Induction of cytochrome P450 1A1 gene expression, oxidative stress, and genotoxicity by carbaryl and thiabendazole in transfected human HepG2 and lymphoblastoid cells.

Carbaryl and thiabendazole, two widely used pesticides, have been shown to induce cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) expression, but neither compound is capable of displacing [3H] 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-P-dioxin from its aryl hydrocarbon receptor binding site. In the present study, we investigated the transcriptional regulation of CYP1A1 as well as other genes in various human hepatoma HepG2 cell lines stably transfected with the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter gene and cloned under the control of each of 14 promoters or response elements from relevant stress genes. Carbaryl and thiabendazole were found to activate CYP1A1 at the level of transcription, as demonstrated by the dose-dependent increase in reporter CAT and CYP1A1 mRNAs.

Enzyme supplementation and particle size of wheat in diets for nursery and finishing pigs.

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of enzyme supplementation and particle size of wheat-based diets on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in nursery and finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, 180 weaned pigs (5.

Organochlorine contaminants and biomarker response in double-crested cormorants nesting in Green Bay and Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, USA.

Double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) eggs at pipping and sibling 10-day-old chicks were collected from two colonies in Green Bay, WI, one colony in Lake Michigan, WI, and reference colonies in South Dakota and Minnesota. Egg contents and chicks were analyzed for organochlorine contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners. Livers of embryos and chicks were assayed for hepatic microsomal ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (EROD) activity.

Ethnic differences in human flavin-containing monooxygenase 2 (FMO2) polymorphisms: detection of expressed protein in African-Americans.

The flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) are a family of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes that are expressed in a species- and tissue-specific manner. FMO2 expression has been observed in pulmonary tissue from several species, but not human. Two human FMO2 point mutations have been reported: a cytosine to thymidine transition at position 1414 resulting in a premature stop codon and a thymidine insertion at position 1589 resulting in a frameshift.

Increased power with modified forms of the Levene (Med) test for heterogeneity of variance.

While the conventional Levene (Med) test is a widely used and robust test for detecting heterogeneity of variance, it does not take notice of either the linear dependencies among the residuals involved or the possibility of a mean (or median)-variance relationship. This paper explores the substantial improvements in power possible by investigating the benefits both of removing such linear dependencies (structural zeros) and of modeling (even roughly) such relationships.

Developmental regulation of the L-type calcium channel alpha1C subunit expression in heart.

We used Northern analyses, RNase protection assays and immunoblot analyses to examine the relationship among developmental age of the heart, abundance of mRNA and L-type calcium channel alpha1C subunit protein, and to establish the size of the native protein in heart. Northern analysis, RNase protection assays, and immunoblots were used to study RNA and protein from rat heart of various ages. In fetal and adult ventricles there was a predominant 8.

Diflubenzuron, a benzoyl-urea insecticide, is a potent inhibitor of TCDD-induced CYP1A1 expression in HepG2 cells.

Diflubenzuron (DFB) belongs to a group of compounds called benzoyphenyl ureas acting as chitin synthesis inhibitors, which also inhibit growth of B16 murine melanomas. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of this insecticide, on CYP1A1 expression and induction in human hepatoma cells HepG2. Treatment of HepG2 cells over 72 h with noncytotoxic concentrations of DFB resulted in a strong dose-dependent decrease in constitutive ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity.

Mixed-function oxygenases, oxidative stress, and chromosomal damage measured in lesser scaup wintering on the Indiana Harbor Canal.

During the winter of 1993-1994, male lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) were collected on the heavily polluted Indiana Harbor Canal, East Chicago, Indiana, and examined for several bioindicators of chemical exposure. Livers were analyzed for activities of three cytochrome P450-associated monooxygenases and four measures of oxidative stress. Blood and spleen were analyzed by flow cytometry for chromosomal damage.

Identification of a BamHI Polymorphism for the Urokinase Gene Associated with Symptomatic Coronary Artery Disease.

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) and plasmin have been implicated in a number of processes, including activation of a variety of metalloproteinases, matrix remodeling, and cell migration, which may underlie the early initiation and progression of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD). These studies were carried out to determine whether variations in the u-PA gene, using a BamHI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) as a new marker for genetic variation, may be associated with CAD. Southern blot analysis of individual digested genomic DNA (BamHI), hybridized with a 2-kb human u-PA cDNA probe, identified a two-allele RFLP with allelic bands at 6 and 1.

Regulation of DHP receptor expression by elements in the 5'-flanking sequence.

The alpha(1)-subunit of the cardiac/vascular Ca(2+) channel, which is the dihydropyridine (DHP)-binding site (the DHP receptor), provides the pore structure for Ca(2+) entry. It contains the binding sites for multiple classes of drugs collectively known as Ca(2+) antagonists. As an initial step toward understanding the mechanisms controlling transcription of the rat cardiac alpha(1C)-subunit gene, we have cloned a 2.

Cell specificity of the transcription-factor repertoire used by a lentivirus: motifs important for expression of equine infectious anemia virus in nonmonocytic cells.

The equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) long-terminal repeat (LTR) has been identified as highly variable, both in infected horses and in cell culture. This nucleotide hypervariation is localized to the LTR enhancer region. The EIAV LTR has been implicated in controlling both the cell tropism and virulence of the virus and it is postulated that the enhancer-region hypervariation may be responsible for the LTR effects.

Multiple drug-resistant Salmonella typhimurium DT104 and DT104b isolated in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus).

