A SOCS-1 promoter variant is associated with total serum IgE levels.

SOCS-1 is a critical regulator of multiple signaling pathways, including those activated by cytokines that regulate Ig H chain class switching to IgE. Analysis of mice with mutations in the SOCS-1 gene demonstrated that IgE levels increase with loss of SOCS-1 alleles. This suggested that overall SOCS-1 acts as an inhibitor of IgE expression in vivo.

Elevated oxidative membrane damage associated with genetic modifiers of Lyst-mutant phenotypes.

LYST is a large cytosolic protein that influences the biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles, and mutation of the encoding gene, LYST, can cause Chediak-Higashi syndrome. Recently, Lyst-mutant mice were recognized to also exhibit an iris disease resembling exfoliation syndrome, a common cause of glaucoma in humans. Here, Lyst-mutant iris phenotypes were used in a search for genes that influence Lyst pathways.

Ddb2 is a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor and controls spontaneous germ cell apoptosis.

Damage-specific DNA-binding (DDB) protein heterodimer has been extensively studied in the context of nucleotide excision repair. However, the smaller subunit, DDB2, is also implicated in tumor suppressor p53-mediated processes, although the precise details of the DDB2 - p53 interactions are unknown. Here, we report that Ddb2(-/-) and Ddb2(+/-) mice have shortened lifespans and increased frequency and spectrum of spontaneous tumors.

Mesophilic aerobic degradation of a metal lubricant by a biological consortium.

The metal-forming industries require the use of greases to lubricate metal surfaces during manufacturing operations, and the residues of these lubricants must be removed prior to finishing processes to protect and improve the appearance of the final product. An aqueous, biological metal-cleaning process operating under mild conditions (pH 9, 42 degrees C) eliminates the use of environmentally unfriendly cleaning materials such as chlorinated solvents by employing microorganisms to degrade greases and oils naturally. This process was characterized in terms of initial degradation rates of a representative metal lubricant and by phylogenetic identification of the active bacteria.

Directed evolution of toluene ortho-monooxygenase for enhanced 1-naphthol synthesis and chlorinated ethene degradation.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is the most frequently detected groundwater contaminant, and 1-naphthol is an important chemical manufacturing intermediate. Directed evolution was used to increase the activity of toluene ortho-monooxygenase (TOM) of Burkholderia cepacia G4 for both chlorinated ethenes and naphthalene oxidation. When expressed in Escherichia coli, the variant TOM-Green degraded TCE (2.