gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Gap Junction–mediated Cell–Cell Communication Modulates Mouse Neural Crest Migration (1998)

Previous studies showed that conotruncal heart malformations can arise with the increase or decrease in alpha1 connexin function in neural crest cells. To elucidate the possible basis for the quantitative requirement for alpha1 connexin gap junctions in cardiac development, a neural crest outgrowth culture system was used to examine migration of neural crest cells derived from CMV43 transgenic embryos overexpressing alpha1 connexins, and from alpha1 connexin knockout (KO) mice and FC transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative alpha1 connexin fusion protein. These studies showed that the migration rate of cardiac neural crest was increased in the CMV43 embryos, but decreased in the FC transgenic and alpha1 connexin KO embryos. Migration changes occurred in step with connexin gene or transgene dosage in the homozygous vs. hemizygous alpha1 connexin KO and CMV43 embryos, respectively. Dye coupling analysis in neural crest cells in the outgrowth cultures and also in the living embryos showed an elevation of gap junction communication in the CMV43 transgenic mice, while a reduction was observed in the FC transgenic and alpha1 connexin KO mice. Further analysis using oleamide to downregulate gap junction communication in nontransgenic outgrowth cultures showed that this independent method of reducing gap junction communication in cardiac crest cells also resulted in a reduction in the rate of crest migration. To determine the possible relevance of these findings to neural crest migration in vivo, a lacZ transgene was used to visualize the distribution of cardiac neural crest cells in the outflow tract. These studies showed more lacZ-positive cells in the outflow septum in the CMV43 transgenic mice, while a reduction was observed in the alpha1 connexin KO mice. Surprisingly, this was accompanied by cell proliferation changes, not in the cardiac neural crest cells, but in the myocardium- an elevation in the CMV43 mice vs. a reduction in the alpha1 connexin KO mice. The latter observation suggests that cardiac neural crest cells may have a role in modulating growth and development of non-neural crest- derived tissues. Overall, these findings suggest that gap junction communication mediated by alpha1 connexins plays an important role in cardiac neural crest migration. Furthermore, they indicate that cardiac neural crest perturbation is the likely underlying cause for heart defects in mice with the gain or loss of alpha1 connexin function.
Sequence-specific ligation of DNA using RecA protein (1998)

A method is described that allows the sequence-specific ligation of DNA. The method is based on the ability of RecA protein from Escherichia coli to selectively pair oligonucleotides to their homologous sequences at the ends of fragments of duplex DNA. These three-stranded complexes were protected from the action of DNA polymerase. When treated with DNA polymerase, unprotected duplex fragments were converted to fragments with blunt ends, whereas protected fragments retained their cohesive ends. By using conditions that greatly favored ligation of cohesive ends, a second DNA fragment could be selectively ligated to a previously protected fragment of DNA. When this second DNA was a vector, selected fragments were preferentially cloned. The method had sufficient power to be used for the isolation of single-copy genes directly from yeast or human genomic DNA, and potentially could allow the isolation of much longer fragments with greater fidelity than obtainable by using PCR.
Down-Regulation of HtrA1 Activates the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and ATM DNA Damage Response Pathways (2012)

Expression of the serine protease HtrA1 is decreased or abrogated in a variety of human primary cancers, and higher levels of HtrA1 expression are directly related to better response to chemotherapeutics. However, the precise mechanisms leading to HtrA1 down regulation during malignant transformation are unclear. To investigate HtrA1 gene regulation in breast cancer, we characterized expression in primary breast tissues and seven human breast epithelial cell lines, including two non-tumorigenic cell lines. In human breast tissues, HtrA1 expression was prominent in normal ductal glands. In DCIS and in invasive cancers, HtrA1 expression was greatly reduced or lost entirely. HtrA1 staining was also reduced in all of the human breast cancer cell lines, compared with the normal tissue and non-tumorigenic cell line controls. Loss of HtrA1 gene expression was attributable primarily to epigenetic silencing mechanisms, with different mechanisms operative in the various cell lines. To mechanistically examine the functional consequences of HtrA1 loss, we stably reduced and/or overexpressed HtrA1 in the non-tumorigenic MCF10A cell line. Reduction of HtrA1 levels resulted in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition with acquisition of mesenchymal phenotypic characteristics, including increased growth rate, migration, and invasion, as well as expression of mesenchymal biomarkers. A concomitant decrease in expression of epithelial biomarkers and all microRNA 200 family members was also observed. Moreover, reduction of HtrA1 expression resulted in activation of the ATM and DNA damage response, whereas overexpression of HtrA1 prevented this activation. Collectively, these results suggest that HtrA1 may function as a tumor suppressor by controlling the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and may function in chemotherapeutic responsiveness by mediating DNA damage response pathways.
Occurrence, Biogenesis, and Synthesis of Biologically Active Carbazole Alkaloids (2012)

