Carbon disulphide absorption during xanthate reagent mixing in a gold mine concentrator. (1/822)

A xanthate reagent mixer at a gold mine concentrator was exposed to carbon disulphide by extensive skin contamination with xanthate powder and solution during the reagent mixing process. Absorption of carbon disulphide was confirmed by the detection of urinary 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (TTCA). Drager colorimetric tube testing during subsequent mixing recorded a maximum concentration of at least 60 ppm carbon disulphide. An illness consisting of predominantly gastrointestinal symptoms began 20 h after the exposure. Although this may have been due to carbon disulphide toxicity this is by no means certain. The need for engineering controls, impervious protective clothing and full-face respirators with particulate and organic vapour cartridges is discussed. This episode occurred at another mine site, unrelated to Mount Isa Mines Limited.  (+info)

Latrunculin-A causes mydriasis and cycloplegia in the cynomolgus monkey. (2/822)

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of latrunculin (LAT)-A, which binds to G-actin and disassembles actin filaments, on the pupil, accommodation, and isolated ciliary muscle (CM) contraction in monkeys. METHODS: Pupil diameter (vernier calipers) and refraction (coincidence refractometry) were measured every 15 minutes from 0.75 to 3.5 hours after topical LAT-A 42 microg (approximately 10 microM in the anterior chamber [AC]). Refraction was measured every 5 minutes from 0.5 to 1.5 hours after intracameral injection of 10 microl of 50 microM LAT-A (approximately 5 microM in AC), with intramuscular infusion of 1.5 mg/kg pilocarpine HCl (PILO) during the first 15 minutes of measurements. Pupil diameter was measured at 1 and 2 hours, and refraction was measured every 5 minutes from 1 to 2 hours, after intravitreal injection of 20 microl of 1.25 mM LAT-A (approximately 10 microM in vitreous), with intramuscular infusion of 1.5 mg/kg PILO during the first 15 minutes of measurements (all after topical 2.5% phenylephrine), and contractile response of isolated CM strips, obtained <1 hour postmortem and mounted in a perfusion apparatus, to 10 microM PILO +/- LAT-A was measured at various concentrations. RESULTS: Topical LAT-A of 42 microg dilated the pupil without affecting refraction. Intracameral LAT-A of 5 microM inhibited miotic and accommodative responses to intramuscular PILO. Intravitreal LAT-A of 10 microM had no effect on accommodative or miotic responses to intramuscular PILO. LAT-A dose-dependently relaxed the PILO-contracted CM by up to 50% at 3 microM in both the longitudinal and circular vectors. CONCLUSIONS: In monkeys, LAT-A causes mydriasis and cycloplegia, perhaps related to its known ability to disrupt the actin microfilament network and consequently to affect cell contractility and adhesion. Effects of LAT-A on the iris and CM may have significant physiological and clinical implications.  (+info)

2-Isopropylidenehydrazono-4-oxo-thiazolidin-5-ylacetanilide (OPB-9195) treatment inhibits the development of intimal thickening after balloon injury of rat carotid artery: role of glycoxidation and lipoxidation reactions in vascular tissue damage. (3/822)

We have pursued the hypothesis that the carbonyl modification of proteins by glycoxidation and lipoxidation reactions plays a role in atherogenesis. Human atherosclerotic tissues with fatty streaks and uremic arteriosclerotic tissues were examined, with specific antibodies, to detect protein adducts formed with carbonyl compounds by glycoxidation or lipoxidation reactions, i.e. advanced glycation end products (AGEs) or glycoxidation products, such as carboxymethyllysine (CML) and pentosidine, and lipoxidation products, such as malondialdehyde (MDA)-lysine and 4-hydroxy-nonenal (HNE)-protein adduct. All the four adducts were identified in the proliferative intima and in macrophage-rich fatty streaks. If the carbonyl modification is not a mere result but is a contributor to atherogenesis, inhibition of glycoxidation and lipoxidation reactions might prevent vascular tissue damage. We tested this hypothesis in rats following balloon injury of their carotid arteries, a model exhibiting a remarkable intimal thickening, which are stained positive for all the four adducts. Oral administration of 2-isopropylidenehydrazono-4-oxo-thiazolidin-5-ylacetanili de (OPB-9195), an inhibitor of both glycoxidation and lipoxidation reactions, in rats following balloon injury effectively prevented the intimal thickening. These data suggest a role for the carbonyl modification of proteins by glycoxidation and lipoxidation reactions in most, if not all, types of vascular tissue damage ('carbonyl stress'), and the usefulness of inhibitors of carbonyl reactions for the treatment of vascular tissue damage.  (+info)

The role of local actin instability in axon formation. (4/822)

The role of localized instability of the actin network in specifying axonal fate was examined with the use of rat hippocampal neurons in culture. During normal neuronal development, actin dynamics and instability polarized to a single growth cone before axon formation. Consistently, global application of actin-depolymerizing drugs and of the Rho-signaling inactivator toxin B to nonpolarized cells produced neurons with multiple axons. Moreover, disruption of the actin network in one individual growth cone induced its neurite to become the axon. Thus, local instability of the actin network restricted to a single growth cone is a physiological signal specifying neuronal polarization.  (+info)

A new CYP2A6 gene deletion responsible for the in vivo polymorphic metabolism of (+)-cis-3,5-dimethyl-2-(3-pyridyl)thiazolidin-4-one hydrochloride in humans. (5/822)

