Mucin-2 knockout is a model of intercellular junction defects, mitochondrial damage and ATP depletion in the intestinal epithelium.

The disruption of the protective intestinal barrier-the 'leaky gut'-is a common complication of the inflammatory bowel disease. There is limited data on the mechanisms of the intestinal barrier disruption upon low-grade inflammation characteristic of patients with inflammatory bowel disease in clinical remission. Thus, animal models that recapitulate the complexity of chronic intestinal inflammation in vivo are of particular interest.

FACTORS GOVERNING THE PATTERN OF SPINDLE MICROTUBULE REGROWTH AFTER TUBULIN DEPOLYMERIZATION.

We analyzed the pattern of spindle microtubule (MT) regrowth after cold- or colcemid-induced MT depolymerization in Drosophila S2 cells. Cold-induced MT disassembly at low temperature (–2 °C) destroyed kinetochore-driven MT regrowth without affecting astral MT formation. Conversely, colcemid-induced MT depolymerization strongly impaired centrosome-dependent MT nucleation, allowing kinetochore-driven MT regrowth.

[Functional organization of interbands in Drosophila polytene chromosomes].

The functional organization of particular chromosome regions is tightly associated with their function in eukaryotic cells. Details of this association are among the most topical problems of modem genetics. The paper characterizes the results of recent research of the specifics of the genetic organization and chromatin decondensation in interbands of Drosophila polytene chromosomes.

Functional analysis of Drosophila polytene chromosomes decompacted unit: the interband.

Differential compaction of the interphase chromosomes is important for proper functioning of the eukaryotic genome. Such non-uniform compaction is most easily observed in Drosophila salivary gland polytene chromosomes as a reproducible banding pattern. Functional mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of the banding pattern remain unclear but have been hypothesized to involve transcription and chromatin insulators.