Biomedical subjects

L Pham

Publications and source records attributed to L Pham.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Parathyroid hormone induces RGS-2 expression by a cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-mediated pathway in primary neonatal murine osteoblasts.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a promising anabolic agent for the treatment of osteoporosis. However, PTH is also potently catabolic. To help delineate the molecular mediators of PTH's opposing effects on skeletal metabolism, we have examined PTH-induced regulator of G-protein signaling-2 (RGS-2) expression and function in murine osteoblasts. RGS proteins are GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) that regulate GTP-binding protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling by enhancing the intrinsic GTPase activity of Galpha subunits. We found that 10 nmol/L PTH maximally induced RGS-2 mRNA in murine MC3T3-E1 cells, rat Py1a and ROS-17/2.8 cells, primary mouse osteoblasts (MOB cells), and mouse calvariae organ culture at 1-2 h posttreatment. PTH signaling through its receptor, PTHR1, is coupled to cAMP-protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC), and calcium signaling pathways. We examined the effect of selective signaling agonists and antagonists on RGS-2 expression in MOB cells to determine which pathway(s) mediates PTH-induced RGS-2 expression. Although selective activation of all three pathways led to RGS-2 expression, cAMP-PKA activation with 10 nmol/L PTH and 10 micromol/L forskolin elicited the strongest induction. Similarly, RGS-2 mRNA expression was most strongly inhibited by the PKA inhibitor, H89 (10-30 micromol/L). The phorbol ester, PMA (1 micromol/L), which activates the PKC pathway, and ionomycin (1 micromol/L), which activates the calcium pathway, produced small but detectable elevations in RGS-2 mRNA levels. Overnight treatment with 1 micromol/L PMA to deplete PKC did not affect subsequent RGS-2 induction by PTH, but significantly inhibited PMA-induced RGS-2 expression. Treatment with 1-100 nmol/L PTH(3-34), which does not activate cAMP-PKA signaling, did not induce RGS-2 expression. MOB cells pretreated with 3 microg/mL cycloheximide produced sustained RGS-2 mRNA levels 2 h after 10 nmol/L PTH treatment. Actinomycin D (5 microg/mL) completely blocked 10 nmol/L PTH-induced RGS-2 expression. Finally, we tested the effect of RGS-2 overexpression on PTH- and fluprostenol-induced interleukin (IL)-6 promoter activity in MOB cells. PTH induces IL-6 through PKA activation, whereas fluprostenol induces IL-6 through PKC activation. We found that RGS-2 overexpression significantly inhibited IL-6 promoter activity following fluprostenol treatment, but not following PTH treatment. We conclude that RGS-2 is a PTH-induced primary response gene in murine osteoblasts that is induced mainly through the cAMP-PKA pathway and specifically inhibits Galphaq-coupled receptors.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Systemic therapy of myeloma xenografts by an attenuated measles virus.

Conditionally replicating viruses are promising agents for the treatment of malignancy. Here it is shown that the live attenuated Edmonston-B vaccine strain of measles virus (MV-Edm) replicates selectively in human myeloma cells and has potent antitumor activity. In vitro, replication of MV-Edm was restricted in phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) but proceeded efficiently in a panel of 6 myeloma cell lines-ARH-77, RPMI 8226, JJN-3, MM1, KAS-6/1, and KMS-11-and in primary myeloma cells isolated by CD138 sorting from the bone marrow aspirates of 6 patients. MV-Edm infection induced potent cytopathic effects in these myeloma cells, resulting in the formation of multinucleated syncytia that eventually became nonviable. In contrast, syncytial formation in PHA-stimulated PBLs was minimal after MV-Edm infection. In vivo, MV-Edm was antitumorigenic and inhibited the establishment of myeloma cells as xenografts in immunocompromised mice. When injected directly into ARH-77 myeloma xenografts in the mice, MV-Edm caused complete regression of these xenografts. MV-Edm administered intravenously into the tail veins of mice also showed significant antineoplastic activity against established RPMI 8226 and ARH-77 xenografts. In particular, the ARH-77 myeloma xenografts were exquisitely sensitive to MV-Edm therapy, and tumors in all mice regressed completely. In light of its selectivity for myeloma cells and its potent antineoplastic activity against myeloma xenografts in vivo, MV-Edm merits further development for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Organ distribution of gene expression after intravenous infusion of targeted and untargeted lentiviral vectors.

