Human postsynaptic density-95 (PSD95): location of the gene (DLG4) and possible function in nonneural as well as in neural tissues.

We have determined the cDNA sequence, expression pattern, and chromosomal location of the human gene DLG4, encoding the postsynaptic density-95 (PSD95) protein. hPSD95 is a 723-amino-acid protein that is 99% identical to its rodent counterparts. This is the fourth human protein identified as showing significant similarity to the Drosophila tumor suppressor Dlg.

Before crossing over: the advantages of eukaryotic sex in genomes lacking chiasmatic recombination.

Non-recombining populations should suffer from four classic population genetic disadvantages: (1) they cannot reverse Muller's Ratchet, the accumulation of deleterious mutations caused by genetic drift and mutation; (2) whenever the fix a favourable mutation they lose all unlinked favourable variants; (3) they tend to lose favourable mutations that are linked to deleterious mutations; and (4) their genetic loads can be quite high when deleterious mutations have synergistic effects. It is commonly assumed that inter-chromosomal recombination (independent assortment) can counter these phenomena, but this has been studied only for the genetic load case. In contrast, many studies have shown that recombination via crossing over can counter these phenomena.

A high-resolution physical and transcript map of the Cri du chat region of human chromosome 5p.

A high-resolution physical and transcription map has been generated of a 3.5-Mb region of 5p15.2 that is associated with the Cri du chat (CDC) syndrome.

Immunoreactivity for GABA plasma membrane transporter, GAT-1, in the developing rat cerebral cortex: transient presence in the somata of neocortical and hippocampal neurons.

The immunoreactivity for a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) membrane transporter, GAT-1, was examined in the neocortex and hippocampal formation of developing rats from the day of birth (postnatal day 0, P0) to the adult stage. The immunolabeling was mainly localized to the neuropil, but was also in a select population of cell bodies during a limited time period. Layers I and VIb of neocortex exhibited relatively high reactivity at birth, but diminished their staining with development.

Probabilistic independence networks for hidden Markov probability models.

Graphical techniques for modeling the dependencies of random variables have been explored in a variety of different areas, including statistics, statistical physics, artificial intelligence, speech recognition, image processing, and genetics. Formalisms for manipulating these models have been developed relatively independently in these research communities. In this paper we explore hidden Markov models (HMMs) and related structures within the general framework of probabilistic independence networks (PINs).

The structure of the cytochrome p450BM-3 haem domain complexed with the fatty acid substrate, palmitoleic acid.

The substrate-bound structures of two cytochrome P450s, P450cam and P450eryF, are known. While these structures reveal important features that control substrate specificity, the problem of how conformational changes allow for substrate entry and product release remains unsolved. The structure of the haem domain of the bacterial fatty acid hydroxylase, P450BM-3, previously was solved in the substrate-free form.

Color from motion: dichoptic activation and a possible role in breaking camouflage.

'Color from motion' describes the perception of a spread of subjective color over achromatic regions seen as moving. The effect can be produced in a display of multiple frames shown in quick succession, each frame consisting of a fixed, random placement of colored dots on a high-luminance white background with color assignments of some dots, but not dot locations, changing from frame to frame. Evidence is presented that the perception of apparent motion and the spread of subjective color can be activated by binocular combination of disjoint signals to each eye.

Transneuronal degeneration in the spread of Alzheimer's disease pathology: immunohistochemical evidence for the transmission of tau hyperphosphorylation.

Neurofibrillary tangles and dystrophic neurites appear to develop in a highly characteristic spatial and temporal sequence in AD. In order to examine the nature of the cellular progression we have studied the trisynaptic entorhinal, dentate gyrus, CA3/4 circuit, using an antibody to hyperphosphorylated tau which is a biochemical marker for tangle formation. In early AD cases, we found numerous ATB-stained boutons in the outer molecular layer of the dentate gyrus, the termination field of neurons from the entorhinal cortex.

Induction of cytochrome P4501A1 by photooxidized tryptophan in Hepa lclc7 cells.

Mouse hepatoma Hepa-lclc7 (Hepa-1) cells were cultivated in the presence of UV-irradiated amino acids. The results demonstrated that all of the amino acids tested, UV-oxidized tryptophan caused the highest induction of 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity compared with the controls (P < 0.01).

Inhibition of cytochrome P450 1A1 by antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotide in Hepa lclc7 cells.

The influence of an antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotide has been investigated on 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity and CYP1A1 protein in wild type mouse hepatoma Hepa lclc7 (Hepa-1) cells. The results show that administration of a 15-mer antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotide in ribonucleoside-free minimum essential medium effectively inhibited UV-oxidized tryptophan-inducible EROD activity and CYP1A1 protein. The inhibition of EROD activity was dose- and time-dependent.

Differential effect of interleukin-1 alpha on rat hepatic cytochrome P450 monooxygenases.

Administration of recombinant human interleukin-1 alpha to adult male rats caused a significant reduction in the levels of hepatic cytochrome P450 and P450 reductase activity at 24 h after the treatment. The mRNAs for cytochrome P450 1A2 and 2E1 were reduced more than 70% at 12 h after administration of interleukin-1 alpha and remained decreased even after 48 h. By contrast, cytochrome P450 2C11 mRNA was reduced only by 30% at 12 h after the treatment and returned to the control levels by 48 h, suggesting that interleukin-1 alpha has a differential effect on the expression of P450 mRNAs.

Norepinephrine release in the amygdala in response to footshock stimulation.

Extensive evidence suggests that many drugs and hormones influence memory storage by modulating training-induced release of norepinephrine (NE) within the amygdala. This experiment used in vivo microdialysis and high-performance liquid chromatography to examine norepinephrine NE release in the amygdala induced by footshock stimulation typically used in inhibitory avoidance training. Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted bilaterally with cannulae aimed at the amygdala.

Trypanosoma cruzi: protective immunity in mice immunized with paraflagellar rod proteins is associated with a T-helper type 1 response.

We have examined the ability of mice to survive a lethal challenge with the parasitic hemoflagellate, Trypanosoma cruzi, following immunization with paraflagellar rod proteins (PAR) 1 and 2 either alone or in combination with the following adjuvants: Freund's, alum, QS-21, Ribi-700, or IL-12. PAR administered subcutaneously (sc) in combination with Freund's or alum provided significant protection, 100 and 83%, respectively, against a T. cruzi challenge.

Transduction of hippocampal CA1 by adenovirus in vivo.

Replication-deficient adenoviral recombinants were assessed for in vivo transduction of rat hippocampal CA1 cells. Results show that efficient widespread transduction of CA1 in vivo was rapidly achievable and was sustained for more than 5 weeks. Assessment of electrophysiological properties in acute hippocampal slices showed that synaptic functioning and mechanisms involved in long-term potentiation (LTP) were preserved for minimally 5 weeks postinfection.

Conformational dynamics in cytochrome P450-substrate interactions.

There now are four known cytochrome P450 crystal structures. Two of these, P450cam and P450eryF, are substrate-bound while P450terp and the heme domain of P450BM-3 are substrate-free. Here we describe a preliminary analysis of the P450BM-3 heme domain complexed with the 16-carbon fatty acid substrate, palmitoleic acid.