Identification and characterization of a putative telomere end-binding protein from Tetrahymena thermophila.

Telomeric DNA of Tetrahymena thermophila consists of a long stretch of (TTGGGG)n double-stranded repeats with a single-stranded (TTGGGG)2 3' overhang at the end of the chromosome. We have identified and characterized a protein that specifically binds to a synthetic telomeric substrate consisting of duplex DNA and the 3' telomeric repeat overhang. This protein is called TEP (telomere end-binding protein). A change from G to A in the third position of the TTGGGG overhang repeat converts the substrate to a human telomere analog and reduces the binding affinity approximately threefold. Changing two G's to C's in the TTGGGG repeats totally abolishes binding. However, permutation of the Tetrahymena repeat sequence has only a minor effect on binding. A duplex structure adjacent to the 3' overhang is required for binding, although the duplex need not contain telomeric repeats. TEP does not bind to G-quartet DNA, which is formed by many G-rich sequences. TEP has a greatly reduced affinity for RNA substrates. The copy number of TEP is at least 2 x 10(4) per cell, and it is present under different conditions of cell growth and development, although its level varies. UV cross-linking experiments show that TEP has an apparent molecular mass of approximately 65 kDa. Unlike other telomere end-binding proteins, TEP is sensitive to high salt concentrations.

Pharmacokinetics and bioactivity of 1,4,7,10-tetra-azacylododecane off',N'',N'''-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-bismuth-conjugated anti-Tac antibody for alpha-emitter (212Bi) therapy.

A major factor that is critical to the potential effectiveness of alpha-emitter 212Bi radioimmunotherapy is the design of radiometal-chelated antibodies that will be stable in vivo. The chelate should bind the radiometal firmly to minimize release of the radionuclide from the monoclonal antibody-chelate complex. The present study examines a member of a new class of polyamine carboxylate chelating compounds, the DOTA ligands, for conjugating radiometal ions to antibody. Biocompatibility and stability are assessed with the anti-Tac monoclonal antibody that is directed against the human interleukin 2 receptors. The scientific basis for the clinical use of this antibody in radioimmunotherapy is that resting normal cells do not express the interleukin 2 receptor, whereas the receptor is expressed on the surface of certain neoplasms and by activated T-cells in select autoimmune diseases and in allograft rejection. First, we examined the impact of the labeling procedure and the presence of the chelate, DOTA, on antibody bioavailability and survival. Next, we studied the capacity of the antibody-chelate complex to retain radiobismuth. Coupling DOTA to antibody or adding Bi(III) to DOTA-coupled antibody did not disturb antibody immunoreactivity in in vitro binding studies. In addition, as analyzed by in vivo studies, DOTA-antibody dummy labeled with nonradioactive bismuth showed pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution identical to those of antibody not modified with DOTA. DOTA-anti-Tac charged with radioactive bismuth showed pharmacokinetics identical to radioiodinated dummy-labeled DOTA-antibody, suggesting little premature release of radioactive bismuth from the antibody complex. Moreover, in the early, therapeutically relevant time points (2 h and 6 h), there was no significant preferential accumulation of bismuth in any organ. At the 5-day time point, beyond the range of therapeutic interest, there was delayed excretion of bismuth from reticuloendothelial tissues relative to radioiodine from catabolized antibody. Excretion of catabolized DOTA-bismuth had an apparent t1/2 of approximately 1 day without the marked renal accumulation typical of the free bismuth ion. The compatibility of DOTA conjugation with antibody bioactivity and the stability of the radioactive bismuth complex in vivo provide important preclinical validation of the potential utility of this new chelating agent for 212Bi monoclonal antibody radioimmunotherapy in humans.

Reliability of McConnell's classification of patellar orientation in symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects.

STUDY DESIGN: Test-retest reliability study with blinded testers. OBJECTIVES: To determine the intratester reliability of the McConnell classification system and to determine whether the intertester reliability of this system would be improved by one-on-one training of the testers, increasing the variability and numbers of subjects, blinding the testers to the absence or presence of patellofemoral pain syndrome, and adhering to the McConnell classification system as it is taught in the "McConnell Patellofemoral Treatment Plan" continuing education course. BACKGROUND: The McConnell classification system is currently used by physical therapy clinicians to quantify static patellar orientation. The measurements generated from this system purportedly guide the therapist in the application of patellofemoral tape and in assessment of the efficacy of treatment interventions on changing patellar orientation. METHODS AND MEASURES: Fifty-six subjects (age range, 21-65 years) provided a total of 101 knees for assessment. Seventy-six knees did not produce symptoms. A researcher who did not participate in the measuring process determined that 17 subjects had patellofemoral pain syndrome in 25 knees. Two testers concurrently measured static patellar orientation (anterior/posterior and medial/lateral tilt, medial/lateral glide, and patellar rotation) on subjects, using the McConnell classification system. Repeat measures were performed 3-7 days later. A kappa (kappa) statistic was used to assess the degree of agreement within each tester and between testers. RESULTS: The kappa coefficients for intratester reliability varied from -0.06 to 0.35. Intertester reliability ranged from -0.03 to 0.19. CONCLUSION: The McConnell classification system, in its current form, does not appear to be very reliable. Intratester reliability ranged from poor to fair, and intertester reliability was poor to slight. This system should not be used as a measurement tool or as a basis for treatment decisions.

