A DNA diagnostic service.

We describe the use of techniques of DNA analysis for the diagnosis of certain inherited diseases during life and in the prenatal period, and for the diagnosis of some infectious diseases. Most local and some national needs for predictive genetic testing have been met. The costs of establishing our service are presented and are compared with those of similar services recently established in the United Kingdom. In the 12 month period described, running costs were approximately $57,000 and salaries for the two scientific officers and the medical technologist required to run the service were $97,000. The prerequisites for the successful running of such a service are discussed.

HPLC separation of corticosterone metabolites and its use in following corticosterone metabolism and transport in the isolated rat hepatocyte.

Incubating isolated rat hepatocytes with tritium labelled and unlabelled corticosterone at 37 degrees C resulted in the rapid appearance of at least nine corticosterone metabolites. A quick, relatively easy, and quantitative high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was used to separate these metabolites and follow their rate of appearance both intra- and extracellularly. We found different intra- and extracellular amounts of each metabolite at a particular time and this suggested that some metabolites were more available for transport than others.

Glucocorticoids and the isolated rat hepatocyte.

Following incubation at 37 degrees C with tritiated glucocorticoids isolated hepatocytes prepared from non-adrenalectomized rats show rapid uptake of label. Uptake is non-saturable, and non-linear over the first 60 sec of exposure to steroids. HPLC separation of aqueous extracts of cells and incubation medium shows that polar metabolites of the natural steroid, corticosterone, appear within 10 sec, whereas the synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, is not altered. Our results suggest that diffusion is the most important process by which glucocorticoids enter liver cells, and that the predominant fate of corticosterone is rapid metabolism.

Urine oxalate levels in a New Zealand reference population and renal stone formers.

Increasing attention is being given to oxalate as a risk factor in urinary calcium stone disease. The accuracy of some methods for measuring urine oxalate is uncertain. Using gas chromatography urine oxalate levels were 0.36 +/- 0.02 and 0.31 +/- 0.02 (mmol/24 h +/- 1 SEM) for men and women respectively of a reference population. In recurrent stone formers urinary oxalate was 0.43 +/- 0.03 in males and 0.38 +/- 0.04 for females whilst solitary stone forming females excreted only 0.31 +/- 0.04 mmol/24 h. The difference between males and females of the reference population was significant (p less than 0.05) as was the difference between reference males and male stone formers.

Concentrations of trimethoprim and sulphamethoxazole in the human prostate gland after intramuscular injection.

Following intramuscular injection of co-trimoxazole (trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole 1 : 5), concentrations of trimethoprim (TMP) and sulphamethoxazole (SMX) were measured in the prostatic tissue and serum of 30 men undergoing endoscopic prostatectomy. Tissue levels for TMP appeared to be higher than serum levels and probably reached the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for most urinary pathogens. Administration of the drug at 4, 8 and 12 h prior to sampling produced no significant difference in tissue levels. It is concluded that TMP is concentrated in prostatic tissue following intramuscular injection. Tissue levels for SMX were apparently lower than serum levels.

Optimized assay for serum angiotensin-converting enzyme activity.

This optimized two-point kinetic assay for serum angiotensin-converting enzyme is based on the colorimetric determination of hippurate with cyanuric chloride/dioxan reagent. The hippurate is released from hippuryl-L-histidyl-L-leucine by angiotensin-converting enzyme in the presence of chloride ion. CVs for the method (within-run and between-run) ranged from 2.1 to 3.2%. Linearity extends up to 200 U/L. Results are unaffected by lipemia and icterus. Hemoglobin in concentrations greater than 1.5 g/L causes a slight negative interference. Reference intervals for men and women are 22-82 U/L and 25-69 U/L, respectively.

Solubilization and characterization of hormone- responsive phosphodiesterase activity of rat fat cells.

Fat cells particulate phosphodiesterase activity can be solubilized in high yield (80--100%) in a buffer system (30 mM Tris - HCl, pH 8.0) containing non-ionic detergents (0.1% Brij 30, 1.0% Triton X-100), salt (3.0 mM MgSO4, 5.0 mM NaBr) and dithiothreitol (5.0 mM). Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the solubilized enzyme activity indicated the presence of two bands of activities of different electrophoretic mobilities, both of which hydrolyzed cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP. The solubilized activity eluted from DEAE Bio-Gel columns as a somewhat broad profile with at least two peaks of activity. Activity against both cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP eluted in similar but not identical patterns. The solubilized enzyme and DEAE column eluates wxhibited low (less than 1 micronM) Michaelis constants for cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP. In addition, the increases in phosphodiesterase activity induced by incubation of intact fat cells with insulin or adrenocorticotropic hormone are maintained in the solubilized state.

