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M Bosch

Publications and source records attributed to M Bosch.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Choose science! in a historical perspective: changing views on girls' education and the sciences, 1650-1880].

According to recent historiography on women/gender and science, the uneasy relationship between women and the exact sciences only arose when in the last quarter of the nineteenth century secondary education for girls was organised and structured in opposition to boys' education, stressing the importance of a 'modern' curriculum. Before that moment women had taken part in the popular science culture as visitors of public lectures, as amateur and rather more professional scientists and as writers of best selling books on botany, chemistry or physics. This thesis, as argued most convincingly by Patricia Phillips in her book The Scientific Lady (1990), is tested for the Netherlands. Part I deals with recent literature on the history of gender and science. Part II explores the extent to which women had access to eighteenth-century science culture in the Netherlands, and the traces this left on early nineteenth-century education for girls. The author shows that the educational reformer Barbara van Meerten-Schilperoort did indeed pay quite some attention to the 'sciences' in her curriculum proposal as well as in her publications. This confirms the thesis that only when women gained access to formal education in girls' schools next to the state regulated boys' schools for secondary education, were the exact sciences labelled 'masculine', and contrasted with the 'feminine' humanities, in part as a reflection of the respective curricula.

Adolescent↗

The PR55 and PR65 subunits of protein phosphatase 2A from Xenopus laevis. molecular cloning and developmental regulation of expression.

cDNA clones encoding the 65-kDa (PR65) and 55-kDa (PR55) regulatory subunits of protein phosphatase 2A from Xenopus laevis were isolated by homology screening with the corresponding human cDNAs, and used to analyze the developmental expression patterns of these genes. The PR65 subunit was found to be encoded by two genes, termed XPR65 alpha and XPR65 beta. The open reading frames of the alpha and beta cDNAs both span 1767 bp, and predict proteins of 64.4 kDa and 65.3 kDa, respectively, that are 87% identical. The predicted amino acid sequence of XPR65 alpha showed 95% and 84% identity with human PR65 alpha and PR65 beta proteins, respectively, whereas the identity of XPR65 beta with the same proteins was 87% and 86.5%, respectively. Only one type of Xenopus PR55 (XPR55) was isolated that showed 93% and 84% similarity to human PR55 alpha and PR55 beta, respectively. Analysis of the N-terminal region of XPR55 with the same regions of human PR55 alpha and PR55 beta, indicates that the XPR55 is the Xenopus homolog of the human PR55 alpha isoform. Despite the overall similarity with PR55 from other species, XPR55 has an N-terminal extention of at least 24 amino acids. In the ovary, a transcript of 2.8 kb, encoding the XPR65 beta, was predominantly expressed and these XPR65 beta mRNAs are present at a constant level during oogenesis until late embryogenesis. Expression of the 2.4-kb XPR65 alpha was low until the larval stage, then dramatically increased. In all adult tissues except ovary, the 2.4-kb alpha-specific mRNA was more abundant than the 2.8-kb beta transcript. Two transcripts of 2.4 kb and 2.5 kb, encoding the XPR55 subunit, were detected at a constant level throughout Xenopus oogenesis and during embryogenesis. Both transcripts were also expressed at similar levels in all adult tissues, but in a tissue-specific manner. Analysis of the XPR55 and XPR65 proteins using antibodies to recombinant proteins revealed that the overall levels of the two proteins were constant, in good agreement with mRNA data.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Addition of calmodulin antagonists to NRK cells during G1 inhibits proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression.

