UV hyper-resistance in Prochlorococcus MED4 results from a single base pair deletion just upstream of an operon encoding nudix hydrolase and photolyase.

Exposure to solar radiation can cause mortality in natural communities of pico-phytoplankton, both at the surface and to a depth of at least 30 m. DNA damage is a significant cause of death, mainly due to cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer formation, which can be lethal if not repaired. While developing a UV mutagenesis protocol for the marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus, we isolated a UV-hyper-resistant variant of high light-adapted strain MED4.

Lack of association between angiotensin-converting enzyme and dementia of the Alzheimer's type in an elderly Arab population in Wadi Ara, Israel.

The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), a protease involved in blood pressure regulation, has been implicated as an important candidate gene for Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigated whether the ACE gene insertion-deletion (ID) polymorphism is associated with risk of developing dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT) in an Arab-Israeli community, a unique genetic isolate where there is a high prevalence of DAT. In contrast to several other studies, we found no evidence of an association between this polymorphism and either DAT or age-related cognitive decline (ARCD).

Association of polymorphisms in the Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene with Alzheimer disease in an Israeli Arab community.

Several lines of evidence support for a role of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in Alzheimer disease (AD). Most genetic studies have focused on an Alu insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the ACE gene (DCP1) and have yielded conflicting results. We evaluated the association between 15 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DCP1, including the I/D variant, and AD in a sample of 92 patients with AD and 166 nondemented controls from an inbred Israeli Arab community.

Effects of the IMP-dehydrogenase inhibitor, Tiazofurin, in bcr-abl positive acute myelogenous leukemia. Part II. In vitro studies.

Inosine-5'-monophosphate-dehydrogenase (IMPDH) regulates the de novo synthesis of guanine ribonucleotides (GNT). IMPDH activity varies inversely with intracellular [GNT] and is linked to cellular proliferation. K562 leukemia cell growth was studied relative to IMPDH expression and activity following culture of the cells with Tiazofurin, an IMPDH inhibitor.

Effects of the IMP-dehydrogenase inhibitor, Tiazofurin, in bcr-abl positive acute myelogenous leukemia. Part I. In vivo studies.

Six patients with bcr-abl positive AML or chronic myelogenous leukemia in blast crisis (CML-BC) were treated with the IMP-dehydrogenase (IMPDH) inhibitor, Tiazofurin, in a Phase-II trial. Tiazofurin was given by IV infusion (2200-2700 mg/m2 per day) for up to 10 days. Leukemia blasts rapidly disappeared from the circulation of patients during treatment, while mature myeloid cells in the marrow increased in number.

Genetic and environmental epidemiology of Alzheimer's disease in arabs residing in Israel.

We have found an unusually high prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Wadi Ara, an inbred Arab community in northern Israel. Allele frequencies of 4.5% and 3.

Identification of multiple loci for Alzheimer disease in a consanguineous Israeli-Arab community.

We have observed an unusually high prevalence of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) in Wadi Ara, an inbred Arab community in northern Israel comprising approximately 850 persons over the age of 60 years. Family studies revealed that more than one-third of the DAT cases are members of one hamula (tribal group) within Wadi Ara. To map chromosomal loci contributing to DAT susceptibility, we conducted a 10 cM scan in a series of five cases and five controls selected from this hamula.