Ceramides (Cer) are implicated in obesity-associated skeletal muscle and perhaps adipocyte insulin resistance. We examined whether the sphingolipid content of human subcutaneous adipose tissue and plasma varies by obesity and sex as well as the relationship between ceramide content and metabolic indices. Abdominal subcutaneous adipose biopsies were performed on 12 lean adults (males = 6), 12 ob...

The Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) 2b protein is a counter-defense factor and symptom determinant. Conserved domains in the 2b protein sequence were mutated in the 2b gene of strain Fny-CMV. The effects of these mutations were assessed by infection of Nicotiana tabacum, N. benthamiana, and Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Col-0) with mutant viruses and by expression of mutant 2b transgenes in A. thal...

BACKGROUND/AIM Because patients with cancer of apparently equivalent stage often have different outcomes, it is necessary to gather additional information to complement cancer staging. Dysregulated sphingolipid metabolism contributes to carcinogenesis. In this retrospective pilot study, we tested the hypothesis that changes in serum levels of sphingolipids are associated with stage IV colorecta...

Efficient transcription from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) promoter depends on binding of the viral regulatory protein Tat to a cis-acting RNA regulatory element, TAR. Tat binds at a trinucleotide bulge located near the apex of the TAR stem-loop structure. An essential feature of Tat-TAR interaction is that the protein induces a conformational change in TAR that repositions the functio...

Sugar-induced anthocyanin accumulation has been observed in many plant species. We observed that sucrose (Suc) is the most effective inducer of anthocyanin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings. Other sugars and osmotic controls are either less effective or ineffective. Analysis of Suc-induced anthocyanin accumulation in 43 Arabidopsis accessions shows that considerable n...

Primary causes of heterosis are still unknown. Our goal was to investigate the extent and underlying genetic causes of heterosis for five biomass-related traits in Arabidopsis thaliana. We (i) investigated the relative contribution of dominance and epistatic effects to heterosis in the hybrid C24 x Col-0 by generation means analysis and estimates of variance components based on a triple testcro...

Phytochemical investigation of Strobilanthes crispus has led to the isolation of 1-heptacosanol (1), tetracosanoic acid (2), stigmasterol (3) from the hexane extract, a mixture of four C20-C24 fatty acid esters of βamyrin (4), taraxerol (5), taraxerone (6), a mixture of two C22 and C24 fatty acid esters of taraxerol (7) from the dichloromethane extract, 4-acetyl-2,7-dihydroxy-1,4,8-triphenyloct...

Bile salt synthesis is a specialized liver function in vertebrates. Bile salts play diverse roles in digestion and signaling, and their homeostasis is maintained by controlling input (biosynthesis) and intestinal conservation. Patients with biliary atresia (i.e., obliteration of the biliary tree) suffer liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. In contrast, sea lamprey thrives despite developmental biliary...

We present whole-genome assemblies of four divergent Arabidopsis thaliana strains that complement the 125-Mb reference genome sequence released a decade ago. Using a newly developed reference-guided approach, we assembled large contigs from 9 to 42 Gb of Illumina short-read data from the Landsberg erecta (Ler-1), C24, Bur-0, and Kro-0 strains, which have been sequenced as part of the 1,001 Geno...

Saturated very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs; > or =C22:0) accumulate in X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD, OMIM 300100), a severe hereditary neurodegenerative disease, due to peroxisomal impairment. Previous studies analysed the development of X-ALD in humans and gene knockout animal models. However, the toxic effect of VLCFA leading to severe symptoms with progressive and multifocal demye...