Adoptive immunity in mice challenged with L1210/DTIC clones

Summary New antigenic specificities, not detectable on parental cells, have been induced by many investigators in mouse lymphomas by treatment with the antitumor agent 5(3,3-dimethyl-1-triazeno)imidazole-4-carboxamide (DTIC). The antigens are transmissible, after withdrawal of the drug treatment, as an inheritable character. The mechanism of induction, the molecular nature, and the number of the new antigenic specificities have not been completely elucidated. Four clones from murine leukemia L1210 isolated and expanded in vitro were treated in vivo with DTIC and the new sublines were studied in detail. The four drug-treated sublines studied exhibited strong immunogenicity since they were rejected by syngeneic animals. Immunosuppressed animals challenged with 10⁷ A/DTIC or P/DTIC cells were reciprocally protected by the adoptive transfer of spleen cells from donors that had rejected a lethal challenge of A/DTIC or P/DTIC clones. In a similar fashion, the adoptive transfer of spleen cells obtained from animals that had rejected the Q/DTIC or the R/DTIC clones protected immunosuppressed mice challenged with Q/DTIC or R/DTIC cells. No antitumor activity was observed in cross-protective schedules other than those indicated. It was been concluded that (a) the L1210 leukemia line does not have antigenic cells, (b) four DTIC-treated clone sublines were rejected by compatible hosts, and (c) two mutually exclusive sets of antigens were expressed in four antigenic clone sublines.Research supported in part by P.F.O. Contract Grant from C. N. R., Rome, Italy     

噬菌体φHAU3的cos位点及其与寄主相互作用的功能位点attP和attB的定位

ＨＡＵ３是寄主范围很广的放线菌噬菌体。Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ杂交实验表明,ＨＡＵ３可以整合到吸水链霉菌应城变种１０－２２和变铅青链霉菌６６的突变体ＺＸ１的染色体中,形成溶原,其溶原菌自发释放ＨＡＵ３,不受热激和紫外线照射的诱导。通过比较ＨＡＵ３衍生噬粒ｐＩＪ８３００的ＤＮＡ酶切片段在加热前、后电泳带谱的区别,将ＨＡＵ３的ｃｏｓ位点在ｐＩＪ８３００的图谱上得到了定位。还利用Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ杂交的方法定位了ＨＡＵ３与宿主形成溶原时附着位点（ａｔｔＰ）,并利用脉冲电泳技术定位了在变铅青链霉菌ＺＸ７和吸水链霉菌应城变种１０－２２中形成溶原的附着位点（ａｔｔＢ）。这些信息均有利于以ＨＡＵ３为基础的载体的发展和优化。     

Functional mimetic of the G-protein coupled receptor CXCR4 on a soluble antibody scaffold

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute major drug targets due to their involvement in critical biological functions and pathophysiological disorders. The leading challenge in their structural and functional characterization has been the need for a lipid environment to accommodate their hydrophobic cores. Here, we report an antibody scaffold mimetic (ASM) platform where we have recapitulated the extracellular functional domains of the GPCR, C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) on a soluble antibody framework. The engineered ASM molecule can accommodate the N-terminal loop and all three extracellular loops of CXCR4. These extracellular features are important players in ligand recruitment and interaction for allostery and signal transduction. Our study shows that ASM^CXCR4 can be recognized by the anti-CXCR4 antibodies, MEDI3185, 2B11, and 12G5, and that ASM^CXCR4 can bind the HIV-1 glycoprotein ligand gp120, and the natural chemokine ligand SDF-1α. Further, we show that ASM^CXCR4 can competitively inhibit the SDF-1α signaling pathway, and be used as an immunogen to generate CXCR4-specific antibodies. This platform will be useful in the study of GPCR biology in a soluble receptor context for evaluating its extracellular ligand interactions.     

Densitometric Quantification and Optimization of Polyphenols in Phyllanthus maderaspatensis by HPTLC

Quantifying and optimizing the polyphenol content of Phyllanthus maderaspatensis was accomplished using a single-solvent HPTLC system. Analyzing hydroalcoholic extracts for kaempferol, rutin, ellagic acid, quercetin, catechin, and gallic acid, we simultaneously quantified and optimized their concentration. In the experiment, the methanol to water ratio (%), temperature (°C), and time of extraction (min) were all optimized using a Box-Behnken statistical design. Kaempferol, rutin, ellagic acid, quercetin, catechin, and gallic acid were among the dependent variables analyzed. In the HPTLC separation, silica gel 60F254 plates were used, and toluene, ethyl acetate, and formic acid (5:4:1) made up the mobile phase. For kaempferol, rutin, ellagic acid, quercetin, catechin, and gallic acid, densitometric measurements were carried out using the absorbance mode at 254 nm. Hydroalcoholic extract of P. maderaspatensis contains rutin (0.344), catechin (2.62), gallic acid (0.93), ellagic acid (0.172), quercetin (0.0108) and kaempferol (0.06). Further, it may be affected by more than one factor at a time, resulting in a varying degree of reaction. A negative correlation was found between X1 (extraction time (min)) and X2 (temperature), as well as X1 and X3 (solvent ratios). Taking these characteristics into consideration, the method outlined here is a validated HPTLC method for measuring kaempferol, rutin, ellagic acid, quercetin, catechin, and gallic acid.     

