Primary structure of a mouse mastocytoma proteoglycan core protein

The complete nucleotide sequence of a mouse mastocytoma proteoglycan core protein mRNA was determined. The mRNA, estimated to contain 1.1 kb, encodes a protein with an Mr of 16715. A 21-amino acid-residue region of the protein is composed of alternating serine and glycine residues. Southern-blot analysis of mouse genomic DNA with cDNA containing sequences corresponding to the Ser-Gly repeat region revealed more than 15 gene fragments. Hybridization with a probe corresponding to the N-terminal portion of the core protein identified two fragments, and cDNA covering the C-terminal part of the core protein and the 3' untranslated part of the mRNA hybridized to a single fragment. Antibodies against the core protein, obtained after immunization of rabbits with a fusion protein, reacted with both chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans and heparin proteoglycans produced by the tumour. In immunoblotting of a microsomal fraction from the mastocytoma, the antiserum recognized a single protein (Mr 17,000), which probably represents the core protein before glycosylation.

Comparative activity in vitro of cilofungin (LY 121019) with other agents used for treatment of deep-seated Candida infections

Cilofungin (LY 121019) is a semi-synthetic lipopeptide antifungal agent that inhibits beta-1,3-D-glucan synthase activity in the cell wall of yeasts. Clinical strains of Candida species were tested for susceptibility to cilofungin and seven other antifungal agents. Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis were susceptible to cilofungin with mean MICs of 0.3 and 0.08 microgram/ml respectively. For most other species the mean MICs were greater than 1-2 micrograms/ml of cilofungin. Studies on the paradoxical growth effect observed with cilofungin in Sabouraud broth showed that, at high concentrations of cilofungin, sufficient damage occurred to make damaged cells highly susceptible to killing by fresh cilofungin. The damaged cells also had increased susceptibility to other antifungal agents to which they were normally resistant. These observations indicate that cilofungin may be a useful agent for the treatment of many invasive Candida infections, either alone or in combination with certain other antifungal agents.

A rapidly evolving region in the immunoglobulin heavy chain loci of rat and mouse: postulated role of (dC-dA)n.(dG-dT)n sequences

The nucleotide sequences of the introns that are located between the C4 exon and the first membrane exon of mouse and rat immunoglobulin epsilon-chain genes have been determined. The rat intron sequence was found to contain four separate clusters of repetitive sequences all of which consisted of (dC-dA)n.(dG-dT)n dinucleotide repeats. A comparison between this chromosomal region in mouse and rat revealed four deletions or duplications, three of which have occurred inside or at the borders of the CA clusters. Rearrangements have occurred inside or at the borders of all four repeats after the evolutionary separation of mouse and rat. The sequence comparison reveals in addition a duplication, connected to the CA repeats, which has occurred early in evolution, before the evolutionary divergence of mouse and rat. These findings suggest that (dC-dA)n.(dG-dT)n sequences are potential targets for recombination events.

The NF-kappa B-binding site mediates phorbol ester-inducible transcription in nonlymphoid cells

The mouse immunoglobulin kappa light-chain enhancer can interact with at least three independent nuclear proteins. One of these proteins, NF-kappa B, is constitutively present only in nuclear extracts derived from B cells and plasma cells. A DNA-binding protein with the same sequence specificity (and therefore presumed to be NF-kappa B itself) can be induced in pre-B cells, T cells, and nonlymphoid cells by phorbol 12-acetate-13-myristate (PMA); however, it is not clear whether the induced factor can activate transcription in nonlymphoid cells as NF-kappa B does in B cells. In this paper we show that multimerization of a fragment of the mouse kappa enhancer that carried only the binding site for NF-kappa B behaved like a B-cell-specific regulatory element. Furthermore, this unit served to activate transcription in nonlymphoid cells after treatment with PMA (but not with cyclic AMP derivatives), and the kinetics of transcription activation correlated well with the kinetics of factor induction. Thus, the induced DNA-binding activity appeared to be functionally indistinguishable from that of NF-kappa B.

Immunoglobulin synthesis in the human myeloma cell line U-266; expression of two immunoglobulin heavy chain isotypes (epsilon and alpha) after long-term cultivation in vitro

A human IgE-producing myeloma has been cultivated in vitro as a continuous cell line (U-266) since 1968. Analysis of immunoglobulin production during early passages of the cell line demonstrated a high synthesis rate of monoclonal IgE. Analysis of late passages, cultivated after 1980, revealed a 3-6-fold lower rate of IgE secretion. This decrease was accompanied by the appearance of small amounts of IgA in the culture medium together with IgE. RNA was extracted from a late passage of U-266 and analyzed by Northern blotting, using epsilon and alpha-specific oligonucleotides as hybridization probes. The results showed the presence of epsilon as well as alpha-specific mRNA. Moreover the results demonstrated that the latter mRNA was derived from the alpha 2 locus and that the epsilon and the alpha 2-specific mRNA contained the same V region sequences. Southern blot analysis of DNA from the late passage of the U-266 cell line failed to reveal a recombinatory switch from the epsilon locus to the alpha 2 locus. The expression of alpha 2 is thus likely to be caused by differential splicing rather than by an isotype switch at the DNA level.

