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M Terao

Publications and source records attributed to M Terao.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Retinoic acid induces liver/bone/kidney-type alkaline phosphatase gene expression in F9 teratocarcinoma cells.

All-trans retinoic acid (RA) induces alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity by 3-8-fold in murine F9 teratocarcinoma cells, in parallel with their differentiation towards primitive endoderm. The elevation of ALP activity is associated with increases in the amounts of liver/bone/kidney-type ALP protein and the respective transcript. These effects of RA are due to activation of ALP gene transcription rather than to an increase in the half-life of the mRNA. Induction of ALP mRNA does not require de novo protein synthesis, since it is not blocked by treatment with cycloheximide. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP, which is known to induce further differentiation of F9 cells from the primitive to the parietal endoderm, blocks the induction of ALP mRNA by RA.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Antagonism of platelet-activating factor in isolated rat colon: possible mechanism.

The contractions of three different regions of rat colon in response to platelet-activating factor (PAF) were compared. The ascending colon was found to be the most responsive. The slow contraction of the ascending colon induced by PAF was dependent on external Ca2+. CV-3988, a structural analog of PAF, slowly induced irreversible inhibition of PAF-induced contraction, whereas FR-900452, which is structurally unrelated to PAF, caused rapid reversible inhibition of PAF-induced contraction. No inhibitory effects of CV-3988 were observed when the strip was washed with Tyrode's solution containing 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA). The results suggest that PAF and CV-3988 penetrate slowly into the outer half of the lipid bilayer of plasma membranes of cells in isolated rat colon, and then rapidly diffuse laterally to associate firmly with specific binding sites.

Animals↗

Expression of leukocyte alkaline phosphatase gene in normal and leukemic cells: regulation of the transcript by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

The levels of leukocyte alkaline phosphatase (LAP) messenger RNA (mRNA) are evaluated in B and T lymphocytes, monocytes, and polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs), and this transcript is found to be present only in PMNs. Precursors of the myelomonocytic pathway, represented by leukemic cells isolated from several cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in its stable and blastic phase and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), are devoid of LAP transcript. These data support the notion that LAP is a marker of the granulocyte terminal differentiation. Despite the absence of LAP mRNA in both the myeloid and the lymphoid precursors, nuclear run-on experiments show constitutive transcription of the LAP gene in leukemic cells obtained from AML, CML, as well as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). In CML and in chronic myelo-monocytic leukemia (CMML) PMNs, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) specifically accumulates LAP mRNA without showing a substantial increase in the rate of transcription of the LAP gene. Once increased by G-CSF, LAP mRNA is very stable, showing a half-life of more than 4 hours in the presence of actinomycin-D. G-CSF is suggested to play a pivotal role in the modulation of LAP transcript in PMNs.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Isolation and characterization of the mouse liver/bone/kidney-type alkaline phosphatase gene.

The gene coding for the mouse alkaline phosphatase expressed in liver, bone, kidney and placenta (liver/bone/kidney-type alkaline phosphatase, L/B/K-ALP) was isolated and characterized. This gene consists of 12 exons and it is at least 49 kb long. The first two exons are separated by a long intron which is at least 32 kb in size, whereas the other exons span within the remaining 17 kb. Primer extension and S1-nuclease mapping analyses with placental mRNA demonstrate a single major transcription start site, which is preceded by a G + C-rich region containing a TATA-like sequence and three copies of the consensus binding site for the transcription factor Sp1. Transfection experiments using two different reporter genes show that the 5'-flanking region of the gene is active as a promoter in undifferentiated F9 teratocarcinoma cells, but not in 3T3 fibroblasts, consistent with the L/B/K-ALP mRNA level in the two cell lines. As expected from the sequence similarity at the cDNA level, the structural organization of the mouse gene is similar to that of the human and rat L/B/K-ALP genes, suggesting that they all derive from a single ancestral gene.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Purification and characterization of mouse liver xanthine oxidase.

Xanthine oxidase (EC 1.1.3.22) is purified to homogeneity from mouse liver after induction with bacterial lipopolysaccharide. The enzyme has an apparent molecular weight of 300,000 in its native state and it is suggested to be constituted of two identical subunits of Mr 150,000 each. The isoelectric point is 6.7 and the apparent Km value for xanthine is 3.4 microM. The amino acid composition of mouse xanthine oxidase is quite similar to that of Drosophila xanthine dehydrogenase.

