AGAP1-associated endolysosomal trafficking abnormalities link gene-environment interactions in a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Unlabelled: is an Arf1 GAP that regulates endolysosomal trafficking. Damaging variants have been linked to cerebral palsy and autism. We report 3 new individuals with microdeletion variants in .

A modified IMAC method for the capture of target protein from mammalian cell culture harvest containing metal chelating species.

Although immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) offers high capacity and protein selectivity it is not typically used commercially for the capture of native proteins from mammalian cell culture harvest. This is due mainly to the potential for low target recovery due to the presence of strong metal ion chelating species in the harvest that compete for the metal immobilized on the resin. To address this issue a buffer exchange step, such as tangential flow filtration (TFF), is added after harvest clarification and prior to IMAC to remove the interfering harvest components.

Acute oral pain intensity and pain threshold assessed by intensity matching to pain induced by electrical stimuli.

Aims: To investigate a recently developed pain-intensity matching device (Painmatcher) in terms of reproducibility, pain intensity, and unpleasantness experienced by healthy individuals upon pain threshold assessment, as well as differences in pain threshold between genders and between healthy individuals and patients with acute oral pain, and the relation between pain-intensity assessments by the Painmatcher and a visual analog scale (VAS) in the patients.

Methods: Forty healthy individuals and 28 patients with acute oral pain participated. The Painmatcher produces an eventually noxious stimulus by increasing electrical impulses between 2 fingers.

Thrombopoietin accelerates platelet, red blood cell, and neutrophil recovery in myelosuppressed mice.

The recent cloning of thrombopoietin (TPO) has allowed us to study its in vivo effects in normal and myelosuppressed mice. Normal Balb/c mice were treated with recombinant human TPO (hTPO) at doses ranging from 1 to 20 kU for 7 days, and complete blood counts (CBCs) and the number of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow were determined. Platelet counts were increased starting on day 5 after mice were treated with hTPO.

Proteinases of rat mast cells. Peritoneal but not intestinal mucosal mast cells express mast cell proteinase 5 and carboxypeptidase A.

Six basic proteins of 26 to 38 kDa with isoelectric points (pI) > or = 8.5 were abundant in proteins separated by two-dimensional SDS-PAGE from adult rat peritoneal mast cells (MC). One was identified previously as rat mast cell proteinase (RMCP) 1, a chymase of 26 to 28 kDa, pI > 9.

N- and O-glycosylation and phosphorylation of the bar secretion leader derived from the barrier protease of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A secretion leader derived from a domain of the extracellular Barrier protease of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been expressed in wild-type and in mnn1, mnn9, and mnn1 mnn9 glycosylation mutant strains of S. cerevisiae. Structural comparison of the extracellular leader by mass spectrometry, peptide mapping, and elementary analysis proved that all strains produced a heterogeneous, heavily glycosylated polypeptide of 161 amino acids with both N- and O-glycosylation and phosphorylation.

Thrombopoietin expands erythroid progenitors, increases red cell production, and enhances erythroid recovery after myelosuppressive therapy.

Thrombopoietin (TPO), the ligand for the receptor protooncogene c-mpl, has been cloned and shown to be the critical regulator of platelet production. Several features of c-Mpl expression, including its presence on erythroid cell lines, and the panmyeloid transformation characteristic of myeloproliferative leukemia (MPL) viral disease led us to investigate whether this receptor-ligand system may play a role in erythropoiesis. We report that although TPO alone did not support the growth of either early or late erythroid progenitors, it acted in synergy with erythropoietin to expand these populations.

Promotion of megakaryocyte progenitor expansion and differentiation by the c-Mpl ligand thrombopoietin.

The development of blood cells including expansion of megakaryocyte progenitor cells requires the interplay of marrow stromal cells and polypeptide cytokines. Recently, characterization of c-Mpl, the receptor encoded by the proto-oncogene c-mpl, revealed structural homology with the haematopoietic cytokine receptor family, and its involvement in megakaryocyte development. We report here that the ligand for c-Mpl is relatively lineage specific, works both alone and synergistically with early acting cytokines to support megakaryocyte colony formation, and acts at a late stage of development to increase megakaryocyte size, polyploidization and expression of differentiation markers.

Molecular cloning of porcine alveolar macrophage-derived neutrophil chemotactic factors I and II; identification of porcine IL-8 and another intercrine-alpha protein.

Alveolar macrophages (AM) mediate lung inflammation by producing lipid and peptide molecules that attract neutrophils (PMN) to the lung. Recently we described two porcine proteins called alveolar macrophage-derived chemotactic factors, AMCF-I and -II, that are potent, efficacious, and specific PMN chemoattractants both in vitro and in vivo. We report here the cloning of the full-length cDNAs which code for each protein.

Identification of two neutrophil chemotactic peptides produced by porcine alveolar macrophages.

We have purified to homogeneity two distinct 10-kDa proteins with potent chemotactic activity for neutrophils from porcine alveolar macrophages incubated for 24 h with Escherichia coli endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 10 micrograms/ml). Neutrophil chemotactic activity in alveolar macrophage supernatants was concentrated by adsorption to SP-Sephadex, and purified by cation exchange and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. The first peptide, alveolar macrophage chemotactic factor (AMCF)-I, had chemotactic activity for both porcine and human neutrophils.

Purification of PDGF-AB and PDGF-BB from human platelet extracts and identification of all three PDGF dimers in human platelets.

