Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
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| trypanosoma brucei aquaglyceroporins mediate the transport of metabolic end-products: methylglyoxal, d-lactate, l-lactate and acetate. | bloodstream forms of trypanosoma (t.) brucei, the causative agent of african sleeping sickness, possess a highly active glycolysis, which generates as main end-products: pyruvate under aerobic conditions, and pyruvate and glycerol under anaerobic conditions. to secrete them into the extracellular milieu, the parasites have at least two main specific membrane proteins, the pyruvate transporter and the aquaglyceroporins however, there are several other minor products from the glycolysis that must ... | 2018 | 30409521 |
| brief local application of progesterone via a wearable bioreactor induces long-term regenerative response in adult xenopus hindlimb. | the induction of limb repair in adult vertebrates is a pressing, unsolved problem. here, we characterize the effects of an integrated device that delivers drugs to severed hindlimbs of adult xenopus laevis, which normally regenerate cartilaginous spikes after amputation. a wearable bioreactor containing a silk protein-based hydrogel that delivered progesterone to the wound site immediately after hindlimb amputation for only 24 hr induced the regeneration of paddle-like structures in adult frogs. ... | 2018 | 30404012 |
| atlht1 transporter can facilitate the uptake and translocation of a glycinergic-chlorantraniliprole conjugate in arabidopsis thaliana. | understanding of the transporters involved in the uptake and translocation of agrochemicals in plants could provide an opportunity to guide pesticide to the site of insect feeding. the product of arabidopsis thaliana gene atlht1 makes a major contribution to the uptake into the roots of free amino acids and some of their derivatives. here, a chlorantraniliprole-glycine conjugate (cap-gly-1) was tested for its affinity to atlht1 both in planta and in vitro. seedlings deficient in atlht1 exhibited ... | 2018 | 30403859 |
| microtransplantation of human brain receptors into oocytes to tackle key questions in drug discovery. | it is important in drug discovery to demonstrate that activity of novel drugs found by screening on recombinant receptors translates to activity on native human receptors in brain areas affected by disease. in this review, we summarise the development and use of the microtransplantation technique. native receptors are reconstituted from human brain tissues into oocytes from the frog xenopus laevis where they can be functionally assessed. oocytes microtransplanted with hippocampal tissue from an ... | 2019 | 30395928 |
| in vitro inhibition of human nucleoside transporters and uptake of azacitidine by an isocitrate dehydrogenase-2 inhibitor enasidenib and its metabolite agi-16903. | 1. the present study investigated inhibitory effects of enasidenib and its metabolite agi-16903 on (a) recombinant human nucleoside transporters (hnts) in hnt-producing xenopus laevis oocytes, and (b) azacitidine uptake in a normal b-lymphoblast peripheral blood cell line (pbc) and acute myeloid leukemia (aml) cell lines. 2. enasidenib inhibited hent1, hent2, hent3, and hent4 in oocytes with ic50 values of 7, 63, 27, and 76 μm, respectively, but exhibited little inhibition of hcnt1-3. agi-16903 ... | 2019 | 30394160 |
| transcriptome analysis of xenopus orofacial tissues deficient in retinoic acid receptor function. | development of the face and mouth is orchestrated by a large number of transcription factors, signaling pathways and epigenetic regulators. while we know many of these regulators, our understanding of how they interact with each other and implement changes in gene expression during orofacial development is still in its infancy. therefore, this study focuses on uncovering potential cooperation between transcriptional regulators and one important signaling pathway, retinoic acid, during developmen ... | 2018 | 30390632 |
| flow cytometric analysis of xenopus laevis and x. tropicalis blood cells using acridine orange. | automated blood cell counters can distinguish cells based on their size and the presence or absence of a nucleus. however, most vertebrates have nucleated blood cells that cannot be counted automatically. we established an alternative automatic method for counting peripheral blood cells by staining cells with the fluorescent dye acridine orange (ao) and analysing cell populations using flow cytometry (fcm). as promising new animal models, we chose xenopus laevis and three inbred strains of x. tr ... | 2018 | 30390005 |
| size-dependent functional response of xenopus laevis feeding on mosquito larvae. | predators can play an important role in regulating prey abundance and diversity, determining food web structure and function, and contributing to important ecosystem services, including the regulation of agricultural pests and disease vectors. thus, the ability to predict predator impact on prey is an important goal in ecology. often, predators of the same species are assumed to be functionally equivalent, despite considerable individual variation in predator traits known to be important for sha ... | 2018 | 30386704 |
| comprehensive analysis of formin localization in xenopus epithelial cells. | reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton is crucial for cellular processes, including cytokinesis and cell-cell junction remodeling. formins are conserved processive actin-polymerizing machines that regulate actin dynamics by nucleating, elongating, and bundling linear actin filaments. because the formin family is large, with at least 15 members in vertebrates, there have not been any comprehensive studies examining formin localization and function within a common cell type. here, we characteriz ... | 2019 | 30379611 |
| anticipation of food intake induces phosphorylation switch to regulate basolateral amino acid transporter lat4 (slc43a2) function. | amino acid absorption requires luminal uptake into and subsequent basolateral efflux out of epithelial cells, with the latter step being critical to regulate the intracellular concentration of the amino acids. the basolateral essential neutral amino acid uniporter lat4 (slc43a2) has been suggested to drive the net efflux of non-essential and cationic amino acids via parallel amino acid antiporters by recycling some of their substrates; its deletion has been shown to cause defective postnatal gro ... | 2019 | 30379325 |
| investigation of non-cb1, non-cb2 win55212-2-sensitive g-protein-coupled receptors in the brains of mammals, birds, and amphibians. | previous studies have found non-cb1 non-cb2 g-protein-coupled receptors in rodents that are activated by the aminoalkylindole cannabinoid agonist win55212-2. this work obtained evidence for the presence or absence of similar receptors in the brains of other mammals, birds and amphibians. | 2018 | 30376752 |
| calcineurin promotes apc/c activation at meiotic exit by acting on both xerp1 and cdc20. | vertebrate oocytes await fertilization arrested at metaphase of the second meiotic division. fertilization triggers a transient calcium wave, which induces the activation of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (apc/c) and its co-activator cdc20 resulting in the destruction of cyclin b and hence meiotic exit. two calcium-dependent enzymes are implicated in fertilization-induced apc/ccdc20 activation: calcium-/calmodulin-dependent kinase type ii (camkii) and calcineurin (can). while the role ... | 2018 | 30373936 |