The Northwest Public Health Information Exchange's Accomplishments in Connecting a Health Information Exchange with Public Health.

In 2007 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Request for Proposal for the "Situational Awareness through Health Information Exchange" project. The Situational Awareness project's goals are to connect public health with health information exchanges (HIEs) to improve public health's real-time understanding of communities' population health and healthcare facility status. During this same time period the Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology released several reports identifying the growing number of communities involved in health information exchange and outlining the requirements for a Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). CDC saw the possibilities of using HIEs and the NHIN to accelerate the real-time sharing of clinical and facility-based resource utilization information to enhance local, state, regional, and federal public health in responding to and managing potentially catastrophic infectious disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies. HIEs would provide a unified view of a patient across health care providers and would serve as data collection points for clinical and resource utilization data while NHIN services and standards would be used to capture HIE data of importance and send those data to public health. This article discusses how automated syndromic surveillance data feeds have proven more stable and representative than existing surveillance data feeds and summarizes other accomplishments of the Northwest Public Health Information Exchange in its contribution to the advancement of the National agenda for sharing interoperable health information with public health.

Methods for Leveraging a Health Information Exchange for Public Health: Lessons Learned from the NW-PHIE Experience.

The intent of this article is to provide public health and health information exchanges (HIEs) insight into activities and processes for connecting public health with clinical care through HIEs. In 2007 the CDC issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the "Situational Awareness through Health Information Exchange" project. The project's goals are to connect public health with health information exchanges (HIEs) to improve public health's real-time understanding of communities' population health and healthcare facility status. This article describes the approach and methodology used by the Northwest Public Health Information Exchange to achieve the project's goals. The experience of the NWPHIE Collaboration provides an organizational and operational roadmap for implementing a successful regional HIE that ensures secure exchange and use of electronic health information between local and state public health and health care entities.

Modular sequence elements associated with origin regions in eukaryotic chromosomal DNA.

We have postulated that chromosomal replication origin regions in eukaryotes have in common clusters of certain modular sequence elements (Benbow, Zhao, and Larson, BioEssays 14, 661-670, 1992). In this study, computer analyses of DNA sequences from six origin regions showed that each contained one or more potential initiation regions consisting of a putative DUE (DNA unwinding element) aligned with clusters of SAR (scaffold associated region), and ARS (autonomously replicating sequence) consensus sequences, and pyrimidine tracts. The replication origins analyzed were from the following loci: Tetrahymena thermophila macronuclear rDNA gene, Chinese hamster ovary dihydrofolate reductase amplicon, human c-myc proto-oncogene, chicken histone H5 gene, Drosophila melanogaster chorion gene cluster on the third chromosome, and Chinese hamster ovary rhodopsin gene. The locations of putative initiation regions identified by the computer analyses were compared with published data obtained using diverse methods to map initiation sites. For at least four loci, the potential initiation regions identified by sequence analysis aligned with previously mapped initiation events. A consensus DNA sequence, WAWTTDDWWWDHWGWHMAWTT, was found within the potential initiation regions in every case. An additional 35 kb of combined flanking sequences from the six loci were also analyzed, but no additional copies of this consensus sequence were found.

A single-stranded DNA binding protein that specifically recognizes cis-acting sequences in the replication origin and transcriptional promoter region of Tetrahymena rDNA.

Type I repeat sequences are evolutionarily conserved sequence elements found in the replication origin and transcriptional promoter region of the rRNA genes (rDNA) in Tetrahymena thermophila. An abundant single-stranded DNA binding protein, ssA-TIBF, specifically interacts with the A-rich strand of the Type I repeat sequence. Quantitative binding competition experiments performed with purified ssA-TIBF demonstrate that the binding site for ssA-TIBF includes sequences both within the conserved 33 nt element and in a 3' flanking region: addition of the 3' flanking sequence to the Type I repeat oligonucleotide increases the binding affinity of ssA-TIBF by nearly 100-fold (apparent Kd = 3.0 x 10(-10) M). A mutation in the ssA-TIBF binding site previously shown to be the determinant of an rDNA replication defect in vivo results in a 25-fold decrease in ssA-TIBF binding affinity in vitro. ssA-TIBF also binds with high affinity to a copy of the Type I repeat sequence within the essential promoter region defined by in vitro transcription assays. The affinity of ssA-TIBF for the promoter repeat, which differs from other copies of the repeat at 8 out of 33 positions, is at least equal to its affinity for the Type I repeat sequences in the origin region. The biochemical properties of ssA-TIBF in vitro suggest that it could play a role in both replication and transcription of Tetrahymena rDNA in vivo.

