| 1. |
- Fitzgerald, Jamie, et al.
(författare)
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The N-terminal N5 subdomain of the alpha 3(VI) chain is important for collagen VI microfibril formation
- 2001
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 1083-351X. ; 276:1, s. 187-193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Collagen VI assembly is unique within the collagen superfamily in that the alpha 1(VI), alpha 2(VI), and alpha 3(VI) chains associate intracellularly to form triple helical monomers, and then dimers and tetramers, which are secreted from the cell. Secreted tetramers associate end-to-end to form the distinctive extracellular microfibrils that are found in virtually all connective tissues. Although the precise protein interactions involved in this process are unknown, the N-terminal globular regions, which are composed of multiple copies of von Willebrand factor type A-like domains, are likely to play a critical role in microfibril formation, because they are exposed at both ends of the tetramers. To explore the role of these subdomains in collagen VI intracellular and extracellular assembly, alpha 3(VI) cDNA expression constructs with sequential N-terminal deletions were stably transfected into SaOS-2 cells, producing cell lines that express alpha 3(VI) chains with N-terminal globular domains containing modules N9-N1, N6-N1, N5-N1, N4-N1, N3-N1, or N1, as well as the complete triple helix and C-terminal globular domain (C1-C5). All of these transfected alpha 3(VI) chains were able to associate with endogenous alpha 1(VI) and alpha 2(VI) to form collagen VI monomers, dimers, and tetramers, which were secreted. Importantly, cells that expressed alpha 3(VI) chains containing the N5 subdomain, alpha 3(VI) N9-C5, N6-C5, and N5-C5, formed microfibrils and deposited a collagen VI matrix. In contrast, cells that expressed the shorter alpha 3(VI) chains, N4-C5, N3-C5, and N1-C5, were severely compromised in their ability to form end-to-end tetramer assemblies and failed to deposit a collagen VI matrix. These data demonstrate that the alpha 3(VI) N5 module is critical for microfibril formation, thus identifying a functional role for a specific type A subdomain in collagen VI assembly.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Astuti, D, et al.
(författare)
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Gene mutations in the succinate dehydrogenase subunit SDHB cause susceptibility to familial pheochromocytoma and to familial paraganglioma.
- 2001
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Ingår i: American Journal of Human Genetics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9297 .- 1537-6605. ; 69:1, s. 49-54
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The pheochromocytomas are an important cause of secondary hypertension. Although pheochromocytoma susceptibility may be associated with germline mutations in the tumor-suppressor genes VHL and NF1 and in the proto-oncogene RET, the genetic basis for most cases of nonsyndromic familial pheochromocytoma is unknown. Recently, pheochromocytoma susceptibility has been associated with germline SDHD mutations. Germline SDHD mutations were originally described in hereditary paraganglioma, a dominantly inherited disorder characterized by vascular tumors in the head and the neck, most frequently at the carotid bifurcation. The gene products of two components of succinate dehydrogenase, SDHC and SDHD, anchor the gene products of two other components, SDHA and SDHB, which form the catalytic core, to the inner-mitochondrial membrane. Although mutations in SDHC and in SDHD may cause hereditary paraganglioma, germline SDHA mutations are associated with juvenile encephalopathy, and the phenotypic consequences of SDHB mutations have not been defined. To investigate the genetic causes of pheochromocytoma, we analyzed SDHB and SDHC, in familial and in sporadic cases. Inactivating SDHB mutations were detected in two of the five kindreds with familial pheochromocytoma, two of the three kindreds with pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma susceptibility, and 1 of the 24 cases of sporadic pheochromocytoma. These findings extend the link between mitochondrial dysfunction and tumorigenesis and suggest that germline SDHB mutations are an important cause of pheochromocytoma susceptibility.
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| 4. |
- Crabtree, Judy S, et al.
(författare)
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Of mice and MEN1 : Insulinomas in a conditional mouse knockout.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Molecular and Cellular Biology. - 0270-7306 .- 1098-5549. ; 23:17, s. 6075-6085
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) develop multiple endocrine tumors, primarily affecting the parathyroid, pituitary, and endocrine pancreas, due to the inactivation of the MEN1 gene. A conditional mouse model was developed to evaluate the loss of the mouse homolog, Men1, in the pancreatic beta cell. Men1 in these mice contains exons 3 to 8 flanked by loxP sites, such that, when the mice are crossed to transgenic mice expressing cre from the rat insulin promoter (RIP-cre), exons 3 to 8 are deleted in beta cells. By 60 weeks of age, >80% of mice homozygous for the floxed Men1 gene and expressing RIP-cre develop multiple pancreatic islet adenomas. The formation of adenomas results in elevated serum insulin levels and decreased blood glucose levels. The delay in tumor appearance, even with early loss of both copies of Men1, implies that additional somatic events are required for adenoma formation in beta cells. Comparative genomic hybridization of beta cell tumor DNA from these mice reveals duplication of chromosome 11, potentially revealing regions of interest with respect to tumorigenesis.