The mRNAs of most proteins involved in DNA synthesis show an S phase correlated expression when mammalian cells are stimulated to proliferate from G0. This is the case for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), a cofactor of DNA polymerase delta that is essential for the synthesis of the leading and lagging strands of DNA. Normal rat kidney cells re-entering the cell cycle from quiescence start DNA synthesis at 12 h and reach a maximum at 20 h. The expression of PCNA parallels the synthesis of DNA. Progression through the S phase was inhibited by addition of the anticalmodulin drug W13 to the cells during G1, 5 h after activation. W13 also inhibited the increase in both PCNA protein and mRNA indicating that calmodulin regulates its expression. Using TK-ts13 cells transfected with a plasmid containing the thymidine kinase gene under the control of the human 2.8 kb PCNA promoter, we demonstrated that this promoter is not regulated by calmodulin. The half-life of PCNA mRNA during G1/S transition was not modified by the treatment with W13, indicating that the decrease in the mRNA found when calmodulin was inhibited is not due to changes in its stability. Run-on assays revealed that control cells produced predominantly complete PCNA transcripts during S phase, while short incomplete transcripts were generated in W13-treated cells at the same time. These results indicate that calmodulin participates in a more direct or indirect way during G1 in the activation of PCNA expression. From data presented here it can be suggested that calmodulin activates the release of a transcriptional block leading to an increase in the amount of PCNA during S phase.

Animals↗

The phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator of protein phosphatase 2A. A novel purification method, immunological and enzymic characterization.

A simple, improved procedure for the isolation of the phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator (PTPA) from rabbit skeletal muscle has been developed. The majority of the protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) was separated from PTPA at an early stage in the procedure. The procedure yields approximately 1 mg essentially pure PTPA/kg rabbit skeletal muscle; it was also applied to porcine brain and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The physico-chemical properties of PTPA obtained from all sources are very similar. The pure rabbit skeletal muscle protein was used to raise polyclonal goat antibodies and to affinity purify these antibodies. Immunological studies revealed the presence of PTPA in all mammalian tissues and cell lines examined with differences in tissue distribution, brain showing the highest concentration. PTPA could only be detected in cytosolic fractions. Using a semi-quantitative immunological assay (Western blot), the in vivo concentration could be estimated to be micromolar, which is in the same range as the PP2A target. The purified Xenopus oocyte PTPA showed only a weak cross reactivity, whereas yeast PTPA was not recognised by the antibody indicating some evolutionary diversity of the protein. In a PTPA-affinity column chromatography, the weak interaction with PP2A was independent of the presence of ATP.Mg, a necessary cofactor in the activation process. Interaction of PTPA with PP2A in a 1:1 ratio induces a low (kcat = 3 min-1) ATPase activity that is inhibited by okadaic acid, ADP and non-hydrolysable ATP analogues.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Molecular cloning, expression, and characterization of PTPA, a protein that activates the tyrosyl phosphatase activity of protein phosphatase 2A.

PTPA, or phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator, is a protein that stimulates the tyrosyl phosphatase activity of protein phosphatase 2A in an ATP, Mg(2+)-requiring reaction (Cayla, X., Goris, J., Hermann, J., Hendrix, P., Ozon, R., and Merevede, W. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 658-667). We constructed oligonucleotide probes based on the amino acid sequences of peptides isolated from purified PTPA and used them to probe rabbit muscle and human heart cDNA libraries. A putative full-length clone was isolated from the rabbit skeletal muscle as well as from the human heart library. The nucleotide sequence of both clones contains an open reading frame of 969 nucleotides starting from an assigned initial ATG codon and encodes for a protein of 323 amino acids. The predicted rabbit and human PTPA protein sequences show an identity of 96.6%. The predicted protein matched all the peptide sequences obtained from the rabbit skeletal muscle protein. Bacterially expressed protein, as well as the in vitro reticulocyte lysate translation product, comigrated with the purified 37-kDa protein on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Both proteins reacted with immunopurified, anti-PTPA polyclonal antiserum. The recombinant protein was a soluble and active protein. Northern blot analysis revealed two transcripts of 2.8 and 4 kilobases, respectively, in human placenta but only one 2.8-kilobase transcript in rabbit and rat tissues. High levels of PTPA mRNA were detected in testis, which contrasted with the low levels present in skeletal muscle.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Calmodulin expression during rat liver regeneration.

