The mechanical link coupling cytoskeletal and contractile proteins to the sarcolemma of smooth muscle cells is essential for transmitting tension from the cell's interior to exterior. In addition to the well-characterized actin-integrin associations present in adhaerens junctions, our recent work has postulated the existence of a reversible annexin-dependent membrane-cytoskeleton complex, forge...

Molecular phylogenetic analyses of 18S rDNA (SSU) gene sequences confirm the placement of Crusticorallina gen. nov. in Corallinoideae, the first nongeniculate genus in an otherwise geniculate subfamily. Crusticorallina is distinguished from all other coralline genera by the following suite of morpho-anatomical characters: (i) sunken, uniporate gametangial and bi/tetrasporangial conceptacles, (i...

The cytoplasmic plaque of the spot desmosome or macula adhaerens mediates the attachment of bundles of intermediate filaments to the plasma membrane. We have isolated from a bovine epidermal desmosome preparation a fraction that is highly enriched in the non-glycosylated desmosomal proteins. Plastic-embedded and thin-sectioned high-speed pellets of this fraction reveal closely packed filaments ...

Nine isolates from Argyrolobium uniflorum, Lotus creticus , Medicago sativa (Tunisia) and Lotus arabicus (Senegal) were analysed by multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) of five housekeeping genes (recA, atpD, glnA, gltA and thrC), the 16S rRNA gene and the nodulation gene nodA. Analysis of the individual and concatenated gene sequences demonstrated that the nine new strains constituted three sta...

The phylum Placozoa is represented by a single known species, Trichoplax adhaerens, a tiny marine organism that represents the most simple metazoan bauplan. Because of the latter, placozoans were originally considered the most basal metazoan phylum. A misinterpretation of the life cycle at the turn of the century and some more recent molecular phylogenetic analyses have placed Trichoplax as a d...

EGTA-induced depletion of Ca2+ ions from the culture medium of Madin-Darby bovine kidney epithelial cells results in rapid splitting of adherens-type junctions and the detachment of the vinculin- and actin-containing filament bundle from the cytoplasmic faces of the plasma membrane of the zonula adhaerens. This process was monitored by phase-contrast microscopy, combined with electron microscop...

The release of intercellular contacts in MDBK cells, initiated by the depletion of Ca2+ ions from the culture medium, results in the endocytotic uptake of membrane vesicles containing specific membrane constituents of the zonula adhaerens (ZA). During this process the junction-derived, endocytosed vesicles remain associated with the ZA plaque components, while the plaque and its attached actin ...

Retinoids are vital for normal embryonic development and are necessary during postnatal development and adulthood for the maintenance of the reproductive and nervous system and for visual pigment synthesis. STRA6 (Stimulated by retinoic acid 6) is the cell surface receptor for retinol binding protein (RBP4), which facilitates the cellular uptake of retinol. Mutations in Stra6 are responsible fo...

Retinoids are vital for normal embryonic development and are necessary during postnatal development and adulthood for the maintenance of the reproductive and nervous system and for visual pigment synthesis. STRA6 (Stimulated by retinoic acid 6) is the cell surface receptor for retinol binding protein (RBP4), which facilitates the cellular uptake of retinol. Mutations in Stra6 are responsible fo...

The apex of hair cells of the chicken auditory organ contains three different kinds of assemblies of actin filaments in close spatial proximity. These are (a) paracrystals of actin filaments with identical polarity in stereocilia, (b) a dense gellike meshwork of actin filaments forming the cuticular plate, and (c) a bundle of parallel actin filaments with mixed polarities that constitute the ci...