Hypertension and diabetes treatments and risk of adverse outcomes among breast cancer patients

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Systematic proteomic strategies to map the human signaling landscape

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-05

Urea based osmoregulation and endocrine control in elasmobranch fish with special reference to euryhalinity

Since the landmark contributions of Homer Smith and co-workers in the 1930s there has been a considerable advance in our knowledge regarding the osmoregulatory strategy of elasmobranch fish. Smith recognised that urea was retained in the body fluids as part of the 'osmoregulatory ballast' of elasmobranch fish so that body fluid osmolality is raised to a level that is iso- or slightly hyper-osmotic to that of the surrounding medium. From studies at that time he also postulated that many marine dwelling elasmobranchs were not capable of adaptation to dilute environments. However, more recent investigations have demonstrated that, at least in some species, this may not be the case. Gradual acclimation of marine dwelling elasmobranchs to varying environmental salinities under laboratory conditions has demonstrated that these fish do have the capacity to acclimate to changes in salinity through independent regulation of Na+, Cl- and urea levels. This suggests that many of the presumed stenohaline marine elasmobranchs could in fact be described as partially euryhaline. The contributions of Thomas Thorson in the 1970s demonstrated the osmoregulatory strategy of a fully euryhaline elasmobranch, the bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, and more recent investigations have examined the mechanisms behind this strategy in the euryhaline elasmobranch, Dasyatis sabina. Both partially euryhaline and fully euryhaline species utilise the same physiological processes to control urea, Na+ and Cl- levels within the body fluids. The role of the gills, kidney, liver, rectal gland and drinking process is discussed in relation to the endocrine control of urea, Na+ and Cl- levels as elasmobranchs acclimate to different environmental salinities. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of salinity on growth, pigmentation, N2 fixation and alkaline phosphatase activity of cultured Trichodesmium sp

Trichodesmium sp. isolated from the Great Barrier Reef lagoon was cultured in artificial seawater media containing a range of salinities. Trichodesmium sp. actively grew over a wide range of salinities (22 to 43 psu) and hence can be classed as euryhaline. Maximum growth occurred with salinities in the range 33 to 37 psu. Chl a content and alkaline phosphatase activity were found to increase with salinity over the range 22 to 43 psu, but the N-2 fixation rate was reduced at salinities below and above the range for maximum growth. Growth in media exhibiting maximum growth was characterised by well-dispersed cultures of filaments, while significant aggregations of filaments formed in other media. It is proposed that the tendency for Trichodesmium filaments to aggregate in media with salinities outside the range for maximum growth is an opportunistic response to a deficiency of cellular nitrogen, which results from the reduced N-2 fixation rates, and the aggregation occurs in order to enhance the uptake of combined N released within the aggregates and/or the N-2 fixation within the aggregates.

Storage protein mobilization and thiol protease up-regulation by solid matrix priming in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) seed embryos

Experiments were conducted to investigate physiological mechanisms of solid matrix priming (SMP) on germination enhancement of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) seeds. During SMP, osmotic potential in the embryo decreased by 0.65 MPa, concentration of crystalloid proteins decreased to 62% and concentrations of buffer soluble proteins and free amino acids increased by 22% and by 166%, respectively. Observations under an electron microscope demonstrated protein bodies in the embryo were mobilized. Inhibitor analysis indicated thiol protease was the dominant enzyme among endopiptidases to degrade the reserved proteins. A fragment of thiol protease was cloned from the primed seed embryos and it has high identities to those thiol proteases responsive to water stress. RNA get blot analysis showed a 1.5 kb thiol protease gene was up-regulated by SMP. Treatment with E64, a thiol protease inhibitor, negated SMP effects on germination performance, water potentials and protein profiles. Based on the experimental results, reserve protein mobilization induced by SMP in the embryo before radicle emergence might be one of the mechanisms to enhance germination in loblolly pine seeds.

High glucose-mediated effects on endothelial cell proliferation occur via p38 MAP kinase

