Delivery across the cell membrane is of critical importance for the development of therapeutics targeting intracellular proteins. The use of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), such as Penetratin (P16), has facilitated the delivery of otherwise cell-impermeable molecules allowing them to carry out their biological function. A truncated form of Penetratin (RRMKWKK) has been previously described as...

Alcohol exposure can affect brain development, leading to long-lasting behavioral problems, including cognitive impairment, which together is defined as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). However, the fundamental mechanisms through which this occurs are largely unknown. In this study, we report that the exposure of postnatal day 7 (P7) mice to ethanol activates caspase-3 via cannabinoid re...

Sixty-seven isolates of bacterial spot pathogen (Xanthomonas spp.) collected from six provinces of Korea were tested for the identification of their pathotypes and determination of their distribution throughout Korea in an effort to genetically manage the disease. Near isogenic lines of Early Calwonder (Capsicum annuum) pepper plants carrying Bs1 , Bs2 and Bs3 , and PI235047 (C. pubescens) were...

Bacteriophages (phages) appropriate essential processes of bacterial hosts to benefit their own development. The multisubunit bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAp) enzyme, which catalyses DNA transcription, is targeted by phage-encoded transcription regulators that selectively modulate its activity. Here, we describe the structural and mechanistic basis for the inhibition of bacterial RNAp by the tra...

Regulation of transcription elongation is based on response of RNA polymerase (RNAP) to various pause signals and is modulated by various accessory factors. Here we report that a 7 kDa protein p7 encoded by bacteriophage Xp10 acts as an elongation processivity factor of RNAP of host bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae, a major rice pathogen. Our data suggest that p7 stabilizes the upstream DNA duplex ...

BACKGROUND Neuraxial local anesthetics may have neurological complications thought to be due to neurotoxicity. A primary site of action of local anesthetics is the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neuron. Physiologic differences have been noted between young and adult DRG neurons; hence, the authors examined whether there were any differences in lidocaine-induced changes in calcium and lidocaine toxic...

Endothelium of fetal or newborn arteries is atypical, displaying actin stress fibers and reduced nitric oxide (NO)-mediated dilatation. This study tested the hypothesis that Rho/Rho kinase signaling, which promotes endothelial stress fibers and inhibits endothelial dilatation, contributed to this phenotype. Carotid arteries were isolated from newborn [postnatal day 1 (P1)], P7, and P21 mice. En...

Islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit-related protein (IGRP) has been identified as a novel CD8(+) T cell-specific autoantigen in NOD mice. This study was undertaken to identify MHC class II-specific CD4(+) T cell epitopes of IGRP. Peptides named P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, and P7 were synthesized by aligning the IGRP protein amino acid sequence with peptide-binding motifs of the N...

OBJECTIVE Bombyx mori parvo-like virus is a type of virus containing two single-stranded linear DNA molecules (VD1, VD2). In the present work, the structural proteins of B. mori parvo-like virus (China Zhenjiang isolate) (BmDNV-Z) were identified. METHODS The virions were purified by cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation from the feces of B. mori larvae infected with BmDNV-Z and ana...