Microtubule (MT) organization is essential for many cellular events, including mitosis, migration, and cell polarity. Fidgetin (Fign), an ATP-dependent, MT-severing protein, contributes to the regulation of MT configuration by cutting and trimming MT polymers. Functions of Fign have been indicated in neurite outgrowth, mitosis, meiosis, and cellular migration. Here we focus on migration of astr...

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene mutations predispose carriers to kidney cancer. The protein pVHL has been shown to interact with microtubules (MTs), which is critical to cilia maintenance and mitotic spindle orientation. However, the function for pVHL in the regulation of MT dynamics is unknown. We tracked MT growth via the plus end marker EB3 (end-binding protein 3)-GFP and infer...

Melatonin (MT) is a growth regulator and antioxidant that can resist peroxidation damage on plants caused by environmental stresses. In this study, the alleviation effects of melatonin alfalfa under salt stress were investigated in terms photosynthesis, enzymes, osmoregulation. The seedlings cultured 200 mM NaCl Hoagland solution. Five levels MT (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 mM) applied as foliar spra...

PURPOSE To determine the effect of moderate zinc deficiency on antioxidant defenses and measures of oxidative stress in the retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of Brown Norway Rats. METHODS Twenty-four rats were housed individually and divided into three groups of 8 rats each. Group 1 was fed ad libitum a semipurified control diet formulated to contain 50 parts per million [ppm] total...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of recombinant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (r-Mt) 10-kDa co-chaperonin (cpn10) on the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) in third-generation cultured osteoblasts. The osteoblast-like cultures were isolated from bone fragments taken from patients undergoing surgery. Prior to stim...

Metallothioneins (MTs) were characterised in the kidneys of a white-sided dolphin Lagenorhynchus acutus stranded along the Belgian coast, displaying high levels of cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) in liver and kidney. The protein has two isoforms: MT-1 and MT-2. MT-1 binds Cu, Zn, Hg and Cd, while MT-2 only binds Zn, Hg and Cd. This suggests different metabolic functions for the two isoforms: MT-1...

The mitochondrial protein repertoire varies depending on the cellular state. Protein component modifications caused by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) depletion are related to a wide range of human diseases; however, little is known about how nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins (mt proteome) changes under such dysfunctional states. In this study, we investigated the systemic alterations of mtDNA-d...

Oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes and its cardiovascular complications. Metallothionein (MT), a stress-response protein, is significantly increased in the liver and kidney of diabetic animals. We examined whether diabetes also induces cardiac MT synthesis through oxidative damage and whether MT overexpression protects the heart from injury. Diabetes was induced in mic...

We compared the proteins which associate with middle T antigen (MT) of polyomavirus in human cells infected with Ad5(pymT), a recombinant adenovirus which directs the overexpression of MT, with the MT-associated proteins (MTAPs) previously identified in murine fibroblasts expressing MT. MTAPs of 27, 29, 36, and 63 kilodaltons (kDa) appeared to be fairly well conserved between the two species, a...