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R Wang

Publications and source records attributed to R Wang.

At least 595 records · Page 33Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Amino acid 489 is encoded by a mutational "hot spot" on the beta 3 integrin chain: the CA/TU human platelet alloantigen system.

A new platelet alloantigen, termed CA, has recently been implicated in a case of neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NATP) in a Filipino family in Canada. Maternal anti-CA serum reacted with glycoprotein (GP) IIIa and maintained its reactivity after removal of high mannose carbohydrate residues from GPIIIa. The monoclonal antibody (MoAb) AP3 partially blocked binding of anti-CA to GPIIIa, suggesting that the CA polymorphism is proximal to the AP3 epitope. Platelet RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the region of GPIIIa cDNA that encodes this region of the protein. DNA sequence analysis showed a G<==>A nucleotide substitution at base 1564 that results in an arginine (Arg) (CGG)<==>glutamine (Gln) (CAG) polymorphism in amino acid (AA) 489. Further analysis of PCR-amplified genomic DNA from 27 normal individuals showed that AA 489 is encoded by a mutational "hot spot" of the GPIIIa gene, as three different codons for the wild-type Arg489 of GPIIIa were also found. The codon usage for Arg489 was found to be: CGG (63%), CGA (37%), and CGC (< 1%). These frequency data were valuable in determining the relationship of the CA alloantigen to the serologically defined TU GPIIIa polymorphism that is present in low frequency in the Finish population. Analyses of PCR-amplified genomic DNA showed the CA and TU alloantigens to be identical at the molecular level. Definition of these new molecular variants of the beta 3 integrin chain should prove valuable in the diagnosis of NATP in these two geographically disparate populations, and it may also provide useful genetic markers for examining other pathologic variations of the GPIIb-IIIa complex.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Protein ladder sequencing.

A new approach to protein sequencing is described. It consists of two steps: (i) ladder-generating chemistry, the controlled generation from a polypeptide chain by wet chemistry of a family of sequence-defining peptide fragments, each differing from the next by one amino acid; and (ii) data readout, a one-step readout of the resulting protein sequencing ladder by matrix-assisted laser-desorption mass spectrometry. Each amino acid was identified from the mass difference between successive peaks, and the position in the data set defined the sequence of the original peptide chain. This method was used to directly locate a phosphoserine residue in a phosphopeptide. The protein ladder sequencing method lends itself to very high sample throughput at very low per cycle cost.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia due to a new platelet-specific alloantibody.

An infant with severe neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia is described in whom an antibody directed at a new platelet-specific alloantigen, Ca (HPA-6b), is implicated. The new alloantigen is of low frequency in the population and was localized to platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIIa. Immunoprecipitation studies using murine monoclonal antibodies specific for the GP complex IIb-IIIa and GPIIIa alone (AP2 and AP3) suggest that the location of the Ca epitope on GPIIIa may be near the binding site for AP3. Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia associated with Ca is likely to be as severe as that seen in cases due to incompatibilities for the HPA-1 (PIA) and HPA-4 (Pen) platelet alloantigen systems, because each is located on GPIIIa, a densely represented molecule on the platelet surface.

Antigens, Human Platelet↗
PubMed1993

Mature T cells of autoimmune lpr/lpr mice have a defect in antigen-stimulated suicide.

Antigen receptor-stimulated cell death of developing, immature T cells plays an important role in shaping the repertoire of antigens to which mature T cells will respond, but a role for receptor-stimulated death in controlling responses of mature T cells is controversial. Mutant lpr/lpr mice exhibit an autoimmune syndrome similar to systemic lupus erythematosus. Here we demonstrate that these mice have a defect in antigen-stimulated suicide of activated T cells in mature CD4+ and CD8+ T cell compartments. The defective suicide pathway is evident when the T cells are stimulated with antigen on antigen-presenting cells or with immobilized anti-CD3 in the absence of antigen-presenting cells. These studies, in concert with the work of others, suggest that antigen-stimulated death of mature cells may be important both in establishing peripheral tolerance and in limiting inflammation during normal immune responses.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Differential activation of antigen-stimulated suicide and cytokine production pathways in CD4+ T cells is regulated by the antigen-presenting cell.

Stimulation of the TCR of activated, mature T cells by an APC produces a spectrum of functional responses. Most of those responses positively promote immunity and inflammation. However, death of the responding T cell, which would limit subsequent inflammation, can also result from such stimulation. We compare the Ag threshold necessary to promote inflammation through cytokine production with the Ag threshold necessary to limit inflammation through T cell death. These two responses are independently regulated by the APC and this regulation is selective for both different APC products and different T cell subsets. The costimulator B7 selectively decreases the Ag threshold for cytokine production in Th1 cells with no effect on the Ag threshold for Th1 death. B7 has no effect on the Th2 Ag threshold for cytokine production or death. In contrast, IFN-gamma negatively modulates a macrophage product that selectively increases the threshold of Ag necessary to stimulate death in Th2 cells, but has no effect on cytokine production by Th2 cells or cytokine production or death of Th1 cells. This selective regulation of cytokine production and T cell death may play an important role in both shaping the quality of a given immune response and in providing a general mechanism for the regulation of the immune response by limiting inflammation and through peripheral deletion of inappropriate T cell specificities.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Structural alterations in the peptide backbone of beta-amyloid core protein may account for its deposition and stability in Alzheimer's disease.

