Molecular cloning and expression analysis of pig CD79alpha.

The CD79alpha (immunoglobulin alpha, Igalpha), a part of B cell receptor (BCR) complex, forms a heterodimer with CD79beta (Igbeta) and plays an important role in the B cell signaling. In this study, we have cloned pig Cd79a cDNA using RT-PCR and determined the complete cDNA sequence of pig Cd79a. Pig Cd79a cDNA contains an open reading frame (672bp) encoding 223 amino acids.

Phytophthora Database: A Forensic Database Supporting the Identification and Monitoring of Phytophthora.

Phytophthora spp. represent a serious threat to agricultural and ecological systems. Many novel Phytophthora spp.

Modulatory role of phospholipase D in the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-3 by thyroid oncogenic kinase RET/PTC.

Background: RET/PTC (rearranged in transformation/papillary thyroid carcinomas) gene rearrangements are the most frequent genetic alterations identified in papillary thyroid carcinoma. Although it has been established that RET/PTC kinase plays a crucial role in intracellular signaling pathways that regulate cellular transformation, growth, and proliferation in thyroid epithelial cells, the upstream signaling that leads to the activation of RET/PTC is largely unknown. Based on the observation of high levels of PLD expression in human papillary thyroid cancer tissues, we investigated whether PLD plays a role in the regulating the RET/PTC-induced STAT3 activation.

Prevention of TNF-induced necrotic cell death by rottlerin through a Nox1 NADPH oxidase.

Previous studies have demonstrated that rottlerin, a specific PKCdelta inhibitor, potentiates death receptor- mediated apoptosis through a cytochrome c-dependent or -independent pathway. However, its ability to regulate necrotic cell death, as well as the underlying mechanism, remains unknown. We found that in murine fibrosarcoma L929 cells, treatment with rottlerin protected the cells against TNF-induced necrosis, whereas it sensitized the cells to apoptosis induced by co-treatment with Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin and TNF, in a manner independent of its ability to inhibit PKC-delta.

The effect of propoxycaine.HCl on the physical properties of neuronal membranes.

Fluorescent probe techniques were used to evaluate the effect of propoxycaine.HCl on the physical properties (transbilayer asymmetric lateral and rotational mobilities, annular lipid fluidity and protein distribution) of synaptosomal plasma membrane vesicles (SPMVs) isolated from bovine cerebral cortex. An experimental procedure was used based on selective quenching of both 1,3-di(1-pyrenyl)propane (Py-3-Py) and 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) by trinitrophenyl groups, and radiationless energy transfer (RET) from the tryptophans of membrane proteins to Py-3-Py.

A putative MAP kinase kinase kinase, MCK1, is required for cell wall integrity and pathogenicity of the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae.

Insertional mutagenesis of Magnaporthe oryzae led to the identification of MCK1, a pathogenicity gene predicted to encode mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) homologous to BCK1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Targeted disruption of MCK1 resulted in the fungus undergoing autolysis and showing hypersensitivity to cell-wall-degrading enzyme. The mck1 produced significantly reduced numbers of conidia and developed appressoria in a slightly retarded manner compared with the wild type.

FTFD: an informatics pipeline supporting phylogenomic analysis of fungal transcription factors.

Summary: Genomes of more than 60 fungal species have been sequenced to date, yet there has been no systematic approach to analyze fungal transcription factors (TFs) kingdom widely. We developed a standardized pipeline for annotating TFs in fungal genomes. Resulting data have been archived in a new database termed the Fungal Transcription Factor Database (FTFD).

Immunostimulatory activities of polysaccharides from liquid culture of pine-mushroom Tricholoma matsutake.

Mushrooms are regarded as one of the well-known foods and biopharmaceutical materials with a great deal of interest. Polysaccharide beta-glucan is the major component of mushrooms that displays various biological activities such as antidiabetic, anticancer, and antihyperlipidemic effects. In this study, we compared the immunostimulatory potency of polysaccharide fractions, prepared from liquid culture of pinemushroom Tricholoma matsutake, with a potent immunogen lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and their molecular mechanisms on the functional activation of macrophages.

