A single sugar found responsible for an antibody's ability to treat inflammation
...s protective ability. IgG antibodies bind to and activate specific immune cells, with different forms or "subclasses" binding to specific receptors (called Fc receptors) on the immune cell's surface. Antibody subclasses have different abilities to induce inflammation in the body by virtue of their selectiv......l" experimental paradigm to study how novel images activate the SN/VTA of volunteer subjects' brains. In this method--as the subject's brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging--they were shown a series of images of the same face or outdoor scene. However, the researchers randomly interm...Key fat and cholesterol cell regulator identified, promising target
...process called RNAi, SREBPs were no longer able to activate cholesterol and lipid biosynthesis genes. To validate these findings in a physiological setting, the researchers turned to the microscopic worm C. elegans, a favorite model organism among those studying evolutionarily conserved biological processes b...JCI table of contents: August 1, 2006
...o identify ways in which to selectively engage and activate CTLA-4 to treat diabetes. In a study appearing in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Jeffrey Bluestone and colleagues from the University of California, San Francisco, designed and developed a transgenic mouse expressing an an...Evidence of rapid evolution is found at the tips of chromosomes
...l for telomere protection. Without TRF2, telomeres activate a DNA damage signal and are repaired by the same pathways that act on DNA breaks. TRF2 brings a second shelterin protein, POT1, to the telomeres. Because POT1 binds to single-stranded telomeric DNA present at the very end of the chromosomes, the de L...Timing of food consumption activates genes in specific brain area, researchers find
...en the food stopped coming, the genes continued to activate at the expected mealtime. "This might be an entrance to the whole mysterious arena of how metabolic conditions in an animal can synchronize themselves with a body clock," said Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa, professor of molecular genetics and senior auth...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...ainst a chromatin-regulating protein, one known to activate the interferon-like response, the other not. The one with the off-target interferon-like response also reduced dendritic complexity confirming an off-target, and thus nonspecific, action on dendritic and synaptic structures. 2. Making Oligodendroc...JCI table of contents: July 20, 2006
...dent on nAChRs. Furthermore, nicotine appears to activate the major components of the cell proliferation cycle in a manner very reminiscent of growth factors. Specifically, nicotine stimulation leads to the binding of Raf-1 to Rb, activation of cyclin-dependent kinases, phosphorylation of Rb, and recruitmen...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...rized the axons, suggesting that endogenous NO can activate the pathway. The source was endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) because optic nerves from mice lacking eNOS lacked tonic levels of NO and the associated depolarization. Immunostaining revealed eNOS in microvascular endothelial cells and cGMP in ...Case Western Reserve University researchers find protein associated with brain cell death
...ne nucleotides exchange factors) that are known to activate oxidation. Vav was selected from the group for study. The inflammatory response that arise when the microglia connects with the plaque has been suspected as producing the oxidative damage observed in both human and animal models of AD, report the...Boosting killer cells might improve breast-cancer drug
...e to study IL-21 because the substance is known to activate NK cells and causes them to release substances that attract other immune cells to a tumor site. This study's findings came from several experiments. First, the scientists exposed NK cells in Petri dishes to both Herceptin and IL-21. This caused th...Brain-computer link lets paralyzed patients convert thoughts into actions
...Cyberkinetics, "hold promise to one day be able to activate limb muscles with these brain signals, effectively restoring brain-to-muscle control via a physical nervous system." "Our researchers initiated the clinical trial with the hope of being able to develop a non-obtrusive system that would one day pro...Findings by Einstein scientists reveal possible strategy against obesity, diabetes and infertility
...-surface receptors in the hypothalamus and then to activate various other cellular signals including a molecule called STAT3--but the role of STAT3 in mediating leptin's multiple physiological effects was still unknown," says Dr. Luciano Rossetti, the study's senior author and the director of the Diabetes Res...Medium is the message for stem cells in search of identities
... different regions. If molecules from the matrix activate genes in stem cells responsible for generating neural components, potentially any of the molecules can be tested to find its specific role during development of the brain, according to UF neuroscientist Katrin Goetz, M.D., first author of the paper. ...UCSD biologists solve plant growth hormone enigma
... For example, to make seedless tomatoes, one could activate auxin in the floral organs before fertilization has taken place." Applying auxin to the flowers by hand can also induce seedless tomatoes, or other seedless fruit, but this method is too tedious to be useful for commercial purposes. Seedless frui...UC San Diego biologists solve plant growth hormone enigma
... For example, to make seedless tomatoes, one could activate auxin in the floral organs before fertilization has taken place." Applying auxin to the flowers by hand can also induce seedless tomatoes, or other seedless fruit, but this method is too tedious to be useful for commercial purposes. Seedless fruits ...USC researchers investigate protein that protects tumors
...n, along with several of its cousins, was found to activate EphB4, he said. "There are certain growth factors that can make this particular protein (EphB4) go up," Gill says. "We are learning more about how this protein is turned on and off in a cancer cell."...New research may reduce global need for nitrogen fertilizers
... a good understanding of the processes required to activate nodule development. The nodule is an essential component of this nitrogen fixing interaction as it provides the conditions required for the bacteria. Nodules are normally only formed when the plant perceives the presence of the bacteria. The fact tha...The molecular mechanism of a diabetes vaccine revealed
...rther. The scientists also showed that in order to activate this response, p277 must be bound to the receptor TLR-2, which is found on the cell walls of the regulatory T cells. "These findings are important, as it means that by identifying the molecular activity of p277 with such precision, we can copy nature...... recognizing the pattern of a specific pathogen to activate an immune response that kills the invader," explained George Dimopoulos, PhD, senior author of the study and assistant professor in the Bloomberg School's Malaria Research Institute. The AgDscam gene--short for Anopheles gambiae Down syndrome cell ad...