Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Cell and Developmental Biology Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology
Intermediate Filaments Regulate Tissue Size And Stiffness In The Murine Lens, Douglas S. Fudge, John V. Mccuaig, Shannon Van Stralen, John F. Hess, Huan Wang, Richard T. Mathias, Paul G. Fitzgerald
Intermediate Filaments Regulate Tissue Size And Stiffness In The Murine Lens, Douglas S. Fudge, John V. Mccuaig, Shannon Van Stralen, John F. Hess, Huan Wang, Richard T. Mathias, Paul G. Fitzgerald
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
PURPOSE. To define the contributions of the beaded filament (BF), a lens-specific intermediate filament (IF), to lens morphology and biomechanics.
METHODS. Wild-type and congenic CP49 knockout (KO) mice were compared by using electrophysiological, biomechanical, and morphometric approaches, to determine changes that occurred because of the absence of this cytoskeletal structure.
RESULTS. Electrophysiological assessment established that the fiber cells lacking the lens-specific IFs were indistinguishable from wild-type fiber cells. The CP49 KO mice exhibited lower stiffness, and an unexpected higher resilience than the wildtype lenses. The absence of these filaments resulted in lenses that were smaller, and exhibited a higher ratio …
Quantifying Agonist Activity At G Protein-Coupled Receptors, Frederick J. Ehlert, Hinako Suga, Michael T. Griffin
Quantifying Agonist Activity At G Protein-Coupled Receptors, Frederick J. Ehlert, Hinako Suga, Michael T. Griffin
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
When an agonist activates a population of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), it elicits a signaling pathway that culminates in the response of the cell or tissue. This process can be analyzed at the level of a single receptor, a population of receptors, or a downstream response. Here we describe how to analyze the downstream response to obtain an estimate of the agonist affinity constant for the active state of single receptors.
Receptors behave as quantal switches that alternate between active and inactive states (Figure 1). The active state interacts with specific G proteins or other signaling partners. In the absence …