Calm Contact Technique Based on the Endocrinological Mechanism of Hypnosis-A Theoretical Proposal.

This paper proposes the "calm contact" technique: an imaginative scenario where someone is in gentle contact with a loved one where the essence of the experience is to enjoy safety and calmness in peaceful social contact. The theoretical background is outlined by combining the brain mechanisms of stress reactions and hypnosis. In addition to the ancient stress responses (flight or fight or freeze), there are oxytocin-based options at the human level: tend and befriend behavior and the state of calm and connection, which is not a stress reaction but a resting reaction.

Disturbed body schema, perceptual body image, and attitudinal body image in patients with borderline personality disorder.

Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental disorder that affects attitudes toward the body. However, whether this condition also affects body schema and perceptual body image remains unclear. Previous questionnaire-based studies found dissatisfaction with one's body in patients with BPD.

Functional interplay between TFIIH and KAT2A regulates higher-order chromatin structure and class II gene expression.

The TFIIH subunit XPB is involved in combined Xeroderma Pigmentosum and Cockayne syndrome (XP-B/CS). Our analyses reveal that XPB interacts functionally with KAT2A, a histone acetyltransferase (HAT) that belongs to the hSAGA and hATAC complexes. XPB interacts with KAT2A-containing complexes on chromatin and an XP-B/CS mutation specifically elicits KAT2A-mediated large-scale chromatin decondensation.

SerpinB2 is involved in cellular response upon UV irradiation.

Ultraviolet light induced pyrimidine dimer is a helix distortion DNA damage type, which recruits repair complexes. However, proteins of these complexes that take part in both DNA damage recognition and repair have been well-described, the regulation of the downstream steps of nucleotide excision repair (NER) have not been clearly clarified yet. In a high-throughput screen, we identified SerpinB2 (SPB2) as one of the most dramatically upregulated gene in keratinocytes following UV irradiation.

Transcription without XPB Establishes a Unified Helicase-Independent Mechanism of Promoter Opening in Eukaryotic Gene Expression.

Transcription starts with the assembly of pre-initiation complexes on promoters followed by their opening. Current models suggest that class II gene transcription requires ATP and the TFIIH XPB subunit to open a promoter. Here, we observe that XPB depletion surprisingly leaves transcription virtually intact.

Tankyrases Promote Homologous Recombination and Check Point Activation in Response to DSBs.

DNA lesions are sensed by a network of proteins that trigger the DNA damage response (DDR), a signaling cascade that acts to delay cell cycle progression and initiate DNA repair. The Mediator of DNA damage Checkpoint protein 1 (MDC1) is essential for spreading of the DDR signaling on chromatin surrounding Double Strand Breaks (DSBs) by acting as a scaffold for PI3K kinases and for ubiquitin ligases. MDC1 also plays a role both in Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ) and Homologous Recombination (HR) repair pathways.

Sequential and ordered assembly of a large DNA repair complex on undamaged chromatin.

In nucleotide excision repair (NER), damage recognition by XPC-hHR23b is described as a critical step in the formation of the preincision complex (PInC) further composed of TFIIH, XPA, RPA, XPG, and ERCC1-XPF. To obtain new molecular insights into the assembly of the PInC, we analyzed its formation independently of DNA damage by using the lactose operator/repressor reporter system. We observed a sequential and ordered self-assembly of the PInC operating upon immobilization of individual NER factors on undamaged chromatin and mimicking that functioning on a bona fide NER substrate.

The ATAC acetyl transferase complex controls mitotic progression by targeting non-histone substrates.

All DNA-related processes rely on the degree of chromatin compaction. The highest level of chromatin condensation accompanies transition to mitosis, central for cell cycle progression. Covalent modifications of histones, mainly deacetylation, have been implicated in this transition, which also involves transcriptional repression.

The metazoan ATAC and SAGA coactivator HAT complexes regulate different sets of inducible target genes.

Histone acetyl transferases (HATs) play a crucial role in eukaryotes by regulating chromatin architecture and locus-specific transcription. The GCN5 HAT was identified as a subunit of the SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5-Acetyltransferase) multiprotein complex. Vertebrate cells express a second HAT, PCAF, that is 73% identical to GCN5.

DNA repair: easy to visualize, difficult to elucidate.

Faithful repair of DNA damage is essential for the maintenance of genome integrity. Recent advances in the local induction of DNA damage and in cell biological imaging techniques have extended our understanding of DNA repair gained from biochemical and genetic approaches; these advances now reveal that the assembly of DNA repair complexes at sites of DNA damage is spatially and temporally regulated. Visualization of the dynamics of double strand breaks in living cells has also provided valuable insights into how chromosomal translocations form.

The human SPT20-containing SAGA complex plays a direct role in the regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced genes.

