Evaluation of two carrier protein-angiotensin I conjugate vaccines to assess their future potential to control high blood pressure (hypertension) in man.

AIMS: We aim to modulate the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) by active immunization against angiotensin I hormone (AI), potentially providing a novel conjugate vaccine treatment for hypertension in man. METHODS: Immunization studies in rat and human subjects compare the effectiveness of tetanus toxoid (TT) and keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) vaccines for immunotherapy following conjugation with an AI peptide analogue (AI). Cardiovascular responses were assessed in immunized rats and human subjects (two-dose trial only), following increasing i.v. infusions of either AI or angiotensin II hormone (AII). RESULTS: The AI-TT and AI-KLH conjugate vaccines induced an equivalent immune response, and inhibition of the pressor effects to exogenous AI in rats. Single-dose clinical trials with both conjugate vaccines only resulted in an immune response to the KLH carrier protein. A two-dose clinical trial of AI-KLH conjugate vaccine resulted in a significant immune response to AI. A shift in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) dose-response was demonstrated following challenge with AI and AII for the study volunteer showing the largest anti-AI IgG induction. CONCLUSION: KLH was shown to be a suitable alternative to TT as a carrier protein for AI, thus supporting continued evaluation of our AI-KLH conjugate vaccine for treatment of hypertension in man.

Policy, principle, and practice in industrial pollution control: views from the regulatory interface.

There has been much criticism of the system for the control of industrial pollution, but not much is known about the views of the regulators and the industry. The objective of this study was to explore the attitudes at this regulatory interface towards the current and proposed regulatory system and make recommendations for improvements. The methodology involved a questionnaire survey sent to over 700 key personnel. Statistical analysis revealed similarities and significant differences between the views of industry and the regulator on the effectiveness of the current regime. Weaknesses related to the derivation and enforcement of standards were identified. The Environmental Quality Standards system was acknowledged to be flawed by both operators and regulators who agreed it should be improved by the expansion of listed chemicals, the introduction of sediment environmental quality standards and direct toxicity assessment of effluents. This paper concludes that these measures should be incorporated into the regulatory system, together with more rigorous enforcement of environmental performance standards including serious sanctions for non-compliance. In the longer term, a reappraisal of the regulatory system is required in order to establish an appropriate framework to ensure that environmental policy commitments are implemented.

Distribution of disease around the aortocoeliac branch of white carneau pigeons at different ages.

The distribution of atherosclerotic lesions in the human aorta changes with age. Lipid deposition tends to occur downstream of branch sites in immature vessels but upstream of them at later ages. Comparable age-related distributions of spontaneous and induced lesions have been demonstrated in rabbit aortas. Spontaneous disease is known to develop upstream of the aortocoeliac branch in mature White Carneau pigeons. Using a frequency mapping technique, we investigated whether the same pattern or a downstream one occurs in immature pigeons. Lesions in hatchlings occurred upstream of the branch, to the left of the midline. By 5 months, these lesions had expanded, and a second upstream area, to the right of the midline, was also affected. At later ages, disease frequencies increased in both of these regions but not elsewhere. Thus, contrary to findings in rabbit and human aortas, there was no evidence for a switch from a downstream to an upstream distribution with age. The two rabbit distributions have been attributed to the similar age-related patterns seen in the permeability of the arterial wall; the mature but not the immature pattern of permeability is NO-dependent. The absence of the juvenile disease pattern in pigeons suggests that they might show the NO-dependent pattern of permeability at all ages.

Vitamin C protects human vascular smooth muscle cells against apoptosis induced by moderately oxidized LDL containing high levels of lipid hydroperoxides.

Vascular cell death is a key feature of atherosclerotic lesions and may contribute to the plaque "necrotic" core, cap rupture, and thrombosis. Oxidatively modified low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, and dietary antioxidants are thought to protect the vasculature against LDL-induced cytotoxicity. Because LDL oxidative modification may vary within atherosclerotic lesions, we examined the effects of defined, oxidatively modified LDL species on human arterial smooth muscle cell apoptosis and the cytoprotective effects of vitamin C. Moderately oxidized LDL (0 to 300 microg protein/mL), which has the highest content of lipid hydroperoxides, induced smooth muscle cell apoptosis within 6 hours, whereas native LDL and mildly and highly oxidized LDL had no effect. Moderately oxidized LDL increased cellular DNA fragmentation, release of fragmented DNA into the culture medium, and annexin V binding and decreased mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity and expression of the antiapoptotic mediator Bcl-x(L). Treatment of cells with native LDL together with the lipid hydroperoxide 13(S)-hydroperoxyoctadeca-9Z,11E-dienoic acid (HPODE, 200 micromol/L, 6 to 24 hours) also induced apoptotic cell death. Pretreatment of smooth muscle cells with vitamin C (0 to 100 micromol/L, 24 hours) attenuated the cytotoxicity and apoptosis induced by both moderately oxidized LDL and HPODE. Our findings suggest that moderately oxidized LDL, with its high lipid hydroperoxide content, rather than mildly or highly oxidized LDL, causes apoptosis of human smooth muscle cells and that vitamin C supplementation may provide protection against plaque instability in advanced atherosclerosis.

