PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R W Jackman

Publications and source records attributed to R W Jackman.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Thrombomodulin in the central nervous system.

Thrombomodulin (TM), a thrombin receptor, present on the endothelial surface of blood vessels is a major anticoagulant proteoglycan. In this work the presence of TM antigen in the human brain and in the whole central nervous system of calves was investigated by immunocytochemistry using specific antibodies against human and bovine TM. When TM antigen was well preserved by immediate fixation on frozen tissues, TM was found present in the brain vessels of all human surgical specimens examined as well as in the whole vasculature of the calf central nervous system (CNS), from the medulla to the cortex. Moreover, even without immediate fixation, TM antigen was always found on the surface of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cavity: on the arachnoid and on the inner aspect of the dura mater in humans and in calves. This suggests that the proteolytic enzymes responsible for the cleavage of TM from the endothelium are not present in the CSF and in the meningeal cells. The results reported here emphasize the importance of TM in the CNS as protecting, by its antithrombogenicity, a free circulation of blood and CSF in normal and even more, in pathological situations in which the permeability of the meningeal barrier increases.

Animals↗

The aortic intima in organ culture. Response to culture conditions and partial endothelial denudation.

A culture technique for whole blood vessel wall that preserves an intact and regenerative endothelium has been developed. The retention of an intact endothelium allows careful observation of the tissue as it responds to culture conditions, responses that include a change of replication timing and the induction of particulate endocytosis. Complete and normal regeneration of the endothelium in explants has made possible evaluation of the differences between the regeneration of endothelial cell monolayers and regeneration of intima in vivo. From these comparisons it appears that the shorter induction time of endothelial migration and proliferation and the more rapid migration in endothelial cell monolayers are due to effects of the culture medium or plastic culture surface, while the higher than normal cell density found in the intima after wound recovery in vivo probably is due to the dynamics of the blood vessel itself. The ability to control cell-cell interactions on the cultured tissue has made possible the investigation of gap junction-mediated metabolic interactions in regenerating intima. Results indicate that the disruptive effects of intimal regeneration do not depend on or produce an obvious change in junction-mediated nucleotide transfer between endothelial cells.

Animals↗

Restoration of LDL receptor activity in mutant cells by intercellular junctional communication.

Exchange of small molecules between cells through intercellular junctions is a widespread phenomenon implicated in many physiological and developmental processes. This type of intercellular communication can restore the activity of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors in mammalian cells that are deficient in the enzyme UDP-Gal/UDP-GalNAc 4-epimerase. Pure cultures of the 4-epimerase mutant are unable to synthesize normal carbohydrate chains on LDL receptors and many other glycoproteins and therefore do not express LDL receptor activity. When these cells are cocultivated with cells expressing normal 4-epimerase activity, the structure and function of LDL receptors are restored to normal by the transfer of this enzyme's products through intercellular junctions. The formation of functional junctions does not require normal glycosylation of membrane proteins. Because many convenient assays and selections for LDL receptor activity are available, this mutant can provide a powerful new tool for biochemical and genetic studies of intercellular junctional communication.

Animals↗

Human thrombomodulin gene is intron depleted: nucleic acid sequences of the cDNA and gene predict protein structure and suggest sites of regulatory control.

We have isolated a human thrombomodulin cDNA, and a human genomic clone containing the putative promoter domain, as well as the translated and untranslated regions of the endothelial cell receptor. The nucleotide sequence of the thrombomodulin cDNA allows us to provide a complete picture of the structure of this endothelial cell receptor, and to confirm its homology to the human low density lipoprotein receptor. The nucleotide sequence of the thrombomodulin gene suggests areas within the putative promoter domain that may be critical for regulating expression of the human endothelial cell receptor, indicates a potential signal peptide, and shows that no introns are present within the coding region. The overall organization of the human thrombomodulin gene is surprising because it represents an example of a gene that contains epidermal growth factor type B repeats and a membrane spanning region, which are not isolated within discrete exons.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Characterization of a thrombomodulin cDNA reveals structural similarity to the low density lipoprotein receptor.

We have isolated a partial-length cDNA for bovine thrombomodulin from a lambda gt11 bovine adrenal capillary endothelial cell expression library. This was accomplished by immunoscreening with rabbit anti-thrombomodulin IgG heteroantibody and then rescreening with the initial positive recombinant insert. The cDNA obtained was authenticated by showing that it coded for the primary structure of two separate regions of bovine thrombomodulin. The nucleotide sequence of the largest cDNA allowed us to establish the structure of about 80% of the mature thrombomodulin transcript, which encodes the C-terminal half of the polypeptide. This membrane component is structurally similar to coated-pit receptors and is organized into domains that resemble those of the low density lipoprotein receptor.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Anticoagulantly active heparin-like molecules from mast cell-deficient mice.

To assess the contribution of mast cells to the maintenance of blood fluidity, the hindlimb vasculature of mast cell-deficient mice (W/Wv) and littermates containing normal levels of mast cells (+/+), were perfused with purified human thrombin and antithrombin. Enzyme-inhibitor complex generation within the vasculature was enhanced to a comparable extent for W/Wv and +/+ mice over the uncatalyzed rate, that level of complex produced within a similar time interval in the absence of heparin. Perfusion of purified Flavobacterium heparinase prior to infusion of the hemostatic components, or perfusion of antithrombin modified at the heparin-binding domain, reduced W/Wv and +/+ hindlimb thrombin-antithrombin complex formation to the uncatalyzed rate. To further define the cellular source of the vascular-associated heparin-like molecules, endothelial cells isolated from epididymal fat pads of W/Wv and +/+ mice were grown in vitro. The acceleration of thrombin-antithrombin interactions in the presence of endothelial cell-derived glycosaminoglycans was similar for W/Wv and +/+ mice, was abolished with purified bacterial heparinase, and was expressed to only a minor extent when utilizing modified antithrombin. The biologically active mucopolysaccharides appear to be present on the cell surface.

Adipose Tissue↗