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R Cancedda

Publications and source records attributed to R Cancedda.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Effects of different RNAs and components of the cell-free system on in vitro synthesis of Sindbis viral proteins.

Cell-free extracts from Krebs ascites cells and rabbit reticulocytes synthesized a variety of viral-specific proteins when programmed with several different kinds of Sindbis viral RNAs. The RNAs included purified virion RNA (42S) and two species (26S and "33S") of purified intracellular viral messenger RNAs from viral-infected BHK cells. Proteins formed in vitro were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, rate-zonal centrifugation in urea-sucrose gradients, two-dimensional tryptic peptide fingerprints, and immunoprecipitation with rabbit anti-Sindbis virus serum. The only major identifiable protein formed in vitro was viral capsid, but the relative amount of capsid produced was determined by the mRNA, the source of cell-free extract, and the components of the cell-free system. Virion RNA directed synthesis of larger-molecular-weight proteins than did intracellular viral RNAs, and some of this protein was distinct from that formed by the smaller viral RNAs. Indirect evidence is presented for in vitro synthesis of viral envelope proteins.

Animals↗

Viral proteins formed in a cell-free rabbit reticulocyte system programmed with RNA from a temperature-sensitive mutant of Sindbis virus.

Viral messenger RNA was isolated from BHK cells infected with a temperature-sensitive mutant of Sindbis virus and was further purified using an oligo(dT) column. Addition of this mRNA cell-free extracts from rabbit reticulocytes led to formation of discrete authentic viral capsid protein when the reaction was performed at 29 C. However, this same protein-synthesizing system failed to make discrete viral capsid when incubated with the viral RNA at 39 C. Instead, larger-molecular-weight polypeptides that contained the viral capsid peptide sequences were produced. The inability to make a separate viral capside protein in vitro at elevated temperatures by the mRNA from this mutant exactly mimics the phenotype of this ts mutant in viral-infected cells. Three mechanisms are discussed that might account for a temperature-sensitive release of capsid. One of these is based on a model in which there are multiple sites for initiation of translation of polypeptides on a polycistronic viral mRNA.

Animals↗

Defective interfering passages of Sindbis virus: nature of the intracellular defective viral RNA.

BHK cells infected with defective-interfering passages of Sindbis virus accumulate a species of RNA (20S) that is about half the molecular weight of the major viral mRNA (26S). We have performed competitive hybridization experiments with these species of RNA and have established that 20S RNA contains approximately 50% of the nucleotide sequences present in 26S RNA. Our further studies, however, demonstrate that 20S RNA is unable to carry out the messenger function of 26S RNA. We found very little of the defective RNA associated with polysomes in vivo. In addition, it was unable to stimulate protein synthesis in vitro under conditions in which 26S RNA was translated. We have also examined viral RNA synthesis in BHK cells infected with standard or defective-interfering passages of Sindbis virus. This comparison suggests that defective partioles do not synthesize a functional replicase.

Animals↗

Genetic variants of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase from human erythrocytes: unique properties of the A - variant isolated from "deficient" cells.

The A(-) type of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49) has been isolated from human erythrocytes deficient in this enzyme. The specific activity of the purified protein is similar to that previously reported for the enzyme isolated from normal, nondeficient erythrocytes. During the purification procedure, a portion of the A(-) enzyme converts spontaneously, from the native "fraction I", to a "fraction II" having different kinetic and chromatographic properties. The conversion of fraction I to II can be reproduced freely by treatment with iodosobenzoate, and fraction II can be converted back to fraction I by treatment with dithioglycol. We suggest that fraction II is an enzyme species in which one or more sulfhydryl groups have been oxidized to disulfide(s). The tendency to oxidation appears to be a property specific to the A(-) variant and may represent the basis for its rapid rate of inactivation and consequent deficiency in vivo.

Blood Protein Electrophoresis↗

Microenvironment and stem properties of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells.

Adult stem cells are self-renewing, pluripotent, and able to repopulate the tissue in which they reside. Cells endowed with these properties have been isolated from several tissues and an increasing number of reports provide evidence of their ability, following transplantation, to engraft host tissues other than those of their origin. In this setting, interest in the well-documented capacity of bone marrow stromal cells to undergo multilineage differentiation is growing. Neural and cardiomyogenic lineages have recently been proposed as additional differentiative pathways of these cells. However, culture conditions and inductive molecules can alter the behavior of bone marrow stromal cells and the microenvironment is critical for proper in vivo delivery. The maintenance of their stem properties and the possibility of reprogramming their commitment is a field of primary interest given the potential use of these cells in regenerative medicine. We discuss here how the microenvironmental cues, and the growth factors that physiologically govern commitment and subsequent differentiation, influence the properties of bone marrow stromal cells and modulate their engraftment into host tissues.

Bone Marrow Cells↗

Synchrotron radiation microtomography of bone engineered from bone marrow stromal cells.

Osteoprogenitor cells expanded in vitro and associated with porous ceramic scaffolds have been proposed as bone substitutes. Animal models have been developed to test the efficacy of various cell populations and scaffolds in promoting bone repair. Qualitative analysis of the new bone formed within the ceramic scaffold is relatively easy by conventional histology. On the other hand, quantitative data are difficult to obtain. X-ray computed microtomography was used as a possible experimental technique to obtain quantitative data on the three-dimensional structure of newly formed bone and of remaining scaffold in implants after 8 weeks in vivo. Measurements were performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility on beamline ID19 with a spatial resolution of about 5 microm. This study clearly indicates the possibility of nondestructive quantitative analysis of bone-engineered constructs. The technique appears suitable to compare different scaffolds (and possibly different cell populations) with regard to bone formation efficiency and reabsorbability of biomaterials in the immunodeficient mouse model.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Bone marrow stromal damage after chemo/radiotherapy: occurrence, consequences and possibilities of treatment.

High dose chemotherapy (CT) followed by bone marrow transplant (BMT) is increasingly used for the treatment of both hematological and solid neoplasms, but an understanding of its late consequences on the marrow microenvironment is still only at its beginning. It is in fact known that marrow stroma is damaged by high-dose cytotoxic therapy and by radiation exposure. However little is known on the extent of this damage and on the self-repair ability of the stroma. The damage of the stromal microenvironment affects the long-term stem cell engraftment and the maintenance of hemopoietic functions. Furthermore, marrow stroma also represents a progenitor compartment for endosteal osteoblasts, and therefore its damage implies alterations of bone metabolism. Indeed, osteoporosis has recently been recognized as a consequence, of BMT, but only a few studies have been performed to establish the functional status of the stromal compartment after treatment with cytotoxic drugs with or without total body irradiation (TBI) and its role in post-BMT sequelae.

Animals↗