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Biomedical subjects

L J Li

Publications and source records attributed to L J Li.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Discovery of extracellular multiple form of Chlamydia trachomatis in the tissue culture.

A strain of Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated from a patient with nongonococcal urethritis (NGU). Alternate passages between chick embryo and McCoy cell culture were examined. From the Giemsa stained coverslips taken from the cell culture 96 hours after inoculation, we found, to our surprise, that elementary bodies (EBs) distributed over a large area, and several intact cells embedded in them. These pure EB particles are round, fairly uniform in size and often appeared in pair. According to their morphology, distribution, arrangement and relationship with host cells, they are not the remains after cell lysis or directly released from host cells. We considered that they consisted of EBs which continued to divide by binary fission after their release. The name "Extracellular Multiply Form" was designated and their formation mechanism was proposed. This discovery gives a great challenge to primary theory, i.e. Chlamydias are obligate intracellular prokaryotic parasites. If we can further reveal the law of their formation, it will be of great significance both theoretically and practically.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Temporal regulation of cyclin A-p107 and p33cdk2 complexes binding to a human thymidine kinase promoter element important for G1-S phase transcriptional regulation.

The cyclins are an extensive family of proteins whose cell cycle-dependent synthesis is postulated to control multiple events during the cell cycle. The synthesis of A-type cyclins begins at the start of S phase. In mammalian cells, association with the cdc-type kinases suggests that cyclin A complexes are important for DNA replication and regulating other DNA-bound substrates required for S phase. We report here that a 25-bp promoter element previously shown to be important for the G1-S activation of the human thymidine kinase (htk) promoter in growth-stimulated cells is a cellular target of cyclin A and the p33cdk2 complexes. Though the p33cdk2 and other nuclear factor complexes exhibit constitutive binding to the htk G1-S regulatory domain, the binding activity of a cyclin A/p107 protein complex is greatly enhanced when the cells enter S phase, correlating with the increase in the tk mRNA levels and the replication of DNA. The binding activity of the cyclin A complex is maintained throughout S phase. Mutation of the DNA sequences on either half of the 25-bp protein binding site results in the loss of its ability to compete efficiently in vitro for the htk complexes, including that of cyclin A-containing complex. The loss of high-affinity binding for the htk complexes also substantially reduces the S-phase regulation of the htk promoter in vivo. Our results support the hypothesis that a cyclin A complex, in association with the p33cdk2 kinase, mediates the S-phase-regulated transcription of the htk promoter in growth-stimulated cells.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1993

A 5' portion of the ICAM-1 gene confers tissue-specific differential expression levels and cytokine responsiveness.

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), a cell-adhesion molecule critically involved in leukocyte trafficking and adherence, displays tissue-specific and cytokine-specific expression profiles. Although human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMEC) constitutively express ICAM-1, keratinocytes (HK) do not. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) upregulates ICAM-1 expression in HDMEC, but fails to do so in either HK or A431, a human squamous carcinoma cell line, even though both have IL-1 receptors and express ICAM-1 on exposure to other cytokines. We have previously characterized a human ICAM-1 genomic clone that contains the 5' flanking transcriptional regulatory region. To test the hypothesis that tissue- and cytokine-specific ICAM-1 gene expression results from the interaction of constitutive and inducible tissue-specific trans-acting factors with distinct cis-elements of the ICAM-1 gene, various ICAM-1-based reporter gene (CAT) plasmids were constructed. Transcriptional activity of these various constructs was assessed after transient transfection into HDMEC and A431. A critical ICAM-1 region was identified that conferred enhanced expression of CAT in HDMEC and suppressed expression of CAT in A431. This same region further enhanced CAT expression in transfected HDMEC treated with IL-1 alpha, yet no such enhancement was seen with IL-1 treatment of identically transfected A431. However, treatment of A431 transfectants with IFN gamma did result in enhanced CAT expression, demonstrating reversal of A431 cell context suppression of the ICAM-1-based reporter gene construct. These data implicate the existence of both tissue- and cytokine-specific responsive elements in the 5' flanking region of the ICAM-1 gene and demonstrate that regulatory effects directed by such elements are dependent upon their cellular context. Moreover, they provide the basis for identification of specific cis-acting genetic elements, the trans-acting factors with which they interact, and the molecular mechanisms by which they regulate transcription of the ICAM-1 gene.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1993

[In vitro antibacterial activity and clinical significance of domestic fluoroquinolones combinations with other antimicrobial agents].

