Expression, identification and purification of human FMRP isoform 10.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), which is the most frequently inherited mental retardation after Down syndrome, is caused by the absence of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) encoded by the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. Patients with FXS can be identified by antibody tests that detect the absence of FMRP caused by loss-of-function mutations including the prevalent CGG repeat amplification in lymphocytes. Although the expression of recombinant FMRP in prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems has been achieved in different laboratories, the solubilization and purification of this protein is time consuming, varies with each protocol, and often results in low yield.

DNA replication events during larval silk gland development in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

The silk gland is an important organ in silkworm as it synthesizes silk proteins and is critical to spinning. The genomic DNA content of silk gland cells dramatically increases 200-400 thousand times for the larval life span through the process of endomitosis. Using in vitro culture, DNA synthesis was measured using BrdU labeling during the larval molt and intermolt periods.

Language-specific developmental differences in speech production: a cross-language acoustic study.

Speech productions of 40 English- and 40 Japanese-speaking children (aged 2-5) were examined and compared with the speech produced by 20 adult speakers (10 speakers per language). Participants were recorded while repeating words that began with "s" and "sh" sounds. Clear language-specific patterns in adults' speech were found, with English speakers differentiating "s" and "sh" in 1 acoustic dimension (i.

Electrosynthesis of a Sc3N@I(h)-C80 methano derivative from trianionic Sc3N@I(h)-C80.

The electrosynthetic method has been used for the selective synthesis of fullerene derivatives that are otherwise not accessible by other procedures. Recent attempts to electrosynthesize Sc(3)N@I(h)-C(80) derivatives using the Sc(3)N@I(h)-C(80) dianion were unsuccessful because of its low nucleophilicity. Those results prompted us to prepare the Sc(3)N@C(80) trianion, which should be more nucleophilic and reactive with electrophilic reagents.

Loss-of-function mutations in filaggrin gene associate with psoriasis vulgaris in Chinese population.

Loss-of-function mutations in filaggrin gene (FLG; OMIM #135940) have been reported to cause the semi-dominant keratinizing disorders such as ichthyosis vulgaris (IV; OMIM #146700) and atopic dermatitis (AD; OMIM #605803). Recent linkage analysis and immunohistochemical studies suggest the possible contribution of FLG to psoriatic susceptibility. However, no susceptibility variant in FLG gene associated with psoriasis (OMIM #177900) has been identified.

[Effects of postnatal lambda-cyhalothrin exposure on synaptic proteins in ICR mouse brain].

Objective: To evaluate the influence on the synaptic protein expression in different brain regions of ICR mice after lambda-cyhalothrin (LCT) exposure during postnatal period.

Methods: Two male and 4 female healthy ICR mice were put in one cage. It was set as pregnancy if vaginal plug was founded.

[Expression of fascin in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its clinical significance].

Objective: To investigate the role of fascin, an actin bundling protein, in the development and progression of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and explore its association with the clinicopathologic characteristics and 5-year survival of the patients.

Methods: Using tissue array and immunohistochemistry, the expression of fascin was determined in 241 ESCC tissues and the corresponding normal esophageal mucosal tissues.

Results: ESCC tissues showed a significantly higher overexpression rate of fascin than the corresponding normal esophageal mucosal tissues (68.

[Effect of chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia on contractile activity of arteries in rats].

The present study is aimed to investigate the effect of chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (CIHH) on contractile activities in isolated thoracic aorta and pulmonary artery rings and the underlying mechanism in rats. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group (CON), 14 days CIHH treatment group (CIHH14), 28 days CIHH treatment group (CIHH28) and 42 days CIHH treatment group (CIHH42). CIHH rats were exposed to hypoxia in a hypobaric chamber simulating 5 000 m altitude, 6 h daily for 14, 28 and 42 d, respectively.

A miRNA-492 binding-site polymorphism in BSG (basigin) confers risk to psoriasis in central south Chinese population.

Psoriasis (PS; MIM#177900) is a chronic inflammatory immune-mediated skin disorder. Although the disease is believed to be caused by a combination of genetic, immunologic and environmental factors, its complete etiology has not been fully understood. Here, we focused on the BSG (MIM#109480), a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily expressed ubiquitously in circulating immune cell populations.

