Anti-obesity and anti-tumor pro-apoptotic peptides are sufficient to cause release of cytochrome c from vesicles.

Peptides that target tissue for an apoptotic death have potential as therapeutics in a variety of disease conditions. The class of peptides described herein enters the cell through a specific receptor-mediated interaction. Once inside the cell, the peptide migrates toward the mitochondria, where the membrane barrier is disrupted.

Secretory antibody formation: conserved binding interactions between J chain and polymeric Ig receptor from humans and amphibians.

Abs of the secretory Ig (SIg) system reinforce numerous innate defense mechanisms to protect the mucosal surfaces against microbial penetration. SIgs are generated by a unique cooperation between two distinct cell types: plasma cells that produce polymers of IgA or IgM (collectively called pIgs) and polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR)-expressing secretory epithelial cells that mediate export of the pIgs to the lumen. Apical delivery of SIgs occurs by cleavage of the pIgR to release its extracellular part as a pIg-bound secretory component, whereas free secretory components are derived from an unoccupied receptor.

T cells and the thymus in developing zebrafish.

The expression of genes encoding T cell receptor (TCR) alpha was used to follow the development of the thymus and to analyze the distribution of T cells in zebrafish. In the thymus, expression was first detected, by in situ hybridization, at four days post fertilization. In RNA extracted from whole fish, TCRalpha transcripts were also detected at four days and reached adult levels at three weeks.

J chain in the nurse shark: implications for function in a lower vertebrate.

J chain is a small polypeptide covalently attached to polymeric IgA and IgM. In humans and mice, it plays a role in binding Ig to the polymeric Ig receptor for transport into secretions. The putative orthologue of mammalian J chain has been identified in the nurse shark by sequence analysis of cDNA and the polypeptide isolated from IgM.