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Biomedical subjects

R Datta

Publications and source records attributed to R Datta.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Role of duplex Doppler and power Doppler sonography in transplanted kidneys with acute renal parenchymal dysfunction.

The limited work published on the comparison of power Doppler sonography (PDS) and duplex Doppler sonography (DDS) in the assessment of acute renal allograft dysfunction has shown contradictory results. We compared the role of DDS and PDS in renal transplant recipients developing acute renal parenchymal dysfunction and correlated these findings with kidney biopsy, which was taken as the gold standard. Thirty post-renal transplant patients with acute graft dysfunction underwent Doppler sonography, DDS and PDS using an HDI 5000 ATL machine. Patients who developed graft dysfunction as a result of vascular, obstructive or other non-parenchymal causes were excluded. All patients underwent an allograft biopsy within 72 h of the sonography. Based on the biopsy findings, 24 patients were categorized as having acute rejection, and six patients as having no rejection. The overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of DDS for evaluation of graft dysfunction were 54.17, 33.33, and 50.00%, respectively, and that for PDS were superior with 87.50, 33.30, and 76.67%, respectively. The low specificity can be partially attributed to the small number of cases without rejection in our study population. We conclude that PDS is superior to DDS in screening patients with acute parenchymal renal dysfunction post-transplant. However, a normal PDS examination does not exclude the presence of acute rejection. Power Doppler sonography is a useful screening test for diagnosing acute rejection but a renal allograft biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosis of this condition.

Adolescent↗

Physiology: does gut hormone PYY3-36 decrease food intake in rodents?

Batterham et al. report that the gut peptide hormone PYY3-36 decreases food intake and body-weight gain in rodents, a discovery that has been heralded as potentially offering a new therapy for obesity. However, we have been unable to replicate their results. Although the reasons for this discrepancy remain undetermined, an effective anti-obesity drug ultimately must produce its effects across a range of situations. The fact that the findings of Batterham et al. cannot easily be replicated calls into question the potential value of an anti-obesity approach that is based on administration of PYY3-36.

Animals↗

Novel ghrelin analogs with improved affinity for the GH secretagogue receptor stimulate GH and prolactin release from human pituitary cells.

OBJECTIVE: Ghrelin, a recently identified 28-amino acid peptide is a potent GH secretagogue (GHS) produced predominantly by the stomach. Ghrelin stimulates GH secretion through binding to the GHS receptor in the hypothalamus and pituitary. In addition to the GH-releasing action, ghrelin has been found to be a powerful orexigenic factor. To assess the direct in vitro effects of ghrelin on human pituitary hormone secretion we have produced a panel of novel ghrelin analogs (molecular weight, 3323-3384; human native ghrelin, 3371) with enhanced affinity for the human GHS receptor (IC(50) 0.38-1.09 nM; human ghrelin, 1.2-2.2 nM). METHODS: The peptidic analogs were tested for their effect on GH secretion using dispersed human fetal pituitaries (21 to 23 weeks of gestation) and cultured GH- and prolactin (PRL)-secreting adenomas. The expression of the GHS receptor in normal (fetal and adult) human pituitary tissues, GH- and PRL-cell adenomas was established using RT-PCR. RESULTS: The effects of ghrelin, its analogs and GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) alone or in combination on GH and PRL secretion were compared at various concentrations. The ghrelin analogs stimulated GH release by 35-60% from human fetal pituitary cells (1-10 nM; P<0.05) and by 50-75% from cultured pituitary adenomas (10 nM; P<0.05). This releasing effect was dose-dependent, achieving maximal stimulation with analog concentrations at 100 nM. Human ghrelin was less potent as compared with its analogs in stimulating human GH, in keeping with the improved binding affinity of the analogs for the GHS-1a receptor. The ghrelin analogs and GHRH had comparable effects on GH secretion from both normal and adenomatous cells, and in combination produced an additive stimulatory effect on GH (150%; P<0.0001). In contrast, ghrelin and its analogs induced a comparable increase in PRL release ranging between 25 and 40% (P<0.05) from fetal cells and 30 and 70% (P<0.001) from cultured PRL-cell and mixed GH-PRL adenomas. CONCLUSIONS: Our results have demonstrated for the first time that ghrelin analogs with enhanced affinity for the GHS receptor are potent stimulators of GH secretion from human pituitary cells, and thus may possess potential clinical therapeutic benefits.

Adenoma↗

Intracellular mechanisms of TRAIL: apoptosis through mitochondrial-dependent and -independent pathways.

