Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Regulation Of Energy Stores And Feeding By Neuronal And Peripheral Creb Activity In Drosophila., Koichi Iijima, Lijuan Zhao, Christopher Shenton, Kanae Iijima-Ando

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

The cAMP-responsive transcription factor CREB functions in adipose tissue and liver to regulate glycogen and lipid metabolism in mammals. While Drosophila has a homolog of mammalian CREB, dCREB2, its role in energy metabolism is not fully understood. Using tissue-specific expression of a dominant-negative form of CREB (DN-CREB), we have examined the effect of blocking CREB activity in neurons and in the fat body, the primary energy storage depot with functions of adipose tissue and the liver in flies, on energy balance, stress resistance and feeding behavior. We found that disruption of CREB function in neurons reduced glycogen and lipid stores …

Neutralization Of Botulinum Neurotoxin By A Human Monoclonal Antibody Specific For The Catalytic Light Chain., Sharad P Adekar, Tsuyoshi Takahashi, R Mark Jones, Fetweh H Al-Saleem, Denise M Ancharski, Michael J Root, B P Kapadnis, Lance L Simpson, Scott K Dessain

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) are a family of category A select bioterror agents and the most potent biological toxins known. Cloned antibody therapeutics hold considerable promise as BoNT therapeutics, but the therapeutic utility of antibodies that bind the BoNT light chain domain (LC), a metalloprotease that functions in the cytosol of cholinergic neurons, has not been thoroughly explored.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used an optimized hybridoma method to clone a fully human antibody specific for the LC of serotype A BoNT (BoNT/A). The 4LCA antibody demonstrated potent in vivo neutralization when administered alone and collaborated with an antibody specific for …