Bioscience ReportsThis is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader, such as GoogleReader, or to display this data on your own website or blog. Subscribe to this data using MyMedWorm.Subscribe to this data using GoogleReader.Subscribe to this data using Bloglines.Subscribe to this data using MyYahoo.

This page shows you the latest items in this publication.

Pages: 1 2 3 4

177 records returned

Celecoxib loaded liposomes: effect of cholesterol on encapsulation and in vitro release characteristics.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We describe here the encapsulation of CLX in multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) composed of DSPC and variable amounts of cholesterol. The effect of cholesterol content on liposome size, percent drug loading and in vitro drug release profiles were investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to determine molecular interactions between CLX, cholesterol and DSPC. The phase transition temperature (Tm) of vesicles was reduced in a synergistic manner in the presence of both CLX and cholesterol. Encapsulation efficiency, loading and release of CLX decreased with increasin...
Source: Bioscience Reports - November 10, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Deniz A, Sade A, Severcan F, Keskin D, Tezcaner A, Banerjee S Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

No evidence of direct binding between ursodeoxycholic acid and the p53 DNA-binding domain.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, by using different biophysical techniques, we have investigated the possibility of a direct interaction between the p53 core domain, also referred to as the DNA binding domain, and UDCA. Our in vitro analysis did not provide any evidence for direct binding between the bile acid UDCA and the p53 core domain. PMID: 19811448 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioscience Reports)
Source: Bioscience Reports - October 6, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Amaral JD, Correia AR, Steer CJ, Gomes CM, Rodrigues CM Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Structural aspects of RNA helicases in eukaryotic mRNA decay.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
mRNA decay is critical for the regulation of gene expression and the quality control of mRNA. RNA helicases play a key role in eukaryotic mRNA decay. In general, RNA helicases utilize the energy of ATP hydrolysis to remodel RNA or RNA-protein complexes, resulting in the separation of RNA duplex strand and/or displacement of proteins from the RNA molecule in RNP (ribonucleoprotein) complexes. Recently, high-resolution crystal structures of RNA helicases in mRNA decay have contributed a great deal to our understanding of these key molecules. In the present review, we focus on the structural and mechanistic aspects of thr...
Source: Bioscience Reports - July 11, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Ling SH, Cheng Z, Song H Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Calcium-sensing beyond neurotransmitters: functions of synaptotagmins in neuroendocrine and endocrine secretion.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and hormones are released through the regulated exocytosis of SVs (synaptic vesicles) and LDCVs (large dense-core vesicles), a process that is controlled by calcium. Synaptotagmins are a family of type 1 membrane proteins that share a common domain structure. Most synaptotagmins are located in brain and endocrine cells, and some of these synaptotagmins bind to phospholipids and calcium at levels that trigger regulated exocytosis of SVs and LDCVs. This led to the proposed synaptotagmin-calcium-sensor paradigm, that is, members of the synaptotagmin family function as calcium sensors for t...
Source: Bioscience Reports - June 28, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Gustavsson N, Han W Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

The methylation status of estrogen receptoralpha-A: a predictor for prognosis in leukaemias.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Many studies have shown that Epigenetic regulation of estrogen receptors (ERs) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of leukaemia. And our study found that the methylated status of ERalpha-A might serve as an epigenetic biomarker of leukaemias. In the present study, the protein expression and cell apoptosis, cycle, proliferation and viability with and without 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) were evaluated with western-blot, 3H-thymidine (3H-TdR) incorporation, Propidium iodide (Pi) staining and trypan blue staining respectively. The protein expression of ERalpha was significantly enhanced in all of leukemic cell lines...
Source: Bioscience Reports - June 24, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Yao J, Zhang XB, Zhang XL, Fu WL Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Identification and functional characterization of legumain in amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study reports the first characterization of legumain cDNA from the protochordate Branchiostoma belcheri. The deduced 435 amino acids long protein is structurally characterized by the presence of a putative N-terminal signal peptide, a peptidase_C13 superfamily domain with the conserved Lys123-Gly124-Asp125 motif and catalytic dyad His153 and Cys195 and two potential Asn-glycosylation sites at Asn85 and Asn270. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that B. belcheri legumain forms an independent cluster together with ascidian legumain, and is positioned at the base of vertebrate legumains, suggesting that B. belcheri legum...
Source: Bioscience Reports - June 23, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Teng L, Wada H, Zhang S Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Changes in expression and activity of the secretory pathway Ca2+ ATPase 1 (SPCA1) in A7r5 vascular smooth muscle cells, cultured at different glucose concentrations.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Diabetes mellitus-related vascular disease is often associated with both a dis-regulation of Ca2+ homeostasis and enhanced secretory activity in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Here we employ a commonly used rat VSM cell line (A7r5 cells) to investigate the effects of glucose on the expression and activity of the secretory pathway Ca2+-ATPase 1 (SPCA1 or ATP2C1), which is a P-type Ca2+ pump located in the Golgi apparatus, that plays a key role in the secretory pathway. Our results show that mRNA expression levels of SPCA1 is significantly increased in A7r5 cells cultured in high (25.0mM), compared to normal (5.55...