The mitogen-activated protein ( MAP) kinases contribute to altered cell growth and function in a variety of disease states. However, their role in the endothelial complications of diabetes mellitus remains unclear. Human endothelial cells were exposed for 72 h to 5 mM ( control) or 25 mM ( high) glucose or 5 mM glucose plus 20 mM mannitol ( osmotic control). The roles of p38 and p42/44 MAP kinases in the high glucose-induced growth effects were determined by assessment of phosphorylated MAP kinases and their downstream activators by Western blot and by pharmacological inhibition of these MAP kinases. Results were expressed as a percentage ( means +/- SE) of control. High glucose increased the activity of total and phosphorylated p38 MAP kinase ( P < 0.001) and p42/44 MAP kinase ( P < 0.001). Coexposure of p38 MAP kinase blocker with high glucose reversed the antiproliferative but not the hypertrophic effects associated with high-glucose conditions. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 increased the levels of phosphorylated p38 MAP kinase, and p38 MAP kinase blockade reversed the antiproliferative effects of this cytokine. The high glucose-induced increase in phosphorylated p38 MAP kinase was reversed in the presence of TGF-beta1 neutralizing antibody. Although hyperosmolarity also induced antiproliferation (P < 0.0001) and cell hypertrophy (P < 0.05), there was no change in p38 activity, and therefore inhibition of p38 MAP kinase had no influence on these growth responses. Blockade of p42/44 MAP kinase had no effect on the changes in endothelial cell growth induced by either high glucose or hyperosmolarity. High glucose increased p42/44 and p38 MAP kinase activity in human endothelial cells, but only p38 MAP kinase mediated the antiproliferative growth response through the effects of autocrine TGF-beta1. High glucose-induced endothelial cell hypertrophy was independent of activation of the MAP kinases studied. In addition, these effects were independent of any increase in osmolarity associated with high-glucose exposure.

Leukaemia inhibitory factor retards the progression of atherosclerosis

Objective: Our previous studies showed that the pleiotropic cytokine leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) inhibits the de novo formation of experimental atherosclerotic lesions. The present study examined whether LIF also inhibits progression of pre-existing atheroma. Methods: Balloon angioplasty was performed on the right carotid arteries of 18 rabbits immediately before placing animals on a cholesterol-enriched diet. After 4 weeks, at which time the intima:media ratio (IN) was 0.99+/-0.12 (n=6), osmotic minipumps containing LIF (n=6) or saline control n=6) were inserted into the peritoneal cavity of each of the remaining rabbits for a further 4 weeks. Arteries were then harvested for analysis. Results: Continuous administration of LIF for the final 4 weeks of an 8-week cholesterol-enriched diet completely inhibited lesion progression in injured carotid arteries (I:M 1.05+/-0.16) compared with the saline-treated group at 8 weeks (1.62+/-0.13; P

Plasma osmolyte concentrations and rectal gland mass of bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas, captured along a salinity gradient

Bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) were captured across a salinity gradient from freshwater (FW) to seawater (SW). Across all salinities, C leucas were hyperosmotic to the environment. Plasma osmolarity in FW-captured animals (642 +/- 7 mosM) was significantly reduced compared to SW-captured animals (1067 +/- 21 mosM). In FW animals, sodium, chloride and urea were 208 +/- 3, 203 +/- 3 and 192 +/- 2 mmol l(-1), respectively. Plasma sodium, chloride and urea in SW-captured C leucas were 289 +/- 3, 296 +/- 6 and 370 +/- 10 mmol l(-1), respectively. The increase in plasma osmolarity between FW and SW was not linear. Between FW (3 mosM) and 24%o SW (676 mosM), plasma osmolarity increased by 22% or 0.92% per 1parts per thousand rise in salinity. Between 24%o and 33parts per thousand, plasma osmolarity increased by 33% or 4.7% per 1 parts per thousand rise in salinity, largely due to a sharp increase in plasma urea between 28parts per thousand and 33parts per thousand. C. leucas moving between FW and SW appear to be faced with three major osmoregulatory challenges, these occur between 0-10parts per thousand, 11-20parts per thousand and 21-33parts per thousand. A comparison between C leucas captured in FW and estuarine environments (20-28%o) in the Brisbane River revealed no difference in the mass of rectal glands between these animals. However, a comparison of rectal gland mass between FW animals captured in the Brisbane River and Rio San Juan/Lake Nicaragua showed that animals in the latter system had a significantly smaller rectal gland mass at a given length than animals in the Brisbane River. The physiological challenges and mechanisms required for C leucas moving between FW and SW, as well as the ecological implications of these data are discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparisons of physical separation methods of Kunjin virus-induced membranes

The two sets of connected membranes induced in Kunjin virus-infected cells are characterized by the presence of NS3 helicase/protease in both, and by RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) activity plus the associated double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) template in vesicle packets (VP), or by the absence of both the VP-specific markers in the convoluted membranes/paracrystalline arrays (CM/PC). Attempts were made to separate flavivirus-induced membranes by sedimentation or flotation analyses in density gradients of sucrose or iodixanol, respectively, after treatment of cell lysates by sonication, osmotic shock, or tryptic digestion. Only osmotic shock treatment provided suggestive evidence of separation. This was explored by flow cytometry analysis (FCA) of RdRp active membrane fractions from a sucrose gradient, using dual fluorescent labelling via antibodies to NS3 and dsRNA. FCA revealed the presence of a dual labelled membrane population indicative of VP, and in a faster sedimenting fraction a membrane population able to be labelled only in NS3, representative of CM/PC and associated (R)ER. It was postulated that osmotic shock ruptured the bounding membrane of the VP, releasing the enclosed small vesicles associated with the Kunjin virus replication complex characterized previously. Notably, the presence of the full spectrum of nonstructural proteins in some membrane fractions was not a reliable marker for RdRp activity. These experiments may provide the opportunity for isolation of relatively pure flavivirus replication complexes in their native membrane-associated state by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abolition of valproate-derived choleresis in the Mrp2 transporter-deficient rat

