Siglec-9 is an inhibitory receptor on human mast cells in vitro.

Background: Mast cell activation is critical for the development of allergic diseases. Ligation of sialic acid-binding immunoglobin-like lectins (Siglecs), such as Siglec-6, -7, and -8 as well as CD33, have been shown to inhibit mast cell activation. Recent studies showed that human mast cells express Siglec-9, an inhibitory receptor also expressed by neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells.

Mast cell surfaceome characterization reveals CD98 heavy chain is critical for optimal cell function.

Background: Mast cells are involved in many distinct pathologic conditions, suggesting that they recognize and respond to various stimuli and thus require a rich repertoire of cell surface proteins. However, mast cell surface proteomes have not been comprehensively characterized.

Objective: We aimed to further characterize the mast cell surface proteome to obtain a better understanding of how mast cells function in health and disease.

Cell-Free Analysis of Mitochondrial Fusion by Fluorescence Microscopy.

Dynamin-related proteins on both the mitochondrial outer and inner membranes mediate membrane fusion. Mitochondrial fusion is regulated in many different physiological contexts including cell cycle progression, differentiation pathways, stress responses, and cell death. Mitochondrial fusion is opposed by mitochondrial division and requires movement of mitochondria on microtubules.

Defective nucleotide-dependent assembly and membrane fusion in Mfn2 CMT2A variants improved by Bax.

Mitofusins are members of the dynamin-related protein family of large GTPases that harness the energy from nucleotide hydrolysis to remodel membranes. Mitofusins possess four structural domains, including a GTPase domain, two extended helical bundles (HB1 and HB2), and a transmembrane region. We have characterized four Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2A-associated variants with amino acid substitutions in Mfn2 that are proximal to the hinge that connects HB1 and HB2.

Development and characterization of a novel rat model of estrogen-induced mammary cancer.

The ACI rat model of 17β-estradiol (E2)-induced mammary cancer is highly relevant for use in establishing the endocrine, genetic, and environmental bases of breast cancer etiology and identifying novel agents and strategies for preventing breast cancer. E2 treatment rapidly induces mammary cancer in female ACI rats and simultaneously induces pituitary lactotroph hyperplasia and adenoma. The pituitary tumors can result in undesired morbidity, which compromises long-term studies focused on mammary cancer etiology and prevention.

Genetic etiology of renal agenesis: fine mapping of Renag1 and identification of Kit as the candidate functional gene.

Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urogenital tract (CAKUT) occur in approximately 0.5% of live births and represent the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease in neonates and children. The genetic basis of CAKUT is not well defined.

Validation of six genetic determinants of susceptibility to estrogen-induced mammary cancer in the rat and assessment of their relevance to breast cancer risk in humans.

When treated with 17β-estradiol, female ACI rats (Rattus norvegicus) rapidly develop mammary cancers that share multiple phenotypes with luminal breast cancers. Seven distinct quantitative trait loci that harbor genetic determinants of susceptibility to 17β-estradiol-induced mammary cancer have been mapped in reciprocal intercrosses between susceptible ACI rats and resistant Brown Norway (BN) rats. A panel of unique congenic rat strains has now been generated and characterized to confirm the existence of these quantitative trait loci, designated Emca3 through Emca9, and to quantify their individual effects on susceptibility to 17β-estradiol-induced mammary cancer.

Ept7 influences estrogen action in the pituitary gland and body weight of rats.

Estrogens control many aspects of pituitary gland biology, including regulation of lactotroph homeostasis and synthesis and secretion of prolactin. In rat models, these actions are strain specific and heritable, and multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been mapped that impact the responsiveness of the lactotroph to estrogens. One such QTL, Ept7, was mapped to RNO7 in female progeny generated in an intercross between BN rats, in which the lactotroph population is insensitive to estrogens, and ACI rats, which develop lactotroph hyperplasia/adenoma and associated hyperprolactinemia in response to estrogen treatment.