Multiple drug-resistant Salmonella typhimurium, definitive type (DT) 104 and DT104b, were isolated in three separate hunting preserve bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) outbreaks. The cases involved 4-day-old and 3-wk-old quail with increased mortality of 5%-8.6%, respectively.

Pharmacology and biological efficacy of a recombinant, humanized, single-chain antibody C5 complement inhibitor in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Background: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) induces a systemic inflammatory response that causes substantial clinical morbidity. Activation of complement during CPB contributes significantly to this inflammatory process. We examined the capability of a novel therapeutic complement inhibitor to prevent pathological complement activation and tissue injury in patients undergoing CPB.

Effects of omitting vitamin and trace mineral premixes and(or) reducing inorganic phosphorus additions on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and muscle quality in finishing pigs.

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of omitting vitamin and trace mineral premixes and(or) reducing inorganic phosphorus additions to finishing diets on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and muscle quality in pigs. In Exp. 1, a corn-soybean meal-based diet (.

Steroid 5alpha-reductase 2 gene melting polymorphisms in male subjects with azoospermia or oligospermia.

Objective: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that mutations in the gene for type 2 steroid 5alpha-reductase (SRD5A2) may be the cause of a phenotype characterized primarily by oligospermia or azoospermia.

Study Design: Deoxyribonucleic acid from control subjects and subjects with oligospermia (n = 12) and azoospermia (n = 6) were evaluated for mutations in SRD5A2. Methods used for mutation analysis included polymerase chain reaction, Southern blotting, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

Temporal and cell-specific gene expression by human endometrium after coculture with trophoblast.

Objective: Our purpose was to identify temporal and stage-specific expression of endometrial genes during coculture with trophoblast cells.

Study Design: Endometrial stromal cells were cultured to confluence in the presence of estradiol and progesterone. During these culture conditions the gene expression of 1 tissue specimen that secreted abundant prolactin (415 ng/mL culture medium at 21 days) was compared with a second specimen that did not.

Flavin-containing monooxygenase isoform 2: developmental expression in fetal and neonatal rabbit lung.

Mammalian flavin-containing monooxygenase functions in the oxygenation of numerous xenobiotics containing a soft nucleophile, usually a nitrogen or sulfur. A total of five distinct flavin monooxygenase (FMO) isoforms are expressed in mammals. Individual isoforms are expressed in a sex-, age-, and tissue-specific fashion.

Heparin management test versus activated coagulation time during cardiovascular surgery: correlation with anti-Xa activity.

Objective: To compare the abilities of the heparin management test (HMT) and the activated coagulation time (ACT) to provide a measurement of heparin effect in patients undergoing cardiac or peripheral vascular surgery. These measurements of heparin effect were also compared with measurements of heparin concentrations tested by anti-Xa activity. A secondary objective was to compare the performance of the noncitrated HMT with that of the citrated HMT.

A genetic polymorphism in the regulatory sequences of human CYP2E1: association with increased chlorzoxazone hydroxylation in the presence of obesity and ethanol intake.

To pursue the hypothesis that differences in the regulatory region of CYP2E1 are partially responsible for the intersubject variation in in vivo CYP2E1 activity, restriction enzyme digestion and Southern blotting of 36 human DNA samples were performed. The fractionated DNA was hybridized with a genomic probe to the upstream region of CYP2E1 from positions -2710 to -580. After digestion with the restriction enzyme XbaI, most subjects (69%) were homozygous for the expected band representing the XbaI fragment from positions -2270 to -408, whereas 31% had an unexpected, slightly larger band.

Functional characterization of the human CYP1A1 negative regulatory element: modulation of Ah receptor mediated transcriptional activity.

The mechanisms that underly the regulation of human CYP1A1 have merited considerable attention because of their association both with toxic outcomes and the etiology of several cancers. Previous work conducted in this laboratory has identified a negative regulatory element (NRE) in the 5' region of this gene that appeared to modulate CYP1A1 transcriptional activity. This NRE is present in two functional copies, a high affinity 21-bp palindrome centered at position -784, and an additional element found within a GC-rich region between position -728 and -558.

Intentional and unintentional injury in the State of Nevada: 1989-1992.

Introduction: Data from a large population-based trauma registry were used to assess risk factors and outcomes associated with injuries that were either caused unintentionally, were self-inflicted, or resulted from an assault.

Design: A retrospective analysis was conducted of all cases of serious trauma (N = 19,505) occurring in the State of Nevada during the 4-year period from January 1, 1989, through December 31, 1992. The outcome measures of interest were Injury Severity Score, hospitalization, and mortality.

Ovarian endometriomas do not adversely affect pregnancy success following treatment with in vitro fertilization.

Purpose: Ovarian endometriomas have an uncertain impact on outcome following in vitro fertilization (IVF). Some authors describe a poor response to ovulation induction, and others observe decreased pregnancy success rates. Conversely, IVF outcomes similar to those of patients undergoing IVF for tubal-factor infertility have also been reported.

Correlation of polyamine and growth responses to N1,N11-diethylnorspermine in primary fetal fibroblasts derived from transgenic mice overexpressing spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase.

A recently generated transgenic mouse line having activated polyamine catabolism due to systemic overexpression of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) was used to isolate primary fetal fibroblasts as a means to further elucidate the cellular consequences of activated polyamine catabolism. Basal levels of SSAT activity and steady-state mRNA in the transgenic fibroblasts were about approximately 20- and approximately 40-fold higher than in non-transgenic fibroblasts. Consistent with activated polyamine catabolism, there was an overaccumulation of putrescine and N1-acetylspermidine and a decrease in spermidine and spermine pools.