Medical Specialties Commons^™

The Resurgence Of The Adora2b Receptor As An Immunotherapeutic Target In Pancreatic Cancer, Inah Lee, James J Knierim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Subfields of the hippocampus display differential dynamics in processing a spatial environment, especially when changes are introduced to the environment. Specifically, when familiar cues in the environment are spatially rearranged, place cells in the CA3 subfield tend to rotate with a particular set of cues (e.g., proximal cues), maintaining a coherent spatial representation. Place cells in CA1, in contrast, display discordant behaviors (e.g., rotating with different sets of cues or remapping) in the same condition. In addition, on average, CA3 place cells shift their firing locations (measured by the center of mass, or COM) backward over time when the animal …

Versatile Applications Of Transcriptional Pulsing To Study Mrna Turnover In Mammalian Cells, Chyi-Ying A Chen, Yukiko Yamashita, Tsung-Cheng Chang, Akio Yamashita, Wenmiao Zhu, Zhenping Zhong, Ann-Bin Shyu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Development of transcriptional pulsing approaches using the c-fos and Tet-off promoter systems greatly facilitated studies of mRNA turnover in mammalian cells. However, optimal protocols for these approaches vary for different cell types and/or physiological conditions, limiting their widespread application. In this study, we have further optimized transcriptional pulsing systems for different cell lines and developed new protocols to facilitate investigation of various aspects of mRNA turnover. We apply the Tet-off transcriptional pulsing strategy to investigate ARE-mediated mRNA decay in human erythroleukemic K562 cells arrested at various phases of the cell cycle by pharmacological inhibitors. This application facilitates studies of the …

Computational Identification And Functional Validation Of Regulatory Motifs In Cartilage-Expressed Genes, Sherri R Davies, Li-Wei Chang, Debabrata Patra, Xiaoyun Xing, Karen Posey, Jacqueline Hecht, Gary D Stormo, Linda J Sandell

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chondrocyte gene regulation is important for the generation and maintenance of cartilage tissues. Several regulatory factors have been identified that play a role in chondrogenesis, including the positive transacting factors of the SOX family such as SOX9, SOX5, and SOX6, as well as negative transacting factors such as C/EBP and delta EF1. However, a complete understanding of the intricate regulatory network that governs the tissue-specific expression of cartilage genes is not yet available. We have taken a computational approach to identify cis-regulatory, transcription factor (TF) binding motifs in a set of cartilage characteristic genes to better define the transcriptional regulatory …

Western Diet, But Not High Fat Diet, Causes Derangements Of Fatty Acid Metabolism And Contractile Dysfunction In The Heart Of Wistar Rats, Christopher R Wilson, Mai K Tran, Katrina L Salazar, Martin E Young, Heinrich Taegtmeyer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Obesity and diabetes are associated with increased fatty acid availability in excess of muscle fatty acid oxidation capacity. This mismatch is implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiac contractile dysfunction and also in the development of skeletal-muscle insulin resistance. We tested the hypothesis that 'Western' and high fat diets differentially cause maladaptation of cardiac- and skeletal-muscle fatty acid oxidation, resulting in cardiac contractile dysfunction. Wistar rats were fed on low fat, 'Western' or high fat (10, 45 or 60% calories from fat respectively) diet for acute (1 day to 1 week), short (4-8 weeks), intermediate (16-24 weeks) or long (32-48 weeks) …

Ebpr Is Important For Biofilm Formation By Activating Expression Of The Endocarditis And Biofilm-Associated Pilus Operon (Ebpabc) Of Enterococcus Faecalis Og1rf, Agathe Bourgogne, Kavindra V Singh, Kristina A Fox, Kathryn J Pflughoeft, Barbara E Murray, Danielle A Garsin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We identify ef1090 (renamed ebpR) and show its importance for the transcriptional regulation of expression of the Enterococcus faecalis pilus operon, ebpABC. An ebpR deletion (DeltaebpR) mutant was found to have reduced ebpABC expression with loss of pilus production and a defect in primary adherence with, as a consequence, reduced biofilm formation.

