| 1. |
- Ringdahl, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
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A role for the fibrinogen-binding regions of streptococcal M proteins in phagocytosis resistance
- 2000
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Ingår i: Molecular Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 1365-2958 .- 0950-382X. ; 37:6, s. 1318-1326
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- All virulent group A streptococcal isolates bind fibrinogen, a property that is closely linked to expression of type-specific antiphagocytic surface molecules designated M proteins. Here we show that although the M proteins from two different strains, M1 and M5, both bind fibrinogen with high affinity, they interact with different regions in the ligand. Moreover, mapping experiments demonstrated that the fibrinogen-binding regions in the M1 and M5 proteins are quite dissimilar at the amino acid sequence level and that they bind to different regions in the plasma protein. In spite of these differences, the fibrinogen-binding regions of M1 and M5 could both be shown to contribute to streptococcal survival in human blood, providing evidence for the distinct function of a plasma protein interaction in bacterial pathogenesis.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Bjarnegård, Mattias, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Endothelium-specific ablation of PDGFB leads to pericyte loss and glomerular, cardiac and placental abnormalities
- 2004
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Ingår i: DEVELOPMENT. - : The Company of Biologists. - 0950-1991 .- 1477-9129. ; 131:8, s. 1847-1857
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Platelet-derived growth factor-B (PDGFB) is necessary for normal cardiovascular development, but the relative importance of different cellular sources of PDGFB has not been established. Using Cre-lox techniques, we show here that genetic ablation of Pdgfb in endothelial cells leads to impaired recruitment of pericytes to blood vessels. The endothelium-restricted Pdgfb knockout mutants also developed organ defects including cardiac, placental and renal abnormalities. These defects were similar to those observed in Pdgfb null mice. However, in marked contrast to the embryonic lethality of Pdgfb null mutants, the endothelium-specific mutants survived into adulthood with persistent pathological changes, including brain microhemorrhages, focal astrogliosis, and kidney glomerulus abnormalities. This spectrum of pathological changes is reminiscent of diabetic microangiopathy, suggesting that the endothelium-restricted Pdgfb knockouts may serve as models for some of the pathogenic events of vascular complications to diabetes. Key words: PDGFB, Endothelium, Cre, loxP, Pericytes, Microaneurysm
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| 4. |
- Enge, Maria, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Endothelium-specific platelet-derived growth factor-B ablation mimics diabetic retinopathy.
- 2002
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Ingår i: The EMBO journal. - : Wiley. - 0261-4189 .- 1460-2075. ; 21:16, s. 4307-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Loss of pericytes from the capillary wall is a hallmark of diabetic retinopathy, however, the pathogenic significance of this phenomenon is unclear. In previous mouse gene knockout models leading to pericyte deficiency, prenatal lethality has so far precluded analysis of postnatal consequences in the retina. We now report that endothelium-restricted ablation of platelet-derived growth factor-B generates viable mice with extensive inter- and intra-individual variation in the density of pericytes throughout the CNS. We found a strong inverse correlation between pericyte density and the formation of a range of retinal microvascular abnormalities strongly reminiscent of those seen in diabetic humans. Proliferative retinopathy invariably developed when pericyte density was <50% of normal. Our data suggest that a reduction of the pericyte density is sufficient to cause retinopathy in mice, implying that pericyte loss may also be a causal pathogenic event in human diabetic retinopathy.
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| 5. |
- Flood, Christofer, 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular mechanism for changes in proteoglycan binding on compositional changes of the core and the surface of low-density lipoprotein-containing human apolipoprotein B100
- 2004
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Ingår i: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. - 1524-4636. ; 24:3, s. 564-70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism for changes in proteoglycan binding and LDL receptor affinity on two compositional changes in LDL that have been associated with atherosclerosis: cholesterol enrichment of the core and modification by secretory group IIA phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) of the surface. METHODS AND RESULTS: Transgenic mice expressing recombinant apolipoprotein (apo) B and sPLA2 were generated. Recombinant LDL were isolated and tested for their proteoglycan and LDL receptor-binding activity. The results show site A (residues 3148-3158) in apoB100 becomes functional in sPLA2-modified LDL and that site A acts cooperatively with site B (residues 3359-3369), the primary proteoglycan-binding site in native LDL, in the binding of sPLA2-modified LDL to proteoglycans. Our results also show that cholesterol enrichment of LDL is associated with increased affinity for proteoglycans and for the LDL receptor. This mechanism is likely mediated by a conformational change of site B and is independent of site A in apoB100. CONCLUSIONS: Site A in apoB100 becomes functional in sPLA2-modified LDL and acts cooperatively with site B resulting in increased proteoglycan-binding activity. The increased binding for proteoglycans of cholesterol-enriched LDL is solely dependent on site B.
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| 6. |
- Frick, Inga-Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Uptake and intracellular transportation of a bacterial surface protein in lymphoid cells.