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVReviewNEXTOccurrence, Biogenesis, and Synthesis of Biologically Active Carbazole AlkaloidsArndt W. Schmidt, Kethiri R. Reddy, and Hans-Joachim Knölker*View Author Information Department Chemie, Technische Universität Dresden, Bergstrasse 66, 01069 Dresden, Germany*E-mail: [email protected]Cite this: Chem. Rev. 2012, 112, 6, 3193–3328Publication Date (Web):April 5, 2012Publication History Received29 November 2011Published online5 April 2012Published inissue 13 June 2012https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/cr200447shttps://doi.org/10.1021/cr200447sreview-articleACS PublicationsCopyright © 2012 American Chemical SocietyRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views19925Altmetric-Citations1028LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-Alertsclose SUBJECTS:Aromatic compounds,Chemical synthesis,Isolation,Organic compounds,Organic synthesis Get e-Alerts
Immunohistochemical analysis of the cellular infiltrate in multiple sclerosis lesions (1986)

Immunohistochemical staining of 16 brains post mortem from patients with progressive multiple sclerosis and of two biopsy specimens from patients with acute demyelinating disease was performed using a panel of monoclonal antibodies reactive with T cells and T-cell subsets, B cells, and Ia (HLA-DR) antigens. Lymphocytic perivascular cuffs were most prominent at the edge of active plaques and were occasionally seen in areas with no evidence of demyelination or macrophage infiltration. Perivascular cuffs consisted predominantly of T cells and Ia+ cells, with many T8+ cells and variable numbers of T4+ cells. T8/T4 ratios in cuffs varied between 1:1 and 50:1. In normal-appearing white matter, cuffs were sparse and were predominantly T8+. The distribution of T cells in the parenchyma resembled that seen in perivascular cuffs, namely, predominantly T8+ cells and variable numbers of T4+ cells. Many Ia+ cells were present in active lesions, and the majority of these cells appeared, by histological criteria, to be macrophages. Tissue macrophages were also stained lightly by the anti-T4 antibody. No brain had more T4+ than T8+ cells, determined using both T4 and Leu3a monoclonal antibodies. B1+ cells were rare. These results suggest that the cellular infiltrate in multiple sclerosis consists predominantly of T cells and macrophages and that there is an overrepresentation of T8+ cells compared with T4+ cells.
Factor Analysis of the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire (1988)

The St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire was designed to evaluate the sleep of hospital patients. To gain an understanding of possible underlying factors, the questionnaire was factor analysed using data collected from 222 hospitalised rheumatic patients. The analysis did not produce a completely clear factor structure. Two factors relating to "sleep latency" and "sleep quality" emerged more clearly than the other factors produced. These factors correspond with two sleeping state factors (ease of getting to sleep; quality of sleep) that were extracted by a previous factor analysis of the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire. This suggests that the two most important aspects of subjectively perceived sleep are the process of going to sleep and the quality of sleep.
Circulating Skeletal Stem Cells (2001)

We report the isolation of adherent, clonogenic, fibroblast-like cells with osteogenic and adipogenic potential from the blood of four mammalian species. These cells phenotypically resemble but are distinguishable from skeletal stem cells found in bone marrow (stromal stem cells, "mesenchymal stem cells"). The osteogenic potential of the blood-borne cells was proven by an in vivo transplantation assay in which either polyclonal or single colony-derived strains were transplanted into the subcutis of immunocompromised mice, and the donor origin of the fully differentiated bone cells was proven using species-specific probes. This is the first definitive proof of the existence of circulating skeletal stem cells in mammals.
The Yaa gene abrogates the major histocompatibility complex association of murine lupus in (NZB x BXSB)F1 hybrid mice. (1994)

