Death-associated protein kinase (DAPK) is a Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated serine/threonine kinase that mediates cell death. Our recent study demonstrated that DAPK3 protein increases in the mesenteric artery from spontaneously hypertensive rats compared with Wistar Kyoto rats. Pathogenesis of hypertension is modulated at least in part by vascular inflammation. We examined whether DAPK3 mediates vas...

BACKGROUND There is a need for new, noninvasive risk assessment tools for use in lung cancer population screening and prevention programs. METHODS To investigate the technical feasibility of determining DNA methylation in exhaled breath condensate, we applied our previously-developed method for tag-adapted bisulfite genomic DNA sequencing (tBGS) for mapping of DNA methylation, and adapted it ...

OBJECTIVES To determine methylation status of nine genes, previously described to be frequently methylated in cervical cancer, in squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL). METHODS QMSP was performed in normal cervix, low-grade (L)SIL, high-grade (H)SIL, adenocarcinomas and squamous cell cervical cancers, and in corresponding cervical scrapings. RESULTS Only CCNA1 was never methylated in norma...

Differential mRNA polyadenylation plays an important role in shaping the neuronal transcriptome. In C. elegans, several ankyrin isoforms are produced from the unc-44 locus through alternative polyadenylation. Here, we identify a key role for an intronic polyadenylation site (PAS) in temporal- and tissue-specific regulation of UNC-44/ankyrin isoforms. Removing an intronic PAS results in ectopic ...

A GAP in COPI vesicle formation is filled he effect of ARF1 GTPase-activating protein (ARFGAP1) on vesicle formation is making a turnaround. Contrary T Without ARFGAP1 or GTP, vesicles cannot load their cargo. to previous theories, GAP does not antagonize COPI coat recruitment. As shown by Yang et al. on page 69, its newly discovered function reveals conservation among GAPs in anterograde and r...

A GAP in COPI vesicle formation is filled he effect of ARF1 GTPase-activating protein (ARFGAP1) on vesicle formation is making a turnaround. Contrary T Without ARFGAP1 or GTP, vesicles cannot load their cargo. to previous theories, GAP does not antagonize COPI coat recruitment. As shown by Yang et al. on page 69, its newly discovered function reveals conservation among GAPs in anterograde and r...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) that accumulate under oxidative pressure cause severe damage to cellular components, and induce various cellular responses, including apoptosis, programmed necrosis and autophagy, depending on the cellular setting. Various studies have described ROS-induced autophagy, but only a few direct factors that regulate autophagy under oxidative stress are known to date. We...

Current morphology-based cervical cancer screening is associated with significant false-positive and false-negative results. Tumor suppressor gene hypermethylation is frequently present in cervical cancer. It is unknown whether a cervical scraping reflects the methylation status of the underlying epithelium, and it is therefore unclear whether quantitative hypermethylation specific PCR (QMSP) o...

The epigenetic changes in pituitary adenomas were identified by evaluating the methylation status of nine genes (RB1, p14ARF, p16INK4a, p73, TIMP-3, MGMT, DAPK, THBS1 and caspase-8) in a series of 35 tumours using methylationspecific PCR analysis plus sequencing. The series included non-functional adenomas (n=23), prolactinomas (n=6), prolactinoma plus thyroid-stimulating hormone adenoma (n=1),...