14-3-3 Proteins Interact With The Beta-Thymosin Repeat Protein Csp24, Terry Crow, Juan-Juan Xue-Bian, Joseph T Neary

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Conditioned stimulus pathway protein 24 (Csp24) is a beta-thymosin-like protein that is homologous to other members of the family of beta-thymosin repeat proteins that contain multiple actin binding domains. Actin co-precipitates with Csp24 and co-localizes with it in the cytosol of type-B photoreceptor cell bodies. Several signal transduction pathways have been shown to regulate the phosphorylation of Csp24 and contribute to cellular plasticity. Here, we report the identification of the adapter protein 14-3-3 in lysates of the Hermissenda circumesophageal nervous system and its interaction with Csp24. Immunoprecipitation experiments using an antibody that is broadly reactive with several isoforms of the …

Mechanisms Of Perceptual Learning Of Depth Discrimination In Random Dot Stereograms, Liat Gantz, Saumil S Patel, Susana T L Chung, Ronald S Harwerth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Perceptual learning is a training induced improvement in performance. Mechanisms underlying the perceptual learning of depth discrimination in dynamic random dot stereograms were examined by assessing stereothresholds as a function of decorrelation. The inflection point of the decorrelation function was defined as the level of decorrelation corresponding to 1.4 times the threshold when decorrelation is 0%. In general, stereothresholds increased with increasing decorrelation. Following training, stereothresholds and standard errors of measurement decreased systematically for all tested decorrelation values. Post training decorrelation functions were reduced by a multiplicative constant (approximately 5), exhibiting changes in stereothresholds without changes in the inflection points. …

Quality Of Weight Loss Advice On Internet Forums, Kevin O Hwang, Kiran Farheen, Craig W Johnson, Eric J Thomas, Ann S Barnes, Elmer V Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Adults use the Internet for weight loss information, sometimes by participating in discussion forums. Our purpose was to analyze the quality of advice exchanged on these forums.

METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of messages posted to 18 Internet weight loss forums during 1 month in 2006. Advice was evaluated for congruence with clinical guidelines; potential for causing harm; and subsequent correction when it was contradictory to guidelines (erroneous) or potentially harmful. Message- and forum-specific characteristics were evaluated as predictors of advice quality and self-correction.

RESULTS: Of 3368 initial messages, 266 (7.9%) were requests for advice. Of 654 provisions …

Neural Reprogramming In Retinal Degeneration, Robert E Marc, Bryan W Jones, James R Anderson, Krista Kinard, David W Marshak, John H Wilson, Theodore Wensel, Robert J Lucas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Early visual defects in degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) may arise from phased remodeling of the neural retina. The authors sought to explore the functional expression of ionotropic (iGluR) and group 3, type 6 metabotropic (mGluR6) glutamate receptors in late-stage photoreceptor degeneration.

METHODS: Excitation mapping with organic cations and computational molecular phenotyping were used to determine whether retinal neurons displayed functional glutamate receptor signaling in rodent models of retinal degeneration and a sample of human RP.

RESULTS: After photoreceptor loss in rodent models of RP, bipolar cells lose mGluR6 and iGluR glutamate-activated currents, whereas amacrine and ganglion …

Quantitative Diffusion Tensor Imaging Detects Dopaminergic Neuronal Degeneration In A Murine Model Of Parkinson's Disease, Michael D Boska, Khader M Hasan, Danette Kibuule, Rebecca Banerjee, Erin Mcintyre, Jay A Nelson, Theresa Hahn, Howard E Gendelman, R Lee Mosley

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) is required to improve therapeutic responses. Indeed, a clinical diagnosis of resting tremor, rigidity, movement and postural deficiencies usually reflect >50% loss of the nigrostriatal system in disease. In a step to address this, quantitative diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) was used to assess nigrostriatal degeneration in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) intoxication model of dopaminergic nigral degeneration. We now demonstrate increased average diffusion (p

