A Study about Co-Infection of Fungal Pathogens in Active Tuberculosis Patients

The diagnosis of mycotic lung infection in pulmonary TB patients remains misdiagnosed because of its non-specific clinical manifestations which mimics the symptoms of TB. Physicians have to rely on the investigation but as radiology and pathology cannot probe the appropriate diagnosis, conventional microbiology or PCR testing continue as an essential mode for the diagnosis. In developing country like India PCR is not cost effective. Thus, Direct microscopy by KOH (10%), Gram's staining & Culture remains only option for identification. A three-year cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Medical Science & Research, Mullana, India from August 2015 to August 2018. On 300 LED positive sputum samples collected from previously treated cases of pulmonary TB. Early morning sputum was collected and subjected to KOH 10%, Gram's staining afterwards cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar and species identification was done by LPCB preparation. In 300 LED smear positive samples, the dominant pathogens were C. albicans (43.3%), followed by C. non-albicans (26.7%), A. fumigatus (21.7%) etc. ATT administration for 5-8 months' duration of illness showed highest fungal infection (45%) and maximum growth of fungus was seen in the Autumn season (45%). The co-occurrence of fungi with tubercle bacteria adds fatal consequences thus routine screening is recommended for proper diagnosis and early treatment of mycotic infection in the patients of Pulmonary TB on ATT.

A well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor (Grade I) arising in a tailgut cyst

Tailgut cysts are rare congenital lesions presenting as retrorectal space masses. They can occur in all age groups. Patients often present with ill-defined nonspecific symptoms and the diagnosis if often delayed. Malignancy arising in a tailgut cyst is an even rarer and unique occurrence. A precise diagnosis can be made only after complete excision and histopathological examination of the retrorectal space mass. We describe here a case of a 63-year-old male presenting with chronic constipation, who was diagnosed with a well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor (Grade I) arising in a tailgut cyst after surgical excision.

Laparoscopic-Assisted Uterus Retrieval From Live Organ Donors for Uterine Transplant: Our Experience of Two Patients

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To report the first ever laparoscopic-assisted live donor uterus retrieval in 2 patients for uterus transplant.

DESIGN

Case study (Canadian Task Force classification III).

SETTING

Galaxy CARE Laparoscopy Institute, Pune, India.

PATIENTS

Two patients with absolute uterine factor infertility with their mothers as donors.

INTERVENTIONS

In vitro fertilization and uterine transplant.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

A 12-member team was formed, and approval for transplant was obtained from the institutional review board. Pretransplant, in vitro fertilization for both patients was done. Two consecutive uterine transplants were done on 2 successive days. Vessels were harvested laparoscopically in both donors. Uterus and harvested vessels were retrieved by a small abdominal incision to prevent injury and infection. The uterus was transplanted in the recipients by end to side anastomosis of the harvested vessels to external iliac vessels, followed by anchoring of supports of the donor uterus to those of the recipients. Surgical intra- and postoperative parameters, postoperative investigations, and follow-up data of 6 months were measured. Operative time for laparoscopic donor surgery was 4 hours. Bench surgery took 45 minutes. Recipient surgery time was 4 hours. There were no intraoperative or immediate postoperative complications. Both the recipients started menstruating after 34 days and 48 days, respectively, and have had 6 cycles of menses at regular intervals. Uterine artery Doppler showed good flow in both patients. Hysteroscopy-guided cervical biopsies were used as a method of surveillance of graft rejection after uterine transplant. Office hysteroscopy was done after 2 months in both patients, and hysteroscopy-guided endometrial and cervical biopsies were taken. Minimal slough was seen on the endometrium in the patient with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, which was removed. Repeat hysteroscopy after 10 days showed a healthy endometrium.

CONCLUSIONS

Laparoscopic-assisted uterus donor retrieval is feasible and affords all the advantages of a minimally invasive technique, thereby reducing the morbidity of the procedure. It helps in better dissection of the vessels, shortens the operative time, and helps to minimize tissue handling of the harvested uterus and vessels.

