Biomedical subjects

K Fuller

Publications and source records attributed to K Fuller.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1997

Hookworm: not a pre-Columbian pathogen.

It has been asserted that evidence of pre-Columbian hookworm has been found in the Americas, specifically in Peru, Brazil, and Tennessee. However, based on an analysis of the life cycle and morphology of hookworm, the paleopathologic indications for the presence of hookworm infestation in the Americas prior to 1492 are suspect. It is concluded that the material found in the Peruvian mummy is probably pinworms, that the Brazilian and Tennessee materials are probably not hookworm, and, therefore, that hookworm was one of many pathogens brought to the Americas after contact in 1492.

Ancylostomatoidea↗

PubMed1996

Analysis of the probability of multiple taxa in a combined sample of Swartkrans and Kromdraai dental material.

It has been argued (Grine, [1988] Evolutionary History of the "Robust" Australopithecines [New York. Aldine de Gruyter], pp. 223-243) that the australopithecine material from Swartkrans and Kromdraai represents distinct species. In an attempt to test the validity of separate taxa at Swartkrans and Kromdraai, Cope's (Cope [1989] Systematic Variation in Cercopithecus Dental Samples [Austin: University of Texas]) method of analysis was adapted and utilized. This procedure includes an analysis of the coefficients of variation (CVs) of the individual posterior teeth (buccal-lingual breadth) of a combined fossil sample compared with the CVs of several known single taxon reference groups. The Cope and Lacy (Cope and Lacy [1992] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 89:359-378) stimulation technique was also employed in the analysis. Based on these analyses, there is no justification for a taxonomic separation between the australopithecine material from Swartkrans and Kromdraai. Therefore, the assertion that the Swartkrans and Kromdraai material represent two distinct species is not indicated by the available dental metric evidence.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Presence of hsp65 in bacterial extracts (OM-89): a possible mediator of orally-induced tolerance?

Heat shock proteins (HSP) have been implicated in rodent models of autoimmunity, particularly arthritis, and there is suggestive though inconclusive evidence that they may also play a role in human autoimmune disease. The simplest hypothesis is based on molecular mimicry due to the amino-acid sequence homology between mammalian and microbial HSP. Recently OM-89, an extract of several strains of Escherichia coli, has shown some efficacy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) when taken orally. Using species-specific antibodies, we show here that OM-89 contains the 65 kDa HSP (hsp65), while hsp65 was not detected in another bacterial extract containing other microorganisms, including Staphylococcus aureus (OM-85). We suggest that if the human homologue of hsp65 is a relevant target antigen in the human disease, the efficacy of the preparation could be due to induction of oral tolerance or to switching the Th1 response towards Th2. Alternatively, even if the human hsp65 is not a target molecule in RA joints, OM-89 may evoke bystander suppression of joint inflammation via induction of TGF beta-secreting effector cells. These hypotheses should be tested in further studies.

Humans↗

PubMed1995

The effect of hepatocyte growth factor on the behaviour of osteoclasts.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) stimulates the growth, motility and morphogenesis of a variety of cell types, including hemopoietic progenitors. We found that HGF is a potent inhibitor of bone resorption by isolated rat osteoclasts. However, in the presence of the osteoblastic cell line UMR 106, it stimulated osteoclastic resorption. HGF also increased osteoclastic motility and spread area, over a similar concentration range. We detected no effect on osteoclast formation or survival. Our data suggest that HGF may be involved in the recruitment of osteoclasts to sites of bone resorption, but that during migration resorptive functions are suppressed. Once on resorptive sites, the osteoclast response to HGF is modulated by osteoblastic cells and the bone resorptive activity of osteoclasts may be stimulated accordingly.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha and IL-8 stimulate the motility but suppress the resorption of isolated rat osteoclasts.

