Expression of p53 gene in B-CLL peripheral lymphocytes.

The p53 tumor suppressor gene expression has been studied in 23 B-CLL cases at different clinical stages. The analysis failed to show a direct correlation with each stage, but the significantly lower frequency of a BglII RFLP in the pathologic population suggests a role of this gene in B-CLL. Northern Blot analysis showed the expression of p53 mRNA in all the B-CLL cases. A protocol for the RT-PCR methods was set up to study a very small amount of materials which should be better used for sequence analysis.     

Reduced insulin secretion in response to nutrients in islets from malnourished young rats is associated with a diminished calcium uptake

Changes in (45)Ca uptake and insulin secretion in response to glucose, leucine, and arginine were measured in isolated islets derived from 4-week-old rats born of mothers maintained with normal protein (NP, 17%) or low protein (LP, 6%) diet during pregnancy and lactation. Glucose provoked a dose-dependent stimulation of insulin secretion in both groups of islets, with basal (2.8 mmol/L glucose) and maximal release (27.7 mmol/L glucose) significantly reduced in LP compared with NP islets. In the LP group the concentration-response curve to glucose was shifted to the right compared with the NP group, with the half-maximal response occurring at 16.9 and 13.3 mmol/L glucose, respectively. In LP islets, glucose-induced first and second phases of insulin secretions were drastically reduced. In addition, insulin response to individual amino acids, or in association with glucose, was also significantly reduced in the LP group compared with NP islets. Finally, in LP islets the (45)Ca uptake after 5 minutes or 90 minutes of incubation (which reflect mainly the entry and retention, respectively, of Ca(2+)), was lower than in NP islets. These data indicate that in malnourished rats both initial and sustained phases of insulin secretion in response to glucose were reduced. This poor secretory response to nutrients seems to be the consequence of an altered Ca(2+) handling by malnourished islet cells.     

Specific leaf mass, fresh: dry weight ratio, sugar and protein contents in species of Lamiaceae from different light environments

Samples from eleven species of Lamiaceae were collected from different light environments in Venezuela for laboratory analysis. The studied species were: Plectranthus scutellarioides (Ps), Scutellaria purpurascens (Sp), Hyptis pectinata (Hp)), H. sinuata (Hs). Leonorus japonicus (Lj), Plecthranthus amboinicus (Pa) Ocimum hasilicum (Ocb), O. campechianum (Occ) Origanum majorana (Orm), Rosmarinus officinali, (Ro) and Salvia officinalis (So). Protein and soluble sugar contents per unit of area were measured, Specific Leaf Mass (SLM) and fresh:dry weight (FW/DW) ratios were calculated. The higher values for soluble sugars contents were present in sun species: Lj, Pa, Ocb, Occ, Orm, Ro and So; the lower values were obtained in low light species: Ps, Sp, Hp, Hs. The values of protein content do not show any clear trend or difference between sun and shade environments. The lowest values for the fresh weight: dry weight ratio are observed in sun species with the exception of Lj and Pa, while the highest value is observed in Pa, a succulent plant. The higher values of specific leaf mass (SLM) (Kg DMm(-2)) are observed in sun plants. The two way ANOVA revealed that there were significant differences among species and between sun and low light environments for sugar content and FW:DW ratio. while SLM was significant for environments but no significant for species, and not significant for protein for both species and environments. The soluble sugar content, FW:DW ratio and SLM values obtained in this work, show a clear separation between sun and shade plants. The sugar content and FW:DW ratio are distinctive within the species, and the light environment affected sugar content. FW:DW ratio and SLM. These species may he shade-tolerant and able to survive in sunny environments. Perhaps these species originated in shaded environments and have been adapting to sunny habitats.     

Fluorocytometric study of proliferation antigens, nuclear proteins and ploidy in acute leukosis]

P53 protein, Ki67 proliferative associated antigen and DNA content have been studied by flow cytometry in the blood blastic cells from 41 patients with acute leukemia. The results were compared with the F.A.B. classification. Cells were permeabilised and fixed by PLP solution before using the FITC conjugated Ki67 MoAb and the p53 MoAb (clone 1801). Propidium iodide and RNAase has been used in order to determine ploidy. Ki67 and p53 protein were found to be expressed at higher level in leukemia cells than in normal bone marrow cells; however there was no correlation between Ki67 and p53 expression and F.A.B. subtype. In acute leukemia patients the range of positivity of Ki67 was 1.1-52.1% while it ranged from 1.8% to 80.1% for the p53 protein. On the basis of these findings we conclude that the flow cytometry evaluation of Ki67 and p53 represents a useful tool for the study of the biologic characteristics of the leukemic cells in patients with acute leukemia.     

