PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

P Cote

Publications and source records attributed to P Cote.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

The GDPAL region of the pre-S1 envelope protein is important for morphogenesis of woodchuck hepatitis virus.

The pre-S envelope protein of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) contains a region, Asp-Asp-Pro-Leu-Leu (DDPLL), that is specifically required for virus assembly and secretion (Lenhoff and Summers, J Virol 1994;68:4565-4571). We found that amino acids 201 to 205 of the pre-S envelope protein of woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) form a conserved amino acid cluster, Gly-Asp-Pro-Ala-Leu (GDPAL), which resembles the DDPLL sequence of DHBV. To determine whether the GDPAL region was functionally equivalent to the DDPLL region, we deleted this region from the pre-S protein of WHV or mutated individual amino acids within the region. The mutant DNA was transfected into human hepatoma cell line Huh7, and the medium was assayed for virion production by immunoprecipitation and Southern blot analysis. We found that an in-frame deletion of this small region inhibited virion formation, suggesting that the GDPAL region of the pre-S envelope protein was required for virus assembly and/or secretion of WHV. Individual replacement of alanine 204, leucine 205, or serine 206 with other amino acid residues did not affect virus production. However, substitution of either aspartic acid 202 with valine or proline 203 with leucine dramatically inhibited WHV production. Furthermore, the GDPAL mutants were individually tested for their abilities to complement a pre-S1 defective genome. The results showed that the GDPAL region functioned as part of the pre-S1 protein but was not required to function as part of the pre-S2 protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Antibodies to tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibit liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy.

Certain cytokines that are produced in liver may act as growth factors to facilitate wound healing and, hence, may influence liver regeneration. However, this hypothesis has not been directly tested. To determine whether the cytokine response evoked by partial hepatectomy (PH) modulates the process of liver regeneration, adult male rats were injected intraperitoneally with either goat polyclonal antibodies to rat tumor necrosis factor (TNF; 15 micrograms/g body wt) or an equal amount of goat anti-rat immunoglobulin G 1 h before PH. Animals were killed at 12, 24, 48, or 72 h post-PH, 1 h after injection with [3H]thymidine. Serum TNF levels were measured with the L929 cytotoxicity assay, titers of antibody to TNF were determined by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations were measured by B9 cell bioassay. Liver regeneration was assessed by [3H]thymidine incorporation into hepatic DNA and by immunohistochemical evidence of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression. Antibodies to TNF were detected in treated rats but not in controls. Titers were highest at 12 h and progressively fell. Although TNF was never detected in serum, treatment with anti-TNF pre-PH significantly inhibited increases in serum IL-6 concentration post-PH. Anti-TNF pretreatment also inhibited [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA, as well as expression of PCNA by both hepatocytes and liver nonparenchymal cells. These data indicate that TNF positively modulates liver regeneration after PH.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Chronic ethanol consumption disturbs G-protein expression and inhibits cyclic AMP-dependent signaling in regenerating rat liver.

Evidence suggests that ethanol desensitizes hepatocytes to the trophic effects of hormones. Cyclic AMP-dependent signals are important regulators of intermediary metabolism, cellular proliferation and differentiation, and modulate liver growth during hepatic regeneration. The events leading to cyclic AMP accumulation after partial hepatectomy were characterized in rats consistently fed ethanol-containing diets and compared with results in rats fed isocaloric amounts of nonethanol diet to determine whether altered cyclic AMP-dependent signal transduction contributes to ethanol-associated aberrations in hepatic growth regulation. Ethanol treatment significantly inhibited hepatic accumulation of cyclic AMP after partial hepatectomy. This was most likely the result of decreased synthesis of cyclic AMP because activation of adenylyl cyclase by agents acting through receptors (e.g., glucagon or isoproterenol), GTP-binding proteins (GTP-gamma-S) and directly on adenylyl cyclase (e.g., forskolin) was significantly inhibited in ethanol-fed rats. Both homologous and heterologous desensitization contributed to this effect. beta 1-Adrenergic receptors were relatively down-regulated 6 hr after partial hepatectomy in ethanol-fed rats, whereas glucagon receptor kinetics were similar in the two groups. Liver membrane expression of GTP-binding proteins differed markedly after partial hepatectomy in ethanol-fed and pair-fed rats. Ethanol significantly inhibited post-partial hepatectomy induction of the stimulatory G protein, Gs alpha but led to overexpression of the inhibitory, G(i)2 alpha, subunit. Steady-state messenger RNA levels of these G proteins were similar in ethanol-fed and pair-fed rats, suggesting that ethanol inhibits G protein expression posttranscriptionally.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1991

Woodchuck hepatitis virus is a more efficient oncogenic agent than ground squirrel hepatitis virus in a common host.

Chronic infection with hepatitis B viruses (hepadnaviruses) is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the incubation time varies from 1 to 2 years to several decades in different host species infected with indigenous viruses. To discern the influence of viral and host factors on the kinetics of induction of HCC, we exploited the recent observation that ground squirrel hepatitis virus (GSHV) is infectious in woodchucks (C. Seeger, P. L. Marion, D. Ganem, and H. E. Varmus, J. Virol. 61:3241-3247, 1987) to compare the pathogenic potential of GSHV and woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) in chronically infected woodchucks. Chronic GSHV infection in woodchucks produces mild to moderate portal hepatitis, similar to that observed in woodchucks chronically infected with WHV. However, HCC developed in GSHV carriers about 18 months later than in WHV carriers. Thus, although both viruses are oncogenic in woodchucks, GSHV and WHV differ in oncogenic determinants that can affect the kinetics of appearance of HCC in chronically infected animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Hemodynamics and coronary flow following diltiazem administration in anesthetized dogs and in humans.

In this study, the systemic and coronary hemodynamic changes associated with the administration of diltiazem, a recent calcium antagonist, were evaluated in three different situations as follows: following a 200 microgram/kg intravenous bolus of the drug in 12 open-chest anesthetized dogs; following two successive intravenous infusions of diltiazem (15 microgram/kg/min and 30 microgram/kg/min), each for a period of ten minutes, in eight patients with angina pectoris investigated by coronary arteriography; and following a single oral dose of 120 mg of diltiazem in 17 patients undergoing hemodynamic monitoring in the coronary care unit after a recent myocardial infarction. Diltiazem was found to be a coronary vasodilator acting on the large coronary arteries and on collaterals. Its effects on myocardial oxygen requirements were variable; as a rule, the predominant effect was a drop in systemic vascular resistance or in heart rate. When systemic vascular resistance changed little, heart rate tended to decrease significantly; however, when systemic vascular resistance decreased notably, heart rate remained unchanged because of a relfex attempt to increase systemic blood pressure. Cardiac performance and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure were not affected and this lack of change in cardiac inotropism may confer and advantage to diltiazem over other calcium antagonistic drugs in patients with coronary heart disease.

Adult↗