Source: Bioscience Reports - June 15, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Lai P, Michelangeli F Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Human and rodent pancreatic beta-cells express IL-4 receptors and IL-4 protects against beta-cell apoptosis by activation of the PI-3-Kinase and Jak/STAT pathways.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines is associated with loss of pancreatic beta-cell viability and cell death. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) has been reported to mediate a protective effect against the loss of pancreatic beta-cells and IL-4 receptors have been found in rat pancreatic beta-cells at both the RNA and protein level. The aim of this study was to investigate IL-4 receptor expression on human islet cells and to examine the signalling pathways by which IL-4 exerts its effects using the rat beta-cell lines, BRIN-BD11 and INS-1E. By means of immunohistochemistry, it was demonstrated that IL-4 receptors are present on ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - June 15, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Kaminski A, Welters HJ, Kaminski ER, Morgan NG Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Proteomics identification and annotation of proteins of cell line of Bombyx mori, BmN cell.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, we firstly characterized the proteome of cultured BmN cells, derived from Bombyx mori. Total 1478 proteins were identified with two or more peptides by using 1-D SDS PAGE and LTQ-Orbitrap. According to the gene ontology annotation, these proteins presented diverse isoelectric points and molecular weights, involved in various molecular functions, including catalytic activity, binding, molecular transducer activity, motor activity, transcription regulator activity, enzyme regulartor activity, as well as antioxidant activity. Some proteins related with virus infection were also identified. These results provide...
Source: Bioscience Reports - June 3, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Yao HP, Chen L, Xiang X, Guo AQ, Lu XM, Wu XF Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Rab7: roles in membrane trafficking and disease.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The endocytosis pathway controls multiple cellular and physiological events. The lysosome is the destination of newly synthesized lysosomal hydrolytic enzymes. Internalized molecules or particles are delivered to the lysosome for degradation through sequential transport along the endocytic pathway. The endocytic pathway is also emerging as a signalling platform, in addition to the well-known role of the plasma membrane for signalling. Rab7 is a late endosome-/lysosome-associated small GTPase, perhaps the only lysosomal Rab protein identified to date. Rab7 plays critical roles in the endocytic processes. Through interac...
Source: Bioscience Reports - May 31, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Zhang M, Chen L, Wang S, Wang T Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Proliferation and multi-differentiation potentials of human mesenchymal stem cells on thermo-responsive PDMS surfaces grafted with PNIPAAm.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The thermo-responsivity of poly(N-isopropylcarylamide) (PNIPAAm)-grafted polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface is feasible for detaching cells adhered on the surface of plate. Based on benzophenone-initiated photopolymerization, we grafted PNIPAAm on PDMS substrates to construct the PNIPAAm-grafted PDMS surface. This PDMS surface was highly thermo-responsive. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were used to analyze the proliferation and multi-differentiation of stem cells on the PNIPAAm-grafted PDMS surface. The results showed that hMSCs could adhere on the PNIPAAm-grafted PDMS surface at the temperature of 37 masculine...
Source: Bioscience Reports - May 14, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Shi D, Ma D, Dong F, Zong C, Liu L, Shen D, Yuan W, Tong X, Chen H, Wang J Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

ARHI (DIRAS 3), an imprinted tumor suppressor gene, binds to importins, and blocks nuclear import process of cargo proteins.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
ARHI (DIRAS3) is an imprinted tumor suppressor gene whose expression is lost in the majority of breast and ovarian cancers. Unlike its homologs Ras and Rap, ARHI functions as a tumor suppressor. Our previous study showed that ARHI can interact with the transcriptional activator Stat3 and inhibit its nuclear translocation in human breast and ovarian cancer cells. To identify proteins that interact with ARHI in nuclear translocation, we have performed proteomic analysis and identified several importins that can associate with ARHI. To further explore this novel finding, we have purified 10 GST-importin fusion proteins (i...
Source: Bioscience Reports - May 12, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Huang S, Chang IS, Lin W, Ye W, Luo RZ, Lu Z, Lu Y, Zhang K, Liao WS, Tao T, Bast Jr RC, Chen X, Yu Y Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Imprinting analysis in the Acrodysplasia region of mouse chromosome 12.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The insertional mouse mutation Acrodysplasia (Adp) confers a parent-of-origin developmental phenotype, with animals inheriting the mutation from their father showing skeletal abnormalities, while those inheriting the mutation from their mother are normal. This parental-specific phenotype, along with mapping of the insertion to a region of chromosome 12 proposed to contain imprinted genes, suggested that disruption of genomic imprinting might underlie the Adp phenotype. Genomic imprinting is the process by which autosomal genes are epigenetically silenced on one of the two parental alleles; imprinting mutation phenotype...