Amino Acids↗

Isolation and characterization of variant cDNAs encoding mouse tyrosinase.

Two different cDNA clones encoding mouse tyrosinase (monophenol oxygenase, E.C. 1.14.18.1) were isolated from B16 melanoma cells, and their primary structure was determined. One of the cDNAs consists of 3309 nucleotides with an open reading frame coding for a peptide of 533 amino acids. The other cDNA is approximately 1600 nucleotides long, with a shorter 3'-untranslated region and a deduced in-frame deletion of 77 amino acid residues with respect to the former clone. Neither of these clones is structurally identical to other described mouse tyrosinase cDNAs (1-3). RNA blotting analysis demonstrates that multiple tyrosinase mRNA species are not only present in B16 melanoma, but also in normal skin melanocytes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Differences in the expression of alkaline phosphatase mRNA in chronic myelogenous leukemia and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and the stable phase of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) are the two hematological conditions known to be associated with low levels of leukocyte alkaline phosphatase (LAP) activity in peripheral blood polymorphonuclear cells (PMN). LAP mRNA levels were determined in PMN from PNH and CML patients by RNA blotting analysis. In CML, LAP mRNA is undetectable, suggesting either decreased transcription or rapid degradation of the message. Contrarily, in PNH normal or high levels of LAP mRNA are present. This latter finding supports the concept of a deficit in the anchorage of the protein to the plasma membrane through the glycolipid pathway, even though other post-transcriptional mechanisms could be involved.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Study of platelet activating factor and its antagonists on rat colon strip with a new method avoiding tachyphylaxis.

Platelet activating factor induced slow, but sustained contraction of isolated rat colon in a dose-dependent manner. The contraction persisted even when the strips were washed several times with Tyrode solution. However, the addition of high concentrations of bovine serum albumin to the washing solution led to the rapid relaxation of the strips to the basal level, possibly by removing platelet activating factor tightly bound to rat colon. These strips then responded normally to a second addition of platelet activating factor. Neither the cholinergic nervous system nor release of histamine, serotonin, prostaglandins or leukotriene D4 were significantly involved in the contraction induced by platelet activating factor. FR-900452 and CV-3988, recently found to be antagonists of platelet activating factor, selectively blocked the contraction of rat colon induced by the active phospholipid, indicating that it induced contraction by a direct stimulatory effect on the smooth muscle of rat colon in a receptor-mediated manner.

Animals↗

Mapping of gene encoding mouse placental alkaline phosphatase to chromosome 4.

The gene encoding the mouse placental alkaline phosphatase (ALP; orthophosphoric-monoester phosphohydrolase, alkaline optimum, EC 3.1.3.1) is mapped to chromosome 4, based on Southern blot hybridization of the mouse cDNA with DNAs from mouse-Chinese hamster somatic cell hybrids. This assignment is consistent with the genetic analysis of the Akp-2 locus, which is responsible for the genetic variation of alkaline phosphatase enzyme in placenta as well as in liver, kidney, and bone.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Cloning and characterization of a cDNA coding for mouse placental alkaline phosphatase.

Mouse alkaline phosphatase [ALP; orthophosphoric-monoester phosphohydrolase (alkaline optimum), EC 3.1.3.1] was partially purified from placenta. Data obtained by immunoblotting analysis suggested that the primary structure of this enzyme has a much greater homology to that of human and bovine liver ALPs than to the human placental isozyme. Therefore, a full-length cDNA encoding human liver-type ALP was used as a probe to isolate the mouse placental ALP cDNA. The cloned mouse cDNA is 2459 base pairs long and is composed of an open reading frame encoding a 524-amino acid polypeptide that contains a putative signal peptide of 17 amino acids. Homology at the amino acid level of the mouse placental ALP is 90% to the human liver isozyme but only 55% to the human placental counterpart. RNA blot hybridization results indicate that the mouse placental ALP is encoded by a gene identical to the gene expressed in mouse liver, kidney, and teratocarcinoma stem cells. This gene is therefore evolutionarily highly conserved in mouse and human.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Cellular DNA rearrangements and early developmental arrest caused by DNA insertion in transgenic mouse embryos.

