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S J Black

Publications and source records attributed to S J Black.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Laminar xanthine oxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in the prodromal stage of black-walnut induced equine laminitis.

UNLABELLED: REASONS FOR STUDY: Xanthine oxidase (XO)-dependent production of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide, a characteristic of ischaemia-reperfusion injury, may contribute to the development of equine laminitis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the levels of XO and antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase [SOD]) in the digital laminae of normal horses (CON) and horses in the developmental stage of laminitis using the black walnut extract (BWE) model. METHODS: Healthy horses (n = 12) were administered BWE (BWE group, n = 6), or water (CON group, n = 6) through a nasogastric tube. At the onset of leucopenia in the BWE-treated animals, all horses were anaesthetised, digital laminae and other samples collected rapidly and flash frozen, and the animals subjected to euthanasia. Extracts of the frozen tissues were assayed for the 2 conformational forms of xanthine: oxygen oxidoreductase (XOR), namely, xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) and xanthine oxidase (XO), as well as the antioxidant enzymes, SOD and catalase. RESULTS: Extracts of liver, lungs and skin, but not digital laminae, from either CON or BWE-treated horses had endogenous SOD, whereas all had endogenous XO and catalase. The levels of XDH, XO and catalase were similar in extracts of laminae from CON and BWE-treated horses as was the ratio of XDH to XO in extracts. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: The absence of increased XO activity suggest against the involvement of this reactive oxygen intermediate-generating system in the development of laminar pathology in BWE-treated horses. Conversely, the absence of SOD from extracts of equine digital laminae, but not other tissues, suggests that the equine digital laminae are highly susceptible to damage by superoxide anion, produced, for example, by emigrant inflammatory leucocytes.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Activation of bovine peripheral blood gammadelta T cells for cell division and IFN-gamma production.

Bovine peripheral blood gammadelta T cells have been evaluated for effector function (IFN-gamma production) and clonal expansion in a variety of systems including following activation by mitogens, IL-12, and stimulation, through the T cell receptor (TCR) with anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAb), a cell-bound molecule and a soluble antigenic extract. To evaluate cell division, carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) loading of cells and flow cytometric analysis were used, while IFN-gamma production was evaluated by intracytoplasmic staining. It was found that bovine gammadelta T cells produced IFN-gamma and clonally expanded when stimulated through the TCR/CD3 complex by a cell-associated autologous molecule on monocyte, by bacterial components following in vivo sensitization of gammadelta T cells with a leptospira vaccine or by anti-CD3 mAb. In addition, gammadelta T cells were activated efficiently for effector function but not clonal expansion by culturing with IL-12. In contrast, stimulation by Con A or PMA/ionomycin induced efficient replication but only low level IFN-gamma production which was not enhanced by the presence of IL-12. In several systems the amount of IFN-gamma produced per cell by gammadelta T cells was less than that produced by CD4 T cells in the same cultures.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Purine requirements for the expression of Cape buffalo serum trypanocidal activity.

Cape buffalo serum contains xanthine oxidase which generates trypanocidal H(2)O(2) during the catabolism of hypoxanthine and xanthine. The present studies show that xanthine oxidase-dependent trypanocidal activity in Cape buffalo serum was also elicited by purine nucleotides, nucleosides, and bases even though xanthine oxidase did not catabolize those purines. The paradox was explained in part, by the presence in serum of purine nucleoside phosphorylase and adenosine deaminase, that, together with xanthine oxidase, catabolized adenosine, inosine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine to uric acid yielding trypanocidal H(2)O(2). In addition, purine catabolism by trypanosomes provided substrates for serum xanthine oxidase and was implicated in the triggering of xanthine oxidase-dependent trypanocidal activity by purines that were not directly catabolized to uric acid in Cape buffalo serum, namely guanosine, guanine, adenine monophosphate, guanosine diphosphate, adenosine 3':5-cyclic monophosphate, and 1-methylinosine. The concentrations of guanosine and guanine that elicited xanthine oxidase-dependent trypanocidal activity were 30-270-fold lower than those of other purines requiring trypanosome-processing which suggests differential processing by the parasites.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Infection-associated decline of cape buffalo blood catalase augments serum trypanocidal activity.