(+)-Cis-3,5-dimethyl-2-(3-pyridyl)thiazolidin-4-one hydrochloride (SM-12502) is a newly developed drug as a platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist. The disposition of SM-12502 was investigated in plasma from 28 healthy Japanese volunteers after a single i.v. administration of SM-12502. Three of 28 subjects were phenotyped as poor metabolizers (PMs). Genomic DNAs from three extensive metabolizers or three PMs of SM-12502 were analyzed by Southern blot analysis with CYP2A6 cDNA as a probe. DNAs from three PMs digested with SacI and SphI showed novel restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs); one type without 4.5- and 2.6-kb fragments and a weak density of a 6.4-kb fragment (E-type), and the other type without 7.1- and 5.5-kb restriction fragments (C'-type) as compared with three extensive metabolizers, respectively. The deletional restriction fragments specific to three PMs in SacI- and SphI-RFLPs were identified as CYP2A6. Using polymerase chain reaction-RFLP analyses of the gene from the three PMs, we found that the exon 1, exon 8, and exon 9 in CYP2A6 were absent. A new RFLP characterized by SacI and SphI was found to be due to the entire gene deletion of the three exons and was associated with the decreased metabolism of SM-12502. This study demonstrates a new deletional allele in the human CYP2A6 gene responsible for the poor metabolic phenotype of SM-12502.  (+info)

Latrunculin-A increases outflow facility in the monkey. (6/822)

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of Latrunculin (LAT)-A, a macrolide that binds to G-actin, which leads to the disassembly of actin filaments, on shape, junctions, and the cytoskeleton of cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) and on outflow facility in living monkeys. METHODS: Latrunculin-A dose-time-response relationships in BAECs were determined by immunofluorescence and phase contrast light microscopy, facility by two-level constant pressure anterior chamber perfusion. RESULTS: In BAECs, LAT-A caused dose- and incubation time- dependent destruction of actin bundles, cell separation, and cell loss. Cell-cell adhesions were more sensitive than focal contacts. Recovery was also dose- and time-dependent. In monkeys, exchange intracameral infusion and topical application of LAT-A induced dose- and time-dependent several-fold facility increases. The facility increase was completely reversed within several hours after drug removal. However, for at least 24 hours after a single topical LAT-A dose, perfusion with drug-free solution caused an accelerated increase in facility beyond that attributed to normal resistance washout. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacological disorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in the trabecular meshwork by specific actin inhibitors like LAT-A may be a useful antiglaucoma strategy.  (+info)

New actin mutants allow further characterization of the nucleotide binding cleft and drug binding sites. (7/822)

We have generated 9 site-specific mutations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae actin. These mutants display a variety of phenotypes when expressed in vivo, including slow actin filament turnover, slow fluid-phase endocytosis, and defects in actin organization. Actin mutation D157E confers resistance to the actin-sequestering drug, latrunculin A. Latrunculin A inhibits nucleotide exchange on wild-type yeast actin but not on D157E actin, suggesting that this residue is part of the latrunculin A binding site. We have refined our earlier map of the phalloidin binding site on actin, demonstrating a requirement for residue G158 in addition to D179 and R177. The nine new actin mutants as well as a large collection of existing actin mutants were also used to identify the putative binding site of another actin binding drug, tolytoxin, on actin. The actin alleles that result in decreased sensitivity to this drug cluster at a site near the nucleotide-binding pocket. Actin purified from one of these mutants has a reduced affinity for tolytoxin. In addition, tolytoxin causes a 2.4-fold increase in the t1/2 of ATP exchange, further suggesting that this drug binds near the nucleotide-binding pocket of actin. We note that the binding sites for latrunculin A, phalloidin, and tolytoxin all map close to the actin nucleotide binding pocket.  (+info)

Preliminary external quality assessment for the biological monitoring of carbon disulfide with urinary 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid. (8/822)

Four laboratories have participated in an external quality control assessment for the determination of 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (TTCA). TTCA is used as a biomarker for exposure to CS2. Thirteen different urine samples were analyzed by each laboratory. Ten of these were spiked with known amounts of TTCA, and had either a high or intermediate creatinine content. Two samples without any TTCA were used as controls and one sample was a pool of samples of urine from five employees occupationally exposed to CS2. The latter had unknown TTCA content. For each sample, TTCA and creatinine concentration were determined. The samples were supplied in three consecutive deliveries. Several samples were offered more than once. Thus, within-laboratory variability could be established for creatinine and TTCA determination and accuracy could be determined for TTCA analysis. Within-laboratory variability was low for all laboratories for creatinine, although laboratory D seemed to have a slight downward bias. Accuracy for TTCA was good for all laboratories. No significant mean deviation from the expected TTCA value was encountered. There does not seem to be any clear influence of the TTCA concentration level of the samples on the accuracy and within-laboratory variability. Two of the four laboratories (A and C) showed lower within-laboratory variability than the other two for TTCA, although coefficients of variation between replicated samples are high for these two laboratories as well. The laboratory giving the best accuracy, gave the highest within-laboratory variability. A non-systematic, random error is probably the source of this. The results of this preliminary study indicate that analysis of TTCA, although regarded as an established biomarker, can give biases and thus negatively interfere with inferred dose-effect or dose-response relationships in occupational epidemiology.  (+info)