Toll-like receptor 4 is essential to preserving cardiac function and survival in low-grade polymicrobial sepsis.

Background: Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), the receptor for endotoxin, mediates hyperinflammatory response and contributes to high mortality during both endotoxin shock and severe sepsis. However, little is known about the role of TLR4 in the pathogenesis of low-grade polymicrobial sepsis, which is often associated with immunosuppression.

Methods: Low-grade polymicrobial sepsis was generated by cecum ligation and puncture.

Estrogen effects on vascular inflammation are age dependent: role of estrogen receptors.

Objective: 17β-Estradiol (E2) offers cardiovascular protection in young female animals and postmenopausal women. In contrast, randomized trials of menopausal hormones performed in older women have shown harm or no cardiovascular benefit. We hypothesize that E2 effects on vascular inflammation are age dependent.

Targeted delivery of pulmonary arterial endothelial cells overexpressing interleukin-8 receptors attenuates monocrotaline-induced pulmonary vascular remodeling.

Objective: Interleukin-8 (IL-8) receptors IL8RA and IL8RB (IL8RA/B) on neutrophil membranes bind to IL-8 with high affinity and play a critical role in neutrophil recruitment to sites of injury and inflammation. This study tested the hypothesis that administration of rat pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (ECs) overexpressing IL8RA/B can accelerate the adhesion of ECs to the injured lung and inhibit monocrotaline-induced pulmonary inflammation, arterial thickening and hypertension, and right ventricular hypertrophy.

Approach And Results: The treatment groups included 10-week-old ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rats that received subcutaneous injection of PBS (vehicle), a single injection of monocrotaline (monocrotaline alone, 60 mg/kg, SC), monocrotaline followed by intravenous transfusion of ECs transduced with the empty adenoviral vector (null-EC), and monocrotaline followed by intravenous transfusion of ECs overexpressing IL8RA/B (1.

Leaves and fruits of Bauhinia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, Cercideae) from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China and their biogeographic implications.

Background: The pantropical genus Bauhinia, along with the northern temperate Cercis and several tropical genera, bear bilobate, bifoliolate, or sometimes unifoliolate leaves, which constitute the tribe Cercideae as sister to the rest of the family Leguminosae based on molecular phylogenetics. Hence, the fossil record of Cercideae is pivotal to understand the early evolution and biogeographic history of legumes.

Results: Three fossil species of Bauhinia were described from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China.

Posttranslational Modification of Maize Chloroplast Pyruvate Orthophosphate Dikinase Reveals the Precise Regulatory Mechanism of Its Enzymatic Activity.

In C plants, pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK) activity is tightly dark/light regulated by reversible phosphorylation of an active-site threonine (Thr) residue; this process is catalyzed by PPDK regulatory protein (PDRP). Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of PPDK lead to its inactivation and activation, respectively. Here, we show that light intensity rather than the light/dark transition regulates PPDK activity by modulating the reversible phosphorylation at Thr-527 (previously termed Thr-456) of PPDK in maize (Zea mays).

CT angiography findings in carotid blowout syndrome and its role as a predictor of 1-year survival.

Background And Purpose: Carotid blowout is a serious late complication of prior treatment of advanced head and neck cancer. We evaluate the efficacy of CTA in the diagnosis of impending carotid blowout syndrome in patients with head and neck cancer, and its capability to predict clinical outcome.

Materials And Methods: The clinical data of 29 patients with impending carotid blowout who underwent CTA were collected and analyzed.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibits adipocyte differentiation and mediates TNFα action in obesity.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is a negative regulator of systemic glucose and insulin homeostasis; however, its exact role in adipocytes is poorly understood. This study was to elucidate the role of PTP1B in adipocyte differentiation and its implication in obesity. During differentiation of 3T3-L1 white preadipocytes, PTP1B decreased progressively with adipocyte maturation.

Morphology and phase control of fluorides nanocrystals activated by lanthanides with two-model luminescence properties.

