Effects of dexpramipexole on brain mitochondrial conductances and cellular bioenergetic efficiency.

Cellular stress or injury can result in mitochondrial dysfunction, which has been linked to many chronic neurological disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Stressed and dysfunctional mitochondria exhibit an increase in large conductance mitochondrial membrane currents and a decrease in bioenergetic efficiency. Inefficient energy production puts cells, and particularly neurons, at risk of death when energy demands exceed cellular energy production.

A new transgene reporter for in vivo magnetic resonance imaging.

We report a new platform technology for visualizing transgene expression in living subjects using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Using a vector, we introduced an MRI reporter, a metalloprotein from the ferritin family, into specific host tissues. The reporter is made superparamagnetic as the cell sequesters endogenous iron from the organism.

Multiple corticosteroid receptors in a teleost fish: distinct sequences, expression patterns, and transcriptional activities.

Corticosteroid hormones, including the mineralocorticoids and the glucocorticoids, regulate diverse physiological functions in vertebrates. These hormones act through two classes of corticosteroid receptors (CR) that are ligand-dependent transcription factors: type I or mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and type II or glucocorticoid receptor (GR). There is substantial overlap in the binding of these two receptor types to hormones and to DNA.