Burn Injury Reduces Neutrophil Directional Migration Speed in Microfluidic Devices

Thermal injury triggers a fulminant inflammatory cascade that heralds shock, end-organ failure, and ultimately sepsis and death. Emerging evidence points to a critical role for the innate immune system, and several studies had documented concurrent impairment in neutrophil chemotaxis with these post-burn inflammatory changes. While a few studies suggest that a link between neutrophil motility and patient mortality might exist, so far, cumbersome assays have prohibited exploration of the prognostic and diagnostic significance of chemotaxis after burn injury. To address this need, we developed a microfluidic device that is simple to operate and allows for precise and robust measurements of chemotaxis speed and persistence characteristics at single-cell resolution. Using this assay, we established a reference set of migration speed values for neutrophils from healthy subjects. Comparisons with samples from burn patients revealed impaired directional migration speed starting as early as 24 hours after burn injury, reaching a minimum at 72–120 hours, correlated to the size of the burn injury and potentially serving as an early indicator for concurrent infections. Further characterization of neutrophil chemotaxis using this new assay may have important diagnostic implications not only for burn patients but also for patients afflicted by other diseases that compromise neutrophil functions.     

Elimination of Von Hippel-Lindau Function Perturbs Pancreas Endocrine Homeostasis in Mice

Mutations in the human homolog of the Vhlh gene [encoding the von-Hippel Lindau (VHL) protein] lead to tumor development. In mice, depletion of Vhlh in pancreatic ß-cells causes perturbed glucose homeostasis, but the role of this gene in other pancreatic cells is poorly understood. To investigate the function of VHL/HIF pathway in pancreatic cells, we inactivated Vhlh in the pancreatic epithelium as well as in the endocrine and exocrine lineages. Our results show that embryonic depletion of Vhlh within the pancreatic epithelium causes postnatal lethality due to severe hypoglycemia. The hypoglycemia is recapitulated in mice with endocrine-specific removal of Vhlh, while animals with loss of Vhlh predominantly in the exocrine compartment survive to adulthood with no overt defects in glucose metabolism. Mice with hypoglycemia display diminished insulin release in response to elevated glucose. Significantly, the glucagon response is impaired both in vivo (circulating glucagon levels) as well as in an in vitro secretion assay in isolated islets. Hypoxia also impairs glucagon secretion in a glucagon-expressing cell line in culture. Our results reveal a novel role for the hypoxia/HIF pathway in islet hormone secretion and maintenance of the fine balance that allows for the establishment of normoglycemia.     

Inactivation of yeast hexokinase by o-phthalaldehyde: evidence for the presence of a cysteine and a lysine at or near the active site

Yeast hexokinase (ATP:D-hexose 6-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.1), a homodimer, was rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by o-phthalaldehyde at 25 degrees C (pH 7.3). The reaction followed pseudo-first-order kinetics over a wide range of the inhibitor concentration. The second-order-rate constant for the inactivation of hexokinase was estimated to be 45 M-1.s-1. Hexokinase was protected more by sugar substrates than by nucleoside triphosphates during inactivation by o-phthalaldehyde. Absorption spectrum (lambda max 338 nm), and fluorescence excitation (lambda max 363 nm) and emission (lambda max 403 nm) spectra of the hexokinase-o-phthalaldehyde adduct were consistent with the formation of an isoindole derivative. These results also suggest that sulfhydryl and epsilon-amino functions of the cysteine and lysine residues, respectively, participating in the isoindole formation are about 3 A apart in the native enzyme. About 2 mol of the isoindole per mol of hexokinase dimer were formed following complete loss of the phosphotransferase activity. Chemical modification of hexokinase by iodoacetamide in the presence of mannose resulted in the modification of six sulfhydryl groups per mol of hexokinase with retention of the phosphotransferase activity. Subsequent reaction of the iodoacetamide modified hexokinase with o-phthalaldehyde resulted in complete loss of the phosphotransferase activity with concomitant modification of the remaining two sulfhydryl groups of hexokinase. Chemical modification of hexokinase by iodoacetamide in the absence of mannose resulted in complete inactivation of the enzyme. The iodoacetamide inactivated hexokinase failed to react with o-phthalaldehyde as evidenced by the absence of a fluorescence emission maximum characteristic of the isoindole derivative. The holoenzyme failed to react with [5'-(p-fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]adenosine. The dissociated hexokinase could be inactivated by [5'-(p-fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]adenosine; the degree of inactivation paralleled the extent of reaction between o-phthalaldehyde and the nucleotide-analog modified enzyme. Thus, it is concluded that two cysteines and lysines at or near the active site of the hexokinase were involved in reaction with o-phthalaldehyde following complete loss of the phosphotransferase activity. An important finding of this investigation is that the lysines, involved in isoindole formation, located at or near the active site are probably buried.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Peptide mapping analysis of the avian progesterone receptor

