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Biomedical subjects

P Sinclair

Publications and source records attributed to P Sinclair.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Roots and calibers of the human coronary arteries.

The anatomical structure of the coronary-aortic junctions in humans is studied by using corrosion casts of the coronary network. A model is proposed for the specification of these junctions in terms of vessel diameters and branching angles, and the model is used to produce morphological data on these junctions which hitherto have not been available. This anatomical model correlates poorly with the accepted theoretical model of arterial bifurcations in the cardiovascular system. The results suggest that the structure of the coronary-aortic junctions is very different from the structure of typical arterial bifurcations and, by implication, that the flow conditions under which they function are very different. A good understanding of these junctions is important in coronary bypass surgery, where the coronary-aortic junctions are emulated by creating a new anastomosis for the graft at the base of the ascending aorta, and in coronary artery disease, where atherosclerotic lesions occur not far from the coronary-aortic junctions.

Aorta↗

Evidence for cytochrome P450-mediated oxidation of uroporphyrinogen by cell-free liver extracts from chick embryos treated with 3-methylcholanthrene.

Cell-free preparations from liver of chick embryo treated with 3-methylcholanthrene catalyzed oxidation of uroporphyrinogen I in the presence of NADPH and 3,4,3',4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl. Extracts of untreated embryo liver or liver from embryo treated with glutethimide, a phenobarbital-like inducer of cytochrome P450 in this system, did not catalyse the oxidation. Direct involvement of cytochrome P450 was demonstrated by inhibition of the oxidation by CO, piperonyl butoxide and specific antisera to the methylcholanthrene-induced cytochrome P450. 2,4,2',4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl was inactive in the oxidation. These results may explain the role of induced cytochrome P450 in experimental uroporphyria. The oxidation may be useful as a simple assay for reactive O2 species.

Animals↗

Protective efficacy of capsule extracts of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae in pigs and mice.

Capsular extracts of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae, Serotype 1, were mixed with AL(OH)3 gel (3 parts extract + 1 part Al(OH)3) and used as vaccines in pigs and mice. Four preparations were tested in Experiment I: NaCl and Cetavlon (hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide) extracts of both low in vitro passage (LP) and high in vitro passage (HP) culture, respectively. Four pigs vaccinated with the NaCl extract of the LP strain survived, whereas one of four from each of the remaining vaccine groups and five of six from the control group died. All vaccines induced complement-fixing antibodies. No apparent boosting of titres occurred as a result of challenge with live bacteria. Mice were vaccinated in Experiment II with NaCl and Cetavlon extracts of the LP strain. Both were protective, although the Cetavlon vaccine appeared more efficacious than the NaCl extract. The use of Al(OH)3 adjuvant improved the efficacy of the NaCl vaccine in mice. In Experiment III six gnotobiotic pigs were vaccinated with a combined NaCl and Cetavlon vaccine and seven animals were given placebo. In Experiment IV seven specific pathogen-free (SPF) pigs were given the combined vaccine and eight pigs received placebo treatment. Both of these experiments indicated that the extract vaccines did not completely protect but reduced the mortality in pigs challenged with homologous virulent H. pleuropneumoniae bacteria. The results indicate that capsular antigens of H. pleuropneumoniae have some protective immunogenic efficacy in pigs and mice.

Animals↗

Drug-mediated induction of cytochrome(s) P-450 and drug metabolism in cultured hepatocytes maintained in chemically defined medium.

Cytochrome P-450 was induced in monolayer cultures of chick embryo hepatocytes incubated in a chemically defined medium. Phenobarbital induced the de novo synthesis of a microsomal protein of Mr = 51,000, whereas beta-naphthoflavone induced the de novo synthesis of a microsomal protein of Mr = 55,000. The increases in these proteins were associated with differential increases in aminopyrine-N-demethylation and benzo-(a)pyrene hydroxylation.