We have investigated the messenger RNAs expressed from the three calmodulin genes during rat liver regeneration. The results revealed that all the calmodulin transcripts increased from 8 hr after a partial hepatectomy, although differences in the timing and the level of expression from the three genes were observed. Calmodulin I transcripts peaked at 16 hr, whereas calmodulin II and calmodulin III progressively increased from 8 to 24 hr. At 24 hr after surgery, calmodulin I, calmodulin II and the 2.3 kb calmodulin III transcripts reached values of a 6-fold increase, whereas the 0.8 kb product of calmodulin III increased 25-fold. At 30 hr the levels of all the calmodulin transcripts were similar to those observed at 24 hr. The transcription rates of the three calmodulin genes augmented after hepatectomy (calmodulin I and calmodulin II twofold and calmodulin III fourfold), indicating that the elevation of the calmodulin transcripts could be, at least partially, the result of this increase in the transcription rates. The total calmodulin concentration also increased twofold at 24 hr after hepatectomy. We also report that the administration of the beta-adrenergic blocker, D,L-propranolol inhibited the accumulation of calmodulin protein without significantly affecting the increase of the messenger RNAs. These results indicate that the expression of calmodulin observed during liver regeneration could be regulated by cyclic AMP at the translational or posttranslational level.

Animals↗

Protein kinase C regulates calmodulin expression in NRK cells activated to proliferate from quiescence.

We have investigated the levels of calmodulin protein and calmodulin mRNA species during proliferative activation of NRK cells. Cells activated to proliferate from quiescence started to replicate DNA at 15 h, reaching a maximum at 20 h after serum addition. The maximum of mitosis was observed at 24 h. Quiescent cells showed a calmodulin concentration of 1.5 ng/micrograms of protein. At 10 h after serum addition the amount of calmodulin started to increase, reaching values of 3.0 ng/micrograms of protein at 24 h. NRK cells expressed predominantly 3 species of calmodulin transcripts: the 1.7 kb from CaM I, the 1.4 kb from CaM II and the 2.3 kb from CaM III. The amount of all the 3 transcripts was low in quiescent cells and 10 h after activation the levels were already high, reaching a maximum around 20 h. At the latter time the amount of the 3 calmodulin mRNAs was 5-10-fold higher than in serum starved cells. Run-on experiments showed that at 20 h after activation the transcription rates of the 3 calmodulin genes were higher than in quiescent cells. The addition of protein kinase C inhibitors to the cultures blocked the increase of the calmodulin transcripts while inhibitors of protein kinase A did not have any effect. Moreover, the addition of submitogenic doses of phorbol 12-tetradecanoate induced the increase of all 3 calmodulin transcripts. These results indicate that protein kinase C regulates calmodulin expression when NRK cells are activated to proliferate.

Alkaloids↗

Impaired responsiveness to angiotensin II in experimental cirrhosis: role of nitric oxide.

Impaired vascular responsiveness to angiotensin II is a common feature in human cirrhosis with ascites. The aim of this study was to investigate whether vascular reactivity to angiotensin II is also decreased in rats with carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis and ascites and to assess the role of endogenous nitric oxide in this abnormality. Increasing doses of angiotensin II (from 31 to 500 ng.kg-1.min-1) induced significantly smaller increases in total peripheral resistance in conscious cirrhotic rats with ascites (n = 8) than in control animals (n = 9) at each dose tested. A reduced response to angiotensin II was also observed in vitro in aortic rings of rats with cirrhosis and ascites compared with that in control aortic rings (maximal response: 104 +/- 16 mg vs. 204 +/- 18 mg; p < 0.001). This in vitro hyporesponsiveness to angiotensin II in aortic rings of cirrhotic rats with ascites was reversed on endothelium denudation or nitric oxide synthesis inhibition with N omega-nitro-L-arginine but was not influenced by cyclooxygenase inhibition with indomethacin. In conclusion, this study shows reduced vascular reactivity to angiotensin II in carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis with ascites and indicates that this abnormality is mediated by nitric oxide.