The minimal inhibitory concentration of norfloxacin, pefloxacin, ciprofloxacin and other ten antimicrobial agents for 143 strains of Gram-positive cocci and 267 strains of Gram-negative bacilli of recent clinical isolates from June 1990 to March 1991 was analyzed. The results showed that ciprofloxacin and norrancomycin were more active than other antimicrobial agents against most of the Gram-positive cocci, while ciprofloxacin and the third generation cephalosporins were more active than other antimicrobial agents against most of the Gram-negative bacilli. The reason for the resistance to antimicrobial agents may be associated with the fact that these bacteria were isolated from inpatients with chronic urinary tract infection or lower respiratory infection of preexisting chronic pulmonary diseases, who had been treated with many antimicrobial agents. Bacteria with resistance to pefloxacin and ciprofloxacin have been found, though these agents have never been used in Tianjin. Resistance of bacteria to ciprofloxacin and pefloxacin may be concerned with cross-resistance that resulted from prolonged and widespread use of norfloxacin in Tianjin. It was also found that norvancomycin resistance (MIC, > 16 mg/L) was encountered in 6 of 34 clinical isolates of oxacillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.

Anti-Infective Agents↗
PubMed1992

Regulation of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 on human dermal microvascular endothelial cells.

Vascular endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) is an adherence molecule that is induced on endothelial cells by cytokine stimulation and can mediate binding of lymphocytes or tumor cells to endothelium. Because these interactions often occur at the level of the microvasculature, we have examined the regulation of expression of VCAM-1 in human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMEC) and compared it to the regulation of VCAM-1 in large vessel human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Both cell populations were judged pure as assessed by expression of von Willebrand factor and uptake of acetylated low density lipoprotein. Expression of VCAM-1 was not detectable on either unstimulated HDMEC or HUVEC when assessed by ELISA or flow cytometry. Stimulation of either HDMEC or HUVEC with TNF-alpha resulted in a time- and dose-dependent induction of VCAM-1. However, although TNF-alpha-induced cell surface and mRNA expression of VCAM-1 in HDMEC was transient, peaking after 16 h of stimulation, TNF stimulation led to persistently elevated cell surface expression of VCAM-1 on HUVEC. IL-1 alpha also induced cell surface expression of VCAM-1 on HUVEC in a time- and dose-dependent manner, but stimulation of HDMEC with IL-1 alpha at doses up to 1000 U/ml failed to induce significant cell surface expression. However, IL-1 alpha induced time- and dose-dependent increases in ICAM-1 on HDMEC. Similarly, IL-4 induced VCAM-1 expression and augmented TNF-alpha-induced expression on HUVEC but did not affect VCAM-1 expression on HDMEC. Binding of Ramos cells to cytokine-stimulated endothelial cell monolayers correlated with VCAM-1 induction. Increased binding was seen after stimulation of HDMEC with TNF-alpha, which was blocked by anti-VCAM-1 mAb, but no increases in binding were noted after stimulation of HDMEC monolayers with IL-1 alpha. These data provide additional evidence for the existence of endothelial cell heterogeneity and differences in cell adhesion molecule regulation on endothelial cells derived from different vascular beds.

Cell Adhesion Molecules↗
PubMed1992

Establishment of a Chinese hamster ovary cell line that expresses grp78 antisense transcripts and suppresses A23187 induction of both GRP78 and GRP94.

GRP78, a 78,000 dalton protein residing in the endoplasmic reticulum, is postulated to play important roles in protein folding and cell survival during calcium and other physiological stress. Here we describe the construction of an eukaryotic expression vector for the constitutive expression of grp78 antisense RNA and the creation of a CHO cell line, 78WO, which expresses high levels of the grp78 antisense RNA through amplification of the stably transfected antisense vector. We observed that whereas 78WO maintains a basal level of GRP78 similar to that of control cells, GRP78 is no longer inducible by A23187. The 78WO cells have undergone a compensatory increase in grp78 transcription such that the effects of antisense are cancelled out at the protein level under nonstressed conditions. In these same cells, GRP94, a 94,00 dalton ER protein, is also rendered noninducible by A23187. This provides the first evidence that the regulation of two ER proteins might be coupled such that the failure to induce GRP78 results in the down-regulation of GRP94. The 78WO cell line grows with a doubling time of about 26 hr and exhibits decreased tolerance to A23187, suggesting the GRPs contribute to cell viability under calcium stress. The establishment of this cell line, which can be stably maintained, will provide a useful tool for testing whether the induction of the GRPs is important for protein folding or transport and whether their enhanced synthesis is the cause or consequence of a variety of physiological adaptations.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Human intercellular adhesion molecule-1 gene and its expression in the skin.