Source: Bioscience Reports - May 12, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: McMurray EN, Rogers ED, Schmidt JV Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Phytolacca americana lectin (Pa-2; pokeweed mitogen): an intrinsically unordered protein and its conversion to partial order at low pH.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This is the first report of its kind which well demonstrates that a lectin from Phytolacca americana (Pa-2) can also be intrinsically unordered; based on data obtained by circular dichroism (CD), tryptophan fluorescence, 8-anilino-1-naphthalene-sulfonate (ANS) binding, acrylamide quenching, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and its amino acid composition database analyses. Pa-2 is an acidic monomeric lectin, acquires random coil conformation at neutral pH without any regular secondary structure. As confirmed by different spectroscopic techniques, on lowering the pH some secondary structures, predominantly alpha-helices ar...
Source: Bioscience Reports - May 12, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Ahmad E, Rahman SK, Khan JM, Varshney A, Khan RH Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

The inhibition of brush border sucrase by polyphenols in mice intestine.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The interactions of gallic acid and tannic acid with purified brush border sucrase (E.C. 3.2.1.48) from mice intestine have been studied. These findings indicate that both gallic acid and tannic acid inhibit sucrase activity, which is pH dependent. Kinetic analysis revealed that enzyme inhibition by gallic acid is a pure V effect at pH 5.0, which changes to mixed type at pH 7.2, and pure K effect at pH 8.5.In contrast, sucrase inhibition by tannic acid was a pure K effect at acidic pH and uncompetitive type in alkaline pH range. Far CD spectroscopic analysis revealed an increase in helicity of enzyme at acidic pH in pr...
Source: Bioscience Reports - April 9, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Gupta S, Mahmood S, Khan RH, Mahmood A Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Snapin associates with late endocytic compartments and interacts with late endosomal SNAREs.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, we report that Snapin also associates with late endocytic membranous organelles and interacts with the late endosome-targeted SNARE complex. Using a genetic mouse model, we further discovered that Snapin is required to maintain a proper balance of late endocytic protein LAMP-1 and late endosomal SNARE proteins syntaxin8 and Vti1b. Deleting the snapin gene in mouse selectively accumulates these proteins in late endocytic organelles. Thus, our study suggests that Snapin serves as an important regulator of the late endocytic fusion machinery, in addition to its established role in regulating synaptic vesicle fu...
Source: Bioscience Reports - April 1, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Lu L, Cai Q, Tian JH, Sheng ZH Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Histone arginine methylations: their roles in chromatin dynamics and transcriptional regulation.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PRMTs (protein arginine N-methyltransferases) specifically modify the arginine residues of key cellular and nuclear proteins as well as histone substrates. Like lysine methylation, transcriptional repression or activation is dependent upon the site and type of arginine methylation on histone tails. Recent discoveries imply that histone arginine methylation is an important modulator of dynamic chromatin regulation and transcriptional controls. However, under the shadow of lysine methylation, the roles of histone arginine methylation have been under-explored. The present review focuses on the roles of histone arginine me...
Source: Bioscience Reports - February 19, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Litt M, Qiu Y, Huang S Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Lithospermic acid B is more responsive to silver ion (Ag+) than rosmarinic acid in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy root cultures.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Lithospermic acid B (LAB) is a dimer of rosmarinic acid (RA), and has been suggested to be derived from RA, but the detailed biosynthesis process has not yet been identified. The accumulation of RA has been intensively investigated in the plant species of Boraginaceae and Lamiaceae. Our study reported an abiotic elicitor, silver ion (Ag+, 15 microM) did not stimulate RA accumulation but dramatically enhanced LAB from approx. 5.4% to 18.8% of dry weight in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy root cultures, and their content was found perfectly competitive at each time point after treatment. Meanwhile, profiling analysis of genes ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - February 11, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Xiao Y, Gao S, Di P, Chen J, Chen W, Zhang L Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Aging increases p16 Ink4a expression in vascular smooth muscle cells.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In conclusion, we have shown that aging up-regulates the expression of p16INK4a in VSMC in both cultures and arteries. The increase of CKIs in the vasculature with aging may modify VSMC's response to post-injury stress and, therefore, accelerate the development of age-related cardiovascular diseases. PMID: 19196247 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioscience Reports)
Source: Bioscience Reports - February 6, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Rodriguez-Menocal L, Pham SM, Mateu D, St-Pierre M, Wei Y, Pestana I, Aitouche A, Vazquez-Padron RI Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

C12ORF39, a novel secreted protein with a typical amidation processing signal.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Here we describe a novel secreted protein, named C12ORF39 (chromosome12 open-reading framework 39), which contains a typical amidation-proteolytic processing signal (Gly-Arg-Arg motif). Interestingly, C12ORF39 protein is not been hydrolyzed, but is a full-length sequence protein without signal peptides. Western blotting assay indicated that the c-myc tagged C12ORF39 is secreted into culture medium in transfected HeLa cells. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that c12orf39 is mainly expressed in placenta and brain. Immunohistochemistry study on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human term placenta using a rabbit anti...
