Bioactives from Artemisia dracunculus L. enhance insulin sensitivity via modulation of skeletal muscle protein phosphorylation.

Objectives: A botanical extract from Artemisia dracunculus L., termed PMI 5011, has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity by increasing cellular insulin signaling in in vitro and in vivo studies. These studies suggest that PMI 5011 effects changes in phosphorylation levels of proteins involved in insulin signaling.

Analysis of magnetic gradients to study gravitropism.

Premise Of The Study: Gravitropism typically is generated by dense particles that respond to gravity. Experimental stimulation by high-gradient magnetic fields provides a new approach to selectively manipulate the gravisensing system.

Methods: The movement of corn, wheat, and potato starch grains in suspension was examined with videomicroscopy during parabolic flights that generated 20 to 25 s of weightlessness.

Proteomic analysis reveals cellular pathways regulating carbohydrate metabolism that are modulated in primary human skeletal muscle culture due to treatment with bioactives from Artemisia dracunculus L.

Insulin resistance is a major pathophysiologic abnormality that characterizes metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. A well characterized ethanolic extract of Artemisia dracunculus L., termed PMI 5011, has been shown to improve insulin action in vitro and in vivo, but the cellular mechanisms remain elusive.

Gel-based and gel-free proteomic technologies.

Proteomics refers to the analysis of expression, localization, functions, posttranslational modifications, and interactions of proteins expressed by a genome at a specific condition and at a specific time. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic methods have emerged as a key technology for unbiased systematic and high-throughput identification and quantification of complex protein mixtures. These methods have the potential to reveal unknown and novel changes in protein interactions and assemblies that regulate cellular and physiological processes.

Solid phase gene extraction isolates mRNA at high spatial and temporal resolution.

Rapid, localized changes in gene expression require mRNA extraction at high temporal and spatial resolution. Current small-scale mRNA extractions depend on the removal of the cells/tissue from an organism or preserved specimens. What these methods have in common is that they are destructive and do not distinguish between genomic DNA and RNA.

Auxin and cytoskeletal organization in algae.

Hormones affect growth and alter the cytoskeleton suggesting that hormones and the cytoskeleton interact with each other. The cytoskeleton of ancestral algae such as Chara showed similar sensitivity to auxin as higher plants, even in generative structures but the sensitivity differed between IAA and alpha-NAA and presumably other auxins. The ability of cells to elongate depends on microtubule organization during the transition from disorganized to perpendicular to longitudinal organization of the cytoskeleton.

Anisotropic viscosity of the Chara (Characeae) rhizoid cytoplasm.

To characterize cellular fluidity and mechanical processes, we determined the viscous properties of the cytoplasm of Chara contraria rhizoids in vivo by injecting and displacing superparamagnetic particles. After injection and a 24-h recovery period, the particles were moved to different positions within the rhizoid by an external magnet. The system was calibrated with solutions of known viscosities.