JCI Table of Contents, 1 October, 2003
... SSS patients from 7 families for mutations in the alpha subunit of the cardiac sodium channel gene (SCN5A) a gene previously associated with cardiac rhythm disorders - and found that 5 individuals carrying mutations in this gene demonstrated a loss of sodium channel function, predicted to reduce excitabi......l smooth muscle. The BK channel is comprised of an alpha and beta subunit. Calcium release within the myocyte activates the BK channel and the beta subunit is crucial in regulating the sensitivity of this channel to calcium ions. Santana and colleagues examined the role of this critical subunit in hyperten...JCI Table of Contents, 15 August 2003
... examined the consequence of inactivating the ENaC alpha subunit in the CD while leaving ENaC expression in the late DCT and CNT intact in mice. The authors found that ENaC expression in the CD is not a prerequisite for achieving sodium and potassium balance, stressing the more proximal nephron segments (l...Researchers one step closer to Holy Grail of neurobiology
...ining if the genes encoding the estrogen receptors alpha and beta could be involved in a more global brain function." The experiments were set up to study female mice sleeping in their home cages as they do during the light phase of the daily light/dark cycle. According to Pfaff, studying the animal in its...Discoveries made about cellular reaction processes from ancient life
...ent life," says White. "MptN and CofF both produce alpha glutamate bonds (the same as in proteins), so we infer that an ancestor protein was also making alpha glutamate bonds," says Graham. "The mechanism is the same, but the substrate that the glutamate is a...Type 2 diabetes linked to a family of metabolic genes
...own as NRF-1. That gave the clue to look at PCG-1 alpha and beta, genes that work with NRF-1 and may function as master controllers for many metabolic genes important in insulin resistance and diabetes. "This information is quite exciting, since it provides direction for additional critical research to ...Protein that fights bacteria and viruses cloned by Scripps scientists
...of these chemicals is called tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). Normally, TNF-alpha is produced in great amounts by macrophages when they are exposed to bacterial and viral "ligands"--the molecules found in the cell walls of bacteria, for instance. Beutler and his colleagues were able to identify the...Researchers find mechanism that may determine early blood cell fate
...s such as sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia or alpha thalassemia. One common treatment has been to introduce HSCs into the body, where they produce new blood cells to counteract abnormal blood cells or replace absent blood cells. In the recent past, most blood specialists extracted HSC from bone marr...New prospects for treating muscular dystrophy: Stem cells restore muscle in MD mice
...oangioblasts into the arteries of mice lacking the alpha sarcoglycan gene. This gene is one of several that...ied mesoangioblasts, restoring healthy versions of alpha sarcoglycan gene to the cells. Three months after a single injection, they found healthy alpha sarco...Sepsis drug fights infection, decreases hospital care over two year study
...reated for severe sepsis with the drug drotrecogin alpha activated (DAA) had markedly higher survival rates, spent less time on ventilators and in intensive care units and had no more risk of side effects than their younger counterparts -- patients 65 to 74 -- treated with the same drug. Unfortunately, t...Study results show promise for development of gene therapy to treat blood diseases
...need to produce enough of both the beta globin and alpha globin proteins to ensure that the red blood cells form properly and are able to carry sufficient oxygen. If the body is unable to produce adequate amounts, the result will be anemia that begins in early childhood and lasts throughout a patient's li...Rb2 gene may play role in determining effectiveness of drug therapies against breat cancer
...r, pRb2/p130 binds with the estrogen receptor gene alpha and sends out signals to engage or recruit a numbe...y important discovery on how the estrogen receptor alpha gene is shut off in breast cancer cells," says Dr. Richard L. Momparler, professor of pharmacology a...Plants and people share a molecular signaling system, researchers discover
...lants genetically engineered to lack the G-protein alpha subunit, the researchers learned that these mutant...bscisic acid hormone, revealing that the G-protein alpha subunit is essential for relaying this drought-alert signal. The researchers further discovered that......uspected that slow-moving, heavy particles such as alpha particles and neutrons should leave a characteristic pattern of damage. These kinds of radiation are known as "densely ionising" because they wreak havoc within a short tunnel; "sparsely ionising" X-rays or gamma rays spread their damage along a much...Lithium shows promise against Alzheimers in mouse model
...Inhibiting the enzyme, glycogen synthase kinase 3 alpha (GSK-3 alpha), also blocks formation of neurofibri...a amyloid, as did blocking expression of the GSK-3 alpha protein. Likewise, raising GSK-3 alpha levels enhanced beta amyloid production. These experiments ...Four gene 'micronet' found to regulate social behavior in female mice
... the genes for oxytocin and the estrogen receptors alpha and beta fail to recognize normal female mice afte...g for the neuropeptide oxytocin, estrogen receptor alpha or estrogen receptor beta, was removed from the social recognition pathway in mice. Estrogen recepto...Heart disease among some Japanese may be due to sequencing variation inside a gene
...SCN5A gene (sodium channel, voltage-gated, type V, alpha polypeptide) is responsible for the initial upstroke of the heart's action potential. Mutations of the gene cause a wide variety of arrhythmias, including LQT3, BS, idiopathic ventricular fibrillation and conduction disorder. During the search for v...Studies of rare blood syndrome yield novel route to cancer
...ed a fusion between two genes, FIP1L1 and PDGFR alpha , which switches on PDGFR alpha , a tyrosine kinase. The researchers later confirmed that Gleevec did specifically block the activi...Interferons effective against smallpox
...mallpox treatments. Mice treated with interferons alpha and gamma had survival rates over 95 percent, comp...vived. Intranasal administration of interferon alpha and interferon gamma provides nearly full protection against respiratory vaccinia virus infection in...Alcohol researchers relate a genetic factor to anxiety in women
...th COMT Met158/Met158 also exhibited a low-voltage alpha EEG, a specific brain-wave pattern associated with... genotypes. They also did not have the low-voltage alpha EEG. "Men naturally tend to have lower anxiety scores," says Dr. Enoch, "but it's possible that ther...