| assessment of the complex refractive indices of xenopus laevis sciatic nerve for the optimization of optical (nir) neurostimulation. | despite an increasing interest in the use of light for neural stimulation, there is little information on how it interacts with neural tissue. the choice of wavelength in most of the optical stimulation literature is based on already available light sources designed for other applications. this paper is the first one to report the complex refractive index of the sciatic nerve of xenopus laevis, which is a crucial parameter for identifying the optimal wavelength of optical stimuli. the xenopus la ... | 2018 | 30371379 |
| the receptor-like pseudokinase ghr1 is required for stomatal closure. | guard cells control the aperture of stomatal pores to balance photosynthetic carbon dioxide uptake with evaporative water loss. stomatal closure is triggered by several stimuli that initiate complex signaling networks to govern the activity of ion channels. activation of slow anion channel1 (slac1) is central to the process of stomatal closure and requires the leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (lrr-rlk) guard cell hydrogen peroxide-resistant1 (ghr1), among other signaling components. here ... | 2018 | 30361234 |
| a modified tripeptide motif of rs1 (rsc1a1) down-regulates exocytotic pathways of human na+-d-glucose cotransporters sglt1, sglt2, and glucose sensor sglt3 in the presence of glucose. | a domain of protein rs1 (rsc1a1) called rs1-reg down-regulates the plasma membrane abundance of na+-d-glucose cotransporter sglt1 by blocking the exocytotic pathway at the trans-golgi. this effect is blunted by intracellular glucose but prevails when serine in a qsp (gln-ser-pro) motif is replaced by glutamate [rs1-reg(s20e)]. rs1-reg binds to ornithine decarboxylase (odc) and inhibits odc in a glucose-dependent manner. because the odc inhibitor difluoromethylornithine (dfmo) acts like rs1-reg(s ... | 2019 | 30355744 |
| functional studies of transcriptional cofactors via microinjection-mediated gene editing in xenopus. | the anuran xenopus laevis has been studied for decades as a model for vertebrate cell and developmental biology. more recently, the highly related species xenopus tropicalis has offered the opportunity to carry out genetic studies due to its diploid genome as compared to the pseudo-tetraploid xenopus laevis. amphibians undergo a biphasic development: embryogenesis to produce a free-living tadpoles and subsequent metamorphosis to transform the tadpole to a frog. this second phase mimics the so-ca ... | 2019 | 30353533 |
| divergent subgenome evolution after allopolyploidization in african clawed frogs (xenopus). | whole genome duplication (wgd), the doubling of the nuclear dna of a species, contributes to biological innovation by creating genetic redundancy. one mode of wgd is allopolyploidization, wherein each genome from two ancestral species becomes a 'subgenome' of a polyploid descendant species. the evolutionary trajectory of a duplicated gene that arises from wgd is influenced both by natural selection that may favour redundant, new or partitioned functions, and by gene silencing (pseudogenization). ... | 2018 | 30341989 |
| synthetic light-activated ion channels for optogenetic activation and inhibition. | optogenetic manipulation of cells or living organisms became widely used in neuroscience following the introduction of the light-gated ion channel channelrhodopsin-2 (chr2). chr2 is a non-selective cation channel, ideally suited to depolarize and evoke action potentials in neurons. however, its calcium (ca2+) permeability and single channel conductance are low and for some applications longer-lasting increases in intracellular ca2+ might be desirable. moreover, there is need for an efficient lig ... | 2018 | 30333716 |
| multiple combinations of rdl subunits diversify the repertoire of gaba receptors in the honey bee parasite varroa destructor. | in insects, γ-aminobutyric acid (gaba) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter, and gaba-gated ion channels are the target of different classes of insecticides, including fipronil. we report here the cloning of six subunits (four rdl, one lcch3, and one grd) that constitute the repertoire of the gaba-gated ion channel family of the varroa mite (varroa destructor), a honey bee ectoparasite. we also isolated a truncated grd subunit with a premature stop codon. we found that when expressed in xeno ... | 2018 | 30333227 |
| emerin induces nuclear breakage in xenopus extract and early embryos. | emerin is an inner nuclear membrane protein often mutated in emery-dreifuss muscular dystrophy. because emerin has diverse roles in nuclear mechanics, cytoskeletal organization, and gene expression, it has been difficult to elucidate its contribution to nuclear structure and disease pathology. in this study, we investigated emerin's impact on nuclei assembled in xenopus laevis egg extract, a simplified biochemical system that lacks potentially confounding cellular factors and activities. notably ... | 2018 | 30332321 |
| early redox activities modulate xenopus tail regeneration. | redox state sustained by reactive oxygen species (ros) is crucial for regeneration; however, the interplay between oxygen (o2), ros and hypoxia-inducible factors (hif) remains elusive. here we observe, using an optic-based probe (optrode), an elevated and steady o2 influx immediately upon amputation. the spatiotemporal o2 influx profile correlates with the regeneration of xenopus laevis tadpole tails. inhibition of ros production but not ros scavenging decreases o2 influx. inhibition of hif-1α i ... | 2018 | 30327466 |
| expression of trpv channels during xenopus laevis embryogenesis. | transient receptor potential (trp) cation channel genes code for an extensive family of conserved proteins responsible for a variety of physiological processes, including sensory perception, ion homeostasis, and chemical signal transduction. the trp superfamily consists of seven subgroups, one of which is the transient receptor potential vanilloid (trpv) channel family. while trpv channels are relatively well studied in adult vertebrate organisms given their role in functions such as nociception ... | 2018 | 30326274 |
| high-affinity k+ transporters from a halophyte, sporobolus virginicus, mediate both k+ and na+ transport in transgenic arabidopsis, x. laevis oocytes and yeast. | class ii high-affinity potassium transporters (hkts) have been proposed to mediate na+-k+ co-transport in plants, as well as na+ and k+ homeostasis under k+-starved and saline environments. we identified class ii hkts, namely svhkt2;1 and svhkt2;2 (svhkts), from the halophytic turf grass, sporobolus virginicus. svhkt2;2 expression in s. virginicus was up-regulated by nacl treatment, while svhkt2;1 expression was assumed to be up-regulated by k+ starvation and down-regulated by nacl treatment. lo ... | 2019 | 30325438 |
| generation and analysis of xenopus laevis models of retinal degeneration using crispr/cas9. | xenopus laevis have proven to be a useful system for rapid generation and analysis of transgenic models of human retinal disease. however, experimental approaches in this system were limited by lack of a robust knockdown or knockout technology. here we describe a protocol for generation of cas9-edited x. laevis embryos. the technique introduces point mutations into the genome of x. laevis resulting in in-frame and out-of-frame insertions and deletions that allow modeling of both dominant and rec ... | 2019 | 30324446 |
| morphomechanical reactions and mechanically stressed structures in amphibian embryos, as related to gastrulation and axial organs formation. | reactions of embryonic tissues to a distributed and concentrated stretching are described and compared with the mechanics of the normal gastrulation movements. a role of mechanically stressed dynamic cell structures in the gastrulation, demarcation of notochord borders and in providing proportionality of the axial rudiments is demonstrated. a morphomechanical scheme of amphibian gastrulation is presented. | 2018 | 30321583 |
