Clostridium perfringens is a gram-positive anaerobic rod that is classified into 5 toxinotypes (A, B, C, D, and E) according to the production of 4 major toxins, namely alpha (CPA), beta (CPB), epsilon (ETX) and iota (ITX). However, this microorganism can produce up to 16 toxins in various combinations, including lethal toxins such as perfringolysin O (PFO), enterotoxin (CPE), and beta2 toxin (...

We present a quantitative description of single-cell visual response properties in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of anesthetized adult mice lacking the beta2 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (beta2-/-) and compare these response properties with data from wild-type animals. Some response features, including all spatial receptive field characteristics and bursting be...

The members of the chimaerin family of Rac-GTPase-activating proteins possess a single C1 domain with high homology to those present in protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes. This domain in PKCs is involved in phorbol ester and diacylglycerol (DAG) binding. We previously have demonstrated that one of the chimaerin isoforms, beta2-chimaerin, binds phorbol esters with high affinity. In this study we an...

This study is aimed at identifying the Na pump isoform composition of human erythroid precursor cells and mature human erythrocytes. We used purified and synchronously growing human erythroid progenitor cells cultured for 7-14 days. RNA was extracted from the progenitor cells on different days and analyzed by RT-PCR. The results showed that only the alpha1, alpha3, beta2, and beta3 subunit isof...

LFA-1 (CD11a/CD18) and Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) are members of the beta2 integrins involved in leukocyte function during immune and inflammatory responses. We aimed to determine a minimized beta2 subunit that forms functional LFA-1 and Mac-1. Using a series of truncated beta2 variants, we showed that the subregion Q23-D300 of the beta2 subunit is sufficient to combine with the alphaL and alphaM subun...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), oncostatin M (OSM), and granulocyte chemotactic protein-2 (GCP-2/CXCL6) are up-regulated in U937 macrophages and peripheral blood macrophages exposed to LPS, beta-adrenergic receptor (beta2-AR) agonists (e.g. zilpaterol, and clenbuterol) and some other agents that induce intracellular cAMP (prostaglandin E2, forskolin, and butyryl cAMP). LPS in combina...

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is characterized by chronic lung inflammation leading to airways obstruction. Bronchodilators, particularly short-acting beta2-agonists, are, therefore, often used by CF patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate, prospectively, the effects of the long-acting beta2-agonist salmeterol in adult CF patients. Twenty six patients with CF (10 males and 16 females; mean age (...