Antiandrogen oligonucleotides: active principles in hair- and skin-derived culture cells.

Most drugs used for treatment of androgen-related dermatological disorders are not completely satisfactory in terms of clinical efficacy and potential secondary effects. There is, therefore, a need for a new generation of specific antiandrogens. This paper focuses on an oligonucleotide antisense pharmacological strategy. Acceptor sites were first disclosed by mapping the human Androgen Receptor (AR) mRNA conformation using an mRNA walking approach, oligonucleotide binding, and S1 protection assays. Antisense-sensitive regions were localized by RNAse H degradation and AR in vitro translation inhibition. Oligonucleotides were then designed and assessed, in primary cultures of human hair dermal papillae and skin derived fibroblasts, for their capability to down-regulate AR expression. Some of them were able to inhibit more than 60 to 80% of the AR expression. These could be a new class of antiandrogen oligonucleotides pharmacologically active in hair and skin derived cells, suitable for the treatment of dermatological disorders.

A systematic process for converting text-based guidelines into a linear algorithm for electronic implementation.

Clinical practice guidelines are increasingly important for improving the quality and the process of healthcare delivery. Unfortunately, most guidelines are available only in a text-based format, which is difficult to integrate into clinical practice. Computers can facilitate guideline integration into clinical practice; however, this migration to computers requires translating text into intermediary representations. One type of representation that is readily adaptable for computerization is a linear algorithm. This paper describes a systematic process to convert text-based clinical practice guidelines into a linear algorithm with structured content, as an intermediate step to electronic implementation. The process includes: 1) defining applicability criteria, 2) identifying entry points, 3) defining decision points, 4) defining actions, 5) creating a linear algorithm that links decision points and actions, and 6) adding supporting resources. This process has been used successfully to prepare more than two dozen guidelines for computerization. It has been tested by several physicians and informaticians and shown to be transferable to various user groups. The availability of a systematic process to convert text-based guidelines into a structured intermediary format for electronic implementation can facilitate the computerization of guidelines and can inform guideline content developers regarding the critical elements that need to be explicitly stated in guidelines to support electronic implementation.

Trypanosoma cruzi: antibodies to a MAP-like protein in chronic Chagas' disease cross-react with mammalian cytoskeleton.

Trypanosoma cruzi lambda gt 11 library from epimastogote derived mRNA was screened with human chagasic sera or sera from chronically infected mice. Strong reactive recombinants were detected with both sera. Two recombinant clones were studied in more detail and shown to be composed of the same 114-bp repetitive sequence coding for a 38 amino acid repetition. This repetition is the same size and shares greater than 60% homology with the reported T. brucei microtubule associated protein (MAP) p320. The insert of one of these clones, K1-7 (228 bp), was subcloned into pMSgt11 and the soluble recombinant polypeptide expressed. Antibodies against the K1-7 fusion polypeptide recognized a major 110-kDa band from cytoskeleton. Anti K1-7 monospecific antibodies detected several cytoskeletal proteins from 3T3 fibroblasts and bovine brain microtubule preparations. Reciprocally, anti-MAP1b monoclonal antibodies raised against bovine brain microtubule reacted with the K1-7 polypeptide on Western blots. The protein identified by K1-7 antibodies may be one of the parasite molecules associated to molecular mimicry.

The cloned C-terminal region of a Trypanosoma cruzi P ribosomal protein harbors two antigenic determinants.

A DNA strategy was designed to characterize the antigenic site(s) within a lambda gt11 cloned 35-amino-acid antigenic peptide, identified with antibodies from patients with chronic Chagas' heart disease (cChHD) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as the C-terminal portion of a Trypanosoma cruzi P ribosomal protein. The 198-bp cDNA insert was digested with AluI, resulting in two DNA segments that were recloned in lambda gt11. To identify specific antigenic determinants, the recombinant phage and the purified recombinant antigens were probed with sera from clinically characterized subjects. Chronic ChHD and SLE sera defined a linear epitope common to both diseases within the 15 C-terminal residues of the parasite P ribosomal protein. It is also shown that the cloned 35-amino-acid peptide contained an antigenic site unique to cChHD.