Effects of choleragen on hormonal responsiveness of adenylate cyclase in human fibroblasts and rat fat cells.

Choleragen increases cyclic AMP content of confluent human fibroblasts. Maximally effective concentrations of isoproterenol and prostaglandin E1 also induce large increases in cyclic AMP content of human fibroblasts and in confluent cultures the effect of prostaglandin E1 is much greater than that of isoproterenol. After incubation with choleragen, the increment in cyclic AMP produced by 2 muM isoproterenol is increased and approaches that produced by5.6 muM prostaglandin E1. Although the concentration of isoproterenol which produces a maximal increase in cyclic AMP is similar in both control and choleragen-treated cells. In choleragen-treated cells, although the response to 5.6 muM prostaglandin E1 is reduced by as much as 50%, the concentration of prostaglandin E1 required to induce a maximal increase in cyclic AMP is 1/10 that required in control cells. Thus the capacities of intact human fibroblasts to respond to isoproterenol and prostaglandin E1 can be altered independently during incubation of intact cells with choleragen. Differences in responsiveness to the two agonists were not demonstrable in adenylate cyclase preparation from control or choleragen-treated cells. In rat fat cells, the effects of choleragen on cyclic AMP content were much smaller than those in fibroblasts. In contrast to its effect on intact fibroblast choleragen treatment of rat fat cells did not alter the accumulation of cyclic AMP in response to a maximally effective concentration of isoproterenol. The responsiveness of adenylate cyclase preparations to isoproterenol was also not altered by exposure of fat cells to choleragen.

Calcium uptake by subcellular fractions of human umbilical artery.

Two different mechanisms for the active accumulation of Ca2+ by subcellular fractions of human umbilical artery are described. One, located in the mitochondrial fraction, was induced by exogenous ATP or respiratory substrates (ADP and succinate) and was inhibited by azide. The other, located in the microsomal fraction, was induced by ATP and potentiated by oxalate, but not inhibited by azide. Increasing ATP concentrations up to 4-5 mM increased microsomal Ca2+ accumulation, whereas increasing ATP concentration above 2-3 mM caused inhibition of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. Although changing pH from 7.4 to 7.2 had no effect on mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation, it doubled microsomal uptake. Neither adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate nor guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate in the presence or absence of protein kinase and kinase modulator affected Ca2+ uptake by or phosphorylation of the subcellular fractions. Partially purified protein kinases from umbilical and beef skeletal muscle contained a component(s) distinguishable from the kinase on the basis of its heat stability that enhanced ATP-induced Ca2+ uptake by mitochondrial fractions from the umbilical artery. It is suggested that alterations in Ca2+ sequestration induced by changes in ATP concentration and intracellular pH in mitochondrial and microsomal fractions, respectively, could play a role in the control of arterial patency and closure with changes in PO2.

Effects of epinephrine, adrenocorticotrophic hormone, and theophylline on adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterase activity in fat cells.

When rat fat cells were incubated with ACTH, epinephrine, or theophylline for 2 to 10 min, cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (3':5'-cyclic-AMP 5'-nucleotidohydrolase, E.C. 3.1.4.17) activity (K(m) about 0.39 muM) in the 100,000 x g sediment fraction of homogenates was increased 35 to 50%. The effects of epinephrine and ACTH were concentration dependent and maximal increases were produced with concentrations similar to those that maximally stimulate lipolysis. Theophylline (0.5 mM) similarly increased phosphodiesterase activity but did not enhance the effects of maximally effective concentrations of the hormones. The changes in phosphodiesterase activity following addition of ACTH or theophylline paralleled changes in cell cyclic AMP content; both reached a maximum within 5 min and then declined, approaching basal levels after 20 or 30 min. The increased phosphodiesterase activity in cells incubated for 5 min with epinephrine reverted to basal levels within 2.5 min after the addition of propranolol. Our data are consistent with the view that there is a component of the fat-cell phosphodiesterase, perhaps localized in the plasma membrane, whose activity can be acutely modified by the concentration of its substrate, cyclic AMP. As previously reported (J. Biol. Chem.248, 7164-7170, 1973), exposure of fat cells to insulin increases the activity of a low K(m) phosphodiesterase also localized in the 100,000 x g sediment fraction of fat cell homogenates. In the presence of insulin, however, phosphodiesterase remained elevated for at least 40 min and there was no significant change in fat-cell cyclic AMP content. When phosphodiesterase activity was elevated and cyclic AMP content maintained at a high level by incubation of cells with ACTH plus theophylline, insulin produced a further increase in enzyme activity. Whether or not insulin and ACTH (or epinephrine or theophylline) affect the same phosphodiesterase, there seems little doubt that the underlying mechanisms are different.