| the publications of embryologist lev v. beloussov. | a list of papers and books of the late lev v. beloussov was compiled and is available in word and endnote supplements. the breadth of his work is briefly described. | 2018 | 30321582 |
| reconstitution of cell-cycle oscillations in microemulsions of cell-free xenopus egg extracts. | real-time measurement of oscillations at the single-cell level is important to uncover the mechanisms of biological clocks. although bulk extracts prepared from xenopus laevis eggs have been powerful in dissecting biochemical networks underlying the cell-cycle progression, their ensemble average measurement typically leads to a damped oscillation, despite each individual oscillator being sustained. this is due to the difficulty of perfect synchronization among individual oscillators in noisy bio ... | 2018 | 30320763 |
| assembly of protein complexes restricts diffusion of wnt3a proteins. | members of the wnt protein family play roles in many aspects of embryogenesis and homeostasis. despite their biological significance, characteristics of wnt proteins still remain unclear, mainly due to their insolubility after the removal of serum. here we examine wnt proteins in serum-containing media by using analytical ultracentrifugation with a fluorescence detection system. this analysis reveals that wnt3a assembles into high-molecular-weight complexes that become dissociable by interaction ... | 2018 | 30320232 |
| polystyrene microplastics did not affect body growth and swimming activity in xenopus laevis tadpoles. | a growing number of studies have highlighted the contamination and the effects towards organisms of diverse microplastics (μps) in the marine environment. surprisingly, although the main sources of μps for marine environments are inland surface waters, the information on the occurrence and the effects of μps in freshwater ecosystems is still scant. thus, the aim of the present work is to investigate the ingestion and possible adverse effects due to the exposure to polystyrene μps (psμps; ø = 3 μ ... | 2018 | 30317408 |
| comparisons of socs mrna and protein levels in xenopus provide insights into optic nerve regenerative success. | in vertebrates from fishes to mammals, optic nerve injury induces increased expression ofsuppressor of cytokine signaling 3(socs3) mrna, a modulator of cytokine signaling that is known to inhibit cns axon regeneration. unlike amniotes, however, anamniotes successfully regenerate optic axons, despite this increase. to address this seeming paradox, we examined the socs3 response to optic nerve injury in the frog,xenopus laevis, at both the mrna and protein levels. far from being only transiently i ... | 2019 | 30315759 |
| unusual light-reflecting pigment cells appear in the xenopus neural tube culture system in the presence of guanosine. | isolation and culture of xenopus laevis neural tubes resulted in differentiation of melanophores and iridophores from neural crest cells; the differentiated melanophores and iridophores were then maintained in culture for more than 6 months. guanosine has been reported to promote reflecting platelet formation in melanin-producing pigment cells; however, the process of pigment organellogenesis is still unclear. in the present study, unusual light-reflecting pigment cells were observed upon additi ... | 2018 | 30309510 |
| uroplakins play conserved roles in egg fertilization and acquired additional urothelial functions during mammalian divergence. | uroplakin (up) tetraspanins and their associated proteins are major mammalian urothelial differentiation products that form unique two-dimensional crystals of 16-nm particles ("urothelial plaques") covering the apical urothelial surface. although uroplakins are highly expressed only in mammalian urothelium and are often referred to as being urothelium specific, they are also expressed in several mouse nonurothelial cell types in stomach, kidney, prostate, epididymis, testis/sperms, and ovary/ooc ... | 2018 | 30303751 |
| retinal tissue preparation for high-resolution live imaging of photoreceptors expressing multiple transgenes. | live imaging has become the favorite method in recent years to study the protein transport, localization and dynamics in live cells. protein transport is extremely essential for proper function of photoreceptors. aberration in the proper transport of proteins gives rise to the loss of photoreceptor and blindness. on the other hand, the ease of generation of transgenic xenopus laevis tadpoles and the advantage of high resolution live confocal imaging provide new insight into understanding protein ... | 2018 | 30302320 |
| antibacterial and antibiofilm activity and mode of action of magainin 2 against drug-resistant acinetobacter baumannii. | antimicrobial peptides (amps) are promising therapeutic agents for treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. previous studies showed that magainin 2 (isolated from african clawed fogs xenopus laevis) has antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. the present study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial activity of magainin 2 against acinetobacter baumannii. magainin 2 showed excellent antibacterial activity against a. baumannii strains and high sta ... | 2018 | 30301180 |
| design, synthesis, and pharmacological evaluation of novel β2/3 subunit-selective γ-aminobutyric acid type a (gabaa) receptor modulators. | subunit-selective modulation of γ-aminobutyric acid type a receptors (gabaar) is considered to exert fewer side effects compared to unselective clinically used drugs. here, the β2/3 subunit-selective gabaar modulators valerenic acid (va) and loreclezole (lor) guided the synthesis of novel subunit-selective ligands with simplified structures. we studied their effects on gabaars expressed in xenopus laevis oocytes using two-microelectrode voltage clamp technique. five compounds showed significantl ... | 2019 | 30289721 |
| functional analysis of a triplet deletion in the gene encoding the sodium glucose transporter 3, a potential risk factor for adhd. | sodium-glucose transporters (sglt) belong to the solute carrier 5 family, which is characterized by sodium dependent transport of sugars and other solutes. in contrast, the human sglt3 (hsglt3) isoform, encoded by slc5a4, acts as a glucose sensor that does not transport sugar but induces membrane depolarization by na+ currents upon ligand binding. whole-exome sequencing (wes) of several extended pedigrees with high density of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd) identified a triplet a ... | 2018 | 30286162 |
| paracetamol-induced liver injury modelled in xenopus laevis embryos. | failure to predict drug-induced liver injury (dili) remains a major contributing factor to lead compound drop-out during drug development. xenopus embryos are amenable for early stage medium throughput small molecule screens and so have the potential to be used in pre-clinical screens. to begin to assess the usefulness and limitations of xenopus embryos for safety assessment in the early phases of drug development, paracetamol was used as a model hepatotoxin. paracetamol overdose is associated w ... | 2019 | 30282005 |