Continuum Approaches to Understanding Ion and Peptide Interactions with the Membrane

Experimental and computational studies have shown that cellular membranes deform to stabilize the inclusion of transmembrane (TM) proteins harboring charge. Recent analysis suggests that membrane bending helps to expose charged and polar residues to the aqueous environment and polar head groups. We previously used elasticity theory to identify membrane distortions that minimize the insertion of charged TM peptides into the membrane. Here, we extend our work by showing that it also provides a novel, computationally efficient method for exploring the energetics of ion and small peptide penetration into membranes. First, we show that the continuum method accurately reproduces energy profiles and membrane shapes generated from molecular simulations of bare ion permeation at a fraction of the computational cost. Next, we demonstrate that the dependence of the ion insertion energy on the membrane thickness arises primarily from the elastic properties of the membrane. Moreover, the continuum model readily provides a free energy decomposition into components not easily determined from molecular dynamics. Finally, we show that the energetics of membrane deformation strongly depend on membrane patch size both for ions and peptides. This dependence is particularly strong for peptides based on simulations of a known amphipathic, membrane binding peptide from the human pathogen Toxoplasma gondii. In total, we address shortcomings and advantages that arise from using a variety of computational methods in distinct biological contexts.     

Soybean diet improves insulin secretion through activation of cAMP/PKA pathway in rats

Maternal malnutrition leads to permanent alterations in insulin secretion of offspring and the soybean diet contributes to improve insulin release. At least a soy component, genistein, seems to increase the insulin secretion by activating the cAMP/PKA and PLC/PKC pathways. Here, we investigated the effect of the soybean diet on the expression of PKAalpha and PKCalpha, and insulin secretion in response to glucose and activators of adenylate cyclase and PKC in adult pancreatic rat islets. Rats from mothers fed with 17% or 6% protein (casein) during pregnancy and lactation were maintained with 17% casein (CC and CR groups) or soybean (SC and SR groups) diet until 90 days of life. The soybean diet improved the insulin response to a physiological concentration of glucose in control islets, but only in the presence of supra-physiological concentrations of glucose in islets from CR and SR groups. PMA also improved the insulin response in islets of SC and SR groups. The expression of PKCalpha was similar in all groups. Forskolin increased the insulin secretion; however, the magnitude of the increment was lower in islets from CR and SR groups than in control animals and in those from rats maintained with soybean diet than in rats fed with casein diet. The PKAalpha expression was similar between SR and CR groups and lower in SC than in CC islets. Thus, soybean diet improved the secretory pattern of beta cells, at least in part, by activating the cAMP/PKA-signaling cascade.     

Cytofluorometric study of myeloperoxidase (MPO) expression in neutrophilic granulocytes of subjects with primary or secondary MPO deficiency: analysis of the histographic antigen distribution using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov mathematical model]

Neutrophil granulocytes from 12 subjects with primitive myeloperoxidase (MPO) deficiency (6 totally deficient) and 16 patients with secondary partial MPO deficiency were tested using two different anti-MPO monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs), in combination with a flow cytometer. Results demonstrated three different patterns of immunoreactivity with the MPO protein:i) a bright MPO antigenic expression, typical of patients with secondary MPO deficiency (comparable with that observed in the control group); ii) a medium MPO antigenic expression, typical of subjects with hereditary partial MPO deficiency; and iii) a dim MPO antigenic expression, characteristic of individuals with hereditary total MPO deficiency. No significant differences in granulocyte MPO reactivity were demonstrated for the two MoAbs. Furthermore, in two individuals with complete primitive deficiency, the single histogram analysis of MPO fluorescence seemed to show that only 38% (case 1) and 44% (case 2) of neutrophil were reactive with the MoAbs anti-MPO: the use of multiple histogram analysis in combination with Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics allowed us to demonstrate that all the cells express a low density of MPO antigen. These data suggest that patients with primary MPO deficiency have different amount of MPO antigens in the neutrophils, and the levels of MPO fluorescence seem to decline concurrently with enzyme activity, thereby suggesting the presence of a diminished MPO production. On the contrary, in most cases of acquired MPO deficit, the reduced cytochemical activity contrasts with normal antigenic reactivity: this might be the result of the presence of an inactive enzyme.     

Oxidative stress and reduced antioxidant defenses in peripheral cells from familial Alzheimer's patients

We have measured the levels of typical end products of the processes of lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in skin fibroblasts and lymphoblasts taken from patients with familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD), sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), and age-matched healthy controls. Compared to controls, the fibroblasts and lymphoblasts carrying amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin-1 (PS-1) gene mutations showed a clear increase in lipoperoxidation products, malondialdehyde (MDA), and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE). In contrast, the antioxidant defenses of cells from FAD patients were lower than those from normal subjects. Lipoperoxidation and antioxidant capacity in lymphoblasts from patients affected by sporadic AD were virtually indistinguishable from the basal values of normal controls. An oxidative attack on protein gave rise to greater protein carbonyl content in FAD patients than in age-matched controls. Furthermore, ADP ribosylation levels of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) nuclear substrates were significantly raised, whereas the PARP content did not differ significantly between fibroblasts carrying gene mutations and control cells. These results indicate that peripheral cells carrying APP and PS-1 gene mutations show altered levels of oxidative markers even though they are not directly involved in the neurodegenerative process of AD. These results support the hypothesis that oxidative damage to lipid, protein, and DNA is an important early event in the pathogenesis of AD.