Source: Bioscience Reports - February 4, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Wan B, Wang XR, Zhou YB, Zhang X, Huo K, Han ZG Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

A kringle-containing protease with plasminogen-like activity in the basal chordate Branchiostoma belcheri.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, we isolated a cDNA, designated BbPlgl, encoding a kringle-containing protease with plasminogen-like activity from the basal chordate Branchiostoma belcheri. The deduced protein BbPlgl consisted of 430 amino acids, which is structurally characterized by the presence of a N-terminal signal peptide of 16 amino acids, 2 kringle domains with the Lys-binding site structure, a serine protease domain with the putative tPA-cleavage site (between Arg297 and Val298), the catalytic triad His237-Asp288-Ser379 expected for protease function and a potential N-linked glycosylation site, all characteristic of Plgs. Besides, ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - February 4, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Liu M, Zhang S Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Ready, set, internalize: mechanisms and regulation of GLUT4 endocytosis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The facilitative glucose transporter GLUT4, a recycling membrane protein, is required for dietary glucose uptake into muscle and fat cells. GLUT4 is also responsible for the increased glucose uptake by myofibres during muscle contraction. Defects in GLUT4 membrane traffic contribute to loss of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. Numerous studies have analysed the intracellular membrane compartments occupied by GLUT4 and the mechanisms by which insulin regulates GLUT4 exocytosis. However, until recently, GLUT4 internalization was less well understood. In the present paper, we rev...
Source: Bioscience Reports - January 17, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Antonescu CN, Foti M, Sauvonnet N, Klip A Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Functional analysis reveals effects of tobacco alternative oxidase gene (NtAOX1a) on regulation of defence responses against abiotic and biotic stress.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Mitochondrial alternative oxidase (AOX) is the terminal oxidase of cyanide (CN)-resistant alternative respiratory pathway in plants. To investigate the role of tobacco AOX gene (NtAOX1a) under deleterious conditions which could induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, we generated and characterized a number of independent transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) lines with altered NtAOX1a gene expression and alternative pathway (AP) capacity. AOX efficiently inhibited the production of low temperature-induced H2O2 and might be a main enzyme to scavenge H2O2 at low temperature. Furthermore, NtAOX1a may act as a ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - January 6, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Zhang Y, Xi D, Wang J, Zhu D, Guo X Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

A hemagglutinin from the medicinal fungus Cordyceps militaris.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
There are only a few reports on agglutinins from ascomycete and medicinal fungi. A hemagglutinin, with an N-terminal amino acid sequence different from those of known lectins, was isolated in the present study from dried fruiting bodies of the medicinal ascomycete fungus Cordeyceps militaris. The purification protocol comprised affinity chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, and gel filtration. The hemagglutinating activity of the hemagglutinin could not be inhibited by simple sugars or heparin, and was stable over the pH range 2-13 and up to 60 degrees C. Chemical modification of tryptophan and tyrosine residues...
Source: Bioscience Reports - December 18, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Wong JH, Wang H, Ng TB Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Selenium status highly-regulates selenoprotein mRNA levels for only a subset of the selenoproteins in the selenoproteome.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Glutathione peroxidase-1 (Gpx1) enzyme activity and mRNA levels decrease dramatically in Se deficiency, whereas other selenoproteins are less affected by Se deficiency. This hierarchy of selenium regulation is not understood, but the position of the UGA selenocysteine codon is thought to play a major role in making selenoprotein mRNAs susceptible to nonsense mediated decay. Thus we studied the complete selenoproteome in the mouse to uncover additional selenoprotein mRNAs that are highly-regulated by Se status. Mice were fed Se-deficient, Se-marginal, and Se-adequate diets (0, 0.05 and 0.2 microg Se/g, respectively) for...
Source: Bioscience Reports - December 12, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Sunde RA, Raines AM, Barnes KM, Evenson JK Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Molecular cloning, expression profiling and functional analyses of a cDNA encoding isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase from Gossypium barbadense.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Gossypol, a kind of plant defense sesquiterpenoid phytoalexins, is synthesized from the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) and mevalonate (MVA) pathway in isoprenoids biosynthetic system. The key step is the isomerization of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) to dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) catalyzed by isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IPP isomerase, EC 5.3.3.2). A full-length cDNA encoding IPP isomerase (designated as GbIPI) was cloned from Gossypium barbadense by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full-length cDNA of GbIPI was 1205 bp and contained a 906 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a protei...