| [morphomechanical factors in gastrulation process and differentiation of embryonic tissue of xenopus laevis]. | effect of mechanical stretch on the differentiation of axial anlages and chordin gene expressionwas studied in sandwich explants prepared from embryonic tissues of xenopus laevis at the early gastrula stagein two variants: with dissected or intact dorso-medial region. in the first case, convergent cell movementswere suppressed and properly organized axial organs (notochord and somites) were almost completely absent.however, they developed if the explants of such type were artificially stretched ... | 2018 | 30272924 |
| [role of mechano-dependent cell movements in the establishment of spatial organization of axial rudiments in xenopus laevis embryos]. | trajectories of individual cell movements and patterns of differentiation in the axial rudiments insuprablastoporal areas (sba) in whole embryos of xenopus laevis artificially stretched in the transverse directionup to 120–200% from the initial length at the early gastrula stage were mapped. we observed the impairmentof anisotropic cell movements of longitudinal stretching and latero-medial convergence inherent forsba. axial rudiments occurred in all cases, but their location was completely impa ... | 2018 | 30272919 |
| [geometry of movement of the outer surface of the embryo during xenopus gastrulation]. | the surface of xenopus laevis embryos was marked with carbon particles, after which the locationof mark groups was recorded by time-lapse video imaging and subsequent image analysis until their disappearancein the depth of gastric invagination. measuring the distances between individually identifiablemarks whose size is smaller than the size of a single cell makes it possible to quantitatively analyze the geometryof collective cell movement without any external coordinate system. during the dors ... | 2018 | 30272406 |
| [secreted protein noggin4 participates in the formation of forebrain structures in xenopus laevis by inhibitingthe wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway]. | noggin proteins are important regulators of the early development of the vertebrate neural system.previously, it has been traditionally thought that vertebrates have only one noggin gene (noggin1), whosemain function is the inhibition of bmp signaling pathway during the formation of dorsoventral polarity inembryos. then other proteins of this family were discovered, and the studies of noggin2 protein showed thatnoggin proteins also participate in the modulation of nodal/activin and wnt/beta-cate ... | 2018 | 30272399 |
| nucleosomes and the three glycosylases: high, medium, and low levels of excision by the uracil dna glycosylase superfamily. | human cells express the udg superfamily of glycosylases, which excise uracil (u) from the genome. the three members of this structural superfamily are uracil dna glycosylase (ung/udg), single-strand selective monofunctional uracil dna glycosylase (smug1), and thymine dna glycosylase (tdg). we previously reported that udg is efficient at removing u from dna packaged into nucleosome core particles (ncp) and is minimally affected by the histone proteins when acting on an outward-facing u in the dya ... | 2018 | 30268365 |
| a xenopus oocyte model system to study action potentials. | action potentials (aps) are the functional units of fast electrical signaling in excitable cells. the upstroke and downstroke of an ap is generated by the competing and asynchronous action of na+- and k+-selective voltage-gated conductances. although a mixture of voltage-gated channels has been long recognized to contribute to the generation and temporal characteristics of the ap, understanding how each of these proteins function and are regulated during electrical signaling remains the subject ... | 2018 | 30266757 |
| expression of the hormonal fgf co-receptor klotho beta in the xenopus laevis model. | klotho beta (klb), a single-pass transmembrane protein, has been described as a co-receptor for endocrine fgfs, such as fgf15/19 and fgf21, to regulate critical metabolic processes in multiple organs and tissues in adult mice. however, its function during early embryonic development remains largely unknown. in this paper, we evaluated for the first time the expression of klb mrna during early development of xenopus laevis by rt-pcr and whole mount in situ hybridization. rt-pcr experiments showed ... | 2019 | 30259590 |
| amphibian (xenopus laevis) interleukin-8 (cxcl8): a perspective on the evolutionary divergence of granulocyte chemotaxis. | the glutamic acid-leucine-arginine (elr) motif is a hallmark feature shared by mammalian inflammatory cxc chemokines such the granulocyte chemo-attractant cxcl8 (interleukin-8, il-8). by contrast, most teleost fish inflammatory chemokines lack this motif. interestingly, the amphibian xenopus laevis encodes multiple isoforms of cxcl8, one of which (cxcl8a) possesses an elr motif, while another (cxcl8b) does not. these cxcl8 isoforms exhibit distinct expression patterns during frog development and ... | 2018 | 30258441 |
| molecular determinants of α-conotoxin potency for inhibition of human and rat α6β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. | nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nachrs) containing α6 and β4 subunits are expressed by dorsal root ganglion neurons and have been implicated in neuropathic pain. rodent models are often used to evaluate the efficacy of analgesic compounds, but species differences may affect the activity of some nachr ligands. a previous candidate α-conotoxin-based therapeutic yielded promising results in rodent models, but failed in human clinical trials, emphasizing the importance of understanding species di ... | 2018 | 30249616 |
| cell cycles during early steps of amphibian embryogenesis: a review. | the published data on cell cycles during the initial (pregastrular) period of embryonic development in representatives of the class amphibia have been critically discussed. we have also used the literature data on ontogenetic diversity of these animals. the relatively small eggs of two principal model species for amphibian embryology, the mexican axolotl and the african clawed frog, undergo the extensive series of rapid synchronous cleavage divisions, after which the midblastula transition (mbt) ... | 2018 | 30240720 |
| the balance of two opposing factors mad and myc regulates cell fate during tissue remodeling. | cell proliferation and differentiation are two distinct yet coupled processes in development in diverse organisms. understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate this process is a central theme in developmental biology. the intestinal epithelium is a highly complex tissue that relies on the coordination of cell proliferation within the crypts and apoptosis mainly at the tip of the villi, preservation of epithelial function through differentiation, and homeostatic cell migration along the c ... | 2018 | 30237868 |
| time-lapse cinemicrographic analysis of superficial cell behavior during and prior to gastrulation in xenopus laevis. | time-lapse cinemicrography was used to show what changes in the number, size, shape, arrangement and what movements of apices of superficial cells occur during epiboly, extension, convergence and blastopore formation in the blastula or gastrula of xenopus laevis. epiboly of the animal region occurs by apical expansion of superficial cells at a nearly constant rate from the midblastula to the midgastrula stage. egression of deep cells into the superficial layer does not occur. extension of the do ... | 1978 | 30235909 |
| two tier hox collinearity mediates vertebrate axial patterning. | a two tier mechanism mediates hox collinearity. besides the familiar collinear chromatin modification within each hox cluster (nanocollinearity), there is also a macrocollinearity tier. individual hox clusters and individual cells are coordinated and synchronized to generate multiscale (macro and nano) collinearity in the early vertebrate embryo. macro-collinearity is mediated by three non-cell autonomous hox-hox interactions. these mediate temporal collinearity in early nom (non-organizer mesod ... | 2018 | 30234110 |
