A generic screening platform for inhibitors of virus induced cell fusion using cellular electrical impedance.

Fusion of the viral envelope with host cell membranes is an essential step in the life cycle of all enveloped viruses. Despite such a clear target for antiviral drug development, few anti-fusion drugs have progressed to market. One significant hurdle is the absence of a generic, high-throughput, reproducible fusion assay.

Slow rates of habituation predict greater zBMI gains over 12 months in lean children.

Slow rates of habituation are cross-sectionally related to greater energy intake and body weight. The present study is designed to assess whether slow rates of habituation are prospectively related to zBMI change over a 12 month period in 66 lean 8-12 year-old children, and whether the rate of habituation is a stable behavioral phenotype. Results showed that slower rates of habituation predicted greater zBMI change, controlling for child sex, age, initial zBMI, dietary awareness and minority status.

Wolbachia-mediated resistance to dengue virus infection and death at the cellular level.

Background: Dengue is currently the most important arthropod-borne viral disease of humans. Recent work has shown dengue virus displays limited replication in its primary vector, the mosquito Aedes aegypti, when the insect harbors the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis. Wolbachia-mediated inhibition of virus replication may lead to novel methods of arboviral control, yet the functional and cellular mechanisms that underpin it are unknown.

What constitutes food variety? Stimulus specificity of food.

Variety is a major influence of energy intake, but it is not known how much foods have to vary to influence eating. Using a stimulus specificity habituation paradigm we assessed the influence of varying the texture and appearance of nutritionally identical foods on responding for food and energy intake, and whether sensitization, or an increase in responding prior to habituation, was related to the rate of habituation or recovery of responding. Children responded for elbow macaroni and cheese until they habituated, then were provided either more elbow macaroni and cheese, spiral macaroni and cheese, or chicken nuggets.

Sensitization and habituation of motivated behavior in overweight and non-overweight children.

The rate of habituation to food is inversely related to energy intake, and overweight children may habituate slower to food and consume more energy. This study compared patterns of sensitization, as defined by an initial increase in operant or motivated responding for food, and habituation, defined by gradual reduction in responding, for macaroni and cheese and pizza in overweight and non-overweight 8-12 year-old children. Non-overweight children habituated faster to both foods than overweight children (p = 0.

Variety influences habituation of motivated behavior for food and energy intake in children.

Background: Research has shown that variety reduces the rate of habituation, or a general reduction in the rate of responding, for low-energy-density (LED) and high-energy-density (HED) foods.

Objective: We assessed whether the effects of variety on habituation of motivation to eat are different in overweight and lean children.

Design: Overweight and lean children (n = 84) were randomly assigned to groups that varied as to whether they received their favorite or a variety of LED or HED foods.

Identification of a non-purple tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase: an evolutionary link to Ser/Thr protein phosphatases?

Background: Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatases (TRAcPs), also known as purple acid phosphatases (PAPs), are a family of binuclear metallohydrolases that have been identified in plants, animals and fungi. The human enzyme is a major histochemical marker for the diagnosis of bone-related diseases. TRAcPs can occur as a small form possessing only the ~35 kDa catalytic domain, or a larger ~55 kDa form possessing both a catalytic domain and an additional N-terminal domain of unknown function.

Overview of the pipeline for structural and functional characterization of macrophage proteins at the university of queensland.

This chapter describes the methodology adopted in a project aimed at structural and functional characterization of proteins that potentially play an important role in mammalian macrophages. The methodology that underpins this project is applicable to both small research groups and larger structural genomics consortia. Gene products with putative roles in macrophage function are identified using gene expression information obtained via DNA microarray technology.

A randomized trial of the effects of reducing television viewing and computer use on body mass index in young children.

Objective: To assess the effects of reducing television viewing and computer use on children's body mass index (BMI) as a risk factor for the development of overweight in young children.

Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial.

Setting: University children's hospital.

Multiplexed microsphere diagnostic tools in gene expression applications: factors and futures.

Microarrays have received significant attention in recent years as scientists have firstly identified factors that can produce reduced confidence in gene expression data obtained on these platforms, and secondly sought to establish laboratory practices and a set of standards by which data are reported with integrity. Microsphere-based assays represent a new generation of diagnostics in this field capable of providing substantial quantitative and qualitative information from gene expression profiling. However, for gene expression profiling, this type of platform is still in the demonstration phase, with issues arising from comparative studies in the literature not yet identified.

Structural basis for recruitment of tandem hotdog domains in acyl-CoA thioesterase 7 and its role in inflammation.

Acyl-CoA thioesterases (Acots) catalyze the hydrolysis of fatty acyl-CoA to free fatty acid and CoA and thereby regulate lipid metabolism and cellular signaling. We present a comprehensive structural and functional characterization of mouse acyl-CoA thioesterase 7 (Acot7). Whereas prokaryotic homologues possess a single thioesterase domain, mammalian Acot7 contains a pair of domains in tandem.

Cost effectiveness of recruitment methods in an obesity prevention trial for young children.

Background: Recruitment of participants for clinical trials requires considerable effort and cost. There is no research on the cost effectiveness of recruitment methods for an obesity prevention trial of young children.

