Biomedical subjects

R A Waterland

Publications and source records attributed to R A Waterland.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor (M6P/IGF2R) variants in American and Japanese populations.

M6P/IGF2R encodes a multifunctional protein involved in lysosomal enzyme trafficking, fetal organogenesis, tumor suppression, and cytotoxic T cell-induced apoptosis. M6P/IGF2R is imprinted and expressed only from the maternally inherited allele in marsupials and rodents. In contrast, humans were initially reported to differ from the imprinted mammalian orders by not having an imprinted M6P/IGF2R; however, some studies now suggest M6P/IGF2R imprinting may be a human polymorphic trait. Mutational and functional evidence are consistent with M6P/IGF2R also being a tumor suppressor in human colon, liver, lung, breast, and ovarian cancers. M6P/IGF2R expression is also pathologically downregulated following mammalian in vitro embryo culture, resulting in fetal overgrowth and "large offspring syndrome." Therefore, the M6P/IGF2R imprint status in humans is an unresolved question that critically impacts upon biological issues ranging from human cancer predisposition to evolution. Attempts to further characterize the imprint status of human M6P/IGF2R and loss of heterozygosity at this locus in cancer have been hindered by a lack of readily usable polymorphisms. To facilitate these genetic analyses, we have screened American and Japanese populations for M6P/IGF2R single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We have identified nine novel SNPs intragenic to human M6P/IGF2R, and have described experimental conditions for their optimal use. Three identified amino-acid variants in the M6P/IGF2R ligand-binding domains may be under selection in humans.

Alleles↗

PubMed1999

Potential mechanisms of metabolic imprinting that lead to chronic disease.

This review synthesizes a subset of human epidemiologic and experimental animal studies that suggest that early nutrition affects susceptibility to chronic diseases in adulthood. These studies provide evidence that biological mechanisms may exist to "memorize" the metabolic effects of early nutritional environments. However, hypothesis-driven investigations of potential mechanisms have been scant. Thus, our understanding of the biology underlying metabolic imprinting is incomplete. A working definition of metabolic imprinting is proposed, emphasizing the adaptive nature and limited ontogenic window of the mechanisms putatively responsible for these relations. Five specific candidate mechanisms of metabolic imprinting are elaborated: 1) induced variations in organ structure, 2) alterations in cell number, 3) clonal selection, 4) metabolic differentiation, and 5) hepatocyte polyploidization. Last, experimental approaches for probing potential mechanisms with animal models are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Calibrated-orifice nipples for measurement of infant nutritive sucking.

To measure infant nutritive sucking reproducibly, nipple flow resistance must be controlled. Previous investigators have accomplished this with flow-limiting venturis, which has two limitations: flow resistance is highly dependent on fluid viscosity and older infants often reject the venturi nipple. This report describes the validation of calibrated-orifice nipples for the measurement of infant nutritive sucking. The flow characteristics of two infant formulas and water through these nipples were not different; those through venturi nipples were (analysis of variance; p < 0.0001). Flow characteristics did not differ among calibrated-orifice nipples constructed from three commercial nipple styles, indicating that the calibrated-orifice design is applicable to different types of baby bottle nipples. Among 3-month-old infants using calibrated-orifice nipples, acceptability was high, and sucking accounted for 85% of the variance in fluid intake during a feeding. We conclude that calibrated-orifice nipples are a valid and acceptable tool for the measurement of infant nutritive sucking.

Bottle Feeding↗

PubMed1994

Kinetics of ligand binding of cytochrome oxidases: a comparative study.

The plethora of microbial oxidases revealed by photochemical action spectra (Chance, B. (1989)) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1000, 345-347) has led to detailed identification, purification and overproduction in many species, to the point where kinetic comparison of properties seems to allow structure/function deductions. This work compares the carbon monoxide recombination of five types of oxidases obtained from various organisms. The results are plotted in an Arrhenius-type plot and suggest that the carbon monoxide ligation is a sensitive indicator of the heme environment specific for an oxidase expressed under a given oxygen concentration. This survey of the carbon monoxide recombination kinetics of naturally occurring cytochrome oxidases in whole cells shows evidence for structural control of the reaction kinetics.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

The isoforms of yeast cytochrome c oxidase subunit V alter the in vivo kinetic properties of the holoenzyme.

One of the nuclear-coded subunits of yeast cytochrome c oxidase is specified by a gene family composed of two genes, COX5a and COX5b. These genes are regulated differentially by oxygen and encode isoforms of subunit V, designated Va and Vb, which have only 66% primary sequence identity. Yeast cells require one or the other isoform for a functional cytochrome c oxidase (Trueblood, C. E., and Poyton, R. O. (1987) Mol. Cell Biol. 7, 3520-3526). To determine if these isoforms of subunit V alter the catalytic properties of holocytochrome c oxidase, we have analyzed various aspects of cytochrome c oxidase function in intact yeast cells that produce only one type of isoform. From measurements of room temperature turnover numbers and low temperature rates of ligand binding, single turnover cytochrome c oxidation, and internal electron transfer (heme a oxidation), we have found that isozymes which incorporate the Vb isoform have both higher turnover rates and higher rates of heme a oxidation than isozymes which incorporate Va. These findings support the conclusion that the isoforms of subunit V modulate cytochrome c oxidase activity in vivo and suggest that they do so by altering the rates of one or more intramolecular electron transfer reactions.

Carbon Monoxide↗

PubMed1988

Mitochondrial function in normal and genetically altered cells and tissues.

The impact upon oxidative metabolism of normal and pathological variations of oxidative capability is just beginning to be understood, based upon the few examples of human and animal subject survivals and the relatively few cell systems in which the impact of molecular pathologies on function has been studied. On the one hand, difficulties of isolation of systems containing altered oxidases are significant because of ineffective assembly or small amounts of surviving isoenzymes, and on the other hand, unexpected fragilities of the oxidase system may lead to low yields when subjected to the preparative stresses appropriate to the wild types. To circumvent these problems, this paper describes the application, in vivo, of noninvasive, nondestructive techniques to study the function of cytochrome oxidase and other components of the respiratory chain, particularly cytochromes b-c1 in human subjects on the one hand, and in isolated cells on the other, principally mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in which the subunit content is varied. Two principal spectroscopic approaches are employed: optical and phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (P MRS). Optical spectroscopy of the near red region of the spectrum provides effective analysis of brain and muscle, as does the surface coil of space-resolved phosphorus magnetic resonance. Both techniques are applicable to suspensions of single cells such as yeast. The optical method yields essential information on oxygen delivery to tissues by hemoglobin and myoglobin and oxygen utilization by cytochrome oxidase. P MRS affords essential information on the efficiency of ATP generation and the extent to which oxidative metabolism meets the needs of cell function in terms of the ratio of phosphocreatine to inorganic phosphate (PCr/Pi). This in turn enables the calculation of the velocity of oxidative metabolism, V, in relation to its maximum capability, Vm, according to a Michaelis-Menten relationship that involves control not only by ADP (Pi/PCr) and Pi, but also by oxygen and substrate deliveries. Thus, an overview of the functionality of mitochondria in cells and tissues is uniquely provided by this combined approach and thereby deficiencies of components of the respiratory chain are quantified.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