| dscam differentially modulates pre- and postsynaptic structural and functional central connectivity during visual system wiring. | proper patterning of dendritic and axonal arbors is a critical step in the formation of functional neuronal circuits. developing circuits rely on an array of molecular cues to shape arbor morphology, but the underlying mechanisms guiding the structural formation and interconnectivity of pre- and postsynaptic arbors in real time remain unclear. here we explore how down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (dscam) differentially shapes the dendritic morphology of central neurons and their presynaptic r ... | 2018 | 30219101 |
| systematic variation of the benzoylhydrazine moiety of the glun2a selective nmda receptor antagonist tcn-201. | glun2a containing n-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (nmdars) are important ion channels in the central nervous system and highly involved in several different neurophysiological but also neuropathophysiological processes. however, current understanding of the contribution of glun2a containing nmdars in these processes is incomplete. therefore, highly selective compounds are required to further investigate these ion channels. in 2010, tcn-201 (2), one of the first selective negative allosteric modul ... | 2018 | 30218911 |
| bighead is a wnt antagonist secreted by the xenopus spemann organizer that promotes lrp6 endocytosis. | the xenopus laevis embryo has been subjected to almost saturating screens for molecules specifically expressed in dorsal spemann organizer tissue. in this study, we performed high-throughput rna sequencing of ectodermal explants, called animal caps, which normally give rise to epidermis. we analyzed dissociated animal cap cells that, through sustained activation of mapk, differentiate into neural tissue. we also microinjected mrnas for cerberus, chordin, fgf8, bmp4, wnt8, and xnr2, which induce ... | 2018 | 30209221 |
| a review of interventions against fetal alcohol spectrum disorder targeting oxidative stress. | fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is caused by maternal ethanol exposure; it causes physical, behavioral, cognitive, and neural impairments (murawski et al., 2015). mechanisms of fasd causing damage are not yet fully elucidated. oxidative stress might be one of its mechanisms (henderson et al., 1995). yet no effective treatment against fasd has been found other than ethanol abstention (long et al., 2010). | 2018 | 30205148 |
| development of the urostyle during metamorphosis in five species of anurans. | normal development of the urostyle is described during late stages of metamorphosis in five species of anurans: xenopus laevis (daudin), bufo americanus holbrook, pseudacris triseriata (wied), hyla chrysoscelis cope, and rana pipiens schreber. the developing urostyle of all five species is composed of essentially the same cartilaginous elements: one pair of basidorsals above the notochord and the subtended hypochord. among the five species there is variation in such details as the number of spin ... | 1979 | 30200677 |
| in vitro analyses of novel hcn4 gene mutations. | the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channel hcn4 contributes significantly to the generation of basic cardiac electrical activity in the sinus node and is a mediator of modulation by β-adrenergic stimulation. heterologous expression of sick sinus syndrome (sss) and bradycardia associated mutations within the human hcn4 gene results in altered channel function. the main aim was to describe the functional characterization of three (two novel and one known) missense mutat ... | 2018 | 30196304 |
| inward rectifier potassium (kir) channels in the soybean aphid aphis glycines: functional characterization, pharmacology, and toxicology. | inward rectifier k+ (kir) channels contribute to a variety of physiological processes in insects and are emerging targets for insecticide development. previous studies on insect kir channels have primarily focused on dipteran species (e.g., mosquitoes, fruit flies). here we identify and functionally characterize kir channel subunits in a hemipteran insect, the soybean aphid aphis glycines, which is an economically important insect pest and vector of soybeans. from the transcriptome and genome of ... | 2018 | 30196125 |
| a dual-app nucleoside probe provides structural insights into the human telomeric overhang in live cells. | understanding the topology adopted by individual g-quadruplex (gq)-forming sequences in vivo and targeting a specific gq motif among others in the genome will have a profound impact on gq-directed therapeutic strategies. however, this remains a major challenge as most of the tools poorly distinguish different gq conformations and are not suitable for both cell-free and in-cell analysis. here, we describe an innovative probe design to investigate gq conformations and recognition in both cell-free ... | 2018 | 30192541 |
| multiscale analysis of architecture, cell size and the cell cortex reveals cortical f-actin density and composition are major contributors to mechanical properties during convergent extension. | the large-scale movements that construct complex three-dimensional tissues during development are governed by universal physical principles. fine-grained control of both mechanical properties and force production is crucial to the successful placement of tissues and shaping of organs. embryos of the frog xenopus laevis provide a dramatic example of these physical processes, as dorsal tissues increase in young's modulus by six-fold to 80 pascal over 8 h as germ layers and the central nervous syst ... | 2018 | 30190279 |
| draft genome of dugesia japonica provides insights into conserved regulatory elements of the brain restriction gene nou-darake in planarians. | planarians are non-parasitic platyhelminthes (flatworms) famous for their regeneration ability and for having a well-organized brain. dugesia japonica is a typical planarian species that is widely distributed in the east asia. extensive cellular and molecular experimental methods have been developed to identify the functions of thousands of genes in this species, making this planarian a good experimental model for regeneration biology and neurobiology. however, no genome-level information is ava ... | 2018 | 30181897 |
| the cytoskeletal protein zyxin interacts with the zinc-finger transcription factor zic1 and plays the role of a scaffold for gli1 and zic1 interactions during early development of xenopus laevis. | we have shown recently that the cytoskeletal protein zyxin participates in the fine tuning of the neural plate pattering in xenopus laevis embryos by modulating activity of one of the effectors of hedgehog (shh) signaling cascade, the transcription factor gli1. in the present work, we show that zyxin can also interact with the potential modulator of the shh pathway, the transcription factor zic1. the interaction of proteins occurs primarily by mean of the zinc-finger domain of zic1 and 2nd lim d ... | 2018 | 30180953 |
| a single xlf dimer bridges dna ends during nonhomologous end joining. | nonhomologous end joining (nhej) is the primary pathway of dna double-strand-break repair in vertebrate cells, yet how nhej factors assemble a synaptic complex that bridges dna ends remains unclear. to address the role of xrcc4-like factor (xlf) in synaptic-complex assembly, we used single-molecule fluorescence imaging in xenopus laevis egg extract, a system that efficiently joins dna ends. we found that a single xlf dimer binds dna substrates just before the formation of a ligation-competent sy ... | 2018 | 30177755 |
