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Biomedical subjects

Y C Tay

Publications and source records attributed to Y C Tay.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Hepatotoxicity induced by diethylnitrosamine causes no significant disturbances of systemic glucose homeostasis in rats.

In rats, a moderately hepatotoxic single dose of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) 100 mg/kg causing depletion of liver glycogen, elevation of aspartate aminotransferase and decreased liver uptake of 3-O-methylglucose, resulted in substantial changes in insulin and glucagon balance. Two days after DEN, insulin binding to liver membranes and insulin removal by the liver were sharply reduced whereas its binding to muscle and adipocyte membranes remained unaltered. Serum insulin (random and after an overnight fast) remained normal. Intravenous (I.V.) insulin (10 U/kg) caused the usual degree of hypoglycemia that, however, lasted longer than in the control animals. Removal of glucagon by liver was also depressed in spite of its normal binding to hepatocytes, and peripheral serum glucagon was increased three-fold. I.V. glucagon (40 micrograms/kg) resulted in a blunted response of plasma glucose. I.V. glucose tolerance test (1 g/kg) remained normal in spite of the insulin increase to a level twice as high as in the controls, and in spite of nonsuppressed glucagon. These changes were still present after 1-3 months, but disappeared by 6 months. The results demonstrate remarkable ability of homeostatic mechanisms to preserve normal plasma glucose and glucose tolerance in spite of dramatic changes in insulin and glucagon.

Animals

Epidermal growth factor excretion and receptor binding in diabetic rats.

Urinary epidermal growth factor (EGF) excretion was calculated as ng EGF per mg creatinine and ng EGF per 24 hr. It was increased 4-9 fold in rats with genetic (BB) or streptozotocin-induced diabetes. It decreased to 2-3 fold control values in insulin-treated animals. In contrast, EGF concentration in serum was lower in diabetic than in control rats (360 +/- 72 vs 524 +/- 150 pg/ml, P .086); EGF level in plasma was unchanged (319 +/- 67 vs 313 +/- 96 pg/ml). In diabetic rats EGF content was increased in submaxillary glands (1018 +/- 259 vs 738 +/- 122 pg/mg protein, P .060) but unchanged in the kidneys (70 +/- 18 vs 65 +/- 6 pg/mg protein in controls). EGF binding to the liver microsomes in diabetic rats was decreased by 30-40% and was not restored by insulin therapy. Binding to the kidneys also showed a tendency to decrease in diabetic animals. The EGF excretion and receptor binding were normal in obese normoglycemic Zucker fa/fa rats. We suggest that hyperglycemia and/or glucosuria may affect EGF synthesis and/or excretion in the kidneys and EGF synthesis or accumulation in the megakaryocytes. The mechanism of decreased EGF receptor binding remains to be clarified.

Animals

Hepatocarcinogens induce decrease in mRNA transcripts of receptors for insulin and epidermal growth factor in the rat liver.

Gene expression of the receptors for insulin and epidermal growth factor (EGF) was studied in the livers of rats after a single injection of a hepatocarcinogen diethylnitrosamine (DEN) 100 mg/kg or after feeding the animals N-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) 0.02% w/w. DEN induced a time-dependent decrease in mRNA transcription of the receptors for insulin (10.3 and 8.5 Kb) and EGF (10.0, 5.8 and 2.8 Kb), evident already after 4 hours, reaching a nadir of 10-20% of the initial level between 16 and 24 hours and returning to normal by 10 days. In rats fed AAF, transcription of both receptor genes decreased to less than 20% of the control values after 2 days. In the livers of rats treated with DEN, that developed hepatocellular carcinomas one year later, expression of both receptors was also very low. DNA showed no changes. The results suggest that the hepatocarcinogens or their metabolites decrease RNA transcription or destabilize the steady state RNA level of both receptors in the early phase of toxic effect and that some tumor-derived products may be involved in the same phenomenon in the later stage of tumor development.

Animals

Expression of epidermal growth factor receptors in human lung tumors.

Using the adjacent histologically normal tissues obtained from the same patients as controls, six human lung tumors were studied for the activities of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor binding, and receptor autophosphorylation. There was a 1.2- to 2.8-fold increase in EGF receptor activities in lung tumors due to an increase in the number of receptors without changes in their affinity. The increase had no direct correlation with the degree of differentiation or the type of lung tumors. The elevated expression of EGF receptor may be one of the characteristics in lung tumors. Epidermal growth factor and its receptor also may play a role in the regulatory mechanisms during tumorigenesis.

Adenocarcinoma

Chromium-associated 32P-labeling of proteins.

The incubation of proteins with chromium (Cr3+ or Cr6+) in the presence of 32P ([gamma-32P]ATP or H3(32)PO4) at room temperature for 10-30 min resulted in the labeling of these proteins with 32P. The 32P-labeled proteins could be separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and identified by exposure to X-ray film. The characteristics of this procedure included: the optimal chromium concentration was 100 microM; the minimum requirement of each protein was 1 microgram; the optimal pH value was between 6 and 8; metal ions such as V5+, Mn2+ and Fe3+ strongly inhibited the effect of chromium, whereas Ca2+ and Mg2+ had little effect. It was concluded that chromium binds to the proteins and forms a complex with 32P to achieve the 32P-labeling of the proteins. This technique can be applied for the rapid preparation of 32P labels on protein markers for gel electrophoresis and for the identification of unknown protein species.

Autoradiography

Effect of Triton X-100 on insulin and epidermal growth factor receptor binding and autophosphorylation in Golgi fractions and partially purified receptors from rat liver.

Triton X-100 strongly affects the receptor binding and autophosphorylation of insulin and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in rat liver Golgi fractions and partially purified microsomal receptors. At concentration 0.05% Triton X-100 decreased the insulin receptor binding by 15% and the EGF receptor binding by 70% as compared to controls. In contrast, 0.05% Triton X-100 increased insulin-stimulated receptor autophosphorylation by more than 370% as compared to 87% in the control. Similarly, the same concentration of Triton X-100 increased the EGF-stimulated receptor phosphorylation by 65% as compared to 14% in the control. EGF receptor binding was more sensitive to the treatment of Triton. At Triton concentrations 0.2% or more, the EGF receptor binding was totally abolished while the insulin receptor binding was decreased by 50%. On the other hand, the activity of ligand-stimulated receptor phosphorylation of both insulin and EGF receptors was only slightly decreased in the presence of 0.2% Triton.

Animals