Background: Impairment of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in common autoimmune diseases seems likely. However, the extent of Treg deficiency (number, function) or differential susceptibility of T effector cells (Teffs) to suppression is not completely understood. We hypothesize that even in healthy individuals both cell populations are heterogeneous and differ in their suppressive capability and their susceptibility to suppression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder directed against self antigens of the central nervous system. CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) regulatory T cell (T(reg)) mediated suppression is an essential mechanism of self-tolerance. We studied whether changes in the suppressive function of a mixture of CD25(high) and CD25(intemediate) expressing T(reg) cells in myelin basic protein (MBP)-induced proliferation occurred in untreated MS patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRed cell membrane proteins are sequentially expressed during erythroid development and differentiation. Spectrins have already been synthesized in early erythroid precursors such as pronormoblasts, and band 3 (B3) appears at nearly the same stage. Protein 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe methylation state of 5'-CG-3' sites is known to be linked to the regulation of promoter function by modulating DNA-protein interactions and to the structure of chromatin. As part of a project to determine methylation patterns in the human genome, we examined the methylation profiles of several genes for human erythroid membrane proteins: ELB42 (protein 4.2), EPB3 (band 3), SPTB gene (beta-spectrin), and ANK1 (ankyrin).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe human nuclear 5'-(CGG)(n)-3'-binding protein (CGGBP1) influences the expression of the fragile X mental retardation (FMR1) gene by specifically interacting with the 5'-(CGG)(n>5)-3' repeat in its 5' untranslated region. Here, we show that CGGBP1 binds to 5'-(CGG)(n)-3' repeats with n>or=5 and to interrupted repeats. The genomic and mRNA organization of the human and murine CGGBP1 genes was studied and the human gene was mapped to chromosome 3p.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe intramuscular (i.m.) injection of human adenovirus type 12 (Ad12) into newborn Syrian hamsters caused widespread dissemination of up to 15 tumors over the entire peritoneal cavity in 70-90% of the animals within 30-50 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn an effort to identify psoriasis-associated genes, we compared gene expression in normal and psoriatic skin, using differential display RT-PCR technique. Sequence analysis of a 650-bp cDNA fragment (clone 110) that was highly up-regulated in lesional skin revealed homology to a noncoding cDNA (NICE-2). By subsequent cDNA cloning, using RNA from psoriatic skin, we have identified two alternatively spliced mRNA-isoforms (0.
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