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Biomedical subjects

M Rowe

Publications and source records attributed to M Rowe.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Liver transplantation and nursing care in Israel.

The Liver Unit in Hadassah Medical Center has been following patients before and after transplantation in a process combining medical and nurse care. Since 1991, 145 patients have been studied. This article reviews the study methods associated with the liver transplantation process, including etiology of basic liver disease, drug adverse effects, complications, and survival rates. The value of the nursing coordinator in liver transplantation is discussed.

Adolescent↗

Epstein-Barr virus LMP-1 natural sequence variants differ in their potential to activate cellular signaling pathways.

The latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) oncogene of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is believed to contribute to the development of many EBV-associated tumors, and there is evidence that sequence variation can affect some functions of LMP-1. Most studies have been restricted to the prototype B95.8 LMP-1 gene and genes isolated from EBV of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. Here, we analyzed the signaling functions of LMP-1 from a panel of nine EBV isolates, including representatives of four defined groups of European LMP-1 variants (groups A to D [K. Sandvej, J. W. Gratama, M. Munch, X. G. Zhou, R. L. Bolhuis, B. S. Andresen, N. Gregersen, and S. Hamilton-Dutoit, Blood 90:323-330, 1997]) and Chinese NPC-derived LMP-1. Chinese and group D variants activated the transcription factor NF-kappa B two- to threefold more efficiently than B95.8 LMP-1, while Chinese, group B, and group D variants similarly activated activator protein 1 (AP-1) transcription more efficiently than did B95.8 LMP-1. However, there were no amino acid substitutions in the core binding regions for tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated adapter proteins known to mediate NF-kappa B and AP-1 activation. In contrast, despite sequence variation in the proposed Janus kinase 3 binding region, STAT activation was remarkably constant among the panel of LMP-1 variants. Analysis of the induction of CD54 (intercellular adhesion molecule 1) protein expression by the LMP-1 variants showed differences that did not correlate with either NF-kappa B or AP-1. Therefore, while the defined sequence variant groups do correlate with LMP-1 function, the results highlight the fact that the relationship between sequence variation and signaling function is extremely complex. It appears unlikely that one particular amino acid substitution or deletion will define a disease-associated variant of LMP-1.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Experimental entanglement of four particles

Quantum mechanics allows for many-particle wavefunctions that cannot be factorized into a product of single-particle wavefunctions, even when the constituent particles are entirely distinct. Such 'entangled' states explicitly demonstrate the non-local character of quantum theory, having potential applications in high-precision spectroscopy, quantum communication, cryptography and computation. In general, the more particles that can be entangled, the more clearly nonclassical effects are exhibited--and the more useful the states are for quantum applications. Here we implement a recently proposed entanglement technique to generate entangled states of two and four trapped ions. Coupling between the ions is provided through their collective motional degrees of freedom, but actual motional excitation is minimized. Entanglement is achieved using a single laser pulse, and the method can in principle be applied to any number of ions.

Journal Article↗

Viral latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1)-induced CD99 down-regulation in B cells leads to the generation of cells with Hodgkin's and Reed-Sternberg phenotype.

Recently we reported that the down-regulation of CD99 (Mic2) is a primary requirement for the generation of Hodgkin's and Reed-Sternberg (H-RS) cells seen in Hodgkin's disease. In this study, we provide evidence that the down-regulation of CD99 is induced by high expression of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1), which is highly expressed in H-RS cells of EBV-associated Hodgkin's disease. To investigate the effect of LMP-1 on the expression of CD99 in vitro, we established a stable cell line by transfecting an SV40-early promoter driven-LMP-1 expression construct into a neoplastic lymphoblastoid B cell line, IM9, in which the level of endogenous LMP-1 expression is almost negligible. In this cell line, the overexpression of LMP-1 led to the down-regulation of CD99 and the acquisition of morphological and functional characteristics of H-RS cells indistinguishable from those in lymph nodes of Hodgkin's disease patients and in CD99-deficient B cells. In addition, induced LMP-1 expression in an EBV-negative B cell clone, BJAB, directly caused the down-regulation of surface CD99 expression. Northern and Western analysis data, showing that overexpression of LMP-1 negatively influenced the expression of CD99, were supported by experiments in which a CD99 promoter-driven luciferase promoter reporter construct transfected into 293T cells was down-regulated when LMP-1 was coexpressed. Therefore, our data strongly suggest that the EBV LMP-1 protein plays a pivotal role in the down-regulation of CD99 via transcriptional regulation, which leads to the generation of the H-RS cells. (Blood. 2000;95:294-300)