Short-Term Plasticity In A Computational Model Of The Tail-Withdrawal Circuit In Aplysia, Douglas A Baxter, John H Byrne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The tail-withdrawal circuit of Aplysia provides a useful model system for investigating synaptic dynamics. Sensory neurons within the circuit manifest several forms of synaptic plasticity. Here, we developed a model of the circuit and investigated the ways in which depression (DEP) and potentiation (POT) contributed to information processing. DEP limited the amount of motor neuron activity that could be elicited by the monosynaptic pathway alone. POT within the monosynaptic pathway did not compensate for DEP. There was, however, a synergistic interaction between POT and the polysynaptic pathway. This synergism extended the dynamic range of the network, and the interplay between …

Time-Kill And Synergism Studies Of Ceftobiprole Against Enterococcus Faecalis, Including Beta-Lactamase-Producing And Vancomycin-Resistant Isolates, Cesar A Arias, Kavindra V Singh, Diana Panesso, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Ceftobiprole (BAL9141) is an investigational cephalosporin with broad in vitro activity against gram-positive cocci, including enterococci. Ceftobiprole MICs were determined for 93 isolates of Enterococcus faecalis (including 16 beta-lactamase [Bla] producers and 17 vancomycin-resistant isolates) by an agar dilution method following the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute recommendations. Ceftobiprole MICs were also determined with a high inoculum concentration (10(7) CFU/ml) for a subset of five Bla producers belonging to different previously characterized clones by a broth dilution method. Time-kill and synergism studies (with either streptomycin or gentamicin) were performed with two beta-lactamase-producing isolates (TX0630 and TX5070) and two vancomycin-resistant isolates …

Inhibition Of Enterococcus Faecium Adherence To Collagen By Antibodies Against High-Affinity Binding Subdomains Of Acm, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Jouko Sillanpää, Vannakambadi K Ganesh, Magnus Höök, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Strains of Enterococcus faecium express a cell wall-anchored protein, Acm, which mediates adherence to collagen. Here, we (i) identify the minimal and high-affinity binding subsegments of Acm and (ii) show that anti-Acm immunoglobulin Gs (IgGs) purified against these subsegments reduced E. faecium TX2535 strain collagen adherence up to 73 and 50%, respectively, significantly more than the total IgGs against the full-length Acm A domain (28%) (P < 0.0001). Blocking Acm adherence with functional subsegment-specific antibodies raises the possibility of their use as therapeutic or prophylactic agents.

Acquisition Of A Natural Resistance Gene Renders A Clinical Strain Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Resistant To The Synthetic Antibiotic Linezolid, Seok-Ming Toh, Liqun Xiong, Cesar A Arias, Maria V Villegas, Karen Lolans, John Quinn, Alexander S Mankin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Linezolid, which targets the ribosome, is a new synthetic antibiotic that is used for treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive pathogens. Clinical resistance to linezolid, so far, has been developing only slowly and has involved exclusively target site mutations. We have discovered that linezolid resistance in a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus hospital strain from Colombia is determined by the presence of the cfr gene whose product, Cfr methyltransferase, modifies adenosine at position 2503 in 23S rRNA in the large ribosomal subunit. The molecular model of the linezolid-ribosome complex reveals localization of A2503 within the drug binding site. The natural function of …

Different Dark Conformations Function In Color-Sensitive Photosignaling By The Sensory Rhodopsin I-Htri Complex, Jun Sasaki, Brian J Phillips, Xinpu Chen, Ned Van Eps, Ah-Lim Tsai, Wayne L Hubbell, John L Spudich

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The haloarchaeal phototaxis receptor sensory rhodopsin I (SRI) in complex with its transducer HtrI delivers an attractant signal from excitation with an orange photon and a repellent signal from a second near-UV photon excitation. Using a proteoliposome system with purified SRI in complex with its transducer HtrI, we identified by site-directed fluorescence labeling a site (Ser(155)) on SRI that is conformationally active in signal relay to HtrI. Using site-directed spin labeling of Ser(155)Cys with a nitroxide side chain, we detected a change in conformation following one-photon excitation such that the spin probe exhibits a splitting of the outer hyperfine extrema …

Importance Of The Ebp (Endocarditis- And Biofilm-Associated Pilus) Locus In The Pathogenesis Of Enterococcus Faecalis Ascending Urinary Tract Infection, Kavindra V Singh, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: We recently demonstrated that the ubiquitous Enterococcus faecalis ebp (endocarditis- and biofilm-associated pilus) operon is important for biofilm formation and experimental endocarditis. Here, we assess its role in murine urinary tract infection (UTI) by use of wild-type E. faecalis OG1RF and its nonpiliated, ebpA allelic replacement mutant (TX5475).