Animals↗

Formation of cobalt protoporphyrin in the liver of rats. A mechanism for the inhibition of liver haem biosynthesis by inorganic cobalt.

1. Treatment of rats with small doses of CoCl2 decreases liver 5-aminolaevulinate synthase (EC 2.3.1.37) activity and impairs incorporation of 5-amino[14C]laevulinate into liver haem. Salts of other metals (cadmium, nickel, manganese and zinc) are all relatively inactive. 2. The dose-response curves obtained for both these effects closely mirror the accumulation in the liver of a compound that is labelled by 5-amino[14C]laevulinate and is unextractable by acetone/HCl. 3. Incorporation of 5-amino[14C]laevulinate into unextractable compound is also obtained in vitro by incubating liver homogenates with label in the presence of cobalt:isotope-dilution experiments show that the radioactivity passes through pools of porphobilinogen and protoporphyrin, but not of haem. 4. The unextractable compound is not covalently bound to protein and possesses the same extraction and spectral properties as authentic cobalt protoporphyrin. 5. It is concluded (a) that cobalt protoporphyrin is readily formed not only in vitro, but also in vivo, and (b) that its formation accounts for the impaired incorporation of 5-aminolaevulinate into haem and may also be responsible for the action of cobalt on 5-aminolaevulinate synthase.

5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase↗

Cobalt regulation of heme synthesis and degradation in avian embryo liver cell culture.

Inorganic cobalt was found to induce heme oxygenase activity in primary cultures of embryonic chick liver cells and to inhibit the induction of delta-aminolevulinate synthetase by the porphyrinogenic compounds allylisopropylacetamide, dicarbethoxy-1,4-dihydrocollidine, etiocholanolone, phenobarbital, Aroclor (R)1254, and secobarbital. Much smaller concentrations of Co2+ (5 muM) were required to inhibit delta-aminolevulinate synthetase than to induce heme oxygenase activity (50 muM). These effects of Co2+ on heme synthesis and heme degradation were potentiated by depletion of cellular glutathione content as a result of treatment with diethyl maleate. Cobalt inhibition of the induction of delta-aminolevulinate synthetase was of the same magnitude and probably involved the same mechanism as that produced by cobalt heme dimethyl ester and iron heme. The induction of heme oxygenase by cobalt could be blocked by cycloheximide. Plasma protein synthesis was not inhibited in the presence of concentrations of Co2+ which produced inhibition of delta-aminolevulinate synthetase or induction of heme oxygenase. Other metals such as Cd2+ and Cu2+ also inhibited the induction of delta-aminolevulinate synthetase by allylisopropylacetamide. These findings indicate that Co2+ can regulate heme metabolism directly in liver cells without intermediate actions on extrahepatic tissues. It is suggested that regulation of production of delta-aminolevulinate synthetase and heme oxygenase is mediated through the action of the metal ion rather than the metal in the form of a tetrapyrrole chelate.

Animals↗

Effects by heme, insulin, and serum albumin on heme and protein synthesis in chick embryo liver cells cultured in a chemically defined medium, and a spectrofluorometric assay for porphyrin composition.

