gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Zinc in growth and development and spectrum of human zinc deficiency. (1988)

Growth retardation is seen in experimental animals as a result of severe dietary restriction of several essential trace elements. However, in humans, the effect of zinc deficiency is most pronounced. Growth failure and hypogonadism in males, related to a deficiency of zinc, have been recognized in many developing countries. A mild deficiency of zinc, affecting growth and development in children and adolescents, has been reported from developed countries as well. Zinc deficiency in humans may manifest as severe, moderate, or mild. The manifestations of severe zinc deficiency include bullous pustular dermatitis, alopecia, diarrhea, emotional disorder, weight loss, intercurrent infections due to cell-mediated immune dysfunctions, hypogonadism in males, neurosensory disorders, and problems with healing of ulcers. This condition can be fatal. A moderate level of zinc deficiency has been reported in a variety of conditions. Clinical manifestations include growth retardation and male hypogonadism in adolescence, rough skin, poor appetite, mental lethargy, delayed wound healing, cell-mediated immune dysfunctions, and abnormal neurosensory changes. A mild level of zinc deficiency may manifest with decreased serum testosterone level and oligospermia in males, decreased lean body mass, hyper-ammonemia, neurosensory changes, anergy, decreased serum thymulin activity, and decreased IL-2 activity. Although the clinical aspects of severe and moderate levels of zinc deficiency are well known, the recognition of mild levels of zinc deficiency has been difficult. Currently plasmas zinc appears to be the most widely used parameter for assessment of human zinc status, and it is known to be decreased in cases of severe and moderate deficiency of zinc.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The physical and chemical stability of suspensions of sustained-release diclofenac microspheres (1998)

The major challenge in liquid sustained-release oral suspensions is to minimize drug diffusion into the suspending medium and to retain the original properties of the microparticles during storage. Diclofenac wax microspheres prepared by the hydrophobic congealable disperse phase method were formulated as a sustained release suspension and stored at three different temperatures (25, 37 and 45 °C) for 3 months, to evaluate the physical and chemical stability of the suspended microspheres. Suspensions of microspheres stored at ambient temperatures were both physically and chemically stable, but at higher temperatures, up to 45 °C, there was a decrease in drug release due to scaling and melting on the microsphere surface as observed by scanning electron microscopy. However, on prolonged storage, up to 90 days, especially at 45 °C, temperature became a dominant factor causing an increase in drug release. The suspension of diclofenac microspheres was chemically stable for 3 months, while the plain drug suspension exhibited slight degradation.
Simultaneous temperature and strain sensing for cryogenic applications using dual-wavelength fiber Bragg gratings (2003)

A new technique has been developed for sensing both temperature and strain simultaneously by using dual-wavelength fiber-optic Bragg gratings. Two Bragg gratings with different wavelengths were inscribed at the same location in an optical fiber to form a sensor. By measuring the wavelength shifts that resulted from the fiber being subjected to different temperatures and strains, the wavelength-dependent thermo-optic coefficients and photoelastic coefficients of the fiber were determined. This enables the simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain. In this study, measurements were made over the temperature range from room temperature down to about 10 K, addressing much of the low temperature range of cryogenic tanks. A structural transition of the optical fiber was found when the temperature decreased. This transition caused splitting of the waveforms characterizing the Bragg gratings, and the determination of wavelength shifts was consequently complicated. The effectiveness and sensitivities of these measurements in different temperature ranges are also discussed.
Growth hormone is a positive regulator of adiponectin receptor 2 in 3T3‐L1 adipocytes (2004)

The fat-derived protein adiponectin is an important insulin-sensitizing adipocytokine which is downregulated in insulin resistance and obesity. Recently, two receptors of this adipose-expressed protein called adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) and 2 (AdipoR2) have been cloned. To clarify expression and regulation of these receptors in fat cells, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 mRNA was measured by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction during differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and after treatment with various hormones known to induce insulin resistance. Interestingly, AdipoR2 synthesis was significantly increased up to 4.8-fold during differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, whereas AdipoR1 expression was only augmented up to 1.4-fold. Furthermore, growth hormone (GH) induced AdipoR2, but not AdipoR1 mRNA by up to 2.4-fold in a dose- and time-dependent fashion with significant stimulation detectable at concentrations as low as 5 ng/ml GH and as early as 2 h after effector addition. The positive effect of GH on AdipoR2 expression could be reversed by withdrawal of the hormone for 24 h. In contrast, other key hormones involved in the regulation of insulin resistance and energy metabolism such as insulin, isoproterenol, dexamethasone, triiodothyronine, angiotensin 2, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin-6 did not influence AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 synthesis in vitro. Taken together, our results suggest that AdipoR2 expression is differentiation-dependent and selectively regulated by GH implying a potential role of this hormone in adiponectin-associated alterations of insulin sensitivity and energy homeostasis.
Bertilimumab Cambridge Antibody Technology Group. (2004)

Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) is developing bertilimumab, an anti-eotaxin-1 monoclonal antibody, for the potential treatment of allergic disorders. By September 2003, CAT had released results from phase I/II trials, and was seeking to outlicense rights for bertilimumab.
Temporally controlled targeted somatic mutagenesis in skeletal muscles of the mouse (2005)

To generate temporally controlled targeted somatic mutations selectively and efficiently in skeletal muscles, we established a transgenic HSA-Cre-ER(T2) mouse line in which the expression of the tamoxifen-dependent Cre-ER(T2) recombinase is under the control of a large genomic DNA segment of the human skeletal muscle alpha-actin gene, contained in a P1-derived artificial chromosome. In this transgenic line Cre-ER(T2) is selectively expressed in skeletal muscles, and Cre-ER(T2)-mediated alteration of LoxP flanked (floxed) target genes is skeletal muscle-specific and strictly tamoxifen-dependent. HSA-Cre-ER(T2) mice should be of great value to analyze gene function in skeletal muscles, and to establish animal models of human skeletal muscle disorders.
Effects of heparin and N-acetyl heparin on ischemia/reperfusion-induced alterations in myocardial function in the rabbit isolated heart. (1994)

Evidence is presented that heparin pretreatment produces protective effects on myocardial tissue distinct from its anticoagulant activity. The present study examines the ability of heparin sulfate and N-acetyl heparin (a derivative of heparin devoid of anticoagulant effects) to protect the heart from injury associated with global ischemia and reperfusion. Male New Zealand White rabbits were administered either heparin sulfate (n = 7, 300 U/kg i.v.), N-acetyl heparin (n = 6, 1.73 mg/kg i.v.), or vehicle (n = 6). Two hours after treatment, the hearts were removed, perfused on a Langendorff apparatus, and subjected to 30 minutes of global ischemia, followed by 45 minutes of reperfusion. During reperfusion, creatine kinase concentrations in the coronary sinus effluent were greater in hearts from vehicle-treated rabbits compared with hearts from N-acetyl heparin-treated and heparin-treated rabbits. Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure after 45 minutes of reperfusion in the vehicle-treated group was 64 +/- 15 mm Hg compared with 17 +/- 4 and 10 +/- 3 mm Hg in the heparin-pretreated and N-acetyl heparin-pretreated groups, respectively. Heparin, but not N-acetyl heparin, increased the activated partial thromboplastin time, consistent with its known anticoagulant action. Heparin and N-acetyl heparin inhibited complement-mediated erythrocyte lysis in a concentration-dependent manner. The glycosaminoglycans, in contrast to r-hirudin, reduced complement activation-induced injury in the rabbit isolated heart. The results demonstrate that heparin or N-acetyl heparin, administered to the intact rabbit, protects the isolated heart from subsequent myocardial dysfunction secondary to ischemia/reperfusion. The cardioprotective effects of heparin and N-acetyl heparin are independent of an antithrombin mechanism.
Inactivation of isocitrate dehydrogenase by phosphorylation is mediated by the negative charge of the phosphate. (1987)

The control of isocitrate dehydrogenase through phosphorylation is necessary for growth of Escherichia coli on acetate as the sole carbon source. To understand the mechanism by which phosphorylation inactivates isocitrate dehydrogenase, the sequence of icd, the isocitrate dehydrogenase structural gene, was determined and this information was used to construct mutants at the site of phosphorylation. Introduction of a negatively charged aspartate for the serine that is phosphorylated completely inactivates isocitrate dehydrogenase. Substitution of the serine with other amino acids results in a partially active enzyme in which both maximal velocity and interaction with substrates has been altered. Neither threonine nor tyrosine, when substituted for the serine at the phosphorylation site, is detectably phosphorylated by isocitrate dehydrogenase kinase.
Spontaneous release of DNA by human blood lymphocytes as shown in an in vitro system. (1975)

