Search results for "Cytoskeletal Protein"
showing 10 items of 119 documents
Gene Repair of an Usher Syndrome Causing Mutation by Zinc-Finger Nuclease Mediated Homologous Recombination
2012
PURPOSE. Human Usher syndrome (USH) is the most frequent cause of inherited deaf-blindness. It is clinically and genetically heterogeneous, assigned to three clinical types of which the most severe type is USH1. No effective treatment for the ophthalmic component of USH exists. Gene augmentation is an attractive strategy for hereditary retinal diseases. However, several USH genes, like USH1C, are expressed in various isoforms, hampering gene augmentation. As an alternative treatment strategy, we applied the zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN) technology for targeted gene repair of an USH1C, causing mutation by homologous recombination. METHODS. We designed ZFNs customized for the p.R31X nonsense mut…
Differential Distribution of Harmonin Isoforms and Their Possible Role in Usher-1 Protein Complexes in Mammalian Photoreceptor Cells
2003
PURPOSE. Human Usher syndrome is the most common form of combined deafness and blindness. Usher type I (USH1), the most severe form, is characterized by profound congenital deafness, constant vestibular dysfunction, and prepubertal onset retinitis pigmentosa. Previous studies have shown that the USH1-proteins myosin VIIa, harmonin, and cadherin 23 interact and form a functional network during hair cell differentiation in the inner ear. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the molecular and cellular functions of these USH1 proteins in the mammalian retina. METHODS. Antibodies to USH1 proteins were generated and used in Western blot analysis of subcellular photoreceptor fractions a…
Usher syndrome: molecular links of pathogenesis, proteins and pathways.
2006
Contains fulltext : 50437.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Usher syndrome is the most common form of deaf-blindness. The syndrome is both clinically and genetically heterogeneous, and to date, eight causative genes have been identified. The proteins encoded by these genes are part of a dynamic protein complex that is present in hair cells of the inner ear and in photoreceptor cells of the retina. The localization of the Usher proteins and the phenotype in animal models indicate that the Usher protein complex is essential in the morphogenesis of the stereocilia bundle in hair cells and in the calycal processes of photoreceptor cells. In addition, the Usher proteins are important in…
Occurrence and genotypes of Giardia isolated from lambs in Spain
2009
Three hundred and eighty six faecal specimens were randomly collected from 1- to 3-month-old lambs from 16 farms in Spain to investigate the presence of different genotypes of Giardia duodenalis. Individual specimens were examined by IFA (Immunofluorescence assay) and beta-giardin PCR polymerase chain reaction. Cysts of G. duodenalis were shed by lambs in every flock analyzed, showing a prevalence by farms of 100%. The average prevalence of G. duodenalis for the 386 specimens was 42%, ranging from 8.3 to 80% depending on the farm. beta-giardin PCR positive samples were sequenced to determine the genotypes present at each farm and seven new subtypes of beta-giardin Assemblage E are reported …
Identification of Two Mannoproteins Released from Cell Walls of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mnn1 mnn9 Double Mutant by Reducing Agents
1999
The cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae represents some 30% of the total weight of the cell and is made up of β-glucans, mannose-containing glycoproteins (mannoproteins), and small amounts of chitin (9, 15). The mannoproteins can be divided into three groups according to the linkages that bind them to the structure of the cell wall: (i) noncovalently bound, (ii) covalently bound to the structural glucan, and (iii) disulfide bound to other proteins that are themselves covalently bound to the structural glucan of the cell wall (8). Our work has focused on the disulfide-bound mannoproteins, probably the least well known of the three groups mentioned above. Previous work (25) showed that trea…
In vivo detection of cytokeratin filament network breakdown in cells treated with the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid.
2001
We have previously described vulva carcinoma-derived A-431 subclone AK13-1, which stably expresses fluorescently labeled cytokeratin filaments (CKFs). Time-lapse fluorescence microscopy of these cells permits the continuous monitoring of the dynamics of the CKF cytoskeleton in vivo. To study mechanisms and principles of CKF disassembly as it occurs, e.g., during mitosis and liver disease, we have treated cells with the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid (OA), which induces complete CKF network breakdown within 3–5 h without significantly affecting the organization of the actin- and tubulin-based cytofilaments. In time-lapse movies, we find that the network breakdown starts at the cell perip…
MMGBSA As a Tool To Understand the Binding Affinities of Filamin–Peptide Interactions
2013
Filamins (FLN) are large dimeric proteins that cross-link actin and work as important scaffolds in human cells. FLNs consist of an N-terminal actin-binding domain followed by 24 immunoglobulin-like domains (FLN1-24). FLN domains are divided into four subgroups based on their amino acid sequences. One of these subgroups, including domains 4, 9, 12, 17, 19, 21, and 23, shares a similar ligand-binding site between the β strands C and D. Several proteins, such as integrins β2 and β7, glycoprotein Ibα (GPIbα), and migfilin, have been shown to bind to this site. Here, we computationally estimated the binding free energies of filamin A (FLNa) subunits with bound peptides using the molecular mechan…
Subcellular Localization of β-Catenin Is Regulated by Cell Density
2002
It is generally accepted that subcellular distribution of beta-catenin regulates its function. Membrane-bound beta-catenin mediates cell-cell adhesion, whereas elevation of the cytoplasmic and nuclear pool of the protein is associated with an oncogenic function. Although the role of beta-catenin in transformed cells is relatively well characterized, little is known about its importance in proliferation and cell-cycle control of nontransformed epithelial cells. Using different approaches we show that in human keratinocytes (HaCaT) beta-catenin is distributed throughout the cells in subconfluent, proliferating cultures. In contrast, beta-catenin is nearly exclusively located at the plasma mem…
Dystroglycan in Skin and Cutaneous Cells: β-Subunit Is Shed from the Cell Surface
2004
In skin, hemidesmosomal protein complexes attach the epidermis to the dermis and are critical for stable connection of the basal epithelial cell cytoskeleton with the basement membrane (BM). In muscle, a similar supramolecular aggregate, the dystrophin glycoprotein complex links the inside of muscle cells with the BM. A component of the muscle complex, dystroglycan (DG), also occurs in epithelia. In this study, we characterized the expression and biochemical properties of authentic and recombinant DG in human skin and cutaneous cells in vitro. We show that DG is present at the epidermal BM zone, and it is produced by both keratinocytes and fibroblasts in vitro. The biosynthetic precursor is…
The cell adhesion domain of type XVII collagen promotes integrin-mediated cell spreading by a novel mechanism.
2001
Type XVII collagen (BP180) is a keratinocyte transmembrane protein that exists as the full-length protein in hemidesmosomes and as a 120-kDa shed ectodomain in the extracellular matrix. The largest collagenous domain of type XVII collagen, COL15, has been described previously as a cell adhesion domain (Tasanen, K., Eble, J. A., Aumailley, M., Schumann, H., Baetge, J, Tu, H., Bruckner, P., and Bruckner-Tuderman, L. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 3093-3099). In the present work, the integrin binding of triple helical, human recombinant COL15 was tested. Solid phase binding assays using recombinant integrin alpha(1)I, alpha(2)I, and alpha(10)I domains and cell spreading assays with alpha(1)beta(1)…