'Over the past two decades, the field of biosensors has been developing fast, portable, and convenient detection tools for various molecules of interest, both biological and environmental. Although much attention is paid to the transduction portion of the sensor, the actual bioreceptor that binds the ligand is equally critical. Tight, ... More
Role of de novo DNA methyltransferases and methyl CpG-binding proteins in gene silencing in a rat hepatoma.
Authors Majumder Sarmila; Ghoshal Kalpana; Datta Jharna; Bai Shoumei; Dong Xiaocheng; Quan Ning; Plass Christoph; Jacob Samson T;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID11844796
'The expression of metallothionein-I (MT-I), a known antioxidant, was suppressed in a transplanted rat hepatoma because of promoter methylation and was induced by heavy metals only after demethylation by 5-azacytidine (5-AzaC). Treatment of the tumor-bearing rats with 5-AzaC resulted in significant regression of the hepatoma. When the inhibitor-treated tumor was ... More
Estrogen receptor alpha-mediated silencing of caveolin gene expression in neuronal cells.
AuthorsZschocke J, Manthey D, Bayatti N, van der Burg B, Goodenough S, Behl C
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12138116
'Estrogen receptors (ER alpha/ER beta) are expressed in neuronal cells and exhibit a variety of activities in the central nervous system. ER activity is regulated in a ligand-dependent manner and by co-regulatory factors. Caveolin-1 is a recently identified co-activator of ER alpha mediating the ligand-independent activation of this steroid receptor. ... More
Allurin, a 21-kDa sperm chemoattractant from Xenopus egg jelly, is related to mammalian sperm-binding proteins.
Authors Olson J H; Xiang X; Ziegert T; Kittelson A; Rawls A; Bieber A L; Chandler D E;
JournalProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PubMed ID11562501
Previously, we demonstrated that a protein from Xenopus egg jelly exhibits sperm chemoattractant activity when assayed by either video microscopy or by sperm passage across a porous filter. Here we describe the isolation and purification of allurin, the protein responsible for this activity. Freshly oviposited jellied eggs were soaked in ... More
The polycystic kidney disease-1 promoter is a target of the beta-catenin/T-cell factor pathway.
AuthorsRodova M, Islam MR, Maser RL, Calvet JP
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12048202
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) results from loss-of-function mutations in the PKD1 gene. There are also reports showing abnormally high levels of PKD1 expression in cystic epithelial cells. At present, nothing is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating the normal expression of the PKD1 gene or whether transcriptional disregulation of the ... More
Association of IL12B promoter polymorphism with severity of atopic and non-atopic asthma in children.
Background Severe asthma is a frequent cause of hospital admission, especially among children. The main environmental triggers of airway inflammation in asthma are viruses and aeroallergens. These agents elicit reciprocal immune responses, characterised by production of T helper 1 and T helper 2 cytokines, respectively. There is no genetic explanation ... More