Cyclophilin A as negative regulator of apoptosis by sequestering cytochrome c.

The release of cytochrome c from the mitochondrial intermembrane space is a decisive event in programmed cell death. Once in the cytoplasm, cytochrome c is involved in the formation of the macromolecular complex termed apoptosome, which activates procaspase-9 which in turn activates downstream procaspase-3. There are increasing evidence indicating that cyclophilin A is highly expressed in many tumors and cell lines where it exerts an anti-apoptotic function.

Identification of apolipoprotein C-III as a potential plasmatic biomarker associated with the resolution of hepatitis C virus infection.

Understanding the virus-host interactions that lead to approximately 20% of patients with acute Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection to viral clearance is probably a key towards the development of more effective treatment and prevention strategies. Acute hepatitis C infection is usually asymptomatic and therefore rarely diagnosed. Nevertheless, HCV nucleic acid testing carried out on all blood donations detects donors who have resolved their HCV infection after seroconversion.

Kinetic analysis of tubulin assembly in the presence of the microtubule-associated protein TOGp.

The microtubule-associated protein TOGp, which belongs to a widely distributed protein family from yeasts to humans, is highly expressed in human tumors and brain tissue. From purified components we have determined the effect of TOGp on thermally induced tubulin association in vitro in the presence of 1 mm GTP and 3.4 m glycerol.

Cellular localisation of a water-soluble fullerene derivative.

Fullerenes are a new class of compounds with potential uses in biology and medicine and many insights were made in the knowledge of their interaction with various biological systems. However, their interaction with organised living systems as well as the site of their potential action remains unclear. In this work, we have demonstrated that a fullerene derivative could cross the external cellular membrane and it localises preferentially to the mitochondria.