Human blood lymphocytes released DNA in vitro in the absence of any stimulation. Once purified from the complex appearing in the supernatant, this DNA exhibited typical characteristics as shown by its UV absorption curve, its deoxyribose coloration, and its sensitivity to DNase. Elution patterns on hydroxyapatite columns indicated that the excreted DNA is double stranded. The released DNA was smaller than the cellular DNA; its molecular weight ranged from 3.5 x 10(5) to 3.7 x 10(6) daltons. The DNA appearing in the supernatant does not seem to be due to dead or dying cells since: (a) the same amount of DNA was found in the medium whether the incubation lasted 2 hr or as long as 16 hr; (b) cell death rate had no effect on the amount of extracellular DNA; (c) when the lymphocytes were centrifuged and placed in a new medium several times in a row, a similar amount of extracellular DNA was isolated from each of the successive supernatants, whereas if, after centrifugation, the lymphocytes were put back in their original medium, no increase in the amount of extracellular DNA was observed, suggesting an active regulatory mechanism independent of a mechanical effect; (d) it took more than 1 hr for extracellular DNA to reach its maximum concentration, a fact that also argues against a mechanical effect; (e) the specific activity of the released DNA was different from that of the cellular DNA, depending on the time of labeling; and (f) the cells that had excreted DNA kept their functional integrity, as shown by their fully maintained capacity to increase DNA synthesis after stimulation. The extracellular DNA hybridized specifically with cellular DNA. The hybridization curves indicate that the DNA excreted is highly complex, and they suggest that it is composed of part of the newly synthesized DNA. The higher specific activity of the released DNA, compared with that of the cellular DNA after a long labeling period, can be explained only by a preferential release of the newly synthesized DNA.
Genomic Characterization and Mutation Rate of Hepatitis C Virus Isolated From a Patient Who Contracted Hepatitis During an Epidemic of non-A, non-B Hepatitis in Japan (1992)

To investigate the genomic characterization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) isolated from patient who contracted hepatitis during an epidemic of non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis in Shimizu city, Japan, we have cloned the nucleotide sequence of the viral genome (HCV-KF) spanning the structural domain. When compared to other previously reported HCV isolates, HCV-KF showed an overall identity at the amino acid level of 90.0 to 92.1% with Japanese isolates and 80.9 to 82.1% with American-like isolates. The HCV-KF genome displays an insertion of three nucleotides in-frame (corresponding to one amino acid) found at the junction between the E1 and E2/NS1 region. The mutation rate of the HCV-KF genome was assessed by comparing the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the viral RNA obtained from the serum of the original patient with viral sequences derived from the serum of a chimpanzee inoculated with the same serum 9 years previously. The substitution rate of the viral genome was estimated at 0.9 x 10(-3) nucleotides per site per year for the HCV structural region. The highest mutation rate was found in the hypervariable region within the E2/NS1 domain. It is suggested that the outbreak in Shimizu city was caused by a strain of HCV closely related to the Japanese-like subgroup of isolates.
ERC/mesothelin is expressed in human gastric cancer tissues and cell lines (2013)

ERC/mesothelin is expressed in mesothelioma and other malignancies. The ERC/mesothelin gene (MSLN) encodes a 71-kDa precursor protein, which is cleaved to yield 31-kDa N-terminal (N-ERC/mesothelin) and 40-kDa C-terminal (C-ERC/mesothelin) proteins. N-ERC/mesothelin is a soluble protein and has been reported to be a diagnostic serum marker of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. Gastric cancer tissue also expresses C-ERC/mesothelin, but the significance of serum N-ERC levels for diagnosing gastric cancer has not yet been studied. We examined the latter issue in the present study as well as C-ERC/mesothelin expression in human gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. We immunohistochemically examined C-ERC/mesothelin expression in tissue samples from 50 cases of gastric cancer, and we also assessed the C-ERC/mesothelin expression in 6 gastric cancer cell lines (MKN-1, MKN-7, MKN-74, NUGC-3, NUGC-4 and TMK-1) using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. We also examined the N-ERC/mesothelin concentrations in the supernatants of cultured cells and in the sera of gastric cancer patients using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). N-ERC/mesothelin was detected in the supernatants of 3 gastric cancer cell lines (MKN-1, NUGC-4 and TMK-1) by ELISA, but its concentration in the sera of gastric cancer patients was almost same as that observed in the sera of the normal controls. In the gastric cancer tissues, C-ERC/mesothelin expression was associated with lymphatic invasion. N-ERC/mesothelin was secreted into the supernatants of gastric cancer cell lines, but does not appear to be a useful serum marker of gastric cancer.
Cefepime: the next generation? (1993)

Cefepime is a new aminothiazolylacetamido cephalosporin with a wider spectrum and greater potency than many currently available cephalosporins. It appears that these characteristics result from multiple properties of the molecule. In contrast to older cephalosporins, cefepime more rapidly penetrates the gram-negative cell, targets multiple essential penicillin-binding proteins, and escapes the effects of many beta-lactamases due to the enzymes' low affinity for the drug. The latter characteristic is most apparent in studies of Bush group 1 beta-lactamases. Derepression of this class of beta-lactamases has less effect on the in vitro activity of cefepime than on that of other cephalosporins. The results of clinical trials should now be carefully analyzed to determine whether these advantages carry over into the clinical arena.
p62/SQSTM1 synergizes with autophagy for tumor growth in vivo (2014)

