Reverse Engineering the Yeast RNR1 Transcriptional Control System

Transcription is controlled by multi-protein complexes binding to short non-coding regions of genomic DNA. These complexes interact combinatorially. A major goal of modern biology is to provide simple models that predict this complex behavior. The yeast gene RNR1 is transcribed periodically during the cell cycle. Here, we present a pilot study to demonstrate a new method of deciphering the logic behind transcriptional regulation. We took regular samples from cell cycle synchronized cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and extracted nuclear protein. We tested these samples to measure the amount of protein that bound to seven different 16 base pair sequences of DNA that have been previously identified as protein binding locations in the promoter of the RNR1 gene. These tests were performed using surface plasmon resonance. We found that the surface plasmon resonance signals showed significant variation throughout the cell cycle. We correlated the protein binding data with previously published mRNA expression data and interpreted this to show that transcription requires protein bound to a particular site and either five different sites or one additional sites. We conclude that this demonstrates the feasibility of this approach to decipher the combinatorial logic of transcription

Intersection of inflammation and herbal medicine in the treatment of osteoarthritis

Herbal remedies and dietary supplements have become an important area of research and clinical practice in orthopaedics and rheumatology. Understanding the risks and benefits of using herbal medicines in the treatment of arthritis, rheumatic diseases, and musculoskeletal complaints is a key priority of physicians and their patients. This review discusses the latest advances in the use of herbal medicines for treating osteoarthritis (OA) by focusing on the most significant trends and developments. This paper sets the scene by providing a brief introduction to ethnopharmacology, Ayurvedic medicine, and nutrigenomics before discussing the scientific and mechanistic rationale for targeting inflammatory signalling pathways in OA by use of herbal medicines. Special attention is drawn to the conceptual and practical difficulties associated with translating data from in-vitro experiments to in-vivo studies. Issues relating to the low bioavailability of active ingredients in herbal medicines are discussed, as also is the need for large-scale, randomized clinical trial

Potent and selective chemical probe of hypoxic signaling downstream of HIF-α hydroxylation via VHL inhibition

Chemical strategies to using small molecules to stimulate hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) activity and trigger a hypoxic response under normoxic conditions, such as iron chelators and inhibitors of prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHD) enzymes, have broad-spectrum activities and off-target effects. Here we disclose VH298, a potent VHL inhibitor that stabilizes HIF-α and elicits a hypoxic response via a different mechanism, that is the blockade of the VHL:HIF-α protein-protein interaction downstream of HIF-α hydroxylation by PHD enzymes. We show that VH298 engages with high affinity and specificity with VHL as its only major cellular target, leading to selective on-target accumulation of hydroxylated HIF-α in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion in different cell lines, with subsequent upregulation of HIF-target genes at both mRNA and protein levels. VH298 represents a high-quality chemical probe of the HIF signalling cascade and an attractive starting point to the development of potential new therapeutics targeting hypoxia signalling

Lanczos Diagonalizations of the 1-D Peierls-Hubbard Model

In studies of interacting electrons in reduced dimensions'' one is trapped between the Scylla of exponential growth of the number of states in any exact many-body basis and the Charybdis of the failure of mean-field theories to capture adequately the effects of interactions. In the present article we focus on one technique -- the Lanczos method -- which, at least in the case of the 1-D Peierls-Hubbard model, appears to allow us to sail the narrow channel between these two hazards. In contrast to Quantum Monte Carlo methods, which circumvent the exponential growth of states by statistical techniques and importance sampling, the Lanczos approach attacks this problem head-on by diagonalizing the full Hamiltonian. Given the restrictions of present computers, this approach is thus limited to studying finite clusters of roughly 12--14 sites. Fortunately, in one dimension, such clusters are usually sufficient for extracting many of the properties of the infinite system provided that one makes full use of the ability to vary the boundary conditions. In this article we shall apply the Lanczos methodology and novel phase randomization'' techniques to study the 1-D Peierls-Hubbard model, with particular emphasis on the optical absorption properties, including the spectrum of absorptions as a function of photon energy. Despite the discreteness of the eigenstates in our finite clusters, we are able to obtain optical spectra that, in cases where independent tests can be made, agree well with the known exact results for the infinite system. Thus we feel that this combination of techniques represents an important and viable means of studying many interesting novel materials involving strongly correlated electrons. 26 refs., 6 figs