Valproic acid (VPA) is a major therapeutic agent in the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. It is metabolized in humans and rats primarily along two pathways: direct glucuronidation to yield the acyl glucuronide (VPA-G) and beta-oxidation. We have shown much earlier in the Sprague-Dawley rat that i.v. administration of sodium valproate (NaVPA) caused a marked choleresis ( mean of 3.3 times basal bile flow after doses of 150 mg/kg), ascribed to the passive osmotic flow of bile water following excretion of VPA-G across the canalicular membrane. Active biliary pumping of anionic drug conjugates across the canalicular membrane is now believed to be attributable to transporter proteins, in particular Mrp2, which is deficient in the TR- ( a mutant Wistar) rat. In the present study, normal Wistar and Mrp2-deficient TR- rats were dosed i.v. with NaVPA at 150 mg/kg. In the Wistar rats, there was a peak choleretic effect of about 3.2 times basal bile flow, occurring at about 30 to 45 min postdose ( as seen previously with Sprague-Dawley rats). In TR- rats given the same i.v. dose, there was no evidence of postdose choleresis. The choleresis was correlated with the excretion of VPA-G into bile. In Wistar rats, 62.8 +/- 7.7% of the NaVPA dose was excreted in bile as VPA-G, whereas in TR- rats, only 2.0 +/- 0.6% of the same dose was excreted as VPA-G in bile ( with partial compensatory excretion of VPA-G in urine). This study underlines the functional ( bile flow) consequences of biliary transport of xenobiotic conjugated metabolites.

Reappraisal of disparities between osmolality estimates by freezing point depression and vapor pressure deficit methods

As a response to recent expression of concern about possible unreliability of vapor pressure deficit measurements K Kiyosawa, Biophys. Chem. 104 (2003) 171-188), the results of published studies on the temperature dependence of the osmotic pressure of aqueous polyethylene glycol solutions are shown to account for the observed discrepancies between osmolality estimates obtained by freezing point depression and vapor pressure deficit osmometry - the cause of the concern. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A pore-forming haemolysin from the hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum

Hookworms feed on blood, but the mechanism by which they lyse ingested erythrocytes is unknown. Here we show that Ancylostoma caninum, the common dog hookworm, expresses a detergent soluble, haemolytic factor. Activity was identified in both adult and larval stages, was heat-stable and unaffected by the addition of protease inhibitors, metal ions, chelators and reducing agents. Trypsin ablated lysis indicating that the haemolysin is a protein. A closely migrating doublet of hookworm proteins with apparent molecular weights of 60-65 kDa bound to the erythrocyte membrane after lysis of cells using both unlabeled and biotinylated detergent-solubilised hookworm extracts. In addition, separation of detergent-soluble parasite extracts using strong cation-exchange chromatography, resulted in purification of 60-65 kDa proteins with trypsin-sensitive haemolytic activity. Erythrocytes lysed with particulate, buffer-insoluble worm extracts were observed using scanning electron microscopy and appeared as red cell ghosts with approximately 100 nm diameter pores formed in the cell membranes. Red blood cell ghosts remained visible indicating that lysis was likely caused by pore formation and followed by osmotic disruption of the cell. (C) 2004 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification and cloning of the gene encoding BmpC: an outer-membrane lipoprotein associated with Brachyspira pilosicoli membrane vesicles

The intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira pilosicoli causes colitis in a wide variety of host species. Little is known about the structure or protein constituents of the B. pilosicoli outer membrane (OM). To identify surface-exposed proteins in this species, membrane vesicles were isolated from B. pilosicoli strain 95-1000 cells by osmotic lysis in dH(2)O followed by isopycnic centrifugation in sucrose density gradients. The membrane vesicles were separated into a high-density fraction (HDMV; p = 1.18 g CM-3) and a low-density fraction (LDMV; rho=1.12 g cm(-3)). Both fractions were free of flagella and soluble protein contamination. LDMV contained predominantly OM markers (lipo-oligosaccharide and a 29 kDa B. pilosicoli OM protein) and was used as a source of antigens to produce mAbs. Five B. pilosicoli-specific mAbs reacting with proteins with molecular masses of 23, 24, 35, 61 and 79 kDa were characterized. The 23 kDa protein was only partially soluble in Triton X-114, whereas the 24 and 35 kDa proteins were enriched in the detergent phase, implying that they were integral membrane proteins or lipoproteins. All three proteins were localized to the B. pilosicoli OM by immunogold labelling using specific mAbs. The gene encoding the abundant, surface-exposed 23 kDa protein was identified by screening a B. pilosicoli 95-1000 genome library with the mAb and was expressed in Escherichia coli. Sequence analysis showed that it encoded a unique lipoprotein, designated BmpC. Recombinant BmpC partitioned predominantly in the OM fraction of E. coli strain SOLR. The mAb to BmpC was used to screen a collection of 13 genetically heterogeneous strains of B. pilosicoli isolated from five different host species. Interestingly, only strain 95-1000 was reactive with the mAb, indicating that either the surface-exposed epitope on BmpC is variable between strains or that the protein is restricted in its distribution within B. pilosicoli.