| expression cloning human and rat renal cortex na/pi cotransporters: behind the scenes in the murer laboratory. | in the pre-genomic era, the cloning of a cdna represented a significant achievement, particularly if the gene of interest encoded a membrane protein. at the time, molecular probes such as partial peptide sequences, suitable nucleic acid sequences, or antibodies were unavailable for most proteins and the "sodium-phosphate transporter" was no exception. in contrast, brush-border membrane vesicles and epithelial cell culture experiments had established a reliable set of functional hallmarks that de ... | 2019 | 30175377 |
| bapx1 is required for jaw joint development in amphibians. | the acquisition of a movable jaw and a jaw joint are key events in gnathostome evolution. jaws are derived from the neural crest derived pharyngeal skeleton and the transition from jawless to jawed vertebrates consists of major morphological changes, which must have a genetic foundation. recent studies on the effects of bapx1 knockdown in fish and chicken indicate that bapx1 has acquired such a role in primary jaw joint development during vertebrate evolution, but evidence from amphibians is mis ... | 2018 | 30168254 |
| ras-dva small gtpases lost during evolution of amniotes regulate regeneration in anamniotes. | in contrast to amniotes (reptiles, birds and mammals), anamniotes (fishes and amphibians) can effectively regenerate body appendages such as fins, limbs and tails. why such a useful capability was progressively lost in amniotes remains unknown. as we have hypothesized recently, one of the reasons for this could be loss of some genes regulating the regeneration in evolution of amniotes. here, we demonstrate the validity of this hypothesis by showing that genes of small gtpases ras-dva1 and ras-dv ... | 2018 | 30158598 |
| isolation and primary culture methods of adult and larval myogenic cells from xenopus laevis. | during amphibian metamorphosis, larval-to-adult conversion of the myogenic system occurs and there are two distinct types of muscle stem cells; larval myogenic cells have a death-fate by apoptosis in the presence of thyroid hormone t3, and adult myogenic cells have a life-fate under the same conditions. here, we describe isolation and culture methods for adult and larval myogenic cells from the frog, xenopus laevis. both types of cultured myogenic cells undergo cell division and cell differentia ... | 2018 | 30151775 |
| isolation and culture of amphibian (xenopus laevis) sub-capsular liver and bone marrow cells. | the x. laevis sub-capsular liver is thought to be the principal hematopoietic site of xenopodinae species from early development and, in case of certain species, into adulthood. the xenopus bone marrow appears to be comprised of precursor cells committed to myeloid lineages, such as macrophage- and granulocyte-progenitor cells. with alarming increases in the contribution of pathogenic infections to the global amphibian declines, now more than ever a better understanding of the mechanisms control ... | 2018 | 30151774 |
| x-fact: xenopus-fast clearing technique. | accessibility and imaging of cell compartments in big specimens are crucial for cellular biological research but also a matter of contention. confocal imaging and tissue clearing on whole organs allow for 3d imaging of cellular structures after being subjected to in-toto immunohistochemistry. lately, the passive clarity technique (pact) has been adapted to clear and immunolabel large specimens or individual organs of several aquatic species. we recently demonstrated tissue clearing on one-week o ... | 2018 | 30151770 |
| dye electroporation and imaging of calcium signaling in xenopus nervous system. | electroporation is an efficient method of transferring charged macromolecules into living cells in order to study their morphology, function, and connectivity within neuronal networks. labeling cells with fluorophore-coupled macromolecules can be used to trace projections of whole neuronal ensembles, as well as the fine morphology of single cells. here, we present a protocol to visualize pre- and postsynaptic components of a sensory relay synapse in the brain, using the olfactory system of xenop ... | 2018 | 30151769 |
| quantitative proteomics for xenopus embryos ii, data analysis. | the oocytes, embryos, and cell-free lysates of the frog xenopus laevis have emerged as powerful models for quantitative proteomic experiments. in the accompanying paper (chapter 13) we describe how to prepare samples and acquire multiplexed proteomics spectra from those. as an illustrative example we use a 10-stage developmental time series from the egg to stage 35 (just before hatching). here, we outline how to convert the ~700,000 acquired mass spectra from this time series into protein expres ... | 2018 | 30151768 |
| quantitative proteomics of xenopus embryos i, sample preparation. | xenopus oocytes and embryos are model systems optimally suited for quantitative proteomics. this is due to the availability of large amount of protein material and the ease of physical manipulation. furthermore, facile in vitro fertilization provides superbly synchronized embryos for cell cycle and developmental stages. here, we detail protocols developed over the last few years for sample preparation of multiplexed proteomics with tmt-tags followed by quantitative mass spectrometry analysis usi ... | 2018 | 30151767 |
| a simple knock-in system for xenopus via microhomology mediated end joining repair. | following completion of the genome sequences of xenopus tropicalis and x. laevis, gene targeting techniques have become increasingly important for the further development of xenopus research in the life sciences. gene knockout using programmable nucleases, such as talen and crispr/cas9, has reached a level whereby we can readily and routinely perform loss-of-function analysis of genes of interest in these species. however, there is still room for improvement in gene knock-in techniques owing to ... | 2018 | 30151761 |
| generation and care of xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis embryos. | robust and efficient protocols for fertilization and early embryo care of xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis are essential for experimental success, as well as maintenance and propagation of precious animal stocks. the rapid growth of the national xenopus resource has required effective implementation and optimization of these protocols. here, we discuss the procedures used at the national xenopus resource, which we found helpful for generation and early upkeep of xenopus embryos and tadpoles ... | 2018 | 30151756 |
| husbandry, general care, and transportation of xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis. | maintenance of optimal conditions such as water parameters, diet, and feeding is essential to a healthy xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis colony and thus to the productivity of the lab. our prior husbandry experience as well as the rapid growth of the national xenopus resource has given us a unique insight into identifying and implementing these optimal parameters into our husbandry operations. here, we discuss our standard operating procedures that will be of use to both new and established ... | 2018 | 30151755 |
| evaluating iodide recycling inhibition as a novel molecular initiating event for thyroid axis disruption in amphibians. | the enzyme iodotyrosine deiodinase (dehalogenase, iyd) catalyzes iodide recycling and promotes iodide retention in thyroid follicular cells. loss of function or chemical inhibition of iyd reduces available iodide for thyroid hormone synthesis, which leads to hormone insufficiency in tissues and subsequent negative developmental consequences. iyd activity is especially critical under conditions of lower dietary iodine and in low iodine environments. our objective was to evaluate the toxicological ... | 2018 | 30137636 |
