OBJECTIVE In this study, the anticancer mechanisms of MT-4 were examined in A2780 and multidrug-resistant NCI-ADR/res human ovarian cancer cell lines. METHODS To evaluate the activity of MT-4, we performed in vitro cell viability and cell cycle assays and in vivo xenograft assays. Immunoblotting analysis was carried out to evaluate the effect of MT-4 on ovarian cancer. Tubulin polymerization ...

UNLABELLED Experiments with transgenic over-expressing, and null mutant mice have determined that metallothionein-I and -II (MT-I/II) are protective after brain injury. MT-I/II is primarily a zinc-binding protein and it is not known how it provides neuroprotection to the injured brain or where MT-I/II acts to have its effects. MT-I/II is often expressed in the liver under stressful conditions b...

Two different recombinant baculoviruses have been generated for expressing the middle T antigen (MT) of polyoma virus in insect (Sf9) cells. One (pAcI-PyMT) produces moderate levels of MT and the other (pVL-PyMT) high levels. Indirect immunofluorescence and cellular fractionation studies with pAcI-PyMT infected Sf9 cells give results similar to those observed with wild type polyoma virus infect...

Firm attachments between kinetochores and dynamic spindle microtubules (MTs) are important for accurate chromosome segregation. Centromere protein F (CENP-F) has been shown to include two MT-binding domains, so it may participate in this key mitotic process. Here, we show that the N-terminal MT-binding domain of CENP-F prefers curled oligomers of tubulin relative to MT walls by approximately fi...

Truncated hemoglobins (trHbs) are widely distributed in bacteria and plants and have been found in some unicellular eukaryotes. Phylogenetic analysis based on protein sequences shows that trHbs branch into three groups, designated N (or I), O (or II), and P (or III). Most trHbs are involved in the O2/NO chemistry and/or oxidation/reduction function, permitting the survival of the microorganism ...

Accumulation of hepatic zinc via metallothionein (MT) induction during infection/inflammation is postulated to benefit a range of metabolic processes. The metabolic consequences of two doses of endotoxin (LPS) (1 and 5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) were examined in normal (MT+/+) and MT-null (MT-/-) mice (all results means =/- S.E.M., n=6). At 16 h after 1 mg/kg LPS, hypozincaemia was pronounced in...

The pathological accumulation of abnormally hyperphosphorylated and aggregated tau, a neuronal microtubule (MT)-associated protein that functions to maintain MT stability, is implicated in a number of hereditary and sporadic neurodegenerative diseases including frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Targeting tau for the treatment of these diseases is an area of intense interest and t...

The research reported here demonstrates covalent binding to the metal-binding protein metallothionein (MT) by the therapeutic nitrogen mustard mechlorethamine. The most surprising aspect of this interaction is the selectivity of the alkylating agent for specific residues of MT. A combination of MS and proteolytic and enzymatic methods was used to deduce specific locations of mechlorethamine alk...

BACKGROUND Proteins are major plaque components, and their degradation is related to the plaque instability. We sought to assess the feasibility of magnetization transfer (MT) magnetic resonance (MR) for identifying fibrin and collagen in carotid atherosclerotic plaques ex vivo. METHODS Human carotid artery specimens (n = 34) were obtained after resection from patients undergoing endarterecto...

Cytoplasmic microtubules (MTs) continuously grow and shorten at free plus ends. During mitosis, this dynamic behavior allows MTs to capture chromosomes to initiate their movement to the spindle poles; however, the role of MT dynamics in capturing organelles for transport in interphase cells has not been demonstrated. Here we use Xenopus melanophores to test the hypothesis that MT dynamics signi...