- 2002
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Ingår i: Molecular Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 1365-2958 .- 0950-382X. ; 44:4, s. 917-934
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Some strains of the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes express a surface protein called protein H, which is released from the streptococcal surface by a cysteine proteinase produced by the bacteria. Here, we find that soluble protein H binds to the surface of lymphocytes and granulocytes, and that the molecule is taken up by lymphocytes and transported to the perinuclear region. The translocation over the cell membrane is rapid, and the uptake and intracellular transportation is not dependent on actin polymerization. Protein H could be immunoprecipitated from cell extracts and nuclear preparations of lymphocytes, and analysis of molecular interactions between pro-tein H and proteins of different cellular compart-ments demonstrated a binding to nucleophosmin/ B23, a protein known to shuttle between the cytoplasm and the nucleus, and to the nuclear proteins SET and hnRNP A2/B1. Nucleophosmin/B23 was co-immunoprecipitated with protein H from cell and nuclear extracts, and binding experiments, including kinetic analyses, suggest that protein H dissociating from nucleophosmin/B23 complexes in the perinuclear region or in the nucleus binds to proteins SET and hnRNP A2/B1. Finally, the uptake and intracellular transportation of protein H was found to result in a cytostatic effect on B and T lymphocytes.
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| 7. |
- Gaspari, Martina, et al.
(författare)
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The mitochondrial RNA polymerase contributes critically to promoter specificity in mammalian cells.
- 2004
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Ingår i: The EMBO journal. - : Wiley. - 0261-4189 .- 1460-2075. ; 23:23, s. 4606-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Initiation of transcription in mammalian mitochondria depends on three proteins: mitochondrial RNA polymerase (POLRMT), mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) and mitochondrial transcription factor B2 (TFB2M). We show here that the recombinant mouse and human transcription machineries are unable to initiate transcription in vitro from the heterologous light-strand promoter (LSP) of mitochondrial DNA. This species specificity is dependent on the interaction of TFAM and POLRMT with specific distal and proximal promoter elements. A sequence element localized from position -1 to -2 relative to the transcription start site in LSP functionally interacts with POLRMT. The POLRMT/TFB2M heterodimer is unable to interact with promoter elements and initiate even abortive transcription in the absence of TFAM. TFAM is thus an integral part of the mammalian transcription machinery, and we propose that TFAM induces a structural change of the promoter that is required for POLRMT-dependent promoter recognition.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Gustafsson, Ewa, 1955, et al.
(författare)
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The use of information technology among young adults--experience, attitudes and health beliefs
- 2003
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Ingår i: Appl Ergon. - : Pergamon. - 0003-6870 .- 1872-9126. ; 34:6, s. 565-70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to explore attitudes, coherence and health beliefs among young adults, related to their use and experience of information technology (IT). A qualitative approach was used and the data were collected through individual thematised interviews with 25 young IT users, aged 18-24. The interviews were analysed in line with the grounded theory method with a constructivist approach. The main findings were the young adults' experience of the two sides of being social, efficient and independent here and now. They described almost unlimited opportunities in connection with IT, but they also had misgivings, and perceived risks regarding IT use. Feelings of freedom and being efficient were countered by feelings of restrictions on living space and of intangibility. Knowledge concerning these attitudes, coherence and health beliefs can be considered when designing epidemiological and ergonomic studies aimed at risk identification.
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| 10. |
- Gustafsson, Ingegerd, et al.
(författare)
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Bacteria with increased mutation frequency and antibiotic resistance are enriched in the commensal flora of patients with high antibiotic usage
- 2003
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Ingår i: Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0305-7453 .- 1460-2091. ; 52:4, s. 645-650
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: We examined how prolonged antibiotic treatment affected the resistance and mutation frequency of human microflora isolated from intestine (Escherichia coli, enterococci spp.), pharynx (alpha-streptococci) and nostril (coagulase-negative staphylococci, CoNS).METHODS: Samples were collected from patients at the Center of Cystic Fibrosis (n=18) and the haematology ward (n=18) of the University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. The individually used amount of antibiotics for 1 year was recorded as the defined daily dose (DDD). Primary health care patients (n=30), with no antibiotic treatment for 1 year before sampling, were used as controls. Three isolates of each bacterium from each patient were examined. Antibiotic susceptibilities were determined by disc diffusion. Mutation frequencies to rifampicin resistance were measured on 30 independent cultures of each bacterial species from each individual by plating on rifampicin agar plates. For alpha-streptococci the mutation frequency to streptomycin resistance was also determined.RESULTS: Isolates from patients with high antibiotic use showed a pronounced shift towards increased resistance and a small but significant increase in the mutation frequency compared with isolates from the controls. For E. coli, enterococci and CoNS the increase in geometric mean mutation frequency in the patient group was 3-, 1.8- and 1.5-fold, respectively (P values 0.0001, 0.016 and 0.012). For alpha-streptococci there was a significant difference in geometric mean mutation frequency between patient and control groups for streptomycin resistance (P=0.024) but not for rifampicin resistance (P=0.74).CONCLUSIONS: High antibiotic use selected for commensals with highly increased resistance and a slight increase in mutation frequency.
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