Xenopus oocytes are an excellent model system for studying Ca signaling. The purpose of this study was to characterize in detail the Ca-activated Cl currents evoked by injection of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) into Xenopus oocytes voltage-clamped with two microelectrodes. Injection of IP3 into Xenopus oocytes activates two different Ca-activated Cl currents. ICl-1 is stimulated rapidly (w...

Idiopathic CD4 lymphopenia (ICL) is a rare heterogeneous immunological syndrome of unclear etiology. ICL predisposes patients to severe opportunistic infections and frequently leads to poor vaccination effectiveness. Chronic immune activation, expansion of memory T cells, and impaired T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling have been reported in ICL, but the mechanistic and causative links remain uncle...

A stretch-activated Cl- current (ICl) was investigated in cultured murine microglia using the whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique. After application of membrane stretch, a Cl- current appeared within seconds, and its amplitude increased further within 3-8 min. ICl underwent rundown, which was prevented by addition of 4 mM ATP to the intracellular perfusing solution. The stretc...

The Fanconi anemia pathway is required for repair of DNA interstrand cross-links (ICL). Fanconi anemia pathway-deficient cells are hypersensitive to DNA ICL-inducing drugs such as cisplatin. Conversely, hyperactivation of the Fanconi anemia pathway is a mechanism that may underlie cellular resistance to DNA ICL agents. Modulating FANCD2 monoubiquitination, a key step in the Fanconi anemia pathw...

Intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVL) is characterized by histologically benign tumors that exhibit aggressive clinical behavior. On rare occasions, the tumors may extend into the regional and systemic veins, thus reaching the heart. This may subsequently cause intracardiac leiomyomatosis (ICL), which may lead to congestive heart failure and occasionally, sudden fatalities. Due to its rarity and dif...

In addition to their key role in the duplication of microtubule organising centres (MTOCs), centrins are major constituents of diverse MTOC-associated contractile arrays. A centrin partner, Sfi1p, has been characterised in yeast as a large protein carrying multiple centrin-binding sites, suggesting a model for centrin-mediated Ca2+-induced contractility and for the duplication of MTOCs. In vivo...

PURPOSE To analyze intraocular lens (IOL) orientation data from an online toric back-calculator (astigmatismfix.com) for determining if differences were apparent by lens type. METHODS A retrospective review of astigmatismfix.com toric back-calculations that included IOL identification and intended orientation axis. RESULTS Of 12,812 total validated calculation records, 8,229 included intend...

PURPOSE To compare the visual outcomes and complications of three different types of phakic intraocular lenses (PIOLs), for correction of moderate to high myopia. METHODS We reviewed 112 myopic eyes undergoing PIOL implantation using Artisan (40 eyes), Artiflex (36 eyes), and implantable collamer lens (ICL, 36 eyes). Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), pachymetry,...

In the reaction of the anticancer drug cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cis-DDP) with DNA, bifunctional intrastrand and interstrand cross-links are formed. In this work, we show that at 37 degrees C interstrand cross-links (ICL) are labile and rearrange into intrastrand cross-links. The ICL instability was first studied with a 10 base pairs (bp) double-stranded oligonucleotide containing a uni...