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| 5. |
- Douglas, K S, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of a model of violence risk assessment among forensic psychiatric patients
- 2003
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Ingår i: Psychiatric Services. - 1075-2730 .- 1557-9700. ; 54:10, s. 1372-1379
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: This study tested the interrater reliability and criterion-related validity of structured violence risk judgments made by using one application of the structured professional judgment model of violence risk assessment, the HCR-20 violence risk assessment scheme, which assesses 20 key risk factors in three domains: historical, clinical, and risk management. Methods: The HCR-20 was completed for a sample of 100 forensic psychiatric patients who had been found not guilty by reason of a mental disorder and were subsequently released to the community. Violence in the community was determined from multiple file-based sources. Results: Interrater reliability of structured final risk judgments of low, moderate, or high violence risk made on the basis of the structured professional judgment model was acceptable (weighted kappa=.61). Structured final risk judgments were significantly predictive of postrelease community violence, yielding moderate to large effect sizes. Event history analyses showed that final risk judgments made with the structured professional judgment model added incremental validity to the HCR-20 used in an actuarial (numerical) sense. Conclusions: The findings support the structured professional judgment model of risk assessment as well as the HCR-20 specifically and suggest that clinical judgment, if made within a structured context, can contribute in meaningful ways to the assessment of violence risk.
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| 6. |
- Douglas, K S, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of confidence on the accuracy of structured professional and actuarial violence risk judgments in a sample of forensic psychiatric patients
- 2003
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Ingår i: Law and human behavior. - 0147-7307 .- 1573-661X. ; 27:6, s. 573-587
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Some previous research indicates that confidence affects the accuracy of probabilistic clinical ratings of risk for violence among civil psychiatric inpatients. The current study investigated the impact of confidence on actuarial and structured professional risk assessments, in a forensic psychiatric population, using community violence as the outcome criteria. Raters completed the HCR-20 violence risk assessment scheme for a sample of 100 forensic psychiatric patients. Results showed that accuracy of both actuarial judgments (HCR-20 total scores) and structured professional judgments (of low, moderate, and high risk) were substantially more accurate when raters were more confident about their judgments. Findings suggest that confidence of ratings should be studied as a potentially important mediator of structured professional and actuarial risk judgments.
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| 7. |
- Every, Hayley A, et al.
(författare)
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Room temperature fast-ion conduction in imidazolium halide salts
- 2001
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Ingår i: Journal of Materials Chemistry Articles. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 0959-9428 .- 1364-5501. ; 11:3031-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fast-ion conduction has been observed in the iodide and bromide salts of 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium at ambient temperatures. The melting point of these two compounds is above 350 K and even at 273 K the ionic conductivity in the solid-state is greater than 10–3S cm–1. Cation diffusion coefficients have been measured using fringe field gradient and/or pulse field gradient 1H NMR techniques, which indicated cation diffusion coefficients of the order of 10–10 m2 s–1 in the solid-state. Remarkably, these values are up to an order of magnitude higher than the cation diffusion coefficient in the supercooled liquid at 293 K. The activation energy for diffusion in the solid-state is extremely small, as is typical of solid-state fast-ion conductors and indicates a change in transport mechanism from the melt to the crystal. The inability to detect an 127I signal together with the modelling of the conductivity using the Nernst–Einstein equation suggests that the solid-state conduction is primarily due to cation diffusion. The solid-state fast-ion conduction is most likely related to vacancy diffusion along the cation layers in the crystal. The temperature dependence of the NMR signal intensity indicates that the number of mobile species is increasing with increasing temperature with an activation energy of approximately 20–30 kJ mol–1.