Lentiviral vectors represent an attractive technology platform from which to develop a targetable injectable gene delivery system for transduction of specific cell populations in vivo, irrespective of their cell cycle status. Targeted HIV-1-based lentiviral vectors were generated by pseudotyping them with chimeric murine leukemia virus (MLV) envelope glycoproteins displaying N-terminal targeting polypeptides. Vectors displaying an EGF polypeptide were fully infectious on EGF receptor-negative cells, but were inactive on cells with abundant EGF receptors (inverse targeting). Receptor-mediated inactivation of gene transfer was overcome by competing the EGF receptors on the target cells with soluble EGF or by removing the displayed EGF domain from the surface of the vector particles by factor Xa cleavage of a specific protease substrate engineered into its tethering linker (protease targeting). Intravenous infusion of nontargeted HIV-1 vectors led to maximal luciferase activity in liver and spleen with moderate or minimal activity in heart, skeletal muscle, lung, brain, kidney, ovaries and bone marrow. In contrast, intravenous EGF-displaying vectors were expressed maximally in spleen with very low level luciferase expression detectable in liver (EGF-receptor rich). Liver transduction by the EGF-displaying vector was restored by pretreating the animals with soluble EGF suggesting that these vectors are inversely targeted to spleen.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Development of intermediate-grade (mantle cell) and low-grade (small lymphocytic and marginal zone) human non-Hodgkin's lymphomas xenotransplanted in severe combined immunodeficiency mouse models.

We have used severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) (c.b.-17, ICR/SCID) mice to develop xenotransplantation (XT) models for human intermediate-and-low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). In the past, SCID mice have provided a variety of useful XT models for human hematopoietic neoplasms that primarily involve the acute leukemias and some nonhematopoietic tumors, but only rare reports exist on use of the SCID mouse model in the study of primary tumor cells from NHL. Intermediate-grade and low-grade NHL are the most common lymphomas seen in adults. There is no effective therapy for those types of NHL, and they have not been established in an animal model to date. The lack of an animal model has hampered studies that can evaluate the disease process in vivo as well as the definition of therapeutic parameters involved in treatment. We report in this study that primary patient samples of NHL ( intermediate grade and low grade) have been successfully established in SCID mice after XT. NHL include intermediate-grade (mantle cell lymphoma) and low-grade (eg, small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic lymphoma and marginal zone lymphoma) forms. Studies have been directed toward creating appropriate conditions for the optimal grafting of these NHL in SCID mice so that the disease process in humans could be accurately simulated. These studies indicate that development of XT-human lymphoma cells in SCID mice appear to be linked to their biologic and/or clinical behavior, transplanted lymphoma cell number, and age, as well as to the natural killer cell status of the SCID mouse recipients. Evidence has also shown that NHL cells can exhibit homing or trafficking patterns in SCID recipients that resemble those observed in patients with gastrointestinal lymphomatous involvement (particularly that of mantle cell lymphoma). Our studies also indicate that artefactual influences, such as the outgrowth of Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoblastoid lesions, are rare occurrences in the human NHL/SCID models that we have established.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

An in vivo study of antifreeze protein adjuvant cryosurgery.

