Novel interleukin-1 receptor antagonist exon polymorphisms and their use in allele-specific mRNA assessment

A variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism has been described in intron 2 of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene. Allele 2 of this polymorphism is associated with many chronic inflammatory diseases. Using direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction products from individuals of known genotype for the VNTR, we have identified four single base change polymorphisms in exons 1_ic and 2 and one upstream of exon 1_ic, all of which are probably in linkage disequilibrium with the intron 2 VNTR. The exonic polymorphisms do not alter the encoded amino acid sequence. Using the exon 2 polymorphism as a marker for the intron 2 disease-associated allele, we have been able to analyse allele-specific mRNA in heterozygotic keratinocyte cell lines. The disease-associated allele shows no difference from other alleles in this cell type with respect to mRNA accumulation. Received: 17 July 1995 / Revised: 4 December 1995     

Platelet-activating factor enhances Ig production in B lymphoblastoid cell lines

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a highly potent phospholipid mediator known to be active in many biologic systems. To date, little is known of the effect of PAF on B lymphocytes. Using two Ig-secreting B lymphoblastoid cell lines, we have demonstrated that PAF can enhance Ig production by these cells in a dose-dependent fashion. PAF also causes significant alteration of the kinetics of Ig secretion in these lymphoblastoid cell lines. The effect of PAF is rapid, with detection of 6- to 12-fold increases in Ig production in the first 24 h of cell culture, followed by a plateau during the next 24 to 48 h. The specificity of the PAF effect on Ig secretion is emphasized by lyso-PAF having no Ig-enhancing properties and by the inhibition of Ig enhancement in the presence of the structural analogue PAF antagonist CV3988 and the soluble nonstructural analogue PAF receptor antagonist Web 2086. PAF does not cause an increase in the kinetics of cell proliferation or an increase in cell numbers at any time during a 72-h culture period. In an attempt to explain the increase in Ig secretion in the absence of changes in growth parameters, an ELISA spot assay for enumeration of Ig-secreting cells was developed. This assay demonstrated that the increase in Ig production is likely due to enhancement of single cell Ig secretion rather than an increase in cell number. These data indicate that PAF may have an important immunomodulatory role in the production of Ig by B lymphocytes.     

Paradoxical acclimation and seasonal comparisons of oxygen consumption rates in three species ofPogonomyrmex harvester ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Summary Seasonal comparisons of oxygen consumption rates of three species ofPogonomyrmex harvester ants demonstrate paradoxical acclimation in the laboratory and negative acclimatization in the field.It is usually assumed that paradoxical acclimation reduces energy expenditures during unfavorable seasons. There is no evidence that this occurs in the harvester ants. The ants are able to be active only during a portion of the year, a time in which they raise new workers and reproductives. Laboratory acclimation and field acclimatization studies suggest that ants of all three species increase their metabolism during this time. The increase in above ground activity in summer may result in greater efficiency of the nest in producing new workers and reproductive females and males. Inverse acclimation in these ants does not decrease energy expenditures during unfavorable seasons.In most investigations of ants, the nest is implicitly assumed to be a homogeneous mixture of individuals. One unexpected result of a comparison of nest levels is that nests are stratified in terms of important physiological parameters. Stratification within the nest implies there is little vertical mixing and as a result individuals from different levels were analyzed separately.     

The Prevalence of Metabolic and Endocrine Disturbances on Fracture Nonunion

ObjectiveThis study aims to determine the prevalence of metabolic disturbance in all fracture nonunion cases and identify the most common endocrine abnormalities seen using a simple screening algorithm.MethodsA retrospective review study was performed evaluating patients who underwent operative intervention for nonunion from January 2010 to December 2018 at 2 level-1 trauma centers. Preoperative laboratory values were recorded for a 9-test “nonunion panel.” A metabolic or endocrine abnormality, specifically an abnormality in the thyroid or parathyroid axis, was evaluated.Results42% of patients had an undiagnosed metabolic laboratory abnormality. When multiple tests were used, the rate of metabolic dysfunction was between 60% and 75%, depending on the definition of vitamin D insufficiency vs deficiency used.ConclusionResults indicate a relatively high prevalence of metabolic disturbance in patients with nonunion and suggest metabolic screening for all nonunion patients not only those without a mechanical or infectious cause.Level of EvidenceIV, retrospective case series.     