Clinicopathological Analysis of Glomerular Disease of Adult Onset Nephrotic Syndrome in an Indian Cohort- A Retrospective Study

INTRODUCTION

Primary glomerular disease presenting with adult onset nephrotic syndrome are a major cause of chronic renal failure worldwide. The spectrum of renal disease presenting with nephrotic syndrome has undergone a gradual change globally over the course of time. However, there still exist regional differences in the incidence of primary glomerular diseases causing adult onset nephrotic syndrome.

AIM

To observe the spectrum of renal diseases presenting with adult onset nephrotic syndrome with comparative analysis of changing trends over the last five decades with regards to Western and Indian literature.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Subjects included patients with age of 18-80 years presenting with nephrotic syndrome. Renal biopsies with immunofluoroscence studies were performed in all patients. Baseline clinical parameters of serum urea, creatinine, albumin, globulin, cholesterol, 24 hour urine protein and urine microscopy were recorded. Descriptive statistics was used and results were expressed as frequencies, percentages, and mean±standard deviation.

RESULTS

A total of 227 patients (72% males) were included for the study. Primary glomerular diseases formed 74.01% of total cases and majority of patients included males in the 4^th decade. Minimal Change Disease (MCD) (15.8%) including its variants was the most common primary glomerular disease for adult onset of nephrotic syndrome followed by Mesangial proliferative Glomerulonephritis (MSGN) (13.2%). Membranous nephropathy and Type I Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis (MPGN) individually accounted for 12.3% of patients. Focal and Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) accounted for only 11% of patients. Although, increased incidence of FSGS has been observed worldwide, there exist important regional differences in primary glomerular diseases in Indian population. MCD remains a major glomerular disease for adult onset nephrotic syndrome in different parts of India.

CONCLUSION

Our study over three years represents important data of regional variations of primary glomerular diseases presenting with adult onset nephrotic syndrome.

Secretory prostate apoptosis response (Par)-4 sensitizes multicellular spheroids (MCS) of glioblastoma multiforme cells to tamoxifen-induced cell death

•

Multicellular spheroids (MCS) express low levels of Par-4 and are resistant to TAM-induced cytotoxicity.

•

Par-4 is secreted in TAM-treated monolayers but not MCS and is crucial for cell death.

•

Secretory Par-4 (from TAM-treated cells) renders MCS sensitive to cell death.

•

Inhibitors to AKT/PKCζ sensitized MCS to TAM-induced cytotoxicity.

•

A combination of TAM with PI3K inhibitor resulted in secretory Par-4.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant form of brain tumor and is associated with resistance to conventional therapy and poor patient survival. Prostate apoptosis response (Par)-4, a tumor suppressor, is expressed as both an intracellular and secretory/extracellular protein. Though secretory Par-4 induces apoptosis in cancer cells, its potential in drug-resistant tumors remains to be fully explored. Multicellular spheroids (MCS) of cancer cells often acquire multi-drug resistance and serve as ideal experimental models. We investigated the role of Par-4 in Tamoxifen (TAM)-induced cell death in MCS of human cell lines and primary cultures of GBM tumors. TCGA and REMBRANT data analysis revealed that low levels of Par-4 correlated with low survival period (21.85 ± 19.30 days) in GBM but not in astrocytomas (59.13 ± 47.26 days) and oligodendrogliomas (58.04 ± 59.80 days) suggesting low PAWR expression as a predictive risk factor in GBM. Consistently, MCS of human cell lines and primary cultures displayed low Par-4 expression, high level of chemo-resistance genes and were resistant to TAM-induced cytotoxicity. In monolayer cells, TAM-induced cytotoxicity was associated with enhanced expression of Par-4 and was alleviated by silencing of Par-4 using specific siRNA. TAM effectively induced secretory Par-4 in conditioned medium (CM) of cells cultured as monolayer but not in MCS. Moreover, MCS were rendered sensitive to TAM-induced cell death by exposure to conditioned medium (CM)-containing Par-4 (derived from TAM-treated monolayer cells). Also TAM reduced the expression of Akt and PKCζ in GBM cells cultured as monolayer but not in MCS. Importantly, combination of TAM with inhibitors to PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) or PKCζ resulted in secretion of Par-4 and cell death in MCS. Since membrane GRP78 is overexpressed in most cancer cells but not normal cells, and secretory Par-4 induces apoptosis by binding to membrane GRP78, secretory Par-4 is an attractive candidate for potentially overcoming therapy-resistance not only in malignant glioma but in broad spectrum of cancers.

