SERPINB12 is a novel member of the human ov-serpin family that is widely expressed and inhibits trypsin-like serine proteinases.

Members of the human serpin family regulate a diverse array of serine and cysteine proteinases associated with essential biological processes such as fibrinolysis, coagulation, inflammation, cell mobility, cellular differentiation, and apoptosis. Most serpins are secreted and attain physiologic concentrations in the blood and extracellular fluids. However, a subset of the serpin superfamily, the ov-serpins, also resides intracellularly. Using high throughput genomic sequence, we identified a novel member of the human ov-serpin gene family, SERPINB12. The gene mapped to the ov-serpin cluster at 18q21 and resided between SERPINB5 (maspin) and SERPINB13 (headpin). The presence of SERPINB12 in silico was confirmed by cDNA cloning. Expression studies showed that SERPINB12 was expressed in many tissues, including brain, bone marrow, lymph node, heart, lung, liver, pancreas, testis, ovary, and intestines. Based on the presence of Arg and Ser at the reactive center of the RSL, SERPINB12 appeared to be an inhibitor of trypsin-like serine proteinases. This hypothesis was confirmed because recombinant SERPINB12 inhibited human trypsin and plasmin but not thrombin, coagulation factor Xa, or urokinase-type plasminogen activator. The second-order rate constants for the inhibitory reactions were 2.5 +/- 1.6 x 10(5) and 1.6 +/- 0.2 x 10(4) M(-1) S(-1), respectively. These data show that SERPINB12 encodes for a new functional member of the human ov-serpin family.

Kif1C, a kinesin-like motor protein, mediates mouse macrophage resistance to anthrax lethal factor.

BACKGROUND: Inbred mouse strains exhibit striking differences in the susceptibility of their macrophages to the effects of anthrax lethal toxin (LeTx). Previous data has shown that this difference in susceptibility lies downstream of toxin entry into macrophages. A locus controlling this phenotype, called Ltxs1, has been mapped to chromosome 11, but the responsible gene has not been identified. RESULTS: Here, we report the identification of the Ltxs1 gene as Kif1C, which encodes a kinesin-like motor protein of the UNC104 subfamily. Kif1C is the only gene in the Ltxs1 interval exhibiting polymorphisms between susceptible and resistant strains. Multiple alleles of Kif1C determine the susceptibility or resistance of cultured mouse macrophages to LeTx. Treatment of resistant macrophages with brefeldin-A (which alters the cellular localization of Kif1C) induces susceptibility to LeTx, while ectopic expression of a resistance allele of Kif1C in susceptible macrophages causes a 4-fold increase in the number of cells surviving LeTx treatment. We also show that cleavage of map kinase kinase 3, a target of LeTx proteolysis, occurs in resistant cells. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that mutations in Kif1C are responsible for the differences in the susceptibility of inbred mouse macrophages to LeTx and that proper Kif1C function is required for LeTx resistance. Since the LeTx-mediated proteolysis of map kinase kinase 3 occurs even in resistant cells, Kif1C does not affect cellular entry or processing of LeTx and likely influences events occurring later in the intoxication pathway.

Initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome.

The human genome holds an extraordinary trove of information about human development, physiology, medicine and evolution. Here we report the results of an international collaboration to produce and make freely available a draft sequence of the human genome. We also present an initial analysis of the data, describing some of the insights that can be gleaned from the sequence.

Structure of the mouse Stat 3/5 locus: evolution from Drosophila to zebrafish to mouse.

Signal transducers and activators of transcription (Stat) are transcription factors that can be activated by many cytokines. While Drosophila contains only one Stat (d-Stat), mammals contain seven, with STATs 3, 5a, and 5b being the closest functional relatives. To understand the evolutionary relationship between d-Stat and vertebrate STATs 3 and 5, we isolated, sequenced, and analyzed the zebrafish Stat3 (z-Stat3) gene and a 500-kb region spanning mouse chromosome 11, 60.5 cM containing three Stat genes (m-Stats). Within this region we identified the genes encoding m-Stats 3, 5a, and 5b, Cnp1, Hcrt/Orexin, Ptrf, GCN5, mDj11, and four new genes. The 5' ends of the m-Stat5a and m-Stat5b genes are juxtaposed to each other, and the 3' ends of the m-Stat3 and Stat5a genes face each other. While the m-Stat5a and m-Stat3 genes have one promoter each, which are active in many tissues, the m-Stat5b gene acquired two distinct promoters. The distal promoter is expressed ubiquitously, and transcription from the proximal promoter is restricted to liver, muscle, and mammary tissue. Through a comparison of exon-intron boundaries from the m-Stat3, m-Stat5a, and m-Stat5b, z-Stat3, and d-Stat genes, we deduced their evolutionary relationship. We propose that the Stat3 and Stat5 lineages are derived from the duplication of a common primordial gene and that d-Stat is a part of the Stat5 lineage.

Sequence and comparative analysis of the mouse 1-megabase region orthologous to the human 11p15 imprinted domain.

A major barrier to conceptual advances in understanding the mechanisms and regulation of imprinting of a genomic region is our relatively poor understanding of the overall organization of genes and of the potentially important cis-acting regulatory sequences that lie in the nonexonic segments that make up 97% of the genome. Interspecies sequence comparison offers an effective approach to identify sequence from conserved functional elements. In this article we describe the successful use of this approach in comparing a approximately 1-Mb imprinted genomic domain on mouse chromosome 7 to its orthologous region on human 11p15.5. Within the region, we identified 112 exons of known genes as well as a novel gene identified uniquely in the mouse region, termed Msuit, that was found to be imprinted. In addition to these coding elements, we identified 33 CpG islands and 49 orthologous nonexonic, nonisland sequences that met our criteria as being conserved, and making up 4.1% of the total sequence. These conserved noncoding sequence elements were generally clustered near imprinted genes and the majority were between Igf2 and H19 or within Kvlqt1. Finally, the location of CpG islands provided evidence that suggested a two-island rule for imprinted genes. This study provides the first global view of the architecture of an entire imprinted domain and provides candidate sequence elements for subsequent functional analyses.

