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Biomedical subjects

M Izquierdo

Publications and source records attributed to M Izquierdo.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

T lymphocyte activation signals.

Activation of T lymphocytes results in immediate biochemical changes including increases in intracellular calcium levels, activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and changes in tyrosine phosphorylation. In T cells recent studies have indicated that activation of the guanine nucleotide-binding proteins p21ras is mediated by PKC, which suggests that the p21ras proteins may regulate intracellular signalling events downstream of PKC. The p21ras proteins can be activated in T cells by signals generated by triggering of the T cell antigen receptor (TCR), the CD2 antigen and the interleukin 2 receptor. Experiments using a PKC pseudosubstrate inhibitor indicate that PKC does not mediate TCR-induced activation of p21ras. These results imply that an alternative signal transduction pathway not involving PKC can regulate the activity of p21ras proteins in T cells.

Humans

Interleukin (IL)-2 activation of p21ras in murine myeloid cells transfected with human IL-2 receptor beta chain.

The T cell growth factor interleukin-2 (IL-2) induces p21ras activation in T lymphocytes. To determine whether the IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) can regulate p21ras when expressed in a non-T cell environment we have examined the ability of IL-2 to activate p21ras in 32D murine myeloid progenitor cells transduced with human IL-2R beta chains. These cells are denoted beta 53 cells. 32D cells normally proliferate in response to IL-3 but the expression of the IL-2R beta chain confers IL-2 responsiveness to the cells. Our data show that IL-3 is able to activate p21ras in the parental 32D cells and both IL-2 and IL-3 can stimulate p21ras in the IL-2R-expressing beta 53 clone of 32D. In T lymphocytes, activation of protein kinase C (PKC) with phorbol esters is sufficient to stimulate p21ras. However, in 32D and beta 53 cells activation of PKC with phorbol esters does not result in p21ras activation even though these cells express functional PKC. It appears, therefore, that a PKC-mediated pathway for p21ras regulation exists in T lymphocytes but not in 32D cells. The IL-2R can couple to p21ras independently of the concomitant presence of the PKC pathway for p21ras regulation. These data imply that multiple intracellular mechanisms may exist to regulate p21ras and that cells of different lineages may differ with regard to p21ras regulation.

Animals

Population pharmacokinetics of gentamicin in premature infants.

The population kinetics of gentamicin were studied in 97 newborn patients with a gestational age ranging between 28 and 43 weeks and a postnatal age ranging between 2 and 30 days undergoing routine therapeutic monitoring of their serum gentamicin levels. The individual kinetic analysis of serum drug levels was performed using a single-compartment model. The clearance and apparent distribution volume were calculated in each patient. The population model employed assumes the existence of residual variability in the serum concentrations and interindividual variability in the pharmacokinetic parameters. The effects of demographic variables on the clearance, distribution volume, and optimum daily dose of gentamicin were established using multiple linear regression. Gestational age is the best predictive variable of the clearance and the optimum dose/day in the whole population studied. In the premature infant patients, the predictive capacity increases with postconceptional age. Weight is a good predictive variable of all of the parameters, especially of the apparent distribution volume in the overall population of newborns. Analysis of the population kinetic behavior and optimum dose/day in each subgroup recommends that the interval of drug administration should be increased, keeping the same dose/day ratio, due to the tendency of the drug to accumulate its long half-life, especially in premature babies.

Birth Weight

Analysis of different protein kinase C-dependent events in T cells from allogeneic bone marrow transplantation recipients.

In order to understand the mechanisms underlying the T lymphocyte dysfunction associated to allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT), we assessed two different protein kinase C (PKC) dependent events in T cells from BMT recipients: the PKC-dependent membrane expression and function of the CD69 early activation antigen; and the rapid phorbol ester-induced phosphorylation of PKC protein substrates in lysates from T cells permeabilized with digitonin, in the presence of (gamma-32P)ATP. Most BMT recipient T cells detectably expressed the CD69 surface antigen after 24 h of stimulation with either phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or anti-CD3 MoAb and PMA, thus indicating that PKC activity is sufficient to induce de novo gene expression. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the fluorescent staining intensity with anti-CD69 MoAbs was significantly lower in BMT recipient T cells than in normal T lymphocytes, although no clear-cut correlation was found between the expression of CD69 and the proliferative capacity. However, the pattern of PMA-induced phosphoproteins analysed as early as 1 min after PKC activation in T cells from BMT recipients displaying a low response to mitogenic stimuli, was undistinguishable from that detected in T cells from healthy subjects. In all cases a major 110-kD phosphoprotein was observed, which was inducible with PMA, phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol (OAG) and a phorbol-ester-related activator of PKC (mezerein); moreover, its phosphorylation was blocked by pretreating cells with the PKC inhibitor H-7. Altogether our results suggest that the depressed mitogenic responses, which were also observed in the present study when T cells were stimulated via CD69, cannot be simply attributed to a defective PKC activity.

Antigens, CD

Role of protein kinase C in T-cell antigen receptor regulation of p21ras: evidence that two p21ras regulatory pathways coexist in T cells.

