Effect of duodenum-preserving resection of the head of the pancreas on endocrine and exocrine pancreatic function in patients with chronic pancreatitis

Two mobilizable cloning vectors, designated pABW1 and pAWB2, were constructed basing on the E. coli vector pBGS18 and oriT originating from RK2. In pABW2 the kanamycin resistance gene was replaced by a novel tetracycline resistance cassette derived from Tn1721. Both vectors, specific for E. coli, allow to perform the cloning steps in E. coli and then to efficiently transfer the constructs by conjugation to the host of choice. A vector which cannot propagate in the given host can be applied for identification of the host specific plasmid replicator regions. With the use of pABW2 we defined the minimal replicator region of pTAV202-a mini-derivative of the large pTAV1 plasmid of P. versutus. We also proved that RepC' encoded on this fragment is the principal initiator replication protein and that oriV is located along its coding sequence.     

Potency comparison of peptidomimetic inhibitors against HIV-1 and HIV-2 proteinases: design of equipotent lead compounds

The results of investigation of haptoglobin (Hp) types in 596 donor blood samples in some towns of Ukraine (Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Odessa, Kiev, Uzhgorod, Zhitomir) are presented. Three normal Hp types (Hp1-1, Hp2-1 and Hp2-2) have been found. The reliable interpopulation differences in the Hp types frequency were not found. On the whole the Hp types frequency in the type Hp1-1 comprised 12.7%. In the type Hp2-1-48.1% and in the type Hp2-2-36.5%. The frequency of the gene Hp1 is 0.38. The frequency of the Hp types and of the gene Hpl in Ukraine is similar to that in population of Eastern Europe and European Part of Russia.     

Molecular cloning of CYP1A from the estuarine fish Fundulus heteroclitus and phylogenetic analysis of CYP1 genes: update with new sequences

Since we published a phylogenetic analysis of the CYP1A subfamily in 1995, several additional full-length sequences have been reported, including three members of an entirely new subfamily, CYP1B. Two avian sequences were recently published, so that CYP1A sequence data are now available from three of the five major vertebrate lineages. The two new branches that have been added to the CYP1 family tree significantly add to our understanding of P450 evolution. The inclusion of the CYP1Bs to the phylogenetic analysis allows us to root inferred trees. Addition of the avian CYP1As indicates that the CYP1A1/CYP1A2 duplication present in the mammalian lineage may have occurred after the divergence of birds and mammals. The number of fish species from which full-length coding regions of CYP1A genes have been sequenced has increased from four (trout, plaice, toadfish, and scup) to nine. These include CYP1A sequences from tomcod, butterflyfish, sea bream, sea bass, and the full-length sequence of CYP1A from the killifish Fundulus heteroclitus that is reported here. Phylogenetic analyses incorporating the new fish CYP1A sequences support our original conclusion that the fish CYP1As are monophyletic and indicate that the genes are evolving at very different rates in different species.     

Ferritin in cultured human cytotrophoblasts: synthesis and subunit distribution

The present study aims at the role of ferritin in the regulation of syncytiotrophoblast free iron levels. The differentiated cytotrophoblast cell in culture is used as a model for this maternal-fetal interface. Cytotrophoblast cells isolated from term placentae are cultured in iron-poor (Medium 199), iron-depleted [desferrioxamine(DFO)] and iron-supplemented [diferric transferrin (hTF-2Fe), ferric ammonium citrate (FAC)] medium. Distribution and de novo synthesis of isoferritins is studied, together with the cellular iron concentration and the ferritin iron saturation. Compared to ferritin isolated from total placenta, ferritin obtained from villous tissue is enriched with acidic isoforms. This observation is in agreement with measured light (L) to heavy (H) subunit ratios < 1 of de novo synthesized ferritin in cultured cytotrophoblast cells. Neither iron-poor culture medium, nor hTf-2Fe supplemented medium affects the cellular iron or ferritin concentration. FAC increased the cellular ferritin iron saturation and (by synthesis) the acidic isoferritin concentrations. The results strongly suggest, that the term syncytiotrophoblast is able to balance transferrin-mediated iron uptake and iron release. In case of FAC supplementation, the syncytiotrophoblast is unable to keep intracellular iron low, and ferritin synthesis is stimulated. The predominance of acidic ferritins and the preferential synthesis of H subunits can be functionally explained by the established fact that iron incorporation in acidic ferritins is faster due to the presence of ferroxidase centres. Damage by free iron catalysed hydroxyl radical formation is therefore minimized.     

Cloning and sequencing of a tpr-met oncogene cDNA isolated from MNNG-transformed human XP fibroblasts

A rearranged tpr-met oncogene was identified in a MNNG-transformed human Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) cell line (ASKMN). A 2016 bp cDNA was cloned and sequenced, disclosing an ORF with a coding capacity for a 523 aa protein. The sequence of this tpr-met cDNA was very similar to that previously reported in another human MNNG-transformed cell line (MNNG-HOS).