In human platelets, thrombin not only stimulates the phosphorylation of pleckstrin (P47) and of myosin P-light chains, but also induces the dephosphorylation of an 18-19 kDa phosphoprotein (P18) [Imaoka, Lynham and Haslam (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 11404-11414]. We have now studied this protein in detail. The thrombin-induced dephosphorylation reaction did not begin until the phosphorylation of...

The Eustachian tube is a small canal that connects the tympanic cavity with the nasal part of the pharynx. The epithelial lining of the Eustachian tube contains a ciliated columnar epithelium at the tympanic cavity and a pseudostratified, ciliated columnar epithelium with goblet cells near the pharynx. The tube serves to equalize air pressure across the eardrum and drains mucus away from the mi...

Mature stellate cells of the rat medial entorhinal cortex (EC), layer II, exhibit subthreshold membrane potential oscillations (MPOs) at theta frequencies (4-12 Hz) in vitro. We find that MPOs appear between postnatal days 14 (P14) and 18 (P18) but show little further change by day 28+ (P28-P32). To identify the factors responsible, we examined the electrical responses of developing stellate ce...

There are many examples of 3-folds of general type with χ(O) = 1 found by Fletcher and Reid about twenty years ago. Iano-Fletcher has ever proved P12(X) ≥ 1 and P24(X) ≥ 2 for all minimal 3-folds X of general type with χ(OX) = 1. In this paper, we improve on Fletcher’s method. Our main results are: Pm ≥ 1 for all m ≥ 14, P18 ≥ 2, P20 ≥ 3 and that φm is birational onto its image for all m ≥ 88 w...

Pichinde virus is an arenavirus that infects guinea pigs and serves as an animal model for human Lassa fever. An attenuated Pichinde virus variant (P2) and a virulent variant (P18) are being used to delineate pathogenic mechanisms that culminate in shock. In guinea pigs, the infection has been shown to begin in peritoneal macrophages following intraperitoneal inoculation and then spreads to the...

Antigenic peptides derived from viral proteins by multiple proteolytic cleavages are bound by MHC class I molecules and recognized by CTL. Processing predominantly takes place in the cytosol of infected cells by the action of proteasomes. To identify other proteases involved in the endogenous generation of viral epitopes, specifically those derived from proteins routed to the secretory pathway,...

Since the structures of several ankyrin-repeat proteins including the INK4 (inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 4) family have been reported recently, the detailed structures and the functional roles of the loops have drawn considerable interest. This paper addresses the potential importance of the loops of ankyrin-repeat proteins in three aspects. First, the solution structure of p18INK4C was...

Viruses have evolved as combinations of genes whose products interact with cellular components to produce progeny virus throughout the plants. Some viral genes, particularly those that are involved in replication and assembly, tend to be relatively conserved, whereas other genes that have evolved for interactions with the specific host for movement and to counter host-defense systems tend to be...

Investigations of the surface characteristics of Flavobacterium psychrophilum, an important pathogen of fish, assisted us in identifying a surface protein termed P18. In the current study, we developed a simple and efficient procedure for the purification of this protein by a two-step method. First, P18 was selectively released from flavobacteria by a heat-HEPES treatment of the cells and then ...