Biomedical subjects

T Beumer

Publications and source records attributed to T Beumer.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Role of cell cycle control in radiosensitization of mouse spermatogonial stem cells.

PURPOSE: To investigate the possible role of cell cycle arrest in the radiosensitization of mouse spermatogonial stem cells due to small conditioning X-ray exposures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 24 h fractionation interval between conditioning (1 Gy) and challenging (8 or 9 Gy) exposures was used. Two approaches were followed: the first in the Swiss random-bred wild-type mouse of the radiation-induced cell cycle arrest-evading agents 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB) and caffeine; and, second, using the C57BL/6 mouse of different p53 status. As biological parameter stem cell survival was analysed by the repopulation index (RI) method and chromosomal translocations were recorded using spermatocyte analysis at appropriate posttreatment periods. RESULTS: In the Swiss wild-type mouse, the application of 3-AB or caffeine significantly suppressed the sensitization of stem cells towards killing or translocation induction. In the C57BL/6 mouse, somewhat more variability in response was observed but no significant differences in sensitization between the p53 +/+, +/- or -/- mouse were recorded, suggesting no involvement of p53 in this process. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that p53-independent cell cycle regulation plays an important role in the radiosensitization of mouse spermatogonial stem cells.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Stage-specific expression of Dlx-5 during osteoblast differentiation: involvement in regulation of osteocalcin gene expression.

Two homeotic genes, Dlx and Msx, appear to regulate development of mineralized tissues, including bone, cartilage, and tooth. Expression of Msx-1 and Msx-2 has been studied during development of the osteoblast phenotype, but the role of Dlx in this context and in the regulation of bone-expressed genes is unknown. We used targeted differential display to isolate homeotic genes of the Dlx family that are expressed at defined stages of osteoblast differentiation. These studies were carried out with fetal rat calvarial cells that produce bone-like tissue in vitro. We observed a mineralization stage-specific mRNA and cloned the corresponding cDNA, which represents the rat homolog of Dlx-5. Northern blot analysis and competitive RT-PCR demonstrated that Dlx-5 and the bone-specific osteocalcin genes exhibit similar up-regulated expression during the mineralization period of osteoblast differentiation. This expression pattern differs from that of Msx-2, which is found predominantly in proliferating osteoblasts. Several approaches were pursued to determine functional consequences of Dlx-5 expression on osteocalcin transcription. Constitutive expression of Dlx-5 in ROS 17/2.8 cells decreased osteocalcin promoter activity in transient assays, and conditional expression of Dlx-5 in stable cell lines reduced endogenous mRNA levels. Consistent with this finding, antisense inhibition of Dlx-5 increased osteocalcin gene transcription. Osteocalcin promoter deletion analysis and binding of the in vitro translation product of Dlx-5 demonstrated that repressor activity was targeted to a single homeodomain-binding site, located in OC-Box I (-99 to -76). These findings demonstrate that Dlx-5 represses osteocalcin gene transcription. However, the coupling of increased Dlx-5 expression with progression of osteoblast differentiation suggests an important role in promoting expression of the mature bone cell phenotype.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Microplate washing: process description and improvements.

Heterogeneous immunoassays require wash steps in order to separate bound from free constituents. In this paper we demonstrate that in microplate assays the washing process includes two separate physical processes: (1) a rapid and wash volume-dependent direct dilution of the droplet-shaped residual volume, and (2) a diffusion-limited and strongly time-dependent dilution of a residual layer of liquid, which necessitates the use of time-consuming soak times in the immunoassay. We have shown that optimizing the motion of the wash fluid effectively reduces the residual layer thickness that results in extended soak times. This results not only in improved washing efficiency and reduced background variance in the immunoassay, it also yields a significantly improved immunoassay sensitivity.

Immunoassay↗

PubMed1985

A single-parameter analog level discriminator: a cheap and powerful extension of FCM data acquisition.

Modern flow cytometers offer the possibility to measure more parameters of individual cells than the normally available data acquisition equipment can store. To enlarge the number of parameters that is taken into account while recording data, an analog level discriminator is described that is easy to build and easy to implement on any existing FCM system. An example of gated data acquisition in light scattering measurements on nucleated human bone marrow cells is given. The level discriminator may give a cheap and yet valuable extension of expensive data acquisition equipment.

Electronics↗

PubMed1984

Calculation of S-phase numbers of four major cell categories in human bone marrow from DNA-flow cytometry and counterflow centrifugation data.

Fractionation of heterogeneous cell populations into a number of fractions differing in cell size and composition, followed by measurement of DNA profiles and differential morphology of the samples allows the calculation, using a mathematical deconvolution procedure, of the cell proliferation of the individual categories. The method was applied to human bone marrow, fractionated by counterflow centrifugation into 10 to 15 fractions. Calculated percentage of S-phase cells in four major categories, including myeloid, erythroid, monocytic, and lymphoid cells, were in good agreement with data obtained by tritiated thymidine autoradiography.

Bone Marrow↗

PubMed1984

An easy-to-build-timer for kinetic measurements in flow cytometry.

Measuring kinetics of any time-dependent intracellular process on a cell-to-cell basis is a powerful extension of flow cytometry (FCM) possibilities. A digital timer is described that is easy to build and that fits with all commercial or custom made multiparameter equipment. Of all possible applications of this timer (phagocytosis kinetics, staining of cell components, enzyme reactions, etc.), one example is given: enzymatic intracellular precipitation owing to myeloperoxidase in human peripheral blood cells.

Flow Cytometry↗

PubMed1983

Continuous measurement and analysis of staining kinetics by flow cytometry.

The measurement of color development with time in cells following the start of a staining reaction is of interest in a number of biological systems. These include the subsets of peripheral white blood cells after acridine orange staining, the uptake by cells and nuclei of fluorescent agents, especially antitumor drugs, and measurement of intracellular enzyme kinetics using fluorogenic or absorbing substrates. The present work describes a simple computer program for analyzing flow cytometric (FCM) data versus time, including both the population kinetics of color development and the variability of staining speed within one population of cells. A single-channel absorption measurement in flow (Technicon Hemalog D) was used to record peroxidase kinetics in peripheral blood cells. Every 5 s, a 64-channel absorption histogram was recorded, up to a maximum of 64 histograms. The data were then analyzed by a computer program which searched for the peak channel of each histogram. A least-squares fit was computed for these maxima. The asymmetries of the 64 absorption histograms were compared to see if there was more than one population present with different time constants. Although developed for enzyme kinetic measurements, this program may have wider usefulness in any measurements of time-dependent phenomena by FCM.

Computers↗