Sweet delivery - sugar translocators as ports of entry for antisense oligodeoxynucleotides in plant cells.

Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are short (12-25 nt long) stretches of single-stranded DNA that may be delivered to a cell, where they hybridize to the cognate mRNA in a sequence-specific manner, thereby inhibiting gene expression. Here we used confocal microscopy to monitor the uptake and trafficking of ODNs in barley tissues. We conclude that uptake of ODNs across the plant plasma membrane is mediated by active transport of mono- or disaccharides through sugar translocators.

Direct observation of individual endogenous protein complexes in situ by proximity ligation.

Cellular processes can only be understood as the dynamic interplay of molecules. There is a need for techniques to monitor interactions of endogenous proteins directly in individual cells and tissues to reveal the cellular and molecular architecture and its responses to perturbations. Here we report our adaptation of the recently developed proximity ligation method to examine the subcellular localization of protein-protein interactions at single-molecule resolution.

c-Myc associates with ribosomal DNA and activates RNA polymerase I transcription.

The c-Myc oncoprotein regulates transcription of genes that are associated with cell growth, proliferation and apoptosis. c-Myc levels are modulated by ubiquitin/proteasome-mediated degradation. Proteasome inhibition leads to c-Myc accumulation within nucleoli, indicating that c-Myc might have a nucleolar function.

MYC is amplified in BRCA1-associated breast cancers.

Purpose: Germ-line mutations in the BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene predispose to early onset breast cancers with a distinct phenotype characterized by high tumor grade, aneuploidy, high proliferation rate, and estrogen receptor-negativity. The molecular mechanisms and cooperative oncogenes contributing to multistep tumor progression in cells lacking BRCA1 are not well defined. To examine whether C-MYC (MYC), a transforming oncogene associated with genetic instability, contributes to multistep tumor progression in BRCA1-associated breast cancer, we have analyzed tumors from women with hereditary BRCA1-mutated and sporadic breast cancers.