Search results for " Western"
showing 10 items of 687 documents
α-Synuclein expression levels do not significantly affect proteasome function and expression in mice and stably transfected PC12 cell lines
2004
α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a small protein of unknown function that is found aggregated in Lewy bodies, the histopathological hallmark of sporadic Parkinson disease and other synucleinopathies. Mutations in the α-syn gene and a triplication of its gene locus have been identified in early onset familial Parkinson disease. α-Syn turnover can be mediated by the proteasome pathway. A survey of published data may lead to the suggestion that overexpression of α-syn wild type, and/or their variants (A53T and A30P), may produce a decrease in proteasome activity and function, contributing to α-syn aggregation. To investigate the relationship between synuclein expression and proteasome function we have s…
External conditions inversely change the RNA polymerase II elongation rate and density in yeast.
2013
Elongation speed is a key parameter in RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) activity. It affects the transcription rate, while it is conditioned by the physicochemical environment it works in at the same time. For instance, it is well-known that temperature affects the biochemical reactions rates. Therefore in free-living organisms that are able to grow at various environmental temperatures, such as the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, evolution should have not only shaped the structural and functional properties of this key enzyme, but should have also provided mechanisms and pathways to adapt its activity to the optimal performance required. We studied the changes in RNA pol II elongation speed …
The HMGA1 protoncogene frequently deregulated in cancer is a transcriptional target of E2F1
2011
Reactivation of the HMGA1 protoncogene is very frequent in human cancer, but still very little is known on the molecular mechanisms leading to this event. Prompted by the finding of putative E2F binding sites in the human HMGA1 promoter and by the frequent deregulation of the RB/E2F1 pathway in human carcinogenesis, we investigated whether E2F1 might contribute to the regulation of HMGA1 gene expression. Here we report that E2F1 induces HMGA1 by interacting with a 193bp region of the HMGA1 promoter containing an E2F binding site surrounded by three putative Sp1 binding sites. Both gain and loss of function experiments indicate that Sp1 functionally interacts with E2F1 to promote HMGA1 expre…
A differential role of CREB phosphorylation in cAMP-inducible gene expression in the rat pineal
2000
In the rat pineal gland cAMP mediates nocturnal induction of the enzyme arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT) as well as of transcription factors such as inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER), Fos-related antigen-2 (Fra-2) and JunB. Cyclic AMP stimulates the phosphorylation of the DNA binding protein cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). While cAMP-induced CREB phosphorylation appears to be a prerequisite for AA-NAT and ICER gene expression, it is not known whether CREB phosphorylation accounts for the full cAMP response of the two genes. Furthermore, the significance of CREB phosphorylation in cAMP-activated Fra-2 and JunB transcription is unknown. In the present in vitro stu…
Ionizing radiation-induced E-selectin gene expression and tumor cell adhesion is inhibited by lovastatin and all-trans retinoic acid
2004
E-selectin mediated tumor cell adhesion plays an important role in metastasis. Here we show that ionizing radiation (IR) induces E-selectin gene and protein expression in human endothelial cells at therapeutically relevant dose level. E-selectin expression is accompanied by an increase in the adhesion of human colon carcinoma cells to primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor lovastatin impairs IR-stimulated E-selectin expression as analyzed at the level of the protein, mRNA and promoter. Inactivation of Rho GTPases either by use of Clostridium difficile toxin A or by co-expression of dominant-negative Rho blocked IR-induced E-selectin gene indu…
Overexpression of Human and Fly Frataxins in Drosophila Provokes Deleterious Effects at Biochemical, Physiological and Developmental Levels
2011
10 pages, 5 figures. 21779322[PubMed] PMCID: PMC3136927
Proteomic profiling of Trastuzumab (Herceptin(R))-sensitive and -resistant SKBR-3 breast cancer cells.
2013
BACKGROUND: The Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER-2), overexpressed in 25-30% of breast carcinomas (BC), is the therapeutic target for trastuzumab, a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody. The initial response to trastuzumab is often followed by drug-insensitivity within one year. Several hypotheses have been raised to explain this event, but the mechanisms behind the responses to trastuzumab are still unclear. Aim: To study the effects of short and prolonged trastuzumab treatment on the proteomic profiles of HER-2-overexpressing SKBR-3 BC cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cells were treated with trastuzumab to obtain sensitive and resistant clones. The drug effects were evaluat…
First Record of Eurasian Spoonbills Platalea leucorodia feeding on Branchiopoda in a temporary wetland
2020
The diet of the Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia is poorly documented with only the most common prey groups known, namely small fishes, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, leeches and plant material. Here, the first observations of three small crustaceans, Branchiopoda Triops cancriformis (Notostraca), Chirocephalus diaphanus (Anostraca), and Cyzicus tetracerus (Spinicaudata) are documented as prey of the Eurasian Spoonbill in a temporary wetland near the San Teodoro salt pan (Marsala, western Sicily). These observations provide a new insight into the foraging ecology of the species, showing its extreme opportunism in targeting small prey when feeding in a temporary we…
Analysis of p53 and mdm2 proteins in malignant fibrous histiocytoma in absence of gene alteration: prognostic significance.
2000
TP53 and MDM2 genes and their protein expression were evaluated in frozen and paraffin-embedded tissue from 27 patients with malignant fibrous histiocytoma to elucidate the relationship between them, their implication in tumor progression mechanisms and their possible diagnostic-prognostic value in malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA were used to establish two TP53 mutations (7.4%): a point mutation and a 63-bp duplication. Amplification of the MDM2 gene was observed in two tumors (7.4%) by means of Southern-blot analysis, one of them also carrying the TP53 point mutation. Immunohis…
OVERTURE Love Love is a Pink Cake or Queering Chopin in Times of Homophobia
2021
An introduction to the three essays included in this section. The article highlights the right to know whether Chopin was gay and contextualizes this inquiry in a very long and pervasive historiographical tradition, essentially twohundred years long, dedicated to examine Chopin sexual orientation, on the one hand, and on the other the more recent tradition of queering western classical music composers. The main point is not to demonstrate categorically that Chopin was ?gay? (a relative, modern identity marker in any case) but rather to highlight the discourses that have presented him as unequivocally heterosexual.