Scientists Show For The First Time How Leprosy Bug Targets Peripheral Nerves
...es, particularlycongenital muscular dystrophy, the expression of laminin-2 and its receptordystroglycan is significantly diminished. This disturbs the linkage betweenextracellular laminin-2 and intracellular cytoskeleton through the dystroglycanreceptor. This causes the dysfunction of both muscle and peripheral...Brain Building May Depend On DNA Cutting And Pasting
...ptor or some other protein that ultimately leadsto expression of a surface receptor," Alt says. So far, total deletions of XRCC4 and ligase IV have not shown up inhumans. Presumably, such mutations would be embryonically lethal, Alt says, "butit is possible that more subtle defects in the genes could sh...Immortalizing Enzyme Does Not Make Human Cells Cancerous
...nitely, do. "We clearly demonstrate that the expression of telomerase in culturedhuman cells does not cause cancer progression," said Wright, thereby reducingconcerns that telomerase might act as an oncogene, a gene that can induce a cellto become malignant. "The abnormalities seen in cancer cells are due...Gene Therapy Incorporates Molecular Rheostat For Controlled, Long-Term Drug Delivery
... report."This system will allow us to modulate the expression of a delivered gene inresponse to changes in a patient's disease." The new system couples advances at Penn allowing the long-termintroduction of genes into the body with a patented technology (ARGENT) toregulate gene activity from ARIAD. ...How Super Are The "Super Aspirins"? -- New COX-2 Inhibitors May Elevate Cardiovascular Risk
... however, indicates that blood flow stimulates the expression of COX-2 by blood vessels. The Penn results suggest that the same is true in vivo. Excessive aggregation of platelets can lead to thrombosis, dangerousclotting that can result in heart attacks and strokes. So, the fact that COX-2inhibitors in...Gene Knockout Prolongs Ovarian Lifespan In Mice
...sresearch by the MGH-based team had shown that Bax expression was correlated withovarian cell death in mice and ...ation would requireselectively blocking the gene's expression in the ovary alone, something thatcurrently is impossible. The study was led by Gloria Perez, DVM, ...Growth Factor Contributes To Angiogenesis
... able to survive,apparently because VEGF increases expression of a "survival gene" called Bcl-2. VEGF also induced the cells to organize themselves into vessel-like structures. After seeing this effect in cell culture, the U-M team developed a model systemto study how human blood vessels behave inside the body.......king with adult mice, the UCSF team focused on the expression patterns of twoembryonic genes, cbfal and Indian h...s process of "reinduction," the genes activatedthe expression of two proteins that contributed to bone healing in the adultmodel in a sequence very similar to the...UD Valentine Science: Cell "Dating" Habits May Promise Healthier Hearts
.... Naikknew he had a match when the process of gene expression was triggered as aresult of a protein-protein interaction. In this way, Naik can screen a million cloned proteins for naturally formingcouples--a widely used technique, which he described in the Journal ofBiological Chemistry (Feb. 21, 1997, vol. 2......lar matrix regulates adhesion, communication, gene expression andother interactions between the cell and its environment. Thus, it is of keeninterest to scientists studying basic cell biology as well as engineersdesigning artificial devices to integrate naturally into the body. Fibronectin is comprised ...Molecular Control Mechanism Of Embryonic Development Unraveled
...teins called "Hox proteins" that control thetimely expression of genes -- and thereby control the production of the "nextstage" proteins needed for embryonic development. The action of Hox proteinsmust, in turn, be coordinated to assure the accurate development of an embryo;that coordination involves another s...Researchers Identify Gene That Sets Boundaries For Heart Chamber Development
...ventricles or the atria?or whethertheir restricted expression reflected a role in setting up the heart chambers....d their colleagues showed that Irx4 can induce the expression of aventricle-specific gene, ventricle myosin heavy chain-1 (VMHC1), and prevent theexpression of an...UCSD And NIH Researchers Isolate Candidates For Genetic Basis Of Human Taste
...tors, were singled out as a result of their unique expression in taste budsof the tongue and palate epithelium. The isolation of the candidate taste receptor genes provides the groundworknecessary for manipulating the perception of taste and devising methods tostimulate or block taste cell function. The identif...Gene Orchestrates Heart Chamber Development
...ricted to theventricles. It has not been clear how expression of these genes is restricted toone chamber or the ...the heart. A homeobox gene, Irx4 influences the expression of many other genes."Homeobox genes frequently tell a whole chunk of tissue to organize or tell acel......ion and found that axons are not required for NT-3 expression but localsignals from the environment. In the limb...heouter epithelial layer, are responsible for NT-3 expression in the underlyingmesenchyme. Using the Wnt expressing cell lines provided by Andreas Kispert fromthe...Researchers Find Fas Ligand Is Important In Blinding Disease
...ere may bedrugs that could be used to increase the expression of Fas ligand in the retinaand inhibit the growth ...ressed on RPE cells inthe retina and to follow the expression of FasL over time to learn whetherproblems develop that could contribute to the new vessel growth se...Abgenix Reports Encouraging Preclinical Results With ABX-EGF In Cancer Research
...for treatment of breast cancer. With cancer cells, expression of EGFr is significantly increased, whichincreases growth stimuli and causes cells to divide abnormally. Consequently,many cancer cells require EGFr for their survival. ABX-EGF binds with highaffinity to the EGFr and selectively targets these cance..."Self Organizing Maps" Help Analyze Thousands Of Genes
...ly expressed in the samebasic pattern, knowing the expression pattern of a gene could help identify itsfunction,...The paper is titled "Interpreting patterns of gene expression withself-organzing maps: Methods and applications to hematopoietic differentiation." The authors are...New Gene May Play Important Role In Regulating HDL, The 'Good' Cholesterol
...ovirus into several strains of mice. In each case, expression of the newgene resulted in significant reductions of HDL levels in the blood. The Penn coauthors on the study are Dawn Marchadier and CyrilleMaugcais. Additional authors at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer are Kevin J. Lynch, JohnKrawiec, Kim Doan, Victor...Study Furthers Understanding Of Critical Alzheimer's Disease Gene
...n (APP), theresearchers were able to document that expression of a mutant form of thepresenilin-1 (PS-1) protein caused a significant reduction in the amount ofamyloid formed. This continuing study of the mechanisms of plaque formation,researchers believe, moves them ever closer to the possible development of...