12E7 Antigen↗

Central venous catheter placement in patients with disorders of hemostasis.

BACKGROUND: Patients requiring central venous access frequently have disorders of hemostasis. The aim of this study was to identify factors predictive of bleeding complications after central venous catheterization in this group of patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all central venous catheters placed over a 2-year period (1997 to 1999) at our institution were performed. The age, sex, clinical diagnosis, most recent platelet count, prothrombin international normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), catheter type, the number of passes to complete the procedure, and bleeding complications were retrieved from the medical records. RESULTS: In a 2-year period, 2,010 central venous catheters were placed in 1,825 patients. Three hundred and thirty placements were in patients with disorders of hemostasis. In 88 of the 330 patients, the underlying coagulopathy was not corrected before catheter placement. In these patients, there were 3 bleeding complications requiring placement of a purse string suture at the catheter entry site. In the remaining 242 patients, there was 1 bleeding complication. Of the variables analyzed, only a low platelet count (<50 x 10(9)/L) was significantly associated with bleeding complications. CONCLUSION: Central venous access procedures can be safely performed in patients with underlying disorders of hemostasis. Even patients with low platelet counts have infrequent (3 of 88) bleeding complications, and these problems are easily managed.

Blood Coagulation Disorders↗

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Journal Article↗

Preceptors' use of reflection to teach in ambulatory settings: An exploratory study.

PURPOSE: Reflection on one's teaching behavior is a means to question teaching events to bring teaching actions to a conscious level, to interpret the consequences of those actions, and to conceptualize alternative teaching actions. Ambulatory teaching settings are variable, unpredictable, and discontinuous, often resulting in less focused teaching. The authors sought to measure the level of reflection on teaching used by preceptors to plan teaching in these settings. METHOD: Three preceptors who had participated in the Case Western Reserve University's peer-coaching program each answered four questions about how they planned to respond to two teaching case studies. The questions were posed by a medical educator who, for three of the four questions, also prompted the preceptors to stimulate their reflection. The audiotaped responses were assessed using Sparks-Langer and Colton's framework for reflective thinking. RESULTS: The levels of reflective thinking increased after prompting, but they did not exceed the rather low technical and practical levels, particularly for the more complex of the two cases. CONCLUSION: This exploratory intervention suggests that faculty rely more on external and non-reflective levels of thought when planning to teach in the ambulatory setting. The authors recommend further research to foster discussions about the cognitive processes involved in planning for teaching in this setting.

Adolescent↗

The bfl-1 gene is transcriptionally upregulated by the Epstein-Barr virus LMP1, and its expression promotes the survival of a Burkitt's lymphoma cell line.

