Association of six YFP-myosin XI-tail fusions with mobile plant cell organelles

Background  

Myosins are molecular motors that carry cargo on actin filaments in eukaryotic cells. Seventeen myosin genes have been identified in the nuclear genome of Arabidopsis. The myosin genes can be divided into two plant-specific subfamilies, class VIII with four members and class XI with 13 members. Class XI myosins are related to animal and fungal myosin class V that are responsible for movement of particular vesicles and organelles. Organelle localization of only one of the 13 Arabidopsis myosin XI (myosin XI-6; At MYA2), which is found on peroxisomes, has so far been reported. Little information is available concerning the remaining 12 class XI myosins.     

Head-neck domain of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis> myosin XI,MYA2, fused with GFP produces F-actin patterns that coincide with fast organelle streaming in different plant cells

Background  

The cytoskeletal mechanisms that underlie organelle transport in plants are intimately linked to acto-myosin function. This function is mediated by the attachment of myosin heads to F-actin and the binding of cargo to the tails. Acto-myosin also powers vigorous cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells. Class XI myosins exhibit strikingly fast velocities and may have extraordinary roles in cellular motility. Studies of the structural basis of organelle transport have focused on the cargo-binding tails of myosin XI, revealing a close relationship with the transport of peroxisomes, mitochondria, and Golgi-vesicles. Links between myosin heads and F-actin-based motility have been less investigated. To address this function, we performed localization studies using the head-neck domain of AtMYA2, a myosin XI from Arabidopsis.     

Comparison of the xylose reductase-xylitol dehydrogenase and the xylose isomerase pathways for xylose fermentation by recombinant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis>

Background  

Two heterologous pathways have been used to construct recombinant xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains: i) the xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) pathway and ii) the xylose isomerase (XI) pathway. In the present study, the Pichia stipitis XR-XDH pathway and the Piromyces XI pathway were compared in an isogenic strain background, using a laboratory host strain with genetic modifications known to improve xylose fermentation (overexpressed xylulokinase, overexpressed non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway and deletion of the aldose reductase gene GRE3). The two isogenic strains and the industrial xylose-fermenting strain TMB 3400 were studied regarding their xylose fermentation capacity in defined mineral medium and in undetoxified lignocellulosic hydrolysate.     

Identification and functional characterisation of Complement Regulator Acquiring Surface Protein-1 of serum resistant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Borrelia garinii</Emphasis> OspA serotype 4

Background  

B. burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) is the etiological agent of Lyme borreliosis in humans. Spirochetes have adapted themselves to the human immune system in many distinct ways. One important immune escape mechanism for evading complement activation is the binding of complement regulators Factor H (CFH) or Factor H-like protein1 (FHL-1) to Complement Regulator-Acquiring Surface Proteins (CRASPs).     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis> Perlecan gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">trol</Emphasis> regulates multiple signaling pathways in different developmental contexts

Background  

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans modulate signaling by a variety of growth factors. The mammalian proteoglycan Perlecan binds and regulates signaling by Sonic Hedgehog, Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Platelet Derived Growth Factor (PDGF), among others, in contexts ranging from angiogenesis and cardiovascular development to cancer progression. The Drosophila Perlecan homolog trol has been shown to regulate the activity of Hedgehog and Branchless (an FGF homolog) to control the onset of stem cell proliferation in the developing brain during first instar. Here we extend analysis of trol mutant phenotypes to show that trol is required for a variety of developmental events and modulates signaling by multiple growth factors in different situations.     

Characterization and partial purification of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida albicans</Emphasis> Secretory IL-12 Inhibitory Factor

Background  

We have previously shown that supernatant from Candida albicans (CA) culture contains a Secretory Interleukin (IL)-12 Inhibitory Factor (CA-SIIF), which inhibits IL-12 production by human monocytes. However, the effect of CA-SIIF on secretion of other cytokines by monocytes is unknown, and detailed characterization of this factor has not been performed.     

