Proteomic Analysis of the Human Anterior Pituitary Gland.

The pituitary function is regulated by a complex system involving the hypothalamus and biological networks within the pituitary. Although the hormones secreted from the pituitary have been well studied, comprehensive analyses of the pituitary proteome are limited. Pituitary proteomics is a field of postgenomic research that is crucial to understand human health and pituitary diseases.

Assessment of azadirachtin-A, a neem tetranortritarpinoid, on rat spermatozoa during in vitro capacitation.

Background: The exploration of the biological assessment of technical azadirachtin, a tetranortritarpinoid from the neem seed kernel, was reviewed. The present study was, therefore, designed to evaluate the dose-dependent in vitro effects of azadirachtin-A, particularly on the functional studies and determination of molecular events, which are critical in the process of sperm capacitation.

Methods: To assess the effects of the azadirachtin-A on the functional studies, sperm capacitation, the total sperm adenosine triphosphate levels, acrosome reaction (AR), the sperm-egg interaction and the determination of molecular events like cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate and calcium levels, the appropriate volumes of the sperm suspension were added to the medium to a final concentration of 1×106 sperm/mL and incubated in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air at 37°C.

Liaison between myristoylation and cryptic EF-hand motif confers Ca(2+) sensitivity to neuronal calcium sensor-1.

Many members of the neuronal calcium sensor (NCS) protein family have a striking coexistence of two characteristics, that is, N-myristoylation and the cryptic EF-1 motif. We investigated the rationale behind this correlation in neuronal calcium sensor-1 (NCS-1) by restoring Ca(2+) binding ability of the disabled EF-1 loop by appropriate mutations. The concurrence of canonical EF-1 and N-myristoylation considerably decreased the overall Ca(2+) affinity, conformational flexibility, and functional activation of downstream effecter molecules (i.

Human malaria in C57BL/6J mice: an in vivo model for chemotherapy studies.

The present work deals with the development of Plasmodium falciparum stages in mouse model and its potential for the study of efficacy of antimalarial drugs. C57BL/6J mice were infected with multidrug resistant P. falciparum strain then treated with arteether and artesunate.

Aggregation-prone near-native intermediate formation during unfolding of a structurally similar nonlenticular βγ-crystallin domain.

The folding and unfolding of structurally similar proteins belonging to a family have long been a focus of investigation of the structure-(un)folding relationship. Such studies are yet to reach a consensus about whether structurally similar domains follow common or different unfolding pathways. Members of the βγ-crystallin superfamily, which consists of structurally similar proteins with limited sequence similarity from diverse life forms spanning microbes to mammals, form an appropriate model system for exploring this relationship further.

Monoclonal antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum and their characterization.

An Indian isolate of P. falciparum was propagated in vitro and monoclonal antibodies were raised against this parasite. Of 11 positive hybrids obtained, 3 were cloned and characterized.

Incorporation of radioactive 35SO4(2-) into immunoreactive pituitary lutropin.

The terminal hexosamines of bovine pituitary lutropin are thought to contain a sulfate moiety. In order to test this, a biosynthetic approach was adopted. When rat and buffalo (bovine) pituitaries were incubated with radioactive 35SO4(2-) for 2 h in vitro it was observed that radioactivity test incorporated into trichloroacetic acid-precipitable proteins.