Clearance of trypanosomes from the blood of infected Cape buffalo was associated with the development of two responses: (i) complement-dependent and clone-specific lytic activity and (ii) complement-independent trypanocidal activity that was not restricted by trypanosome clone or species. This latter activity was mediated by H2O2 and required the presence of xanthine oxidase in serum but not the addition of purine substrates. Expression of the xanthine oxidase-dependent trypanocidal activity in Cape buffalo serum was coincident with, and required, a decline in its H2O2 catabolic activity. The H2O2 catabolic activity of Cape buffalo serum was due solely to catalase and declined by eightfold around the time that trypanosomes were cleared from the blood, accompanied by a fivefold drop in erythrocyte-associated catalase activity. The Cape buffalo did not develop subsequent parasitemic waves. Clearance of parasitemia in similarly infected cattle was also associated with development of trypanosome clone-specific lytic activity, but not with the acquisition of H2O2-dependent trypanocidal activity in serum, and the cattle supported recurring parasitemia. The lack of trypanocidal activity in pre- and postinfection cattle sera was due to their low content of xanthine oxidase and sustained catalase activity. These data strongly suggest that an infection-induced serum oxidative response, the efficacy of which is amplified by a decline in blood catalase, contributes to suppression of recurring parasitemia in Cape buffalo.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Anti-Trypanosoma brucei activity of nonprimate zoo sera.

Constitutive anti-Trypanosoma brucei subsp. brucei S 427 clone 1 and 22 activities were evaluated in sera from 22 species of nonprimate mammals. The sera fell into 5 categories. Sera from Cape buffalo, giraffe, and greater kudu showed a concentration-dependent inhibition of replication of the 2 clones of organisms, which was dependent on the presence of xanthine oxidase. Sera from warthog and springbok also severely limited trypanosome replication but lacked xanthine oxidase. Their antitrypanosome activity was inactivated by heating at 56 C for 30 min but not affected by absorbing with trypanosomes at 4 C. Sera from lion and leopard showed a concentration-dependent inhibition of the growth of T. brucei S427 clone 1 organisms, but not clone 22 organisms. These sera lacked xanthine oxidase. Their anti-T. brucei S 427 clone 1 activity was inactivated by heating at 56 C for 30 min but not removed by absorbing with trypanosomes. Serum from Grant's gazelle prevented replication of both T. brucei clones, lacked xanthine oxidase, and was not affected by heating at 56 C. Sera from waterbuck, Thompson's gazelle, sitatunga, Cape hartebeeste, gerenuk, Grant's zebra, cow, several cat, cougar, bobcat, and domestic cat were fully supportive of trypanosome replication irrespective of concentration tested up to a maximum of 48% v/v in culture medium. Sera from different individuals of the same mammal species had similar effects on trypanosomes, and samples collected from the same individual at different times also had similar activities indicating species-specific stable expression, or lack thereof, of constitutive serum antitrypanosome components.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

A revised arithmetic model of long slender to short stumpy transformation in the African trypanosomes.

An arithmetic model that closely approximates an African trypanosome infection in immunosuppressed mice is presented. The final model was based on an examination of the following parameters: the rate of long slender to short stumpy transition, the maximum percentage of long slender to short stumpy stages that can be induced, the survival time or half life of the short stumpy stage in vivo, and the rate (%) of long slender to short stumpy stage transition following the peak in transformation. The model is based on the assumption that the long slender to short stumpy transition is parasite population dependent and that in mice the long slender to short stumpy transition only begins when the trypanosome population reaches a density of 1 x 10(7) trypanosomes/ml. The model predicts that the parasitemia during the first several days of an infection is controlled solely by the kinetics of the transition of the dividing long slender stage to the nondividing short stumpy stage. It was not necessary to include in the model the host's immune response in order to simulate the early growth kinetics of pleomorphic trypanosomes in infected mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Partial characterization of the calcium-releasing activity of porcine sperm cytosolic extracts.

