Magnesium chloride and polyamine can differentiate mouse embryonic stem cells into trophectoderm or endoderm.

Magnesium chloride and polyamines stabilize DNA and chromatin. Furthermore, they can induce nucleosome aggregation and chromatin condensation in vitro. To determine the effects of elevating the cation concentrations in the nucleus of a living cell, we microinjected various concentrations of mono-, di- and polyvalent cation solutions into the nuclei of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells and traced their fates.

Structural and functional characteristics of S-like ribonucleases from carnivorous plants.

Although the S-like ribonucleases (RNases) share sequence homology with the S-RNases involved in the self-incompatibility mechanism in plants, they are not associated with this mechanism. They usually function in stress responses in non-carnivorous plants and in carnivory in carnivorous plants. In this study, we clarified the structures of the S-like RNases of Aldrovanda vesiculosa, Nepenthes bicalcarata and Sarracenia leucophylla, and compared them with those of other plants.

Competence of an artificial bent DNA as a transcriptional activator in mouse ES cells.

Curved DNA structures with a left-handed superhelical conformation can activate eukaryotic transcription. However, their potency in transgene activation in embryonic stem (ES) cells has not been examined. T20 is an artificial curved DNA of 180 bp that serves as a transcriptional activator.

Highly efficient chromatin transcription induced by superhelically curved DNA segments: the underlying mechanism revealed by a yeast system.

Superhelically curved DNA structures can strongly activate transcription in mammalian cells. However, the mechanism underlying the activation has not been clarified. We investigated this mechanism in yeast cells, using 108, 180, and 252 bp synthetic curved DNA segments.

A highly distinctive mechanical property found in the majority of human promoters and its transcriptional relevance.

A recent study revealed that TATA boxes and initiator sequences have a common anomalous mechanical property, i.e. they comprise distinctive flexible and rigid sequences when compared with the other parts of the promoter region.