A decapeptide with the amino acid sequence H-Tyr-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly-Ser-Pro-Pro-Lys-Asp-OH was isolated from acid extracts of porcine hypothalami, structurally and biologically characterized, and synthesized. Except for the NH2-terminal tyrosine, this decapeptide corresponds to the amino acid sequences 9-18 of porcine beta-melanotropin (beta-MSH) and 49-58 of porcine beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH); it...

Kisspeptins, the products of KiSS-1 gene, have recently emerged as fundamental regulators of reproductive function in different mammalian and, presumably, non-mammalian species. To date, a single form of KiSS-1 has been described in mammals, and recently, in several fish species and Xenopus. We report herein the cloning and characterization of two distinct KiSS-like genes, namely, KiSS-1 and Ki...

OBJECTIVE Mediastinoscopy is a common procedure used for the diagnosis of thoracic disease and the staging of lung cancer. We sought to determine the current role of mediastinoscopy in the evaluation of thoracic disease. METHODS We conducted a retrospective review of all mediastinoscopies performed by members of our service between January 1988 and September 1998. RESULTS We performed media...

It is widely believed that the selectivity of voltage-dependent calcium channels is mainly controlled by amino acid residues contained within four p-loop motifs forming the pore of the channel. An examination of the amino acid sequences of high voltage-activated calcium channels reveals that their domain III S5-H5 regions contain a highly conserved motif with homology to known EF hand calcium b...

The present study aimed to investigate the key genes and microRNAs (miRNA/miRs) associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) progression. The gene expression profile of GSE20680 and GSE12288, and the miRNA expression profile of GSE28858 were downloaded from the gene expression omnibus database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GSE20680 and GSE12288, and the differentially expressed...