An N-terminal fragment of mouse DGAT1 binds different acyl-CoAs with varying affinity.

A histidine-tagged recombinant N-terminal fragment of type-1 mouse liver diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT; EC 2.3.1.

Reduced EDHF responses and connexin activity in mesenteric arteries from the insulin-resistant obese Zucker rat.

Aims/hypothesis: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of insulin resistance on endothelium-derived hyperpolarising factor (EDHF) and small mesenteric artery endothelial function using 25-week-old insulin-resistant obese Zucker rats (OZRs) and lean littermate control rats (LZRs). The involvement of gap junctions and their connexin subunits in the EDHF relaxation response was also assessed.

Methods: Mesenteric arteries were evaluated using the following assays: (1) endothelial function by pressure myography, with internal diameter recorded using video microscopy; (2) connexin protein levels by western blotting; and (3) Cx mRNA expression by real-time PCR.

Homologous regulation of estrogen receptor subtypes in goldfish (Carassius auratus).

While considerable information is available on the physiological effects of estrogen, much less is known about the regulation of estrogen receptor (ER) subtypes, particularly in non-mammalian vertebrates. Using goldfish as primary experimental model, we investigated sex- and tissue-specific homologous regulation of ER subtypes (ERalpha, ERbetaI, and ERbetaII) by estradiol in vivo, in the liver and gonads. Treatment with estradiol, significantly upregulated transcript levels for all three types of ERs (ERalpha, ERbetaI, and ERbetaII) in the goldfish ovary and testis.

Calcium-activated potassium channel and connexin expression in small mesenteric arteries from eNOS-deficient (eNOS-/-) and eNOS-expressing (eNOS+/+) mice.

Endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF), notably in the microcirculation, plays an important role in the regulation of vascular tone. The cellular events that mediate EDHF are critically dependent, in a vessel dependent manner, on small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (SK) and intermediate conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (IK) as well as the presence of the gap junction connexins 37, 40, and 43. We hypothesized that the expression levels of SK, IK, as well as vascular connexins, notably 37, 40 and 43 but, potentially, connexin 45, would show correlation with the contribution of EDHF to acetylcholine-mediated vasodilatation as well as, in the absence of endothelial-derived NO, higher expression levels in eNOS(-/-) mice.

Identification of a novel interaction between the Ca(2+)-binding protein S100A11 and the Ca(2+)- and phospholipid-binding protein annexin A6.

S100A11 is a member of the S100 family of EF-hand Ca(2+)-binding proteins, which is expressed in smooth muscle and other tissues. Ca(2+) binding to S100A11 induces a conformational change that exposes a hydrophobic surface for interaction with target proteins. Affinity chromatography with immobilized S100A11 was used to isolate a 70-kDa protein from smooth muscle that bound to S100A11 in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner and was identified by mass spectrometry as annexin A6.