Association of osteopontin and cyclooxygenase-2 expression with breast cancer subtypes and their use as potential biomarkers

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors among females worldwide and remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Due to the heterogeneous clinical nature of breast cancer, it is necessary to identify new biomarkers that are associated with tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis. Osteopontin (OPN) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) are known to be overexpressed in invasive breast cancer and their overexpression is associated with aggressive histological and clinical features. The present study assessed OPN and COX-2 expression in various subtypes of breast cancer. The expression of OPN and COX-2 was analyzed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in a cohort of 67 invasive ductal breast carcinoma patients. The statistical analysis was performed using standard statistical software SPSS version 18.0. The associations between OPN and COX-2 and the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2)-overexpressing and non-HER2-overexpressing subtypes were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test. The mean OPN level was significantly higher in the HER2-overexpressing subtype compared with the non-HER2-overexpressing subtype. Furthermore, the mean COX-2 expression levels were higher in the HER2-overexpressing subtype compared with the luminal A, luminal B or triple-negative groups. It is well known that carcinomas overexpressing HER2/neu have a worse prognosis than luminal tumors. Hence, it may be hypothesized that an elevated expression of OPN and COX-2 in a HER2-overexpressing subtype may contribute to a more aggressive behavior and be used as diagnostic and prognostic markers in breast cancer.

Hypoxia-driven osteopontin contributes to breast tumor growth through modulation of HIF1α-mediated VEGF-dependent angiogenesis

Hypoxia is a salient feature of most solid tumors, and hypoxic adaptation of cancer cells has crucial implications in propagation of malignant clonal cell population. Osteopontin (OPN) has been identified as a hypoxia-responsive gene, but the mechanistic and regulatory role of OPN under hypoxia is less characterized. The present study identifies the existence of a positive inter-regulatory loop between hypoxia and OPN. We have shown that hypoxia induces OPN expression in breast cancer cells; however, the expression was found to be HIF1α independent. OPN enabled transcriptional upregulation of HIF1α expression both under normoxia and hypoxia, whereas stability of HIF1α protein in breast cancer cells remained unaffected. Moreover, we have shown that OPN induces integrin-linked kinase (ILK)/Akt-mediated nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65 activation leading to HIF1α-dependent vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and angiogenesis in response to hypoxia. These in vitro data are biologically important as OPN expressing cells induce greater tumor growth and angiogenesis through enhanced expressions of proangiogenic molecules as compared with control. Immunohistochemical analysis of human breast cancer specimens revealed significant correlation between OPN and HIF1α but not HIF2α. Elevated expression of HIF1α and OPN was observed in pre-neoplastic and early stage infiltrating ductal carcinoma implicating the role of these proteins in neoplastic progression of breast cancer. Together, our results substantiate the prime role of OPN in cellular adaptation through ILK and NF-κB-mediated HIF1α-dependent VEGF expression in response to hypoxia that ultimately controls breast cancer progression and angiogenesis. Our study reinforces the fact that targeting OPN and its regulated signaling network hold important therapeutic implications.