Tumor necrosis (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a member of the TNF family of cytokines that promotes apoptosis. TRAIL induces apoptosis via death receptors (DR4 and DR5) in a wide variety of tumor cells but not in normal cells. The objectives of this study are to investigate the intracellular mechanisms by which TRAIL induces apoptosis. The death receptor Fas, upon ligand binding, trimerizes and recruits the adaptor protein FADD through the cytoplasmic death domain of Fas. FADD then binds and activates procaspase-8. It is unclear whether FADD is required for TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Here we show that the signaling complex of DR4/DR5 is assembled in response to TRAIL binding. FADD and caspase-8, but not caspase-10, are recruited to the receptor, and cells deficient in either FADD or caspase-8 blocked TRAIL-induced apoptosis. In addition, TRAIL initiates the activation of caspases, the loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Deltapsi(m)), the cleavage of BID, and the redistribution of mitochondrial cytochrome c. Treatment of Jurkat cells with cyclosporin A delayed TRAIL-induced Deltapsi(m), caspase-3 activation and apoptosis. Similarly, Overexpression of Bcl-2 or Bcl-X(L) delayed, but did not inhibit, TRAIL-induced Deltapsi(m) and apoptosis. In contrast, XIAP, cowpox virus CrmA and baculovirus p35 inhibited TRAIL-induced apoptosis. These data suggest that death receptors (DR4 and DR5) and Fas receptors induced apoptosis through identical signaling pathway, and TRAIL-induced apoptosis via both mitochondrial-dependent and -independent pathways.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Protection of translation initiation factor eIF2 phosphorylation correlates with eIF2-associated glycoprotein p67 levels and requires the lysine-rich domain I of p67.

The rate of protein synthesis in mammals is largely regulated by phosphorylation of the alpha-subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2) that is modulated by the cellular glycoprotein, p67, due to its protection of eIF2alpha phosphorylation (POEP) activity. At the N-terminus of p67, there are three unique domains, and at the C-terminus there is a conserved amino acid sequence. To analyze the importance of these domains, C-terminal deletion mutants of rat p67 were expressed constitutively in KRC-7 cells. In these cells, the phosphorylation level of the alpha-subunit of eIF2 was determined, and it was found that expression of the 1-97 amino acid segment of rat p67 increases POEP activity in vivo, and induces the endogenous levels of p67. These cells also show increased growth rate, and efficient translation of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and beta-galactosidase reporter genes. At the N-terminus of p67, there are two unique domains: a lysine-rich domain I with the sequence (36)KKKRRKKKK(44), and an acidic residue-rich domain with the sequence (77)EEKEKDDDDEDGDGD(91). Substitution of lysine-rich domain I with (36)NMKSGNKTQ(44) in rat recombinant p67 resulted in the inhibition of its POEP activity, and substitution of the acidic residue-rich domain with (77)QNIQKALEPEAGDGA(91), resulted in no inhibition of POEP activity in KRC-7 cells. Taken together, our data suggest that protection of translation initiation factor eIF2 phosphorylation correlates with eIF2-associated glycoprotein p67 levels and requires the lysine-rich domain I of p67.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The novel triterpenoid CDDO induces apoptosis and differentiation of human osteosarcoma cells by a caspase-8 dependent mechanism.

The oleanane triterpenoid 2-cyano-3,12-dioxoolean-1,9-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO) is a multifunctional molecule that induces monocytic differentiation of human myeloid leukemia cells and inhibits proliferation of diverse human tumor cell lines. The present studies on human osteosarcoma cells demonstrate that CDDO induces mitochondrial cytochrome c release, caspase-3 activation, and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. Overexpression of the caspase-8 inhibitor CrmA blocked CDDO-induced cytochrome c release and apoptosis. By contrast, overexpression of the antiapoptotic Bcl-x(L) protein blocked CDDO-induced cytochrome c release, but only partly inhibited caspase-3 activation and apoptosis. In concert with these findings, we demonstrate that CDDO: 1) activates caspase-8 and thereby caspase-3 by a cytochrome c-independent mechanism and 2) induces cytochrome c release by caspase-8-dependent cleavage of Bid. The results also demonstrate that treatment of osteosarcoma cells with CDDO induces differentiation, as assessed by alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin production, and that this response is abrogated in cells that overexpress CrmA. These findings demonstrate that CDDO induces both osteoblastic differentiation and apoptosis by caspase-8-dependent mechanisms.

Apoptosis↗

Phorbol ester-induced generation of reactive oxygen species is protein kinase cbeta -dependent and required for SAPK activation.