Essential role for p53 and caspase-9 in DNA damaging drug-induced apoptosis in neuroblastoma IMR32 cells.

Neuroblastoma is a solid tumor of the sympathetic nervous system accounting for up to 10% of pediatric cancers and 15% of cancer-related deaths. It is a useful system for investigation of stress signal-mediated apoptosis as a tumor suppression mechanism. In this study, we present evidence that p53 mediates DNA damaging drug-induced apoptosis in IMR32 cells through the caspase-9 pathway.

Characteristics and evolution of the PUF gene family in Bombyx mori and 27 other species.

The Pumilio protein is the founding member of the PUF family of RNA-binding proteins, which contains 8 repeat Puf domains and plays important roles during embryogenesis and post-embryogenesis by binding the Nanos response element (NRE) of specific target genes in eukaryotes. In addition, many other proteins containing the Puf domain were identified but with different functions from the Pumilio protein in various species. Taking advantage of the newly assembled genome sequences, in this study we performed a genome-wide analysis of PUF genes in silkworm and other 27 species.

Demographic and clinical characteristics and risk factors for infantile hemangioma: a Chinese case-control study.

Objectives: To study the demographic and clinical features of infantile hemangioma in China; to learn in more detail the risk factors for developing this disease; and to identify clinical characteristics associated with complications, associated risks, and the need for systemic treatment.

Design: A case-control study of 1832 prospectively enrolled children with hemangiomas and 1832 controls matched for age, sex, region, and hospital attending the dermatology department between 2005 and 2008.

Setting: Two large hospitals in central south China.

Language specificity in the perception of voiceless sibilant fricatives in Japanese and English: implications for cross-language differences in speech-sound development.

Both English and Japanese have two voiceless sibilant fricatives, an anterior fricative /s/ contrasting with a more posterior fricative /∫/. When children acquire sibilant fricatives, English children typically substitute [s] for /∫/, whereas Japanese children typically substitute [∫] for /s/. This study examined English- and Japanese-speaking adults' perception of children's productions of voiceless sibilant fricatives to investigate whether the apparent asymmetry in the acquisition of voiceless sibilant fricatives reported previously in the two languages was due in part to how adults perceive children's speech.

Reactivity of metallic nitride endohedral metallofullerene anions: electrochemical synthesis of a Lu3N@Ih-C80 derivative.

Electrochemically generated Lu(3)N@I(h)-C(80) dianions react with the electrophile, PhCHBr(2), to produce a methano derivative of Lu(3)N@I(h)-C(80)(CHC(6)H(5)) (1) with high regioselectivity. The compound was characterized by MALDI-TOF, NMR, and UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy. Electrochemical characterization of this Lu(3)N@I(h)-C(80)(CHC(6)H(5)) derivative showed the typical irreversible reductive behavior of the pristine Lu(3)N@I(h)-C(80), similar to those observed for Bingel adducts of Lu(3)N@I(h)-C(80).

Global analysis of the transcriptional response of whitefly to tomato yellow leaf curl China virus reveals the relationship of coevolved adaptations.

The begomoviruses are the largest and most economically important group of plant viruses transmitted exclusively by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci in a circulative, persistent manner. The circulation of the viruses within the insect vectors involves complex interactions between virus and vector components; however, the molecular mechanisms of these interactions remain largely unknown. Here we investigated the transcriptional response of the invasive B.

Development and application of an efficient virus-induced gene silencing system in Nicotiana tabacum using geminivirus alphasatellite.

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a recently developed technique for characterizing the function of plant genes by gene transcript suppression and is increasingly used to generate transient loss-of-function assays. Here we report that the 2mDNA1, a geminivirus satellite vector, can induce efficient gene silencing in Nicotiana tabacum with Tobacco curly shoot virus. We have successfully silenced the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene in GUS transgenic N.

Electrochemical and H/D-labeling study of oxazolino[60]fullerene rearrangement.

Isomerization of an oxazoline cycle from a [6,6]- to [5,6]-junction on the C(60) sphere of dianionic [60]fullero-oxazoline (1(2-)) during a 1,4-addition is studied by electrochemistry and a stepwise addition of PhCH(2)Br and PhCD(2)Br. Cyclic voltammerty of the in situ generated 1(2-) shows a very unusual positive shift for the anodic peak corresponding to the oxidation of 1(2-), indicating that the C(60) cage of dianionic 1 bears only one unit negative charge due to the heterolytic cleavage of the C(60)-O bond. Further study with a stepwise addition of PhCH(2)Br and PhCD(2)Br, which are used to differentiate the aryl groups added at each step onto dianionic 1, shows explicitly there is an exclusive selectivity of the C-O bond for the ring-opening and ring-closure during the isomerization of the heterocycle.