Angiotensin II↗

Glucosylation of glycoproteins by mammalian, plant, fungal, and trypanosomatid protozoa microsomal membranes.

An assay for UDP-Glc:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase was developed. Incubation of rat liver microsomes with UDP-[14C]Glc led to the formation of hot trichloroacetic acid insoluble material identified as protein-linked Glc1Man7-9GlcNAc2. Addition of 8 M urea-denatured thyroglobulin to the incubation mixtures stimulated up to 10-12-fold the formation of the same compounds but only in the presence of detergents. Native thyroglobulin was ineffective. Several experiments indicated that the stimulation was due to the transfer of glucose residues from UDP-Glc to high-mannose oligosaccharides in urea-denatured thyroglobulin and that this transfer reaction did not involve dolichol mono- or diphosphate derivatives as intermediates. The glycoprotein glucosylating activity was mainly located in the endoplasmic reticulum and could glucosylate glycopeptides derived from the digestion of thyroglobulin with an unspecific protease. Glucosylation of oligosaccharides in those glycopeptides occurred, however, at a rate at least 2 orders of magnitude slower than that of the same compounds in urea-denatured thyroglobulin. Tryptic digestion of urea-denatured thyroglobulin did not affect its glucosylation rate. The structure of Glc1Man9GlcNAc2 linked to urea-denatured thyroglobulin was identical with that of Glc1Man9GlcNAc2-P-P-dolichol. The assay of UDP-Glc:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase allowed detection of the activity in microsomal membranes in which endogenous acceptors appeared to be absent or almost absent, such as those derived from mung bean, Mucor rouxii, Crithidia fasciculata, and Trypanosoma cruzi cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetylglucosaminidase↗

Molecular and biological characterization of a replication competent human immunodeficiency type 2 (HIV-2) proviral clone.

We obtained complete genomic clones of human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) from the DNA of the neoplastic human cell line HUT 78 freshly infected with a HIV-2 isolate, strain SBL6669. The recombinant phage DNA was transfected into the lymphocytes of CD4-positive HUT 78 cell line to test the replication competence of the proviral DNA. One genomic clone, designated HIV-2SBL/ISY, yielded retroviral particles after a few weeks of culture of the transfected cells. The HIV-2SBL/ISY clone contained a complete provirus and cellular flanking sequence. We obtained the DNA sequence of the provirus and compared it with the published sequence of two other HIV-2 isolates. The degree of variability among HIV-2 isolates is comparable to that observed among African HIV-1 isolates sequenced to date. Immunologically, HIV-2SBL/ISY is similar to the parental virus (HIV-2SBL6669) but differs in the envelope transmembrane protein that is truncated (gp32-34) in the parental virus and not in HIV-2SBL/ISY (gp41). Both the parental and the cloned viruses are infectious and cytopathic for some human T-cell lines, induce syncytia, and infect a human macrophage cell line (U937) in vitro. The availability of a biologically active HIV-2 clone provides the means to study the role and interaction of HIV-2 genes in vitro as well as to assess the functional similarities among HIV-1 and HIV-2 genes. Since HIV-2SBL/ISY cloned virus infects fresh peripheral blood T cells from Rhesus macaques in vitro and infects the same animal in vivo, its use in animals may represent a model for functional study of viral genes in vivo as well as for development of experimental approaches to prevent and cure retroviral infection in humans.

Blotting, Southern↗

Characterization of dolichol diphosphate oligosaccharide: protein oligosaccharyltransferase and glycoprotein-processing glucosidases occurring in trypanosomatid protozoa.