| kv12.1 channels are not sensitive to gqpcr-triggered activation of phospholipase cβ. | kv12.1 k+ channels are expressed in several brain areas, but no physiological function could be attributed to these subunits so far. as genetically-modified animal models are not available, identification of native kv12.1 currents must rely on characterization of distinct channel properties. recently, it was shown in xenopus laevis oocytes that kv12.1 channels were modulated by membrane pi(4,5)p2. however, it is not known whether these channels are also sensitive to physiologically-relevant pi(4 ... | 2018 | 30136882 |
| developmental dependence for functional eye regrowth in xenopus laevis. | 2018 | 30136686 | |
| photocatalytic degradation of azo dye using core@shell nano-tio2 particles to reduce toxicity. | clean and safe water is fundamental for human and environmental health. traditional remediation of textile dye-polluted water with chemical, physical, and biological processes has many disadvantages. due to this, nano-engineered materials are drawing more attention to this area. however, the widespread use of nano-particles for this purpose may lead to photocatalytic degradation of xenobiotics, while increasing the risk of nano-particle-induced ecotoxicity. therefore, we comparatively evaluated ... | 2018 | 30136182 |
| i spy with my little eye: a simple behavioral assay to test color sensitivity on digital displays. | passive and interactive virtual reality (vr) environments are becoming increasingly popular in the field of behavioral neuroscience. while the technique was originally developed for human observers, corresponding applications have been adopted for the research of visual-driven behavior and neural circuits in animals. rgb color reproduction using red, green and blue primary color pixels is generally calibrated for humans, questioning if the distinct parameters are also readily transferable to oth ... | 2018 | 30127095 |
| cross-limb communication during xenopus hindlimb regenerative response: non-local bioelectric injury signals. | regeneration of damaged body parts requires coordination of size, shape, location and orientation of tissue with the rest of the body. it is not currently known to what extent injury sites communicate with the remaining soma during repair, or what information may emanate from the injury site and reach other regions. we examined the bioelectric properties (resting potential gradients in the epidermis) of xenopus laevis froglets undergoing hindlimb amputation and observed that the contralateral (u ... | 2018 | 30126906 |
| molecular characterization of wdr68 gene in embryonic development of xenopus laevis. | wdr68, also known as dcaf7, is a wd40 repeated domain protein highly conserved in eukaryotic organisms in both plants and animals. this protein participates in numerous cellular processes and exerts its function through interaction with other proteins. in the present work, we isolated, sequenced and characterized cdna corresponding to the wdr68 gene in embryos of the amphibian xenopus laevis. syntenic analysis revealed high conservation of the genomic region containing the wdr68 locus in amniote ... | 2018 | 30125741 |
| fiber type composition and postmetamorphic growth of anuran hindlimb muscles. | fiber type composition distinguished by the level of succinic dehydrogenase, mean fiber diameter, and fiber number were determined for the gracilis major and sartorius in ontogenetic series of the anurans rana pipiens, bufo americanus, and xenopus laevis to characterize muscle composition and mode of muscle growth. a correlation can be made between the respective locomotor mode of these anurans, their activity physiology, and the fiber type composition of the propulsive muscles. r. pipiens and x ... | 1981 | 30119589 |
| in vitro expression and functional characterization of npa motifs in aquaporins of nosema bombycis. | nosema bombycis contains functional aquaporins (nbaqps), which are key targets for exploring the mechanism of n. bombycis infection; however, the regulation of these nbaqps remains unknown. the two highly conserved asparagine-proline-alanine sequences (npa motifs) play important roles in aqp biogenesis. as part of this study, we constructed a series of nbaqp mutants (nbaqp_npa1, nbaqp_npa2, and nbaqp_npa1,2) and expressed them in bmn cells. the results showed that mutations in either npa motif o ... | 2018 | 30105406 |
| lymphocyte deficiency induced by sublethal irradiation in xenopus. | in many studies of diseases affecting amphibians, it is important to determine to what extent lymphocyte-mediated defenses are involved. for example, in studies of the nature of the immune response of xenopus laevis to the amphibian chytrid fungus, batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, it was essential to determine if mucosal antimicrobial peptides or lymphocyte-mediated immunity was most important for resistance to this skin pathogen. in this protocol, we describe a method for sublethal irradiation t ... | 2019 | 30104411 |
| mass spectrometry-based absolute quantification of single xenopus embryo proteomes. | early xenopus development is characterized by a poor correlation between global mrna and protein abundances due to maternal mrna and protein loading. therefore, proteome profiling is necessary to study gene expression dynamics during early xenopus development. in contrast to mammals, single xenopus eggs and embryos contain enough protein to allow identification and quantification of thousands of proteins using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. in addition to investigating developmental process ... | 2019 | 30104410 |
| regulation of melanopsin signaling: key interactions of the nonvisual photopigment. | melanopsin is a g protein-coupled receptor with a peak sensitivity in the blue part of the spectrum, which plays a key role in nonvisual light-mediated signaling. recently, its importance in forming visual pathway as well as its role in blood vessels photorelaxation was also revealed. melanopsin was discovered in 1998 in xenopus leavis. since then, the melanopsin presence was demonstrated across the species. the existence of two melanopsin genes (opn4m and opn4x) as well as melanopsin isoforms r ... | 2019 | 30102761 |
| inward- and outward-facing homology modeling of human concentrative nucleoside transporter 3 (hcnt3) predicts an elevator-type transport mechanism. | the human slc28 family of concentrative (na+-dependent) nucleoside transporters has three members, hcnt1, hcnt2 and hcnt3. previously, we have used heterologous expression in xenopus laevis oocytes in combination with an engineered cysteine-less hcnt3 protein hcnt3(c-) to undertake systematic substituted cysteine accessibility method (scam) analysis of the transporter using the membrane-impermeant thiol reactive reagent p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonate (pcmbs). a continuous sequence of more than ... | 2018 | 30096006 |
| apoptosis propagates through the cytoplasm as trigger waves. | apoptosis is an evolutionarily conserved form of programmed cell death critical for development and tissue homeostasis in animals. the apoptotic control network includes several positive feedback loops that may allow apoptosis to spread through the cytoplasm in self-regenerating trigger waves. we tested this possibility in cell-free xenopus laevis egg extracts and observed apoptotic trigger waves with speeds of ~30 micrometers per minute. fractionation and inhibitor studies implicated multiple f ... | 2018 | 30093599 |