Distinctive interactions of the Arabidopsis homolog of the 30 kD subunit of the cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (AtCPSF30) with other polyadenylation factor subunits

Background  

The Arabidopsis ortholog of the 30 kD subunit of the mammalian Cleavage and Polyadenylation Specificity Factor (AtCPSF30) is an RNA-binding endonuclease that is associated with other Arabidopsis CPSF subunits (orthologs of the 160, 100, and 73 kD subunits of CPSF). In order to further explore the functions of AtCPSF30, the subcellular distribution of the protein was examined by over-expressing fusion proteins containing fluorescent reporters linked to different CPSF subunits.     

MAB21L2, a vertebrate member of the Male-abnormal 21 family,modulates BMP signaling and interacts with SMAD1

Background  

Through in vivo loss-of-function studies, vertebrate members of the Male abnormal 21 (mab-21) gene family have been implicated in gastrulation, neural tube formation and eye morphogenesis. Despite mounting evidence of their considerable importance in development, the biochemical properties and nature of MAB-21 proteins have remained strikingly elusive. In addition, genetic studies conducted in C. elegans have established that in double mutants mab-21 is epistatic to genes encoding various members of a Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGF-beta) signaling pathway involved in the formation of male-specific sensory organs.     

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α +489G/A gene polymorphism is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background  

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by a chronic inflammatory process, in which the pro-inflammatory cytokine Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α is considered to play a role. In the present study the putative involvement of TNF-α gene polymorphisms in pathogenesis of COPD was studied by analysis of four TNF-α gene polymorphisms in a Caucasian COPD population.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Caenorhabditis elegans</Emphasis>CDT-2 ubiquitin ligase is required for attenuation of EGFR signalling in vulva precursor cells

Background  

Attenuation of the EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor) signalling cascade is crucial to control cell fate during development. A candidate-based RNAi approach in C. elegans identified CDT-2 as an attenuator of LET-23 (EGFR) signalling. Human CDT2 is a component of the conserved CDT2/CUL4/DDB1 ubiquitin ligase complex that plays a critical role in DNA replication and G2/M checkpoint. Within this complex, CDT2 is responsible for substrate recognition. This ubiquitin ligase complex has been shown in various organisms, including C. elegans, to target the replication-licensing factor CDT1, and the CDK inhibitor p21. However, no previous link to EGFR signalling has been identified.     

Multicellular Tumour Spheroid as a model for evaluation of [18F]FDG as biomarker for breast cancer treatment monitoring

Background  

Pluripotent mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells can be induced in vitro to become neural progenitors. Upon transplantation, neural progenitors migrate toward areas of damage and inflammation in the CNS. We tested whether undifferentiated and neuralized mouse ES cells migrate toward media conditioned by glioma cell lines (C6, U87 & N1321) or Stem Cell Factor (SCF).     

Early B-cell Factor gene association with multiple sclerosis in the Spanish population

Background  

The etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) is at present not fully elucidated, although it is considered to result from the interaction of environmental and genetic susceptibility factors. In this work we aimed at testing the Early B-cell Factor (EBF1) gene as a functional and positional candidate risk factor for this neurological disease. Axonal damage is a hallmark for multiple sclerosis clinical disability and EBF plays an evolutionarily conserved role in the expression of proteins essential for axonal pathfinding. Failure of B-cell differentiation was found in EBF-deficient mice and involvement of B-lymphocytes in MS has been suggested from their presence in cerebrospinal fluid and lesions of patients.     

An insertion mutation of the bovine F11 gene is responsible for factor XI deficiency in Japanese black cattle

Factor XI deficiency in Japanese black cattle is an hereditary mild bleeding disorder with an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. To characterize the molecular lesion causing factor XI deficiency in cattle, we isolated an entire coding region of the bovine F11 gene, which comprises 15 exons and 14 introns, and determined its nucleotide sequences. Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the F11 gene between affected and unaffected animals revealed an insertion of 15 nucleotides in exon 9 of the affected animals. The insertion results in a substitution of one amino acid with six amino acids in a highly conserved amino acid sequence in the fourth apple domain of factor XI protein. Genotyping of the F11 gene in 109 Japanese black cattle revealed that the insertion clearly corresponded to the factor XI activities of the animals. We therefore concluded that the insertion of 15 nucleotides in the F11 gene is the causative mutation for factor XI deficiency in Japanese black cattle. Genotyping of the F11gene by detecting the insertion will be an effective DNA-based diagnostic system to prevent incidence of the disease.