We have previously reported that the oligosaccharides transferred in vivo from dolichol-P-P derivatives in protein N-glycosylation in trypanosomatids are devoid of glucose residues and contain 2 N-acetylglucosamine and 6, 7, or 9 mannose units depending on the species. In this respect trypanosomatids differ from wild type mammalian, plant, insect, and fungal cells in which Glc3Man9GlcNAc2 is transferred. We are now reporting that incubation of Glc1-3Man9GlcNAc2-P-P-dolichol and Man7-9GlcNAc2-P-P-dolichol with membranes of Trypanosoma cruzi, Leptomonas samueli, Crithidia fasciculata, and Blastocrithidia culicis and an acceptor hexapeptide leads to the transfer of the six above mentioned lipid-linked oligosaccharides at the same rate. Control experiments performed under similar conditions but with rat liver and Saccharomyces cerevisiae membranes showed that, as already known, Glc3Man9GlcNAc2 is preferentially transferred in the latter systems. We have also previously reported that, once transferred to protein, the oligosaccharides become transiently glucosylated in trypanosomatids. Depending on the species, protein-linked Glc1Man5-9GlcNAc2 have been transiently detected in cells incubated with [14C] glucose. We are now reporting that glucosidase activities degrading both Glc1Man9GlcNAc2 and Glc2Man9GlcNAc2 were detected in T. cruzi, L. samueli, and C. fasciculata. The enzymatic activities were associated with a membrane fraction; they had a neutral optimum pH value, and similarly to mammalian glucosidase II, the enzyme acting on the monoglucosylated substrate showed a decreased affinity when the latter contained fewer mannose residues. No glucosidase I-like enzyme acting on Glc3Man9GlcNAc2 was detected in any of the three above-mentioned protozoan species. This result is consistent with the fact that no oligosaccharides containing 3 glucose units occur in trypanosomatids.

Animals↗

Structural characterization of several galactofuranose-containing, high-mannose-type oligosaccharides present in glycoproteins of the trypanosomatid Leptomonas samueli.

It was reported before that cells of the trypanosomatid Leptomonas samueli incubated with [14C]glucose synthesized dolichol-P-P-linked Man9GlcNAc2 as the main and largest derivative. It is now reported that this protozoan is deficient in dolichol-P-Glc synthesis as judged from results obtained in a cell-free assay. We have structurally characterized several endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H sensitive oligosaccharides present in mature glycoproteins of this parasite. The compounds appeared to have the compositions Gal3Man9GlcNAc2, Gal2Man9GlcNAc2, Gal1Man9GlcNAc2, Man9GlcNAc2, Gal1Man8GlcNAc2, Man8GlcNAc2, Gal1Man7GlcNAc2, and Man7GlcNAc2. The galactose residues were in all cases in the furanose form and linked to mannoses in nonreducing ends. In the cases of Gal1Man8GlcNAc2 and Gal1Man7GlcNAc2, the galactose-substituted mannose units were the nonreducing residues originally present in the oligosaccharide transferred from dolichol-P-P (Man9GlcNAc2) and not the nonreducing termini generated by demannosylation of the latter oligosaccharide. Except for Gal3Man9GlcNAc2, the other galactosylated compounds appeared to be mixtures of several isomers.

Animals↗

Photoaffinity labeling of pyruvate kinase from rabbit muscle.

Several studies have been performed on the structure of muscle pyruvate kinase. X-ray diffraction has provided a three-dimensional picture of the active site, and chemical modification studies have revealed essential amino acid residues for substrate binding or catalysis. We have shown that 8-azido-ADP (N3 ADP) behaves as a photoaffinity label for the enzyme. This reagent upon irradiation produces inactivation of the enzyme, and the activity loss is protected by nucleotides. The partially modified enzyme shows the same Km for ADP as the native one suggesting an "all or none" inactivation effect. The incorporation of 1 mole of 14C-N3 ADP per subunit correlates with complete inactivation. A radioactive peptide was isolated from the enzyme labeled with 14C-N3 ADP. The partial sequence of this peptide showed that it corresponds to the same peptide isolated from rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase labeled with dialdehyde-ADP and with trinitrobenzenesulfonate. This peptide is identical to a region in the cat and chicken muscle enzymes, and also a high degree of homology is found in a region of the rat liver and yeast enzymes. These studies show that N3 ADP binds to the same site as dialdehyde-ADP in rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase, and this site seems to be the nucleotide binding site.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