The morphology, size and phase control of luminescent fluoride nanocrystals through doping has become a new research hotspot due to their improved properties. In this work, Yb(3+) ions, as one of the most efficient sensitizers for various lanthanide activators, were doped in NaGd(Y)F(4) nanocrystals. The results show that no obvious influence was observed for Yb(3+)-doped NaYF(4) nanocrystals, while the influence of Yb(3+) doping on NaGdF(4) nanocrystals was remarkable.

Synthesis of brushite particles in reverse microemulsions of the biosurfactant surfactin.

In this study the "green chemistry" use of the biosurfactant surfactin for the synthesis of calcium phosphate using the reverse microemulsion technique was demonstrated. Calcium phosphates are bioactive materials that are a major constituent of human teeth and bone tissue. A reverse microemulsion technique with surfactin was used to produce nanocrystalline brushite particles.

Foam properties and detergent abilities of the saponins from Camellia oleifera.

The defatted seed meal of Camellia oleifera has been used as a natural detergent and its extract is commercially utilized as a foam-stabilizing and emulsifying agent. The goal of this study was to investigate the foam properties and detergent ability of the saponins from the defatted seed meal of C. oleifera.

Directional differentiation of chicken spermatogonial stem cells in vitro.

Background: Mammalian spermatogonial stem cells (SSC) are able to differentiate into different cell types in vitro, which are valuable sources for regenerative medicine and gene transfer studies. We investigated the differentiation potential of chicken SSC into osteoblasts, neuron-like cells and adipocytes in vitro.

Methods: Chicken SSC from the testes of 18- and 20-day-old chicken embryos were cultured in different induction media for three passages in vitro.

Constitutive expression of Thermobifida fusca thermostable Acetylxylan Esterase gene in Pichia pastoris.

A gene encoding the thermostable acetylxylan esterase (AXE) in Thermobifida fusca NTU22 was amplified by PCR, sequenced and cloned into the Pichia pastoris X-33 host strain using the vector pGAPZαA, allowing constitutive expression and secretion of the protein. Recombinant expression resulted in high levels of extracellular AXE production, as high as 526 U/mL in the Hinton flask culture broth. The purified enzyme showed a single band at about 28 kDa by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after being treated with endo-β-N-acetylglycosaminidase H; this agrees with the predicted size based on the nucleotide sequence.

A novel HLA-B allele, B*5214, detected in a Taiwanese volunteer bone marrow donor using a sequence-based typing method.

HLA-B*5214, a novel rare allele of HLA-B*52 variant, was found in a Taiwanese volunteer bone marrow donor by sequence-based typing method. The sequence of B*5214 is identical to that of B*520101 in exon 2 but differs from B*520101 in exon 3 at nucleotide positions 419 A-->T and 435 A-->G. Alteration of these two nucleotides resulted an amino acid substitution at amino acid residue 116 Y-->F ( TAC-->TTC) and a silent exchange at residue 121 K-->K (AAA-->AAG).

TRF2 functions as a protein hub and regulates telomere maintenance by recognizing specific peptide motifs.

In mammalian cells, the telomeric repeat binding factor (TRF) homology (TRFH) domain-containing telomeric proteins TRF1 and TRF2 associate with a collection of molecules necessary for telomere maintenance and cell-cycle progression. However, the specificity and the mechanisms by which TRF2 communicates with different signaling pathways remain largely unknown. Using oriented peptide libraries, we demonstrate that the TRFH domain of human TRF2 recognizes [Y/F]XL peptides with the consensus motif YYHKYRLSPL.

CSF-1 receptor structure/function in MacCsf1r-/- macrophages: regulation of proliferation, differentiation, and morphology.

CSF-1 is the major regulator of tissue macrophage development and function. A GM-CSF-dependent, CSF-1 receptor (CSF-1R)-deficient F4/80(hi)Mac-1(+)Gr1(-)CD11c(+) bone marrow macrophage (BMM) line (MacCsf1r-/-) was developed to study the roles of the eight intracellular CSF-1R tyrosines phosphorylated upon receptor activation. Retroviral expression of the wild-type CSF-1R rescued the CSF-1-induced survival, proliferation, differentiation, and morphological characteristics of primary BMM.