Influence of socioeconomic deprivation on the primary care burden and treatment of patients with a diagnosis of heart failure in general practice in Scotland: population based study

Objectives To examine whether there are socioeconomic gradients in die incidence, prevalence, treatment, and follow up of patients with heart failure in primary care. Design Population based study. Setting 53 general practices (307741 patients) participating in the Scottish continuous morbidity recording project between 1 April 1999 and 31 March 2000. Participants 2186 adults with heart failure. Main outcome measures Comorbid diagnoses, frequency of visits to general practitioner, and prescribed drugs. Results 2186 patients with heart failure were seen (prevalence 7.1 per 1000 population, incidence 2.0 per 1000 population). The age and sex standardised incidence of heart failure increased with greater socioeconomic deprivation, from 1.8 per 1000 population in the most affluent stratum to 2.6 per 1000 population in the most deprived stratum (odds ratio 1.44, P=0.0003). On average, patients were seen 2.4 times yearly, but follow up rates were less frequent with increasing socioeconomic deprivation (from 2.6 yearly in the most affluent subgroup to 2.0 yearly in the most deprived subgroup, P=0.00009). Overall, 812 (80.6%) patients were prescribed diuretics, 396 (39.3%) angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, 216 (21.4%) beta blockers, 208 (20.7%) digoxin, and 86 (8.5%) spironolactone. The wide discrepancies in prescribing between different general practices disappeared after adjustment for patient age and sex. Prescribing patterns did not vary by deprivation categories on univariate or multivariate analyses. Conclusions Compared with affluent patients, socioeconomically deprived patients were 44% more likely to develop heart failure but 23% less likely to see their general practitioner on an ongoing basis. Prescribed treatment did not differ across socioeconomic gradients.

Freshwater to seawater acclimation of juvenile bull sharks ( Carcharhinus leucas): plasma osmolytes and Na +/K +-ATPase activity in gill, rectal gland, kidney and intestine

This study examined the osmoregulatory status of the euryhaline elasmobranch Carcharhinus leucas acclimated to freshwater (FW) and seawater ( SW). Juvenile C. leucas captured in FW ( 3 mOsm l(-1) kg(-1)) were acclimated to SW ( 980 - 1,000 mOsm l(-1) kg(-1)) over 16 days. A FW group was maintained in captivity over a similar time period. In FW, bull sharks were hyper-osmotic regulators, having a plasma osmolarity of 595 mOsm l(-1) kg(-1). In SW, bull sharks had significantly higher plasma osmolarities ( 940 mOsm l(-1) kg(-1)) than FW-acclimated animals and were slightly hypoosmotic to the environment. Plasma Na+, Cl-, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, urea and trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) concentrations were all significantly higher in bull sharks acclimated to SW, with urea and TMAO showing the greatest increase. Gill, rectal gland, kidney and intestinal tissue were taken from animals acclimated to FW and SW and analysed for maximal Na+/ K+-ATPase activity. Na+/ K+-ATPase activity in the gills and intestine was less than 1 mmol Pi mg(-1) protein h(-1) and there was no difference in activity between FW- and SW-acclimated animals. In contrast Na+/ K+-ATPase activity in the rectal gland and kidney were significantly higher than gill and intestine and showed significant differences between the FW- and SW-acclimated groups. In FW and SW, rectal gland Na+/ K+-ATPase activity was 5.6 +/- 0.8 and 9.2 +/- 0.6 mmol Pi mg(-1) protein h(-1), respectively. Na+/ K+-ATPase activity in the kidney of FW and SW acclimated animals was 8.4 +/- 1.1 and 3.3 +/- 1.1 Pi mg(-1) protein h(-1), respectively. Thus juvenile bull sharks have the osmoregulatory plasticity to acclimate to SW; their preference for the upper reaches of rivers where salinity is low is therefore likely to be for predator avoidance and/or increased food abundance rather than because of a physiological constraint.