Evaluation of the CMV-CUBE assay for detection of cytomegalovirus serologic status in marrow transplant patients and marrow donors.

We evaluated a new membrane dot immunobinding assay (CMV-CUBE; Difco Laboratories) for the detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibody in marrow transplant patients and donors. The CMV-CUBE assay was compared with a commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA; CMV STAT) and a latex agglutination (LA; CMVScan) test. Serum samples were collected from 311 transplant patients and donors prior to transplantation. A total of 164 serum specimens were positive for CMV antibody by one or more of the three assays, with 153 of 164 samples (93.3%) positive by all three tests. A total of 147 serum specimens were CMV antibody negative. CMV-CUBE detected 154 of 164 (94%) of the positive samples, EIA detected 160 of 164 (97.5%), and LA detected 157 of 164 (95.7%) CMV-positive samples. Compared with EIA, CMV-CUBE had a sensitivity of 95.6% and a specificity of 99.3%. Compared with LA, CMV-CUBE had a sensitivity of 97.5% and a specificity of 99.4%. CMV-CUBE is a simple and rapid visual assay which can be used for the qualitative detection of antibody to CMV in patient serum.

Development and validation of an alternative dermal sensitization test: the mouse ear swelling test (MEST).

Traditional predictive tests for dermal sensitization in humans use the albino guinea pig as a model. A number of factors make the prospect of an alternative attractive. Guinea pig designs are labor intensive, require significant animal, caging, and husbandry resources, and are expensive. Extensive development and validation was conducted of an alternative using swelling of mouse ears as a quantitative end point. Ten strains of mice, ten age groups, both sexes, induction forms (number, route, timing), the use of an adjuvant, different vehicles and intervals to challenge, two induction sites, and three measurement intervals were evaluated. A methodology was developed for preparing induction sites to increase test sensitivity. A small battery of standard compounds was used to evaluate these design variables and a final test design was developed. The basic process was also demonstrated to occur in rats and guinea pigs and to be dose responsive. The final mouse ear swelling test (MEST) design was used to evaluate 72 materials representing a broad spectrum of chemicals and testing problems. These included 49 known positives and 23 known negatives. Guinea pig maximization test data on 37 of these resulting by studies conducted in our laboratories, along with closed patch guinea pig and human test data on many of these compounds, are also reported here for the first time. The MEST correctly identified 71 of 72 materials as potential human sensitizers or nonsensitizers. Additionally, both the efficacy of an occluded patch induction method and the duration of responsiveness of mice were evaluated. In the studies, the MEST was found to be an accurate, sensitive, and efficient alternative test design for evaluating delayed-contact sensitization.

Identification of DNA-binding proteins that recognize a conserved type I repeat sequence in the replication origin region of Tetrahymena rDNA.

An origin of DNA replication has been mapped within the 5' non-transcribed spacer region of the amplified macronuclear rRNA genes (rDNA) of Tetrahymena thermophila. Mutations in 33 nt conserved AT-rich Type I repeat sequences located in the origin region cause defects in the replication and/or maintenance of amplified rDNA in vivo. Fe(II)EDTA cleavage footprinting of restriction fragments containing the Type I repeat showed that most of the conserved nucleotides were protected by proteins in extracts of Tetrahymena cells. Two classes of proteins that bound the Type I repeat were identified and characterized using synthetic oligonucleotides in electrophoretic mobility shift assays. One of these, ds-TIBF, bound preferentially to duplex DNA and exhibited only moderate specificity for Type I repeat sequences. In contrast, a single-stranded DNA-binding protein, ssA-TIBF, specifically recognized the A-rich strand of the Type I repeat sequence. Deletion of the 5' or 3' borders of the conserved sequence significantly reduced binding of ssA-TIBF. The binding properties of ssA-TIBF, coupled with genetic evidence that Type I sequences function as cis-acting rDNA replication control elements in vivo, suggest a possible role for ssA-TIBF in rDNA replication in Tetrahymena.

Xenopus laevis ovarian DNA helicase I: A 3' to 5' helicase that unwinds short duplexes.

