We have characterised the patterning capacity of the notochord on the somite using the murine Pax-1 gene as a ventral, and Pax-3 as a dorsal molecular marker. As model systems we chose the four mouse notochord mutants Brachyury curtailed (Tc), Danforth's short tail (Sd), Pintail (Pt) and truncate (tc). Their notochord either is initially absent or progressively degenerates. The use of these mut...

T-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (CaV3.2 VGCC) have been hypothesized to control spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs) through large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (BKCa), and contribute to the negative-feedback regulation of myogenic tone. We tested this hypothesis in superior epigastric arteries (SEAs) isolated from male C57BL/6 mice. SEAs were isolated and enzymatically di...

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas (ARMS) are highly malignant soft-tissue sarcomas that arise in children, adolescents, and young adults. Although formation and expression of the PAX-FKHR fusion genes is thought to be the initiating event in this cancer, the role of PAX-FKHR in the neoplastic process remains largely unknown in a progenitor cell that is undefined. We hypothesize that PAX-FKHR determine...

Catalase (CAT, OMIM: 115500) is an endogenous antioxidant enzyme and genetic variations in the regulatory regions of the CAT gene may alter the CAT enzyme activity and subsequently may alter the risk of oxidative stress related disease. In this study, potential influence(s) of the A-21T (rs7943316) and C-262T (rs1001179) genetic polymorphisms in the CAT promoter region, using the ALGGEN-PROMO.v...

Pax genes encode a family of developmentally regulated transcription factors that have been implicated in a number of human and murine congenital disorders, as well as in tumorigenesis (Gruss, P., and Walther, C. (1992) Cell 69, 719-722; Hill, R., and van Heyningen, V. (1992) Trends Genet. 8, 119-120; Chalepakis, G., Tremblay, P., and Gruss, P. (1992) J. Cell Sci. Suppl. 16, 61-67; Maulbecker, ...

AIMS Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion has been taken as an important pathophysiological process for multiple organ dysfunctions in critical patients. Recent studies reported that dual expression programs of the B cells receptors and Toll-like receptors on B-lymphocytes permit these ubiquitous cells to integrate both adaptive and innate immune functions. Our previous studies found that somatostat...

Recent phenotypic analysis of plasma cells showed that normal plasma cells do express the B-cell lineage-specific molecule CD19, but their malignant counterpart (myeloma cells) are CD19-. To clarify the meaning of loss of CD19 antigen on myeloma cells, we first compared the expression of CD19 and Pax-5 genes among B cells, normal plasma cells, myeloma cell lines, and primary myeloma cells, beca...

The Pax-5 oncogene encodes a potent transcription factor that plays a key role in B-cell development and cancerous processes. In normal B-lymphopoiesis, Pax-5 accomplishes a dual function by activating B-cell commitment genes while concomitantly repressing non-B-lineage genes. Given the pivotal importance of Pax-5-mediated processes in B-cell development, an aberrant regulation of Pax5 expressi...