K+ channel gating: C-type inactivation is enhanced by calcium or lanthanum outside

Many voltage-gated K⁺ channels exhibit C-type inactivation. This typically slow process has been hypothesized to result from dilation of the outer-most ring of the carbonyls in the selectivity filter, destroying this ring’s ability to bind K⁺ with high affinity. We report here strong enhancement of C-type inactivation upon extracellular addition of 10–40 mM Ca²⁺ or 5–50 µM La³⁺. These multivalent cations mildly increase the rate of C-type inactivation during depolarization and markedly promote inactivation and/or suppress recovery when membrane voltage (V_m) is at resting levels (−80 to −100 mV). At −80 mV with 40 mM Ca²⁺ and 0 mM K⁺ externally, ShBΔN channels with the mutation T449A inactivate almost completely within 2 min or less with no pulsing. This behavior is observed only in those mutants that show C-type inactivation on depolarization and is distinct from the effects of Ca²⁺ and La³⁺ on activation (opening and closing of the V_m-controlled gate), i.e., slower activation of K⁺ channels and a positive shift of the mid-voltage of activation. The Ca²⁺/La³⁺ effects on C-type inactivation are antagonized by extracellular K⁺ in the low millimolar range. This, together with the known ability of Ca²⁺ and La³⁺ to block inward current through K⁺ channels at negative voltage, strongly suggests that Ca²⁺/La³⁺ acts at the outer mouth of the selectivity filter. We propose that at −80 mV, Ca²⁺ or La³⁺ ions compete effectively with K⁺ at the channel’s outer mouth and prevent K⁺ from stabilizing the filter’s outer carbonyl ring.     

Effects of Permeant Cations on K+ Channel Gating in Nerve Axons Revisited

An increase in extracellular potassium ion concentration, K _o , significantly slows the potassium channel deactivation rate in squid giant axons, as previously shown. Surprisingly, the effect does not occur in all preparations which, coupled with the voltage independence of this result in preparations in which it does occur, suggests that it is mediated at a site outside of the electric field of the channel, and that this site is accessible to potassium ions in some preparations, but not in others. In other words, the effect does not appear to be related to occupancy of the channel by potassium ions. This conclusion is supported by a four-barrier, three-binding site model of single file diffusion through the channel in which one site, at most, is unoccupied by a potassium ion (single-vacancy model). The model is consistent with current-voltage relations with various levels of K _o , and, by definition, with multiple occupancy by K⁺. The model predicts that occupancy of any given site is essentially independent of K _o (or K _i ). The effects of extracellular Rb⁺ and Cs⁺ on gating are strongly voltage dependent, and they were observed in all preparations investigated. Consequently, the mechanism underlying these results would appear to be different from that which underlies the effect of K⁺ on gating. In particular, the effect of Rb⁺ on gating is reduced by strong hyperpolarization, which in the context of the occupancy hypothesis, is consistent with the voltage dependence of the current-voltage relation in the presence of Rb⁺. The primary, novel, finding in this study is that the effects of Cs⁺ are counterintuitive in this regard. Specifically, the slowing of channel deactivation rate by Cs⁺ is also reduced by hyperpolarization, similar to the Rb⁺ results, whereas blockade is enhanced, which is seemingly inconsistent with the concept that occupancy of the channel by Cs⁺ underlies the effect of this ion on gating. This result is further elucidated by barrier modeling of the current-voltage relation in the presence of Cs⁺. Received: 19 December 1995/Revised: 10 June 1996