Cells of the osteoblastic lineage play a major role in the regulation of osteoclastic bone resorption. Recent studies have demonstrated production of chemokines by osteoblastic cells. Although these phagocyte-stimulating and proinflammatory cytokines act as chemoattractants and activators for other members of the hemopoietic lineage, their actions on osteoclasts have not been characterized. We found that macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1 alpha) and IL-8 inhibited bone resorption by rat osteoclasts, primarily through reduction in the proportion of osteoclasts resorbing bone, a pattern of inhibition previously observed in response to macrophage CSF (M-CSF). MIP-2, RANTES, MIP-1 beta, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 were without effect on resorption. MIP-1 alpha and IL-8, but not the other chemokines, also stimulated osteoclastic motility and increased the osteoclast spread area in a dose-dependent manner, over the same concentration range as that which inhibited bone resorption. In addition, MIP-1 alpha induced osteoclast orientation in a gradient of the chemokine, and stimulated osteoclast migration. We detected no effect of chemokines on osteoclast formation or survival. Our data suggest that chemokines can promote osteoclast orientation and migration, processes that might be involved in chemotaxis; it seems appropriate that resorptive functions should be suppressed during migration. Because chemokines are proinflammatory, their actions on osteoclasts might represent mechanisms by which bone resorption is modulated by the inflammatory process when this occurs in bone. However, given that chemokines are increasingly recognized to be multifunctional and that they are produced by cells of the osteoblastic lineage, they may also be components of the physiologic regulation of bone resorption.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

The role of reactive oxygen intermediates in osteoclastic bone resorption.

Osteoclasts have been shown to produce reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) and it has been suggested that ROI are involved in the process of bone resorption. ROI have also been shown to play a central role in the activation of the multisubunit transcription factor NF-kappa B that enhances the transcription of genes encoding defence and signaling proteins. Therefore, we have assessed the effect of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), an oxygen-radical scavenger and metal chelator that is a selective and potent inhibitor of NF-kappa B activation, on osteoclastic bone resorption in the bone slice assay. PDTC (0.001-0.1 mM) dose-dependently and non-cytotoxically inhibited osteoclast activity with an IC50 of 0.01 mM. PDTC (0.01 mM) caused no change in the ratio of resorption pit area to resorption pit depth as measured by Lasertec confocal microscopy, indicating that ROI are not involved in the resorptive process per se. This view is supported by time-course studies showing that addition of PDTC or N-acetyl cysteine (NAC; an ROI scavenger, but not metal chelator), 6 hr after the start of the assay had no significant effect on subsequent bone resorption. Desferal (100 microM), a chelator of iron and other metal ions, had no significant effect on bone resorption, indicating (along with the results with NAC) that ROI-scavenging rather than metal chelation is responsible for inhibition of osteoclastic bone resorption by PDTC. Taken together these results indicate that ROI produced by osteoclasts in the bone slice assay are not involved in the process of bone resorption, but are important during osteoclast activation for bone resorption, possibly being involved in activation of the transcription factor NF-kappa B.

Acetylcysteine↗

PubMed1995

Localisation of mRNA for collagenase in osteocytic, bone surface and chondrocytic cells but not osteoclasts.

Osteoclasts resorb the extracellular matrix of bone by secreting protons and enzymes into a circumpherentially sealed compartment between the osteoclast and the bone surface. Although the lysosomal cysteine proteinases play a major role in matrix degradation by osteoclasts, collagenase (matrix metalloproteinase-1, EC 3.4.24.7) is also required for osteoclastic bone resorption, and may be directly involved in collagen degradation in the hemivacuole. We assessed the effects of inhibitors of cysteine proteinases and collagenase on bone resorption by osteoclasts isolated from rodent bone. We found that while inhibition of cysteine proteinases strongly suppressed osteoclastic resorption, inhibitors of collagenase were without effect on the number, size, or demineralised fringe of excavations. We could find no evidence of expression of mRNA for collagenase in rat osteoclasts by in situ hybridisation, but found that it was expressed by chondrocytes, bone surface cells and osteocytes adjacent to osteoclasts. The distribution of these cells, and the correlation between increased collagenase production and increased stimulation of osteoclastic resorption in vitro by bone cells, suggests that these cells might be involved in the regulation of bone resorption in situ, and that collagenase production might play a role in this process.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Geropsychiatric public sector nursing: placement challenges.