The effects of first- and second-order gable bends on forces and moments generated by triangular loops.

Introduction: Triangular loops are frequently used for space closure. Studies of this loop have focused on dimensional and in-plane (second-order) gable-bend influences on the generated forces and moments, but there have been no investigations into the effects of out-of-plane (first-order) gable bends. Both bends are generally needed to accomplish tooth translation.

Dynamics of allostery in hemoglobin: roles of the penultimate tyrosine H bonds.

The tyrosine residues adjacent to the C termini of the hemoglobin (Hb) subunits, alphaY140 and betaY145, are expected to play important structural roles, because the C termini are the loci of T-state quaternary salt-bridges, and because the tyrosine side-chains bridge the H and F helices via H bonds to the alphaV93 and betaV98 carbonyl groups. These roles have been investigated via measurements of oxygen binding, (1)H NMR spectra, resonance Raman (RR) spectra, and time-resolved resonance Raman (TR(3)) spectra on site mutants in which the Hcdots, three dots, centeredF H bonds are eliminated by replacing the tyrosine residues with phenylalanine. The TR(3) spectra confirm the hypothesis, based on TR(3) studies of wild-type Hb, that the Hcdots, three dots, centeredF H bonds break and then re-form during the sub-microsecond phase of the R-T quaternary transition.

Point mutation at single tyrosine residue of novel oncogene NOK abrogates tumorigenesis in nude mice.

Receptor protein-tyrosine kinases (RPTKs) are tightly regulated during normal cellular processes including cell growth, differentiation, and metabolism. Recently, a RPTK-like molecule named novel oncogene with kinase-domain (NOK) has been cloned and characterized. Overexpression of NOK caused severe cellular transformation as well as tumorigenesis and metastasis in nude mice.

The roles of the residues on the channel beta-hairpin and loop structures of simian virus 40 hexameric helicase.

Simian virus 40 large tumor antigen is required for DNA unwinding during viral replication. The helicase-active form of large tumor antigen is a ring-shaped hexamer/double hexamer, which has a positively charged hexameric channel for interacting with DNA. On the hexameric channel surface are six beta-hairpin structures and loops, emanating from each of the six subunits.

Constitutively activated FGFR3 mutants signal through PLCgamma-dependent and -independent pathways for hematopoietic transformation.

Ectopic expression of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) associated with t(4;14) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of human multiple myeloma. Some t(4;14) patients have activating mutations of FGFR3, of which a minority are K650E (thanatophoric dysplasia type II [TDII]). To investigate the role of autophosphorylated tyrosine residues in FGFR3 signal transduction and transformation, we characterized a series of FGFR3 TDII mutants with single or multiple Y-->F substitutions.

Molecular cloning, genomic organization, and mapping of beta 4GalT-VIb, a brain abundant member of beta 4-galactosyltransferase gene family, to human chromosome 18q12.1.

In the present study, a brain abundant member of beta 4-galactosyltransferase gene family with an open reading frame encoding 343 amino acids was cloned and identified from a human leukemia cell cDNA library. The putative protein sequence is about 94.8 and 94.

Dietary salt supplementation selectively downregulates NPR-C receptor expression in kidney independently of ANP.

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) has negative modulatory effects on a variety of pathophysiological mechanisms; i.e., it inhibits hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling and facilitates natriuresis and vasorelaxation in NaCl-supplemented subjects.

Cloning, characterization and mapping of the human ATP5E gene, identification of pseudogene ATP5EP1, and definition of the ATP5E motif.

A cDNA encoding the epsilon subunit of human ATP synthase, ATP5E, was isolated from heart, skeletal muscle and spleen cDNA libraries respectively. Its genome structure was characterized as comprising three exons and two introns within a stretch of 5 kb, according to the genomic sequence AL109840. The gene was mapped to human chromosome 20q13.