Further studies on the phosphorylation-regulated cAMP-phosphodiesterase from the dimorphic fungus Mucor rouxii.

A partially purified preparation (200-fold) of cAMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) was obtained from Mucor rouxii grown and extracted under conditions minimizing endogenous proteolysis. Four purification steps were applied: batch DEAE-Sepharose, DEAE-Sepharose chromatography, Sephadex G-150 super-fine gel filtration and sucrose gradient centrifugation. The final PDE preparation was activatable by cAMP-dependent phosphorylation and controlled trypsin treatment. A careful correlation of protein patterns with PDE activity was done throughout the whole procedure by analyzing the active fractions of each step by mini-polyacrylamide non-denaturing gel electrophoresis. The final preparation displayed four major protein bands, none of which corresponded to PDE, although PDE activity comigrated with two of them. Some properties of this preparation were studied. Vmax increased around 10-15 fold by activation of PDE by phosphorylation or proteolysis; Km values were unaffected. PDE had Stokes radius of 3.5 nm, sedimentation coefficient of 4.3 S and molecular weight of 70,000 daltons. The treatment of sucrose gradient fractions with [gamma-32P] ATP and cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit and further analysis through minigels showed that none of the visible bands was phosphorylated, and that among the four phosphorylated bands there was one that cosedimented and comigrated with PDE activity. Trypsin treatment of the phosphorylated samples removed the label but did not modify the staining pattern.

The effect of verapamil on antipyrine pharmacokinetics and metabolism in man.

The effect of verapamil pre-treatment on the pharmacokinetics and metabolism of antipyrine was studied in eight healthy male volunteers. The oral clearance of antipyrine was decreased from 2.18 to 1.95 l h-1 (P less than 0.01) by verapamil (80 mg three times daily for 2 days prior to antipyrine administration and 2 days following) while half-life was increased from 13.2 to 15.6 h (P less than 0.01). The urinary excretion of norantipyrine, 4-hydroxyantipyrine and 3-hydroxymethylantipyrine was decreased by 19.2%, 23.1% and 16.7% respectively (P less than 0.05) in the presence of verapamil. In addition, the rate constants for formation of each of these metabolites were significantly decreased by an average of approximately 30%. These results suggest that verapamil is capable of inhibiting oxidative metabolism, a finding which could be of clinical significance for drugs highly dependent upon pathways such as those inhibited in this study for elimination.

Regulation of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase from Mucor rouxii by phosphorylation and proteolysis. Interrelationship of the activatable and insensitive forms of the enzyme.

DEAE-cellulose chromatography of mycelial extracts of Mucor rouxii grown to mid-exponential phase resolves two types of low-Km cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.17; PDE): PDE I, highly activatable (4-6-fold) by phosphorylation or proteolysis, and PDE II, unresponsive to activation. The enzymic profile of PDE activity obtained from germlings shows only PDE I activity, whereas PDE activity from mycelia grown to stationary phase is eluted from the DEAE-cellulose column at the position of PDE II, and like PDE II is unresponsive to activation. Endogenous proteolysis or controlled trypsin treatment transforms PDE I into PDE II. The insensitive forms of PDE exhibit a slightly smaller sedimentation coefficient than the activatable forms, as judged by sucrose-gradient centrifugation. The basal activity of the highly activatable form of PDE is elevated almost to the value in the presence of trypsin on storage at 4 degrees C in the absence of proteinase inhibitors. Benzamidine, leupeptin, antipain or EGTA prevents the activation produced by storage. PDE I remains strongly activatable by phosphorylation and proteolysis after resolution by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis.

Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase from Ustilago maydis.

Ustilago maydis was surveyed for cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity. Using a combination of ion-exchange and molecular filtration techniques, we demonstrate that there is only one form of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in the cytosolic fraction of the fungus. The kinase activity is specifically activated by cyclic AMP and utilizes protamine and kemptide as substrates. Most, if not all, of the cyclic AMP binding detected in the soluble fraction is associated with the protein kinase activity. Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase is completely dissociated by cyclic AMP into catalytic and regulatory subunits having an apparent molecular weight of 35 000 daltons as judged by sucrose gradient centrifugation.