PURPOSE Mitochondrial calcium sensitive potassium (mK(Ca)) channels are involved in cardioprotection induced by ischemic preconditioning. In the present study we investigated whether morphine-induced preconditioning also involves activation of mK(Ca) channels. METHODS Isolated rat hearts (six groups; each n = 8) underwent global ischemia for 30 min followed by a 60-min reperfusion. Control an...

Pax-8, a member of the paired box-containing gene family, was shown to be coexpressed with Pax-2 in several human kidney carcinoma cell lines. Four different Pax-8 mRNA isoforms, a to d, were cloned from one of these cell lines by polymerase chain reaction amplification, and the Pax-8 gene was isolated from a human cosmid library. Analysis of the exon-intron structure of Pax-8 revealed that the...

Catalase (CAT, OMIM: 115500) is an endogenous antioxidant enzyme and genetic variations in the regulatory regions of the CAT gene may alter the CAT enzyme activity and subsequently may alter the risk of oxidative stress related disease. In this study, potential influence(s) of the A-21T (rs7943316) and C-262T (rs1001179) genetic polymorphisms in the CAT promoter region, using the ALGGEN-PROMO.v...

PAX-2 is a member of a family of genes containing a highly conserved paired box domain. The paired box domain encodes a DNA binding motif, indicating that PAX proteins may function as transcriptional regulators, participating in a hierarchical network of gene regulation during embryogenesis. In this report, we provide evidence that there is an additional conserved region near the predicted COOH...

The Pax gene family consists of tissue-specific transcriptional regulators that always contain a highly conserved DNA-binding domain with six cx-helices (paired domain), and, in many cases, a complete or residual homeodomain. Numerous genes of this family have been identified in animals, with the largest number found in vertebrates. Our evolutionary analyses indicate that the vertebrate Pax gen...

During investigations on the regulation of the Pax-6 gene, we characterized a cDNA from quail neuroretina showing a 5' untranslated region distinct from that previously described and initiated from an internal promoter. Using RNase protection and primer extension mapping, we localized this second quail Pax-6 promoter, termed P1. As reported for the already described P0 promoter, P1 was also tra...

The Pax-3 protein contains two DNA-binding domains, a paired domain and a homeodomain. Mutations in Pax-3 cause Waardenburg syndrome (WS) in humans and the mouse Splotch (Sp) phenotype. In the Sp-delayed mouse, a mutation in the Pax-3 paired domain (G9R) abrogates the DNA-binding activity of both the paired domain and the homeodomain, suggesting that they may functionally interact. To investiga...

The Pax proteins are a family of transcriptional regulators involved in many developmental processes in all higher eukaryotes. They are characterized by the presence of a paired domain (PD), a bipartite DNA binding domain composed of two helix-turn-helix (HTH) motifs,the PAI and RED domains. The PD is also often associated with a homeodomain (HD) which is itself able to form homo- and hetero-di...

Rat small eye (rSey) involves a mutation in Pax-6 gene. The midbrain crest cells of rSey homozygote fail to migrate normally towards the frontonasal region resulting in absence of eyes and nose. In the present study, comparison of the distribution patterns of fibronectin, laminin, tenascin, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and HNK-1 epitope in craniofacial region between that of rSey homozygous...