Preparation of a microcrystalline suspension formulation of Lys(B28)Pro(B29)-human insulin with ultralente properties.

The monomeric analogue, Lys(B28)Pro(B29)-human insulin (LysPro), has been crystallized using similar conditions employed to prepare extended-acting insulin ultralente formulations. In the presence of zinc ions, sodium acetate and sodium chloride, but without phenolic preservative, LysPro surprisingly forms small rhombohedral crystals with similar morphology to human insulin ultralente crystals with a mean particle size of 20 +/- 1 microm. X-ray powder diffraction studies on the LysPro crystals prior to dilution in ultralente vehicle ([NaCl] = 1.2 M) revealed the presence of T(3)R(3)(f) hexamers. Consistent with human insulin ultralente preparations, LysPro crystals formulated as an ultralente suspension ([NaCl] = 0. 12 M) contain T(6) hexamers indicating that a conformational change occurs in the hexamer units of the crystals upon dilution of the salt concentration. The pharmacological properties of subcutaneously administered ultralente LysPro (ULP) were compared to ultralente human insulin (UHI) using a conscious dog model (n = 5) with glucose levels clamped at basal. There were no statistically significant differences between the kinetic and dynamic responses of ULP compared to UHI [C(max) (ng/mL): 3.58 +/- 0.76, ULP and 3.61 +/- 0. 66, UHI; T(max) (min): 226 +/- 30, ULP and 185 +/- 42, UHI; R(max) (mg/kg min): 11.2 +/- 1.9, ULP and 13.3 +/- 2.0, UHI; and T(Rmax) (min): 336 +/- 11, ULP and 285 +/- 57, UHI]. Although the Pro to Lys sequence inversion destabilizes insulin self-assembly and greatly alters the time action of soluble LysPro preparations, this modification has now been found neither to prevent the formation of ultralente crystals in the absence of phenolics nor to compromise the protracted activity of the insulin analogue suspension.

[A relative bioavailability study of 2 oral formulations of omeprazole after their administration in repeated doses to healthy volunteers]. / Estudio de biodisponibilidad relativa de dos formulaciones orales de omeprazol tras la administración en dosis repetidas a voluntarios sanos.

To determine the relative bioavailability of Ulceral (study formula) with respect to Losec (reference standard formula) and establish their bioequivalence daily doses of 20 mg of omeprazole were given during 5 consecutive days to 24 healthy volunteers. No significant differences were observed in the area under the curve (AUC0-t), a parameter directly related to the inhibition of acid secretion induced by omeprazole. The confidence interval of 90% for the difference between the two formulations for AUC0-t was within the interval of acceptance (0.80-1.25). The confidence interval for the difference between the two formulations for Cmax were also within the range of acceptance (0.70-1.43). In relation to the time for achieving (Cmax (tmax), the difference between the two formulations and the confidence interval of 95% for the tmax was 0.75 (-0.5-1.75) h indicating that no significant differences were observed between the two treatments. This study confirms the bioequivalence of Ulceral with the standard reference formulation as well as the tolerability of the two formulae.

Self-association properties of monomeric insulin analogs under formulation conditions.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of two important excipients, zinc and m-cresol, on the self-association properties of a series of monomeric insulin analogs. In this way, the effects on formulation behavior of individual amino acid substitutions in the C-terminal region of the insulin B-chain could be compared. METHODS: The self-association of ten insulin analogs was monitored by equilibrium and velocity analytical ultracentrifugation under three different conditions: (i) in neutral buffer alone; (ii) in neutral buffer containing zinc ion; and (iii) in neutral buffer containing both zinc ion and phenolic preservative (a typical condition for insulin formulations). The self-association properties of these analogs were compared to those of human insulin and the rapid-acting insulin analog Lys(B28)Pro(B29)-human insulin. RESULTS: The analogs in the current study exhibited a wide range of association properties when examined in neutral buffer alone or in neutral buffer containing zinc ion. However, all of these analogs had association properties similar to human insulin in the presence of both zinc and m-cresol. Under these formulation conditions each analog had an apparent sedimentation coefficient of s* = 2.9-3.1 S, which corresponds to the insulin hexamer. CONCLUSIONS: Analogs with changes in the B27-B29 region of human insulin form soluble hexamers in the presence of both zinc and m-cresol, and m-cresol binding overrides the otherwise destabilizing effects of these mutations on self assembly.