METHODS: OG1RF and TX5475 were administered transurethrally either at an ~1 : 1 ratio (competition assay) or individually (monoinfection). Kidney pairs and urinary bladders were cultured 48 h after infection. These strains were also tested in a peritonitis model.

RESULTS: No differences were observed in the peritonitis model. In mixed UTIs, …

Agrobacterium Para/Mind-Like Virc1 Spatially Coordinates Early Conjugative Dna Transfer Reactions, Krishnamohan Atmakuri, Eric Cascales, Oliver T Burton, Lois M Banta, Peter J Christie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Agrobacterium tumefaciens translocates T-DNA through a polar VirB/D4 type IV secretion (T4S) system. VirC1, a factor required for efficient T-DNA transfer, bears a deviant Walker A and other sequence motifs characteristic of ParA and MinD ATPases. Here, we show that VirC1 promotes conjugative T-DNA transfer by stimulating generation of multiple copies per cell of the T-DNA substrate (T-complex) through pairwise interactions with the processing factors VirD2 relaxase, VirC2, and VirD1. VirC1 also associates with the polar membrane and recruits T-complexes to cell poles, the site of VirB/D4 T4S machine assembly. VirC1 Walker A mutations abrogate T-complex generation and polar recruitment, …

Dynamics Of A Minimal Model Of Interlocked Positive And Negative Feedback Loops Of Transcriptional Regulation By Camp-Response Element Binding Proteins, Hao Song, Paul Smolen, Evyatar Av-Ron, Douglas A Baxter, John H Byrne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

cAMP-response element binding (CREB) proteins are involved in transcriptional regulation in a number of cellular processes (e.g., neural plasticity and circadian rhythms). The CREB family contains activators and repressors that may interact through positive and negative feedback loops. These loops can be generated by auto- and cross-regulation of expression of CREB proteins, via CRE elements in or near their genes. Experiments suggest that such feedback loops may operate in several systems (e.g., Aplysia and rat). To understand the functional implications of such feedback loops, which are interlocked via cross-regulation of transcription, a minimal model with a positive and negative loop …

Chronic Administration Of Methylphenidate Produces Neurophysiological And Behavioral Sensitization, Pamela B Yang, Alan C Swann, Nachum Dafny

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The electrophysiological properties of acute and chronic methylphenidate (MPD) on neurons of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and caudate nucleus (CN) have not been studied in awake, freely behaving animals. The present study was designed to investigate the dose-response effects of MPD on sensory evoked potentials recorded from the PFC and CN in freely behaving rats previously implanted with permanent electrodes, as well as their behavioral (locomotor) activities. On experimental day 1, locomotor behavior of rats was recorded for 2 h post-saline injection, and sensory evoked field potentials were recorded before and after saline and 0.6, 2.5, and 10 mg/kg, i.p., …

Interaction Between Cell Division Proteins Ftse And Ftsz, Brian D Corbin, Yipeng Wang, Tushar K Beuria, William Margolin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

FtsE and FtsX, which are widely conserved homologs of ABC transporters and interact with each other, have important but unknown functions in bacterial cell division. Coimmunoprecipitation of Escherichia coli cell extracts revealed that a functional FLAG-tagged version of FtsE, the putative ATP-binding component, interacts with FtsZ, the bacterial tubulin homolog required to assemble the cytokinetic Z ring and recruit the components of the divisome. This interaction is independent of FtsX, the predicted membrane component of the ABC transporter, which has been shown previously to interact with FtsE. The interaction also occurred independently of FtsA or ZipA, two other E. coli …

Direct Visualization Of The Putative Portal In The Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Capsid By Cryoelectron Tomography, Binbin Deng, Christine M O'Connor, Dean H Kedes, Z Hong Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Genetic and biochemical studies have suggested the existence of a bacteriophage-like, DNA-packaging/ejecting portal complex in herpesviruses capsids, but its arrangement remained unknown. Here, we report the first visualization of a unique vertex in the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) capsid by cryoelectron tomography, thus providing direct structural evidence for the existence of a portal complex in a gammaherpesvirus. This putative KSHV portal is an internally localized, umbilicated structure and lacks all of the external machineries characteristic of portals in DNA bacteriophages.