To investigate the specific contribution of select MHC class II genes on the development of murine lupus, H-2 congenic (NZB x BXSB)F1 hybrid mice bearing either H-2b/b, H-2d/b, or H-2d/d haplotypes were generated. We compared the clinical development (autoantibody production and glomerulonephritis) of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in these three F1 hybrids in the presence or absence of the mutant gene, Yaa (Y chromosome-linked autoimmune acceleration), which normally accelerates the progression of murine SLE. (NZB x BXSB)F1 hybrid female mice bearing either the H-2b/b or H-2d/b haplotype developed a rapid course of severe SLE, while the appearance of disease was markedly delayed in H-2d/d hybrid females. However, in the presence of the Yaa gene, H-2d/d F1 males developed SLE as severe as H-2b/b and H-2d/b F1 males. These data indicate that (a) the conventional H-2b is a haplotype leading to susceptibility for murine SLE, while H-2d is a relatively resistant haplotype; (b) the H-2b haplotype exhibits a dominant effect on autoimmune responses, similar to the classical MHC-linked Ir gene effect; and (c) most strikingly, the Yaa gene totally abrogates the MHC effect on murine lupus in (NZB x BXSB)F1 hybrid mice.
Decreased Atherosclerosis in Heterozygous Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-deficient Mice Expressing the Scavenger Receptor BI Transgene (1999)

Scavenger receptor type B class I (SR-BI), initially identified as a receptor that recognizes low density lipoprotein (LDL), was recently shown to mediate the selective uptake of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesteryl esters in liver and steroidogenic tissues. To evaluate effects on atherosclerosis, transgenic mice with liver-specific overexpression of SR-BI (SR-BI Tg mice) have been crossed onto LDL receptor-deficient backgrounds. To induce atherosclerosis in a setting of moderate hypercholesterolemia, heterozygous LDL receptor-deficient mice (LDLR1) were fed a high fat/cholesterol/bile salt diet, and homozygous LDL receptor knock-outs (LDLR0) were fed a high fat/cholesterol diet. LDLR1/SR-BI Tg mice showed decreases in VLDL, LDL, and HDL cholesterol and a significant 80% decrease in mean lesion area in the aortic root compared with LDLR1 mice (female LDLR1 74, 120 micrometers(2) versus LDLR1/SR-BI Tg 12, 667 micrometers(2); male 25, 747 micrometers(2)++ versus 5, 448 micrometers(2), respectively). LDLR0/SR-BI Tg mice showed decreased LDL and HDL cholesterol but increased VLDL cholesterol and no significant difference in extent of atherosclerosis compared with LDLR0 mice. Combined data analysis showed a strong correlation between atherosclerotic lesion area and the VLDL+LDL cholesterol level but no correlation with HDL level. These studies demonstrate a strong anti-atherogenic potential of hepatic SR-BI overexpression. In mice with marked overexpression of SR-BI, the protective effect appears to be primarily related to the lowering of VLDL and LDL cholesterol levels.
Biological treatments for systemic lupus erythematosus (2002)

There have been many recent advances in therapeutic approaches to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The roles of cyclophosphamide, hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate and hormonal treatments in the management of SLE have been investigated in recent randomised controlled trials (1). However, although these pharmacological agents have a role to play in some patients with lupus, broad based effects have led to problems with side effects and adverse reactions. For this reason, more specific therapies are urgently required. Such strategies currently under evaluation include altering the cytokine balance, reducing T cell activation and inducing tolerance, blocking T cell costimulatory molecules, reducing auto-antibody production from B cells, targetting specific genes and stem cell transplantation. These are known as "biological" treatments as their aim is to alter patho-physiological processes occurring in the diseased state. This review will focus on the biological therapies currently under investigation-with particular attention on the cytokine-directed therapies.
Aerosol immunization with NYVAC and MVA vectored vaccines is safe, simple, and immunogenic (2008)