The human T-cell leukemia virus-1 transcriptional activator Tax enhances cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) binding activity through interactions with the DNA minor groove.

Tax-1, the transcriptional activation protein of human T-cell leukemia virus-1, increases transcription from the human T-cell leukemia virus-1 long terminal repeat and specific cellular promoters through interactions with cellular DNA-binding proteins. The Tax response elements (TxREs) of the long terminal repeat resemble cAMP response elements (CREs), the target of cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB). CREB binds the TxRE with reduced affinity; however, the interaction is specifically enhanced by Tax. Using a fluorescence quenching method, we determined that CREB dimerizes in the absence of DNA, and that Tax does not enhance dimerization. DNA footprinting of the TxRE with 1, 10-phenanthroline-copper complex demonstrates that Tax contacts DNA and extends the footprint of CREB to GC-rich sequences flanking the core CRE-like element. The minor groove-binding drug chromomycin A3, but not distamycin A, disrupted Tax-enhanced CREB binding to the TxRE. Substitution of the guanine-rich sequences flanking the core of the TxRE with inosine residues also blocked the Tax effect. Finally, the IC-substituted TxRE binds CREB with increased affinity, suggesting flanking DNA influences the binding of CREB to the core CRE-like element. These data indicate that Tax does not regulate DNA binding of CREB by altering dimerization, but rather enhances DNA binding by additionally interacting with the minor groove of flanking DNA sequences.

Differential activation of viral and cellular promoters by human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1 tax and cAMP-responsive element modulator isoforms.

We have previously proposed that cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) activity is stimulated by human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1 (HTLV-1) Tax through two mechanisms that are differentially dependent upon CREB phosphorylation. We have tested this model by examining how Tax affects transcriptional activation mediated by the cAMP-responsive element (CRE) modulator (CREM). The CREM proteins are highly homologous to CREB, particularly in their DNA-binding domains and the kinase-inducible domain (KID), a region that interacts with the coactivator CREB-binding protein (CBP) in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Despite this similarity, most CREM isoforms are transcriptional repressors. CREMalpha lacks the glutamine-rich domains found in CREB that are essential for transcriptional activation. We show that the normally repressive CREMalpha activates the HTLV-1 and cellular CREs in the presence of Tax; activation of the viral element is phosphorylation-independent, and activation of the cellular CRE is phosphorylation-dependent. CREMDelta(C-G) lacks both the KID and the glutamine-rich regions. This isoform activates the HTLV-1 long terminal repeat in a phosphorylation-independent manner, but does not activate the cellular CRE. This study suggests that Tax, interacting with the basic/zipper region of CREM, recruits CBP to the viral promoter. Tax activation of the cellular CRE depends on the KID and its ability to interact with CBP in a phosphorylation-dependent manner.

Analysis of the structural properties of cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) and phosphorylated CREB.

The transcription factor CREB (cAMP responsive element binding protein) is activated by protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation of a single serine residue. To investigate possible mechanisms of CREB regulation by phosphorylation, we initiated a structural and biophysical characterization of the full-length, wild-type CREB protein, an altered CREB protein (CREB/SER) in which the three cysteine residues in the DNA-binding domain were replaced with serine residues and a truncated protein (ACT265) which encompasses the entire activation domain of CREB. Circular dichroism (CD) reveals that CREB and CREB/SER have identical secondary structures and contain approximately 20% alpha-helix, 9% beta-strand, 34% beta-turn, and 37% random coil structures. PKA phosphorylation does not alter the CD spectra, and therefore the secondary structure, of CREB or of CREB bound to DNA. Protease cleavage patterns indicate that PKA phosphorylation does not induce a global conformational change in CREB. Furthermore, PKA phosphorylation does not change the DNA binding affinity of CREB for either canonical or non-canonical CRE sequences as measured by a fluorescence anisotropy DNA binding assay. Since PKA phosphorylation of CREB results in its specific binding to the transcriptional co-activators CREB-binding protein and p300, we suggest that the PKA activation of CREB occurs by the production of specific, complementary interactions with these proteins, rather than through the previously proposed mechanisms of a phosphorylation-dependent conformational change or increased DNA binding affinity.

Caenorhabditis elegans cyclin A- and B-type genes: a cyclin A multigene family, an ancestral cyclin B3 and differential germline expression.