Insertional mutagenesis was investigated in a transgenic mouse strain (HUGH/4) derived from a fertilized egg injected with plasmid DNA containing the human growth hormone gene. Lethality occurred in homozygous embryos and was traced to the egg cylinder stage on days 4 to 5 of gestation, shortly after implantation. The mutation is on chromosome 12 and is distinct in location and integration pattern from another mutation also leading to lethality of homozygotes in the egg cylinder stage. Based on this and other evidence, relatively many genes may be recruited to activity near the time of implantation and may therefore present a large target of vulnerability to mutagenesis. The single insert in HUGH/4, consisting of approximately three tandem copies of plasmid sequences, is flanked by mouse cellular sequences that have undergone rearrangements, including a probable deletion. The data suggest the hypothesis that DNA rearrangements, which appear to be commonplace in transgenic mice, may arise because the initial insertional complex is unstable; stepwise changes may then be generated until a more stable conformation is achieved.

Animals↗

A platelet-aggregating and hypotensive phospholipid isolated from bovine brain.

A phospholipid that differs from known active lipids and causes potent platelet aggregation and weak hypotension has been isolated from bovine brain. Its platelet aggregating effect on heparinized platelet-rich plasma from rabbits, was at a threshold concentration of about 0.2 nmol ml-1 as phosphorus. The effect was inhibited by CV-3988. The phospholipid was converted by diazomethane treatment to another active lipid that caused short-term hypotension, but not platelet aggregation, rather it inhibited the aggregation of rabbit heparinized platelets induced by platelet-activating factor.

Animals↗

Fetal blood velocity waveforms in uncomplicated pregnancy.

Umbilical artery velocity waves were measured in fetuses from 94 normal pregnant women. In all, 183 determinations were carried out from the 14th to the 40th week of gestation. A combination of pulsed echo and real-time scanning was used to obtain blood waveforms from the umbilical arteries. The umbilical artery velocity wave can be readily differentiated from other fetal signals by its pattern. The systolic peak of the velocity wave was divided by the end diastolic value, thereby giving an S/D ratio. The S/D ratio in normal pregnancy declined from 7.6 to 2.0 from 14 to 40 weeks. Analysis of these waveforms indicated that the placenta is an organ of low vascular resistance and that placental resistance to blood flow declines with advancing gestational age in normal pregnancy. The umbilical artery S/D ratio provides a new and non-invasive marker of fetoplacental blood flow resistance.

Blood Flow Velocity↗

Characteristics of ca influxes through voltage- and receptor-operated Ca channels in uterine smooth muscle.

The characteristics of Ca channels in isolated uterine smooth muscles from estradiol-treated ovariectomized rats were investigated. When the muscles were preincubated in Ca-depleted Ringer's solution for about 60 min and then immersed in Ca-depleted high K Ringer's solution or treated with acetylcholine (ACh) and serotonin (5-HT), no contractile response was observed. However, in both cases when CaCl2 was then added, a contractile response was induced. The contractile responses induced by KCl, ACh and 5-HT were inhibited dose-dependently by Ca antagonists and these inhibitions were counteracted competitively by an increase in the concentration of CaCl2. The characteristics of KCl-, ACh- and 5-HT-stimulated 45Ca uptake were investigated under the same conditions as the contractile responses. Results indicated that the contractile responses to high KCl, ACh and 5-HT induced by addition of CaCl2 in Ca-depleted Ringer's solution were dependent upon influx of Ca ions into uterine smooth muscle cells.

Acetylcholine↗

Selective inhibition by ketanserin and spiroperidol of 5-HT-induced myometrial contraction.

The inhibitory effects of ketanserin and spiroperidol (a neuroleptic drug) on the contractile response of isolated rat uterus to serotonin (5-HT) were investigated. Ketanserin caused non-competitive inhibition of the contractile response to 5-HT and showed more selective inhibition than the other 5-HT antagonists tested. The inhibitory effect of spiroperidol was comparable with the effects of classical 5-HT antagonists. These results suggest that ketanserin and spiroperidol selectively inhibit the contractile response of isolated rat uterus to 5-HT.

Animals↗