During myelination, membrane-specialized domains are generated by complex interactions between axon and glial cells. The cell adhesion molecules caspr/paranodin and F3/contactin play a crucial role in the generation of functional septate-like junctions at paranodes. We have previously demonstrated that association with the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked F3/contactin is required for the rec...

We have identified a series of novel non-peptide compounds that activate the thrombopoietin-dependent cell line Ba/F3-huMPL. The compounds stimulated proliferation of Ba/F3-huMPL in the absence of other growth factors, but did not promote proliferation of the thrombopoietin-independent parent cell line Ba/F3. The thrombopoietin-mimetic compounds elicited signal-transduction responses comparable...

The polysaccharides of Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) possess immunomodulation activities; however, their mode of molecular action in regulating each cellular subset in the immune system is still not clear. Here, we investigate the function of the main polysaccharide fraction of Reishi (Reishi-F3) in B lymphocyte activation/differentiation. We find that Reishi-F3 causes mouse splenic B cell activat...

A tumor-homing peptide, F3, selectively binds to endothelial cells in tumor blood vessels and to tumor cells. Here, we show that the cell surface molecule recognized by F3 is nucleolin. Nucleolin specifically bound to an F3 peptide affinity matrix from extracts of cultured breast carcinoma cells. Antibodies and cell surface biotin labeling revealed nucleolin at the surface of actively growing c...

Between 30% and 50% of patients with advanced-stage anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) harbor the balanced chromosomal rearrangement t(2;5)(p23;q35), which results in the generation of the fusion protein nucleophosmin-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (NPM-ALK). To further study survival signaling by NPMALK, we generated Ba/F3 cell lines with either inducible or constitutive expression of NPM-ALK a...

Point mutations in the ABL1 kinase domain are an important mechanism of resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in BCR-ABL1-positive and, as recently shown, BCR-ABL1-like leukemias. The cell line Ba/F3 lentivirally transduced with mutant BCR-ABL1 constructs is widely used for in vitro sensitivity testing and response prediction to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The transposon-based Sleeping...

Most patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring common epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, such as deletions in exon 19 or the L858R mutation in exon 21, respond dramatically to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI), and their sensitivities to various EGFR-TKI have been well characterized. Our previous article showed the in vitro sensitivities of EGFR exon 18...

The presence or absence of epistasis, or gene interaction, is explicitly assumed in many evolutionary models. Although many empirical studies have documented a role of epistasis in population divergence under laboratory conditions, there have been very few attempts at quantifying epistasis in the native environment where natural selection is expected to act. In addition, we have little understa...

BACKGROUND Chronic social instability during adolescence and early adulthood is known to produce a variety of long-lasting effects that may contribute to future psychiatric disorders. However, its potential to affect future generations has not been tested. METHODS Female and male mice were exposed to chronic social stress involving social instability and disruption of social hierarchy from po...