Source: Bioscience Reports - December 4, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Wang Y, Qiu C, Zhang F, Guo B, Miao Z, Sun X, Tang K Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

L-lysine uptake in giant vesicles from cardiac ventricular sarcolemma: two components of cationic amino acid transport.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Cationic L-amino acids enter cardiac muscle cells through carrier-mediated transport. To study this process in detail, L-[14C]lysine uptake experiments were conducted within a 103-fold range of L-lysine concentrations in giant sarcolemmal vesicles prepared from rat cardiac ventricles. Vesicles had a surface-to-volume ratio comparable to that of an epithelial cell, thus representing a suitable system for initial uptake rate studies. Two Na+-independent, N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive uptake components were found, one with high apparent-affinity (Km = 222 +/- 71 microM) and low transport capacity (Vmax = 121 +/- 36 pmol (mg ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - November 25, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Lu X, Zheng R, Gonzalez J, Gaspers L, Kuzhikandathil E, Peluffo RD Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Identification of the proteome of the midgut of silkworm, Bombyx mori L. by multidimensional liquid chromatography LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The midgut is the digestive apparatus and its proteome was studied by using nanoLC electrospray ionization MS/MS. Mass spectrometry data were analyzed by X!Tandem searching software using different parameters and validated by Poisson model. Total 90 proteins were identified and 79 proteins were described for the first time. Among the new proteins, 22 proteins were closely related to the digestive function of the midgut, including 11 proteins of digestive enzymes secreted by the epithelium, 8 proteins of intestine wall muscle and mechanical digestion, 3 proteins of peritrophic membrane that could prevent the epithelium ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - November 14, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Yao HP, Xiang XW, Chen L, Guo AQ, He FQ, Lan LP, Lu XM, Wu XF Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Insulin stimulates the phosphorylation of the exocyst protein Sec8 in adipocytes.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study we report that insulin stimulates the phosphorylation of Sec8 on Ser32 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Based upon the sequence around Ser32 and the finding that phosphorylation is inhibited by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor wortmannin, it is likely that Akt is the kinase for Ser32. We examined the possible role of Ser32 phosphorylation in the insulin-stimulated trafficking of GLUT4, as well as the transferrin receptor, to the plasma membrane by determining the effects of overexpression of the nonphosphorylatable S32A mutant of Sec8 and the phosphomimetic S32E mutant of Sec8. Substantial overexpression of b...
Source: Bioscience Reports - November 13, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Lyons PD, Peck GR, Kettenbach AN, Gerber SA, Roudaia L, Lienhard GE Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Changes in the reciprocal position of the first polar body and oocyte chromosome set in golden hamsters.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The golden hamster is an attractive model organism for studying reproductive physiology, oncology, genetics and virology. In an effort to establish experimental protocols necessary for cloning golden hamsters, we examined changes in the reciprocal position of the first polar body (FPB) and chromosome set of MII oocytes of golden hamsters. Oocytes were collected under three different conditions: 1) oocyte direct recovery from the oviduct of hormonally treated donor; 2) oocyte recovery from the oviduct of hormonally treated donor followed by 5h/10h in vitro culture; 3) oocyte recovery from ovaries of hormonally treated d...
Source: Bioscience Reports - November 3, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Wang L, Li D, Li Z Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Molecular and functional characterization of VDAC2 purified from mammal spermatozoa.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
VDAC (Voltage Dependent Anion selective Channel) is the pore-forming protein located in the outer mitochondrial membrane. In higher eukaryotes three genes encode for VDAC. Nevertheless the knowledge of VDAC isoforms is mainly restricted to VDAC1, the only isoform characterized from living tissues until now. We have highly enriched the isoform VDAC2 using as starting material bovine spermatozoa. VDAC2 was obtained in the hydroxyapatite/celite pass-through of sperm proteins solubilized with Triton X-100. This fraction showed in SDS-PAGE two major and one-faint bands in the Mr range of 30-35 kDa. Two-dimensional electroph...
Source: Bioscience Reports - October 31, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Aires Menzel V, Cassarà MC, Benz R, De Pinto V, Messina A, Cunsolo V, Saletti R, Hinsch KD, Hinsch E Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Atypical sialylated N-glycan structures are attached to neuronal voltage gated potassium channels.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Mammalian brains contain relatively high amounts of common and uncommon sialylated N-glycan structures. Sialic acid linkages were identified for voltage gated potassium channels, Kv3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.4, by evaluating their electrophoretic migration patterns in adult rat brain membranes digested with various glycosidases. Additionally, their electrophoretic migration patterns were compared to those of N-CAM, transferrin, and the Kv3.1 protein heterologously expressed in B35 neuroblastoma cells. Metabolic labeling of the sugars combined with glycosidase digestion reactions were utilized to show that the N-gly...