The immunoglobulin lambda locus in rat consists of two C lambda genes and a single V lambda gene

The immunoglobin lambda locus of the rat has been studied. Germ-line V lambda and C lambda genes were isolated from recombinant-phage libraries and characterized by nucleotide sequencing. The results showed that the lambda locus of the rat contains one single V lambda gene and two C lambda genes, thus representing one of the least complex lambda loci so far characterized. The two C lambda genes are separated by a spacer approx. 3 kb long. Two J segments are located at the 5' side of each C lambda gene. One of the C lambda genes (C lambda 1) probably represents a pseudogene, as the J lambda 1 segments have non-functional recombination and splice signals. The organization of the rat lambda locus resembles that of mouse, except that only one cluster is present in the rat. Thus since the evolutionary separation of the rat and mouse species ten MYR ( = 10(6) years) ago, either one cluster has been lost from the rat, or duplicated in the mouse.

Analysis of closely related genes by the use of synthetic oligonucleotide probes labeled to a high specific activity

A method for labeling synthetic oligonucleotide probes to high specific activity is described. The method utilizes two partly complementary oligonucleotides that are labeled by a fill-in reaction using the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I and four alpha 32P-nucleoside triphosphates. Such probes can, in combination with Southern blot analysis, be used for routine analysis of individual genes in multigene families.

TPA-induced differentiation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells: studies on mu-chain expression

The regulation of IgM synthesis and secretion was studied in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, with a phenotype roughly similar to peripheral resting B cells, during phorbol ester (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate)-induced differentiation. TPA treatment caused a 20 times increase in total RNA synthesis and 20 to 50 times increase in the protein synthesis as compared to control cells. Morphologically, 70-90% of the cells reached the lympho- or plasmablast stage of differentiation. In control culture cells, approximately equal amounts of mRNA coding for secretory (s) and membrane (m) mu-chains were found. The micron message was translated as surface IgM expression was detected. A posttranscriptional regulation of microsecond synthesis appears to exist, since only low amounts of cytoplasmic mu-chains were detected by immunoprecipitation and SDS-PAGE, and no secretion of pentameric IgM was detected as measured by an RIA. TPA induction caused a relative increase in the microseconds to microns mRNA ratio, demonstrating differentiation associated control mechanisms operating at the level of mRNA processing. The high levels of cytoplasmic microsecond-chain precursor and the efficient secretion of pentameric IgM in TPA-induced chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells indicated the presence also of posttranscriptional controls.

Structure and expression of kappa-chain genes in two IgE-producing rat immunocytomas

The light chain expression in two IgE-producing rat immunocytomas, IR2 and IR162, was studied. Both immunocytomas produce light chains of the kappa type. The kappa chains were characterized at the protein level by sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and amino acid (aa) sequencing. cDNA clones corresponding to the kappa-chain mRNA were also prepared and sequenced. The results showed that rat kappa chains have the same structure as their mouse counterparts with respect to signal sequence cleavage, somatic mutations in the V-J region and invariance of all the aa positions which are strongly conserved in the frame work regions of mouse V kappa chains (greater than 95% conservation). Results from studies on kappa-chain transcription lend support to the allelic exclusion model with only one functionally expressed light chain in each immunocytoma.

Nonfunctional immunoglobulin light chain transcripts in two IgE-producing rat immunocytomas; implications for the allelic exclusion and transcription activation processes