A link between the synthesis of nucleoporins and the biogenesis of the nuclear envelope

The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is a multicomponent structure containing a subset of proteins that bind nuclear transport factors or karyopherins and mediate their movement across the nuclear envelope. By altering the expression of a single nucleoporin gene, NUP53, we showed that the overproduction of Nup53p altered nuclear transport and had a profound effect on the structure of the nuclear membrane. Strikingly, conventional and immunoelectron microscopy analysis revealed that excess Nup53p entered the nucleus and associated with the nuclear membrane. Here, Nup53p induced the formation of intranuclear, tubular membranes that later formed flattened, double membrane lamellae structurally similar to the nuclear envelope. Like the nuclear envelope, the intranuclear double membrane lamellae enclosed a defined cisterna that was interrupted by pores but, unlike the nuclear envelope pores, they lacked NPCs. Consistent with this observation, we detected only two NPC proteins, the pore membrane proteins Pom152p and Ndc1p, in association with these membrane structures. Thus, these pores likely represent an intermediate in NPC assembly. We also demonstrated that the targeting of excess Nup53p to the NPC and its specific association with intranuclear membranes were dependent on the karyopherin Kap121p and the nucleoporin Nup170p. At the nuclear envelope, the abilities of Nup53p to associate with the membrane and drive membrane proliferation were dependent on a COOH-terminal segment containing a potential amphipathic alpha-helix. The implications of these results with regards to the biogenesis of the nuclear envelope are discussed.     

Evaluation of chromogranin A expression in serum and tissues of breast cancer patients

Human chromogranin A (CgA) is a member of the granin family and is widely distributed in large dense core granules of endocrine and neuroendocrine cells. A variety of non-neuroendocrine carcinomas arising in various tissues show patterns of neuroendocrine differentiation. Expression of CgA has been documented in epithelial cells of normal mammary gland as well as in breast cancers, and elevation of serum CgA has been detected in patients with breast cancer. Our study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between serum CgA levels and neuroendocrine features in breast cancer. In addition, we evaluated the expression of serum CgA in patients affected by breast cancer compared to controls and the relationship between serum CgA and tumor histology, extent of disease, lymph node status, tumor stage and serum CA 15.3 levels. We enrolled 266 patients with infiltrating ductal or lobular breast carcinoma and a group of 100 age-matched healthy women serving as controls. Serum CgA and CA 15.3 were assayed by specific immunoradiometric methods. The overall sensitivity of CgA and CA 15.3 was 0.06 and 0.34, respectively (chi2 19.1, p<0.0005). No relationship was found between serum levels of CgA and tumor histology, extent of disease, lymph node status or tumor stage while serum levels of CA 15.3 were strongly correlated with all these variables but tumor histology. No relationship was found between serum levels of CgA and CA 15.3. Immunostaining against CgA, CgB, NSE and synaptophysin was performed on primary tumor tissue of 14 serum CgA-positive and 24 serum CgA-negative patients and was negative in all cases. We also evaluated eight cases of pathologically-proven neuroendocrine breast cancer: only four and two of these showed positive CgA immunostaining and increased serum CgA concentration, respectively. In conclusion, serum CgA assay offers no additional information regarding the presence, the extent and the histology of breast cancer compared to the CA 15.3 assay. Moreover, serum CgA was not an accurate marker to identify or exclude the rare neuroendocrine differentiation of breast cancer. We therefore conclude that CgA is not useful as a serum marker in breast cancer.     

Karyopherins in nuclear pore biogenesis: a role for Kap121p in the assembly of Nup53p into nuclear pore complexes

The mechanisms that govern the assembly of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) remain largely unknown. Here, we have established a role for karyopherins in this process. We show that the yeast karyopherin Kap121p functions in the targeting and assembly of the nucleoporin Nup53p into NPCs by recognizing a nuclear localization signal (NLS) in Nup53p. This karyopherin-mediated function can also be performed by the Kap95p-Kap60p complex if the Kap121p-binding domain of Nup53p is replaced by a classical NLS, suggesting a more general role for karyopherins in NPC assembly. At the NPC, neighboring nucleoporins bind to two regions in Nup53p. One nucleoporin, Nup170p, associates with a region of Nup53p that overlaps with the Kap121p binding site and we show that they compete for binding to Nup53p. We propose that once targeted to the NPC, dissociation of the Kap121p-Nup53p complex is driven by the interaction of Nup53p with Nup170p. At the NPC, Nup53p exists in two separate complexes, one of which is capable of interacting with Kap121p and another that is bound to Nup170p. We propose that fluctuations between these two states drive the binding and release of Kap121p from Nup53p, thus facilitating Kap121p's movement through the NPC.     

Treatment of cyclic vomiting syndrome with co-enzyme Q10 and amitriptyline,a retrospective study

Background  

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS), which is defined by recurrent stereotypical episodes of nausea and vomiting, is a relatively-common disabling condition that is associated with migraine headache and mitochondrial dysfunction. Co-enzyme Q10 (Co-Q) is a nutritional supplement that has demonstrated efficacy in pediatric and adult migraine. It is increasingly used in CVS despite the complete lack of studies to demonstrate its value in treatment