In the transformation of multiple genes, gene fusion is an attractive alternative to other methods, including sexual crossing, re-transformation, and co-transformation, among others. The 2A peptide from the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) causes the co-translational "cleavage" of polyprotein and operates in a wide variety of eukaryotic cells. LP4, a linker peptide that originates from a nat...

It is well established that repeated administration of both 5-hydroxytryptamine(2) (5-HT(2)) receptor agonists and antagonists decreases the density of 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) receptors. However, the regulation of these two receptors has not been studied in the same tissue. Therefore, we examined the effects of repeated daily injections of the 5-HT(2) receptor agonists (+/-)-2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoa...

Adenosine produces a wide variety of physiological effects through the activation of specific adenosine receptors (A(1), A(2A), A(2B), A(3)). Adenosine, acting particularly at the A(2A) adenosine receptor (A(2A)AR), is a potent endogenous anti-inflammatory agent and sensor of inflammatory tissue damage. The complete healing of wounds is the final step in a highly regulated response to injury. R...

A very significant density of adenosine A(2A) receptors (A(2A)Rs) is present in the striatum, where they are preferentially localized postsynaptically in striatopallidal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). In this localization A(2A)Rs establish reciprocal antagonistic interactions with dopamine D(2) receptors (D(2)Rs). In one type of interaction, A(2A)R and D(2)R are forming heteromers and, by means o...

JC virus (JCV) is a human polyomavirus and the causative agent of the fatal demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). JCV infection of host cells is dependent on interactions with cell surface asparagine (N)-linked sialic acids and the serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine(2A) receptor (5-HT(2A)R). The 5-HT(2A)R contains five potential N-linked glycosylation sites on the e...

The complex [(PhCH2NC)AuCl], 1, was prepared by the reaction of [(Me2S)AuCl], A, with an equimolar amount of benzyl isocyanide (PhCH2NC) ligand. Through a salt metathesis reaction, the chloride ligand in 1 was replaced by potassium benzothiazole-2-thiolate (Kbt) and potassium benzoimidazole-2-thiolate (Kbi) to a...

Extracellular adenosine critically modulates ischemic brain injury, at least in part through activation of the A(1) adenosine receptor. However, the role played by the A(2A) receptor has been obscured by intrinsic limitations of A(2A) adenosinergic agents. To overcome these pharmacological limitations, we explored the consequences of deleting the A(2A) adenosine receptor on brain damage after t...

We have studied the developmental appearance of the O-2A(adult) progenitor cell, a specific type of oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte (O-2A) progenitor cell that we have identified previously in cultures prepared from the optic nerves of adult rats. O-2A(adult) progenitors differ from their counterparts in perinatal animals (O-2A perinatal progenitor cells) in antigenic phenotype, morphology, ce...

UNLABELLED Pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin (PEG-IFN/RBV) therapy is a current standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C. We previously reported that the viral sequence heterogeneity of part of NS5A, referred to as the IFN/RBV resistance-determining region (IRRDR), and a mutation at position 70 of the core protein of hepatitis C virus genotype 1b (HCV-1b) are significantly correlated with t...