We have developed a panel of monoclonal antibodies to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) which have variable specificities for the three dimeric forms of the molecule (AA, AB, and BB). We have used these antibodies to detect and immunoaffinity purify the individual dimers from human platelet rich plasma. Extracts of outdated platelet preparations were initially chromatographed over CM-Sepharose and then passed over the Sepharose-coupled monoclonal antibodies in series in selectively isolate the three dimeric forms of PDGF.

Procalcitonin's amino-terminal cleavage peptide is a bone-cell mitogen.

The parafollicular-cell (C-cell) hormone calcitonin (CT) can preserve or even augment skeletal mass by inhibiting osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. The possibility of an additional anabolic skeletal influence has also been raised: C cells might, via CT or other secretory products, affect osteoblast-mediated bone formation. The 57-residue amino-terminal procalcitonin cleavage peptide, N-proCT, has recently been identified in human and rat C cells, where it is made and secreted in equimolar amounts with CT.

Two different subunits associate to create isoform-specific platelet-derived growth factor receptors.

Recent evidence has demonstrated that there is more than one form of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor and that these receptors differ in their specificity for the multiple isoforms of PDGF. We present evidence that high affinity binding of PDGF requires association of two different receptor subunits: an alpha-subunit that can bind either a B- or an A-chain of PDGF, and a beta-subunit that can bind only a B-chain. The alpha- and beta-subunits appear to be similar in size but can be distinguished by binding specificity and by an antireceptor monoclonal antibody, PR7212, which recognizes only the beta-subunit.

Fast atom bombardment mass spectral search for the amino terminus of genetically engineered alpha 1-antitrypsin.

Protein structure determination of genetically engineered alpha 1-antitrypsin was carried out using the technique of 'fast atom bombardment (FAB) MAPPING'. CNBr, tryptic and chymotryptic FAB MAPS were produced. The anticipated amino terminal region of the molecule was not mapped at the expected mass, raising the possibility of post-translational modification.

Two classes of PDGF receptor recognize different isoforms of PDGF.

Previous studies involving platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) have been based on the premise that a single cell-surface receptor binds all three isoforms of PDGF (AA, BB, and AB). It is now shown that two populations of PDGF receptor exist and can be distinguished by their ligand binding specificity. The B receptor binds only the BB dimer, whereas the A/B receptor binds AA, BB, and AB dimers.

Augmentation of lung antineutrophil elastase capacity with recombinant human alpha-1-antitrypsin.

To evaluate the potential use of recombinant DNA-produced alpha-1-antitrypsin (alpha-1-AT) to augment the lung antineutrophil elastase defenses in alpha-1-AT deficiency, we compared the kinetics of intravenously administered recombinant produced alpha-1-AT (r alpha-1-AT) and purified normal human plasma alpha-1-AT (p alpha-1-AT) in the blood and lung of rhesus monkeys. The r alpha-1-AT was produced in yeast transformed with an expressing plasmid containing a full-length human alpha-1-AT complementary deoxyribonucleic acid and purified to greater than 99% homogeneity. The r alpha-1-AT has a molecular weight of 45,000, no carbohydrates, and is identical in sequence to normal plasma alpha-1-AT except for an additional N-terminal acetylmethionine.

Immunotherapy of murine sarcomas with auto-anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibodies which bind to tumor-specific T cells.

Hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies (mAb) were obtained from BALB/c mice immunized against either of two transplanted, chemically induced syngeneic sarcomas, MCA-1490 or MCA-1511. Two mAb, 4.72 and 5.

Role of carbohydrate in the function of human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

cDNA clones for the human hematopoietic regulator granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) were isolated from a lamba gt11 cDNA library prepared from RNA of COS cells transiently expressing the gene for hGM-CSF. As the RNA was a rich source of hGM-CSF mRNA, approximately 0.1% of the clones of this library contained hGM-CSF sequences.

Secretion and processing of insulin precursors in yeast.

A series of dibasic insulin precursors including proinsulin was expressed and secreted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Recombinant plasmids were constructed to encode fusion proteins consisting of a modified mating factor alpha 1 leader sequence and an insulin precursor. The leader sequence serves to direct the fusion protein into the secretory pathway of the cell and to expose it to the Lys-Arg processing enzyme system.

Immunization to a syngeneic sarcoma by a monoclonal auto-anti-idiotypic antibody.

Idiotypic networks regulate the immune response to a variety of antigens. Antibodies generated against other antibodies, called anti-idiotypic antibodies, can themselves mimic antigen and elicit a specific immune response. They have been shown to induce delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to model antigens in the mouse.

Production of T-cell lines with inhibitory or stimulatory activity against syngeneic tumors in vivo. A preliminary report.

We obtained Thy-I-positive cells directly from growing methylcholanthrene-induced (MCA-1510) sarcomas using fluorescence-activated cell sorting, then cultured these lymphocytes in medium containing Interleukin-2 and tested their activity in vivo against various MCA-sarcoma lines with the Winn assay. We found that cultured T cells from small MCA-1510 tumors (17 days after transplantation) significantly inhibited the growth of that particular sarcoma, but not of three other MCA-tumor lines tested, while cultured T cells from large MCA-1510 sarcomas (41 days after transplantation) significantly enhanced the growth of that tumor, but not of an unrelated tumor, MCA-1460. The former cells were primarily Lyt-1+, 2+ while the latter were primarily Lyt-1+, 2+.