[Research advances in mechanism of high phosphorus use efficiency of plants].

Phosphorus deficiency is one of the main factors influencing agricultural and forestry productions. Fertilization and soil improvement are the major measures to meet the demand of phosphorus for crops in traditional agriculture and forestry management. Recently, the plants with high phosphorus use efficiency have been discovered to replace the traditional measures to improve phosphorus use efficiency of crops.

Molecular alterations associated with LNCaP cell progression to androgen independence.

Background: There is no effective therapy currently available for androgen-independent (AI) prostate cancer (CaP). This is largely due to lack of information about the molecular mechanisms by which androgen-dependent tumor cells progress to androgen independence. In this study, we investigated molecular alterations occurring in AI LNCaP cells.

Development of proteomic patterns for detecting lung cancer.

Lung cancer is at present the number one cause of cancer death and no biomarker is available to detect early lung cancer in serum samples so far. The objective of this study is to find specific biomarkers for detection of lung cancer using Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization (SELDI) technology. In this study, serum samples from 30 lung cancer patients and 51 age-and sex-matched healthy were analyzed by SELDI based ProteinChip reader, PBSII-C.

Characterization of the chromosomal binding sites and dimerization partners of the viral oncoprotein Meq in Marek's disease virus-transformed T cells.

Marek's disease virus (MDV) is an acute transforming alphaherpesvirus that causes T-cell lymphomas in chickens. We previously reported the identification of a putative oncogene, meq, that is encoded only by the oncogenic serotype of MDV. The gene product, Meq, is a latent protein that is consistently expressed in MDV-transformed lymphoblastoid cells and tumor cells.

Comparative studies of a new subfamily of human Ste20-like kinases: homodimerization, subcellular localization, and selective activation of MKK3 and p38.

The Sterile-20 or Ste20 family of serine/threonine kinases is a group of signaling molecules whose physiological roles within mammalian cells are just starting to be elucidated. Here, in this report we present the characterization of three human Ste20-like kinases with greater than 90% similarity within their catalytic domains that define a novel subfamily of Ste20s. Members of this kinase family include rat thousand and one (TAO1) and chicken KFC (kinase from chicken).

Characterization of a novel androgen receptor mutation in a relapsed CWR22 prostate cancer xenograft and cell line.

CWR22 has been a valuable xenograft model for the study of prostate cancer progression from an androgen-dependent tumor to one that grows in castrated animals. Herein, we report the identification and characterization of a novel androgen receptor (AR) mutation occurring in a relapsed tumor (CWR22R-2152) and in the CWR22Rv1 cell line established from it. The mutation was not detected in the original, hormone-dependent CWR22 xenograft, indicating that this change occurred during the progression to androgen independence.

Identification of human male germ cell-associated kinase, a kinase transcriptionally activated by androgen in prostate cancer cells.

Androgen is involved in both normal development and malignant transformation of prostate cells. The signal transduction pathways associated with these processes are not well understood. Using a novel kinase display approach, we have identified a protein kinase, human male germ cell-associated kinase (hMAK), which is transcriptionally induced by the androgenic hormone 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Functional analysis of 44 mutant androgen receptors from human prostate cancer.

Mutations of the androgen receptor gene are believed to contribute to the androgen-independent growth of prostate cancer cells. To date, 56 missense mutations of the androgen receptor have been identified in human prostate cancer. The functional status of most of these mutants has not yet been investigated.