Protein kinase C binding protein 1 inhibits hypoxia-inducible factor-1 in the heart.

Aims: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) is a key transcription factor responsible for the induction of genes that facilitate adaptation to hypoxia. To study HIF-1 signalling in the heart, we developed a mouse model in which an oxygen-stable form of HIF-1α can be inducibly expressed in cardiac myocytes, under the regulation of tetracycline.

Methods And Results: Remarkably, expression of the transgene in mice generated two distinct phenotypes.

Calpain-2 Inhibitor Therapy Reduces Murine Colitis and Colitis-associated Cancer.

Background: An important role has emerged for calpain enzymes in regulating inflammation with one isoform, calpain-2, particularly important for macrophage activation. The goal of this study was to determine the therapeutic potential of a synthetic calpain-2 inhibitor, zLLY-CH2F, for colitis and inflammation-associated colorectal cancer.

Methods: Mice were then subjected to the azoxymethane/dextran sulfate sodium model of colitis and colitis-associated cancer incorporating intervention with daily injections of 0.

Biogeography of the marine actinomycete Salinispora.

Marine actinomycetes belonging to the genus Salinispora were cultured from marine sediments collected at six geographically distinct locations. Detailed phylogenetic analyses of both 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences reveal that this genus is comprised of three distinct but closely related clades corresponding to the species Salinispora tropica, Salinispora arenicola and a third species for which the name 'Salinispora pacifica' is proposed. Salinispora arenicola was cultured from all locations sampled and provides clear evidence for the cosmopolitan distribution of an individual bacterial species.

Culturable marine actinomycete diversity from tropical Pacific Ocean sediments.

Actinomycetes were cultivated using a variety of media and selective isolation techniques from 275 marine samples collected around the island of Guam. In total, 6425 actinomycete colonies were observed and 983 (15%) of these, representing the range of morphological diversity observed from each sample, were obtained in pure culture. The majority of the strains isolated (58%) required seawater for growth indicating a high degree of marine adaptation.