Elevated DNA repair processes represent resistance mechanisms to the treatment of malignancies with alkylating agents. Recently, the cell cycle checkpoint abrogator, UCN-01, was reported to inhibit nucleotide excision repair in cell-free systems. We hypothesized that if UCN-01 was combined with DNA-damaging agents, UCN-01 might inhibit the damage repair processes, thereby enhancing cytotoxicity...

Effects of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family of peptides are mediated through activation of two receptors, CRF receptor (CRFR) 1 and CRFR2. Based on the homology between known mammalian CRFR genes, we have isolated a cDNA encoding the mouse CRFR2 (mCRFR2 ) ortholog from brain. The isolated cDNA encodes a 411amino acid protein with high identity to the rat ( 97%) and human ( 93%) r...

OBJECTIVES The present study investigated the cardioprotective role of urocortin (Ucn) and its relationship with protein kinase C (PKC)ε and PKCδ in patients with (DMPs) and without (NDMPs) diabetes mellitus after on-pump cardiac surgery (OPCS). The molecular mechanisms responsible for the reported worse outcomes of DMP after OPCS remain unknown. METHODS Two sequential biopsy specimens were o...

Further improvement in the accuracy of any neutron lifetime experiment by means of ultracold neutrons (UCN) in material bottles is limited due to unavoidable systematic effects when the UCN are reflected from the walls. However, such effects can be excluded in principle if magnetic trapping of UCN is used. The storage of UCN in a small magnetic trap made of permanent magnets was demonstrated fo...

A calculation of ultracold neutron ~UCN! upscattering rates in molecular deuterium solids has been carried out, taking into account intramolecular excitations and phonons. The different molecular species ortho-D2 ~with even rotational quantum number J! and para-D2 ~with odd J! exhibit significantly different UCN-phonon annihilation cross sections. Parato ortho-D2 conversion, furthermore, couple...

General theory of neutron scattering (elastic and inelastic) is presented. It is applicable for the whole domain of slow neutrons and includes as limiting cases existing theories for thermal and cold neutrons and for elastic scattering of UCN. New expression for inelastic scattering cross section for UCN is proposed. It differs from the usually used by proper account of re-scattering processes....

Ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) are neutrons with energies so low they can be stored in material bottles and magnetic traps. They have been used to provide the currently most accurate experiments on the neutron life time and electric dipole moment. UCN can be produced in superfluid Helium at significantly higher densities than by other methods. The predominant production process is usually by one pho...

A 2500-nucleotide pair (ntp) sequence of F-type mitochondrial (mt) DNA of the Pacific Rim mussel Mytilus californianus (class Bivalvia, phylum Mollusca) that contains two complete (ND2 and ND3) and two partial (COI and COIII) protein genes and nine tRNA genes is presented. Seven of the encoded tRNAs (Ala, Arg, His, Met(AUA), Pro, Ser(UCN), and Trp) have the potential to fold into the orthodox f...

PROBLEM Mast cells are critical in allergic and inflammatory diseases such as interstitial cystitis, which is often clinically associated with or mistaken as endometriosis. Mast cells had previously been reported to be increased at sites of endometriosis, and tryptase may contribute to the fibrosis and inflammation characterizing endometriosis. METHOD OF STUDY This is a pilot study of mast ce...

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is a cell cycle regulated enzyme. It increases during proliferation and has a higher activity during the S-phase in order to provide the cell with sufficient dTTP to facilitate DNA synthesis. Hence inhibition of cyclin dependent kinases (CdK) may lead to a decrease of TS and enhance the inhibition of TS. A number of CdKs control progress of the cell cycle together with...