Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Biochemical And Biophysical Analysis Of The Intracellular Lipid Binding Proteins Of Adipocytes, Melanie A. Simpson, Vince J. Licata, Natalie Ribarik Coe, David A. Bernlohr Dec 1999

Biochemical And Biophysical Analysis Of The Intracellular Lipid Binding Proteins Of Adipocytes, Melanie A. Simpson, Vince J. Licata, Natalie Ribarik Coe, David A. Bernlohr

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Adipocytes express two lipid-binding proteins; the major one termed the adipocyte lipid-binding protein or aP2 (ALBP/aP2) and a minor one referred to as the keratinocyte lipid-binding protein (KLBP). In order to evaluate the potential physiological roles for these proteins, their biochemical and biophysical properties have been analyzed and compared. ALBP/aP2 and KLBP exhibit similar binding affinities for most long-chain fatty acids; however, ALBP/aP2 exhibits a two to three-fold increased affi nity for myristic, palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids, the predominant fatty acids of adipocytes. As measured by guanidinium hydrochloride denaturation, the stability of ALBP/aP2 is nearly 3 kcal/mol greater than …


Melanoma Chondroitin Sulphate Proteoglycan Regulates Cell Spreading Through Cdc42, Ack-1 And P130Cas, Kathryn M. Eisenmann, James B. Mccarthy, Melanie A. Simpson, Patricia J. Keely, Jun-Lin Guan, Kouichi Tachibana, Louis Lim, Ed Manser, Leo T. Furcht, Joji Iida Dec 1999

Melanoma Chondroitin Sulphate Proteoglycan Regulates Cell Spreading Through Cdc42, Ack-1 And P130Cas, Kathryn M. Eisenmann, James B. Mccarthy, Melanie A. Simpson, Patricia J. Keely, Jun-Lin Guan, Kouichi Tachibana, Louis Lim, Ed Manser, Leo T. Furcht, Joji Iida

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Melanoma chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (MCSP) is a cell-surface antigen that has been implicated in the growth and invasion of melanoma tumors. Although this antigen is expressed early in melanoma progression, its biological function is unknown. MCSP can stimulate the integrin-α4β1-mediated adhesion and spreading of melanoma cells. Here we show that stimulated MCSP recruits tyrosine- phosphorylated p130cas, an adaptor protein important in tumor cell motility and invasion. MCSP stimulation also results in a pronounced activation and recruitment of the Rho-family GTPase Cdc42. MCSP-induced spreading of melanoma cells is dependent upon active Cdc42, a Cdc42-associated tyrosine kinase (Ack-1) and tyrosine phosphorylation of …


An Insulator Element And Condensed Chromatin Region Separate The Chicken Β-Globin Locus From An Independently Regulated Erythroid-Specific Folate Receptor Gene, Marie-Noelle Prioleau, Pascale Nony, Melanie A. Simpson, Gary Felsenfeld Oct 1999

An Insulator Element And Condensed Chromatin Region Separate The Chicken Β-Globin Locus From An Independently Regulated Erythroid-Specific Folate Receptor Gene, Marie-Noelle Prioleau, Pascale Nony, Melanie A. Simpson, Gary Felsenfeld

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

We have identified a folate receptor gene upstream of the chicken β-globin locus and separated from it by a 16 kbp region of silent chromatin. We find that this receptor is expressed only at a stage of erythroid differentiation (CFU-E) preceding the activation of β-globin genes, consistent with the role of folate receptors in proliferation. This discovery raises the question of how these two loci are regulated during erythropoiesis. Our data suggest that the folate receptor gene and the β-globin locus are regulated independently. We show that a 3.3 kbp DNA region upstream of the folate receptor gene is sufficient …


Posttranscriptional Regulation Of Mammalian Methionine Synthase By B12, Sumedha Gulati, Lawrence C. Brody, Ruma V. Banerjee Jul 1999

Posttranscriptional Regulation Of Mammalian Methionine Synthase By B12, Sumedha Gulati, Lawrence C. Brody, Ruma V. Banerjee

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Methionine synthase is one of two key enzymes involved in the removal of the metabolite, homocysteine. Elevated homocysteine levels constitute a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and for neural tube defects. In cell culture, the activity of methionine synthase is enhanced several-fold by supplementation with its cofactor, B12. The mechanism of this regulation is unknown, although it has been ascribed to a shift from apoenzyme to holoenzyme. Using sensitive assay techniques as well as a combination of Northern and Western analyses, we demonstrate that the effect of B,, on induction of methionine synthase activity is paralleled by an …


Yeast And Human Frataxin Are Processed To Mature Form In Two Sequential Steps By The Mitochondrial Processing Peptidase, Steven S. Branda, Patrizia Cavadini, Jiri Adamec, Frantisek Kalousek, Franco Taroni, Grazia Isaya Jan 1999

Yeast And Human Frataxin Are Processed To Mature Form In Two Sequential Steps By The Mitochondrial Processing Peptidase, Steven S. Branda, Patrizia Cavadini, Jiri Adamec, Frantisek Kalousek, Franco Taroni, Grazia Isaya

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Frataxin is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein which is deficient in Friedreich’s ataxia, a hereditary neurodegenerative disease. Yeast mutants lacking the yeast frataxin homologue (Yfh1p) show iron accumulation in mitochondria and increased sensitivity to oxidative stress, suggesting that frataxin plays a critical role in mitochondrial iron homeostasis and free radical toxicity. Both Yfh1p and frataxin are synthesized as larger precursor molecules that, upon import into mitochondria, are subject to two proteolytic cleavages, yielding an intermediate and a mature size form. A recent study found that recombinant rat mitochondrial processing peptidase (MPP) cleaves the mouse frataxin precursor to the intermediate but not …


Early And Late Endosomal Compartments Of Entamoeba Histolytica Are Enriched In Cysteine Proteases, Acid Phosphatase And Several Ras-Related Rab Gtpases, Lesly A. Temesvari, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Stanley Jr., James Cardelli Jan 1999

Early And Late Endosomal Compartments Of Entamoeba Histolytica Are Enriched In Cysteine Proteases, Acid Phosphatase And Several Ras-Related Rab Gtpases, Lesly A. Temesvari, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Stanley Jr., James Cardelli

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Pure populations of early and late endosomes of Entamoeba histolytica were isolated by magnetic fractionation and characterized. It was shown that these vesicles were enriched in acid phosphatase and cysteine protease activities. An important virulence factor, a 27-kDa cysteine protease, was also enriched in early and late endosomes of E. histolytica. These data suggest that E. histolytica hydrolases reside in compartments that are part of or communicate with the endosomal pathway. To begin to identify the role of Rab GTPases in E. histolytica, an oligonucleotide approach was employed to screen an E. histolytica cDNA library for genes encoding …