One of the central questions in eukaryotic transcription is how activators can transmit their signal to stimulate gene expression in the context of chromatin. The multisubunit SAGA coactivator complex has both histone acetyltransferase and deubiquitination activities and remodels chromatin to allow transcription. Whether and how SAGA is able to regulate transcription at specific loci is poorly understood.

TATA binding protein associated factor 3 (TAF3) interacts with p53 and inhibits its function.

Background: The tumour suppressor protein p53 is a sequence specific DNA-binding transcription regulator, which exerts its versatile roles in genome protection and apoptosis by affecting the expression of a large number of genes. In an attempt to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which p53 transcription function is regulated, we studied p53 interactions.

Results: We identified BIP2 (Bric-à-brac interacting protein 2), the fly homolog of TAF3, a histone fold and a plant homeodomain containing subunit of TFIID, as an interacting partner of Drosophila melanogaster p53 (Dmp53).

Sub-terminal sequences modulating IS30 transposition in vivo and in vitro.

Inverted repeats of insertion sequences (ISs) are indispensable for transposition. We demonstrate that sub-terminal sequences adjacent to the inverted repeats of IS30 are also required for optimal transposition activity. We have developed a cell-free recombination system and showed that the transposase catalyses formation of a figure-of-eight transposition intermediate, where a 2 bp long single strand bridge holds the inverted repeat sequences (IRs) together.

Identification of a small TAF complex and its role in the assembly of TAF-containing complexes.

TFIID plays a role in nucleating RNA polymerase II preinitiation complex assembly on protein-coding genes. TFIID is a multisubunit complex comprised of the TATA box binding protein (TBP) and 14 TBP-associated factors (TAFs). Another class of multiprotein transcriptional regulatory complexes having histone acetyl transferase (HAT) activity, and containing TAFs, includes TFTC, STAGA and the PCAF/GCN5 complex.

Transposition and target specificity of the typical IS30 family element IS1655 from Neisseria meningitidis.

We have analysed the transposition and target selection strategy of IS1655, a typical IS30 family member resident in Neisseria meningitidis. We have redefined IS1655 as a 1080 bp long element with 25 bp imperfect inverted repeats (IRs), which generates a 3 bp target duplication and have shown that it transposes using an intermediate with abutted IRs separated by 2 bp. IS1655 exhibits bipartite target specificity inserting preferentially either next to sequences similar to its IRs or into an unrelated but well defined sequence.

The transcriptional histone acetyltransferase cofactor TRRAP associates with the MRN repair complex and plays a role in DNA double-strand break repair.

Transactivation-transformation domain-associated protein (TRRAP) is a component of several multiprotein histone acetyltransferase (HAT) complexes implicated in transcriptional regulation. TRRAP was shown to be required for the mitotic checkpoint and normal cell cycle progression. MRE11, RAD50, and NBS1 (product of the Nijmegan breakage syndrome gene) form the MRN complex that is involved in the detection, signaling, and repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs).

Analysis of the N-terminal DNA binding domain of the IS30 transposase.

IS30 is the founding member of a large family of widely spread bacterial insertion sequences with closely related transposases. The N-terminal end of the IS30 transposase had been shown to retain sequence-specific DNA binding activity and to protect the IS30 terminal inverted repeats. Structural predictions revealed the presence of a helix-helix-turn-helix motif (H-HTH2) which, in the case of IS30, is preceded by an additional helix-turn-helix motif (HTH1).

Regulation of transposition in bacteria.

Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) play a central role in the evolution of bacterial genomes. Transposable elements (TE: transposons and insertion sequences) represent an important group of these elements. Comprehension of the dynamics of genome evolution requires an understanding of how the activity of TEs is regulated and how their activity responds to the physiology of the host cell.

Gene conversion in transposition of Escherichia coli element IS30.

The mobile element IS30 has dual target specificity, since it can integrate adjacent to the inverted repeat (IR) of another IS30 copy or into hot-spot sequences characterized by a well-defined consensus showing no similarity to the ends of the element. The result of such integrations into these targets is different, as gene conversion events take place frequently during insertion next to an IR end, while this phenomenon has never been observed in targeting hot-spot sequences. Conversion events in IR-targeting cannot be explained exclusively by the activity of the transposase, but suggest the involvement of the homologous recombination and repair machinery of the host cell.

Detection and analysis of transpositionally active head-to-tail dimers in three additional Escherichia coli IS elements.

This study demonstrates that Escherichia coli insertion elements IS3, IS150 and IS186 are able to form transpositionally active head-to-tail dimers which show similar structure and transpositional activity to the dimers of IS2, IS21 and IS30. These structures arise by joining of the left and right inverted repeats (IRs) of two elements. The resulting junction includes a spacer region (SR) of a few base pairs derived from the flanking sequence of one of the reacting IRs.