Subchoroidal Release of VEGF and bFGF Produces Choroidal Neovascularization in Rabbit.

Purpose: Intravitreal vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) produced florid retinal neovascularization and hemorrhage in the rabbit. This study seeks to determine whether sustained subchoroidal release of both VEGF and bFGF can induce robust choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in the rabbit.

Methods: Subchoroidal implantation through the sclera of polymeric pellets containing both 15 μg VEGF and 15 μg bFGF was performed on adult pigmented male Dutch belted rabbits (N = 6) and NZW albinos (N = 8).

Development of potential anticancer agents that target the telomere sequence.

The immortality of cancer cells is due to the relatively high concentration of telomerase enzyme that maintains the telomere sequence during cell division. Human telomeric DNA consists of repeats of the sequence d(5'-TTAGGG-3'). Deoxyribonucleic guanidine (DNG) is a DNA analog in which positively charged guanidine [-NH-C(NH2+)-NH-] replaces the negatively charged phosphodiester of DNA.

Envisioning the loop movements and rotation of the two subdomains of dihydrofolate reductase by elastic normal mode analysis.

Normal mode analysis, using the elastic network model, has been employed to envision the low frequency normal mode motion trends in the structures of five intermediates and a transition state in the kinetic pathway of E. coli dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). Five of the reaction pathway analog structures and a crystal structure resembling the transition state, using X-ray analyses determined by Kraut et al.

Binding properties of positively charged deoxynucleic guanidine (DNG), AgTgAgTgAgT and DNG/DNA chimeras to DNA.

The melting properties of hexameric oligonucleotide AgTgAgTgAgT, in which the phosphodiester linkages of the DNA have been replaced by guanidium linkages, have been evaluated. Using the juvenile esterase gene as a target, the binding of a 20-mer DNG/DNA chimera that includes AgTgAgTgAgT is more than 10(5.7) stronger than the binding of 20-mer composed solely of DNA.