Effects of lovastatin on cognitive function and psychological well-being.

PURPOSE: Animal research and cross-sectional studies suggest that serum lipid concentrations may influence cognitive function, mood, and behavior, but few clinical trials have studied these effects. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In this double-blind investigation, 209 generally healthy adults with a serum low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level of 160 mg/dL or higher were randomly assigned to 6-month treatment with lovastatin (20 mg) or placebo. Assessments of neuropsychological performance, depression, hostility, and quality of life were conducted at baseline and at the end of the treatment period. Summary effect sizes were estimated as z scores on a standard deviation (SD) scale. RESULTS: Placebo-treated subjects improved between baseline and posttreatment periods on neuropsychological tests in all five performance domains, consistent with the effects of practice on test performance (all P <0.04), whereas those treated with lovastatin improved only on tests of memory recall (P = 0.03). Comparisons of the changes in performance between placebo- and lovastatin-treated subjects revealed small, but statistically significant, differences for tests of attention (z score = 0.18; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.06 to 0.31; P = 0.005) and psychomotor speed (z score = 0.17; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.28; P = 0. 004) that were consistent with greater improvement in the placebo group. Psychological well-being, as measured several ways, was not affected by lovastatin. CONCLUSION: Treatment of hypercholesterolemia with lovastatin did not cause psychological distress or substantially alter cognitive function. Treatment did result in small performance decrements on neuropsychological tests of attention and psychomotor speed, the clinical importance of which is uncertain.

Perfect conserved linkage across the entire mouse chromosome 10 region homologous to human chromosome 21.

The distal end of human Chromosome (HSA) 21 from PDXK to the telomere shows perfect conserved linkage with mouse Chromosome (MMU) 10. This region is bounded on the proximal side by a segment of homology to HSA22q11.2, and on the distal side by a region of homology with HSA19p13.1. A high-resolution PAC-based physical map is described that spans 2.8 Mb, including the entire 2.1 Mb from Pdxk to Prmt2 corresponding to HSA21. Thirty-four expressed sequences are mapped, three of which were not mapped previously in any species and nine more that are mapped in mouse for the first time. These genes confirm and extend the conserved linkage between MMU10 and HSA21. The ordered PACs and dense STS map provide a clone resource for biological experiments, for rapid and accurate mapping, and for genomic sequencing. The new genes identified here may be involved in Down syndrome (DS) or in several genetic diseases that map to this conserved region of HSA21.

Ceramide glucosylation in bean hypocotyl microsomes: evidence that steryl glucoside serves as glucose donor.

The formation of glucosylceramide, the predominant sphingolipid in plant tissues, was examined in microsomes from wax bean hypocotyls. Membranes were incubated with UDP-[14C]glucose in an assay mixture. The lipid extracts obtained from the assays were separated by thin-layer chromatography, and the radioactivity incorporated into glucosylceramide, steryl glucoside, and acylated steryl glucoside was determined. Although the formation of glucosylceramide was detected and characterized, several lines of evidence contradicted the assumption that UDP-glucose is the immediate glucose donor for glucosylceramide formation in plants: PDMP (DL-threo-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol), an inhibitor of ceramide glucosyltransferase in animal tissues, did not inhibit glucosylceramide formation in bean microsomes. Addition of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase during the assay to degrade UDP-[14C]glucose blocked the further production of labeled steryl glucoside, but did not prevent the continued formation of labeled glucosylceramide. Omitting UDP-[14C]glucose and including steryl [14C]glucoside in the assay resulted in the formation of labeled glucosylceramide. Collectively, these results suggest that glucosylceramide formation in plants does not utilize UDP-glucose as the immediate glucose donor, as has been demonstrated for the reaction in animal tissues, and that steryl glucoside serves as glucose donor for ceramide formation. This study, the first to examine glucosylceramide formation in plants, provides evidence for a novel enzymatic reaction in sphingolipid synthesis as well as a new, metabolic role for steryl glucoside in plant tissues.

The statistical analysis of treatment effects in 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure recordings.

This paper presents a statistical analysis of treatment effects in 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure recordings. The statistical models account for circadian rhythms, subject effects, and the effects of treatment with drugs or relaxation therapy. In view of the heterogeneity of the subjects, we fit a separate linear model to the data of each subject, use robust statistical procedures to estimate the parameters of the linear models, and trim the data on a subject by subject basis. We use a meta-analytical method to combine the results of all subjects in the study.

Computer evaluation of human circulation based on non-invasive methods.

A discriminating program was developed on the basis of time, dynamic and simply calculated parameters of non-invasive tracings recorded in the supine position. Data were derived from ECG, PCG and the indirect carotid pulse curve. The optimal program, formed after 40 experimental processes, was in 85% agreement with the clinical diagnosis. To improve the decision process, we created a new 'test again' group, in addition to the healthy and sick groups. The 'test again' group included 16.5% of the examined subjects. At the same time, there was 75.6% agreement with the clinical diagnosis, and 7.9% disagreement. The risk factors, which could be demonstrated as part of the 'errors' called attention to undetected heart failure. The descriminating function found to be best, was fed into a small computer (R-10). Records for evaluation were entered on magnetic tape to the computer which measured automatically the necessary parameters and printed out the 'decision': 'healthy', 'test again!', or 'cardiac patient', as well as other data, such as systolic time intervals, etc. There is a wide potential application for automated computer system based on non-invasive parameters.