The recently identified bfl-1 gene (also known as A1 or GRS), a homologue of bcl-2, encodes an antiapoptotic protein that suppresses apoptosis induced by the p53 tumor suppressor protein and exhibits proliferative and potent cooperative transforming activities. We show that elevated levels of bfl-1 mRNA are a feature of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-immortalized B-cell lines and Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines expressing the full spectrum of EBV latent proteins. Using an EBV-negative Burkitt's lymphoma cell line in which the expression of EBV latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) is inducibly regulated by tetracycline, we demonstrate that LMP1 expression coincides with a dramatic increase in the level of bfl-1 mRNA. Also in this system, an increase in the level of Bcl-2 protein was seen to occur earlier than that of bcl-2 mRNA, suggesting that both transcriptional and translational mechanisms are involved in the control of Bcl-2 expression by LMP-1. We show that elevated bfl-1 mRNA stability can contribute to this effect of LMP-1, thus providing evidence of a novel mechanism of gene regulation by this EBV protein. Upregulation of bfl-1 by LMP1 was not observed in the T-cell line Jurkat or the epithelial cell line C33A. Ectopic expression of Bfl-1 in an EBV-positive cell line exhibiting a latency type I infection protects against apoptosis induced by growth factor deprivation, thereby providing a functional role for Bfl-1 in this cellular context and adding Bfl-1 to the list of antiapoptotic proteins whose expression is modulated by EBV. This is the first report of the regulation of bfl-1 expression by a viral protein, and this novel finding may thus represent an important link between the EBV oncoprotein LMP1 and its cellular growth-transforming properties.

Apoptosis↗

Comparison of immunogenicity of two hepatitis A vaccines--VAQTA and HAVRIX--in young adults.

Two new hepatitis A vaccines have been developed, and their immunogenicity tested using different immunoassays. The present study was designed to compare the immunogenicity of these two hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccines--VAQTA and HAVRIX--as determined by seroconversion rates and anti-HAV titers, and using the same immunoassay. Healthy volunteers (15-30 y), seronegative for anti-HAV, were randomized in an open single center study to four groups of 20-21 vaccinees each, to receive either a 25 U or a 50 U dose of VAQTA, or HAVRIX at 720 EU or 1440 EU/dose, administered at 0, 1 and 6 m or at 0 and 6 m, respectively. Four weeks after primary immunization, seroconversion rates were 100% for VAQTA and 95% for HAVRIX, following injection of 50 U or 1440 EU, respectively (p = NS) and anti-HAV GMTs were 40 and 37 mIU/ml for VAQTA and HAVRIX, respectively. At 6 months, prior to the booster dose, seroconversion rates were 100% for both vaccines, with anti-HAV GMTs of 111 and 70 mIU/ml for VAQTA and HAVRIX, respectively (P < 0.05). At month 7, four weeks after the only booster injection, using the two dose regimen, anti-HAV titers were 2212 and 1511 mIU/ml for VAQTA and HAVRIX, respectively (P < NS). Using three doses of 25 U/dose of VAQTA or 720 EU/dose of HAVRIX at 0, 1 and 6 m did not produce any clinically evaluable advantage over the two dose regimen for either vaccine. No significant adverse events were observed using either vaccine. In summary, both vaccines have similar immunogenicity demonstrated using identical immunoassays for evaluation. These results also confirm the outstanding immunogenicity of a single dose of either of the HAV vaccines and support their use in pre- and possibly postexposure prophylaxis against hepatitis A virus infection.

Adolescent↗

Differential responses to CD40 ligation among Burkitt lymphoma lines that are uniformly responsive to Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1.

Ligation of CD40 on the surface of B cells induces multiple phenotypic effects, many of which are mimicked by the EBV latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) through its interaction with downstream components of the CD40 signaling pathway. Because the effects of LMP1 have been most closely studied in human Burkitt Lymphoma (BL) cell lines retaining a tumor biopsy-like phenotype in vitro, we have examined the response of a panel of such lines to CD40 ligation. Two distinct patterns of response were observed that were unrelated to the surface level of CD40 or to the EBV genome status of the lines. Following exposure to either CD40-specific mAbs or the soluble trimeric ligand (sCD40L), high responder (HR) lines showed rapid aggregation, activation of NF-kappa B, up-regulation of cell surface markers ICAM-1/CD54 and Fas/CD95, and growth inhibition. Aggregation was seen at lower doses than those required to elicit the other effects. By contrast, low responder (LR) lines showed no detectable response to CD40 mAbs, while their responses to sCD40L were limited to activation of NF-kappa B and up-regulation of CD95 only. However, in transfection experiments, LMP1 uniformly induced the full spectrum of phenotypic effects in both HR and LR lines. We conclude that some BL cell lines show a highly restricted response to CD40 ligation but remain fully susceptible to LMP1.