Methods: This study determined the cost effectiveness of recruiting 70 families with a child aged 4 to 7 (5.

Relationship between parental estimate and an objective measure of child television watching.

Many young children have televisions in their bedrooms, which may influence the relationship between parental estimate and objective measures of child television usage/week. Parental estimates of child television time of eighty 4-7 year old children (6.0 +/- 1.

Association of access to parks and recreational facilities with the physical activity of young children.

Objective: To determine associations of the neighborhood and home television environments with young children's physical activity.

Method: 32 boys and 27 girls age 4 to 7 years wore accelerometers for 3 weekdays and 1 weekend day. The number of televisions in the home and television watching of the child were monitored using TV Allowance units for 3 weeks.

Anti-proliferative effects of novel glyco-lipid-arsenicals (III) on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells.

Arsenic trioxide appears to be effective in the treatment of pro-myelocytic leukaemia. The substituted phenylarsen(III)oxides are highly polar, they have a high tendency to undergo oxidation to As (V) and to form oligomers, to prevent this we protected the As-(OH)(2) group as cyclic dithiaarsanes. To increase the compound's biological stability and passive diffusion we conjugated the compound of interest with lipoamino acids (Laas).

Mono(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate and mono-n-butyl phthalate activation of peroxisome proliferator activated-receptors alpha and gamma in breast.

The phthalates di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) are environmental contaminants with significant human exposures. Both compounds are known reproductive toxins in rodents and DEHP also induces rodent hepatocarcinogenesis in a process believed to be mediated via the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha). DEHP and DBP are metabolised to their respective monoesters, mono-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (MEHP) and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), which are the active metabolites.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha expression is regulated by estrogen receptor alpha and modulates the response of MCF-7 cells to sodium butyrate.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors are ligand-activated transcription factors with a potential role in cancer. We investigated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha expression in breast cancer cell lines and showed a relationship between mean peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and estrogen receptor alpha mRNA levels in estrogen receptor alpha positive breast cancer cells. Transfection of estrogen receptor alpha into the estrogen receptor alpha negative cell line, MDA-MB-231 decreased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha mRNA and conversely inhibition of estrogen receptor alpha by ICI-182 780 in estrogen receptor alpha positive, MCF-7 cells increased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha mRNA levels.

LPS regulates a set of genes in primary murine macrophages by antagonising CSF-1 action.

We previously reported that bacterial products such as LPS and CpG DNA down-modulated cell surface levels of the Colony Stimulating Factor (CSF)-1 receptor (CSF-1R) on primary murine macrophages in an all-or-nothing manner. Here we show that the ability of bacterial products to down-modulate the CSF-1R rendered bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM) unresponsive to CSF-1 as assessed by Akt and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Using toll-like receptor (tlr)9 as a model CSF-1-repressed gene, we show that LPS induced tlr9 expression in BMM only when CSF-1 was present, suggesting that LPS relieves CSF-1-mediated inhibition to induce gene expression.

Antisense-mediated Inhibition of the plasma membrane calcium-ATPase suppresses proliferation of MCF-7 cells.

Alterations in Ca2+ signaling may contribute to tumorigenesis and the mechanism of action of some anti-cancer drugs. The plasma membrane calcium-ATPase (PMCA) is a crucial controller of intracellular Ca2+ signaling. Altered PMCA expression occurs in the mammary gland during lactation and in breast cancer cell lines.

Effect of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor beta activator GW0742 in rat cultured cerebellar granule neurons.

The ligand-activated transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor beta (PPARbeta) is present in the brain and is implicated in the regulation of genes with potential roles in neurotoxicity. We sought to examine the role of PPARbeta in neuronal cell death by using the PPARbeta ligand GW0742. Primary cultures of rat cerebellar granule neurons were prepared from 7-day-old pups.

Ratiometric and nonratiometric Ca2+ indicators for the assessment of intracellular free Ca2+ in a breast cancer cell line using a fluorescence microplate reader.

Transporters of Ca2+ are potential drug targets and Ca2+ is a useful signal in the assessment of G-protein-coupled receptor activation. Assays involving the assessment of intracellular Ca2+ using microplate readers most often use Ca2+ indicators which do not exhibit a spectra shift on Ca2+ binding (e.g.

Effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ligands ciglitazone and 15-deoxy-delta 12,14-prostaglandin J2 on rat cultured cerebellar granule neuronal viability.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) has been the focus of studies assessing its potential neuroprotective role. These studies have shown either neuroprotection or neurotoxicity by PPARgamma ligands. Comparison of these studies is complicated by the use of different PPARgamma ligands, mechanisms of neurotoxicity induction, and neuronal cell type.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha in the human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) alpha is a ligand-activated transcription factor that has been linked with rodent hepatocarcinogenesis. It has been suggested that PPARalpha mRNA expression levels are an important determinant of rodent hepatic tumorigenicity. Previous work in rat mammary gland epithelial cells showed significantly increased PPARalpha mRNA expression in carcinomas, suggesting the possible role of this isoform in rodent mammary gland carcinogenesis.