Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is an important mediator that plays a central role in the control of the host immune and inflammatory response. To investigate the molecular mechanism of MIF action, we have used the yeast two-hybrid system and identified PAG, a thiol-specific antioxidant protein, as an interacting partner of MIF. Association of MIF with PAG was found in 293T cells t...

Serotonin (5-HT) modulates pain and anxiety from within the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). In the present study, the effects of 5-HT- and 5-HT(1/2) subtype-selective ligands on rat PAG neurons were examined using whole cell patch-clamp recordings in brain slices. In voltage clamp, 5-HT produced outward and inward currents in distinct subpopulations of neurons that varied throughout differe...

In primary human T cells, anergy induction results in enhanced p59Fyn activity. Because Fyn is the kinase primarily responsible for the phosphorylation of PAG (the phosphoprotein associated with glycosphingolipid-enriched microdomains), which negatively regulates Src-kinase activity by recruiting Csk (the C-terminal Src kinase) to the membrane, we investigated whether anergy induction also affe...

It has been pointed out that a serum protein specific for pregnancy (pregnancy-associated globulin, PAG) appears in females near term and is maintained during some period after delivery. The incidence and quantitation of PAG in 120 pregnant females and normal subjects, 1,469 males and 355 females, were studied by double diffusion and single radial immunodiffusion methods. All the pregnant femal...

To produce high quality code, modern compilers use global optimization algorithms based on abstract interpretation. These algorithms are rather complex; their implementation is therefore a non{trivial task and error{prone. However, since they are based on a common theory, they have large similar parts. We conclude that analyzer writing better should be replaced with analyzer generation. We pres...

Phosphoprotein associated with GEMs (PAG), also known as Csk-binding protein (Cbp), is a broadly expressed palmitoylated transmembrane adapter protein found in membrane rafts, also called GEMs (glycosphingolipid-enriched membrane microdomains). PAG is known to bind and activate the essential regulator of Src-family kinases, cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase Csk. In the present study we used t...

BACKGROUND Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) have been identified as significant analgesic targets. Systemic treatments with inhibitors of the enzymes that inactivate the peptide transmitter N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), an mGluR3 agonist, have an analgesia-like effect in rat models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. The goal of this study was to begin defining locations within t...

Corals in the Arabian/Persian Gulf (PAG) survive extreme sea temperatures (summer mean: >34°C), and it is unclear whether these corals have genetically adapted or physiologically acclimated to these conditions. In order to elucidate the processes involved in the thermal tolerance of PAG corals, it is essential to understand the connectivity between reefs within and outside of the PAG. To this e...

Mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans gene pag-3 result in misexpression of touch receptor-specific genes in the BDU interneurons and in motility defects. We cloned pag-3 and found that the gene encodes a C2H2-type zinc finger protein related to the mammalian GFI-1 protein. Sequencing of the three pag-3 alleles showed that two apparent null alleles encode a nonsense mutation before the zinc f...

Despite the significant contribution of the periaqueductal gray (PAG) to an endogenous pain suppression system, little is known about its neurochemical organization. Previous pharmacological and physiological studies have indicated regional variations in the effectiveness with which the midbrain PAG can generate potent analgesia in response to either opiate microinjection or electrical stimulat...