Molecular genetic methods in diagnosis and treatment.

During the past 20 yr, molecular biology and molecular genetics have provided techniques and procedures that allow the precise diagnoses of leukemias and lymphomas (for a review, see ref. 1). These methodologies have provided powerful, robust, and precise characterizations of genetic mutations and gene rearrangements (both normal and abnormal) that have been applied to the diagnosis and treatment of these malignancies.

Immediate early-gene induction in rat osteoblastic cells after mechanical deformation.

Previous studies have reported changes in proliferation, second-messenger generation and activation of various cellular processes when osteoblasts have been mechanically stimulated. Recent evidence suggests that mechanical loading of long bones induces immediate early-gene expression. Immediate early genes, such as Egr-1, are genes that control cell proliferation, are involved in signal transduction, and share properties of transcription factors.

Differential regulation of p27 and cyclin D1 by TGF-beta and EGF in C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts.

Previously, we found that stimulation of C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts with TGF-beta leads to the striking and rapid down-regulation of p27kip1 expression during G1 phase. Here, we demonstrate that TGF-beta treatment of C3H 10T1/2 cells does not alter the steady-state level of Kip1 message sufficiently to account for the observed down-regulation of p27. This demonstrates that TGF-beta-induced down regulation of p27kip1 occurs at a post-transcriptional level, consistent with a degradative mechanism of p27kip1 down-regulation.