Facial wrigglies: live extralymphatic filarial infestation in subcutaneous tissues of the head and neck

We report a rare case of a 32-year-old male with live extralymphatic filarial infestation presenting as a facial subcutaneous soft-tissue swelling. To the best of our knowledge these imaging findings have not been previously reported in the head and neck region in the existing English language literature. Real-time high-resolution ultrasonography revealed a solitary well-defined subcutaneous cystic lesion over the right zygomatic arch. It showed multiple linear, echogenic, undulating structures exhibiting a persistent twirling motion during the examination. This typical ultrasonographic appearance was consistent with the filarial dance sign (FDS) of live adult filarial worms. Subsequent MRI confirmed the cystic and solitary nature of the lesion. Complete excision of the cyst was performed, which revealed intracystic straw-coloured fluid and multiple white-coloured adult worms within the lesion. Histopathological examination confirmed multiple adult filarial worms with surrounding reactive inflammatory changes. In an endemic region, identification of the FDS in any normal anatomical structure or abnormal swelling, however remote or unusual the location within the body, should strongly suggest the diagnosis of live active filarial infestation. In view of the increasing migratory trends in the global population, it is imperative for radiologists in all countries to be aware of the typical imaging findings of this disease to arrive at the correct diagnosis.

p38 kinase is crucial for osteopontin-induced furin expression that supports cervical cancer progression

p38 kinases activated by growth factors, hormones, and environmental stresses exert diverse functions in regulating normal and malignant cell pathophysiology. Enhanced levels of activated p38 isoforms have been linked with poor prognosis in breast cancer, although the mechanistic basis for this association is poorly understood. In this study, we report that p38 activation in cervical cancer cells is driven by osteopontin (OPN), an extracellular matrix-associated cytokine that drives invasive progression. OPN regulates CD44-mediated p38 phosphorylation that induces NF-κB activation and NF-κB-dependent expression of furin, an extracellular protease implicated in human papilloma virus (HPV) processing that enhances cervical cancer cell motility. OPN induces CD44-mediated MKK3/6 phosphorylation which in turn phosphorylates p38 in these cells. OPN-induced furin expression and cell motility was impeded by blockades to MKK3/6, p38α/β or NF-κB signaling. In a mouse xenograft model of human cervical cancer, tumor growth was enhanced by OPN overexpression and blocked by short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated OPN silencing. Furin overexpression similarly augmented tumor growth in the model, whereas blocking MKK3/6, p38, or furin reduced OPN-induced cervical tumor growth. Analysis of clinical specimens revealed that enhanced expression of OPN, phosphorylated NF-κB, p65, and furin correlated with cervical cancer progression, further strengthening the in vitro and in vivo results. In summary, our findings offer a proof of concept for targeting OPN and its downstream p38 signaling as a novel therapeutic strategy to manage cervical cancer.

Hodgkin's lymphoma: immunohistochemical features and its association with EBV LMP-1. Experience from a South Indian hospital

AIMS

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is known to aid in the diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). We studied HL using an antibody panel for Reed-Sternberg cells (RSCs) to find which antibody would be most useful for identification of RSCs. We also studied the association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1) with HL in South India.

METHODS

Lymph node biopsies of 100 cases of untreated HL were included in this study. Antibodies against CD15, CD30, CD3, CD20 (L26), CD45 (LCA), EMA and EBV LMP-1 were used for paraffin section IHC.

RESULTS

Of the 100 cases of HL, the RSCs stained with CD30 (93%), CD15 (67%), CD20 (17%) and CD3 (2%). EBV LMP-1 was positive in 82 (82%) cases, most often in the nodular sclerosis subtype, 43 (86%) cases.

CONCLUSIONS

(1) Of the panel of antibodies, CD30 was the most useful in identifying RSCs in classical HL. (2) EBV LMP-1 was demonstrated in 82% of all cases of HL and in 96% of childhood cases.

Surgical manipulation of the small intestine and its effect on the lung

BACKGROUND

Surgical manipulation of the intestine results in generation of oxygen free radicals leading to mucosal damage as evidenced by ultrastructural and biochemical changes. It is likely that the gut-derived mediators can bring about damage to distant organs such as the lung.