Burkitt Lymphoma↗

Comparison of immune reactivity and pharmacokinetics of two hepatitis B immune globulins in patients after liver transplantation.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) immune globulin (HBIg) administration will prevent HBV graft reinfection in HBV patients after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). However, the expenditure for such prophylaxis is extremely high ranging between $2,000 to $10,000 per month in various countries for an undefined period and presumably for life. As a consequence, there is a need for introduction of additional and less expensive modes of treatment. In a preliminary clinical trial a new HBIg preparation has been shown to induce longer lasting levels of circulating antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) in patients after OLT compared with previous experience with conventional HBIg preparations. In the present study the pharmacokinetics of this new HBIg, OMRI-Hep-B, were studied and compared with a conventional, licensed preparation, Hepatect. Fifteen post-OLT patients (2-8 years post-OLT, 18-62 years of age, 6 men, 9 women) were treated intravenously with 49 doses of OMRI-Hep-B or Hepatect given at least once, alternately, at 10,000 to 14,000 units per injection ( approximately 130 IU/kg body weight). The new HBIg was well tolerated and no adverse effects were observed. Administration of OMRI-Hep-B was shown to induce high and long-lasting levels of circulating anti-HBs antibodies and greater areas under the curve (AUC) compared with the conventional preparation. Thus, anti-HBs half-life was 22 +/- 1.3 days for OMRI-Hep-B recipients and 13 +/- 1.3 days for Hepatect recipients (P <.001). Time to reach trough anti-HBs levels of 150 mIU/mL was significantly longer after administration of OMRI-Hep-B than after Hepatect (79 +/- 4.5 and 52 +/- 3.8 days, respectively; P <.001). In summary, the pharmacokinetic profile of the new HBIg, and in particular its prolonged elimination half-life, may reduce the cost of administration by approximately 30% and improve the quality of life of patients by extending the interval between repeated immune globulin injections.

Adolescent↗

Outreach workers' experiences in a homeless outreach project: issues of boundaries, ethics and staff safety.

Mental health professionals and researchers have emphasized the importance of conducting outreach to locate homeless persons with mental illness, and of creatively engaging these persons into a therapeutic relationship. These outreach and engagement activities raise challenging issues in the areas of client-staff boundaries, professional ethics, and staff safety. While several issues in each of these three key areas have received attention in the growing literature on homelessness, certain issues within each area remain unexplored. The authors draw from the street experiences of outreach staff in a federally funded homeless outreach project to further explore each of these areas, and suggest that experiences of outreach workers are essential in shaping and redefining work activities in these, and other important areas.

Adult↗

Interference of antibody production to hepatitis B surface antigen in a combination hepatitis A/hepatitis B vaccine.

A randomized trial comparing 3 manufacturing consistency lots of a combination hepatitis A/hepatitis B vaccine to each other and to hepatitis A vaccine and hepatitis B vaccine given separately and concurrently was done to evaluate safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity. Healthy volunteers >/=11 years of age were divided into 4 groups. Each of 3 groups received a separate consistency lot of the combination vaccine, and 1 group received separate but concurrent injections of hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines. Injections were given at weeks 0 and 24. The combination vaccine was generally well tolerated. The hepatitis A portion of the combination vaccine produced clinically acceptable high seropositivity rates 4 and 52 weeks after the first injection. The hepatitis B portion of the vaccine did not produce clinically acceptable seropositivity rates 4 weeks after the second injection. Lack of antibody production may be attributed, at least in part, to immunologic interference.

Adolescent↗

Epstein-Barr virus-encoded latent membrane protein 1 activates the JNK pathway through its extreme C terminus via a mechanism involving TRADD and TRAF2.