Cryosurgery employs freezing to destroy undesirable tissue. However, under certain thermal conditions, frozen tissues survive. The survival of frozen undesirable tissue may lead to complications, such as recurrence of cancer. In a study of nude mice with subcutaneous metastatic prostate tumors, we showed that the preoperative injection of a phosphate-buffered saline solution with 10 mg/ml antifreeze protein of type I into the tumor prior to freezing enhances destruction under thermal conditions which normally yield cell survival. This suggests that the adjunctive use of antifreeze proteins in cryosurgery may reduce the complications from undesirable tissues that survive freezing.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Improving quality of life for people with chronic conditions: the example of t'ai chi and multiple sclerosis.

CONTEXT: The greatest needs of people with chronic conditions are long-term care, maximized independence, and improved quality of life. With conventional medicine becoming increasingly expensive, depersonalized, and unable to adequately meet such needs, many with chronic conditions are seeking health promotion strategies to effectively manage their symptoms. OBJECTIVE: An 8-week t'ai chi program was conducted to explore psychosocial and physical benefits for those with multiple sclerosis. DESIGN: Nonrandomized, noncontrolled pilot study. SETTING: American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, San Francisco, Calif. PATIENTS: 19 patients with multiple sclerosis. INTERVENTION: T'ai chi. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Walking speed (distance = 25 ft), hamstring flexibility, and psychosocial well-being as measured by the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-form Health Survey. RESULTS: Walking speed increased by 21% and hamstring flexibility increased by 28%. Patients experienced improvements in vitality, social functioning, mental health, and ability to carry out physical and emotional roles. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot program was conducted entirely on a volunteer basis and led to the implementation of several additional t'ai chi classes for people with multiple sclerosis across the United States. T'ai chi and other health promotion programs offer help toward achieving the goals of increasing access to services, maximizing independence, and improving quality of life for people with chronic disabling conditions.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMed1998

Hybrid oligomer duplexes formed with phosphorothioate DNAs: CD spectra and melting temperatures of S-DNA.RNA hybrids are sequence-dependent but consistent with similar heteronomous conformations.

Knowledge of the relative stabilities of S-DNA.RNA hybrids of different sequences is important for choosing RNA targets for hybridization with antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxyribonucleotides (S-DNAs). It is also important to know how hybrid secondary structure varies with sequence, since different structures could influence thermal stability and the activity of RNase H. Our approach has been to study relatively simple sequences consisting of repeating di-, tri-, and tetranucleotides, which allow the maximum resolution of nearest-neighbor effects. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra and melting temperatures were acquired for 16 hybrid sequences that could be formed by mixing S-DNA and RNA oligomers of 24 nucleotides in length. CD spectra of S-DNA.RNA hybrids were sequence-dependent and were similar to those of analogous unmodified hybrids. From singular value decomposition, the major CD spectral component was like that of the A-conformation. Three nearest-neighbor relationships among the hybrid CD spectra were in as good agreement as are such relationships among spectra of duplex RNAs. Tm values ranged from 44.1 degrees C for S-d(ACT)8. r(AGU)8 to 66.6 degrees C for S-d(CCT)8.r(AGG)8 (in 0.15 M K+, phosphate buffer, pH 7). The S-DNA.RNA hybrids had a sequence-dependence of melting temperatures that was approximately the same as that calculated using published data for normal DNA.RNA hybrids [Sugimoto, N., Nakano, S., Katoh, M., Matsumura, A., Nakamuta, H., Ohmichi, T.,Yoneyama, M., & Sasaki, M. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 11211-11216]. In general, sequence-dependent CD spectra and Tm values of S-DNA.RNA hybrids appear to reflect the unique nearest-neighbor interactions of adjacent base pairs, where the S-DNA and RNA strands are in different, but relatively uniform, conformations.

Base Composition↗

PubMed1998

Heterogeneity of the proliferative capacity of rat cholangiocytes after bile duct ligation.