Cell adhesion molecules are cell-surface proteins that allow specific cell-cell interactions among leukocytes, as well as between leukocytes and other cells. Recent studies have shown that the differential expression of selected cell-adhesion molecules plays a critical role in cutaneous inflammation, immunologic responses, and wound repair. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is a cell-adhesion molecule that is constitutively expressed on human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMEC) and is inducible on human keratinocytes (HK). Its regulated expression is vital to the initiation and evolution of localized inflammatory processes in the skin. ICAM-1 serves as a specific ligand for lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), a cell-surface protein expressed on all leukocytes. The regulated expression of ICAM-1 allows leukocytes to bind to endothelial cells at sites of inflammation and, after exiting into the tissue, to interact with specific target cells, such as HK. Furthermore, specific cytokines are capable of differentially regulating ICAM-1 expression on HDMEC, HK, and other cells. The biologic relevance of ICAM-1 expression in cutaneous inflammation is further supported by functional studies demonstrating the critical role of ICAM-1/LFA-1 interactions in mediating the binding of peripheral blood leukocytes to HDMEC and to HK--cells known to be participants and targets in specific cutaneous immunologic responses. Thus, the delineation of precise molecular mechanisms that regulate the tissue-specific and cytokine-specific expression if ICAM-1 is important to both our understanding of the biology of localized inflammation and to the development of directed anti-inflammatory therapeutic strategies. Current evidence indicates that ICAM-1 expression is regulated at the level of gene transcription. Recently our laboratory has isolated and characterized a human genomic clone that contains the 5' regulatory region of the ICAM-1 gene. In the current studies, we further describe the genomic ICAM-1 clones isolated to date and demonstrate the presence of consensus regulatory elements located within the 5' flanking region of the ICAM-1 gene that are potentially involved in regulating ICAM-1 gene transcription.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Human keratinocytes and A-431 cells synthesize and secrete factor B, the major zymogen protease of the alternative complement pathway.

Biosynthetic radiolabeling studies demonstrate that human keratinocytes and A-431 cells, a human epidermoid carcinoma cell line, synthesize and secrete factor B as a monomeric 105-kD protein. Epithelial cell-derived factor B comigrates in SDS-PAGE with that produced by HepG2 cells, a human hepatoma cell line traditionally employed in studies of complement component biosynthesis. Comparative pulse-chase studies in A-431 and HepG2 cells show that this alternative pathway complement component is produced as co-migrating 100-kD intracellular proteins that are processed in both cell types to 105-kD extracellular factor B. Quantitatively, immunoprecipitable factor B accounts for 0.05% of radiolabeled proteins in A-431 cell culture media. Treatment of biosynthetically radiolabeled A-431 cell culture media with cobra venom factor and factor D for 60 min at 37 degrees C produces the specific factor B cleavage products Ba and Bb. These fragments are not identifiable in control culture media subjected to similar treatment in the absence of alternative pathway activators. Northern blot analysis of total cellular RNA from human keratinocytes, A-431 cells, and HepG2 cells reveals qualitative identity of a 2.8-kb factor B mRNA species in these three cell types. The relative level of factor B mRNA expression in these cells parallels their level of factor B protein synthesis (i.e., HepG2 cells greater than A-431 cells greater than human keratinocytes). Epithelial cell-derived factor B may play an important role in local inflammatory reactions and also directly interact with epithelial cell derived C3--a key classical and alternative pathway complement component recently shown to be produced by human keratinocytes.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Cloning and characterization of the 5'-transcriptional regulatory region of the human intercellular adhesion molecule 1 gene.

Cell-cell adhesion is critical in the generation of immunologic responses and is dependent upon expression of a variety of cell surface receptors. While intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), a specific receptor for lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1, is constitutively expressed by some cell types, its de novo or increased expression by various cells has been associated with the initiation of inflammatory responses and appears to be transcriptionally regulated. The 5' region of the human ICAM-1 gene has been cloned and both structurally and functionally analyzed. A 17.3-kilobase genomic clone containing three exonal regions encoding the N-terminal third of the ICAM-1 protein was isolated. A 2.05-kilobase subclone, containing the 5' most exon, was utilized to determine an interferon-gamma-induced transcription initiation site via primer extension and S1 nuclease protection assays. Analysis of the 5'-flanking region revealed consensus sequences for appropriately located basal promoter elements, as well as numerous potential cis-acting enhancer elements. When subcloned into a reporter gene construct, the putative promoter subregion functioned as a potent promoter. However, in accord with biologically observed expression of ICAM-1 in specific cell types, when additional 5'-flanking sequences were included in reporter gene constructs, tissue appropriate repression of transcription was observed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

P.70 pertactin, an outer-membrane protein from Bordetella parapertussis: cloning, nucleotide sequence and surface expression in Escherichia coli.

