Data mining of spectroscopic data for biomarker discovery.

The goals of precise diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease can be realized through the discovery of biological markers. Spectroscopic tools can simultaneously detect and quantify multiple small molecule and macromolecular components of biological samples, and are therefore ideal methods for the discovery of previously uncharacterized markers. However, the identification of meaningful spectral features is complicated by the lack of foreknowledge of the molecular nature of a disease, spectral noise and biological variability that is uncorrelated with the disease state. Pattern recognition techniques, both statistical and machine-learning, have been increasingly used in recent years with spectroscopic data to identify markers and classify patients into disease subsets. This review summarizes recent developments, limitations and future prospects in the use of data mining techniques with magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and optical spectroscopy for the discovery of biomarkers.

Beryllofluoride mimics phosphorylation of NtrC and other bacterial response regulators.

Two-component systems, sensor kinase-response regulator pairs, dominate bacterial signal transduction. Regulation is exerted by phosphorylation of an Asp in receiver domains of response regulators. Lability of the acyl phosphate linkage has limited structure determination for the active, phosphorylated forms of receiver domains. As assessed by both functional and structural criteria, beryllofluoride yields an excellent analogue of aspartyl phosphate in response regulator NtrC, a bacterial enhancer-binding protein. Beryllofluoride also appears to activate the chemotaxis, sporulation, osmosensing, and nitrate/nitrite response regulators CheY, Spo0F, OmpR, and NarL, respectively. NMR spectroscopic studies indicate that beryllofluoride will facilitate both biochemical and structural characterization of the active forms of receiver domains.

Perturbing the DNA sequence selectivity of metallointercalator-peptide conjugates by single amino acid modification.

Metallointercalator-peptide conjugates that provide small molecular mimics to explore peptide-nucleic acid recognition have been prepared. Specifically, a family of peptide conjugates of [Rh(phi)(2)(phen')](3+) [where phi = 9,10-phenanthrenequinone diimine and phen' = 5-(amidoglutaryl)-1,10-phenanthroline] has been synthesized and their DNA-binding characteristics examined. Single amino acid modifications were made from the parent metallointercalator-peptide conjugate [Rh(phi)(2)(phen')](3+)-AANVAIAAWERAA-CONH(2), which targets 5'-CCA-3' site-specifically. Moving the glutamate at position 10 in the sequence of the appended peptide to position 6 {[Rh(phi)(2)(phen')](3+)-AANVAEAAWARAA-CONH(2)} changed the sequence preference of the metallointercalator-peptide conjugate to 5'-ACA-3'. Subsequent mutation of the glutamate at position 6 to arginine {[Rh(phi)(2)(phen')](3+)-AANVARAAWARAA-CONH(2)} caused more complex changes in DNA recognition. Thermodynamic dissociation constants were determined for these metallointercalator-peptide conjugates by photoactivated DNA cleavage assays with the rhodium intercalators. At 55 degrees C in the presence of 5 mM MnCl(2), [Rh(phi)(2)(phen')](3+)-AANVAIAAWERAA-CONH(2) binds to a 5'-CCA-3' site with K(d) = 5.7 x 10(-)(8) M, whereas [Rh(phi)(2)(phen')](3+)-AANVAEAAWARAA-CONH(2) binds to its target 5'-ACA-3' site with K(d) = 9.9 x 10(-8) M. The dissociation constant for [Rh(phi)(2)(phen')](3+) with random-sequence DNA is 7.0 x 10(-7) M. Structural models have been developed and refined to account for the observed sequence specificities. As with much larger DNA-binding proteins, with these metal-peptide conjugate mimics, single amino acid changes can lead to single or multiple base changes in the DNA site targeted.

Infections in children with acute myelogenous leukemia. Concepts of management and prevention.

The child with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is at high risk for infection, especially during the induction phase of therapy. Appreciation of special risk factors and the changing spectrum of infecting pathogens is critical to development of the most appropriate initial evaluation and therapy for these children. Based on the available data in pediatrics, and extrapolation from studies in adult populations, we make recommendations for the initial empiric management of the febrile child with AML, the proper use of vancomycin, and management of special infectious complications related to central venous catheter use. Fungal infections are rapidly becoming the single most serious supportive care problem for children with AML. Optimal initial empiric therapy, treatment of proven systemic infections, and current status of attempts at prophylaxis are reviewed. Finally, the issue of colony stimulating factor use in AML is broached. Hopefully, studies underway will demonstrate the benefits and risks of these agents in AML. The time is long past due for large, well designed studies of supportive care in AML. Therapeutic trials addressing this very important aspect of the total care of the child with AML need to accompany the advancing new anti-oncologic therapies of the disease.

Type II regulatory subunit (RII) of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase interaction with A-kinase anchor proteins requires isoleucines 3 and 5.

Compartmentalization of the type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase is maintained by association of the regulatory subunit (RII) with A-Kinase Anchor Proteins (AKAPs). In previous studies (Scott, J. D., Stofko, R. E., McDonald, J. R., Comer, J. D., Vitalis, E. A., and Mangili J. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 21561-21566) we have shown that dimerization of RII alpha was required for interaction with the cytoskeletal component microtubule-associated protein 2. In this report we show that the localization and dimerization domains of RII alpha are contained within the first thirty residues of each RII protomer. RII des-5 (an amino-terminal deletion mutant lacking residues 1-5) was unable to bind AKAPs but retained the ability to dimerize. RII alpha I3A,I5A (a mutant where isoleucines 3 and 5 were replaced with alanine) was unable to bind a variety of AKAPs. Mutation of both isoleucines decreased AKAP binding without affecting dimerization, cAMP binding, or the overall secondary structure of the protein. Measurement of RII alpha I3A,I5A interaction with the human thyroid AKAP, Ht 31, by two independent methods suggests that mutation of isoleucines 3 and 5 decreases affinity by at least 6-fold. Therefore, we propose that two isoleucine side chains on each RII protomer are principle sites of contact with the conserved amphipathic helix binding domain on AKAPs.