We previously introduced the concept that intrahepatic bile duct epithelial cells, or cholangiocytes, are functionally heterogeneous. This concept is based on the observation that secretin receptor (SR) gene expression and secretin-induced cAMP synthesis are present in cholangiocytes derived from large (> 15 microns in diameter) but not small (< 15 microns in diameter) bile ducts. In work reported here, we tested the hypothesis that cholangiocytes are heterogeneous with regard to proliferative capacity. We assessed cholangiocyte proliferation in vivo by measurement of [3H]thymidine incorporation and in vitro by both [3H]thymidine incorporation and H3 histone gene expression in small (fraction 1) and large (fraction 2) cholangiocytes isolated from rats after bile duct ligation (BDL). In the two cholangiocyte subpopulations, we also studied basal somatostatin receptor (SSTR2) gene expression as well as the effects of somatostatin on 1) SR gene expression and secretin-induced cAMP synthesis and 2) [3H]thymidine incorporation and H3 histone gene expression. In normal rat liver, cholangiocytes, unlike hepatocytes, were mitotically dormant; after BDL, incorporation of [3H]thymidine markedly increased in cholangiocytes but not hepatocytes. When subpopulations of cholangiocytes were isolated after BDL, DNA synthesis assessed by both techniques was limited to large cholangiocytes, as was SSTR2 steady-state gene expression. In vitro, somatostatin inhibited SR gene expression and secretin-induced cAMP synthesis only in large cholangiocytes. Moreover, compared with no hormone, somatostatin inhibited DNA synthesis solely in large cholangiocytes. These results support the concept of the heterogeneity of cholangiocytes along the biliary tree, extend this concept to cholangiocyte proliferative activity, and imply that the proliferative compartment of cholangiocytes after BDL is located principally in the cholangiocytes lining large (> 15 microns) bile ducts.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Rat cholangiocytes absorb bile acids at their apical domain via the ileal sodium-dependent bile acid transporter.

Although bile acid transport by bile duct epithelial cells, or cholangiocytes, has been postulated, the details of this process remain unclear. Thus, we performed transport studies with [3H]taurocholate in confluent polarized monolayers of normal rat cholangiocytes (NRC). We observed unidirectional (i.e., apical to basolateral) Na+-dependent transcellular transport of [3H]taurocholate. Kinetic studies in purified vesicles derived from the apical domain of NRC disclosed saturable Na+-dependent uptake of [3H]taurocholate, with apparent Km and Vmax values of 209+/-45 microM and 1.23+/-0.14 nmol/mg/10 s, respectively. Reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) using degenerate primers for both the rat liver Na+-dependent taurocholate-cotransporting polypeptide and rat ileal apical Na+-dependent bile acid transporter, designated Ntcp and ASBT, respectively, revealed a 206-bp product in NRC whose sequence was identical to the ASBT. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that the size of the ASBT transcript was identical in NRC, freshly isolated cholangiocytes, and terminal ileum. In situ RT-PCR on normal rat liver showed that the message for ASBT was present only in cholangiocytes. Immunoblots using a well-characterized antibody for the ASBT demonstrated a 48-kD protein present only in apical membranes. Indirect immunohistochemistry revealed apical localization of ASBT in cholangiocytes in normal rat liver. The data provide direct evidence that conjugated bile acids are taken up at the apical domain of cholangiocytes via the ASBT, and are consistent with the notion that cholangiocyte physiology may be directly influenced by bile acids.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Secretin promotes osmotic water transport in rat cholangiocytes by increasing aquaporin-1 water channels in plasma membrane. Evidence for a secretin-induced vesicular translocation of aquaporin-1.