The gene prn encoding the outer-membrane protein P.70 (pertactin) from Bordetella parapertussis has been cloned in Escherichia coli and its DNA sequence determined. Analysis of the DNA sequence reveals that the gene has an open reading frame comprising 922 amino acids capable of encoding a protein with a molecular weight of 95,177 (P.95). In vivo processing of this precursor yields a protein with an estimated Mr of 70 kDa (P.70) which is located on the surface of B. parapertussis. Homology between the prn gene from B. parapertussis and that from Bordetella pertussis is 91.3%. The homology is 93% when the protein sequence of P.95 is aligned with that of P.93 from B. pertussis. The major differences between the P.70 pertactin from B. parapertussis and the P.69 pertactin from B. pertussis occur in the number of reiterated units within the repeat motifs found in both proteins; the sequence Gly-Gly-Xaa-Xaa-Pro is repeated four times in the P.70 pertactin, and five times in the P.69 pertactin, while the sequence Pro-Gln-Pro occurs nine times in P.70 pertactin and five times in P.69 pertactin. Cloning of the gene for P.95 in an E. coli expression vector results in the synthesis of a protein that mimics native gene expression in B. parapertussis, i.e. the P.95 protein is synthesized and subsequently processed to yield the P.70 form of the protein on the surface of the cell.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Transactivation of the grp78 promoter by malfolded proteins, glycosylation block, and calcium ionophore is mediated through a proximal region containing a CCAAT motif which interacts with CTF/NF-I.

The 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) is a major endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein that can form stable associations with a variety of proteins retained in the ER because of underglycosylation or other conformational changes. In this study, we provide evidence at the transcriptional level that a conformationally abnormal protein, an altered herpes simplex virus type 1 envelope protein that is retained in the ER of a mammalian cell line, transactivates the grp78 promoter. In contrast, the normal viral envelope glycoprotein does not elevate grp78 promoter activity. Using a series of 5' deletions, linker-scanning, and internal deletion mutations spanning a 100-bp region from -179 to -80, we correlate the cis-acting regulatory elements mediating the activation of grp78 by malfolded proteins, glycosylation block, and the calcium ionophore A23187. We show that they all act through the same control elements, suggesting that they share a common signal. We report here that the highly conserved grp element, while important for basal level and induced grp78 expression, is functionally redundant. The single most important element, by linker-scanning analysis, is a 10-bp region that contains a CCAAT motif. It alone is not sufficient for promoter activity, but a 40-bp region (-129 to -90) that contains this motif is essential for mediating basal level and stress inducibility of the grp78 promoter. We show that the transcription factor CTF/NF-I is able to transactivate the grp78 promoter through interaction with this CCAAT motif.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Characterization and functional analysis of interferon-gamma-induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression in human keratinocytes and A-431 cells.

Human intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is a cell-surface glycoprotein that serves as one of the major ligands for lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), a member of the integrin supergene family of adhesion molecules that is involved in cell-cell adhesion. Homotypic and heterotypic conjugate formation between leukocytes and between leukocytes and target cells via the LFA-1/ICAM-1 interaction has been demonstrated to be a critical event in numerous immunologic and inflammatory processes. While LFA-1 is expressed by all leukocytes, ICAM-1 is not normally expressed by all tissues with which leukocytes interact, but ICAM-1 may be induced de novo by various cytokines, including interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). The constitutive and IFN-gamma-induced expression and function of ICAM-1 in human keratinocytes (HK) and A-431 cells in culture has been analyzed. While A-431 cells constitutively express ICAM-1 when assessed by northern blotting, by biosynthetic labeling and immunoprecipitation, and by flow cytometry, HK do not. When these two cell types are exposed to recombinant human (rh-) IFN-gamma at 1000 U/ml for 24 h, A-431 cells upregulate ICAM-1 and HK express ICAM-1 to an equal degree when assessed by these same parameters. Furthermore, in an in vitro adhesion assay, rh-IFN-gamma treatment of the HK or A-431 cells greatly increases the specific adherence of radiolabeled T cells to these cells. These data provide further evidence for the potential role of the regulated expression of ICAM-1 by keratinocytes in immunologic and inflammatory responses occurring in the skin.

Cell Adhesion↗
PubMed1990

Sweet's syndrome associated with immunoblastic lymphadenopathy.

Sweet's syndrome arose in a 54-year-old Japanese man who had suffered from general malaise, episodic fever, and lymphadenopathy for ten months. Skin symptoms subsided rapidly, but he died three months later with a postmortem diagnosis of immunoblastic lymphadenopathy.

Humans↗