One of several splice variants of CD44 expressed in metastasizing cell lines of rat tumors has been shown to confer metastatic potential to the non-metastatic variant of a rat pancreatic carcinoma line (U. Günthert et al., Cell, 65: 13-24, 1991). The variant-specific rat CD44 sequences were used to detect RNA expression in human cell lines: in carcinoma lines from lung, breast and colon; and in...

Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT; the catalytic protein subunit of telomerase) is subjected to numerous alternative splicing events, but the regulation and function of these splice variants is obscure. Full-length hTERT includes conserved domains that encode reverse transcriptase activity, RNA binding, and other functions. The major splice variant termed α+β- or β-deletion is highl...

Resistance of prostate cancer cells to the next-generation antiandrogen enzalutamide may be mediated by a multitude of survival signaling pathways. In this study, we tested whether increased expression of NF-kB2/p52 induces prostate cancer cell resistance to enzalutamide and whether this response is mediated by aberrant androgen receptor (AR) activation and AR splice variant production. LNCaP c...

The gamma-subunit of Na-K-ATPase (FXYD2) and corticosteroid hormone-induced factor (CHIF; FXYD4) are considered pump regulators in kidney tubules. The aim of this study was to expand the information about their locations in the kidney medulla and to evaluate their importance for electrolyte excretion in an animal model. The cellular and subcellular locations and abundances of gamma and CHIF in ...

The beta1D integrin is a recently characterized isoform of the beta1 subunit that is specifically expressed in heart and skeletal muscle. In this study we have assessed the function of the beta1D integrin splice variant in mice by generating, for the first time, Cre-mediated exon-specific knockout and knockin strains for this splice variant. We show that removal of the exon for beta1D leads to ...

BACKGROUND Previously, we reported a rare X-linked disorder, Uruguay syndrome in a single family. The main features are pugilistic facies, skeletal deformities, and muscular hypertrophy despite a lack of exercise and cardiac ventricular hypertrophy leading to premature death. METHODS AND RESULTS An ≈19 Mb critical region on X chromosome was identified through identity-by-descent analysis of 3...

A microdevice is developed for RNA analysis that integrates one-step reverse transcription and 30 cycles of PCR (RT-PCR) amplification with capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation and fluorescence detection of the amplicons. The four-layer glass-PDMS-glass-glass hybrid microdevice integrates microvalves, on-chip heaters and temperature sensors, nanoliter reaction chambers (380 nL), and 5-cm-l...

Phospholipase C zeta 1 (PLCζ1), which transcribes a key protein, has an important function in oocyte activation and embryo development because PLCζ1 can trigger a series of intracellular Ca2+ oscillations in mammals. In this study, a novel splice variant in the testis tissues of adult and fetal Chinese Holstein bulls was characterized by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) ...