Although secretin is known to stimulate ductal bile secretion by directly interacting with cholangiocytes, the precise cellular mechanisms accounting for this choleretic effect are unknown. We have previously shown that secretin stimulates exocytosis in cholangiocytes and that these cells transport water mainly via the water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP1). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that secretin promotes osmotic water movement in cholangiocytes by inducing the exocytic insertion of AQP1 into plasma membranes. Exposure of highly purified isolated rat cholangiocytes to secretin caused significant, dose-dependent increases in osmotic membrane water permeability (Pf) (e.g. increased by 60% with 10(-7) M secretin), which was reversibly inhibited by the water channel blocker HgCl2. Immunoblotting analysis of cholangiocyte membrane fractions showed that secretin caused up to a 3-fold increase in the amount of AQP1 in plasma membranes and a proportional decrease in the amount of the water channel in microsomes, suggesting a secretin-induced redistribution of AQP1 from intracellular to plasma membranes. Both the secretin-induced increase in cholangiocyte Pf and AQP1 redistribution were blocked by two perturbations that inhibit secretin-stimulated exocytosis in cholangiocytes, i.e. treatment with colchicine and exposure at low temperatures (20 and 4 degrees C). Our results demonstrate that secretin increases AQP1-mediated Pf in cholangiocytes. Moreover, our studies implicate the microtubule-dependent vesicular translocation of AQP1 water channels to the plasma membrane, a mechanism that appears to be essential for secretin-induced ductal bile secretion and suggests that AQP1 can be regulated by membrane trafficking.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Chemical adjuvant cryosurgery with antifreeze proteins.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Imaging monitored cryosurgery is emerging as an important minimally invasive surgical technique for treatment of cancer. Although imaging allows excellent control over the process of freezing itself, recent studies show that at high subzero temperatures cells survive freezing. Antifreeze proteins (AFP) are chemical compounds that modify ice crystals to needle-like shapes that can destroy cells in cellular suspensions. The goal of this study was to determine whether these antifreeze proteins can also destroy cells in frozen tissue and serve as chemical adjuvants to cryosurgery. METHODS: Livers from six rats were excised, perfused with solutions of either phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or PBS with 10 mg/ml AFP-I, and frozen with a special cryosurgery apparatus. Lobes were frozen with one or two freeze-thaw cycles and the cell viability was examined with a two stain fluorescent dye test and histological assessment. RESULTS: A significant percentage of hepatocytes survive freezing on the margin of a frozen cryolesion. AFP significantly increase cellular destruction in that region apparently through formation of intracellular ice. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study demonstrates that antifreeze proteins may be effective chemical adjuvants to cryosurgery.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Kinetic and molecular identification of sodium-dependent glucose transporter in normal rat cholangiocytes.

While previous work has demonstrated that monosaccharides can be absorbed from bile, studies of sugar transport by the biliary, epithelia (i.e., cholangiocytes) are lacking. Using a novel model of polarized rat cholangiocytes in primary culture, designated normal rat cholangiocytes (NRC), we examined directly the uptake and transcellular transport of a nonmetabolizable monosaccharide, methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside (AMG). When the apical or basolateral domain of cholangiocytes was exposed to radiolabeled AMG or sucrose (control), only apical absorption of AMG was evident. This apical uptake was time dependent, saturable, and significantly inhibited (> or = 90%) by removal of Na+ or in the presence of phlorizin (0.1 mM), a competitive inhibitor of the Na(+)-glucose cotransporter. The transcellular flux of AMG was also polar (i.e., apical to basolateral). Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed the presence of the transcript for the specific Na(+)-glucose cotransporter SGLT1 in NRC and in freshly isolated cholangiocytes but not in purified hepatocytes; in contrast, the transcript for SGLT2 was absent in all liver samples. In situ RT-PCR on frozen sections of normal rat liver showed that SGLT1 was expressed exclusively in cholangiocytes. Immunoblot analysis using a specific polyclonal antibody for the facilitative glucose transporter GLUT1 demonstrated it to be present in vesicles derived from NRC enriched in basolateral plasma membrane domains. Our data are consistent with the concept that SGLT1 is present on the apical domain of biliary epithelia and, in conjunction with GLUT1 on the basolateral domain, accounts for glucose absorption from bile.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Rat hepatocytes transport water mainly via a non-channel-mediated pathway.