Autophagy is crucial for cellular homeostasis and plays important roles in tumorigenesis. FIP200 (FAK family-interacting protein of 200 kDa) is an essential autophagy gene required for autophagy induction, functioning in the ULK1-ATG13-FIP200 complex. Our previous studies showed that conditional knockout of FIP200 significantly suppressed mammary tumorigenesis, which was accompanied by accumulation of p62 in tumor cells. However, it is not clear whether FIP200 is also required for maintaining tumor growth and how the increased p62 level affects the growth in autophagy-deficient FIP200-null tumors in vivo. Here, we describe a new system to delete FIP200 in transformed mouse embryonic fibroblasts as well as mammary tumor cells following their transplantation and show that ablation of FIP200 significantly reduced growth of established tumors in vivo. Using similar strategies, we further showed that either p62 knockdown or p62 deficiency in established FIP200-null tumors dramatically impaired tumor growth. The stimulation of tumor growth by p62 accumulation in FIP200-null tumors is associated with the up-regulated activation of the NF-κB pathway by p62. Last, we showed that overexpression of the autophagy master regulator TFEB(S142A) increased the growth of established tumors, which correlated with the increased autophagy of the tumor cells. Together, our studies demonstrate that p62 and autophagy synergize to promote tumor growth, suggesting that inhibition of both pathways could be more effective than targeting either alone for cancer therapy.
Cloning of the cDNA for the human beta 1-adrenergic receptor. (1987)

Screening of a human placenta lambda gt11 library has led to the isolation of the cDNA for the human beta 1-adrenergic receptor (beta 1AR). Used as the probe was the human genomic clone termed G-21. This clone, which contains an intronless gene for a putative receptor, was previously isolated by virtue of its cross hybridization with the human beta 2-adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR). The 2.4-kilobase cDNA for the human beta 1AR encodes a protein of 477 amino acid residues that is 69% homologous with the avian beta AR but only 54% homologous with the human beta 2AR. This suggests that the avian gene encoding beta AR and the human gene encoding beta 1AR evolved from a common ancestral gene. RNA blot analysis indicates a message of 2.5 kilobases in rat tissues, with a pattern of tissue distribution consistent with beta 1AR binding. This pattern is quite distinct from the pattern obtained when the beta 2AR cDNA is used as a probe. Expression of receptor protein in Xenopus laevis oocytes conveys adenylate cyclase responsiveness to catecholamines with a typical beta 1AR specificity. This contrasts with the typical beta 2 subtype specificity observed when the human beta 2AR cDNA is expressed in this system. Mammalian beta 1AR and beta 2AR are thus products of distinct genes, both of which are apparently related to the putative G-21 receptor.
Field production and functional evaluation of chloroplast‐derived interferon‐α2b (2007)

Type I interferons (IFNs) inhibit viral replication and cell growth and enhance the immune response, and therefore have many clinical applications. IFN-alpha2b ranks third in world market use for a biopharmaceutical, behind only insulin and erythropoietin. The average annual cost of IFN-alpha2b for the treatment of hepatitis C infection is $26,000, and is therefore unavailable to the majority of patients in developing countries. Therefore, we expressed IFN-alpha2b in tobacco chloroplasts, and transgenic lines were grown in the field after obtaining United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) approval. Stable, site-specific integration of transgenes into chloroplast genomes and homoplasmy through several generations were confirmed. IFN-alpha2b levels reached up to 20% of total soluble protein, or 3 mg per gram of leaf (fresh weight). Transgenic IFN-alpha2b had similar in vitro biological activity to commercially produced PEG-Introntrade mark when tested for its ability to protect cells against cytopathic viral replication in the vesicular stomatitis virus cytopathic effect (VSV CPE) assay and to inhibit early-stage human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The antitumour and immunomodulating properties of IFN-alpha2b were also seen in vivo. Chloroplast-derived IFN-alpha2b increased the expression of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) on splenocytes and the total number of natural killer (NK) cells. Finally, IFN-alpha2b purified from chloroplast transgenic lines (cpIFN-alpha2b) protected mice from a highly metastatic tumour line. This demonstration of high levels of expression of IFN-alpha2b, transgene containment and biological activity akin to that of commercial preparations of IFN-alpha2b facilitated the first field production of a plant-derived human blood protein, a critical step towards human clinical trials and commercialization.
Increased disease activity in a patient with sarcoidosis after high dose interleukin 2 treatment for metastatic renal cancer (2005)

Sarcoidosis is a disease of unknown aetiology in which cytokines such as interleukin 2 (IL-2) are thought to play an important role. We present the case history of a 48 year old man with sarcoidosis who received treatment with high dose IL-2 for metastatic renal cell cancer, following which he developed hypercalcaemia characterised by a raised level of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-(OH)2-D3), a finding consistent with sarcoidosis associated hypercalcaemia. The increased activity in his sarcoidosis following IL-2 treatment provides direct supportive evidence for the role of IL-2 in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis.