61 research outputs found

    Inhibition of Growth Factor-Mediated Tyrosine Phosphorylation in Vascular Smooth Muscle by PD 089828, a New Synthetic Protein Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor

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    ABSTRACT PD 089828, a novel protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor of a new structural class, the 6-aryl-pyrido- [2,3-d]pyrimidines, was identified by screening a compound library with assays that measured protein tyrosine kinase activity. PD 089828 was found to inhibit human full-length fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor-1 (FGFR-1), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor ␤ subunit (PDGFR-␤), Src nonreceptor tyrosine kinase (c-Src) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinases with half-maximal inhibitory potencies (IC 50 values) of 0.15 Ϯ 0.02 (n ϭ 4), 0.18 Ϯ 0.04 (n ϭ 3), 1.76 Ϯ 0.28 (n ϭ 4) and 5.47 Ϯ 0.78 (n ϭ 6) M, respectively. PD 089828 was further characterized as an ATP competitive inhibitor of the growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases (FGFR-1, PDGFR-␤ and EGFR) but a noncompetitive inhibitor of c-Src tyrosine kinase with respect to ATP. In addition, PD 089828 inhibited PDGF-and EGF-stimulated receptor autophosphorylation in vascular SMC (VSMC) and basic FGF-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation in A121 cells with IC 50 values similar to the potencies observed for inhibition of receptor tyrosine kinase activity. The inhibition of PDGF receptor autophosphorylation in VSMC by PD 089828 occurred rapidly, with maximal effects reached within 5 min of drug exposure. Inhibition after single exposure was long lasting but also rapidly reversible, occurring within 5 min after drug removal. The PDGF-induced association of downstream signaling proteins, including phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI-3K), growth factor receptor binding protein-2 (GRB2), SH-2 domain and collagen like (Shc) and phospholipase C␥ (PLC␥), with VSMC PDGF receptors was also blocked as a result of the inhibition of PDGF-stimulated receptor autophosphorylation by PD 089828. PD 089828 also inhibited the PDGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the 44-and 42-kDa mitogen-activated protein kinase isoforms. Moreover, the effects of PD 089828 were demonstrated in functional assays in which PDGF-stimulated DNA synthesis, PDGF-directed migration and serum-stimulated growth of VSMC were all inhibited to the same extent as PDGF receptor autophosphorylation (IC 50 ϭ 0.8, 4.5 and 1.8 M, respectively). These results highlight the biological characteristics of PD 089828 as a novel, broadly active protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor with long-lasting but reversible cellular effects. The potential therapeutic use of these broadly acting, nonselective inhibitors as antiproliferative and antimigratory agents could extend to such diseases as cancer, atherosclerosis and restenosis in which redundancies in growth-signaling pathways are known to exist

    An Amish founder variant consolidates disruption of CEP55 as a cause of hydranencephaly and renal dysplasia

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    This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this record.The centrosomal protein 55 kDa (CEP55 (OMIM 610000)) plays a fundamental role in cell cycle regulation and cytokinesis. However, the precise role of CEP55 in human embryonic growth and development is yet to be fully defined. Here we identified a novel homozygous founder frameshift variant in CEP55, present at low frequency in the Amish community, in two siblings presenting with a lethal foetal disorder. The features of the condition are reminiscent of a Meckel-like syndrome comprising of Potter sequence, hydranencephaly, and cystic dysplastic kidneys. These findings, considered alongside two recent studies of single families reporting loss of function candidate variants in CEP55, confirm disruption of CEP55 function as a cause of this clinical spectrum and enable us to delineate the cardinal clinical features of this disorder, providing important new insights into early human development.Medical Research CouncilNewlife Foundation for disabled childre

    Transmembrane protein 97 is a potential synaptic amyloid beta receptor in human Alzheimer’s disease