Source: Bioscience Reports - October 21, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Cartwright TA, Schwalbe RA Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression of a jasmonate biosynthetic pathway gene encoding allene oxide cyclase from Camptotheca acuminata.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Allene oxide cyclase (AOC, EC 5.3.99.6), an essential enzyme in jasmonic acid (JA) and its methyl ester (MeJA) biosynthesis, was cloned from Camptotheca acuminata (named as CaAOC), a native medicinal plant species in China. CaAOC had significant similarity at amino acid level with AOCs from other plant species. Comparison between the sequences of the full-length cDNA and genomic DNA of CaAOC revealed that the genomic DNA of CaAOC contained an 89-bp intron and a 240-bp intron. Southern blot analysis indicated that CaAOC was a multiple copy gene and real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed that CaAOC expressed constitu...
Source: Bioscience Reports - October 13, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Pi Y, Liao Z, Jiang K, Huang B, Deng Z, Zhao D, Zeng H, Sun X, Tang K Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Isolation and characterization of a lectin with potentially exploitable activities from caper (Capparis spinosa) seeds.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A dimeric 62-kDa lectin exhibiting a novel N-terminal amino acid sequence was purified from caper (Capparis spinosa) seeds. The purification protocol involved anion exchange chromatography, cation exchange chromatography and finally gel filtration by fast protein liquid chromatography on Superdex 75. About 100-fold purification was achieved. The hemagglutinating activity of the lectin, which was stable in pH 1-12 and up to 40 oC, could be inhibited by D(+) galactose, alpha-lactose, raffinose and rhamnose at 1 mM concentration, by 25 mM L(+)-arabinose, and by 100 mM D(+)glucosamine. The lectin potently inhibited HIV-1 r...
Source: Bioscience Reports - October 10, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Lam SK, Han QF, Ng TB Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Increased hepatic lipogenesis in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes is associated to AMPK signaling pathway upregulation in Psammomys obesus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been suggested as a central player regulating fatty acid metabolism through its ability to regulate acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) activity. Nevertheless, its involvement in insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes (TD2)-associated dyslipidemia remains enigmatic. In the present investigation, we employed the Psammomys obesus gerbil, a well-established model of IR and TD2, in order to appreciate the contribution of AMPK/ACC pathway to the abnormal hepatic lipid synthesis and increased lipid accumulation in the liver. Our investigation provided evidence that the development of IR/...
Source: Bioscience Reports - October 8, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Ben Djoudi Ouadda A, Levy E, Ziv E, Lalonde G, Sané AT, Delvin E, Elchebly M Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Cross-reactivity of pollen and food allergens: soybean Gly m 4 is a member of the Bet v 1 superfamily and closely resembles yellow lupine proteins.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In many cases, patients allergic to birch pollen also show allergic reactions after ingestion of certain fruits or vegetables. This observation is explained on the molecular level by cross-reactivity of IgE antibodies induced by sensitization to the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 with homologous food allergens. As IgE antibodies recognize conformational epitopes, a precise structural characterization of the allergens involved is necessary to understand cross-reactivity and thus to develop new methods of allergen-specific immunotherapy for allergic patients. Here we report the three-dimensional solution structure o...
Source: Bioscience Reports - October 3, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Berkner H, Neudecker P, Mittag D, Ballmer-Weber BK, Schweimer K, Vieths S, Rösch P Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Oleoyl-estrone inhibits lipogenic but maintains thermogenic gene expression of brown adipose tissue in overweight rats.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We intended to determine how brown adipose tissue (BAT) maintained thermogenesis under treatment with oleoyl-estrone (OE), a powerful slimming hormone that sheds off body lipid but maintaining the metabolic rate. Overweight male rats were subjected to daily gavages of 10 nmol/g OE or vehicle (controls) for 10 days. A pair-fed vehicle-receiving group (PF) was used to discount the effects attributable to energy availability limitation. Interscapular BAT weight, lipid, DNA, mRNA and the RT-PCR expression of lipid and energy metabolism genes for enzymes and regulatory proteins were measured. BAT weight and lipid decreased ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - October 1, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Romero MD, Fernández-López JA, Esteve M, Alemany M Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Phagocytosis: a repertoire of receptors and Ca(2+) as a key second messenger.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Receptor-mediated phagocytosis is a complex process that mediates the internalization, by a cell, of other cells and large particles; this is an important physiological event not only in mammals, but in a wide diversity of organisms. Of simple unicellular organisms that use phagocytosis to extract nutrients, to complex metazoans in which phagocytosis is essential for the innate defence system, as a first line of defence against invading pathogens, as well as for the clearance of damaged, dying or dead cells. Evolution has armed multicellular organisms with a range of receptors expressed on many cells that serve as the ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - October 1, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Melendez AJ, Tay HK Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Cln6 mutants associated with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis are degraded in a proteasome dependent manner.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL), a group of inherited neurodegenerative lysosomal storage diseases predominantly affecting children, are due to autosomal recessive mutations within one of the nine cln genes. The wild type cln gene products are comprised of membrane and soluble proteins that localize to the lysosome or endoplasmic reticulum. However, the destiny of the Cln variants has not been fully characterized. To explore a possible link between ER quality control and processing of Cln mutants, we investigated the fate of two NCL-related Cln6 mutants found in patient samples (Cln6G123D and Cln6M241T) in neurona...
