The cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene has been associated with a variety of phenotypes, including HDL-cholesterol levels and, more sporadically, with cardiovascular disease, obesity, and extreme longevity. Alterations of CETP activity levels can be caused by single-base polymorphisms as well as by alternative splicing. In addition to the previously characterized alternative splicin...

It is well-known that dynamin 2 (Dyn2) participates in clathrin- and caveolae-mediated endocytosis; however, the role of Dyn2 in coat-independent endocytic processes remains controversial. Here we demonstrate a role for specific spliced variants of Dyn2 in the micropinocytosis of fluid in epithelial cells, independent of coat-mediated endocytic pathways. A general inhibition of Dyn2 was first p...

Objective(s): Similar characteristics of molecular pathways between cellular reprogramming events and tumorigenesis have been accentuated in recent years. Reprogramming-related transcription factors, also known as Yamanaka factors (OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and c-MYC), are also well-known oncogenes promoting cancer initiation, progression, and cellular transformation into cancer stem cells. Long non-co...

We demonstrate that the alternatively spliced variable (V) region of fibronectin (FN) is required for secretion of FN dimers during biosynthesis. Alternative splicing of the V segment of the rat FN transcript generates three subunit variants (V120, V95, V0) that differ by the inclusion or omission of an additional 120 or 95 amino acids. We are exploring the functions of this segment by expressi...