Jejunal folylpoly-gamma-glutamate carboxypeptidase hydrolyzes dietary folates prior to their intestinal absorption. The complete folylpoly-gamma-glutamate carboxypeptidase cDNA was isolated from a pig jejunal cDNA library using an amplified homologous probe incorporating primer sequences from prostate-specific membrane antigen, a protein capable of folate hydrolysis. The cDNA encodes a 751-amin...

PURPOSE Microtubule-stabilizing agents, such as taxanes, have been shown to be effective anticancer drugs. alpha-Tubulin, a basic unit of microtubules, can undergo several posttranslational modifications after assembly into stabilized microtubules, including acetylation and detyrosination. These modifications have been observed in cell cultures after exposure to microtubule stabilizers. Our obj...

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is associated with chromosomal translocations, invariably involving the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR alpha) gene fused to one of several distinct loci, including the PML or PLZF genes, involved in t(15;17) or t(11;17), respectively. Patients with t(15;17) APL respond well to retinoic acid (RA) and other treatments, whereas those with t(11;17) APL do not. ...

From the pericarps of Sapindus emarginatus (Sapindaceae), three new acetylated triterpene saponins were isolated together with hederagenin and five known triterpene saponins, as well as one known sweet acyclic sesquiterpene glycoside, mukurozioside IIb. The structures of new compounds were elucidated as hederagenin 3-O-(2-O-acetyl-beta-D-xylopyranosyl)-(1-->3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-al...

Rates of histone acetylation and deacetylation in nuclei from fetal, adult, and two kinds of neoplastic rat hepatocytes were examined. Histone acetylation in isolated nuclei was measured in the presence of 6 mM sodium n-butyrate, a potent inhibitor of deacetylase, and in the absence of the inhibitor. The deacetylase activity was estimated from the difference between the rates with or without th...

Alpha synuclein (αsyn) fibrils are found in the Lewy Bodies of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The aggregation of the αsyn monomer to soluble oligomers and insoluble fibril aggregates is believed to be one of the causes of PD. Recently, the view of the native state of αsyn as a monomeric ensemble was challenged by a report suggesting that αsyn exists in its native state as a helical tet...

The proteolytic processing pattern of pro-ACTH/endorphin in rat hypothalamus is similar to the pattern in the pars intermedia; peptides the size of beta-endorphin, gamma-lipotropin (gamma-LPH), corticotropin-like intermediate lobe peptide (CLIP), alpha-melanotropin (gamma-MSH), joining peptide, and glycosylated gamma 3-MSH all represent predominant end products. Equimolar amounts of beta-endorp...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Leptin restores gonadotropic function in lean hypogonadotropic animals by an unknown mechanism. We aimed to test the hypothesis that restoration of gonadotropic function is a result of an upregulation of central acetylated melanocortin production. METHODS AND RESULTS Lean ovariectomised (OVX) ewes received intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusions of leptin (or vehicle) for 3...

The cytoskeleton of the parasitic hemoflagellate Trypanosoma brucei brucei essentially consists of two microtubule-based structures: a subpellicular layer of singlet microtubules, which are in close contact with the cell membrane, and the flagellar axoneme. In addition, the cells contain a small pool of soluble tubulin. Two-dimensional gel electrophoretic analysis of the tubulins present in the...