A central role for R7bp in the regulation of itch sensation.

Itch is a protective sensation producing a desire to scratch. Pathologic itch can be a chronic symptom of illnesses such as uremia, cholestatic liver disease, neuropathies and dermatitis, however current therapeutic options are limited. Many types of cell surface receptors, including those present on cells in the skin, on sensory neurons and on neurons in the spinal cord, have been implicated in itch signaling.

An Eye on Trafficking Genes: Identification of Four Eye Color Mutations in Drosophila.

Genes that code for proteins involved in organelle biogenesis and intracellular trafficking produce products that are critical in normal cell function . Conserved orthologs of these are present in most or all eukaryotes, including Drosophila melanogaster Some of these genes were originally identified as eye color mutants with decreases in both types of pigments found in the fly eye. These criteria were used for identification of such genes, four eye color mutations that are not annotated in the genome sequence: chocolate, maroon, mahogany, and red Malpighian tubules were molecularly mapped and their genome sequences have been evaluated.

Improving the specificity and efficacy of CRISPR/CAS9 and gRNA through target specific DNA reporter.

Genomic engineering by the guide RNA (gRNA)-directed CRISPR/CAS9 is rapidly becoming a method of choice for various biological systems. However, pressing concerns remain regarding its off-target activities and wide variations in efficacies. While next generation sequencing (NGS) has been primarily used to evaluate the efficacies and off-target activities of gRNAs, it only detects the imperfectly repaired double strand DNA breaks (DSB) by the error-prone non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) mechanism and may not faithfully represent the DSB activities because the efficiency of NHEJ-mediated repair varies depending on the local chromatin environment.

The EIF4EBP3 translational repressor is a marker of CDC73 tumor suppressor haploinsufficiency in a parathyroid cancer syndrome.

Germline mutation of the tumor suppressor gene CDC73 confers susceptibility to the hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome associated with a high risk of parathyroid malignancy. Inactivating CDC73 mutations have also been implicated in sporadic parathyroid cancer, but are rare in sporadic benign parathyroid tumors. The molecular pathways that distinguish malignant from benign parathyroid transformation remain elusive.

[Wound epithelialization in rats depending on the quantity and orientation of microautotransplants].

Patches of autoskin (0.5 x 1.0 mm) were grafted on a full-thickness rat back skin wound (5.