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M Finney

Publications and source records attributed to M Finney.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Inositol lipids and phosphates in the regulation of the growth and differentiation of haemopoietic and other cells.

Stimulation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate hydrolysis is an important signalling reaction involved in the responses of cells to some, but not all, stimuli that promote cell proliferation. Active agents in this regard include antigens activating T and B lymphocytes, angiotensin (employing a receptor encoded by the mas oncogene), bombesin and platelet-derived growth factor PDGF). However, accumulating evidence suggests that inositol lipids and phosphates also have other roles in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation. Growth factor receptors that encode tyrosine kinases (such as that for PDGF) activate a kinase that synthesises phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate, a novel lipid, and loss of this kinase-activating function abolishes growth-promoting activity. Human interleukin-4, a lymphokine that activates B lymphocytes, appears to employ phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate hydrolysis as a brief initial signal that is followed by a sustained rise in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP): both signals are needed for the successful induction of the surface antigen CD23. Moreover, the same inositol lipid signalling pathway as is employed by antigen-stimulated mature T lymphocytes to provoke proliferation may be redeployed in immature T cells to trigger their elimination when they encounter self-antigens. Finally, studies of HL60 promyelocytic cells have shown that these cells contain high concentrations of inositol 3,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate, 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate and hexakisphosphate, three inositol polyphosphates that are probably formed independently of inositol lipid metabolism. When these cells are induced to differentiate either towards neutrophils (in the presence of dimethylsulphoxide) or macrophages (in phorbol myristate acetate), cessation of growth and acquisition of differentiated characteristics are accompanied by large and different changes in the concentrations of these inositol phosphates that may be characteristic of these two pathways of differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Interleukin 4 activates human B lymphocytes via transient inositol lipid hydrolysis and delayed cyclic adenosine monophosphate generation.

We report from three independent centers that, in human tonsillar B lymphocytes, human IL4 switches on a series of second messenger changes, the precise sequence of which constitutes a novel signal transduction cascade. It involves an immediate and transient elevation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and Ca2+ levels. This is followed several minutes later by a sustained rise in cellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentration, the triggering of which involves both the Ca2+ rise and an additional, as yet unidentified, IL4-generated signal. Both the products of the initial inositol lipid hydrolysis and the delayed cyclic adenosine monophosphate accumulation are essential for the later induction of CD23 expression, a major phenotypic change promoted in these cells by IL4. The striking contrast between these findings and those that have been observed for the IL4 triggering of murine B cells is discussed.

Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte↗
PubMed1989

Mitogen-induced phosphorylation of human B-lymphocyte proteins. Relationship to protein kinase C activation.

We have investigated the rapid phosphorylation of proteins in B-lymphocytes incubated with the tumour-promoting phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), anti-Ig and combinations of TPA and the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin. Two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis was used to identify the proteins phosphorylated in cells preincubated with [32P]Pi. TPA induced a characteristic pattern of labelled proteins, four of which (pp85, pp76, pp66 and pp63) showed a dose-dependent incorporation of 32P on serine residues. The phosphorylation of pp63 and pp66, in particular, correlated with the mitogenic dose-response curve. Addition of the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin to B-cells also stimulated a characteristic incorporation of 32P into proteins, which included pp63 and pp66. With combined doses of TPA and ionomycin, these two proteins show an enhanced phosphorylation, which correlated well with the synergistic enhancement of proliferation shown by this combination of agents. Protein kinase C (PKC) was partially purified from B-cells and separated into alpha and beta subtypes. The activation of both PKCs was assessed with increasing doses of TPA and concentrations of Ca2+ of 0.1 microM and 2 microM. For both forms of PKC, in particular the beta form, higher concentrations of Ca2+ shifted the dose-response curve for TPA to the left and increased the maximum activation. Anti-Ig, which stimulated B-cells by cross-linking surface immunoglobulin and causing hydrolysis of PtdIns(4,5)P2, also caused increased phosphorylation of several proteins, which again included pp63 and pp66. These data suggest that PKC, particularly the beta form, is involved in the early part of the proliferation cascade for human B-lymphocytes. It is most probably activated in a synergistic manner by the increased Ca2+ and diacylglycerol levels which result from the earlier hydrolysis of PtdIns(4,5)P2.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Caenorhabditis elegans has scores of homoeobox-containing genes.

Homoeobox-containing genes control cell identities in particular spatial domains, cell lineages, or cell types during the development of Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans, and they probably control similar processes in vertebrates. More than 80 genes with homoeoboxes that have sequence similarities ranging from 25 to 100% have been isolated by genetic means or by DNA hybridization to previously isolated genes. We synthesized 500-2,000-fold degenerate oligonucleotides corresponding to a set of well-conserved eight amino acid sequences from the helix-3 region of the homoeodomain. We screened C. elegans genomic libraries with these probes and identified 49 putative homoeobox-containing loci. DNA sequencing confirmed that eight out of ten selected loci had sequences corresponding to the conserved helix-3 region plus additional flanking sequence similarity. One of these genes contained a sequence corresponding to a complete pou-domain and another was closely related to the homoeobox-containing genes caudal/cdx-1. The putative homoeobox loci were mapped to the physical contig map of C. elegans, allowing the identification of potentially corresponding genes from the correlated genetic map. We estimate that the number of homoeobox-containing genes in C. elegans is at least 60, constituting approximately 1% of the estimated total number of genes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

The C. elegans cell lineage and differentiation gene unc-86 encodes a protein with a homeodomain and extended similarity to transcription factors.

Mutations in the gene unc-86 affect development of the nematode C. elegans by altering cell lineages and cell differentiation. We molecularly cloned unc-86 by chromosomal walking from linked polymorphic genetic loci, and identified the gene by locating polymorphisms specific for unc-86 alleles. A transcript containing a 467 amino acid open reading frame was inferred from the DNA sequence of a genomic clone. The unc-86 transcript encodes a protein containing a 158 amino acid sequence, referred to as the pou ("pow") domain, which is strikingly similar to sequences found in three mammalian transcription factors. Within this conserved region, there is a homeodomain related to but distinct from homeodomains previously identified in Drosophila and other organisms. These findings suggest that unc-86 encodes a transcription factor, and that the related mammalian transcription factors may function to control cell fates and cell differentiation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1983

Evaluation of ultrasonically nebulised solutions for provocation testing in patients with asthma.

The airway response to the inhalation of ultrasonically nebulised distilled water was determined in 55 asthmatic patients and 16 normal subjects. We calculated the dose of water required to induce a 20% reduction (PD20) in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) by measuring the output of the nebuliser and the volume ventilated by each subject. Forty-eight of the asthmatic patients had a PD20 of 9 ml or less but three patients required as much as 24 ml. A PD20 was not recorded in the normal subjects and the challenge was stopped after 33 ml. In 12 patients the challenge was repeated within six months and the airway response was shown to be reproducible at equivalent doses of water. In a separate group of 11 patients there was, however, a highly significant reduction in the percentage fall in FEV1 when equivalent doses of water were given on two occasions 40 minutes apart. When the temperature of the inhaled water was increased from 22 degrees C to 36 degrees C eight of 10 patients had a similar change in FEV1 with equivalent doses of water. The airways obstruction induced by the inhalation of water was readily reversed with salbutamol administered by aerosol. In some patients a challenge with water or 3.6% saline was repeated after pretreatment with sodium cromoglycate, atropine methonitrate, and verapamil hydrochloride, all given as aerosols. The airway response to the equivalent dose of water or saline was significantly reduced after treatment with sodium cromoglycate but not atropine or verapamil.

Adolescent↗