Injection of sperm cytosolic extracts into mammalian eggs has been shown to elicit intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) oscillations that are similar in amplitude, duration, and frequency to those observed following fertilization. Thus, to characterize the Ca2+-release component(s) in porcine sperm cytosolic extracts, a combination of fractionation techniques was used. The fraction with Ca2+ releasing activity was precipitated by 50% saturating solutions of ammonium sulfate and Western blot analysis showed that the pellets contained glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase (gpd)/oscillin, a protein which has been suggested to be the sperm's active component. Single and double isoelectrofocusing (IEF) of porcine sperm extracts generated fractions with different Ca2+-releasing activities. Fractions with maximal Ca2+-releasing activity did not contain material that was immunoreactive with antibodies against gpd/oscillin; adjacent fractions containing gpd/oscillin had no Ca2+-releasing activity. These findings were confirmed by IEF coupled with size exclusion chromatography on Superose 12 and with hydroxyapatite chromatography. These procedures predict an isoelectric point of our active component of 6.5-7.0 and a relative molecular weight ranging from 29 to 68 kDa. In summary, the data show that the Ca2+ release-inducing component(s) of porcine sperm extracts can be fractionated and that gpd/oscillin is not the pig sperm Ca2+ oscillogen.

Aldose-Ketose Isomerases↗
PubMed1997

The trypanocidal Cape buffalo serum protein is xanthine oxidase.

Plasma and serum from Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) kill bloodstream stages of all species of African trypanosomes in vitro. The trypanocidal serum component was isolated by sequential chromatography on hydroxylapatite, protein A-G, Mono Q, and Superose 12. The purified trypanocidal protein had a molecular mass of 150 kDa, and activity correlated with the presence of a 146-kDa polypeptide detected upon reducing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Amino acid sequences of three peptide fragments of the 146-kDa reduced polypeptide, ligand affinity and immunoaffinity chromatography of the native protein, and sensitivity to pharmacological inhibitors, identified the trypanocidal material as xanthine oxidase (EC 1.1.3.22). Trypanocidal activity resulted in the inhibition of trypanosome glycolysis and was due to H2O2 produced during catabolism of extracellular xanthine and hypoxanthine by the purine catabolic enzyme.

Africa↗
PubMed1997

A proposed density-dependent model of long slender to short stumpy transformation in the African trypanosomes.

A simple arithmetic model is developed that is based upon the assumption: (1) that transformation of replicating long slender Trypanosoma brucei to nonreplicating short stumpy forms is parasite population density dependent; (2) that as the slender population increases there is a change in the external environment that triggers the slender to stumpy transformation; and (3) that stumpy forms of T. brucei do not induce the change in external environment that triggers slender to stumpy transformation or do so to a lesser extent than slender forms, thus preventing the proportion of stumpy forms in a population from reaching 100%. A simulation based on these assumptions shared many features with curves on numbers of long slender, intermediate, and short-stumpy forms of T. brucei during the first parasitemic wave of the 3 T. brucei subspecies in intact and immunosuppressed inbred mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

The requirements for G1 checkpoint progression of Trypanosoma brucei S 427 clone 1.

