Compartmentalization of EGFR in cellular membranes: role of membrane rafts.

There is now abundant evidence that the intracellular concentration of the EGFR and many other receptors for peptide hormones and growth factors is important for the temporal and spatial regulation of cell signaling. Spatial control is achieved by the selective compartmentalization of signaling components into endosomes. However further control may be effected by sequestration into sub-domains within a given organelle such as membrane rafts which are dynamic, nano scale structures rich in cholesterol and sphingolipids.

Dizziness in aging: the clinical experience.

Dizziness and vertigo occur frequently in aging. Inner ear or nervous system pathology (central or peripheral) may be the cause. Other causes may also be cardiovascular disease, medication, leg pathology, psycho-pathologic processes (psychogenic dizziness), etc.

Regulation of urokinase plasminogen activator/plasmin-mediated invasion of melanoma cells by the integrin vitronectin receptor alphaVbeta3.

The integrin vitronectin receptor alphavbeta3 is a mediator of cellular migration and invasion and has been identified as a marker of progression in malignant melanoma. Using a human melanoma model, we have previously shown that this receptor was coordinately expressed with the receptor for the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPAR). In our present study, the link between these receptors was further investigated by assessing the effect of alphavbeta3 ligation on uPAR transcription and function.

Regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) 1 and 16 are induced in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide and stimulate c-fos promoter expression.

Regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) are negative regulators of G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. Sepsis is a pathophysiological condition that is induced primarily in response to bacterial infection and is associated with decreased responsiveness to a number of vasoactive GPCR agonists. Using a degenerate RT-PCR screen, we report that RGS1 and RGS16 were amplified from the heart and aorta of septic animals.

Rapid induction of cytokine and E-selectin expression in the liver in response to metastatic tumor cells.

The cytokine-inducible endothelial cell adhesion receptor E-selectin has been implicated in cancer metastasis. Previously, we reported that experimental liver metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma subline H-59 cells could be abrogated in animals treated with an anti-E-selectin antibody. To gain further insight into the functional relevance of E-selectin expression to liver colonization, we investigated here the time course of cytokine and hepatic E-selectin expression after the intrasplenic/portal inoculation of H-59 cells by using a combination of reverse transcription-PCR, Northern blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization.

Risk of a new benzodiazepine prescription in relation to recent hospitalization.

Objective: To determine if recent hospital admission was associated with new outpatient prescribing of benzodiazepines among community-dwelling older people.

Design: Nested case-control study using administrative data sets of the provincial health insurance board.

Setting: Province of Quebec.

Suppression of type I collagenase expression by antisense RNA in melanoma cells results in reduced synthesis of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor.

Previously we reported that suppression of type I collagenase synthesis in human melanoma cells with antisense RNA significantly reduced proteolysis of type I and type IV collagen matrices (Durko et al., 1997, Biochim. Biophys.