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P Protein (p + protein)
Selected AbstractsEpitope mapping of canine distemper virus phosphoprotein by monoclonal antibodiesMICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 12 2009Akihiro Sugai ABSTRACT The gene for phosphoprotein (P) of CDV encodes three different proteins, P, V, and C. The P protein is involved in viral gene transcription and replication. In the present study, we produced MAbs against a unique domain of the CDV-P protein, from aa 232 to 507, and determined their antigenic sites. By immunizing BALB/c mice with the recombinant P protein-specific fragment, we obtained six MAbs. Competitive binding inhibition assays revealed that they recognized two distinct regions of the P protein. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence assays using deletion mutants of the unique C-terminus of the CDV-P protein revealed that all MAbs recognized a central short region (aa 233,303) of the CDV-P protein. In addition, linear and conformational epitopes have been determined, and at least four antigenic sites exist in the P protein central region. Furthermore, four of the MAbs were found to react with the P protein of recent Japanese field isolates but not with that of the older CDV strains, including a vaccine strain. Thus, these MAbs could be clinically useful for quick diagnosis during the CDV outbreaks. [source] Molecular Bases of Congenital Hypopigmentary Disorders in Humans and Oculocutaneous Albinism 1 in JapanPIGMENT CELL & MELANOMA RESEARCH, Issue 2000YASUSHI TOMITA The molecular bases of various types of congenital hypopigmentary disorders have been clarified in the past 10 years. Homozygous gene mutations of enzymes functional in melanogenesis such as tyrosinase, P protein and DHICA oxidase, result in oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) 1, OCA 2, and OCA 3, respectively. The genes responsible for Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) and Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) have also recently been isolated and cloned. The transcription factor paired box 3 (PAX3) works at the promoter region of the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) gene, and the MITF transcription factor orders the expression of c-kit, which encodes the receptor for stem-cell factor, which in turn stimulates melanoblast migration from the neural tube to the skin in the embryo. Heterozygous mutations of PAX3, MITF, or c-kit genes induce Waardenburg syndrome (WS) 1/3, WS 2 or Piebaldism, respectively. A defect of endothelin-3 or the endothelin-B receptor produces WS 4. In our examination of 26 OCA 1 patients in Japan, all were found to have homozygous or heterozygous tyrosinase gene mutations at codons 77 or 310. Therefore, mutations at codons 77 and 310 are the major ones in Japanese patients with OCA 1. An autosomal dominant pigmentary disease of dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria (DSH) is well known in Japan, and is characterized by a mixture of hypo- and hyper-pigmented macules of various sizes on the backs of the hands and feet. The disease gene and its chromosomal localization have not been identified yet. Our trial of linkage analysis and positional cloning to determine the disease gene is presented. [source] Effects of cold-girdling on flows in the transport phloem in Ricinus communis: is mass flow inhibited?PLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 1 2006ANDREAS D. PEUKE ABSTRACT The effects of cold girdling of the transport phloem at the hypocotyl of Ricinus communis on solute and water transport were investigated. Effects on the chemical composition of saps of phloem and xylem as well as of stem tissue were studied by conventional techniques and the water flow in the phloem was investigated by NMR imaging. Cold girdling reduced the concentration of sucrose but not that of inorganic solutes or amino acids in phloem saps. The possibility that cold treatment inhibited the retrieval of sucrose into the phloem, following leaching from the sieve tubes along a chemical gradient is discussed. Leaching of other solutes did not occur, as a result of missing promoting gradients in stem tissue. Following 3 d of cold girdling, sugar concentration increased and starch was synthesized and accumulated in stem tissue above the cold girdling region and along the cold-treated phloem pathway due to leaching of sugars from the phloem. Only in the very first period of cold girdling (< 15,30 min) was mass flow inhibited, but recovered in the rest of cold treatment period to values similar to the control period before and the recovery period after the cold treatment. It is concluded that cold treatment affected phloem transport through two independent and reversible processes: (1) a permanent leaching of sucrose from the phloem stem without normal retrieval during cold treatment, and (2) a short-term inhibition of mass flow at the beginning of cold treatment, possibly involving P proteins. Possible further mechanisms for reversible inhibition of water flow are discussed. [source] Crystallization and preliminary X-ray study of an N-terminal fragment of rat liver ribosomal P2 proteinACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 4 2002David Mandelman Ribosomal P proteins have been shown to be involved in the binding of elongation factors and participate in factor-dependent GTP hydrolysis. The P proteins form the pentamer (P1/P2)2,P0 constituting the lateral flexible stalk of the 60S ribosomal subunit. The highly soluble domain (1,65) of rat liver P2 has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli as an N-terminal poly-His-tagged protein and crystallized. To reduce nucleation and improve crystal morphology and diffraction power, the crystals were grown in a gel matrix and an oil barrier was added between the reservoir and the drop to reduce the rate of vapour diffusion. This dramatically reduced the nucleation in the drops and yielded diffraction-quality crystals. Data were collected to 2.4,Å resolution at beamline ID 14-1, ESRF. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P21212, with unit-cell parameters a = 37.7, b = 96.7, c = 135.0,Å. [source] Barrier requirements as the evolutionary "driver" of epidermal pigmentation in humansAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Peter M. Elias Current explanations for the development of epidermal pigmentation during human evolution are not tenable as stand-alone hypotheses. Accordingly, we assessed instead whether xeric- and UV-B-induced stress to the epidermal permeability barrier, critical to survival in a terrestrial environment, could have "driven" the development of epidermal pigmentation. (1) Megadroughts prevailed in central Africa when hominids expanded into open savannahs [,1.5,0.8 million years ago], resulting in sustained exposure to both extreme aridity and erythemogenic UV-B, correlating with genetic evidence that pigment developed ,1.2 million years ago. (2) Pigmented skin is endowed with enhanced permeability barrier function, stratum corneum integrity/cohesion, and a reduced susceptibility to infections. The enhanced function of pigmented skin can be attributed to the lower pH of the outer epidermis, likely due to the persistence of (more-acidic) melanosomes into the outer epidermis, as well as the conservation of genes associated with eumelanin synthesis and melanosome acidification (e.g., TYR, OCA2 [p protein], SLC24A5, SLC45A2, MATP) in pigmented populations. Five keratinocyte-derived signals (stem cell factor,KIT; FOXn1,FGF2; IL-1,, NGF, and p53) are potential candidates to have stimulated the sequential development of epidermal pigmentation in response to stress to the barrier. We summarize evidence here that epidermal interfollicular pigmentation in early hominids likely evolved in response to stress to the permeability barrier. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||