Type I IFNs are used for treating viral, neoplastic, and inflammatory disorders. The protein products encoded by IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) likely mediate clinical effects of IFN in patients. Macroarray assays, used for studying ISG induction in IFN-treated patients, comprise genes identified predominantly through analysis of long-term cell lines. To discover genes induced selectively by IFN-β...

BACKGROUND Sterols are vital structural and regulatory components in eukaryotic cells; however, their biosynthetic pathways and functional roles in microalgae remain poorly understood. RESULTS In the oleaginous microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica, the sterol biosynthetic pathway produces phytosterols as minor products and cholesterol as the major product. The evidence together with their deduc...

We have previously demonstrated that sterol carrier protein1 (SCP1) is required for the conversion of squalene to lanosterol by rat liver microsomes (Srikantaiah, M. V., Hansbury, E., Loughran, E. D., and Scallen, T. J. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 5496-5505). These studies, however, had the disadvantage that the highly waterinsoluble substrate squalene was added exogenously to incubations in sma...

8 ABBREVIATIONS ACAT Acylcoenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase ANOVA Analysis of variance Apo Apolipoprotein AUC Area under curve AUIC Area under incremental curve BMI Body mass index CETP Cholesteryl ester transfer protein d Density GLC Gas-liquid chromatography HDL High-density lipoprotein HMG-CoA 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A HPLC High-pressure liquid chromatography HSPG Heparan sul...

The intermediate, discovered by Rilling, between farnesyl pyrophosphate and squalene was synthesized in milligram quantities with yeast subcellular particles from farnesylJ4Cpyrophosphate and from farnesyl-l-3H&4C-pyrophosphate. The 3H : l4C ratio in the new squalene precursor was found to be identical with that in the farnesyl pyrophosphate, whereas the ratio in squalene was close to the expec...

Using PC12 cells as an in vitro model system, we have identified a series of transcripts induced through activation of the leptin receptor. On the basis of kinetic studies, two distinct gene sets could be discerned: signal transducer and activator of transciption-3 (STAT-3), suppressor of cytokine signalling-3 (SOCS-3), MT-II (metallothionein-II), the serine/threonine kinase fibroblast-growth-f...

The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) enzyme catalyzes the major rate-limiting step of the mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway from which sterols and other isoprenoids are synthesized. In contrast with our extensive knowledge of the regulation of HMGR in yeast and animals, little is known about this process in plants. To identify regulatory components of the MVA pathway in plants, we per...

Many compounds have been implicated as capable of serving as precursors for cholesterol, and of these the most intriguing is undoubtedly squalene. In 1926, and again in 1937, Channon (1, 2) reported that the .feeding of squalene to rats resulted in an increased cholesterol content of the liver. These observations led Srere (3), in 1949, in this laboratory, to study the conversion of acetate-Cl4...

Cells continually adjust their gene expression profiles in order to adapt to the availability of nutrients. Glucose is a major regulator of pxancreatic β-cell function and cell growth. However, the mechanism of β-cell adaptation to high levels of glucose remains uncertain. To identify the specific targets responsible for adaptation to high levels of glucose, the differentially expressed genes f...