Publications by authors named "Verena Chankiewitz"

ATOH8 is a bHLH transcription factor playing roles in a variety of developmental processes such as neurogenesis, differentiation of pancreatic precursor cells, development of kidney and muscle, and differentiation of endothelial cells. PPP3CB belongs to the catalytic subunit of the serine/threonine phosphatase, calcineurin, which can dephosphorylate its substrate proteins to regulate their physiological activities. In our study, we demonstrated that ATOH8 interacts with PPP3CB in vitro with different approaches.

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Purpose: Corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) with ultraviolet-A energy plus riboflavin has become a ubiquitous treatment in early keratoconus, although its long-term safety is unknown. We describe severe sequelae in a CXL-treated patient after he underwent a standard deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty procedure.

Methods: In April 2009, a healthy 49-year-old male patient (R.

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Beta-thymosins constitute a group of small actin-sequestering peptides. These highly conserved peptides are involved in cytoskeleton dynamics and can influence different cell properties such as motility, substrate adhesion, shape and chemotaxis. As a marker for tumour metastasis, the mammalian thymosin beta15 is believed to have an important diagnostic relevance in cancer prognosis, although little is known about its physiological function.

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Purpose: The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) is typically expressed in sodium-absorbing epithelia. Several reports suggest that ENaC is also expressed in ocular tissues and may play a role in aqueous humor secretion and glaucoma. However, the precise localization of ENaC in the human eye is still unclear.

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Article Synopsis
  • - ATOH8 is a transcription factor important for developing systems like the nervous system and muscles, and its genetic analysis across 18 vertebrates and 24 invertebrates showed significant evolutionary changes in its sequence and structure over time.
  • - The study found that the bHLH domain of vertebrate ATOH8 is highly conserved, with mammals showing unique features such as specific amino acids and a potential isoform not present in non-mammals.
  • - Regulatory element analysis revealed a shift from TATA boxes to CpG islands in mammals, and human ATOH8's specific chromosomal location suggests its expression is controlled at a higher level, leading to differences in how ATOH8 functions across species and tissues.
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