scholarly journals Intracellular Calcium Concentration in the Inositol Trisphosphate Receptor Type 1 Knockout Mouse

1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2094-2101
Author(s):  
MATSUHIKO HAYASHI ◽  
TOSHIAKI MONKAWA ◽  
TADASHI YOSHIDA ◽  
HIROYUKI SASAMURA ◽  
MINEO MATSUMOTO ◽  
...  

Abstract. Recently, mice with a disrupted inositol trisphosphate (IP3) receptor type 1 allele were produced by gene targeting. To examine the role of IP3 receptor type 1 in the regulation of intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) of glomerular cells, [Ca2+]i was measured with fura 2-acetoxymethyl-ester in the superfused glomeruli from homozygous and wild-type mice. [Ca2+]i was determined in calcium-free medium before and after the addition of 10-7 M endothelin-1 (ET-1) and 10-6 M angiotensin II (AngII). The expression of mRNA of IP3 receptor isoforms and hormone receptors in the glomeruli from these animals also was measured by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR with specific primers for IP3 receptor isoforms (types 1, 2, and 3), AngII receptor type 1, and ET receptors (types A and B). In homozygous mutants, the shorter mRNA of IP3 receptor type 1, which lacks the first exon, is transcribed. Basal [Ca2+]i and the responses to ET-1 and AngII in homozygous mutants (ET-1, 55 ± 7 nM to 73 ± 7 nM; AngII, 66 ± 6 to 91 ± 8 nM) were significantly lower than those in the wild-type mice (ET-1, 93 ± 13 nM to 162 ± 13 nM; AngII, 87 ± 7 to 147 ± 9 nM; P < 0.05 for both hormones) without significant changes in mRNA expression of hormone receptors. The results with quantitative reverse transcription-PCR also revealed that mRNA expression of the IP3 receptor gene family was not significantly different between the two groups. The present study clearly shows that IP3 receptor type 1 plays a major role in the regulation of [Ca2+]i in the glomeruli and that lack of an isoform of IP3 receptor in the glomeruli does not induce expression of the other isoforms of the IP3 receptor.

1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 322-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Arnal ◽  
Virginie Ferre-Aubineau ◽  
Berangere Mignotte ◽  
Berthe Marie Imbert-Marcille ◽  
Sylviane Billaudel

ABSTRACT To quantify hepatitis A virus (HAV) in experimentally contaminated mussels, we developed an internal standard RNA with a 7-nucleotide deletion for competitive reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. Deposited directly into the sample, this standard was used both as extraction control and as quantification tool. After coextraction and competitive RT-PCR, standard and wild-type products were detected by differential hybridization with specific probes and a DNA enzyme immunoassay. The quantifiable range with this reproducible method was 104 to 107 copies of HAV/gram or 400 to 106 50% tissue culture infective doses/ml.


2007 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 1563-1571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noel P. Harrington ◽  
Om P. Surujballi ◽  
W. Ray Waters ◽  
John F. Prescott

ABSTRACT Tuberculosis of free-ranging and captive wildlife, including species implicated in the maintenance and transmission of Mycobacterium bovis, is a difficult disease to diagnose and control. Historically, diagnosis of tuberculosis has relied largely upon assays of cell-mediated immunity (CMI), such as tuberculin skin testing. This approach, however, is problematic or impractical for use with many wildlife species. Increasingly, in vitro diagnostic tests, including gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-based assays, are replacing or complementing skin testing of cattle and humans. Analogous assays are unavailable for most wildlife because of a lack of species-specific immunological reagents. This report describes the development and validation of a whole-blood assay to quantify antigen-specific IFN-γ mRNA expression by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR. Oligonucleotide primers and probes were designed and tested for reactivity towards several susceptible species of interest with respect to tuberculosis infection. The assay was subsequently optimized to quantify the IFN-γ mRNA expression in elk and red deer (Cervus elaphus) and was evaluated for its ability to detect mycobacterial antigen-specific responses of experimentally tuberculosis-infected animals. The assay was a simple, rapid, and sensitive measure of antigen-specific CMI. The IFN-γ mRNA responses correlated well with IFN-γ protein production and showed performance in determining an animal's infection status superior to that of either lymphocyte proliferation or IFN-γ protein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods. An additional advantage is the ease with which the assay can be modified to reliably quantify IFN-γ expression by using consensus sequences of closely related species or of other species for which IFN-γ sequence information is available.


