Biomedical subjects

W Muse

Publications and source records attributed to W Muse.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Interaction of exposure concentration and duration in determining acute toxic effects of sarin vapor in rats.

Sarin (GB) vapor exposure is associated with both systemic and local toxic effects occurring primarily via the inhalation and ocular routes. The objective of these studies was to develop models for predicting dose-response effects of GB vapor concentrations as a function of exposure duration. Thus, the probability of GB vapor-induced lethality was estimated in rats exposed to various combinations of exposure concentration and duration. Groups of male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to one of a series of GB vapor concentrations for a single duration (5-360 min) in a whole-body dynamic chamber. The onset of clinical signs and changes in blood cholinesterase activity were measured with each exposure. Separate effective concentrations for lethality in 50% of the exposed population (LC50) and corresponding dose-response slopes were determined for each exposure duration by the Bliss probit method. Contrary to that predicted by Haber's rule, the interaction of LC50 x time (LCT50) values increased with exposure duration (i.e., the CT for 50% lethality in the exposed population and corresponding dose-response slope was not constant over time). A plot of log (LCT50) versus log (exposure time) showed significant curvature. Predictive models derived from multifactor probit analysis of results describing the relationship between exposure conditions and probability of lethality in the rat are discussed. Overall, female rats were more sensitive to GB vapor toxicity than male rats over the range of exposure concentration and duration studied. Miosis was the initial clinical sign noted after the start of GB vapor exposure. Although blood cholinesterase activity was significantly inhibited by GB vapor exposure, poor correlation between cholinesterase inhibition and exposure conditions or cholinesterase inhibition and severity of clinical signs was noted.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

PubMed1999

Oxidative protein folding is driven by the electron transport system.

Disulfide bond formation is catalyzed in vivo by DsbA and DsbB. Here we reconstitute this oxidative folding system using purified components. We have found the sources of oxidative power for protein folding and show how disulfide bond formation is linked to cellular metabolism. We find that disulfide bond formation and the electron transport chain are directly coupled. DsbB uses quinones as electron acceptors, allowing various choices for electron transport to support disulfide bond formation. Electrons flow via cytochrome bo oxidase to oxygen under aerobic conditions or via cytochrome bd oxidase under partially anaerobic conditions. Under truly anaerobic conditions, menaquinone shuttles electrons to alternate final electron acceptors such as fumarate. This flexibility reflects the vital nature of the disulfide catalytic system.

Anaerobiosis↗

PubMed1999

Chaperone activity with a redox switch.

Hsp33, a member of a newly discovered heat shock protein family, was found to be a very potent molecular chaperone. Hsp33 is distinguished from all other known molecular chaperones by its mode of functional regulation. Its activity is redox regulated. Hsp33 is a cytoplasmically localized protein with highly reactive cysteines that respond quickly to changes in the redox environment. Oxidizing conditions like H2O2 cause disulfide bonds to form in Hsp33, a process that leads to the activation of its chaperone function. In vitro and in vivo experiments suggest that Hsp33 protects cells from oxidants, leading us to conclude that we have found a protein family that plays an important role in the bacterial defense system toward oxidative stress.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1998

Reconstitution of a protein disulfide catalytic system.

Disulfide bonds are important for the structure and stability of many proteins. In prokaryotes their formation is catalyzed by the Dsb proteins. The DsbA protein acts as a direct donor of disulfides to newly synthesized periplasmic proteins. Genetic evidence suggests that a second protein called DsbB acts to specifically reoxidize DsbA. Here we demonstrate the direct reoxidation of DsbA by DsbB. We have developed a fluorescence assay that allows us to directly follow the reoxidation of DsbA. We show that membranes containing catalytic amounts of DsbB can rapidly reoxidize DsbA to completion. The reaction strongly depends on the presence of oxygen, implying that oxygen serves as the final electron acceptor for this disulfide bond formation reaction. Membranes from a dsbB null mutant display no DsbA reoxidation activity. The ability of DsbB to reoxidize DsbA fits Michaelis-Menten behavior with DsbA acting as a high affinity substrate for DsbB with a Km = 10 microM. The in vitro reconstitution described here is the first biochemical analysis of DsbB and allows us to study the major pathway of disulfide bond formation in Escherichia coli.

Catalysis↗