Each year, approximately five million people die worldwide from putatively vaccine-preventable mucosally transmitted diseases. With respect to mass vaccination campaigns, one strategy to cope with this formidable challenge is aerosol vaccine delivery, which offers potential safety, logistical, and cost-saving advantages over traditional vaccination routes. Additionally, aerosol vaccination may elicit pivotal mucosal immune responses that could contain or eliminate mucosally transmitted pathogens in a preventative or therapeutic vaccine context. In this current preclinical non-human primate investigation, we demonstrate the feasibility of aerosol vaccination with the recombinant poxvirus-based vaccine vectors NYVAC and MVA. Real-time in vivo scintigraphy experiments with radiolabeled, aerosol-administered NYVAC-C (Clade C, HIV-1 vaccine) and MVA-HPV vaccines revealed consistent mucosal delivery to the respiratory tract. Furthermore, aerosol delivery of the vaccines was safe, inducing no vaccine-associated pathology, in particular in the brain and lungs, and was immunogenic. Administration of a DNA-C/NYVAC-C prime/boost regime resulted in both systemic and anal-genital HIV-specific immune responses that were still detectable 5 months after immunization. Thus, aerosol vaccination with NYVAC and MVA vectored vaccines constitutes a tool for large-scale vaccine efforts against mucosally transmitted pathogens.
Pump-resonant excitation of the 946-nm Nd:YAG laser (1991)

Pump-resonant excitation, in which a weakly absorbing gain medium is placed inside an optical cavity that is resonant at both the pump and laser wavelengths, is shown to reduce significantly the losses due to saturable absorption in a quasi-three-level, diode-pumped laser. Initial experiments, in which this technique is applied to the 946-nm Nd:YAG laser, have yielded incident threshold power levels below 1.3 mW and optical slope efficiencies exceeding 25%.
Structure and function of lamellar bodies, lipid-protein complexes involved in storage and secretion of cellular lipids. (1991)

This review article attempts to present an overview of the occurrence and function of lipid storage and secretory organelles: the lamellar bodies. Morphologically these organelles vary considerably in size (100 nm to 2400 nm); they are surrounded by a membrane and contain multilamellar lipid membranes. Lamellar bodies may also contain apolipoproteins and lytic enzymes and have an acidic pH, which confers on them a lysosomal character. Under normal physiological conditions, the main function of lamellar bodies is the supply of extracellular domains with specialized lipid components related to a specialized function. The lamellar bodies of the lung epithelium are best investigated in their functional and structural features and are the storage form of the lung surfactant. They provide a monomolecular lipid film of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) on the surface of lung alveoli to lower surface tension necessary for optimal gas exchange and a hydrophobic protective lining against environmental influences. Additional cells of the respiratory system such as the mucosa of the human nose and the bronchi contain lamellar bodies. Lamellar bodies are also found in the gastrointestinal tract, in tongue papillae, oral epithelium, and mucosa cells of the stomach. The major phospholipid of lamellar bodies in mucosa cells of the stomach is DPPC, providing a hydrophobic protective lipid film against the tissue-damaging activities of gastric juice. The hydrophobic water-protective barrier of the skin, which consists mainly of neutral lipids, however, also originates from lamellar bodies secreted by epithelial cells. Lamellar bodies, mainly consisting of DPPC, also occur in mesodermal cell layers of sliding surfaces to provide the lubrication of joints, of the peritoneum, pericardium, and pleural mesothelium. In certain pathological conditions, such as atherosclerosis, Niemann-Pick disease, lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency, cholestasis, degeneration of nerves and brain, and regeneration of nerves and wound healing, lipid-containing lamellar bodies have been observed in various cells, the function of which still remains to be elucidated. In early and late lesions of atherosclerotic plaques, lamellar bodies, consisting of unesterified cholesterol and phospholipids, are associated with the extracellular matrix of the intima. During regression of fatty streaks, lamellar bodies are seen intracellularly in macrophages and smooth muscle cells. Inherited metabolic disorders, such as Niemann-Pick disease type I and type II, result in the excessive accumulation of lamellar body-containing cells, for example in bone marrow, spleen, and lymphoid tissue. Type I is a deficiency in sphingomyelinase and type II is a defect in intracellular trafficking of lipoprotein-derived cholesterol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Plasmid Expressing the Influenza HA Gene Protects Old Mice from Lethal Challenge with Influenza Virus* (1999)