The rearrangement and expression of immunoglobulin light-chain genes have been studied in two IgE-producing immunocytomas, IR2 and IR162. In the IR2 tumor only one of the kappa-chain alleles is rearranged, expressing a full-length kappa-chain polypeptide. In IR162 one of the kappa-chain alleles is functionally rearranged, expressing a 1200-nucleotide (nt) long mRNA, which encodes a functional 23-kDal kappa-chain polypeptide. The second kappa-chain allele is aberrantly rearranged; i.e., a different V region is connected to a position that is located between the J cluster and the C kappa exon. Two mRNAs which are 750 and 850 nt are transcribed from the aberrantly rearranged allele, both of which appear to encode a 12-kDal polypeptide consisting of a signal sequence that is connected directly to the C region. The levels of expression from the two kappa-chain alleles are approximately the same, suggesting that no specific mechanism exists to suppress expression of a nonfunctional allele. The rat genome contains a single lambda-chain locus which includes two C-region exons. Although this locus remains in the germ-line configuration in the IR2 and the IR162 tumors, transcripts from the C lambda I and C lambda II regions were detected at a low level in both tumors. These transcripts were detected in RNA from the immunocytomas but not in rat liver RNA indicating that expression is tissue-specific. They lacked V-region sequences and resemble so-called sterile transcripts which are expressed at a low level from unrearranged mu- and kappa-chain genes.

Rat immunoglobulin E heavy chain locus

A 2100 base-pair long sequence has been established which covers all four constant domains of the rat epsilon-chain. An analysis of messenger RNA from an immunoglobulin E producing rat immunocytoma revealed two separate epsilon-chain mRNA species, 2.3 X 10(3) and 2.8 X 10(3) base-pairs long. The latter mRNA encodes the membrane binding form of the epsilon-chain. The membrane exons which are located approximately 2 X 10(3) base-pairs away from the 3'-side of the CH4 exon were also sequenced. A comparison between the rat and mouse epsilon-chains at the protein sequence level revealed an overall homology of 80% which, as expected, is considerably higher than the homology found between rat and human epsilon-chains. The fourth constant domain together with the two membrane exons exhibited the highest degree of homology, 81 to 89%. Only two differences were found when the epsilon-chains from LOU and Sprague Dawley rats were compared. The most striking difference at the nucleotide sequence level between the rat, mouse, and human epsilon genes was found within the first intron. The mouse genome contains a unique 366 base-pair long sequence in this region. The inserted sequence is repetitive and present in approximately 100 copies in the mouse genome. It is flanked by 22 base-pair long direct repeats and contains also 14 base-pair long inverted repeats, thus having properties in common with transposable elements.

Elevated daytime urinary excretion of testosterone glucuronide in men with the type A behavior pattern

Urinary excretion of testosterone glucuronide was compared in 13 men with typical Type A behavior pattern (as determined by structured interviews) and 10 age-matched men with typical Type B behavior pattern. Twenty-four hour urine collections were divided into three periods: 9AM - 6PM , 6PM to bedtime, and bedtime to 9AM . Type A men showed a significantly higher excretion than Type B men in the daytime ( 9AM - 6PM ); the geometric mean value was 24 micrograms in Type A and 15 micrograms in Type B (P less than 0.05). There were no significant differences between Type A and Type B men for the other two time periods. Indicating an elevated daytime testosterone secretion in Type A men, this finding is consistent with a recent report that exposure to laboratory tests of reaction time causes an increase in plasma testosterone levels in Type A but not Type B men. Since a role for testosterone in the genesis of coronary heart disease (CHD) is suggested by the much higher incidence of CHD in men and the acceleration of murine atherogenesis by testosterone, the findings of this and the previous report may represent a mechanism for the elevated incidence of CHD in Type A men.

A novel chromatographic procedure for purification of bacterial plasmids

A new, rapid procedure for purifying bacterial plasmids with high recovery is described. The sequence of operations consists essentially of treatment with alkali, ribonuclease, and proteinase K, followed by chisam extraction and gel filtration on Sephacryl S-1000, and finally a precipitation step using isopropanol at room temperature. The method gives rather good yields of plasmid DNA of high purity, and lends itself to scaling up.

Structure and evolution of the heavy chain from rat immunoglobulin E

The nucleotide sequence of the rat epsilon-chain mRNA has been determined by sequencing cloned cDNA copies of the mRNA. The established sequence covers the coding region, the 3'-non coding region and most of the 5' non-coding region. A comparison with the nucleotide sequence of the human epsilon-chain constant region reveals that C3 and C4 are the most highly conserved domains. The rat epsilon-chain contains a C-terminal decapeptide which is not present in the human counterpart.

