Surgical correction of the "small" postpartum ptotic breast.

Background: In our experience, most women seeking correction of the "small" ptotic breast have a history of previous pregnancies and breastfeeding.

Objective: We propose a classification of postpartum ptosis into 4 groups and describe the appropriate surgical treatment for each category of ptosis.

Methods: We defined categories of ptosis on the basis of the remnant mammary gland, skin condition, position of the nipple-areolar complex (NAC), and distance from the NAC to the inframammary fold (IMF).

Comparative analysis of the plant mRNA-destabilizing element, DST, in mammalian and tobacco cells.

The labile SAUR transcripts from higher plants contain a conserved DST sequence in their 3'-untranslated regions. Two copies of a DST sequence from soybean are sufficient to destabilize reporter transcripts in cultured tobacco cells whereas variants bearing mutations in the conserved ATAGAT or GTA regions are inactive. To investigate the potential for conserved recognition components in mammalian and plant cells, we examined the function of this instability determinant in mouse NIH3T3 fibroblasts and tobacco BY2 cells.

Antibodies against the COOH-terminal region of E. coli ClpP protease in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

Background/aims: The presence of antibodies in sera from patients with autoimmune diseases is an important tool for diagnosis and for providing insights into the mechanisms leading to autoimmunity. The aim of this study was to characterize new reactive antigens in liver autoimmune diseases.

Methods: Sera of patients with liver-related autoimmune (n=74) and non-liver-related autoimmune (n= 211) diseases, non-autoimmune liver diseases (n=18) and healthy controls (n=160) were evaluated for antibodies against E.

Tumor suppressor p53 is required to modulate BRCA1 expression.

Individuals carrying mutations in BRCA1 or p53 genes are predisposed to a variety of cancers, and both tumor suppressor genes have been implicated in DNA damage response pathways. We have analyzed a possible functional link between p53 and BRCA1 genes. Here we show that BRCA1 expression levels are down-regulated in response to p53 induction in cells that undergo either growth arrest, senescence, or apoptosis.

Proteolytic processing and assembly of the C5 subunit into the proteasome complex.

Assembly of mammalian 20 S proteasomes from individual subunits is beginning to be investigated. Proteasomes are made of four heptameric rings in the configuration alpha7beta7beta7alpha7. By using anti-proteasome and anti-subunit-specific antibodies, we characterized the processing and assembly of the beta subunit C5.