Allelic variation in HLA-B and HLA-C sequences and the evolution of the HLA-B alleles

Several new HLA-B (B8, B51, Bw62)- and HLA-C (Cw6, Cw7)-specific genes were isolated either as genomic cosmid or cDNA clones to study the diversity of HLA antigens. The allele specificities were identified by sequence analysis in comparison with published HLA-B and -C sequences, by transfection experiments, and Southern and northern blot analysis using oligonucleotide probes. Comparison of the classical HLA-A, -B, and -C sequences reveals that allele-specific substitutions seem to be rare events. HLA-B51 codes only for one allelespecific residue: arginine at position 81 located on the 1 helix, pointing toward the antigen binding site. HLA-B8 contains an acidic substitution in amino acid position 9 on the first central sheet which might affect antigen binding capacity, perhaps in combination with the rare replacement at position 67 (F) on the ul helix. HLA-B8 shows greatest homology to HLA-Bw42, -Bw41, -B7, and-Bw60 antigens, all of which lack the conserved restriction sites Pst I at position 180 and Sac I at position 131. Both sites associated with amino acid replacements seem to be genetic markers of an evolutionary split of the HLA-B alleles, which is also observed in the leader sequences. HLA-Cw7 shows 98% sequence identity to the JY328 gene. In general, the HLA-C alleles display lower levels of variability in the highly polymorphic regions of the 1 and 2 domains, and have more distinct patterns of locus-specific residues in the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. Thus we propose a more recent origin for the HLA-C locus.     

Moral medicine: Symbolic content in 19th century Shaker therapeutics

This paper presents an analysis of the symbolic meanings implicit in an ostensibly empirical therapeutic system. The Shakers, a celibate communal religious order founded in New York State in the mid 1770s, were practitioners of botanic medicine, as were many other Americans in the nineteenth century. This study analyzes the therapeutic properties of the herbs they produced (such as diuretic, stimulant, narcotic, emetic, astringent), using a classification scheme based on the location of the botanical substance's effect vis-à-vis body boundaries and surfaces. The Shakers' beliefs about the therapeutic properties of their herbs are compared with similar analyses of the properties given by two contemporary nineteenth century New England proponents of herbal medicine, botanist Constantine Rafinesque and sectarian practitioner Samuel Thomson. The comparison shows systematic variation in emphasis given to herbs which regulate internal body processes, or act through the openings of the body or on its surface. In this context Shaker medicine can be characterized as quickening, internal, and purifying in its effects on body processes, effects which are highly consistent with Shaker religious beliefs in active, physical worship, selflessness and spiritual purification by confession.     

Reduced neuroexcitatory effect of domoic acid following mossy fiber denervation of the rat dorsal hippocampus: further evidence that toxicity of domoic acid involves kainate receptor activation

Domoic acid, an excitatory amino acid structurally related to kainic acid, has been shown to be responsible for the severe intoxication presented, in 1987, by more than one hundred and fifty people having eaten mussels grown in Prince Edward Island (Canada). Unitary extracellular recordings were obtained from pyramidal neurons of the CA3 region of the rat dorsal hippocampus. The excitatory effects of microiontophoretic applications of domoic acid and of the agonists of the two other subtypes of glutamatergic receptors, quisqualate and N-methyl-D-aspartate, were compared on intact and colchicine-lesioned sides. Similar to what has been previously found for kainate, the colchicine lesion of the mossy fiber projections induced a 95% decrease of the neuronal responsiveness to domoic acid, whereas the effect of quisqualate was unchanged and that of N-methyl-D-aspartate was only slightly decreased. These results provide further electrophysiological evidence that domoic acid is a potent agonist of kainate receptors and that it may produce its neuroexcitatory and neurotoxic effects, in the hippocampal CA3 region, through activation of kainate receptors located on the mossy fiber terminals.     

Analysis of liver/bone/kidney alkaline phosphatase mRNA, DNA, and enzymatic activity in cultured skin fibroblasts from 14 unrelated patients with severe hypophosphatasia.