Virus-based influenza vaccines induce less protection in old compared to young subjects due, in part, to age-associated alterations in the immune response. This study shows that old mice produce a less diverse HI antibody response after immunization than adult mice. However, immunization of old and young mice with plasmids expressing the HA gene induced comparable clearance of influenza virus from the lungs and the same level of protection from a lethal challenge with live WSN influenza virus. Thus, genetic immunization may offer advantages for the elderly over virus-base vaccines.
GeneUp: A Program to Select Short PCR Primer Pairs that Occur in Multiple Members of Sequence Lists (1998)

A computer program is presented that selects a small set of short primer pairs for PCR to sample all the sequences in a user-specified list of mRNAs. Such primer pairs could be used to increase the probability of sampling mRNAs of particular interest in differential display and to generate simplified hybridization probes for DNA chips or arrays. The program uses simulated PCR to find pairs of primers that sample more than one sequence in the list. A small set of such primer pairs is selected that give maximal coverage of the sequences in the list. Primer pairs are excluded that: (i) generate simulated PCR products of the same size from a number of sequences in the list, (ii) can easily form primer dimers, (iii) are outside a specified range of G + C content or (iv) occur in another list of undesirable sequences, such as rRNAs and Alu repeats. Five lists consisting of from 48-285 cDNA sequences were used to test the program. A small number of pairs of primers, 8-10 bases in length, were selected that fit the above criteria and that generate one or more simulated PCR products in all or most of the cDNAs in each list.
Substituted Isoquinolines by Noyori Transfer Hydrogenation:  Enantioselective Synthesis of Chiral Diamines Containing an Aniline Subunit (1999)

Transfer hydrogenation using the Noyori catalyst 5-Ts is effective for the enantioselective hydrogenation of imines containing fully substituted nitrogen groups (12 or 13). Analogues such as 11c could not be reduced in practical yield, apparently due to product inhibition of the catalyst. Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of the aniline imine 8a was possible, but required impractical purity levels for the substrate, and the nitro analogue 7 could not be reduced efficiently. The best results were obtained with the bromophenyl imine 20. In the case of 20b, the product 21b was formed with 98.7% ee, and the material could be upgraded to >99% ee by crystallization of the hydrochloride salt. Reaction of 21b with NH(3) or MeNH(2) in the presence of Cu/CuCl gave the chiral anilines 10b or 23b. The latter substance is comparable to the commercially available 1 as a chiral proton donor for amide enolates and provides access to the hitherto unavailable enantiomeric series.
IL-12 Secreting Dendritic Cells are Required for Optimum Activation of Human Secondary Lymphoid Tissue T Cells (2002)

Successful immunization requires that mature dendritic cells (mDCs) prime T cells in secondary lymphoid tissue (LT). Previously, the authors have shown that LT T cell activation has an increased costimulatory threshold for a proliferative response as compared with peripheral blood (PB) T cells. Therefore, to optimize mDC immunogenicity, DC maturation was studied using LT T cells as responders. While mDCs obtained with soluble CD40Ligand (sCD40L) or a sCD40L/IFNgamma combination similarly expressed the CD83 and CCR7 molecules on their membrane, only the latter secreted IL-12. sCD40L/IFNgamma mDCs, as compared with sCD40L mDCs, enhanced allogeneic LT T cell proliferation, LT CD4+ cell IFNgamma production and LT CD8+ cell cytotoxicity. Enhancement could be predominantly ascribed to IL-12 secreted by sCD40L/IFNgamma mDCs and to additional costimulatory signals as shown remarkably in the IFNgamma response when IL-12 was neutralized. Therefore, in addition to their membrane phenotype, mDCs to be used in immunization protocols should be assessed for IL-12 secretion as a surrogate marker for an optimum costimulatory potential.