Search results for "FRAGMENTS"
showing 10 items of 422 documents
Sorting signals in the cytosolic tail of membrane proteins involved in the interaction with plant ARF1 and coatomer.
2004
Summary In mammals and yeast, a cytosolic dilysine motif is critical for endoplasmic reticulum (ER) localization of type I membrane proteins. Retrograde transport of type I membrane proteins containing dilysine motifs at their cytoplasmic carboxy (C)-terminal tail involves the interaction of these motifs with the COPI coat. The C-terminal dilysine motif has also been shown to confer ER localization to type I membrane proteins in plant cells. Using in vitro binding assays, we have analyzed sorting motifs in the cytosolic tail of membrane proteins, which may be involved in the interaction with components of the COPI coat in plant cells. We show that a dilysine motif in the −3,−4 position (rel…
FERULIC ACID INHIBITS OXIDATE STRESS AND CELL DEATH INDUCED BY Ab OLIGOMERS: IMPROVED DELIVERY BY SOLID LIPID NANOPARTICLES.
2009
Oxidative stress and dysfunctional mitochondria are among the earliest events in AD, triggering neurodegeneration. The use of natural antioxidants could be a neuroprotective strategy for blocking cell death. Here, the antioxidant action of ferulic acid (FA) on different paths leading to degeneration of recombinant beta-amyloid peptide (rAbeta42) treated cells was investigated. Further, to improve its delivery, a novel drug delivery system (DDS) was used. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), empty or containing ferulic acid (FA-SNL), were developed as DDS. The resulting particles had small colloidal size and highly negative surface charge in water. Using neuroblastoma cells and rAbeta42 oligome…
Framing Migrant Memories: Lampedusa's Fragmented Archives
2022
The small island of Lampedusa, a key destination of the Central Mediterranean Route connecting Africa to Italy, offers a special observatory on the contemporary trans-Mediterranean odyssey of migrants, although often transformed into a “border spectacle.” Upon landing, migrants are stripped of their belongings, as these are impounded by the authorities. Such an act of dispossession is intended to deprive them of their histories, family ties and cultural identity. Photographer Mario Badagliacca has portrayed a selection of these lost and retrieved items in his work Fragments (2013). Each object reveals expectations, fears, desires, endurance, but cannot tell a full story. They are fragments …
The structural plasticity of the C terminus of p21Cip1 is a determinant for target protein recognition.
2003
The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitory protein p21(Cip1) might play multiple roles in cell-cycle regulation through interaction of its C-terminal domain with a defined set of cellular proteins such as proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), calmodulin (CaM), and the oncoprotein SET. p21(Cip1) could be described as an intrinsically unstructured protein in solution although the C-terminal domain adopts a well-defined extended conformation when bound to PCNA. However, the molecular mechanism of the interaction with CaM and the oncoprotein SET is not well understood, partly because of the lack of structural information. In this work, a peptide derived from the C-terminal domain of p21(Cip1) …
Ectodomain shedding of L1 adhesion molecule promotes cell migration by autocrine binding to integrins.
2001
The L1 adhesion molecule plays an important role in axon guidance and cell migration in the nervous system. L1 is also expressed by many human carcinomas. In addition to cell surface expression, the L1 ectodomain can be released by a metalloproteinase, but the biological function of this process is unknown. Here we demonstrate that membrane-proximal cleavage of L1 can be detected in tumors and in the developing mouse brain. The shedding of L1 involved a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM)10, as transfection with dominant-negative ADAM10 completely abolishes L1 release. L1-transfected CHO cells (L1-CHO) showed enhanced haptotactic migration on fibronectin and laminin, which was blocked …
Cytoglobin is a respiratory protein in connective tissue and neurons, which is up-regulated by hypoxia.
2004
Cytoglobin is a recently discovered vertebrate globin distantly related to myoglobin, and its function is unknown. Here we present the first detailed analysis of the distribution and expression of cytoglobin. Northern and Western blotting experiments show the presence of cytoglobin mRNA and protein in a broad range of tissues. Quantitative PCR demonstrates an up-regulation of cytoglobin mRNA levels in rat heart and liver under hypoxic conditions (22 and 44 h of 9% oxygen). Immunofluorescence studies with three antibodies directed against different epitopes of the protein consistently show cytoglobin in connective tissue fibroblasts as well as in hepatic stellate cells. Cytoglobin is also pr…
Generation of tumor-reactive CTL against the tumor-associated antigen HER2 using retrovirally transduced dendritic cells derived from CD34+ hemopoiet…
2000
Abstract Ag-specific CD8+ CTL are crucial for effective tumor rejection. Attempts to treat human malignancies by adoptive transfer of tumor-reactive CTL have been limited due to the difficulty of generating and expanding autologous CTL with defined Ag specificity. The current study examined whether human CTL can be generated against the tumor-associated Ag HER2 using autologous dendritic cells (DC) that had been genetically engineered to express HER2. DC progenitors were expanded by culturing CD34+ hemopoietic progenitor cells in the presence of the designer cytokine HyperIL-6. Proliferating precursor cells were infected by a retroviral vector encoding the HER2 Ag and further differentiated…
HER-2/neu is expressed in human renal cell carcinoma at heterogeneous levels independently of tumor grading and staging and can be recognized by HLA-…
2000
The HER-2/neu oncoprotein, a 185 kDa membrane-associated tyrosine kinase with extensive homology to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R), is overexpressed in breast and ovarian carcinomas. Its overexpression is closely associated with poor prognosis in the course of disease. Here we demonstrate HER-2/neu overexpression in both established cell lines and biopsy material obtained from renal epithelial tumors. Immunohistochemical analysis of human kidney tumor lesions using 2 HER-2/neu-specific antibodies revealed HER-2/neu expression in more than 40% of primary epithelial renal tumors and more than 30% of primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) specimens. A distinctive HER-2/neu expression…
Cytotoxic T cells with reciprocal antigenic peptide presentation function are not generally resistant to mutual lysis
2003
Cytotoxic T cells normally express major histocompatibility complex class I molecules, to which their T cell antigen receptors are restricted. Therefore, a single cytotoxic T cell can not only act as a cytolytic effector cell, but also as an antigen-presenting cell for other cytotoxic T cells of the same or a different clone. In the present paper, we used a murine cytotoxic T cell clone, 10BK.1, recognizing the ovalbumin-derived peptide OVA257-264 in combination with H-2Kb to investigate the consequences of reciprocal antigen presentation by these cytotoxic T cells. These cells proliferate after incubation with the relevant peptide in the absence of added accessory cells, indicating recipro…
A continuous infusion of a minor histocompatibility antigen-immunodominant peptide induces a delay of male skin graft rejection.
2009
Abstract We previously reported that an inhibition of antigen-specific Interferon-γ release and cytotoxicity occurs after a continuous infusion of an HY immunodominant peptide although this treatment is not able to cause a significant delay of male skin grafts rejection. In vivo administration of high doses of an HY peptide, through mini-osmotic pumps, in naive female mice was used to study the effects on the male skin grafts rejection. A continuous infusion of 1 mg of an HY peptide induces a significant delay of male skin graft rejection. In vitro HY-specific Interferon-γ release was inhibited adding peptide-specific suppressor cells: the ability to inhibit Interferon-γ release was evident…