1. The nursing home eligible resident, who has experienced long periods of institutional living in state hospitals and many unsuccessful placements in nursing home facilities, presents a challenge in developing a viable community treatment plan. 2. Mental health consultations with nursing home staff are valuable resources for developing and implementing additional behavioral management interventions. 3. Collaborative efforts of public sector health care agencies have resulted in a cost effective approach to decreasing hospital admissions and recidivism and increasing community tenure of geropsychiatric residents.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Protective effects of hsp70 in inflammation.

Inflammation results from the recruitment to a given tissue or organ and the activation of leucocytes, among which the monocytes-macrophages play a major role. These phagocytic cells produce high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as cytokines. Whereas both ROS and cytokines have the potential to regulate the expression of heat shock (HS)/stress proteins (HSP), it appears that these proteins in turn have the ability to protect cells and tissues from the deleterious effects of inflammation. The mechanisms by which such protection occurs include prevention of ROS-induced DNA strand breaks and lipid peroxidation as well as protection from mitochondrial structure and function. In vivo, HS protects organs against a number of lesions associated with the increased production of ROS and/or cytokines. In an animal model for adult respiratory distress syndrome, an acute pulmonary inflammatory condition, HS completely prevented mortality. HSP (hsp70 in particular) may also exert protective effects in the immune system by contributing to the processing and presentation of bacterial and tumoral antigens. The analysis of the expression of hsp70 may prove of diagnostic and prognostic value in inflammatory conditions and therapeutical applications are being considered.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Automated three-dimensional characterization of osteoclastic resorption lacunae by stereoscopic scanning electron microscopy.

The use of stereoscopic scanning electron microscopy to analyze quantitatively the topography of excavations made by osteoclasts in slices of devitalized cortical bone was evaluated. Using this innovative technique, the need mechanically to tilt the specimen stage to gather three-dimensional information is obviated by instead tilting the electron beam both to produce real-time stereo pairs and to gather measurement data. Based on the comparison of two images of microscopic areas, cross-correlation is used to determine the image shift between the features in the stereo pair. This information is then used dynamically to correct the height of the tilt axis and lens focus in a feedback loop, generating a quantitative measurement of height difference. With this approach, relative heights of individual points, line profiles, area topography maps, and three-dimensional reconstructions of excavations were obtained rapidly and at high resolution. This approach combines the advantage in topographic data acquisition of confocal microscopy with the advantages of the increased resolution and focal depth of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The technique should facilitate not only the topographic analysis of osteoclastic excavations in bone slices at high resolution but also the three-dimensional analysis of the structure of bone tissue.

Bone Resorption↗

PubMed1994

Large-scale production and characterization of recombinant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Nef.

Sequences encoding the 27K and 25K nef gene products (Nef 27 and Nef 25) were amplified by PCR from a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infectious clone and subcloned directly into Escherichia coli, yeast and baculovirus expression vectors. The yeast- and baculovirus-derived Nef had native N termini but the expression levels were low. The expression levels of the E. coli-derived glutathione S-transferase-Nef fusion proteins were very high and a major portion was soluble. Large-scale production of E. coli-derived Nef 27 and Nef 25 was carried out by growing recombinant cells in a fermenter under fed-batch conditions followed by affinity purification on glutathione-Sepharose before and after thrombin cleavage. Large quantities of highly purified recombinant Nef proteins have been produced for functional and structural studies. Under non-reducing conditions both Nef 27 and Nef 25 existed as a mixture of monomers, dimers and small amounts of higher oligomers, but when reduced were monomeric. The highly purified Nef proteins had no G protein activities, however Nef 27 was biologically active. When electroporated into uninfected CD4+ T lymphocytes both E. coli-derived Nef 27 and yeast-derived myristylated Nef 27 down-regulated the surface expression of CD4, demonstrating that this method can be used to assess the biological activity of purified recombinant Nef.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Purification and characterization of a tripeptidyl peptidase I from human osteoclastomas: evidence for its role in bone resorption.