The transforming Epstein-Barr virus-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) activates signalling on the NF-kappaB axis through two distinct domains in its cytoplasmic C terminus, namely, CTAR1 (amino acids [aa] 187 to 231) and CTAR2 (aa 351 to 386). The ability of CTAR1 to activate NF-kappaB appears to be attributable to the direct interaction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2), while recent work indicates that CTAR2-induced NF-kappaB is mediated through its association with TNF receptor-associated death domain (TRADD). LMP1 expression also results in activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) (also known as stress-activated protein kinase) cascade, an effect which is mediated exclusively through CTAR2 and can be dissociated from NF-kappaB induction. The organization and signalling components involved in LMP1-induced JNK activation are not known. In this study we have dissected the extreme C terminus of LMP1 and have identified the last 8 aa of the protein (aa 378 to 386) as being important for JNK signalling. Using a series of fine mutants in which single amino acids between codons 379 and 386 were changed to glycine, we have found that mutations of Pro379, Glu381, Ser383, or Tyr384 diminish the ability of LMP1 CTAR2 to engage JNK signalling. Interestingly, this region was also found to be essential for CTAR2-mediated NF-kappaB induction and coincides with the LMP1 amino acid sequences shown to bind TRADD. Furthermore, we have found that LMP1-mediated JNK activation is synergistically augmented by low levels of TRADD expression, suggesting that this adapter protein is critical for LMP1 signalling. TRAF2 is known to associate with TRADD, and expression of a dominant-negative N-terminal deletion TRAF2 mutant was found to partially inhibit LMP1-induced JNK activation in 293 cells. In addition, the TRAF2-interacting protein A20 blocked both LMP1-induced JNK and NF-kappaB activation, further implicating TRAF2 in these phenomena. While expression of a kinase-inactive mutated NF-kappaB-inducing kinase (NIK), a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase which also associates with TRAF2, impaired LMP1 signalling on the NF-kappaB axis, it did not inhibit LMP1-induced JNK activation, suggesting that these two pathways may bifurcate at the level of TRAF2. These data further define a role for TRADD and TRAF2 in JNK activation and confirm that LMP1 utilizes signalling mechanisms used by the TNF receptor/CD40 family to elicit its pleiotropic activities.

Amino Acids↗

Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 3C interacts with histone deacetylase to repress transcription.

EBNA3C can specifically repress the expression of reporter plasmids containing EBV Cp latency-associated promoter elements. Cp is normally the main promoter for EBNA mRNA initiation, so it appears that EBNA3C contributes to a negative autoregulatory control loop. By mutational analysis it was previously established that this repression is consistent with EBNA3C being targeted to Cp by binding the cellular sequence-specific DNA-binding protein CBF1 (also known as recombination signal-binding protein [RBP]-Jkappa. Further analysis suggested that in vivo a corepressor interacts with EBNA3C in this DNA binding complex. Results presented here are all consistent with a component of such a corepressor exhibiting histone deacetylase activity. The drug trichostatin A, which specifically inhibits histone deacetylases, relieved two- to threefold the repression of Cp induced by EBNA3C in two different cell types. Moreover, repression of pTK-CAT-Cp4x by EBNA3C was specifically enhanced by cotransfection of an expression plasmid for human histone deacetylase-1 (HDAC1). Consistent with these functional assays, in vitro-translated HDAC1 bound to a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein including full-length EBNA3C, and in the reciprocal experiment EBNA3C bound to a GST fusion with the N terminus of HDAC1. Coimmunoprecipitations also revealed an EBNA3C-HDAC1 interaction in vivo, and GST-EBNA3C bound functional histone deacetylase enzyme activity from HeLa cell nuclear extracts. The region of EBNA3C involved in the interaction with HDAC1 appears to correspond to the region which is necessary for binding to CBF1/RBP-Jkappa. A direct physical interaction between EBNA3C and HDAC1 was demonstrated with recombinant proteins purified from bacterial cells, and we therefore conclude that HDAC1 and CBF1/RBP-Jkappa bind to the same or adjacent regions of EBNA3C. These data suggest that recruitment of histone deacetylase activity makes a significant contribution to the repression of transcription from Cp because EBNA3C bridges an interaction between CBF1/RBP-Jkappa and HDAC1.

Animals↗