Trypanosoma brucei S 427 clone 1 accumulated in G1 when incubated under growth-limiting conditions. Further incubation of the G1-restricted organisms in medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 2 mM hydroxyurea resulted in their reversible arrest after a G1 checkpoint beyond which serum was not required for progress into and through S. Progress of the G1-restricted T. brucei through the G1 checkpoint was linear and required continuous incubation with exogenous serum growth factors. These were principally low and high density lipoproteins; both lipoproteins triggered G1 progression in a dose- and time-dependent manner whilst their removal by immunoaffinity chromatography severely reduced the capacity of FBS to stimulate G1 progression. Serum-induced progress of T. brucei through G1 was Ca(2+)-independent, but required gene transcription, protein synthesis, and continuous kinase activity that was inhibited by tyrphostin 51 and DAPH 1 which typically inhibit epidermal growth factor receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity. The tyrphostin 51-sensitive catalytic activity was not required for T. brucei protein synthesis, glycolysis, or S phase progression but was required for tyrosine phosphorylation of several polypeptides, none of which was specifically associated with serum-induced G1 progression.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Control of G1 to S cell cycle progression of Trypanosoma brucei S427cl1 organisms under axenic conditions.

Trypanosoma brucei S427cl1 organisms made 6 divisions in modified minimal essential medium (BMEM) supplemented with fetal bovine serum (FBS)-low or high density lipoprotein (LDL, HDL) and fatty acid-free bovine serum albumin (FAF-BSA). Omission of lipoproteins or FAF-BSA from the medium caused the parasites to accumulate in G1 of the cell cycle and to lose the ability to replicate at 37 degrees C. Proteinase K-treated LDL or HDL, which did not have detectable apolipoprotein, supported the G1 to S cell cycle transition of T. brucei S427cl1 organisms in BMEM supplemented with FAF-BSA. Addition of C6:0, C7:0 or fatty C8:0 fatty acid (1 mol fatty acid mol-1 FAF-BSA in the incubation mixture) to serum-free medium supplemented with LDL or HDL and FAF-BSA prevented T. brucei S427cl1 organisms from progressing through G1 into S of the cell cycle. T. brucei S427cl1 organisms became stumpy-like forms during plateau phase growth under axenic conditions. Stumpy-like T. brucei S427cl1 organisms were mainly in G1 of the cell cycle, expressed raised levels of NAD diaphorase activity, were unable to replicate at 37 degrees C, but were able to differentiate to replicating procyclic organisms. Medium collected from plateau phase cultures of T. brucei S427cl1 did not support the G1 to S cell cycle transition of exponentially growing T. brucei organisms. The capacity of plateau phase medium to support G1 to S transition of T. brucei S427cl1 organisms was restored by addition of FAF-BSA and its capacity to support 4 cycles of replication of the parasites was restored by addition of FAF-BSA and LDL or HDL.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Analysis of pokeweed mitogen-induced in vitro proliferative and antibody responses of bovine lymphocytes.

The functional role of subpopulations of bovine cells in the regulation of pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-induced proliferative and antibody responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM) was analysed. Subpopulations of bovine PBM identified by specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were isolated by sorting them through the fluorescence activated cells sorter (FACS). The depletion from PBM of T cells bearing the CD4 marker, recognised by mAb IL-A12, resulted in a reduction of PWM-induced responses, which could be partly reversed by the addition of CD4 positive T cells. The depletion of cells belonging to the macrophage/monocyte lineage also resulted in a reduction of PWM-induced proliferative responses. PBM depleted of CD8 positive T cells, recognised by mAb IL-A51, showed increased PWM-induced responses, which in turn were reduced by the addition of mAb IL-A51 positive cells. Proliferative and antibody responses were also obtained by PWM stimulation of FACS-purified B cells, in the presence of bovine T cell growth factor.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Identification of an acute-phase reactant in murine infections with Trypanosoma brucei.

A 42-kDa protein appeared at a much higher concentration in plasma from Trypanosoma brucei-resistant (C57BL/6) mice after infection than in plasma from trypanosome-susceptible (C3H/He) mice. This protein was purified by sequential steps of gel filtration, protein A-Sepharose affinity chromatography, isoelectric focusing, and ammonium sulfate precipitation. The purified protein was identified as a subunit of the acute-phase reactant haptoglobin. Causes of elevated plasma haptoglobin and its implications for resistance to trypanosomiasis are discussed.

Animals↗