A. MAHMOOD, S. A. SMITH, R. ABI-RAAD, W. A. TRESCHER, G. V. RAYMOND, P. C. VAN ZIJL, H. W. MOSER DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, BALTIMORE, MD, United States, DEPARTMENT OF NEUROGENETICS, KENNEDY KRIEGER INSTITUTION, BALTIMORE, MD, United States, DEPARTMENT OF RADIOLOGY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, BALTIMORE, MD, United States, KIRBY CENTER, KENNEDY KRIEGER INSTITUTION, BALTIMO...

Isonitrile hydratase is a novel enzyme in Pseudomonas putida N19-2 that catalyzes the conversion of isonitriles to N-substituted formamides. Based on N-terminal and internal amino acid sequences, a 535-bp DNA fragment corresponding to a portion of the isonitrile hydratase gene was amplified, which was used as a probe to clone a 6.4-kb DNA fragment containing the whole gene. Sequence analysis of...

Reciprocal mechanical interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) are thought to play important instructive roles in branching morphogenesis. However, most studies to date have failed to characterize these interactions on a length scale relevant to cells, especially in three-dimensional (3D) matrices. Here we utilized two complementary methods, spatio-temporal image correlatio...

Polytene section 17 of the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster, previously known to contain six putative lethal complementation groups important in oogenesis and embryogenesis, has here been further characterized genetically and developmentally. We constructed fcl+Y, a duplication of this region, which allowed us to conduct mutagenesis screens specific for the region and to perform compleme...

BACKGROUND Activin B has been reported to promote the proliferation and migration of keratinocytes in vitro via the RhoA-JNK signaling pathway, whereas its in vivo role and mechanism in wound healing process has not yet been elucidated. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In this study, we explored the potential mechanism by which activin B induces epithelial wound healing in mice. Recombinant lentiviral plas...

Plectin is a 500-kDa cross-linking protein that plays important roles in a number of cell functions including migration and wound healing. We set out to characterize the role of plectin in mechanical properties of living cells. Plectin(-/-) cells were less stiff than plectin(+/+) cells, but the slopes of the two power laws in response to loading frequencies (0.002-1,000 Hz) were similar. Plecti...

The initial growth of the nacreous layer is crucial for comprehending the formation of nacreous aragonite. A flat pearl method in the presence of the inner-shell film was conducted to evaluate the role of matrix proteins in the initial stages of nacre biomineralization in vivo. We examined the crystals deposited on a substrate and the expression patterns of the matrix proteins in the mantle fac...

most commercial varieties in the cooler months will fade with In a survey of the South African and Swaziland sugarcane industries in 1997, symptoms of yellow leaf syndrome (YLS) were found in all areas and in a wide range of varieties. As in previous years, symptoms were present from late autumn to early summer. Symptoms were particularly common in the contrasting areas of the Midlands region o...

To investigate how organic anion transporter (OAT)-1 is involved in uric acid nephropathy (UAN), a rat model for UAN was established and the serum uric acid, blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels were all measured, and observed to be increased. It was additionally identified that in UAN rats the surface OAT1 expression levels were reduced. By treating HEK cells with monosodium urate (...

Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technology was used to gain preliminary insights into gene expression induced by the phytotoxic aluminium species, Al(3+), in sugarcane roots. Roots of hydroponically-grown Saccharum spp. hybrid cv. N19 were exposed to 221 microM Al(3+) at pH 4.1 for 24 h, a regime shown to inhibit root elongation by 43%, relative to unchallenged roots. Database compa...