Assessing the variability in GeneChip data.

Introduction: Oligonucleotide and cDNA microarray experiments are now common practice in biological science research. The goal of these experiments is generally to gain clues about the functions of genes by measuring how their expression levels rise and fall in response to changing experimental conditions. Measures of gene expression are affected, however, by a variety of factors.

Aldosterone stimulates angiotensin-converting enzyme expression and activity in rat neonatal cardiac myocytes.

Background: Members of the nuclear receptor family proteins function as transcription factors upon ligand binding and thereby regulate gene expression in host cells. Aldosterone, the high-affinity endogenous ligand for the mineralocorticoid receptor, induces cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in a variety of animal models, but the transcriptional targets for aldosterone in the myocardium are not well-described.

Methods And Results: Using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction method, we show that in cultured rat neonatal cardiomyocytes, aldosterone stimulates expression of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in a concentration and time-dependent manner.

Analysis of regulator of G-protein signaling-2 (RGS-2) expression and function in osteoblastic cells.

Regulator of G-protein signaling-2 (RGS-2) belongs to a novel family of GTPase-activating proteins that rapidly turn-off G-protein coupled receptor signaling. RGS proteins contain a characteristic RGS domain by which they interact with the alpha-subunit of G-proteins and drive them into their inactive GDP-bound forms. Previously, we have reported that RGS-2 mRNA is rapidly and transiently increased by PTH in rat bone and in osteoblast cultures in vitro.

Genome of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae strain R6.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is among the most significant causes of bacterial disease in humans. Here we report the 2,038,615-bp genomic sequence of the gram-positive bacterium S. pneumoniae R6.