Class II PI3Ks α and β Are Required for Rho-Dependent Uterine Smooth Muscle Contraction and Parturition in Mice.

Class II phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks), PI3K-C2α and PI3K-C2β, are highly homologous and distinct from class I and class III PI3Ks in catalytic products and domain structures. In contrast to class I and class III PI3Ks, physiological roles of PI3K-C2α and PI3K-C2β are not fully understood. Because we previously demonstrated that PI3K-C2α is involved in vascular smooth muscle contraction, we studied the phenotypes of smooth muscle-specific knockout (KO) mice of PI3K-C2α and PI3K-C2β.

ADAMTS1 alters blood vessel morphology and TSP1 levels in LNCaP and LNCaP-19 prostate tumors.

Background: Decreased expression of the angiogenesis inhibitor ADAMTS1 (ADAM metallopeptidase with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 1) has previously been reported during prostate cancer progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of ADAMTS1 in prostate tumors.

Methods: ADAMTS1 was downregulated by shRNA technology in the human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP (androgen-dependent), originally expressing ADAMTS1, and was upregulated by transfection in its subline LNCaP-19 (androgen-independent), expressing low levels of ADAMTS1.

Protective roles of the fractalkine/CX3CL1-CX3CR1 interactions in alkali-induced corneal neovascularization through enhanced antiangiogenic factor expression.

Macrophages accumulate during the course of corneal neovascularization, but its mechanisms and roles still remain elusive. To address these points, we herein examined corneal neovascularization after alkali injury in mice deficient in fractalkine receptor/CX3CR1, which is normally expressed by macrophages. After alkali injury, the mRNA expression of CX3CR1 was augmented along with accumulation of F4/80-positive macrophages and Gr-1-positive neutrophils in the corneas.

The carboxyl-terminal half region of ADAMTS-1 suppresses both tumorigenicity and experimental tumor metastatic potential.

ADAMTS-1 is an ECM-anchored metalloproteinase with proteoglycan-degrading activity as well as an angiogenesis inhibiting activity. Here, we examined the effects of ADAMTS-1 overexpression on in vivo tumor growth and tumor metastasis. Overexpression of only the C-terminal half region of ADAMTS-1, consisting of TSP type I motifs and the spacer region, suppressed Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) tumor growth in mice.

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS)-1 null mutant mice develop renal lesions mimicking obstructive nephropathy.

Background: A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS)-1 is distinguished from other a disintegrin and metalloproteinase molecules by the presence of thrombospondin type 1 motifs at its C-terminus and anchors to the extracellular matrix. We studied the biological role of ADAMTS-1 in the kidney.

Methods: We developed ADAMTS-1 null mice by replacing exons 2-4, which encode most of the metalloproteinase domain, with the neomycin resistance gene.

CCR5 gene expression in fulminant hepatitis and DTH in mice.

AIM:To isolate mouse CCR5 cDNA (muCCR5) and study its expression in vivo.METHODS: Marathon PCR was used to isolate muCCR5 cDNA and two animal models were designed to investigate the gene expression in vivo, one was mouse fulminant hepatitis induced by Propionibacterium acnes (P.acnes) and the other was that with delayed type hypersensitivity reaction (DTH).

The Caenorhabditis elegans ADAMTS family gene adt-1 is necessary for morphogenesis of the male copulatory organs.

Remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is pivotal for various biological processes, including organ morphology and development. The Caenorhabditis elegans male tail has male-specific copulatory organs, the rays and the fan. Ray morphogenesis, which involves a rapid remodeling of the ECM, is an important model of morphogenesis, although its mechanism is poorly understood.