2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 1351-1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camile Pizeta Semighini ◽  
Mozart Marins ◽  
Maria Helena S. Goldman ◽  
Gustavo Henrique Goldman

ABSTRACT The development of assays for quantitative analysis of the relative transcript levels of ABC transporter genes by real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) might provide important information about multidrug resistance in filamentous fungi. Here, we evaluate the potential of real-time RT-PCR to quantify the relative transcript levels of ABC transporter Atr genes from Aspergillus nidulans. The AtrA to AtrD genes showed different and higher levels in the presence of structurally unrelated drugs, such as camptothecin, imazalil, itraconazole, hygromycin, and 4-nitroquinoline oxide. We also verified the relative transcript levels of the Atr genes in the A. nidulans imazalil-resistant mutants. These genes displayed a very complex pattern in different ima genetic backgrounds. The imaB mutant has higher basal transcript levels of AtrB and -D than those of the wild-type strain. The levels of these two genes are comparable when the imaB mutant is grown in the presence and absence of imazalil. The imaC, -D, and -H mutants have higher basal levels of AtrA than that of the wild type. The same behavior is observed for the relative transcript levels of AtrB in the imaG mutant background.


Peptides ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-Fen Xu ◽  
Xue-Qun Chen ◽  
Ji-Zeng Du ◽  
Tong-Ying Wang

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (7) ◽  
pp. 4431-4434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahfuz Khan ◽  
Minerva Garcia-Barrio ◽  
Michael D. Powell

ABSTRACT We have previously shown that virions with nef deleted can be restored to wild-type infectivity by treatment to induce natural endogenous reverse transcription (NERT). Since Nef and cyclophilin A (CyPA) appear to act in similar ways on postentry events, we determined whether NERT treatment would restore infectivity to virions depleted of CyPA. Our results show that the infectivity of virions depleted of CyPA by treatment with cyclosporine A could be restored by NERT treatment, while mutants in the CyPA binding loop of capsid could only be partially restored. These results suggest that CyPA is involved in some aspect of the uncoating process.


1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Harley ◽  
C. R. Helps ◽  
D. A. Harbour ◽  
T. J. Gruffydd-Jones ◽  
M. J. Day

ABSTRACT Semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR assays were developed to measure feline interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12 (p35 & p40); gamma interferon (IFN-γ); and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA concentrations in biopsies of feline oral mucosa. Biopsies were collected from 30 cats with chronic gingivostomatitis (diseased) prior to each cat receiving one of four treatments. In 23 cases replicate biopsies were collected 3 months after treatment commenced. Biopsies were also analyzed from 11 cats without clinical disease (nondiseased). Expression of IL-2, IL-10, IL-12 (p35 and p40), and IFN-γ was detected in most nondiseased biopsies, while IL-6 was detected in a minority, and IL-4 and IL-5 were both undetectable. Compared to nondiseased cats, the diseased population showed a significant increase in the relative mRNA expression of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 (p35 and p40), and IFN-γ. In contrast, IL-5 mRNA expression was unchanged and was only detected in one case. No significant relationship was demonstrable between the change in relative expression of specific cytokine mRNA and the change in clinical severity of the local mucosal lesions over the treatment period. The results demonstrate that the normal feline oral mucosa is biased towards a predominantly (Th) type 1 profile of cytokine expression and that during the development of lesions seen in feline chronic gingivostomatitis there is a shift in the cytokine profile from a type 1 to a mixed type 1 and type 2 response.


1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britta Gröndahl ◽  
Wolfram Puppe ◽  
Andrea Hoppe ◽  
Inka Kühne ◽  
Josef A. I. Weigl ◽  
...  

Acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) are leading causes of morbidity and, in developing countries, mortality in children. A multiplex reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay was developed to allow in one test the detection of nine different microorganisms (enterovirus, influenza A and B viruses, respiratory syncytial virus [RSV], parainfluenzaviruses type 1 and type 3, adenovirus,Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Chlamydia pneumoniae) that do not usually colonize the respiratory tracts of humans but, if present, must be assumed to be the cause of respiratory disease. Clinical samples from 1,118 children admitted to the Department of Pediatrics because of an ARI between November 1995 and April 1998 were used for a first clinical evaluation. Detection of one of the microorganisms included in the assay was achieved for 395 of 1,118 (35%) clinical samples, of which 37.5% were RSV, 20% were influenza A virus, 12.9% were adenovirus, 10.6% were enterovirus, 8.1% were M. pneumoniae, 4.3% were parainfluenzavirus type 3, 3.5% were parainfluenzavirus type 1, 2.8% were influenza B virus, and 0.2% were C. pneumoniae. Seasonal variations in the rates of detection of the different organisms were observed, as was expected from the literature. The levels of concordance with the data obtained by commercially available enzyme immunoassays were 95% for RSV and 98% for influenza A. The results show that the multiplex RT-PCR–enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is a useful and rapid diagnostic tool for the management of children with ARI. Studies of the overall benefit of this method with regard to the use of antibiotics, the use of diagnostic procedures including additional microbiological tests, and hospitalization rate and duration are warranted.


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