Plasma testosterone and sleep: relationship to sleep stage variables

A study was performed to determine whether the pattern of secretion of testosterone (T) during the night bears a systematic relationship to the cyclically recurring periods of rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep. In four healthy male volunteers, 10-20 min sampling of plasma for T was carried out through a long indwelling catheter in conjunction with all-night polysmonography. Analysis of plasma T, comparing the samples drawn during the REM and NREM stages, did not reveal a significant difference in the mean concentration of T between the two sleep stages or among specified time segments of the NREM-REM cycles. A more exacting approach to exploring for a correlation of the secretory pattern with the sleep-stage cycle was then undertaken. This method used the NREM-REM cycle as the independent variable in the analysis. We were able to demonstrate that the positions of the peaks and troughs of T concentration in each REM-NREM cycle are discriminable when examined in relation to the time of REM sleep onset in each cycle. The tendency for peaks in T concentration to be associated with repetitive inaugurations of REM sleep is coordinate with a pattern of serial "upswing" in T concentrations that occurs in the period from 30 to 10 min before the transition from NREM to REM sleep. Accordingly, it proved possible to demonstrate certain signs of interaction between the activity of the pituitary-gonadal system and the mechanisms that regulate central nervous system state in sleep. The more traditional parameter of comparison (mean concentration of hormone in REM and NREM sleep) did not detect the association.

Characterization and molecular cloning of the mRNA for the heavy (epsilon) chain of rat immunoglobulin E

We report a study of the mRNA for the heavy (epsilon) chain of rat IgE. Cytoplasmic RNA was prepared from the two rat immunocytomas IR2 and IR162 and fractionated by sucrose gradient centrifugation. An enriched fraction containing approximately 5% mRNA for the epsilon chain was obtained in this way. When translated in vitro, it produced a 59,000-dalton polypeptide, which in the presence of a membrane fraction yielded a 90,000-dalton polypeptide, presumably through posttranslational modification. Both polypeptides were precipitated by rabbit antisera that were monospecific for rat epsilon chains. The epsilon chain mRNA was estimated to be approximately 2200 nucleotides long and constitutes a minute fraction in the total mRNA both in the IR2 and the IR162 tumors, unlike the mRNA for light chains. Double-stranded cDNA copies prepared frm the RNA fraction, which was enriched for epsilon chain mRNA, were inserted into the Pst I cleavage site of the pBR322 vector. Twenty clones with inserts exceeding 1000 base pairs were used for selection of mRNA from the IR2 tumor. By in vitro translation of the selected mRNA, one clone was identified that yielded a polypeptide with the same size as the unprocessed epsilon chain. The nucleotide sequence was determined for part of the inserted cDNA in this candidate clone and was found to be homologous to a sequence in the constant region (C) of the human epsilon chain. In this communication we report a sequence from the C epsilon 3 domain of the rat IgE. When compared to the corresponding sequence of human IgE, 55% of the amino acids in the rat sequence were found to be conserved.

Abnormal levels of plasma hormones in men with prostate cancer: evidence toward a "two-disease" theory

The 24-hr mean plasma concentrations of 13 hormones or hormone metabolites (cortisol, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, dehydroisoandrosterone, dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate, androsterone, androsterone sulfate, estrone, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, LH, FSH, and prolactin) were measured in 16 rigorously screened patients (aged 55-80) with stage C or D prostate cancer and 36 normal men. Nine of the hormones showed no abnormalities in the patients but four (testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, cortisol, and estrone) showed abnormalities. Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, which, respectively, decreased with age and showed no change with age in the normal men, rose sharply with age in the patients. The patients' curves crossed the normal curves at about age 65; patients 65 or above showed normal values while patients under age 65 showed significantly subnormal levels of both hormones: testosterone averaged 282 ng/dl in patients vs 434 ng/dl in controls (P less than 0.0001) and dihydrotestosterone averaged 70 ng/dl in patients vs 99 ng/dl in controls (P less than 0.01). Cortisol, which was age invariant in the normal men, fell sharply with age in the patients; patients under 65 had significantly elevated levels (10.1 vs 6.9 micrograms/dl; P less than 0.0001), while patients 65 or older had normal levels. Estrone levels were age invariant in both patients and controls, but the mean level in patients was markedly elevated (81 vs 47 pg/ml in controls; P less than 0.001). The cortisol/testosterone ratio almost completely separated prostate cancer patients under 65 from normal men, but did not discriminate patients 65 or older from normal. The findings indicate that prostate cancer patients under 65 differ markedly in their endogenous hormonal pattern from patients 65 or older. This leads us to propose a "two-disease" theory of prostate cancer, with possible differences in genetic factors and prognosis.

Selective elevation of plasma free cholesterol concentration by administration of estrogen in the presence of total biliary obstruction

On the basis of clinical observations suggesting interactive effects of biliary obstruction and estrogen therapy on plasma cholesterol levels, a prospective study of the effect of ethinyl estradiol on plasma lipid levels was carried out in a patient with total biliary obstruction. A daily dose of 50 micrograms of ethinyl estradiol raised the plasma free cholesterol concentration from 265 mg/dl to 550 mg/dl over a period o 3 weeks; there was no change in plasma ester cholesterol concentration. Withdrawal of the estrogen was followed by a fall to baseline of the free cholesterol concentration over a 45-day period; once again there was no change in ester cholesterol. Plasma phospholipid concentration rose and fell in direct proportion to the changes in free cholesterol; plasma triglyceride concentration was unaffected by the estrogen. To account for the results of this study, it is suggested that the already elevated plasma levels of lipoprotein-X in biliary obstruction are further elevated by estrogen administration.

