BACKGROUND MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression. Kaposi sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encodes 12 distinct microRNA genes, all of which are located within the latency-associated region that is highly expressed in all KSHV-associated malignancies. METHODS We amplified, cloned, and sequenced a 2.8-kbp-long region containing a cluster...

To examine the roles of epigenetic modulation on hair follicle regeneration, we generated mice with a K14-Cremediated loss of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1). The mutant shows an uneven epidermal thickness and alterations in hair follicle size. When formed, hair follicle architecture and differentiation appear normal. Hair subtypes exist but hair fibers are shorter and thinner. Hair numbers app...

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strain 536 (O6:K15:H31) is one of the model organisms of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC). To analyze this strain's genetic basis of urovirulence, we sequenced the entire genome and compared the data with the genome sequence of UPEC strain CFT073 (O6:K2:H1) and to the available genomes of nonpathogenic E. coli strain MG1655 (K-12) and enterohemorr...

The advantage of administering a single dose of a drug that is released over an extended period of time instead of numerous doses is now a day’s area of interest for formulation scientists in Pharmaceutical industry. There are several advantages of sustained release drug delivery over conventional dosage forms like improved patient compliance due to less frequent drug administration, maximum ut...

The human gamma(1)-herpesvirus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the gamma(2)-herpesviruses Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), rhesus rhadinovirus (RRV), herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) and herpesvirus ateles (HVA) all contain genes located adjacent to the terminal-repeat region of their genomes, encoding membrane proteins involved in signal transduction. Designated 'terminal membrane protein...

Human skin maintains the ability to regenerate during adulthood, as it constantly renews itself throughout adult life, and the hair follicle (HF) undergoes a perpetual cycle of growth and degeneration. The study of stem cells (SCs) in the epidermis and skin tissue engineering is a rapidly emerging field, where advances have been made in both basic and clinical research. Advances in basic scienc...

The initiation stage of mouse skin carcinogenesis involves the induction of mutations in keratinocyte stem cells (KSC), which confers a selective growth advantage allowing clonal expansion during tumor promotion. Targeted disruption of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) in bulge region KSCs was achieved by treating K15.CrePR1 x Stat3(fl/fl) mice with RU486. Deletion of S...

We investigated the role of T cell cytotoxicity inducing factor 1 (TCF1) in the induction of a cytotoxic T cell response. We found that help-deficient thymocyte cultures supplied with saturating amounts of purified IL 2 did not develop CTL in a 5-day culture. The expression of cytotoxicity was dependent on the addition of TCF1 derived from the T cell hybridoma K15. TCF1 also induced proliferati...