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| 8. |
- Ferry, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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NMR and Raman studies of a novel fast-ion-conducting polymer-in-salt electrolyte based on LiCF3SO3 and PAN
- 2000
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Ingår i: Electrochimica Acta. - : Elsevier. - 0013-4686 .- 1873-3859. ; 45:8-9, s. 1237-1242
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report spectroscopic results from investigations of a novel solid polymeric fast-ion-conductor based on poly(acrylonitrile), (PAN, of repeat unit [CH2CH(CN)]n), and the salt LiCF3SO3. From NMR studies of the temperature and concentration dependencies of 7Li- and 1H-NMR linewidths, we conclude that significant ionic motion occurs at temperatures close to the glass transition temperature of these polymer-in-salt electrolytes, in accordance with a recent report on the ionic conductivity. In the dilute salt-in-polymer regime, however, ionic motion appears mainly to be confined to local salt-rich domains, as determined from the dramatic composition dependence of the ionic conductivity. FT-Raman spectroscopy is used to directly probe the local chemical anionic environment, as well as the Li+-PAN interaction. The characteristic δs(CF3) mode of the CF3SO3- anion at ∼ 750-780 cm-1 shows that the ionic substructure is highly complex. Notably, no spectroscopic evidence of free anions is found even at relatively salt-depleted compositions (e.g. N:Li ∼ 60-10:1). A strong Li+-PAN interaction is manifested as a pronounced shift of the characteristic polymer C=N stretching mode, found at ∼2244 cm-1 in pure PAN, to ∼ 2275 cm-1 for Li+-coordinated C=N moieties. Our proton-NMR data suggest that upon complexation of PAN with LiCF3SO3, the glass transition occurs at progressively lower temperatures.
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| 9. |
- Hansson, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
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Artifactual insulin release from differentiated embryonic stem cells.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Diabetes. - 0012-1797. ; 53:10, s. 2603-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several recent reports claim the generation of insulin-producing cells from embryonic stem cells via the differentiation of progenitors that express nestin. Here, we investigate further the properties of these insulin-containing cells. We find that although differentiated cells contain immunoreactive insulin, they do not contain proinsulin-derived C-peptide. Furthermore, we find variable insulin release from these cells upon glucose addition, but C-peptide release is never detected. In addition, many of the insulin-immunoreactive cells are undergoing apoptosis or necrosis. We further show that cells cultured in the presence of a phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor, which previously was reported to facilitate the differentiation of insulin(+) cells, are not C-peptide immunoreactive but take up fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled insulin from the culture medium. Together, these data suggest that nestin(+) progenitor cells give rise to a population of cells that contain insulin, not as a result of biosynthesis but from the uptake of exogenous insulin. We conclude that C-peptide biosynthesis and secretion should be demonstrated to claim insulin production from embryonic stem cell progeny.
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| 10. |
- Julius, S., et al.
(författare)
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Cardiovascular risk reduction in hypertensive black patients with left ventricular hypertrophy: the LIFE study
- 2004
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Ingår i: J Am Coll Cardiol. - 0735-1097. ; 43:6, s. 1047-55
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: We report on a subanalysis of the effects of losartan and atenolol on cardiovascular events in black patients in the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in hypertension (LIFE) study. BACKGROUND: The LIFE study compared losartan-based to atenolol-based therapy in 9,193 hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Overall, the risk of the primary composite end point (cardiovascular death, stroke, myocardial infarction) was reduced by 13% (p = 0.021) with losartan, with similar blood pressure (BP) reduction in both treatment groups. There was a suggestion of interaction between ethnic background and treatment (p = 0.057). METHODS: Exploratory analyses were performed that placed LIFE study patients into black (n = 533) and non-black (n = 8,660) categories, overall, and in the U.S. (African American [n = 523]; non-black [n = 1,184]). RESULTS: A significant interaction existed between the dichotomized groups (black/non-black) and treatment (p = 0.005); a test for qualitative interaction was also significant (p = 0.016). The hazard ratio (losartan relative to atenolol) for the primary end point favored atenolol in black patients (1.666 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.043 to 2.661]; p = 0.033) and favored losartan in non-blacks (0.829 [95% CI 0.733 to 0.938]; p = 0.003). In black patients, BP reduction was similar in both groups, and regression of electrocardiographic-LVH was greater with losartan. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the subanalysis are sufficient to generate the hypothesis that black patients with hypertension and LVH might not respond as favorably to losartan-based treatment as non-black patients with respect to cardiovascular outcomes, and do not support a recommendation for losartan as a first-line treatment for this purpose. The subanalysis is limited by the relatively small number of events.
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