Effect of flutamide on estradiol metabolism

The effect of flutamide, a potent nonsteroidal antiandrogen, on the metabolism of iv tracers of [3H]estradiol was studied in five patients with advanced prostate cancer. The drug produced no change in the percentage of the injected radioactivity recovered in urine or in the glucuronide or nonglucuronide conjugate fractions. Of the five individual metabolites that were quantitated, estrone, estradiol, and estriol were unaffected by flutamide, but the drug caused striking decreases in conversion of estradiol to 2-hydroxyestrone (4.0% vs. 7.4%) (P less than 0.005) and 2-methoxyestrone (1.1% vs. 2.6%; P less than 0.05); every one of the patients showed a marked fall in recovery of both of these compounds. This depression of the formation of 2-oxygenated metabolites is reminiscent of the findings in liver disease; the same abnormality occurs regularly in cirrhosis and frequently in extrahepatic biliary obstruction. Taken together with our previous studies of the effects of flutamide on testosterone and cortisol metabolism, this study demonstrates that flutamide produces multiple functional, reversible, cirrhosis-like disturbances of steroid metabolism. Because these disturbances are universal in the patients studied regardless of whether they had clinical responses to flutamide, we doubt that the steroid metabolic changes play a role in the therapeutic effect of the drug.

Plasma cortisol profiles in Cushing's syndrome

Plasma cortisol profiles were studied by the frequent sampling method in 5 patients with Cushing's disease (CD), 7 patients with Cushing's syndrome due to adrenocortical adenoma (AA), and one patient with bronchogenic carcinoma. Plasma ACTH was measured by radioimmunoassay at 10 min intervals in 2 of the subjects. In CD, there was distinct episodic secretion of cortisol and ACTH; the coefficients of variation about the mean plasma cortisol concentration ranged from 24 to 27%; plasma ACTH ranged from zero to 455 pg/ml with a mean of 94 pg/ml. In AA, the tumour secreted cortisol at a constant rate with little fluctuation; the coefficients of variation of plasma cortisol concentration ranged from 8 to 14%; plasma concentrations of ACTH were always near zero. In the patient with bronchogenic carcinoma, the coefficient of variation of cortisol was 14%. These results were apparent even in profiles of plasma cortisol concentrations measured over only a 6 h period. It is concluded that characteristics of plasma cortisol and ACTH secretory patterns are helpful in differentiating Cushing's syndrome of differing aetiology.

Weight and circadian luteinizing hormone secretory pattern in anorexia nervosa

In previous studies we had established that emaciated women with active primary anorexia nervosa (AN) had immature 24-hr luteinizing hormone (LH) secretory patterns. In this study, we have examined the circadian LH patterns of eight women with AN who had partially or fully recovered their ideal weights. Three of the women were studied before and after weight gain and five women were studied only after the appearance of binge-eating and consequent weight gain (by history). Our findings are: (1) The adult (mature) circadian LH secretory pattern was not present in women who had partially or totally achieved ideal weight but who otherwise remained symptomatic; (2) those women who showed both weight gain and normalization of LH pattern were also symptomatically improved in other respects; (3) the degree of immaturity of pattern did not correlate reliably with the duration of illness, the degree of fatness, or the extent of deficit from ideal weight; (4) the mode of illness onset and the type of secretory pattern were not related; and (5) the return of menses did not show a simple relationship to weight, fatness, or maturity of LH pattern.

Twenty-four-hour plasma prolactin patterns in prepubertal and adolescent boys

The concentration of PRL was measured every 20 min for 24 h in six prepubertal and three adolescent boys. In both groups, PRL secretory episodes occurred throughout the 24-h period. In all subjects, the mean concentration of PRL was significantly higher during sleep than during wakefulness; the mean concentration during the entire 24-h period, during sleep or during wakefulness, was not different between the prepubertal subjects and the adolescents. These data suggest the absence of an ontogenetic change for PRL secretion in boys. During acute sleep-wake reversal, two of three pubertal boys showed significantly higher PRL during daytime sleep than during nocturnal wakefulness. This suggest that PRL release in adolescent boys is linked with sleep, rather than with clock time.