Hypophosphatasia is a heritable disorder characterized by defective bone mineralization and a deficiency of liver/bone/kidney alkaline phosphatase (L/B/K ALP) activity in serum and tissues. Severe forms of the disease, which are generally lethal in infancy, are inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion. The gene defects that produce hypophosphatasia are poorly understood, but many are likely to occur at the L/B/K ALP locus. To investigate these gene defects, we analyzed L/B/K ALP DNA, RNA, and enzyme activity in cultured dermal fibroblasts from 14 patients with perinatal or infantile hypophosphatasia and from 12 normal individuals. Southern blot analyses of the L/B/K ALP genes from patients and controls revealed identical restriction patterns. Control fibroblast ALP activity correlated with the corresponding L/B/K ALP mRNA levels estimated by blot hybridization analysis and densitometry (r = .94, P less than .0001). In contrast, fibroblasts from the hypophosphatasia patients were deficient in ALP enzyme activity but expressed apparently full-sized L/B/K ALP mRNA at normal levels. Bone specimens from one of the patients were examined and found to be deficient in histochemical ALP but contained immunologic cross-reactive material detected by anti-human liver ALP antiserum. Our results demonstrate that the deficiency of ALP activity in fibroblasts from 14 patients with severe hypophosphatasia is not due to decreased steady-state levels of the corresponding mRNA. The presence of enzymatically inactive L/B/K ALP protein in one of these patients is consistent with a point mutation or small in-frame deletion in the coding region of L/B/K ALP gene.     

Divergent responses of gonadotropin subunit messenger RNAs to continuous versus pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone in vitro

Episodic GnRH input is necessary for the maintenance of LH and FSH secretion. In the current study we have assessed the requirement of a pulsatile GnRH signal for the regulation of gonadotropin alpha- and beta-subunit gene expression. Using a dispersed rat pituitary perifusion system, GnRH (10 nM) was administered as a continuous infusion vs. hourly pulses. Secretion of free alpha-subunit, LH, and FSH were monitored over 5-min intervals for the entire 12-h treatment period before the responses of alpha, LH beta, and FSH beta mRNAs were assessed. Basal release of all three glycoproteins declined slowly over 6-8 h before reaching a plateau. The cells were responsive to each pulse of GnRH, but continuous GnRH elicited only a brief episode of free alpha-subunit, LH, and FSH release, followed by a return to unstimulated levels. Despite the similar patterns of secretion, differences were observed in the responses of gonadotropin mRNAs to the two modes of GnRH. alpha mRNA increased in response to continuous (1.6-fold) or pulsatile (1.7-fold) GnRH. FSH beta mRNA was suppressed to 48% of the control value after continuous GnRH, but was stimulated over 4-fold by the pulses. LH beta mRNA was unresponsive to either treatment paradigm. We conclude that in vitro 1) alpha mRNA levels are increased in response to GnRH independent of the mode of stimulation; 2) under the conditions studied, LH beta mRNA levels are unresponsive to either mode of GnRH input; and 3) the response of FSH beta mRNA to GnRH is highly dependent on the mode of administration, with levels depressed in response to continuous GnRH, but stimulated by pulsatile GnRH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Lack of homogeneity of receptive fields of visual neurons in the cortical area 18 of the cat

The receptive fields of complex neurons within area 18 of the cerebral cortex of the cat were determined by a computer-assisted method using a moving light bar substantially shorter than the long diameter of the receptive field as a visual stimulus. The visual cells repeatedly generated nerve impulses when the stimulus crossed well-defined active points within their receptive fields. Outside of these active points, the cells remained silent. It is suggested that the receptive fields are formed by a discontinuous accumulation of such active points. When the electrical activities of two neighbouring visual neurons are recorded simultaneously, their active points do not coincide. In addition, some active points were located outside the most prominent excitatory part of the receptive field of the studied cells. Individual visual cells typically differ in the number and distribution of active points. Since these cells best respond to a stimulus moving in a certain direction, it is suggested that they may act as direction of movement and/or velocity detectors. Alternate firing of a number of neighboring cells connected to a distributed pattern of peripheral receptors may form a system which is able to code for velocity and direction of the moving stimulus.