Luciferase activity was determined using standard procedures. The transfected RacV12 was unable to drive kappaB-dependent reporter gene activity, although it potentiated the IL1 response. This induction of cell cycle arrest may be mediated by increased expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p15. The authors of this report investigated the signaling pathways involved in p21 induction in HaCaT cells. Constitutively active components of the MAPK pathway activate p21 expression, and inhibitors or dominant negative constructs for the MAPK pathway decrease p21 expression in HaCaT cells.
Malaria is caused by a parasitic protozoa of the genus Plasmodium .
The merozoite surface protein-1 is an abundant, stably expressed surface protein that is subjected to proteolytic processing and shedding during the invasion of erythrocytes. Proteases that mediate important roles in the life cycle of such pathogenic organisms represent potential targets for protease inhibitor-based drugs. The authors investigated the mode of activation of PfSUB-1 to evaluate its potential as a target for therapeutic drugs. A fluorogenic probe was designed to bind between the two PCR primers to target cDNA and is labeled with a reporter and a quencher dye. In the intact probe, the quencher dye suppresses the fluorescence of the reporter dye.