METHODS

Surgical manipulation of the gut was performed by opening the abdominal wall and handling the intestine. Lung damage was assessed by histology, markers of oxidative stress, and protein content in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Protection offered by pretreatment with various compounds such as allopurinol, L-arginine, quinacrine, and indomethacin was also studied.

RESULTS

Gut manipulation resulted in neutrophil infiltration, oxidative stress, and permeability changes in the lung and these changes were maximum 30 and 60 min following surgical manipulation, which recovered with time and reversed to normal by 24 h. Prior treatment with inhibitors of xanthine oxidase, phospholipase A(2), or cyclooxygenase showed a protective effect against lung damage.

CONCLUSION

This study has shown that laparotomy and intestinal handling result in distant organ (lung) damage which is probably brought about by neutrophil infiltration and oxidative stress on the lung. This is likely mediated by compounds generated in the intestine and transported into the systemic circulation since inhibition of generation of chemical mediators in the intestine offers protection against lung damage.

Analysis of sulfated peptides using positive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Presented is a method for analyzing sulfated peptides, and differentiating the post-translational modification (PTM) from its isobaric counterpart phosphorylation, using quadrupole time-of-flight (Qq/TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) and positive ion nanoelectrospray MS/MS. A set of commercially available sulfo- and phosphopeptide standards was analyzed via in-source dissociation and MS/MS to generate fragmentation signatures that were used to characterize and differentiate the two modifications. All of the phosphorylated peptides retained their +80 Da modifications under collision-induced decomposition (CID) conditions and peptide backbone fragmentation allowed for the site-specific identification of the modification. In sharp contrast, sulfated peptides lost SO3 from the precursor as the collision energy (CE) was increased until only the non-sulfated form of the peptide was observed. The number of 80 Da losses indicated the number of sulfated sites. By continuing to ramp the CE further, it was possible to fragment the non-sulfated peptides and obtain detailed sequence information. It was not possible to obtain site-specific information on the location of the sulfate moieties using positive ion MS/MS as none of the original precursor ions were present at the time of peptide backbone fragmentation. This method was applied to the analysis of recombinant human B-domain deleted factor VIII (BDDrFVIII), which has six well-documented sulfation sites and several potential phosphorylation sites located in two of the sulfated regions of the protein. Seven peptides with single and multiple +80 Da modifications were isolated and analyzed for their respective PTMs. The fragmentation patterns obtained from the BDDrFVIII peptides were compared with those obtained for the standard peptides; and in all cases the peptides were sulfated. None of the potential phosphorylation sites were found to be occupied, and these results are consistent with the literature.

Agonist-induced phosphorylation of the angiotensin II (AT(1A)) receptor requires generation of a conformation that is distinct from the inositol phosphate-signaling state

G protein-coupled receptors are thought to isomerize between distinct inactive and active conformations, an idea supported by receptor mutations that induce constitutive (agonist-independent) activation. The agonist-promoted active state initiates signaling and, presumably, is then phosphorylated and internalized to terminate the signal. In this study, we examined the phosphorylation and internalization of wild type and constitutively active mutants (N111A and N111G) of the type 1 (AT(1A)) angiotensin II receptor. Cells expressing these receptors were stimulated with angiotensin II (AngII) and [Sar(1),Ile(4),Ile(8)]AngII, an analog that only activates signaling through the constitutive receptors. Wild type AT(1A) receptors displayed a basal level of phosphorylation, which was stimulated by AngII. Unexpectedly, the constitutively active AT(1A) receptors did not exhibit an increase in basal phosphorylation nor was phosphorylation enhanced by AngII stimulation. Phosphorylation of the constitutively active receptors was unaffected by pretreatment with the non-peptide AT(1) receptor inverse agonist, EXP3174, and was not stimulated by the selective ligand, [Sar(1),Ile(4),Ile(8)]AngII. Paradoxically, [Sar(1),Ile(4), Ile(8)]AngII produced a robust ( approximately 85% of AngII), dose-dependent phosphorylation of the wild type AT(1A) receptor at sites in the carboxyl terminus similar to those phosphorylated by AngII. Moreover, internalization of both wild type and constitutive receptors was induced by AngII, but not [Sar(1),Ile(4),Ile(8)]AngII, providing a differentiation between the phosphorylated and internalized states. These data suggest that the AT(1A) receptor can attain a conformation for phosphorylation without going through the conformation required for inositol phosphate signaling and provide evidence for a transition of the receptor through multiple states, each associated with separate stages of receptor activation and regulation. Separate transition states may be a common paradigm for G protein-coupled receptors.

