Previous work has demonstrated that both rapamycin (RAPA) and IL-2 enhance CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ regulatory T-cell (Treg) proliferation and function in vitro. We investigated whether the combination of RAPA plus IL-2 could impact acute GVHD induction after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). RAPA plus IL-2 resulted in improved survival and a reduction in acute GVHD lethality associated with an increas...

The complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome was determined for two cultivars of Brassica rapa. After determining the sequence of a Chinese cabbage variety, 'Oushou hakusai', the sequence of a mizuna variety, 'Chusei shiroguki sensuji kyomizuna', was mapped against the sequence of Chinese cabbage. The precise sequences where the two varieties demonstrated variation were ascertained by dire...

The Dictyostelium genome contains a single rapA gene, which encodes a Rap1 monomeric G protein. As attempts at generating rapA-null Dictyostelium cells had been unsuccessful, expression of antisense RNA from the rapA gene under control of the folate repressible discoidin promoter was used to reduce cellular levels of the Rap1 protein. As Rap1 levels gradually decreased following antisense rapA ...

By using a high-throughput screening method, a mutant of a uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain affected in the rapA gene was isolated. The mutant formed normal-architecture biofilms but showed decreased penicillin G resistance, although the mutation did not affect planktonic cell resistance. Transcriptome analysis showed that 22 genes were down-regulated in the mutant biofilm. One of these ge...

The mapping and functional analysis of quantitative traits in Brassica rapa can be greatly improved with the availability of physically positioned, gene-based genetic markers and accurate genome annotation. In this study, deep transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of Brassica rapa was undertaken with two objectives: SNP detection and improved transcriptome annotation. We performed SNP detectio...

Auxins are the key players in plant growth development involving leaf formation, phototropism, root, fruit and embryo development. Auxin/Indole-3-Acetic Acid (Aux/IAA) are early auxin response genes noted as transcriptional repressors in plant auxin signaling. However, many studies focus on Aux/ARF gene families and much less is known about the Aux/IAA gene family in Brassica rapa (B. rapa). He...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. Therapeutic gene replacement of a dystrophin cDNA into dystrophic muscle can provide functional dystrophin protein to the tissue. However, vector-mediated gene transfer is limited by anti-vector and anti-transgene host immunity that causes rejection of the therapeutic protein. We hypothesized that rapamycin (RAPA) ...