Biological Functions of Activity-Dependent Transcription Revealed

Biological Functions of Activity-Dependent Transcription Revealed

Neuronal activity regulates the transcription of a large set of genes, many of which encode proteins that modify synaptic function. In this issue of Neuron, Hong et al. selectively impair activity-dependent Bdnf transcription and demonstrate that this process is required for inhibitory synapse development.

A Shortcut to Activity-Dependent Transcription

Neuronal activity results in the rapid induction of gene transcription through a series of defined molecular events. Madabhushi et al. describe an unexpected role for the cutting of promoter DNA by topoisomerase IIB to facilitate transcription of activity-induced genes.

Down Regulation of DHFR Promoter Activity by PML Transcription Repressor

Uranyle Complexes: synthesis, evaluation of biological activity

In this research, some of the inorganic complexes of uranyl with N- donor ligandswere synthesized. Complexes were characteriezed by FT-IR and UV spectra, ¹HNMR,¹³CNMR and some physical properties. The uranyl unit (UO2) is composed of a center ofuranium atom with the charge (+6) and two oxygen atom by forming two U=O double bonds.The structure is linear (O=U=O, 180) and usually stable. So other ...

Creating small-molecule-dependent switches to modulate biological functions.

Biological small-molecule-dependent switches sense external chemical signals and transduce them into appropriate internal signals and cellular responses. Artificial molecular switches that control the function of any protein of interest using a small molecule are powerful tools for studying biology because they enable cellular responses to be controlled by inputs chosen by researcher. Furthermo...