Protective effect of kobophenol A on nitric oxide-induced cell apoptosis in human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells: involvement of JNK, NF-κB and AP-1 pathways.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a multifunctional signaling molecule and the cytotoxic species responsible for a variety of pathologic disorders including bone destruction. High NO levels induce the apoptosis of osteoblasts and decrease the bone mineral density. We investigated the influence of kobophenol A (kob A) on apoptosis in cultured human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells.

Arabidopsis leaf necrosis caused by simulated acid rain is related to the salicylic acid signaling pathway.

Arabidopsis leaves treated with simulated acid rain (SiAR) showed phenotypes similar to necrotic lesions caused by biotic stresses like Pseudomonad infiltration. Exposure of Arabidopsis to SiAR resulted in the up-regulation of genes known to be induced by the salicylic acid (SA)-mediated pathogen resistance response. The expression of enhanced disease susceptibility (EDS), nonexpressor of PR (NPR) and pathogen-related 1 (PR1), all of which are involved in the salicylic acid signaling pathway, were increased after SiAR exposure.

The intermolecular interaction between the PH domain and the C-terminal domain of Arabidopsis dynamin-like 6 determines lipid binding specificity.

Dynamin and its related proteins are a group of mechanochemical proteins involved in the modulation of lipid membranes in various biological processes. Here we investigate the nature of membrane binding of the Arabidopsis dynamin-like 6 (ADL6) involved in vesicle trafficking from the trans-Golgi network to the central vacuole. Fractionation experiments by continuous sucrose gradients and gel filtration revealed that the majority of ADL6 is associated with membranes in vivo.