Erythrocyte ferritin in patients with chronic renal failure and heterozygous beta-thalassemia.

Aim: The aim of this research is to study the variance of erythrocyte ferritin (EF) in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and heterozygous beta-thalassemia (beta-TA), as well as the use of EF as a more reliable index for assessing the body iron status.

Methods: We studied 63 subjects with CRF, 40 subjects with heterozygous beta-TA, 53 subjects with CRF and heterozygous beta-TA and 24 normal subjects. In 11 patients with CRF and heterozygous beta-TA, sternal bone marrow aspiration was performed to evaluate iron stores in the bone marrow.

A T42A Ran mutation: differential interactions with effectors and regulators, and defect in nuclear protein import.

Ran, the small, predominantly nuclear GTPase, has been implicated in the regulation of a variety of cellular processes including cell cycle progression, nuclear-cytoplasmic trafficking of RNA and protein, nuclear structure, and DNA synthesis. It is not known whether Ran functions directly in each process or whether many of its roles may be secondary to a direct role in only one, for example, nuclear protein import. To identify biochemical links between Ran and its functional target(s), we have generated and examined the properties of a putative Ran effector mutation, T42A-Ran.

The small nuclear GTPase Ran: how much does it run?

Ran is one of the most abundant and best conserved of the small GTP binding and hydrolyzing proteins of eukaryotes. It is located predominantly in cell nuclei. Ran is a member of the Ras family of GTPases, which includes the Ras and Ras-like proteins that regulate cell growth and division, the Rho and Rac proteins that regulate cytoskeletal organization and the Rab proteins that regulate vesicular sorting.

Tissue-specific expression of Ran isoforms in the mouse.

Ran genes encode a family of well-conserve small nuclear GTPases (Ras-related nuclear proteins), whose function is implicated in both normal cell cycle progression and the transport of RNA and proteins between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Previous studies of Ran proteins have utilized cell-free systems, yeasts, and cultured mammalian cells. We have now characterized patterns of Ran gene expression in the mouse.