Tripeptidyl peptidase I (EC 3.4.14.9), which cleaves tripeptides from the N-terminus of synthetic substrates, has been purified from human osteoclastomas (a bone tumor containing large numbers of normal osteoclasts). The enzyme has an M(r) of 48 kDa but forms aggregates with an M(r) of about 700 kDa. The tripeptidyl peptidase has an acidic pH optimum (approximately pH 5.0), suggesting that it has a lysosomal localization and prefers substrates with a hydrophobic amino acid in the P1 position. There is an absolute requirement for a nonsubstituted N-terminus. The enzyme is inhibited by reagents which modify serine and histidine residues. Lysosomal tripeptidyl peptidase is known to be capable of cleaving Gly-Pro-X triplets from synthetic collagen-like polypeptides. Ala-Ala-Phe-CH2Cl, a potent inhibitor of osteoclastoma tripeptidyl peptidase, inhibits osteoclastic bone resorption in an in vitro test system. This suggests that tripeptidyl peptidase I, secreted by osteoclasts, is involved at some stage in the degradation of bone collagen.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor stimulates survival and chemotactic behavior in isolated osteoclasts.

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) is known to play an important role in osteoclast formation. However, its actions on mature cells have not been fully characterized. We now report that M-CSF dramatically stimulates osteoclastic motility and spreading; osteoclasts responded to a gradient of M-CSF with orientation, and random cell polarization occurred after isotropic exposure. M-CSF also supported the survival of osteoclasts by preventing apoptosis. Paradoxically, M-CSF inhibits bone resorption by isolated osteoclasts. We found that this was effected predominantly by reduction in the number of excavations. Thus, M-CSF showed a propensity to suppress resorption through a reduction in the proportion of cells that were resorbing bone. Our data suggest that apart from the established role of M-CSF in the provision of precursors for osteoclastic induction, a major role for M-CSF in bone resorption is to enhance osteoclastic survival, migration, and chemotaxis. It seems appropriate that during these processes resorptive functions should be suppressed. We suggest that M-CSF continues to modulate osteoclastic activity once osteoclasts are on resorptive sites, through regulation of the balance between resorption and migration, such that not only the quantity, but the spatial pattern of resorption can be controlled by adjacent M-CSF-secreting cells of osteoblastic lineage.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Osteoclast resorption-stimulating activity is associated with the osteoblast cell surface and/or the extracellular matrix.

Osteoblasts mediate much of the hormonal responsiveness of osteoclasts. We and others have found that one mechanism through which this regulation is effected is by release of osteoclast resorption-stimulating activity (ORSA) into culture supernatants. However, although hormonal responsiveness is regularly observed in co-cultures, ORSA is not always detectable in conditioned media. We show here that one explanation for this finding is that ORSA may be retained by heparin-like glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) of the cell surface or extracellular matrix of osteoblasts. We found that protease-sensitive ORSA could be extracted from monolayers of the osteoblastic cell line UMR 106 with 2M NaCl or collagenase. Production of this activity was increased in response to 1,25(OH)2D3. The presence of the GAG heparin was required to reveal ORSA. Immobilisation of ORSA by GAGs may assist osteoblastic cells in the regulation of the complex patterns of osteoclastic activity observed during skeletal morphogenesis and restructuring.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Heparin augments osteoclast resorption-stimulating activity in serum.

Increased numbers of mast cells are commonly seen at sites of increased bone resorption and in osteoporosis. Long-term administration of heparin, a major component of mast cell granules, causes osteoporosis. We therefore tested the effect of heparin on bone resorption by osteoclasts disaggregated from neonatal rat long bones. We found that, in the absence of serum, heparin was without effect on osteoclast function. However, in the presence of newborn calf serum, rat serum, or bovine platelet-poor plasma-derived serum, heparin, in the range 25-100 micrograms/ml, induced an increase in osteoclastic bone resorption. Heparin appeared to act through binding and enhancement of an osteoclast resorption-stimulating activity (ORSA) present in serum. A number of known factors that show an affinity for heparin, including transforming growth factor-beta, platelet-derived growth factors, insulin-like growth factors I or II, acidic or basic fibroblast growth factors, fibronectin, or laminin, could not substitute for ORSA, suggesting that the activity may represent a novel heparin-binding factor. The ability of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and related molecules to enhance resorption was dependent on the degree of sulfation and on their size: The high molecular weight GAG heparan sulfate and polysaccharides fucoidan or dextran sulfate showed a similar effect, while low molecular weight heparin, chondroitin-2-sulfate, chondroitin-4-sulfate, and chondroitin-6-sulfate were without effect. We propose that mast cells or heparin therapy increases bone resorption through augmentation of the activity of a factor involved in the local and systemic regulation of osteoclastic bone resorption.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Molecular characterization of a repeat element causing large-scale size variation in the mitochondrial DNA of the sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus.

