Culture of porcine fetal pancreatic neurons.

Objectives: Pancreatic neurons have not been cultured commonly. Cultured neurons can be continuously observed, and their external environment is easy to be controlled. We report here a simple method for separating and cultivating neuronal cells from pancreas.

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2) knockdown mice show deficits in long-term memory; ERK2 has a specific function in learning and memory.

The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1 and 2 are important signaling components implicated in learning and memory. These isoforms display a high degree of sequence homology and share a similar substrate profile. However, recent findings suggest that these isoforms may have distinct roles: whereas ERK1 seems to be not so important for associative learning, ERK2 might be critically involved in learning and memory.

A highly hydrophobic domain within hypervariable region 1 may be related to the entry of hepatitis C virus into cultured human hepatoma cells.

Interaction of the envelope glycoprotein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) with a cellular receptor(s) is thought to be essential for the initial steps of HCV infection. However, the mechanisms of HCV infection remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to determine the features of HCV that enable efficient entry of the virus into human hepatocytes.

Enhancement of chicken resistance against Escherichia coli infection by oral administration of Bifidobacterium thermophilum preparations.

Three types of Bifidobacterium thermophilum extract were prepared and fed to 2-wk-old chickens to evaluate their usefulness in enhancing the defense activity of the chickens against pathogenic Escherichia coli. All three preparations resulted in significant reduction (P < 0.05) of E.