydrogenase, the availability of tetrahydrofolic acid as a one carbon unit carrier and the integrity of the transmethylase which catalyzes the direct transmethylation of glycine to sarcosine.

Adult↗