Treatment of human U-937 myeloid leukemia cells with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) is associated with protein kinase C (PKC) betaII-mediated activation of the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) pathway. The present studies demonstrate that the TPA response of U-937 cells includes the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). By contrast, the TPA-resistant U-937 cell variant (TUR), which is deficient in PKCbetaII expression, failed to respond to TPA with the induction of ROS. Moreover, we show that TPA-induced ROS production is restored in TUR cells stably transfected to express PKCbetaII. The results also demonstrate that TPA-induced ROS production is required for activation of the MEK kinase-1 (MEKK-1)--> SAPK pathway. In concert with this observation, treatment of U-937 with H(2)O(2) as a source of ROS is associated with activation of the MEKK-1-->SAPK cascade. These findings indicate that PKCbetaII is required for TPA-induced ROS production and that the MEKK-1-->SAPK pathway is activated by a ROS-mediated mechanism.

Enzyme Activation↗

XIAP regulates DNA damage-induced apoptosis downstream of caspase-9 cleavage.

The IAP (inhibitor of apoptosis) family of anti-apoptotic proteins regulates programmed cell death. Of the six known human IAP-related proteins, XIAP is the most potent inhibitor. To study the mechanistic effects of XIAP on DNA damage-induced apoptosis, we prepared U-937 cells that stably overexpress XIAP. The results demonstrate that XIAP inhibits apoptosis induced by 1-[beta-d-arabinofuranosyl]cytosine (ara-C) and other genotoxic agents. XIAP had no detectable effect on ara-C-induced release of mitochondrial cytochrome c and attenuated cleavage of procaspase-9. In addition, we show that ara-C induces the association of XIAP with the cleaved fragments of caspase-9 and thereby inhibition of caspase-9 activity. The results also demonstrate that ara-C induces cleavage of procaspase-3 by a caspase-8-dependent mechanism and that XIAP inhibits caspase-3 activity. These results demonstrate that XIAP functions downstream of procaspase-9 cleavage as an inhibitor of both proteolytically processed caspase-9 and -3 in the cellular response to genotoxic stress.

Apoptosis↗

Requirement for caspase activation in monocytic differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells.

Human myeloid leukemia cells respond to 12-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and other activators of protein kinase C (PKC) with the induction of terminal monocytic differentiation. The present studies demonstrate that TPA treatment of U-937 leukemia cells is associated with release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, activation of caspase-3 and induction of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. By contrast, the TUR cell variant, which is deficient in PKCbeta, failed to respond to TPA with release of cytochrome c and induction of the caspase-3 cascade. Moreover, stable overexpression of PKCbeta in TUR cells reconstituted sensitivity to TPA-induced cytochrome c release and activation of caspase-3. The results also demonstrate that treatment of cells with the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk blocks both TPA-induced apoptosis and monocytic differentiation. Similar results were obtained in U-937 cells stably expressing the CrmA caspase inhibitor. These findings demonstrate that TPA induces cytochrome c release by a PKCbeta-dependent mechanism and that activation of caspase-mediated signaling is required for induction of the differentiated monocytic phenotype.

Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones↗

Mitochondrial translocation of protein kinase C delta in phorbol ester-induced cytochrome c release and apoptosis.

Apoptosis is induced by the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to the cytoplasm. The present studies demonstrate that the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) induces translocation of protein kinase C (PKC) delta from the cytoplasm to mitochondria. The results also show that translocation of PKCdelta results in release of cytochrome c. The functional significance of this event is further supported by the demonstration that PKCdelta translocation is required for TPA-induced apoptosis. These findings demonstrate that translocation of PKCdelta to mitochondria is responsible, at least in part, for inducing cytochrome c release and apoptosis.

Apoptosis↗

Proteolytic cleavage and activation of protein kinase C [micro] by caspase-3 in the apoptotic response of cells to 1-beta -D-arabinofuranosylcytosine and other genotoxic agents.

Protein kinase C (PKC) mu is a novel member of the PKC family that differs from the other isozymes in structural and biochemical properties. The precise function of PKCmu is not known. The present studies demonstrate that PKCmu is cleaved during apoptosis induced by 1-beta-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) and other genotoxic agents. PKCmu cleavage is blocked in cells that overexpress the anti-apoptotic Bcl-x(L) protein or the baculovirus p35 protein. Our results demonstrate that PKCmu is cleaved by caspase-3 at the CQND(378)S site. Cleavage of PKCmu is associated with release of the catalytic domain and activation of its kinase function. We also show that, unlike the cleaved fragments of PKCdelta and theta, overexpression of the PKCmu catalytic domain is not lethal. Cells stably expressing the catalytic fragment of PKCmu, however, are more sensitive to apoptosis induced by genotoxic stress. In addition, expression of the caspase-resistant PKCmu mutant partially inhibits DNA damage-induced apoptosis. These findings demonstrate that PKCmu is cleaved by caspase-3 and that expression of the catalytic domain sensitizes cells to the cytotoxic effects of ara-C and other anticancer agents.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗

Interaction between protein kinase C delta and the c-Abl tyrosine kinase in the cellular response to oxidative stress.

Protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms are phosphorylated on tyrosine in the response of cells to oxidative stress. The present studies demonstrate that treatment of cells with hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) induces binding of the PKCdelta isoform and the c-Abl protein-tyrosine kinase. The results show that c-Abl phosphorylates PKCdelta in the H(2)O(2) response. We also show that PKCdelta phosphorylates and activates c-Abl in vitro. In cells, induction of c-Abl activity by H(2)O(2) is attenuated by the PKCdelta inhibitor, rottlerin, and by overexpression of the regulatory domain of PKCdelta. These findings support a functional interaction between PKCdelta and c-Abl in the cellular response to oxidative stress.

Animals↗

Increased phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha at the G2/M boundary in human osteosarcoma cells correlates with deglycosylation of p67 and a decreased rate of protein synthesis.

The rate of protein synthesis in higher eukaryotes is largely regulated at the level of eIF2alpha phosphorylation by its kinases. A cellular glycoprotein, p67, protects eIF2alpha from phosphorylation. An enzyme, p67-deglycosylase, when active, removes the carbohydrate moieties from p67 and inactivates it. Subsequently, protein synthesis is inhibited. During mitosis the overall rate of protein synthesis sharply declines. To understand the molecular mechanism underlying this inhibition of protein synthesis, we have examined the phosphorylation of eIF2alpha and the activity of p67. We find that the phosphorylation of eIF2alpha increases at the G2/M border of cycling U2-OS cells, and p67 is deglycosylated at the same period of the cell cycle. In addition, the level and the activity of p67-deglycosylase also increase at the G2/M boundary of cycling U2-OS cells. These results thus provide an important in vivo correlation between the increased phosphorylation of eIF2alpha and deglycosylation of p67 by p67-deglycosylase at the G2/M boundary of cycling U2-OS cells. This may explain in part the inhibition of protein synthesis in U2-OS cells approaching mitosis.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗

U937 cells overexpressing bcl-xl are resistant to human immunodeficiency virus-1-induced apoptosis and human immunodeficiency virus-1 replication.

Many viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), induce apoptosis and are affected by cellular expression of antiapoptotic genes. We sought to examine the effect of antiapoptotic gene expression on HIV replication by transfecting the promyelomonocytic cell line U937 with the bcl-xl gene to obtain clones of U937 cells that overexpressed bcl-xl (designated U937bcl-xl), a negative control U937 clone transfected with vector alone (designated U937neo) and a clone overexpressing bcl-2 (designated U937bcl-2). After infection with HIV-1, U937neo cells underwent apoptosis four times as frequently as the U937bcl-xl cells. Furthermore, U937bcl-xl cells produced 5-fold less HIV-1 protein than U937neo, whereas U937bcl-2 produced at least 2-fold more p24 than the U937neo control. Transient coexpression of bcl-2 or bcl-xl decreased HIV production and transcription from the HIV LTR. To define the mechanism by which bcl-xl, but not bcl-2, inhibits HIV expression, we examined bcl-2 and bcl-xl expression after HIV infection and CD4 cross-linking. Although HIV-1 infection or cross-linking CD4 led to a decrease in expression of bcl-2, it had no effect on bcl-xl expression. These results provide a mechanism for the resistance of U937bcl-xl transfectants, but not U937bcl-2 transfectants, to HIV-1 replication in monocytic cells in vitro. Therapies that up-regulate bcl-xl expression potentially provide a novel means to decrease the destructiveness of HIV-1.

Apoptosis↗

Induction of apoptosis due to lowering the level of eukaryotic initiation factor 2-associated protein, p67, from mammalian cells by antisense approach.

p67, a cellular glycoprotein, protects eIF2alpha from phosphorylation by inhibitory kinases such as double-stranded RNA dependent eIF2 kinase, PKR, and heme-controlled repressor and thus promotes protein synthesis in mammalian cells. To investigate whether p67 is essential for the survival of mammalian cells, the basal level of p67 was lowered from rat tumor hepatoma cells using antisense approach. The antisense p67 RNA specifically lowered the levels of p67 message and the protein from these cells. As a result, the level of eIF2alpha phosphorylation increased significantly, the overall rate of protein synthesis decreased, and the rate of DNA synthesis also decreased in mammalian cells with low levels of p67 as compared to that seen in control cells. In addition, the majority of the cells with low levels of p67 are arrested at the G1 phase of the cell cycle and die with apoptosis. Taken together, these results suggest that appropriate levels of p67 is required for normal growth of mammalian cells.

Aminopeptidases↗