Ambulatory Care Adverse Events And Preventable Adverse Events Leading To A Hospital Admission, Donna M Woods, Eric J Thomas, Jane L Holl, Kevin B Weiss, Troyen A Brennan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Most healthcare in the US is delivered in the ambulatory care setting, but the epidemiology of errors and adverse events in ambulatory care is understudied.

METHODS: Using the population-based data from the Colorado and Utah Medical Practices Study, we identified adverse events that occurred in an ambulatory care setting and led to hospital admission. Proportions with 95% CIs are reported.

RESULTS: We reviewed 14,700-hospital discharge records and found 587 adverse events of which 70 were ambulatory care adverse events (AAEs) and 31 were ambulatory care preventable adverse events (APAEs). When weighted to the general population, there were 2608 AAEs …

Radiation Injury Is A Potentially Serious Complication To Fluoroscopically-Guided Complex Interventions, Lk Wagner

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Radiation-induced injury to skin is an infrequent but potentially serious complication to complex fluoroscopically-guided interventional procedures. Due to a lack of experience with such injuries, the medical community has found fluoroscopically-induced injuries difficult to diagnose. Injuries have occurred globally in many countries. Serious injuries most frequently occur on the back but have also occurred on the neck, buttocks and anterior of the chest. Severities of injuries range from skin rashes and epilation to necrosis of the skin and its underlying structures. This article reviews the characteristics of these injuries and some actions that can be taken to reduce their likelihood …

Crystal Structure Of The Anabaena Sensory Rhodopsin Transducer, Lutz Vogeley, Vishwa D Trivedi, Oleg A Sineshchekov, Elena N Spudich, John L Spudich, Hartmut Luecke

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We present crystal structures of the Anabaena sensory rhodopsin transducer (ASRT), a soluble cytoplasmic protein that interacts with the first structurally characterized eubacterial retinylidene photoreceptor Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR). Four crystal structures of ASRT from three different spacegroups were obtained, in all of which ASRT is present as a planar (C4) tetramer, consistent with our characterization of ASRT as a tetramer in solution. The ASRT tetramer is tightly packed, with large interfaces where the well-structured beta-sandwich portion of the monomers provides the bulk of the tetramer-forming interactions, and forms a flat, stable surface on one side of the tetramer (the …

Laser-Induced Transient Grating Analysis Of Dynamics Of Interaction Between Sensory Rhodopsin Ii D75n And The Htrii Transducer, Keiichi Inoue, Jun Sasaki, John L Spudich, Masahide Terazima

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The interaction between sensory rhodopsin II (SRII) and its transducer HtrII was studied by the time-resolved laser-induced transient grating method using the D75N mutant of SRII, which exhibits minimal visible light absorption changes during its photocycle, but mediates normal phototaxis responses. Flash-induced transient absorption spectra of transducer-free D75N and D75N joined to 120 amino-acid residues of the N-terminal part of the SRII transducer protein HtrII (DeltaHtrII) showed only one spectrally distinct K-like intermediate in their photocycles, but the transient grating method resolved four intermediates (K(1)-K(4)) distinct in their volumes. D75N bound to HtrII exhibited one additional slower kinetic species, which …

Expression Of The Neural Stem Cell Markers Ng2 And L1 In Human Angiomyolipoma: Are Angiomyolipomas Neoplasms Of Stem Cells?, So Dug Lim, William Stallcup, Benjamin Lefkove, Baskaran Govindarajan, Kit Sing Au, Hope Northrup, Deborah Lang, David E Fisher, Avani Patel, Mahul B Amin, Jack L Arbiser

