Filetype
Nine different germ-line mutations in the BRCA1 breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene were identified in 15 of 47 kindreds from southern Sweden, by use of SSCP and heteroduplex analysis of all exons and flanking intron region and by a protein-truncation test for exon 11, followed by direct sequencing. All but one of the mutations are predicted to give rise to premature translation terminat
In this article the organization and functional details of the extracellular matrix, with particular focus on cartilage, are described. All tissues contain a set of molecules that are arranged to contribute structural elements. Examples are fibril-forming collagens forming major fibrillar networks in most tissues. The assembly process is regulated by a number of proteins (thrombospondins, LRR-prot
P>1. Ants show complex interactions with plants, both facultative and mutualistic, ranging from grazers through seed predators and dispersers to herders of some herbivores and guards against others. But ants are rarely pollinators, and their visits to flowers may be detrimental to plant fitness. 2. Plants therefore have various strategies to control ant distributions, and restrict them to foliage
We investigated the mechanism of lysosome-mediated cell death using purified recombinant pro-apoptotic proteins, and cell-free extracts from the human neuronal progenitor cell line NT2, Potential effectors were either isolated lysosomes or purified lysosomal proteases. Purified lysosomal cathepsins B, H, K, L, S, and X or an extract of mouse lysosomes did not directly activate either recombinant c
The ADAM ( a disintegrin and metalloprotease) family consists of multidomain cell-surface proteins that have a major impact on cell behavior. These transmembrane-anchored proteins are synthesized as proforms that have ( from the N terminus): a prodomain; a metalloprotease, disintegrin-like-, cysteine-rich, epidermal growth factor-like, and transmembrane domain; and a cytoplasmic tail. The 90-kDa m
In our inbred strain of cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) 50% of the females develop spontaneous ECL cell-derived tumors in the acid-producing part of the stomach due to hypergastrinemia secondary to gastric hypoacidity. Although the mechanism behind the hypoacidity is unknown, the female cotton rat is an excellent model for studying ECL cell-related tumorigenesis. In this study we wanted to explore
Human blood group A and B antigens are produced by two closely related glycosyltransferase enzymes. An N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GTA) utilizes UDP-GalNAc to extend H antigen acceptors (Fuc alpha(1-2)Gal beta-OR) producing A antigens, whereas a galactosyltransferase (GTB) utilizes UDP-Gal as a donor to extend H structures producing B antigens. GTA and GTB have a characteristic (DVD213)-D-2
Recent ChIP experiments of human and mouse embryonic stem cells have elucidated the architecture of the transcriptional regulatory circuitry responsible for cell determination, which involves the transcription factors OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG. In addition to regulating each other through feedback loops, these genes also regulate downstream target genes involved in the maintenance and differentiation
Sustained neurotrophic factor treatment in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease is likely to affect both degenerating and intact neurons. To investigate the effect of long-term glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) overexpression on intact nigrostriatal dopamine neurons, we injected a recombinant lentiviral vector encoding GDNF, or green fluorescent protein, in the
Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a clinically heterogeneous disease in which the risk of disease is influenced by complex genetic and environmental contributions. Alleles of HLA-DRB1, IRF5, and STAT4 are established susceptibility genes; there is strong evidence for the existence of additional risk loci. Methods We genotyped more than 500,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)
Testing models of macroevolution, and especially the sufficiency of microevolutionary processes, requires good collaboration between molecular biologists and paleontologists. We report such a test for events around the Late Cretaceous by describing the earliest penguin fossils, analyzing complete mitochondrial genomes from an albatross, a petrel, and a loon, and describe the gradual decline of pte
Helicobacter pylori attaches via lectins, carbohydrate binding proteins, to the carbohydrate residues of gastric mucins. Guinea-pigs are a suitable model for a H. pylori infection and thus the carbohydrate composition of normal and H. pylori infected gastric mucosa was investigated by lectin histochemistry. The stomach of all infected animals showed signs of an active chronic gastritis in their mu
A novel immunoassay (PINC-ELISA) was designed using proteinase inhibitors of the cystatin superfamily (PINC) in the solid phase, to promote the selective capture of cysteine proteinases. The method was applied in the identification of papain-like antigens from parasitic protozoa. PINC of human origin, namely recombinant cystatin C (r-cystatin C) or low molecular weight kininogen were used in the a
Low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMW-PTP) dimerizes in the phosphate-bound state in solution with a dissociation constant of K-d = 1.5(+/-0.1) mM and an off-rate on the order of 10(4) s(-1).H-1 and N-15 NMR chemical shifts identify the dimer interface, which is in excellent agreement with that observed in the crystal structure of the dimeric S19A mutant. Two tyrosine residues of
The human platelet cilostamide- and cGMP-inhibited cAMP phosphodiesterase (cGI-PDE) was rapidly purified approximately 19,000-fold to apparent homogeneity using single step affinity chromatography on the isothiocyanate derivative of cilostamide coupled to aminoethyl agarose. Within 24 h, 30 micrograms of enzyme protein was obtained from 20 ml of packed platelets. Vmax for cAMP and cGMP was 6.1 and