Simple sequence repeats in Neurospora crassa: distribution, polymorphism and evolutionary inference.

Background: Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) have been successfully used for various genetic and evolutionary studies in eukaryotic systems. The eukaryotic model organism Neurospora crassa is an excellent system to study evolution and biological function of SSRs.

Results: We identified and characterized 2749 SSRs of 963 SSR types in the genome of N.

Plasma-arc generated light inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis of human gingival fibroblasts in a dose-dependent manner.

Objective: This study examined the effects of blue light exposure on the proliferation and cytotoxicity of human gingival fibroblasts (HGF). Cellular mechanism by which blue light causes cytotoxic effects was also investigated.

Methods: HGF were exposed to the plasma-arc generated blue light with various energy densities ranging from 2 to 48J/cm(2).

Involvement of p38 MAPK-mediated signaling in the calpeptin-mediated suppression of myogenic differentiation and fusion in C2C12 cells.

Calpeptin inhibits myoblast fusion by inhibiting the activity of calpain. However, the mechanism by which calpeptin inhibits myogenesis is not completely understood. This study examined how calpeptin affects the expression of the myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) and the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in differentiating C2C12 myoblasts.

Regulation of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) by Src involves tyrosine phosphorylation of PDK1 and Src homology 2 domain binding.

3-Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) appears to play a central regulatory role in many cell signalings between phosphoinositide-3 kinase and various intracellular serine/threonine kinases. In resting cells, PDK1 is known to be constitutively active and is further activated by tyrosine phosphorylation (Tyr(9) and Tyr(373/376)) following the treatment of the cell with insulin or pervanadate. However, little is known about the mechanisms for this additional activation of PDK1.

CFGP: a web-based, comparative fungal genomics platform.

Since the completion of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome sequencing project in 1996, the genomes of over 80 fungal species have been sequenced or are currently being sequenced. Resulting data provide opportunities for studying and comparing fungal biology and evolution at the genome level. To support such studies, the Comparative Fungal Genomics Platform (CFGP; http://cfgp.

Genome-wide analysis of T-DNA integration into the chromosomes of Magnaporthe oryzae.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) has become a prevalent tool for functional genomics of fungi, but our understanding of T-DNA integration into the fungal genome remains limited relative to that in plants. Using a model plant-pathogenic fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, here we report the most comprehensive analysis of T-DNA integration events in fungi and the development of an informatics infrastructure, termed a T-DNA analysis platform (TAP). We identified a total of 1110 T-DNA-tagged locations (TTLs) and processed the resulting data via TAP.

Loss of PTEN expression does not contribute to PDK-1 activity and PKC activation-loop phosphorylation in Jurkat leukaemic T cells.

Unopposed PI3-kinase activity and 3'-phosphoinositide production in Jurkat T cells, due to a mutation in the PTEN tumour suppressor protein, results in deregulation of PH domain-containing proteins including the serine/threonine kinase PKB/Akt. In Jurkat cells, PKB/Akt is constitutively active and phosphorylated at the activation-loop residue (Thr308). 3'-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK-1), an enzyme that also contains a PH domain, is thought to catalyse Thr308 phosphorylation of PKB/Akt in addition to other kinase families such as PKC isoforms.

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of pig CD81.

CD81, also known as TAPA-1 (target of antiproliferative antibody 1), is a member of the tetraspanin family of proteins and a component of the B cell co-receptor complex. Several studies have shown that CD81 plays significant roles in a variety of immune responses, including activation of B cells and T cells. In this study, we cloned pig Cd81 cDNA using RT-PCR coupled with rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE)-PCR and determined the complete cDNA sequence of pig Cd81.

Intramolecular and intermolecular interactions of protein kinase B define its activation in vivo.

Protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) is a pivotal regulator of diverse metabolic, phenotypic, and antiapoptotic cellular controls and has been shown to be a key player in cancer progression. Here, using fluorescent reporters, we shown in cells that, contrary to in vitro analyses, 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1) is complexed to its substrate, PKB. The use of Förster resonance energy transfer detected by both frequency domain and two-photon time domain fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy has lead to novel in vivo findings.

