Developing transgenic Arabidopsis plants to be metal-specific bioindicators.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) microarrays provide a means to assess genome-wide expression patterns after exposure of an organism to different xenobiotics. Potential uses for this technology include identification of unknown toxicants, assessment of toxicity of new compounds, and characterization of the cellular mechanisms of toxicant action. Here we describe another use of DNA microarrays in toxicant-specific gene discovery.

Antidepressant effects on kinase gene expression patterns in rat brain.

Multiple kinase pathways determine serotonin transporter (SERT) regulation. We hypothesized a decrease in kinase expression with chronic selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) administration necessary to regulate extracellular serotonin. We studied whole brain kinase mRNA expression on Affymetrix gene chips in rats treated with placebo 3 and 21 days, fluoxetine 3 and 21 days, and citalopram 21 days.

The small heat shock-related protein, HSP20, is phosphorylated on serine 16 during cyclic nucleotide-dependent relaxation.

The small heat shock-related protein 20 (HSP20) is present in four isoforms in bovine carotid artery smooth muscles. Three of the isoforms are phosphorylated and one is not. Increases in the phosphorylation of two isoforms of HSP20 (isoform 3, pI 5.

Effect of alpha-thalassemia and beta-globin gene cluster haplotypes on the hematological and clinical features of sickle-cell anemia in Brazil.

To compare the features of sickle-cell anemia in Brazil with those in other locales, we studied the effects of the beta-globin-like gene cluster haplotype and alpha-thalassemia upon the clinical and hematological features in 85 patients. The distribution of haplotypes differed from that in the United States and Jamaica. The Central African Republic (CAR) haplotype predominated; 34% of patients were CAR haplotype homozygotes, 45% CAR/Benin homozygotes, and 11% Benin homozygotes.

Molecular identification of hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin type 2 (HPFH type 2) in patients from Brazil.

The HPFH deletion type 2 was first described in a patient from Ghana and is characterized by a large deletion of approximately 105 kb extension. We report here the results obtained in studying a black Brazilian patient who presented an association of beta-thalassemia and HPFH type 2, using a PCR strategy for detection of the breakpoint region. This procedure allows a rapid molecular identification of this condition and is a reliable procedure for screening patients with a hematological picture of HPFH deletion types.