Source: Bioscience Reports - September 24, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Oresic K, Mueller B, Tortorella D Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Autoactivation of human ADAM8: A novel pre-processing step is required for catalytic activity.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Members of the ADAMs (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase) family of proteins possess a multi-domain architecture which permits functionalities as adhesion molecules, signaling intermediates, and proteolytic enzymes. ADAM8 is found on immune cells and is induced by multiple pro-inflammatory stimuli suggesting a role in inflammation. Here we describe an activation mechanism for recombinant human ADAM8 that is independent from classical pro-protein convertase (PC) mediated activation. N-terminal sequencing revealed that, unlike other ADAMs, ADAM8 undergoes pre-processing at Glu158, which fractures the pro-domain before t...
Source: Bioscience Reports - September 23, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Hall T, Leone JW, Wiese JF, Griggs DW, Pegg LE, Pauley AM, Tomasselli AG, Zack MD Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Promoter CpG methylation of estrogen receptors in leukemia.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Other studies suggested an important role of Estrogene receptors (ERs) in the pathogenesis of leukemias. However, there is no information about the epigenetic characteristics of ERalpha isoforms and ERbeta in leukemias. In the present study, the mRNA expression and promoter CpG methylation of ERalpha isoforms (i.e., ERalpha-A, -B and -C) and ERbeta in leukemia cell lines were evaluated with RT-PCR and methylation-specific PCR (MSP), respectively. And the methylation of ERs was further analyzed in acute leukemia patients by MSP and direct DNA sequencing. Although all ERalpha isoforms and ERbeta were methylated in all le...
Source: Bioscience Reports - September 22, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Yao J, Huang Q, Zhang X, Fu W Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Expression characterization and actual function of the second pucBA in Rhodobacter sphaeroides.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The puc2BA operon of Rhodobacter(R.) sphaeroides is similar to the original puc1BA operon at high level. Genetical, biochemical and spectroscopy approaches were applied to investigate the function of puc2BA, the puc1BA and puc2BA structural genes were amplified and cloned into pRK415 vector controlled by puc promoter from R. sphaeroides, which was then introduced into R. sphaeroides mutants. The results indicated that the puc2BA were normally expressed and puc2BA-encoded polypeptides were assembled into LHII of the membrane, though the puc2A-encoded polypeptide was much larger than puc1A-encoded polypeptide. Semiquanti...
Source: Bioscience Reports - September 18, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Wang W, Hu Z, Li J, Chen G Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Semecarpus anacardium nut extract promotes antioxidant defense system and inhibits anaerobic metabolism during development of lymphoma.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Antioxidants are substances that fight with reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protect the cells from their damaging effects. Production of ROS during cellular metabolism is balanced by their removal by antioxidants. Any condition leading to increased ROS results in oxidative stress, which promotes a large number of human diseases including cancer. Therefore, antioxidants may be regarded as potential anticarcinogens as they may slow down or prevent development of cancer by reducing oxidative stress. Fruits and vegetables are rich source of antioxidants. Moreover, a number of phytochemicals present in medicinal plants ar...
Source: Bioscience Reports - September 2, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Verma N, Vinayak M Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Alternative transcription initiation and splicing variants of DHRS4 gene cluster.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The DHRS4 gene cluster, consisting of DHRS4 and its copy gene DHRS4L2, is localized on 14q11.2. The DHRS4 gene product NADP(H)-dependent retinol oxidoreductase participates in the metabolism of retinoids. The expression patterns of DHRS4 gene cluster were investigated in human neuroblastoma cells. Transcript analysis of the DHRS4 gene cluster using 3'- and 5'-RACE, reverse transcription PCR and bioinformatics approaches showed an alternative transcription start site in the copy gene DHRS4L2 generating two transcripts, DHRS4A1 (GenBank accession no. AY616183) and DHRS4A2 (AY943857), together with at least 6 alternative ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - August 29, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Zhang Q, Li Y, Liu G, Xu X, Song X, Liang B, Li R, Xie J, Du M, Xiao L, Gan X, Huang D Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Alternative splicing determines the interaction of SMRT isoforms with nuclear receptor-DNA complexes.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Signalling by small molecules such as retinoic acid is mediated by heterodimers consisting of a class II nuclear receptor and an RXR subunit. The receptors bind to DNA response elements and act as ligand-dependent transcription factors but, in the absence of signal, the receptors bind the corepressors SMRT and NCoR and repress gene expression. Alternative splicing of the SMRT transcript in mammals generates six isoforms containing 1, 2 or 3 CoRNR box motifs that are responsible for the interactions with nuclear receptors. We show that human cell lines express all six SMRT isoforms and then determine the binding affinit...