Goblet cell-specific expression mediated by the MUC2 mucin gene promoter in the intestine of transgenic mice

The regulation of MUC2, a major goblet cell mucin gene, was examined by constructing transgenic mice containing bases -2864 to +17 of the human MUC2 5'-flanking region fused into the 5'-untranslated region of a human growth hormone (hGH) reporter gene. Four of eight transgenic lines expressed reporter. hGH message expression was highest in the distal small intestine, with only one line expressing comparable levels in the colon. This contrasts with endogenous MUC2 expression, which is expressed at its highest levels in the colon. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that goblet cell-specific expression of reporter begins deep in the crypts, as does endogenous MUC2 gene expression. These results indicate that the MUC2 5'-flanking sequence contains elements sufficient for the appropriate expression of MUC2 in small intestinal goblet cells. Conversely, elements located outside this region appear necessary for efficient colonic expression, implying that the two tissues utilize different regulatory elements. Thus many, but not all, of the elements necessary for MUC2 gene regulation reside between bases -2864 and +17 of the 5'-flanking region.

Biochemical characterization of recombinant factor IX

Mature human factor IX is a 55,000-d glycoprotein with a modular domain structure and numerous posttranslational modifications. A recombinant form of human factor IX (rFIX) has been produced from a Chinese hamster ovary cell line that was engineered for high-level protein processing and expression. To ensure that the recombinant molecule contains the requisite structural and functional features of the plasma-derived form, rFIX was subjected to detailed biochemical and biophysical characterization. The laboratory studies showed that the posttranslational modifications and primary, secondary, and tertiary structures of rFIX were similar to those of plasma-derived factor IX (pdFIX). In addition, rFIX displayed a high degree of purity and a product release specification for specific activity that is > or = 200 IU/mg.

Atrial natriuretic peptide inhibits mineralocorticoid receptor function in rat colonic surface cells

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) inhibits and aldosterone (ALDO) stimulates Na conductive transport. Therefore, the effects of ANP and its second messenger cGMP on mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) function in rat colon surface and crypt cells were examined. 100 nM 8-Br-cGMP decreased surface [3H]ALDO binding by 42 +/- 4% but increased crypt [3HvALDO binding by 52+/-16%. ANP decreased surface [3H]ALDO binding by approximately 50% after a 2.5-h lag period but had no effect on crypt ALDO binding. ANP and cGMP rapidly (< 15 min) inhibited surface cell ALDO-induced MR nuclear translocation but did not affect crypt MR nuclear translocation. Inhibition of cGMP-dependent protein kinase with KT5823 blocked the inhibitory effects of ANP and 8-Br-cGMP on surface cell ALDO binding and MR nuclear translocation. In crypt, KT5823 increased baseline [3H]ALDO binding but did not inhibit the stimulatory effect of exogenous cGMP. DEAE-cellulose chromatography and gel mobility shift assay showed that ANP did not inhibit surface MR activation. ANP inhibited ALDO stimulated short circuit current in distal colon. These data demonstrate cell-specific regulation of MR function. In surface cells, ANP rapidly inhibits MR nuclear translocation and ALDO-induced short circuit current. ANP inhibition of MR function may be an additional mechanism of ANP antagonism of Na reabsorption.

