Crocin, a bioactive molecule of saffron, inhibited proliferation of both HCT116 wild-type and HCT116 p53(-/-) cell lines at a concentration of 10 mM. Flow cytometric analysis of cell cycle distribution revealed that there was an accumulation of HCT116 wild-type cells in G1 (55.9%, 56.1%) compared to the control (30.4%) after 24 and 48 h of crocin treatment, respectively. However, crocin induced...

During the process of B cell development, transcription factors, such as E2A and Ebf1, have been known to play key roles. Although transcription factors and chromatin regulators work in concert to direct the expression of B lineage-specific genes, little is known about the involvement of regulators for chromatin structure during B lymphopoiesis. In this article, we show that deletion of Srg3/mB...

Lamina-associated polypeptide (LAP) 2alpha is a LEM (lamina-associated polypeptide emerin MAN1) family protein associated with nucleoplasmic A-type lamins and chromatin. Using live cell imaging and fluorescence microscopy we demonstrate that LAP2alpha was mostly cytoplasmic in metaphase and associated with telomeres in anaphase. Telomeric LAP2alpha clusters grew in size, formed 'core' structure...

The City of San Diego (City) operates the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (PLWTP) which can normally treat up to 240 million gallons per day (MGD) of chemically enhanced primary treated (CEPT) effluent for ocean disposal. The City wanted to understand the performance capabilities of Biological Aerated Filters (BAFs) in treating CEPT effluent to secondary standards. To this end, the City c...

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) including nickel and chromium are often present in soils overlying basalt at concentrations above regulatory guidance values due to the presence of these elements in underlying geology. Oral bioaccessibility testing allows the risk posed by PTEs to human health to be assessed; however, bioaccessibility is controlled by factors including mineralogy, particle siz...

There is a worldwide increase of heavy metal or potentially toxic element (PTE), contamination in agricultural soils caused mainly by human and industrial action, which leads to food contamination in crops such as in maize. Cadmium (Cd) is a PTE often found in soils and it is ingested through food. It is necessary to determine the bioabsorption, distribution, and accumulation levels in maize to...

The products of the proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-jun form a tight protein complex that is a major component of the transcription factor AP1. To analyze the role of fos in the binding of this complex to the AP1 DNA recognition sequence and the mechanism of interaction in further detail, we have expressed a fos protein in E. coli using an expression vector containing the temperature-inducible lamb...

Integration of viral DNA into the host genome is an essential step in retroviral replication. The viral DNA made by reverse transcription is a component of the preintegration complex (PIC) that also contains the viral integrase protein, the enzyme that integrates the viral DNA. Several other viral and cellular proteins are present in the PIC, but their functional roles are less well established...