Progesterone receptor from the chicken oviduct has been shown to exist as two 8 S forms (I and II). Form I contains a protein of Mr = 75,000 and form II contains a protein of Mr = 110,000. In addition to these hormone-binding proteins, both receptor forms contain a protein with Mr = 90,000 that does not bind steroid. To investigate the possibility that these proteins are structurally related, they were isolated by preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis and subjected to peptide mapping analyses after digestion with Staphylococcus aureus V-8 protease, papain, or alpha-chymotrypsin. Receptor proteins labeled with [32P]orthophosphate in tissue minces were also subjected to peptide mapping analysis. The electrophoretic patterns of peptide fragments of the 90-kDa protein from receptor forms I and II were identical but were different from the peptide patterns obtained from the 75- and 110-kDa proteins which generated similar peptide patterns, indicating that these are structurally related. However, some differences were evident, indicating that these latter two proteins are not identical substrates for proteases. A one-dimensional comparison of the phosphopeptide patterns from the 75- and 110-kDa proteins also showed them to be similar, but not identical. Two-dimensional maps of phosphopeptides generated from the 75- and 110-kDa protein after complete tryptic digestion revealed multiple sites of phosphorylation which were identical except for one phosphopeptide that was unique to the 110-kDa protein. These results show the two progesterone-binding proteins to be very similar in structure, but to differ considerably from the 90-kDa protein.     

Combined effects of interferon α and interleukin 2 on the induction of a vascular leak syndrome in mice

Summary Immunotherapy with interleukin 2 (IL-2) alone or in combination with lymphokine-activated killer cells can mediate tumor regression in mice and in man. Further dose escalation of IL-2 along with lymphokine-activated killer cells has been prevented by the development of a vascular leak syndrome produced by IL-2. Because we have found that interferon (IFN-) or tumor necrosis factor (TNF-) has synergistic antitumor effects when administered together with IL-2, we have tested the vascular leakage induced by these lymphokine combinations. We used a murine model to quantify vascular leakage by measuring the extravasation of ¹²⁵I-albumin from the intravascular space as well as the wet and dry lung weights after treatment with different cytokines. Cytokines (or Hanks balanced salt solution) were administered to C57BL/6 mice and 4 h after the last injection the vascular leak was quantified. IFN- alone did not cause extravasation of radiolabel or increase in wet lung weights, though when given in combination with IL-2, significantly greater extravasation (P<0.01) as well as increase in lung water weights (P<0.05) was observed compared to the response in mice treated with IL-2 alone. IFN- in combination with IL-2 induced significant vascular leakage earlier than the response induced by IL-2 alone. For example treatment with IFN- and IL-2 induced accumulation of 14674±605 cpm in the lungs at day 1 while IL-2 alone induced 12340±251 cpm. The degree of vascular leakage was highly related to the dose of IFN- administered along with IL-2 and increased vascular leak syndrome was evident even at low doses (5000 units) of IFN-. Immunosuppression of mice by pretreatment irradiation (500 rad) markedly decreased the development of vascular leak syndrome induced by IL-2 and IFN-. Interestingly IFN- and TNF- did not induce vascular leakage in the lungs when given alone, and did not add or synergize with IL-2 in causing the syndrome. Thus the administration of IFN- in combination with IL-2 produces a dose-limiting vascular leakage that is more severe than that caused by IL-2 alone, and may be mediated, directly or indirectly by host radiosensitive cells. Abbreviations used: LAK, lymphokine-activated killer; IFN, interferon; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; IL-2, interleukin-2     

Sublocalization of an Ataxia-Telangiectasia Gene Distal to D11S384 by Ancestral Haplotyping In Costa Rican Families

In an effort to localize a gene for ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), we have genotyped 27 affected Costa Rican families, with 13 markers, in the chromosome 11q22-23 region. Significant linkage disequilibrium was detected for 9/13 markers between D11S1816 and D11S1391. Recombination events observed in these pedigrees places A-T between D11S1819 and D11S1960. One ancestral haplotype is common to 24/54 affected chromosomes and roughly two-thirds of the families. Inferred (ancestral) recombination events involving this common haplotype in earlier generations suggest that A-T is distal to D11S384 and proximal to D11S1960. Several other common haplotypes were identified, consistent with multiple mutations in a single gene. When considered together with all other evidence, this study further sublocalizes the major A-T locus to ≈200 kb, between markers S384 and S535.     

Microbial transformation of primaquine by Candida tropicalis.

The microbial metabolism of primaquine, a 6-methoxy-8-aminoquinoline antimalarial agent, was investigated. The yeast Candida tropicalis was found to convert primaquine to the previously reported N-acetylated derivative. On continued incubation of C. tropicalis in the presence of the N-acetylated derivative, a minor dimeric metabolite was formed. The proposed structure of the metabolite was based primarily on the analysis of its spectroscopic properties (1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and field-desorption mass spectrum). The structure of the metabolite was proven by direct comparison with an authentic sample of the minor dimeric metabolite prepared by treatment of the N-acetylated derivative with formaldehyde in the presence of formic acid in methanol.