During bile formation by the liver, large volumes of water are transported across two epithelial barriers consisting of hepatocytes and cholangiocytes (i.e. intrahepatic bile duct epithelial cells). We recently reported that a water channel, aquaporin-channel-forming integral protein of 28 kDa, is present in cholangiocytes and suggested that it plays a major role in water transport by these cells. Since the mechanisms of water transport across hepatocytes remain obscure, we performed physiological, molecular, and biochemical studies on hepatocytes to determine if they also contain water channels. Water permeability was studied by exposing isolated rat hepatocytes to buffers of different osmolarity and measuring cell volume by quantitative phase contrast, fluorescence and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Using this method, hepatocytes exposed to hypotonic buffers at 23 degrees C increased their cell volume in a time and osmolarity-dependent manner with an osmotic water permeability coefficient of 66.4 x 10(-4) cm/s. In studies done at 10 degrees C, the osmotic water permeability coefficient decreased by 55% (p < 0.001, at 23 degrees C; t test). The derived activation energy from these studies was 12.8 kcal/mol. After incubation of hepatocytes with amphotericin B at 10 degrees C, the osmotic water permeability coefficient increased by 198% (p < 0.001) and the activation energy value decreased to 3.6 kcal/mol, consistent with the insertion of artificial water channels into the hepatocyte plasma membrane. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction with hepatocyte RNA as template did not produce cDNAs for three of the known water channels. Both the cholesterol content and the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio of hepatocyte plasma membranes were significantly (p < 0.005) less than those of cholangiocytes; membrane fluidity of hepatocytes estimated by measuring steady-state anisotropy was higher than that of cholangiocytes. Our data suggests that the osmotic flow of water across hepatocyte membranes occurs mainly by diffusion via the lipid bilayer (not by permeation through water channels as in cholangiocytes).

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Evaluation of a two-site immunoradiometric assay for measuring noncomplexed (free) prostate-specific antigen.

Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in men is present as two different molecular forms separable by gel-filtration chromatography (GFC). We have evaluated a two-site IRMA that measures only the noncomplexed (free) form of PSA (F-PSA). Verification that the F-PSA assay measures solely F-PSA was obtained by assaying GFC-fractionated serum samples with both the F-PSA IRMA and a commercial PSA assay that measures total PSA (T-PSA: F-PSA plus alpha 1-antichymotrypsin-complexed PSA). The F-PSA assay detected only the 30-kDa peak corresponding to the free form of PSA, whereas the T-PSA assay detected two peaks: complexed PSA at approximately 90 kDa and F-PSA at approximately 30 kDa. The F-PSA assay had an analytical detection limit of 0.03 microgram/L and a measuring range up to 50 micrograms/L. The intraassay CV was 1.7-10% in the concentration range of 0.2-30 micrograms/L. The interassay CV was 3.4-12.5% in the same concentration range. Dilution and recovery studies showed no significant deviation from linearity across the assay range. The assay was insensitive to interference from hemoglobin, bilirubin, and total lipids up to concentrations of 5, 0.2, and 10 g/L, respectively. No significant loss of immunological activity (analyte stability) was seen day-to-day ( < or = 5) or after repeated freeze/thaw ( < or = 5) cycles. We conclude that the F-PSA IRMA is an accurate, precise, and reliable tool for measuring F-PSA in human serum.

Aged↗

PubMed1995

Alcohol modulation of human normal T-cell activation, maturation, and migration.

We are interested in the characterization of the effects of alcohol on human T-cell activation, maturation, and migration, because this cell population is crucial in the initiation, regulation, and propagation of cellular immunity. We and others have described the effects of both acute and chronic exposure of human immune cells to ethanol (EtOH) in vitro. Herein, we briefly, review these reports and expand this body of literature with the inclusion of new data recently obtained in our laboratory. We confirm the blunting effects of EtOH on the production of interleukin-2 and mitogen proliferative response following T-cell mitogen stimulation, and on the expression of membrane markers of activation. We show that EtOH significantly alters the expression of the CD4 cell-associated marker of activation, CD26. We report the effect of EtOH on the expression of the homing receptor CD62L by CD4+ cells, and on their ability to adhere by a CD18-mediated process to a defined cellular substratum. Furthermore, we demonstrate the effects of EtOH and EtOH and beta-endorphin pretreatment on the activation of CD4+ lymphocytes endowed with the homing receptor CD62L.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

PubMed1994

Cholangiocytes express the aquaporin CHIP and transport water via a channel-mediated mechanism.

