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Biomedical subjects

W Olsen

Publications and source records attributed to W Olsen.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Regulation of intestinal lactase in adult hypolactasia.

Relative deficiency of intestinal lactase activity during adulthood, adult hypolactasia, is a common condition worldwide. We studied the regulation of lactase-phlorizin hydrolase in normal and adult hypolactasic subjects by correlating transcript abundance in intestinal biopsies with relative synthetic rates for the protein in cultured intestinal explants. After metabolic labelling studies in six subjects, precursor lactase-phlorizin hydrolase was identified in amounts directly proportional to the enzyme-specific activity suggesting that levels of intestinal lactase are regulated by synthetic rate. Total intestinal RNA was extracted from biopsies of these subjects and three hypolactasic adults who had participated in previous biosynthesis studies. Transcript levels were markedly reduced in deficient subjects who demonstrated diminished lactase-phlorizin hydrolase synthesis. The sequence of 1 kb of 5'-flanking region of the lactase-phlorizin hydrolase gene was determined in two hypolactasic subjects and two controls. No sequence variability was identified to account for differences in mRNA levels or biosynthetic rates between the two groups. A single hypolactasic subject previously characterized as demonstrating delayed posttranslational processing, showed message levels intermediate between other deficients and controls. These results suggest that in the majority of our subjects, pretranslational mechanisms account for the predominate regulatory control of lactase-phlorizin hydrolase expression in the proximal intestine.

Adult

The biosynthetic basis of adult lactase deficiency.

The intestinal brush-border enzyme lactase splits lactose into its component monosaccharides, glucose and galactose. Relative deficiency of the enzyme during adulthood is a common condition worldwide and is frequently associated with symptoms of lactose intolerance. We studied the synthesis and processing of lactase in normal and adult hypolactasic subjects using human intestinal explants in organ culture. Metabolic labeling experiments in our control subjects with [35S]methionine followed by immunoprecipitation, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and fluorography demonstrated that newly synthesized lactase is initially recognized as a precursor molecule with a relative molecular weight (Mr) of 205,000. Over the course of several hours most of the labeled lactase was converted to a mature form of 150,000 Mr. Transiently appearing forms of 215,000 and 190,000 Mr were identified and were felt to represent intermediary species generated during intracellular processing. We identified two distinct alterations in lactase biosynthesis accounting for adult hypolactasia. Studies in three deficient subjects demonstrated markedly reduced synthesis of the precursor protein though posttranslational processing appeared identical to normal. Multiple studies in a fourth deficient subject demonstrated synthesis of ample amounts of precursor lactase but reduced conversion to the mature active form of the enzyme.

Adult

Synthesis and intracellular processing of aminooligopeptidase by human intestine.

Aminooligopeptidase is an intrinsic glycoprotein of the brush border membrane important for hydrolysis of the oligopeptide products of intraluminal protein digestion. To study its synthesis and intracellular processing, we performed pulse-chase experiments using [35S]methionine to label proteins of cultured human intestinal explants obtained by endoscopic biopsy. Aminooligopeptidase was isolated by immune precipitation with a monoclonal antibody and its molecular size was assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography. A precursor of relative molecular weight (Mr) 127,000 appeared within 10 min of chase and appeared to begin conversion to an Mr 150,000 form (the size of brush border membrane aminooligopeptidase) within 60 min. To determine if the change in molecular size was the consequence of alterations in glycosylation, we studied the susceptibility of the two forms to endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H, which cleaves immature high-mannose N-linked carbohydrate chains, and to peptide: N4-(N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminyl)asparagine amidase, which cleaves both the high-mannose and complex N-linked carbohydrate chains. Only the early Mr 127,000 aminooligopeptidase was sensitive to endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H, suggesting that the larger form results from trimming of high-mannose cores and adding terminal sugars in the Golgi complex. Both forms were sensitive to peptide: N4-(N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminyl)asparagine amidase, generating an Mr 114,000 species. The kinetics of the synthesis and processing of aminooligopeptidase and sucrase-isomaltase were compared by immunoprecipitation of both proteins from the same tissue after separating the microvillous membrane from the remainder of the cellular membranes. Labeled aminooligopeptidase was present intracellularly in its mature form within 60 min and was detected exclusively in the brush border membrane by 90 min. Most of the labeled sucrase-isomaltase pool had not yet undergone complex glycosylation during the same period. These data demonstrate that although human intestinal aminooligopeptidase undergoes N-linked glycosylation like sucrase-isomaltase, the synthesis of aminooligopeptidase differs from that of sucrase-isomaltase in respect to the absence of a high-molecular-weight precursor and more rapid pre-Golgi processing.

Aminopeptidases

Fluorescein and fluorescein glucuronide in the vitreous body of diabetic patients.

Fluorescein (F) and fluorescein glucuronide (FG) were determined in the vitreous of four diabetic patients by a double-filter slit-lamp fluorophotometric technique. Determinations were performed 60-80 min after i.v. injection of fluorescein. F and FG were also determined in plasma ultrafiltrate 5, 15, 30, 60 and 120 min after injection by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The concentration of FG in the vitreous was 3 times that of F. After correction for plasma concentrations of FG higher than those of F, the penetration index of FG through the blood-retinal barrier was found to be twice the penetration index of F. This is not what would be expected if passive transport alone were involved. Accordingly, it is suggested that active transport mechanisms contribute to the movement of F and FG across the blood-retinal barrier.

Blood-Retinal Barrier

Head diffraction effects on ear-level hearing aids.

In this paper, head baffle and head shadow effects were measured at a front-oriented and at a back-oriented microphone in a hearing aid casing when worn by human subjects and when placed on a dummy head. Some differences in head baffle and head shadow effects were observed for the front-and back-oriented microphones in that greater head baffle effects were observed at the front microphone than at the back microphone while the reverse was true in terms of head shadow effects. Results obtained with the hearing aid mounted on a dummy head were similar in some respects and in other respects they differed from those observed when the hearing aid was worn by six subjects. Comparison of the results obtained in this study with the data of WIENER measured at the entrance to the ear canal indicated smaller head baffle effects but larger head shadow effects at the hearing aid microphone than at the canal entrance. Finally, it is suggested that reproduction of frequencies above 2 000 HZ and that a resonance peak at about 3 000 HZ in the frequency response curve of a hearing aid may be beneficial to the wearer.

Female

Performance by cortical lesion patients on 40 and 60% time-compressed materials.

Tape recordings of time-compressed (40 and 60%) monosyllables were administered to 11 patients with diffuse unilateral temporal lobe lesion, 4 hemispherectomy patients, and 16 patients with discrete unilateral temporal lobe lesion. Time compression was accomplished with the Fairbanks electromechanical apparatus, which allowed temporal compression but did not introduce frequency distortion. The results revealed that with 60% time compression, all patients with diffuse unilateral cortical lesion showed breakdown of speech discrimination in the ear contralateral to the lesion. Patients with discrete unilateral cortical lesion generally did not demonstrate breakdown with the 60% time-compressed materials.

Audiometry