We have cloned cDNAs for Caenorhabditis elegans cyclins A1, B and B3. While cyclins A1 and B are most closely related to either A- or B-type cyclins of other species, cyclin B3 is less related to these cyclins. However, this cyclin is most similar to the recently identified chicken cyclin B3. Our identification of a Caenorhabditis homolog demonstrates that cyclin B3 has been conserved in evolution. Cyclin A1 is a member of an A-type multigene family; however the cyclin A1 cDNA only recognizes a single band on northern blots. A single-sized RNA is also observed for the cyclin B3 cDNA. In contrast, three different transcripts are observed for the cyclin B cDNA. Based on our analyses using RNAs from germline-defective mutants and from populations enriched for males, one cyclin B transcript is specific to the paternal germline. The two other cyclin B transcripts, as well as the cyclin A1 and cyclin B3 transcripts, are most abundant in the maternal germline and are only present at low levels in other tissues. Moreover, the 3' untranslated regions of each Caenorhabditis cyclin cDNA possess several copies of potential translational control elements shown in Xenopus and Drosophila maternal cyclin mRNAs to function during oogenesis and early embryogenesis.

Nuclear protein CBP is a coactivator for the transcription factor CREB.

The transcription factor CREB binds to a DNA element known as the cAMP-regulated enhancer (CRE). CREB is activated through phosphorylation by protein kinase A (PKA), but precisely how phosphorylation stimulates CREB function is unknown. One model is that phosphorylation may allow the recruitment of coactivators which then interact with basal transcription factors. We have previously identified a nuclear protein of M(r)265K, CBP, that binds specifically to the PKA-phosphorylated form of CREB. We have used fluorescence anisotropy measurements to define the equilibrium binding parameters of the phosphoCREB:CBP interaction and report here that CBP can activate transcription through a region in its carboxy terminus. The activation domain of CBP interacts with the basal transcription factor TFIIB through a domain that is conserved in the yeast coactivator ADA-1 (ref. 8). Consistent with its role as a coactivator, CBP augments the activity of phosphorylated CREB to activate transcription of cAMP-responsive genes.

Secondary structure creates mismatched base pairs required for high-affinity binding of cAMP response element-binding protein to the human enkephalin enhancer.

Transactivation studies of the enkephalin enhancer indicate that two cAMP response elements (CRE-1 and CRE-2) are needed to mediate the transcriptional response to cAMP and to the CRE-binding protein (CREB) transcription factor. CRE-1 and CRE-2 are contained within a nearly palindromic region that can form stable hairpin structures in vitro. CREB binds only weakly to the native duplex enhancer and only within CRE-2. In contrast, CREB binds with high affinity to the hairpin in which CRE-1 and CRE-2 come together to form a CREB site with two G.T base pairs. NMR and binding studies show that high-affinity binding to the G.T hairpin requires one of the mismatched G.T pairs. Insertion of that G.T pair into the duplex confers high-affinity binding. Parallel studies with the somatostatin CRE show that the T in one G.T pair is crucial for high-affinity binding. The existence within a short enhancer of alternative sites for a single factor suggests a mechanism for regulation of transcription by DNA structure.

Postnatal depression: a review of recent literature.

Depression affects 5-22% of women after childbirth. Some women with postnatal depression will experience a prolonged or relapsing illness that may last until their children enter school. It has adverse effects upon the coping abilities of women, their relationships with their infants, partners and social networks and may adversely affect the educational attainment and behaviour of their children. Since many more women are now active in the workforce, the effects of postnatal depression have obvious economic consequences both for their families and their employers. This article discusses the association between depression and the puerperium and reviews the evidence for vulnerability factors that may make a woman prone to depression. It is suggested that women with, or vulnerable to, postnatal depression can be identified and helped.

Effect of metallic cations on the viability of phenol-treated Escherchia coli.

Five metallic cations (Fe(3+), Cr(3+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Mn(2+); concentration range, 1.85 x 10(-4) to 37 x 10(-4)m) were incorporated individually as chlorides into nutrient broth and agar media used for the recovery of phenol-treated Escherichia coli. The effects observed varied with the concentration and the ionic species. In nutrient agar, Fe(3+) and Cr(3+) were generally beneficial but were toxic at 37 x 10(-4)m. Of the divalent ions tested, Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) usually gave higher counts in nutrient broth, except at a concentration of 9.25 x 10(-4)m, whereas the effect of Mn(2+) was rather variable. Two possible explanations are suggested to explain these effects. Toxic materials may be removed from the media by the precipitates formed on the addition of Fe(3+) or Cr(3+), or, in the case of the divalent ions, the integrity of the bacterial cell membranes may be maintained.