Demonstration of nuclear translocation of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) using an anti-MR antibody and confocal laser scanning microscopy

Using a synthetic peptide that corresponds to a unique region of the N-terminal domain of the human mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), amino acids 87-96, we have generated a polyclonal antibody, human (h) MRsN. This sequence shares no homology with the corresponding sequences of the glucocorticoid receptor or other steroid/thyroid hormone receptor superfamily members. Antibody hMRsN cross-reacts with MR from human, rat, and mouse cells and recognizes denatured MR from either crude preparations or partially purified rat kidney cytosol, rat colon, or recombinant hMR overexpressed in baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells. Immunoprecipitation of the native MR from either partially purified or crude preparations of rat kidney cytosol with hMRsN, followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver stain, demonstrated a major protein band with a mol wt of 116 kilodaltons. In addition, using confocal laser scanning microscopy and digital image analysis, the immunocytochemical localization of the recombinant hMR over-expressed in Sf9 cells 24 h post-transfection was determined. In the absence of ligand, the MR was detected solely in the cytoplasm, after a 30-min exposure to 100 nM aldosterone the MR was perinuclear, and after 60 min, the MR was predominantly nuclear. To ascertain that this phenomenon was not unique to insect cells, aldosterone induced MR nuclear translocation in mouse macrophage cells was also demonstrated immunocytochemically, clearly indicating a role for nuclear translocation in MR function.

Expression of the archaebacterial bacterio-opsin gene with and without signal sequences in Escherichia coli: the expressed proteins are located in the membrane but bind retinal poorly

In a further effort to obtain functional expression of the bacterio-opsin gene (bop) in Escherichia coli, the bop gene with E. coli signal sequences as well as the bop gene with the native presequence were expressed in E. coli. The location of the expressed products in the E. coli cell and their processing and folding to a structure that binds retinal as in Halobacterium halobium were investigated. All the expressed proteins were in the membrane. The proteins were largely unprocessed, and they were distributed between the outer and the inner membrane. The processed fractions, which were minor, were exclusively in the inner membrane. The processed proteins bound exogenously added all-trans-retinal but only partially, indicating that these proteins were present in at least two folded states.

Cell surface blood group antigens in prostatic carcinoma

Surface blood group antigens are present to some degree in most epithelia. These antigens frequently are lost during neoplastic transformation. The authors looked for the presence or absence of surface blood group antigens in 52 cases of prostatic carcinoma of various histologic grades using the specific red blood cell adherence test. The normal prostatic tissue showed a 2+ reaction in patients with type A or B blood and 0-1+ in type O. The hyperplastic areas were 4+ for red blood cell adherence in patients with type A or B blood and 0-4+ in type O. In contrast, all malignant foci were negative for blood group antigens, no matter what the histologic grade or blood type.

The lysis function of RNA bacteriophage Qbeta is mediated by the maturation (A2) protein

Complete or partial cDNA sequences of the RNA bacteriophage Qbeta were cloned in plasmids under the control of the lambdaP(L) promoter to allow regulated expression in Escherichia coli harbouring the gene for the temperature-sensitive lambdaCI857 repressor. Induction of the complete Qbeta sequence leads to a 100-fold increase in phage production, accompanied by cell lysis. Induction of the 5'-terminal sequence containing the intact maturation protein (A2) cistron also causes cell lysis. Alterations of the A2 cistron, leading to proteins either devoid of approximately 20% of the C-terminal region or of six internal amino acids, abolish the lysis function. Expression of other cistrons in addition to the A2 cistron does not enhance host lysis. Thus, in Qbeta, the A2 protein, in addition to its functions as maturation protein, appears to trigger cell lysis. This contrasts with the situation in the distantly related group I RNA phages such as f2 and MS2 where a small lysis polypeptide is coded for by a region overlapping the end of the coat gene and the beginning of the replicase gene.