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Angiomyolipomas are benign tumors of the kidney which express phenotypes of smooth muscle, fat, and melanocytes. These tumors appear with increased frequency in the autosomal dominant disorder tuberous sclerosis and are the leading cause of morbidity in adults with tuberous sclerosis. While benign, these tumors are capable of provoking life threatening hemorrhage and replacement of the kidney parenchyma, resulting in renal failure. The histogenesis of these tumors is currently unclear, although currently, we believe these tumors arise from "perivascular epithelioid cells" of which no normal counterpart has been convincingly demonstrated. Recently, stem cell precursors have been recognized that can give …

Severe Aortic And Arterial Aneurysms Associated With A Tgfbr2 Mutation, Scott A Lemaire, Hariyadarshi Pannu, Van Tran-Fadulu, Stacey A Carter, Joseph S Coselli, Dianna M Milewicz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: A 24-year-old man presented with previously diagnosed Marfan's syndrome. Since the age of 9 years, he had undergone eight cardiovascular procedures to treat rapidly progressive aneurysms, dissection and tortuous vascular disease involving the aortic root and arch, the thoracoabdominal aorta, and brachiocephalic, vertebral, internal thoracic and superior mesenteric arteries. Throughout this extensive series of cardiovascular surgical repairs, he recovered without stroke, paraplegia or renal impairment.

INVESTIGATIONS: CT scans, arteriogram, genetic mutation screening of transforming growth factor beta receptors 1 and 2.

DIAGNOSIS: Diffuse and rapidly progressing vascular disease in a patient who met the diagnostic criteria for Marfan's syndrome, …

Aldosterone-Induced Sgk1 Relieves Dot1a-Af9-Mediated Transcriptional Repression Of Epithelial Na+ Channel Alpha, Wenzheng Zhang, Xuefeng Xia, Mary Rose Reisenauer, Timo Rieg, Florian Lang, Dietmar Kuhl, Volker Vallon, Bruce C Kone

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Aldosterone plays a major role in the regulation of salt balance and the pathophysiology of cardiovascular and renal diseases. Many aldosterone-regulated genes--including that encoding the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC), a key arbiter of Na+ transport in the kidney and other epithelia--have been identified, but the mechanisms by which the hormone modifies chromatin structure and thus transcription remain unknown. We previously described the basal repression of ENaCalpha by a complex containing the histone H3 Lys79 methyltransferase disruptor of telomeric silencing alternative splice variant a (Dot1a) and the putative transcription factor ALL1-fused gene from chromosome 9 (Af9) as well as the release …

Functional Taxonomy Of Bacterial Hyperstructures, Vic Norris, Tanneke Den Blaauwen, Armelle Cabin-Flaman, Roy H Doi, Rasika Harshey, Laurent Janniere, Alfonso Jimenez-Sanchez, Ding Jun Jin, Petra Anne Levin, Eugenia Mileykovskaya, Abraham Minsky, Milton Saier, Kirsten Skarstad

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The levels of organization that exist in bacteria extend from macromolecules to populations. Evidence that there is also a level of organization intermediate between the macromolecule and the bacterial cell is accumulating. This is the level of hyperstructures. Here, we review a variety of spatially extended structures, complexes, and assemblies that might be termed hyperstructures. These include ribosomal or "nucleolar" hyperstructures; transertion hyperstructures; putative phosphotransferase system and glycolytic hyperstructures; chemosignaling and flagellar hyperstructures; DNA repair hyperstructures; cytoskeletal hyperstructures based on EF-Tu, FtsZ, and MreB; and cell cycle hyperstructures responsible for DNA replication, sequestration of newly replicated origins, segregation, compaction, and …

Traumatic Brain Injury Stimulates Hippocampal Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase Expression In Microglia, John B Redell, Pramod K Dash

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Outcome following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is in large part determined by the combined action of multiple processes. In order to better understand the response of the central nervous system to injury, we utilized an antibody array to simultaneously screen 507 proteins for altered expression in the injured hippocampus, a structure critical for memory formation. Array analysis indicated 41 candidate proteins have altered expression levels 24h after TBI. Of particular interest was catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT), an enzyme involved in metabolizing catecholamines released following neuronal activity. Altered catecholamine signaling has been observed after brain injury, and may contribute to the cognitive …