Clearance of prions during plasma protein manufacture.

Protein products isolated from human plasma are an important class of therapeutics that are used to treat patients afflicted with hereditary deficiencies, trauma, and severe infections. Because of the human origin of the starting material for the production of these biological products, there is a risk of transmitting infectious agents, including viruses and the infectious agents that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The agent that is thought to cause TSEs is a disease-associated, misfolded form of the prion protein or PrP(Sc).

RNA-binding proteins to assess gene expression states of co-cultivated cells in response to tumor cells.

Background: Tumors and complex tissues consist of mixtures of communicating cells that differ significantly in their gene expression status. In order to understand how different cell types influence one another's gene expression, it will be necessary to monitor the mRNA profiles of each cell type independently and to dissect the mechanisms that regulate their gene expression outcomes.

Results: In order to approach these questions, we have used RNA-binding proteins such as ELAV/Hu, poly (A) binding protein (PABP) and cap-binding protein (eIF-4E) as reporters of gene expression.

Contribution of the MUC1 tandem repeat and cytoplasmic tail to invasive and metastatic properties of a pancreatic cancer cell line.

MUC1 is a polymorphic, highly glycosylated, type I transmembrane protein expressed by ductal epithelial cells of many organs including pancreas, breast, gastrointestinal tract, and airway. MUC1 is overexpressed and differentially glycosylated by adenocarcinomas that arise in these organs, and is believed to contribute to invasive and metastatic potential by contributing to cell surface adhesion properties [via the tandem repeat (TR) domain] and through morphogenetic signal transduction [via the cytoplasmic tail (CT)]. The large extracellular TR of MUC1 consists of a heavily glycosylated, 20 amino acid sequence that shows allelic variation with respect to number of repeats.