Single sensor for two metal ions: colorimetric recognition of Cu2+ and fluorescent recognition of Hg2+.

The first novel rhodamine B based sensor, rhodamine B hydrazide methyl 5-formyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylate Schiff base (2) capable of detecting both Cu(2+) and Hg(2+) using two different detection modes has been designed and synthesized. The metal ion induced optical changes of 2 were investigated in MeOH:H(2)O (3:1) HEPES buffered solution at pH 7.4.

[2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction to Sc3N@I(h)-C80. The formation of very stable [5,6]- and [6,6]-adducts.

The [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of Sc(3)N@I(h)-C(80) with benzyne was successfully conducted for the first time. The reaction affords both the [5,6]- and [6,6]-monoadducts with a four-membered ring attached to the cage surface on 5,6- and 6,6-ring fusions, respectively. The compounds were characterized by MALDI-TOF, NMR, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray structure determination.

Studies on the interaction between benzophenone and bovine serum albumin by spectroscopic methods.

The interaction between benzophenone (BP) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated by the methods of fluorescence spectroscopy combined with UV-Vis absorption and circular dichroism (CD) measurements under simulative physiological conditions. The experiment results showed that the fluorescence quenching of BSA by BP was resulted from the formation of a BP-BSA complex and the corresponding association constants (Ka) between BP and BSA at four different temperatures had been determined using the modified Stern-Volmer equation. The enthalpy change (ΔH) and entropy change (ΔS) were calculated to be -43.

Highly selective fluorescent recognition of pyrophosphate in water by a new chemosensing ensemble.

A new chemosensing ensemble that displays sensitive and selective fluorescent recognition of pyrophosphate in water at pH 7.4 has been developed. The ensemble is constructed by a copper complex (receptor) and eosin Y (indicator), the constructed ensemble is capable of highly selectively discriminate pyrophosphate from other common existing anions such as CH(3)COO(-), HSO(4)(-), NO(3)(-), H(2)PO(4)(-), HPO(4)(2-), PO(4)(3-), NCS(-), I(-), Cl(-), Br(-), F(-) as well as some structurally similar carboxylates such as citrate, tartrate, oxalate, malonate, succinate and glutarate.

Divergence involving global regulatory gene mutations in an Escherichia coli population evolving under phosphate limitation.

Many of the important changes in evolution are regulatory in nature. Sequenced bacterial genomes point to flexibility in regulatory circuits but we do not know how regulation is remodeled in evolving bacteria. Here, we study the regulatory changes that emerge in populations evolving under controlled conditions during experimental evolution of Escherichia coli in a phosphate-limited chemostat culture.

Antigen-specific immunoadsorption of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies from sera of patients with myastenia gravis.

Background: The binding of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies (AChRAb) to the main immunogenic region (MIR) of AChR alpha-subunit in the neuromuscular junction is the major pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis (MG).

Methods: A synthetic peptide of 10 amino acids corresponding to the MIR of human AChR was coupled with cellulose beads to make an antigen-specific immunoadsorbent (hMIR10-CB).

Results: The hMIR10-CB could remove AChRAb in MG sera by 40.

[Effect of siRNA targeting VEGF on cell apoptosis and the expression of survivin in K562 cells.].

Objective: To study the effect of adenovirus vector-mediated siRNA targeting vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) on apoptosis and the expression of survivin in K562 cells.

Methods: K562 cells were infected with recombinant adenovirus Ad5-VEGFsi for 72 hours as experimental group (K562/Ad5-VEGFsi), and empty vector group (K562/Ad5) and blank control group (K562) as controls. VEGF mRNA and survivin mRNA expression were determined by RT-PCR.

[Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) in basic and clinical study].

Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) is a highly conserved group of multifunctional proteins found in a variety of different species. In the same species, it is expressed in numerous tissues and cell types. PEBP plays a pivotal modulatory role in several signal transduction pathways.