The mouse Plk gene: structural characterization, chromosomal localization and identification of a processed Plk pseudogene.

The Plk gene encodes a serine/threonine protein kinase believed to be important for the normal progression of mammalian cells through the cell cycle. In this paper, we report the genomic organization of the mouse Plk gene. The mouse Plk gene encompasses 16 kb of the mouse genome and is organised into 10 exons.

Microsatellite deletions in the c-myb transcriptional attenuator region associated with over-expression in colon tumour cell lines.

In the hemopoietic system c-myb expression is required for proliferation of immature cells and its down-regulation is required for differentiation. In colonic mucosa c-myb expression occurs at levels comparable to immature hemopoietic cells. Inhibition of c-myb expression in colon cell lines, using anti-sense oligonucleotides, indicates that c-myb expression is required for proliferation.

Protective immune responses to apical membrane antigen 1 of Plasmodium chabaudi involve recognition of strain-specific epitopes.

Apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1), an asexual blood-stage antigen of Plasmodium falciparum, is an important candidate for testing as a component of a malaria vaccine. This study investigates the nature of diversity in the Plasmodium chabaudi adami homolog of AMA-1 and the impact of that diversity on the efficacy of the recombinant antigen as a vaccine against challenge with a heterologous strain of P. chabaudi.

Insulin and epidermal growth factor receptors contain the cysteine repeat motif found in the tumor necrosis factor receptor.

The insulin receptor (INSR) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are representatives of two structurally related subfamilies of tyrosine kinase receptors. Using the Wisconsin GCG sequence analysis programs, we have demonstrated that the cysteine-rich regions of INSR and EGFR conform to the structural motif found in the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family. The study also revealed that these regions were not composed of simple repeats of eight cysteine residues as previously proposed and that the second Cys-rich region of EGFR contained one fewer TNFR repeat than the first.