Tissue-dependent loss of phosphofructokinase-M in mice with interrupted activity of the distal promoter: impairment in insulin secretion.

Phosphofructokinase is a key enzyme of glycolysis that exists as homo- and heterotetramers of three subunit isoforms: muscle, liver, and C type. Mice with a disrupting tag inserted near the distal promoter of the phosphofructokinase-M gene showed tissue-dependent differences in loss of that isoform: 99% in brain and 95-98% in islets, but only 50-75% in skeletal muscle and little if any loss in heart. This correlated with the continued presence of proximal transcripts specifically in muscle tissues.

Gender and post-ischemic recovery of hypertrophied rat hearts.

Background: Gender influences the cardiac response to prolonged increases in workload, with differences at structural, functional, and molecular levels. However, it is unknown if post-ischemic function or metabolism of female hypertrophied hearts differ from male hypertrophied hearts. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that gender influences post-ischemic function of pressure-overload hypertrophied hearts and determined if the effect of gender on post-ischemic outcome could be explained by differences in metabolism, especially the catabolic fate of glucose.

Adaption of team learning to an introductory graduate pharmacology course.

Background: Team-learning experiences within a large group setting have a variety of educational applications.

Description: Aspects of the team-learning process were introduced into the endocrine pharmacology unit of an introductory graduate pharmacology course. Each session involved both a faculty lecture and student participation in problem-solving exercises.

Migration of cochlear lateral wall cells.

The role of apoptosis and proliferation in maintenance of cochlear lateral wall cells was examined. The methods employed for detection of apoptosis were the Hoechst fluorescence stain and TUNEL (TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end-labeling) assay, and proliferations were 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and presence of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen. The incidence of apoptosis in the strial marginal cell was 50% greater (32.

Teaching pharmacology within a multidisciplinary organ system-based medical curriculum.

We have described how the pharmacology of agents that act on the central nervous system (CNS) and endocrine system were incorporated into a case-based, multidisciplinary, integrated sophomore medical curriculum at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIUSM). Faculty members from the Departments of Pharmacology, Pathology, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and Neurology were major participants in the CNS block, and faculty with primary expertise in radiology, epidemiology, and immunology also participated. Integrated sessions involving the entire class were organized around brief patient cases, which were given to the students in advance of the session.