Glyco-Engineering Cell Surfaces by Exo-Enzymatic Installation of GlcNAz and LacNAz Motifs.

Exo-enzymatic glyco-engineering of cell-surface glycoconjugates enables the selective display of well-defined glyco-motifs bearing bioorthogonal functional groups, which can be used to study glycans and their interactions with glycan-binding proteins. In recent years, strategies to edit cellular glycans by installing monosaccharides and their derivatives using glycosyltransferase enzymes have rapidly expanded. However, analogous methods to introduce chemical reporter-functionalized type 2 LacNAc motifs have not been reported.

Glycosyltransferases as versatile tools to study the biology of glycans.

All cells are decorated with complex carbohydrate structures called glycans that serve as ligands for glycan-binding proteins (GBPs) to mediate a wide range of biological processes. Understanding the specific functions of glycans is key to advancing an understanding of human health and disease. However, the lack of convenient and accessible tools to study glycan-based interactions has been a defining challenge in glycobiology.

One-Step Selective Labeling of Native Cell Surface Sialoglycans by Exogenous α2,8-Sialylation.

Exo-enzymatic glycan labeling strategies have emerged as versatile tools for efficient and selective installation of terminal glyco-motifs onto live cell surfaces. Through employing specific enzymes and nucleotide-sugar probes, cells can be equipped with defined glyco-epitopes for modulating cell function or selective visualization and enrichment of glycoconjugates. Here, we identifysialyltransferase Cst-II I53S as a tool for cell surface glycan modification, expanding the exo-enzymatic labeling toolkit to include installation of α2,8-disialyl epitopes.

Mass Spectrometry-Based Shotgun Glycomics Using Labeled Glycan Libraries.

Mass spectrometry-based shotgun glycomics (MS-SG) is a rapid, sensitive, label-, and immobilization-free approach for the discovery of natural ligands of glycan-binding proteins (GBPs). To perform MS-SG, natural libraries of glycans derived from glycoconjugates in cells or tissues are screened against a target GBP using catch-and-release electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (CaR-ESI-MS). Because glycan concentrations are challenging to determine, ligand affinities cannot be directly measured.

Antifreeze protein complements cryoprotective dehydration in the freeze-avoiding springtail Megaphorura arctica.

The springtail, Megaphorura arctica, is freeze-avoiding and survives sub-zero temperatures by cryoprotective dehydration. At the onset of dehydration there is some supercooling of body fluids, and the danger of inoculative freezing, which would be lethal. To see if the springtails are protected by antifreeze proteins in this pre-equilibrium phase, we examined extracts from cold-acclimated M.

Validity of a 5-meter multiple shuttle run test for assessing fitness of women field hockey players.

The aim of this study was to establish validity of a 5-m multiple shuttle test (5-m MST) using indirect (criterion and construct) and direct measures of performance. For criterion validity, comparisons were made between data from established fitness tests and a 5-m MST. Construct validity was determined by comparing results from a 5-m MST with subjects of different playing abilities.

Reliability of a 5-m multiple shuttle test.

The aim of the present study was to determine the reliability of a modified 5-m multiple shuttle test. The 'match-related fitness' of 23 female hockey players was assessed on four occasions within 4 weeks. The results of each test session and each shuttle were analysed using analysis of variance with repeated measures to determine the reliability of the test.

Management of women with abnormal cervical smears: supplement to terminology in gynaecological cytopathology.

Recommendations are made for the management of patients with abnormal cervical smears. Colposcopic examination is indicated for persistent mild and moderate dyskaryosis, as well as for severe dyskaryosis.

Terminology in gynaecological cytopathology: report of the Working Party of the British Society for Clinical Cytology.

The report defines and recommends terms for use in cervical cytology.

Immunocytochemical reaction of Ca1 and HMFG2 monoclonal antibodies with cells from serous effusions.

The Ca1 antibody was used in an alkaline phosphatase immunocytochemical method on cells obtained from 150 specimens of pleural and ascitic fluids. The results were compared with the routine cytology report based on the light microscopical appearances. The Ca1 antibody identified tumour cells in 51 of 57 specimens with malignant cells.

Cytological sampling at fibreoptic bronchoscopy: comparison of catheter aspirates and brush biopsies.

A prospective study was undertaken to compare bronchial brushings with dry catheter aspiration for the cytological diagnosis of lung cancer at fibreoptic bronchoscopy. Duplicate samples taken by aspirate and brush were obtained at 103 consecutive routine bronchoscopies. Aspirate and brush samples were reported on separately by two cytologists.

Progression and regression of cervical lesions. Review of smears from women followed without initial biopsy or treatment.

Cervical smears were reviewed from patients in whom a cytological abnormality was followed, after an interval without interference, either by regression to ;negative' or else by progression to invasive carcinoma. Twenty-eight cases were from a previously analysed series with positive smears and an interval of at least two years before investigation, resulting from refusal or failure to trace. Slides were also reviewed from 25 cases in which ;positive' smears had regressed to negative without escaping from surveillance, and from 10 patients subsequently developing invasive carcinoma whose previous slides, taken several years earlier, showed abnormalities on review.

Joint fluid cytology in Reiter's disease.

The diagnostic value of the finding of cytophagocytic macrophages (CPM) in the joint fluid of patients with Reiter's disease has been re-examined. CPM were found in 46% of Reiter's disease fluids and in 45% of other inflammatory knee joint fluids. Higher CPM scores, on a 4-point grading, were commoner in Reiter's disease but the difference was not statistically significant.

Adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix: cytological evidence of a long preclinical evolution.

Adenocarcinoma of the cervix occurred in 13 women who had previously had "negative" cervical smears. These smears were reviewed, and abnormalities were found in six cases, the intervals ranging from two to eight years. It is concluded that adenocarcinoma, like squamous carcinoma of the cervix, can have a prolonged evolution during which it is cytologically detectable.

Oat-cell bronchial carcinoma. Identification of cells in pleural fluid.

An analysis is made of the accuracy of diagnosing oat-cell (small cell) carcinoma of the lung from the cytology of pleural fluid. All the material over a 22-year period has been reviewed. Air-dried smears were used, stained with May-Grünwald-Giemsa.