Newly discovered protein may be key to muscular dystrophy
...urotransmitter acetylcholine at the synapse -- the junction where the two cells meet. Researchers have identified transporters for most neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine and glutamate. The transporters remove neurotransmitters from the synapse, in effect providing an "off" switch to the neurotran...... mefloquine, an anti-malarial drug, blocks two gap junction proteins, or connexins, in low doses and with very few side effects in the brains of laboratory mice. The work opens an important door: Connexins found in high concentrations in the brain are believed to play a critical role in movement, vision and m...Carnegie Mellon U. develops microgel to recover enzymes for manufacturing, research assays
...single DNA strands were used to create a three-way junction (TWJ) that looks like spokes of a wheel. To the end of each spoke, they tethered a strand of peptide nucleic acid (PNA), a synthetic material that recognizes and binds to DNA. Finally, enzyme complexes were then attached irreversibly to the tips of u...JCI table of contents, January 2, 2004
...ign antigen complexes are recognized. The CTL ring junction acts as a presynapse, setting the stage for sensit...xic T lymphocytes form an antigen-independent ring junction AUTHOR CONTACT: Michael L. Dustin Skirball institute of Biomolecular Medicine, New York University ...Childhood sleep-disordered breathing severity related to tonsil size, oropharyngeal volume
...ls laterally. A horizontal line extending from the junction of the hard and soft palate to the posterior wall of the pharynx defined the rostral limit of the oropharynx, while the tip of the epiglottis defined the caudal margin. Data Analysis: Subjects were divided into two groups: one with high- (>7) ...Nicotine exposure in aging hearts
...le large activation wavefront originating from the junction between the LA and the pulmonary vein was present in both the young and old rats that propagated from the LA to the RA. During induced AF, multiple independent waterfronts separated by recovered atria tissues were present in both the young and old ra...The area where carcinogens settle may be a key factor in developing lung cancer
...enings of the right and left main bronchi at their junction with the trachea -- is a potentially important mechanism for human pulmonary carcinogenesis. Animal studies indicate that clearing particles is much slower in the airway carinas than in the tubular airway segments. The methods currently used to calc...'Kiss-and-run' rules the inner lives of neurons
...urotransmitters are released into the synapse, the junction between neurons. Electrical impulses in the neuron cause tiny vesicles loaded with neurotransmitters to move to the tip of the nerve terminal where they are released. In an article published in the June 5, 2003, issue of the journal Nature , HHMI in...New cause identified for incurable muscle condition
...from an autoimmune attack against the nerve-muscle junction in which the nerve's communication to the muscle is broken down. In a study appearing this week in the online early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers unveil a new cause discovered in a single patient: a genetic m...Controlling cell adhesion: Researchers report first evidence of 'catch bonds'
...ryan Marshall applied piconewton-scale forces to a junction connecting P-selectin and PSGL-1 molecules. Despite the difficulty of measuring such small forces, he was able to demonstrate that increasing the force extends the lifetime of the bonds under certain conditions. "In one range, when we are increasing...Researchers identify important function of NF2 tumor suppressor
... of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. "Loss of junction integrity has been linked to both tumor development and tumor invasion, providing an explanation for the striking development of metastatic cancer in Nf2-mutant mice," McClatchey notes that NF2 mutations in humans have also been associated with mesot......cient cells is sufficient to restore both adherens junction formation and contact-mediated growth inhibition. ...er. As Dr. McClatchey explains, "Loss of adherens junction integrity has been linked to both tumor development and tumor invasion, providing an explanation for...Carnegie Mellon scientists create unique DNA probe with great potential
...ral quadruplex structure, which can be viewed as a junction element. This is distinct from a Watson-Crick duplex, where only two strands are connected. "Michael Crichton might not use this in his next book, but the opportunities for building functional nanostructures based on the PNA2-DNA2 hybrid quadruplex...Rockefeller scientists identify 'natural' proteins that push stem cells to produce hair, not skin
...h other cells may be that their levels of adherens junction proteins are not maintained," she says. "For example, squamous cell skin cancers are large masses of cells that invaginate downward." Too much, or too little, E-cadherin is "a bad thing," Fuchs says. With too much, hair can't develop. With too littl...New strategies against disease revealed as scientists probe genes' tasks
...ssion within a single cell. One such domain is the junction where a nerve joins to a muscle cell. This information may have implications for treating Lou Gehrig's disease, or Spinal Muscular Atrophy (also known as "floppy baby syndrome"), according to Hoffman. Hoffman is also studying a group of people who ar...Food for thought: Cells dine on their own brains to stay fit and trim
...p and remain the best-understood, inter-organellar junction apparatus in nature. "It's possible that PMN may not only recycle damaged or useless portions of the nucleus," says Goldfarb. "It's possible that PMN increases the life span of yeast cells which, like humans, age and die." Although it's unknown if PM...DNA unzipping found to take at least two proteins, not one alone
... single-strand tail of a DNA, but once it hits the junction of the one-way and two-way streets, it cannot go any further. It will disassociate at the junction unless you have another coming in to bind to it." Ha and colleagues studied the helicases found in E...Rice, Brookhaven physicists decode initial stage of cell fusion
... junction, a tiny hole between the two cells. This junction widens over time until one single, continuous membrane envelopes the contents of both cells. Huang and co-author Lin Yang, a former graduate student of Huang at Rice and now a postdoctoral physicist at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source (...First biologic pacemaker created by gene therapy in guinea pigs
...r atrium, of the heart, and one set straddling the junction between the atrium and the lower chamber, or ventricle. Damage to either set of pacemaker cells or the connection between them can require an electronic pacemaker. About 250,000 electronic pacemakers, about the size of a personal digital assistant (P...... swallow or inhales it. When the toxin reaches the junction of a nerve and muscle the presynaptic motor neuron it binds to receptors on the surface of the motor neurons. After entering the cell, a portion of the toxin chops up proteins and prevents the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from reaching the muscle...