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    Synapse loss correlates with cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, and soluble oligomeric amyloid beta (Aβ) is implicated in synaptic dysfunction and loss. An important knowledge gap is the lack of understanding of how Aβ leads to synapse degeneration. In particular, there has been difficulty in determining whether there is a synaptic receptor that binds Aβ and mediates toxicity. While many candidates have been observed in model systems, their relevance to human AD brain remains unknown. This is in part due to methodological limitations preventing visualization of Aβ binding at individual synapses. To overcome this limitation, we combined two high resolution microscopy techniques: array tomography and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to image over 1 million individual synaptic terminals in temporal cortex from AD (n = 11) and control cases (n = 9). Within presynapses and post-synaptic densities, oligomeric Aβ generates a FRET signal with transmembrane protein 97. Further, Aβ generates a FRET signal with cellular prion protein, and post-synaptic density 95 within post synapses. Transmembrane protein 97 is also present in a higher proportion of post synapses in Alzheimer’s brain compared to controls. We inhibited Aβ/transmembrane protein 97 interaction in a mouse model of amyloidopathy by treating with the allosteric modulator CT1812. CT1812 drug concentration correlated negatively with synaptic FRET signal between transmembrane protein 97 and Aβ. In human-induced pluripotent stem cell derived neurons, transmembrane protein 97 is present in synapses and colocalizes with Aβ when neurons are challenged with human Alzheimer’s brain homogenate. Transcriptional changes are induced by Aβ including changes in genes involved in neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. CT1812 treatment of these neurons caused changes in gene sets involved in synaptic function. These data support a role for transmembrane protein 97 in the synaptic binding of Aβ in human Alzheimer’s disease brain where it may mediate synaptotoxicity

    Polygenic basis and biomedical consequences of telomere length variation.

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    Funder: Health Data Research UK EU/EFPIA Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking BigData@Heart (11607).Funder: Health Data Research UKTelomeres, the end fragments of chromosomes, play key roles in cellular proliferation and senescence. Here we characterize the genetic architecture of naturally occurring variation in leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and identify causal links between LTL and biomedical phenotypes in 472,174 well-characterized UK Biobank participants. We identified 197 independent sentinel variants associated with LTL at 138 genomic loci (108 new). Genetically determined differences in LTL were associated with multiple biological traits, ranging from height to bone marrow function, as well as several diseases spanning neoplastic, vascular and inflammatory pathologies. Finally, we estimated that, at the age of 40 years, people with an LTL >1 s.d. shorter than the population mean had a 2.5-year-lower life expectancy compared with the group with ≥1 s.d. longer LDL. Overall, we furnish new insights into the genetic regulation of LTL, reveal wide-ranging influences of LTL on physiological traits, diseases and longevity, and provide a powerful resource available to the global research community

    "Give me some space" : exploring youth to parent aggression and violence

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    A small scale qualitative project, undertaken by an interdisciplinary domestic violence research group involving academic researchers and research assistants, with colleagues from Independent Domestic Abuse Services (IDAS), investigated youth aggression and violence against parents. Following the literature review, data was generated through several research conversations with young people (n = 2), through semi-structured interviews with mothers (n = 3) and practitioners (n = 5), and through a practitioner focus group (n = 8). Thematic analysis and triangulation of the data from parents, practitioners and young people, elicited interconnected and complex overarching themes. Young people could be both victim and perpetrator. The witnessing or experiencing of domestic aggression and violence raised the concept of ‘bystander children’. The impact of young people experiencing familial violence was underestimated by parents. For practitioners, the effects of working with domestic violence was shown to be significant - both positively and negatively

    Trapped-Hole Diffusion in Photoexcited CdSe Nanorods

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    Surface charge-carrier traps are ubiquitous in colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals and fundamentally impact excited-state relaxation, making it critical to understand both their nature and their dynamics. Here, using photoluminescence upconversion and transient absorption spectroscopy, we study hole trapping and the dissociation between electrons and trapped holes in nonuniform CdSe nanorods and monitor their subsequent recombination dynamics. These recombination dynamics are described well with a diffusion–annihilation model wherein the trapped hole undergoes a random walk on the nanocrystal surface until it encounters the electron. This model fits the nonexponential excited-state decay over more than 7 orders of magnitude in time with a single adjustable parameter. The characterization of the spatial dynamics of trapped holes in CdSe nanostructures extends our fundamental understanding of excited-state dynamics in this important class of materials. The surface motion of trapped holes may have important implications for optoelectronic applications that rely on charge transport and charge transfer

    Organizational Stages and Processes of Change for Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Care

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    This article provides an overview of the transtheoretical model of change (TTM, or stage model) and how it can guide the development of stage-matched interventions to increase physicians\u27 readiness for continuous quality improvement (CQI) in health care. In addition, this article describes the development and initial validation of two TTM measures-stages and processes of change-designed to assess the extent to which hospitals are engaging in activities that can facilitate individual providers\u27 movement through the stages of change for CQI. A majority (57%) of informants reported that their organizations were in the maintenance stage for CQI. Organizational-level processes of change differed significantly across the stages: Hospitals in the precontemplation stage tended to use the processes least, and hospitals in the maintenance stage tended to use them most. © 2001 Educational Publishing Foundation and the Division of Consulting Psychology
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