Cholangiocytes line the intrahepatic bile ducts and regulate salt and water secretion during bile formation, but the mechanism(s) regulating ductal water movement remains obscure. A water-selective channel, the aquaporin CHIP, was recently described in several epithelia, so we tested the hypothesis that osmotic water movement by cholangiocytes is mediated by CHIP. Isolated rodent cholangiocytes showed a rapid increase in volume in the presence of hypotonic extracellular buffers; the ratio of osmotic to diffusional permeability coefficients was > 10. The osmotically induced increase in cholangiocyte volume was inversely proportional to buffer osmolality, independent of temperature, and reversibly blocked by HgCl2. Also, the luminal area of isolated, enclosed bile duct units increased after exposure to hypotonic buffer and was reversibly inhibited by HgCl2. RNase protection assays, anti-CHIP immunoblots, and immunocytochemistry confirmed that CHIP transcript and protein were present in isolated cholangiocytes but not in hepatocytes. These results demonstrate that (i) isolated cholangiocytes and intact, polarized bile duct units manifest rapid, mercury-sensitive increases in cell size and luminal area, respectively, in response to osmotic gradients and (ii) isolated cholangiocytes express aquaporin CHIP at both the mRNA and the protein level. The data implicate aquaporin water channels in the transcellular movement of water across cholangiocytes lining intrahepatic bile ducts and provide a plausible molecular explanation for ductal water secretion.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Steroid receptor-mediated modulation of CD4+CD62L+ cell homing. Implications for drug abusers.

Naive human T cells home to peripheral lymph nodes via the leukocyte endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (LECAM-1, l-selectin, CD62L, Leu8 antigen) they express. We enriched populations of CD4+CD62L+ cells (attachment of Leu8+ T cells to flasks coated with anti-mouse IgG (AIS); Leu8+ T cells, 82.3% pure (+/- 2.3%), enriched for CD4+ cells by incubation over flasks coated with anti-CD4 antibody--this 3-4-day procedure yields an 88 +/- 1.4% recovery. Cells were treated with dexamethasone in vitro for 24-48 h, and monitored by flow cytometry. We found severe toxicity by this steroid at high concentration (10(-6) M: 35% decrease in CD62L+ T cells, 22% drop specifically in CD4+CD62L+ cells), suggesting the onset of receptor-mediated apoptotic events. The toxicity was dose dependent (5% and 7% drop in CD62L+ T and CD4+CD62L+ cells, respectively, at 10(-9) M, the concentration found in plasma 10 h following the administration of 1 mg dexamethasone). One mg of dexamethasone given to normal subjects leads to a 15-20% decrease in circulating CD4+CD62L+ cells at 10 h. This tends to be correlated with a drop in the number of glucocorticoid cytosolic receptors. Thus, steroids seem to modulate CD4+CD62L+ cell homing by means of receptor-mediated mechanisms.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Accelerated hydrolytic and ultraviolet aging studies on SI-18NB and SI-20NB silicone lenses.

This report describes the results of in vitro accelerated hydrolytic and ultraviolet aging studies performed on SI-18NB and SI-20NB silicone intraocular lenses. The hydrolytic aging study simulated the effects of 20 years in vivo. The ultraviolet aging study simulated the effects of 17 years in vivo. No significant changes in the focal length and resolution of the lenses were observed. Examination of the lens surfaces using scanning electron microscopy revealed no changes in surface morphology.

Hot Temperature↗