The scallop Placopecten magellanicus has the largest reported animal mitochondrial DNA (average 35 kb) and exhibits large inter- and intraindividual length variation owing to the varying copy number of a repeated element. We have characterized the repeat array by using restriction mapping and sequence analysis. The repeated element consists of 1,442 bp flanked on either side by the sequence ACTTTCC in a direct orientation. The array contains two to eight copies of the repeated element arranged in a direct orientation and in tandem. Only complete copies of the element are present in the array. The repeat element contains three regions with characteristic nucleotide sequences: a 10-bp inverted repeat shown to extrude into a cruciform in a supercoiled DNA plasmid, a 120-bp tract rich in G/C (70%) and adjacent to the inverted repeat, and periodically interspersed homopolymer runs of A and T occurring near the middle of the element which induce DNA curvature in dimeric constructs of the element. The element appears to be unique to P. magellanicus. The structural properties of the repeat element and its organization in an array of repeats may be important in explaining the generation and maintenance of large-scale mitochondrial DNA size variation observed in many animal species.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Bone matrix stimulates osteoclastic differentiation in cultures of rabbit bone marrow cells.

Cells showing osteoclastic characteristics have not been identified outside bone. Because osteoclasts originate from an extraosseous source, this suggests that identifiable osteoclastic features do not develop until the precursors enter bone, where the local microenvironment may signal osteoclastic differentiation or maturation. We assessed the influence of bone matrix on osteoclastic differentiation by incubating bone marrow cells, after removal of pre-existing osteoclasts, on plastic coverslips or slices of devitalized cortical bone. We found that there was a threefold increase in the number of osteoclast-specific MAb-positive cells on the bone matrix compared with plastic coverslips. The number of MAb-positive cells correlated with the extent of excavation of the surface of the bone slices. Multinuclearity correlated with MAb-positive cell density, and for any given density the proportion of MAb-positive cells that were multinucleate was similar on plastic and bone. We conclude that, in the presence of 1,25-(OH)2 vitamin D3, bone matrix stimulates the generation of osteoclasts but has no demonstrable influence on the fusion of mononuclear osteoclastic precursors.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Effect of arachidonic acid metabolites on bone resorption by isolated rat osteoclasts.

Arachidonic acid metabolites (eicosanoids) have major effects on bone but their role is unclear. Many are known to stimulate bone resorption in organ culture, but paradoxically, previous work has suggested that at least some of them act as direct inhibitors of osteoclastic function. In an attempt to clarify the role of eicosanoids in bone physiology, we have defined the duration of action and relative potencies of prostaglandin (PG) E1 and E2 and have extended the range of eicosanoids tested on isolated osteoclasts. We have found that PGE1 and PGE2 inhibited bone resorption by isolated osteoclasts for at least 6 h. Inhibition was followed by recovery to control, not supranormal levels. Bone resorption was inhibited in the range 10(-5)-10(-9) M for PGE1 and PGE2, and the rank order as resorption inhibitors was PGE1 greater than 6-keto PGE1 greater than PGE2 greater than PGA2 greater than PGB2. None of the products of lipoxygenase metabolism showed a significant direct effect. The effects of PGE1 and PGE2 were not antagonistic. Prostaglandin production does not seem to be implicated as a second messenger for the action of calcitonin. Although inhibition of osteoclasts by PGs was less prolonged than that observed in the presence of calcitonin, the sensitivity of osteoclasts to inhibition by PGs, and the duration of the effect without subsequent direct stimulation, suggests that inhibition of osteoclastic resorption is a major physiological role of PG production in bone.

Animals↗