A novel DNA helicase isolated from Xenopus laevis ovaries [Poll, E. H. A., & Benbow, R. M. (1988) Biochemistry 27, 8701-8706] was characterized biochemically. The directionality of DNA unwinding was determined to be 3' to 5'. A short 3' ssDNA tail adjacent to duplex DNA was required for DNA unwinding; the minimum length of this tail was between four and nine bases. Only short duplex DNA regions were unwound: duplex DNA of 16 base pairs was readily unwound, whereas a 26 base pair duplex was not. Longer duplex regions were unwound in the presence of Escherichia coli single-strand DNA binding protein if, in addition, the duplex region was flanked by an unpaired 3' or 5' tail and the substrate resembled a branched replicative intermediate. X. laevis DNA helicase I exhibited high affinity for ssDNA, moderate affinity for dsDNA, and no affinity for RNA. DNA unwinding activity was stimulated by monovalent cations, with an optimal concentration of 150 mM for NaCl or KCl or 125 mM for Na chi PO4 or K chi PO4. The ATP analog ATP gamma S inhibited the DNA unwinding and copurifying DNA-dependent ATPase activity, whereas AMPPCP and AMPPNP moderately inhibited DNA unwinding activity and had little effect on the copurifying DNA-dependent ATPase activity. CTP was a relatively strong inhibitor of DNA unwinding activity, but GTP, UTP, dCTP, dGTP, or TTP showed moderate or no inhibition. The copurifying DNA-dependent ATPase activity was not inhibited by CTP, GTP, UTP, dCTP, dGTP, or TTP.

Visualization of nucleosomal substructure in native chromatin by atomic force microscopy.

Intact rDNA minichromosomes from Tetrahymena thermophila were isolated as native chromatin and imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM measurements of condensed rDNA chromatin were consistent with a 30 nm fiber that frequently (87% of molecules observed) contained stretches of nucleosome cores arranged in a zig-zag conformation. Examination of rDNA chromatin in a dispersed conformation by tapping mode AFM in low humidity resulted in high resolution images of partially dissociated nucleosome cores and associated linker DNA. A majority of these nucleosome cores contained six to eight smaller particles with dimensions consistent with those of individual histones. Many of the nucleosome cores showed a striking resemblance to the wedge (35%), axial (15%), and front (6%) views of the nucleosome histone octamer modeled by Arents et al. [Arents, G., Burlingame, R. W., Wang, B.-C., Love, W.E., & Moudrianakis, E. N. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 10148-10152]. This direct visualization of histone subunits and nucleosomal substructure in native chromatin illustrates the potential use of AFM to localize individual proteins in condensed cellular chromatin.

Modular structural elements in the replication origin region of Tetrahymena rDNA.

Computer analyses of the DNA replication origin region in the amplified rRNA genes of Tetrahymena thermophila identified a potential initiation zone in the 5'NTS [Dobbs, Shaiu and Benbow (1994), Nucleic Acids Res. 22, 2479-2489]. This region consists of a putative DNA unwinding element (DUE) aligned with predicted bent DNA segments, nuclear matrix or scaffold associated region (MAR/SAR) consensus sequences, and other common modular sequence elements previously shown to be clustered in eukaryotic chromosomal origin regions. In this study, two mung bean nuclease-hypersensitive sites in super-coiled plasmid DNA were localized within the major DUE-like element predicted by thermodynamic analyses. Three restriction fragments of the 5'NTS region predicted to contain bent DNA segments exhibited anomalous migration characteristic of bent DNA during electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels. Restriction fragments containing the 5'NTS region bound Tetrahymena nuclear matrices in an in vitro binding assay, consistent with an association of the replication origin region with the nuclear matrix in vivo. The direct demonstration in a protozoan origin region of elements previously identified in Drosophila, chick and mammalian origin regions suggests that clusters of modular structural elements may be a conserved feature of eukaryotic chromosomal origins of replication.

Mimosine differentially inhibits DNA replication and cell cycle progression in somatic cells compared to embryonic cells of Xenopus laevis.

The plant amino acid mimosine has been reported to block cell cycle progression and DNA replication in cultured mammalian cells, perhaps by blocking initiation. In this study, we show that mimosine does not block initiation or any other step in DNA replication in embryonic cells of Xenopus laevis. Mimosine does not block DNA replication in cell-free "cycling" extracts of Xenopus eggs, nor does it block M to S phase transition in cell-free egg extracts released from metaphase arrest. Microinjection of mimosine into 4-cell embryos had no visible effect on development during the first 3 days after fertilization. Prior to the midblastula transition, when the cell cycle consists of alternating S and M phases, neither chromosomal DNA replication nor replication of microinjected plasmid DNA were inhibited by mimosine microinjected into cleaving Xenopus embryos. Microinjection of mimosine after the midblastula transition, when large endogenous stockpiles of DNA replication components have begun to be depleted and Xenopus embryonic cells have acquired G1 and G2 phases, still did not inhibit cell cycle progression or DNA replication. In marked contrast, mimosine arrested the growth of proliferating cultured Xenopus kidney epithelial A6 cells near the G1/S boundary. We conclude that mimosine appears to block DNA replication and cell cycle progression in somatic cells, but has no apparent effect in rapidly dividing Xenopus embryonic cells.