| the age-regulated zinc finger factor znf367 is a new modulator of neuroblast proliferation during embryonic neurogenesis. | global population aging is one of the major social and economic challenges of contemporary society. during aging the progressive decline in physiological functions has serious consequences for all organs including brain. the age-related incidence of neurodegenerative diseases coincides with the sharp decline of the amount and functionality of adult neural stem cells. recently, we identified a short list of brain age-regulated genes by means of next-generation sequencing. among them znf367 codes ... | 2018 | 30087422 |
| gli2 is required for the induction and migration of xenopus laevis neural crest. | the neural crest (nc) is a multipotent migratory embryonic population that is formed during late gastrulation and gives rise to a wide array of derivatives, including cells from the peripheral nervous system (pns), the craniofacial bones and cartilages, peripheral glial cells, and melanocyte cells, among others. in this work we analyzed the role of the hedgehog signaling pathway effector gli2 in xenopus nc. we provide evidence that the gli2 gene is expressed in the prospective, premigratory and ... | 2018 | 30086335 |
| spatial and temporal analysis of pcp protein dynamics during neural tube closure. | planar cell polarity (pcp) controls convergent extension and axis elongation in all vertebrates. although asymmetric localization of pcp proteins is central to their function, we understand little about pcp protein localization during convergent extension. here, we use quantitative live imaging to simultaneously monitor cell intercalation behaviors and pcp protein dynamics in the xenopus laevis neural plate epithelium. we observed asymmetric enrichment of pcp proteins, but more interestingly, we ... | 2018 | 30080139 |
| tectal crfr1 receptors modulate food intake and feeding behavior in the south african clawed frog xenopus laevis. | the optic tectum and superior colliculus rapidly inhibit food intake when a visual threat is present. previous work indicates that crf, acting on crfr1 receptors, may play a role in tectal inhibition of feeding behavior and food intake. here we test the hypothesis that tectal crfr1 receptors modulate food intake and feeding behavior in juvenile xenopus laevis. we performed five experiments to test the following questions: 1) does tectal crf injection decrease food intake/feeding behavior? 2) doe ... | 2018 | 30077740 |
| differential modulation of human gabac-ρ1 receptor by sulfur-containing compounds structurally related to taurine. | the amino acid taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) modulates inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors. this study aimed to determine if the dual action of taurine on gabac-ρ1r relates to its structure. to address this, we tested the ability of the structurally related compounds homotaurine, hypotaurine, and isethionic acid to modulate gabac-ρ1r. | 2018 | 30075755 |
| a simple decision to move in response to touch reveals basic sensory memory and mechanisms for variable response times. | short-term working memory and decision-making are usually studied in the cerebral cortex; in many models of simple decision making, sensory signals build slowly and noisily to threshold to initiate a motor response after long, variable delays. when touched, hatchling frog tadpoles decide whether to swim; we define the long and variable delays to swimming and use whole-cell recordings to uncover the neurons and processes responsible. firing in sensory and sensory pathway neurons is short latency, ... | 2018 | 30074236 |
| disruption of amino acid homeostasis by novel asct2 inhibitors involves multiple targets. | the glutamine transporter asct2 (slc1a5) is actively investigated as an oncological target, but the field lacks efficient asct2 inhibitors. a new group of asct2 inhibitors, 2-amino-4-bis(aryloxybenzyl)aminobutanoic acids (aaba), were developed recently and shown to suppress tumor growth in preclinical in vivo models. to test its specificity, we deleted asct2 in two human cancer cell lines. surprisingly, growth of parental and asct2-knockout cells was equally sensitive to aaba compounds. aaba com ... | 2018 | 30072900 |
| nucleotide receptor p2ry4 is required for head formation via induction and maintenance of head organizer in xenopus laevis. | vertebrates have unique head structures that are mainly composed of the central nervous system, the neural crest, and placode cells. these head structures are brought about initially by the neural induction between the organizer and the prospective neuroectoderm at early gastrula stage. purinergic receptors are activated by nucleotides released from cells and influence intracellular signaling pathways, such as phospholipase c and adenylate cyclase signaling pathways. as p2y receptor is vertebrat ... | 2019 | 30069871 |
| cloning and functional characterisation of the duplicated rdl subunits from the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum. | the insect gaba receptor, rdl (resistance to dieldrin), is a cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel (cyslgic) that plays a central role in neuronal signaling, and is the target of several classes of insecticides. many insects studied to date possess one rdl gene; however, there is evidence of two rdls in aphids. to characterise further this insecticide target from pests that cause millions of dollars' worth of crop damage each year, we identified the complete cyslgic gene superfamily of the pea aphid ... | 2018 | 30065178 |
| α1-fangs: protein ligands selective for the α-bungarotoxin site of the α1-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. | nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nachrs) are pentameric ligand-gated ion channels that play a central role in neuronal and neuromuscular signal transduction. here, we have developed fang ligands, fibronectin antibody-mimetic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-generated ligands, using mrna display. we generated a 1 trillion-member primary e10fniii library to target a stabilized α1 nicotinic subunit (α211). this library yielded 270000 independent potential protein binding ligands. the lead sequenc ... | 2018 | 30059207 |
| altered thyroid hormone levels affect body condition at metamorphosis in larvae of xenopus laevis. | chemical, physical and biological environmental stressors may affect the endocrine system, such as the thyroid hormone (th) axis in larval amphibians with consequences for energy partitioning among development, growth and metabolism. we studied the effects of two th level affecting compounds, exogenous l-thyroxine (t4 ) and sodium perchlorate (sp), on various measures of development and body condition in larvae of the african clawed frog (xenopus laevis). we calculated the scaled mass index, hep ... | 2018 | 30058724 |
| tight junction-associated protein gef-h1 in the neighbours of dividing epithelial cells is essential for adaptation of cell-cell membrane during cytokinesis. | animal cells divide by a process called cytokinesis which relies on the constriction of a contractile actomyosin ring leading to the production of two daughter cells. cytokinesis is an intrinsic property of cells which occurs even for artificially isolated cells. during division, isolated cells undergo dramatic changes in shape such as rounding and membrane deformation as the division furrow ingresses. however, cells are often embedded in tissues and thus are surrounded by neighbouring cells. ho ... | 2018 | 30056063 |