ABSTRACT
Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5) is the first committed enzyme of phenylpropanoid pathway. A PAL gene, designated as BoPAL2, was cloned from a Bambusa oldhamii cDNA library. The open reading frame of BoPAL2 was 2142bp in size encoding a 713-amino acid polypeptide. BoPAL2 was heterologous expressed in Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris. The recombinant proteins were exhibited PAL and tyrosine ammonia-lyase activities. The recombinant BoPAL2 had a subunit mass of 80kDa and existed as a homotetramer. The optimum temperature and pH of BoPAL2 were 50-60 degrees C and 8.5-9.0, respectively. The K(m) and k(cat) values of BoPAL2 expressed in E. coli were 250microM and 10.12s(-1). The K(m) and k(cat) values of BoPAL2 expressed in P. pastoris were 331microM and 16.04s(-1). The recombinant proteins had similar biochemical properties and kinetic parameters with PALs reported in other plants.
Subject(s)
Ammonia-Lyases/metabolism , Bambusa/genetics , Escherichia coli/metabolism , Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase/metabolism , Pichia/metabolism , Ammonia-Lyases/chemistry , Ammonia-Lyases/genetics , Bambusa/metabolism , Escherichia coli/genetics , Gene Library , Open Reading Frames , Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase/chemistry , Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase/genetics , Pichia/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/chemistry , Recombinant Proteins/metabolismSubject(s)
Biopsy , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Microglia/pathology , Putamen/pathology , Aged , Animals , Dyskinesias/complications , Dyskinesias/pathology , Humans , Male , Rats , Stroke/complications , Stroke/pathologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of the current study was to investigate a hospital series of 986 cases of primary pediatric brain tumors in Taiwan. METHODS: The authors reviewed the database of primary pediatric brain tumors in patients < 18 years of age collected in Taipei Veterans General Hospital (Taipei VGH) from 1975 to May 2004. Age and gender distribution, location, and classification of brain tumors were analyzed. Intracranial tumors with diagnostic imaging were included. Nontumoral lesions, cysts, and vascular malformations were excluded. RESULTS: The mean age of these 986 patients was 7.8 years, and the male to female ratio was 1.4:1. Supratentorial (including pineal-quadrigeminal) located tumors (58.3%) was predominant to infratentorial tumors (41.1%). In these series, 886 patients had either histologic diagnosis (842 patients) or clinical diagnosis (44 patients). The most common 5 categories of tumors were astrocytic tumors (31.1%), germ cell tumors (14.0%), medulloblastomas (13.3%), craniopharyngiomas (8.3%), and ependymal tumors (5.8%). Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RTs), a rare but highly malignant tumor, were 2.1%. The high incidence of primary intracranial germ cell tumors correlated with reported series from Japan and Korea. For the remaining 100 patients without diagnostic classifications, the majority were most likely astrocytic tumors in brain stem. CONCLUSIONS: The authors analyzed a large hospital series of primary brain tumors in children. Both histologically verified and unverified tumors were recruited to avoid selective bias. Although it was not a study of a population-based brain tumor registry, it could still be representative of primary pediatric brain tumors in Taiwan.
Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/classification , Brain Neoplasms/pathology , Adolescent , Age Factors , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Sex Factors , TaiwanABSTRACT
To evaluate the feasibility of using radiosensitivity of peripheral leukocytes as a predictor of clinical therapeutic responses to radiosurgery in individuals with cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM), we enrolled 18 patients years after they had received Gamma Knife radiosurgery for their cerebral AVM. The AVMs were shown with different degrees of regression in size in posttherapeutic periods. The peripheral leukocytes of these patients were collected at the last neuroimaging follow-ups. The leukocytes, before and 1 and 2 h after 8 Gy external gamma-irradiation, were evaluated for the amounts of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) in 50 randomly selected individual nuclei by the neutral single cell gel electrophoresis, or so-called comet analysis. After being adjusted for gender and age at radiosurgery, the individuals with less posttherapeutic regression in AMV sizes or relatively poor or inadequate responses to radiosurgery were shown to have significantly higher DSB repair capacity on their leukocytes by comet analysis. These results suggested that in vitro radiosensitivity of peripheral leukocytes may provide valuable information for predicting therapeutic response or for adjusting irradiation doses in AVM radiosurgery.
Subject(s)
DNA Damage , DNA Repair/radiation effects , Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations/diagnosis , Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations/radiotherapy , Leukocytes/radiation effects , Outcome Assessment, Health Care/methods , Radiosurgery/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Child , DNA/radiation effects , DNA/ultrastructure , Feasibility Studies , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations/pathology , Leukocytes/ultrastructure , Male , Middle Aged , Statistics as Topic , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
CASE REPORT: A patient with residual craniopharyngioma experienced a rapid tumor relapse during growth hormone therapy. OBJECTIVE: We present this case and remind physicians that it is necessary to reevaluate the safety of growth hormone therapy in patients with residual craniopharyngioma.