Genome-wide functional analysis of pathogenicity genes in the rice blast fungus.

Rapid translation of genome sequences into meaningful biological information hinges on the integration of multiple experimental and informatics methods into a cohesive platform. Despite the explosion in the number of genome sequences available, such a platform does not exist for filamentous fungi. Here we present the development and application of a functional genomics and informatics platform for a model plant pathogenic fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae.

Increased SOCS6 stability with PMA requires its N-terminal region and the Erk pathway via Pkcdelta activation.

We investigated stability of the ectopically expressed the SOCS6 protein in HEK293T cells with PMA, which activates protein kinase C (PKC). The treatment of PMA could largely increase SOCS6 stability in HEK293T cells. But, we did not observe increased protein levels of SOCS3 or Erk1 with PMA.

Intracellular network of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, mammalian target of the rapamycin/70 kDa ribosomal S6 kinase 1, and mitogen-activated protein kinases pathways for regulating mycobacteria-induced IL-23 expression in human macrophages.

We previously demonstrated that Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tbc)-induced interleukin (IL)-12 expression is negatively regulated by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 pathways in human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). To extend these studies, we examined the nature of the involvement of toll-like receptors (TLRs) and intracellular signalling pathways downstream from PI3K in M.

Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate protects against tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced necrotic cell death by modulating the recruitment of TNF receptor 1-associated death domain and receptor-interacting protein into the TNF receptor 1 signaling complex: Implication for the regulatory role of protein kinase C.

Protein kinase C (PKC) triggers cellular signals that regulate proliferation or death in a cell- and stimulus-specific manner. Although previous studies have demonstrated that activation of PKC with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) protects cells from apoptosis induced by a number of mechanisms, including death receptor ligation, little is known about the effect or mechanism of PMA in the necrotic cell death. Here, we demonstrate that PMA-mediated activation of PKC protects against tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced necrosis by disrupting formation of the TNF receptor (TNFR)1 signaling complex.

Sustained activation of protein kinase C downregulates nuclear factor-kappaB signaling by dissociation of IKK-gamma and Hsp90 complex in human colonic epithelial cells.

Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) triggers cellular signals that lead to the activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB (nuclear factor kappaB) in various cell types. In addition to NF-kappaB activation by short-time PMA treatment, here we report that the prolonged exposure of human colonic cancer epithelial cells treated with PMA can also lead to a persistent inhibition of NF-kappaB activation. PMA selectively causes the degradation of IkappaB kinases (IKKs) including IKK-gamma and IKK-beta, and subsequent inhibition of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) induced IKK and NF-kappaB activation in human colon cancer cell line HCT-116, but not in other gastrointestinal tract cells.

Paraoxonase gene polymorphism and vitamin levels during pregnancy: Relationship with maternal oxidative stress and neonatal birthweights.

The aim of this study was to determine the association between maternal oxidative stress and adverse birth outcome, and serum vitamin levels and paraoxonase (PON) polymorphism during pregnancy. We investigated 276 pregnant women who visited a hospital for prenatal care during gestational weeks 24 and 28. We measured serum Vitamins C and E levels and urinary levels of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG).

Prediction of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation using nonlinear analysis of the R-R interval dynamics before the spontaneous onset of atrial fibrillation.

Background: New methods based on nonlinear theory have been developed to give more insight into complex heart rate (HR) dynamics. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that altered HR dynamics, as analyzed with complexity and fractal measures, may precede the spontaneous onset of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). Secondly, the difference in the temporal change of these measurements between the different types of atrial fibrillation (AF) was assessed.

Serum and glucocorticoid-responsive kinase-1 regulates cardiomyocyte survival and hypertrophic response.

Background: Serum- and glucocorticoid-responsive kinase-1 (SGK1), a serine-threonine kinase that is highly expressed in the heart, has been previously reported to regulate sodium channels. Because SGK1 is a PI 3-kinase-dependent kinase with structural homology to Akt, we examined its regulation in the heart and its effects on cardiomyocyte (CM) apoptosis and hypertrophy in vitro.

Methods And Results: Rats were subjected to aortic banding, and expression of total and phosphorylated SGK1 was examined.