Source: Bioscience Reports - August 28, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Faist F, Short S, Kneale G, Sharpe CR Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

The mechanism of specific binding of free cholesterol by the Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein : Evidence for a role of the C-terminal helix in the gating of the binding site.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Steroidogenesis depends on the delivery of free cholesterol to the inner mitochondrial membrane by the Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein (StAR). Mutations in the StAR gene lead to proteins with limited cholesterol binding capacity. This gives rise to the accumulation of cytoplasmic cholesterol, a deficit in steroid hormone production and to the medical condition of lipoid congenital adrenal hyperplasia. A detailed understanding of the mechanism of specific binding of free cholesterol by StAR would be a critical asset to understand the molecular origin of this disease. Previous studies have led to propose that the ...
Source: Bioscience Reports - August 26, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Roostaee A, Barbar E, Lavigne P, Lehoux JG Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Genetically modified adenoviral vector with the protein transduction domain of Tat improves gene transfer to CAR deficient cells.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The transduction efficiency of adenovirus depends to some extent on the expression level of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) of a target cell. The low CAR level on the cell surface is a potential barrier to efficient gene transfer. To overcome this problem, PTD.AdeGFP was constructed by modifying HI-loop of adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) fiber with trans-activating (Tat) protein transduction domain (PTD) derived from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Our experimental results showed that PTD.AdeGFP significantly improved gene transfer to multiple cell types deficient in CAR expression. The improvement of gene tra...
Source: Bioscience Reports - August 22, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Liu S, Mao Q, Zhang W, Zheng X, Bian Y, Wang D, Li H, Chai L, Zhao J, Xia H Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Stimulation by lithium of the interaction between the transcription factor CREB and its coactivator TORC.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Lithium salts are clinically important drugs used to treat bipolar mood disorder. The mechanisms accounting for the clinical efficacy are not completely understood. Chronic treatment with lithium is required to establish mood stabilization, suggesting the involvement of neuronal plasticity processes. CREB (cAMP response element binding protein) is a transcription factor known to mediate neuronal adaptation. Recently, the CREB-coactivator TORC (transducer of regulated CREB) has been identified as a novel target of lithium and shown to confer an enhancement by lithium of cAMP-induced CREB-directed gene transcription. TOR...
Source: Bioscience Reports - August 22, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Heinrich A, Böer U, Tzvetkov M, Oetjen E, Knepel W Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Proteomic identification of the silkworm (Bombyx mori L) prothoracic glands during the fifth instar stage.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Although the ecdysteroid of silkworm had been studied for decades, the proteome of prothoracic Gland (PG), the primary source of ecdysteroid hormones, was still blank till now. In this paper, we utilized the proteomic approach to investigate the fifth instar PG during growth and development of silkworm, Bombyx mori L. The 2-DE results showed that acidic proteins were in the majority, especially concentrated in the area of 25k-65k, pI 4-7, and the distinction was not exquisite. Comparing to the Qiufeng, the distinction of interspecific was larger than innerspecific. 19 special spots, excised from 3rd, 5th and 9th day of...
Source: Bioscience Reports - August 20, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Wu XF, Li XH, Yue WF, Roy B, Li GL, Liu JM, Zhong BX, Gao QK, David WC, Miao YG Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals

Solamargine induces apoptosis and enhances susceptibilities to trastuzumab and epirubicin in breast cancer cells with low- or high-expressing HER2/neu.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Trastuzumab is utilized for breast cancer patients with HER2/neu overexpression; however, it has no effect with low levels of HER2/neu. Solamargine (SM), a major steroidal alkaloid glycoside purified from the Solanum incanum plant, triggered apoptosis of breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and SK-BR-3) and noncancerous breast epithelial cell (HBL-100) within 3 h. To extend the application of trastuzumab in breast cancer patients, regulation of HER2/neu expression by SM was investigated. SM significantly up-regulates HER2/neu expression in breast cancer cells with low expression of and over-expressing HER2/neu, and synergistical...
Source: Bioscience Reports - August 13, 2008 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Shiu LY, Liang CH, Chang LC, Sheu HM, Tsai EM, Kuo KW Tags: Biosci Rep Source Type: journals