The structure of beta-amyloid (beta A) from Alzheimer disease brains was examined to determine if post-translational modifications might be linked to the abnormal deposition of this peptide in the diseased tissue. The beta A peptides were isolated from the compact amyloid cores of neuritic plaques and separated from minor glycoprotein components by size-exclusion high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). This parenchymal beta A has a maximal length of 42 residues, but shorter forms with "ragged" NH2 termini are also present. Tryptic peptide analysis revealed heterogeneity in the beta A1-5 and beta A6-16 peptides, each of which eluted as four peaks on reverse phase HPLC. Amino acid composition and sequence analyses, mass spectrometry, enzymatic methylation, and stereoisomer determinations revealed that these multiple peptide forms resulted from structural rearrangements of the aspartyl residues at beta A positions 1 and 7. The L-isoaspartyl form predominates at each of these positions, whereas the D-isoaspartyl, L-aspartyl, and D-aspartyl forms are present in lesser amounts. beta A purified from the leptomeningeal microvasculature contains the same structural alterations as parenchymal beta A, but is 2 residues shorter at its COOH terminus. Using two different purification protocols, and using a synthetic beta A1-42 peptide as a control, we show that these modifications arose endogenously and were not caused by the experimental manipulations. The abundance of structurally altered aspartyl residues may profoundly affect the conformation of the beta A protein within plaque cores and thus significantly impact normal catabolic processes designed to limit its deposition. These alterations may therefore contribute to the production and stability of beta-amyloid deposits in Alzheimer brain tissue.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1993

Processing of a cellular prion protein: identification of N- and C-terminal cleavage sites.

ChPrP is the chicken homologue of PrPC, the cellular isoform of the mammalian prion protein. We have used sequence-specific antibodies to immunoprecipitate and immunoblot chPrP derived from stably transfected cultures of neuroblastoma cells, as well as from chicken brain and cerebrospinal fluid. We have also used mass spectrometry to characterize fragments of the protein purified from conditioned medium. The majority of chPrP protein present in neuroblastoma cells and on isolated brain membranes can be released by incubation with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C, indicating that these molecules are attached to the cell surface by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. Surprisingly, most of the surface-anchored molecules are truncated at their N-terminus distal to the proline/glycine-rich repeats. The corresponding N-terminal fragments are found in medium conditioned by neuroblastoma cells, as well as in cerebrospinal fluid and a postmicrosomal supernatant of brain. One of these fragments extends from Lys25 to Phe116. 35-45-kDa forms of chPrP that can be metabolically labeled with [3H]ethanolamine can also be found in extracellular media. We propose that the chPrP molecule undergoes at least two cleavages as part of its normal metabolism: one within the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor and one within or just N-terminal to the central hydrophobic domain. The second cleavage lies within a region of 24 amino acids that is identical in chPrP and mammalian PrP, and represents a major processing event that may have physiological as well as pathological significance.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Autoimmune gld mutation uncouples suicide and cytokine/proliferation pathways in activated, mature T cells.

Antigen receptor-directed suicide plays an important role in the elimination of potentially autoaggressive immature T cells during thymic differentiation. Here we demonstrated evidence for a second pathway of receptor-directed suicide in mature T cells that is missing in a mutant strain (gld) of mice with an "autoimmune" lymphoproliferative syndrome. The defect is evident within the gld activated T cell and does not require the presence of an antigen-presenting cell for its expression. Receptor-driven suicide is intact in immature T cells of animals with this mutation. These results support the significance of receptor-directed suicide in the mature T cell compartment and suggest that the immune system may use three independent pathways for regulating programmed cell death in shaping and controlling the immune response.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Detachment and lysis of adherent target cells by CD4+ T cell clones involve multiple effector mechanisms.

Detachment of adherent targets from their substratum is a unique activity of both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Recently, we have demonstrated that with mixed, alloreactive populations, CD4+ T-cell-mediated detachment is kinetically distinct from lysis and requires protein synthesis. Heterogeneity of effector phenotypes precluded further elucidation of the mechanism of detachment at the mixed population level. Here, we examine further the mechanism of target cell detachment by CD4+ cells using clones which differ in lytic efficiency and demonstrate that detachment of adherent targets from their substratum (1) may result from either protein synthesis-dependent or independent pathways, which can be correlated with differences in clonal lytic phenotype, (2) is contact dependent and does not involve soluble factors, (3) can be pharmacologically uncoupled from IL4 production, as a measure of cytokine release, and (4) fails to correlate with perforin expression by immunocytochemistry. Finally, isolated granule preparations are unable to mediate detachment independent from lysis.

Animals↗