Molecular cloning, expression, bioinformatics analysis, and bioactivity of TNFSF13 (APRIL) in the South African clawed frog (Xenopus laevi): a new model to study immunological diseases.

TNFSF13 is one of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily members that plays important roles in immune homeostasis and proliferation or apoptosis of certain tumor cell lines. This report describes the development of Xenopus laevis TNFSF13 as a model to study its important role in relation to immunological diseases. In brief, TNFSF13 from Xenopus laevis (designated XlTNFSF13) was first amplified by RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE) techniques.

EGF-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes for targeting delivery of etoposide.

To enhance the therapeutic potential of etoposide (ETO), we devised a targeted drug delivery system (TDDS) of epidermal growth factor-chitosan-carboxyl single-walled carbon nanotubes-ETO (EGF/CHI/SWNT-COOHs/ETO) using modified SWNTs (m-SWNTs) as the carrier, EGF-functionalized SWNTs (f-SWNTs) as the targeted moiety and ETO as the drug. After SWNT-COOHs were conjugated with CHI (CHI/SWNT-COOHs/ETO), they displayed high solubility and stable dispersion in aqueous solution. The drug loading capacity was approximately 25-27%.

High efficient expression of bioactive human BMP-14 in E. coli using SUMO fusion partner.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are cytokines from the TGF-β superfamily, with important roles during embryonic development and in the induction of bone and cartilage tissue differentiation in the adult body. In this contribution, We report here the application of small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) fusion technology to the expression and purification of human BMP-14. The fusion protein expressed in a soluble form was purified to a purity of 90% by Ni-IDA chromatography.

[Histone modification and its application in therapy for hematologic malignancies -- review].

Histone modification is an important mechanism in oncogenesis and development of hematologic malignancies. Acetylation of lysine residues on histones and opening chromatin are correlated with activation of genes, whereas lysine residues methylation can result in either activation or repression on expressions of chromatin. The main point of all is deacetylation of histone mediated by histone deacetylases (HDACs).

Efficient inhibition of human telomerase activity by antisense oligonucleotides sensitizes cancer cells to radiotherapy.

Aim: To investigate the effect of the antisense oligonucleotides (ASODN) specific for human telomerase RNA (hTR) on radio sensitization and proliferation inhibition in human neurogliocytoma cells (U251).

Methods: U251 cells were transfected with hTR ASODN or nonspecific oligonucleotides (NSODN). Before and after irradiation of (60)Co- gamma ray, telomerase activity was assayed by telomeric repeat amplification protocol ( TRAP-PCR-ELISA), and DNA damage and repair were examined by the comet assay.

Apoptosis induced by short hairpin RNA-mediated STAT6 gene silencing in human colon cancer cells.

Background: The relationship between signal transduction and tumors has become one of the foci in cancer research. Signal transducer and activator of the transcription 6 (STAT6) signaling pathway is found to be activated in some cancer cells. But the function of the pathway in cancer cells is unknown.

[Identification and marker-assisted selection of two major quantitative genes controlling rice sheath blight resistance in backcross generations].

We constructed an F2 clonal population of intercross,Teqing/Lemont, and identified two quantitative trait loci (QTLs) contributing to rice sheath blight resistance on chromosome 9 and 11. The two QTLs were qSB-9 and qSB-11, respectively. From the population, three clonal lines were selected by markers' band types on both sides of these two QTLs, qSB-9 and qSB-11.