T-lymphocyte activation via the antigen receptor complex (TCR) results in accumulation of p21ras in the active GTP-bound state. Stimulation of protein kinase C (PKC) can also activate p21ras, and it has been proposed that the TCR effect on p21ras occurs as a consequence of TCR regulation of PKC. To test the role of PKC in TCR regulation of p21ras, a permeabilized cell system was used to examine TCR regulation of p21ras under conditions in which TCR activation of PKC was blocked, first by using a PKC pseudosubstrate peptide inhibitor and second by using ionic conditions that prevent phosphatidyl inositol hydrolysis and hence diacylglycerol production and PKC stimulation. The data show that TCR-induced p21ras activation is not mediated exclusively by PKC. Thus, in the absence of PKC stimulation, the TCR was still able to induce accumulation of p21ras-GTP complexes, and this stimulation correlated with an inactivation of p21ras GTPase-activating proteins. The protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor herbimycin could prevent the non-PKC-mediated, TCR-induced stimulation of p21ras. These data indicate that two mechanisms for p21ras regulation coexist in T cells: one PKC mediated and one not. The TCR can apparently couple to p21ras via a non-PKC-controlled route that may involve tyrosine kinases.

Amino Acid Sequence

Autonomous roles for the cytoplasmic domains of the CD2 and CD4 T cell surface antigens.

CD2 and CD4 are single chain transmembrane T cell surface molecules that are involved in signal transduction. Chimaeric constructs from rat CD2 and CD4 antigens were expressed in the Jurkat human T cell line to examine the role of extracellular, transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains in mediating functions controlled by CD2 and CD4. The results show that the large rise in concentration of cytoplasmic free Ca2+ mediated via CD2 crosslinking is controlled by the cytoplasmic domain and does not require the CD2 transmembrane and extracellular domains. Similarly the CD4 cytoplasmic domain alone was shown to encode the specificity for binding to the p56lck tyrosine kinase and to control down-modulation of CD4 after treatment with phorbol ester. Evidence was obtained that down-modulation of CD4 occurs when p56lck dissociates from the cytoplasmic domain due to phosphorylation of Ser 405.

Amino Acid Sequence

Relation between the increase of circulating CD3+ CD57+ lymphocytes and T cell dysfunction in recipients of bone marrow transplantation.

Some patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT) persistently present increased proportions of circulating CD57+ T cells. We analysed the cell surface phenotype in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 69 allogeneic and 11 autologous BMT recipients. In parallel samples from 49 patients, the proliferative response to T cell mitogens was assessed, either in the presence or absence of exogenous interleukin-2 (IL-2). PBMC samples from long-term allogeneic BMT patients with increased proportions of CD57+ cells displayed significantly (P less than 0.001) lower proliferative responses, compared with samples from patients with normal proportions of CD57+ cells and from healthy subjects. Elimination of the CD57+ population by C'-dependent lysis did not normalize the proliferative response. After positive selection by cell sorting, CD57+ cells responded poorly, but in the presence of IL-2 the proliferation appeared to be similar to that displayed by the CD57- subset and still suboptimal compared with normal controls. These data suggest that the hyporesponsiveness to mitogenic stimuli in the presence of exogenous IL-2 of PBMC from allogeneic BMT recipients cannot be simply attributed either to the putative suppressor activity of CD57+ cells, or to a poor proliferative capacity of this subset. Supporting this notion we report that PBMC from long-term autologous BMT recipients containing high proportions of CD57+ T cells respond normally to T cell mitogens.

Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte

An analysis of cytoplasmic RNA populations in Drosophila melanogaster, Oregon R.

Nucleic acid reassociation methods were used to estimate the number of different polyadenylated RNA [poly (A) + RNA] sequences in the cytoplasm of whole Drosophila melanogaster at different stages of development and in the cytoplasm of cells of the L3 cell line. The number-average length (LN) of poly (A) + RNA from L3 cells is 1.4 kb, and the steady-state LN of the poly (A) tracts is 70 nucleotides. Analysis of RNA-driven reassociation with copy DNA shows that the poly (A) + RNA from L3 cells contains 5200 different sequences distributed in three abundance classes. The RNA forms hybrid duplexes with about 4.5% of single-copy Drosophila DNA, corresponding to 6500 sequences of 1.4 kb. The LN of poly (A) tracts present in whole embryos, larvae, pupae, and imagos is in each case close to 70 nucleotides. RNA-driven reassociation experiments show that poly (A) + RNA from these sources contains, respectively, 3500, greater than or equal to 4900, 6900, and greater than or equal to 4900 sequences. Cross-hybridization reactions show extensive homology between these RNA populations. All five poly (A) + RNA preparations contain a prominent component with a sedimentation coefficient of 13 and a size of 1.78 kb, which is shown to be the larger species of mitochondrial rRNA. This rRNA binds to oligo (dT) cellulose and serves as an efficient template for cDNA synthesis by reverse transcriptase. In RNA-driven reassociation experiments it behaves like an abundant mRNA.

Animals

DNA-RNA hybridization.

Interest in nucleic acid hybridization stems mainly from its great power as a tool in biological research. It is used in several quite distinct ways. Because of the high degree of specificity that they show, hybridization techniques can be used to measure the amount of one specific sequence within a very heterogeneous mixture of sequences. Measurements of 1/10(6)-10(7) have been recorded. In extension of this, various properties of a specific sequence can often be studied. Secondly, because the kinetics of nucleic acid hybridization are quite well understood, it can be used to characterize both a pure sequence and a very complex mixture of sequences, like the genome of a vertebrate. Thirdly, again because of its specificity, it can be used to measure homologies between different populations of nucleic acids. Lastly, in conjunction with other techniques, it can be used as a basis for the fractionation of nucleic acid populations and the purification of specific sequences. Specific examples of these applications are given, with special reference to the organization of the genome in higher eukaryotes.

Animals