Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T R Webb.
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Oxyhemoglobin is oxidized to methemoglobin by copper(II) in a two-stage reaction that results in conversion of Fe(II) to Fe(III) in heme of the beta subunits, but not the alpha subunits. Glutathione and other thiols, which are slowly oxidized by Cu(II), protect oxyhemoglobin from Cu(II)-induced oxidation. In the present studies, when oxyhemoglobin was first oxidized to methemoglobin by Cu(II) and thiols such as glutathione added to the sample, methemoglobin was reduced to oxyhemoglobin. Once reduction of methemoglobin stopped, as the thiol was oxidized, the oxyhemoglobin formed was reoxidized by Cu(II). The addition of the same thiols to methemoglobin formed by autoxidation did not reduce it to oxyhemoglobin. The addition of thiols such as cysteine, which are rapidly oxidized by Cu(II), to methemoglobin formed by incubation with Cu(II) also resulted in reduction of methemoglobin, but the period of reversal was much shorter than that seen with glutathione and other less reactive thiols. When cysteine and glutathione were added together to Cu(II)-induced methemoglobin, the rate of reduction and reoxidation was intermediate to that seen when either was added separately. When EDTA was added to a system in which oxyhemoglobin was undergoing Cu(II)-induced oxidation, oxidation of oxyhemoglobin ceased and there was no reduction of the methemoglobin to oxyhemoglobin. When both glutathione and EDTA were added to this system, the response was the same as with EDTA alone, suggesting that Cu(I) or (II) may be required for the reduction of copper-induced methemoglobin by thiols. These studies show that thiols that are slowly oxidized by Cu(II) both protect oxyhemoglobin from Cu(II)-induced oxidation, and reduce the methemoglobin formed to oxyhemoglobin.
We report here that 1-(2,3-anhydro-beta-D-lyxofuranosyl)cytosine has activity against the human immunodeficiency virus in vitro. A number of 2',3'-anhydro-beta-D-lyxofuranosyl nucleoside derivatives were prepared, but none had the activity of the title compound. New efficient procedures were developed for the synthesis of 3'-deoxy-3'-alkyl- and 3'-deoxy-beta-D-arabinosylpyrimidine derivatives.
In order to gain more understanding about the mode of action of DNA polymerase, eight related partially self-complementary "hairpin" shaped oligodeoxynucleotides were prepared. Four of the oligomers contained either 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyluracil (ara-U) or 1-beta-D-2'deoxyxylofuranosylthymine (dxT) nucleoside analogs at their 3' termini. We investigated the ability of the oligomers to prime DNA synthesis in relationship to the stability of the hybridized region, the nature of the sugar terminus and the DNA polymerase used (reverse transcriptase, or polymerase alpha). The results are discussed in relation to the mode of action of some nucleoside analog inhibitors of DNA polymerase. An understanding of the mechanism of DNA polymerase action was used to design template-primer analogs as polymerase inhibitors. Two of the oligodeoxynucleotide analogs prepared were found to be potent inhibitors of polymerase alpha.
The 31mer 5'-TCA ACG CTA GAA TTC GGA TCC ATC GCT TGG T, the complementary 33mer 5'-CCA AGC GAT GGA TCC GAA TTC TAG CGT TGA GAT, the 40mer 5'-GGC CAG GAT GGT GAA GAA TTC GAT CCG GTA CGT AGC TAA G, and the complementary 42mer 5'-TAC TTA GCT ACG TAC CGG ATC GAA TTC TTC ACC ATC CTG GCC were synthesized and their reactivity towards EcoRI was studied. It was found that the 31mer and the 40mer were cleaved at a comparable rate to the 31mer-33mer hybrid and the 40mer-42mer hybrid, respectively. The rate of cleavage of the 33mer and the 42mer was an order of magnitude lower. To rule out possible intermolecular duplex formation, the 33mer was immobilized on cellulose by ligation and labeled with alpha 32P-dCTP using Klenow fragment of E. coli DNA polymerase. EcoRI cleaved this immobilized oligomer into specific fragments.
This paper reports details of the synthesis of oligodeoxynucleotides containing the modified base 5-methyl-N4,N4-ethanocytosine (Ce). The 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl group is used as a protecting group for the exocyclic amines of dA and dC. This group can be removed rapidly under very mild conditions. Oligomers containing the Ce base form a cross-link when hybridized to their complementary deoxyoligonucleotides. Some of the scope and limitations of these cross-link forming oligonucleotides are reported.
A random copolymer, poly(CA), containing approximately equal amounts of cytidine (C) and adenosine (A), when incubated with a mixture of guanosine-5'-phosphoro-(2-methylimidazole) (2-MeImpG) and uridine-5'-phosphoro-(2-methylimidazole) (2-MeImpU), facilitates the incorporation of uridine (U) into oligomeric products with low efficiency. If 2-aminoadenosine (aA) is substituted for adenosine in the template, U is incorporated into the products with much higher efficiency. Random copolymers of C and U act as templates for the efficient synthesis of oligomers from 2-MeImpG and 2-MeImpA only if the concentration of substrates is relatively high (0.1 M). The substitution of 2-MeImpA permits the reaction to occur with much lower substrate concentrations. This effect is most prominent for template containing large amounts of U.
We have hypothesized that the biological activity of the antiviral antitumor diterpene aphidicolin requires a specific stereochemical relationship between two rigidly held hydroxyl groups on the alpha face of the molecule. The complex tetracyclic carbon skeleton is not necessary but appears to serve only as a framework on which to hold the hydroxyls. In support of this theory, we have prepared a simple tricyclic triol analogue (7) whose activity approaches that of the natural product in inhibiting in vitro DNA synthesis.
The template-directed oligomerization of activated derivatives of 2-aminoadenylic acid (paA) on polyuridylic acid (poly(U)) in aqueous buffers was studied. The reaction differs from that of adenylic acid (pA) under identical conditions, in that only di- and tri-nucleotides are observed as substantial products rather than a longer sequence of oligomers. The reaction of paA also differs from that of pA in that it does not require Mg++, and is less susceptible to increased temperature. The relevance of these observations to the chemical evolution of polynucleotide replication is discussed. Improved syntheses of paA and its diphosphate are reported.