Primary chick embryo liver cells, which had been previously cultured in Eagle's medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, had the same characteristics (inducibility of delta-aminolevulinic acid synthetase and synthesis of plasma proteins) when cultured in a completely defined Ham F-12 medium containing insulin. Insulin was active in the physiological range; 2 to 3 nM were sufficient to increase the induced delta-aminolevulinic acid synthetase to 50% of the maximum effect obtained with a saturating amount of insulin (30 nM). Serum albumin added to the Ham-insulin medium caused protoporphyrin but not uroporphyrin, generated in the cultured liver cells, to be transferred to the medium. As little as 10 mug of human serum albumin per ml caused the transfer of one-half of the protoporphyrin. Bovine serum albumin was only about 1/30 as effective. A spectrofluorometric method and calculation procedure are described for quantitation, in the nanomolar range, of total porphyrin and the percentage of this that is protoporphyrin or uroporphyrin plus coproporphyrin. The method is satisfactory for the measurement of porphyrins generated by 1 mg wet weight of cells in culture in 20 hours. Heme (0.1 to 0.3 muM), when added to the medium as hemin, human hemoglobin, or chicken hemoglobin, specifically inhibited the induction of delta-aminolevulinic acid synthetase by one-half. This high sensitivity for heme was observed under conditions in which the defined medium was free of serum and where a chelator of iron was added to the medium to diminish the synthesis of endogenous heme. Heme endogenously generated from exogenous delta-aminolevulinic acid also inhibited the induction; chelators of iron prevented this inhibition. The migration of heme from the mitochondria to other portions of the cell is discussed in terms of the affinities of different proteins for heme. A hypothesis of a steady state of liver heme metabolism, controlled by the concentration of "free" heme, is presented. The different effects of heme on the synthesis of a number of proteins are summarized.

5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase↗

Influence of food on the bioavailability of an enteric-coated tablet formulation of omeprazole 20 mg under repeated dose conditions.

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of food on the bioavailability of omeprazole (20 mg) given as an enteric-coated tablet under repeated dose conditions. This open randomized crossover study consisted of three seven-day treatment periods, each separated by a drug-free period. During each treatment period an enteric-coated tablet of omeprazole was taken once daily either under fasting conditions, or immediately before or after a standardized breakfast. On the last day of each treatment period, blood samples for the determination of plasma omeprazole concentrations were collected at baseline and at predetermined intervals over the 24 h period following drug administration. Fifty-seven male and female subjects, aged 18 to 52 years, completed the study according to the protocol. No statistically significant differences were found when comparing either the before breakfast or after breakfast treatment regimens with the fasting regimen for the estimated mean area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC). The maximum plasma concentration was not found to differ significantly among any of the treatment regimens. However, the lower limit of the CI for the comparison of fasting/before breakfast was not contained within the limits of bioequivalence. The time to reach maximum plasma concentration was significantly different when fasting and after breakfast regimens were compared. Thus, under repeated dose conditions, food has no influence on the bioavailability (expressed as AUC) of omeprazole given as the enteric-coated tablet formulation.

Adolescent↗

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics during treatment with the omeprazole 20 mg enteric-coated tablet and 20 mg capsule in asymptomatic duodenal ulcer patients.

This study compared the 24 h intragastric pH profile and bioavailability at repeated dosing conditions of the omeprazole 20 mg enteric-coated tablet versus the 20 mg capsule. Forty duodenal ulcer patients in asymptomatic remission completed this randomized open two-way crossover study. Omeprazole 20 mg tablets or capsules were administered for seven days in each period. A 24 h pH recording was performed before the start of treatment and on day 7 of each treatment period. Plasma concentrations of omeprazole were determined 24 h after the dose. The treatment periods were separated by two to four weeks. The difference in percentage of time with pH of at least 3 was less than 16% in favour of the tablet (not significant). The estimated mean area under the plasma concentration-time curve as well as the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) for omeprazole were 18% and 41% higher, respectively, for the tablet versus the capsule, with the latter percentage being statistically significant. The time to reach Cmax (tmax) with the tablet was, on average, about 0.5 h longer than to reach the tmax of the capsule. This study indicates that the enteric-coated tablet formulation of omeprazole is biodynamically equivalent to the capsule regarding their effects on intragastric pH during repeated dosing.

Adult↗

Doris' day out.

This article describes an experience that occurred when, as a student nurse on an aged care placement, I saw an opportunity to motivate and empower a client whom I felt would be able, with an individualised approach, to take a step toward making a significant improvement in her quality of life. I believe we, as nurse practitioners, can influence our client's motivation levels in many ways, the most prevalent and effective being through realistic goal setting, altruism and empowerment.

Aged↗