173 research outputs found
Apoptosis and proliferation in the trigeminal placode
The neurogenic trigeminal placode develops from the crescent-shaped panplacodal primordium which delineates the neural plate anteriorly. We show that, in Tupaia belangeri, the trigeminal placode is represented by a field of focal ectodermal thickenings which over time changes positions from as far rostral as the level of the forebrain to as far caudal as opposite rhombomere 3. Delamination proceeds rostrocaudally from the ectoderm adjacent to the rostral midbrain, and contributes neurons to the trigeminal ganglion as well as to the ciliary ganglion/oculomotor complex. Proliferative events are centered on the field prior to the peak of delamination. They are preceded, paralleled and, finally, outnumbered by apoptotic events which proceed rostrocaudally from non-delaminating to delaminating parts of the field. Apoptosis persists upon regression of the placode, thereby exhibiting a massive “wedge” of apoptotic cells which includes the postulated position of the “ventrolateral postoptic placode” (Lee et al. in Dev Biol 263:176–190, 2003), merges with groups of lens-associated apoptotic cells, and disappears upon lens detachment. In conjunction with earlier work (Washausen et al. in Dev Biol 278:86–102, 2005) our findings suggest that apoptosis contributes repeatedly to the disintegration of the panplacodal primordium, to the elimination of subsets of premigratory placodal neuroblasts, and to the regression of placodes
Genome Sequence of the Model Mushroom Schizophyllum Commune
Much remains to be learned about the biology of mushroom-forming fungi, which are an important source of food, secondary metabolites and industrial enzymes. The wood-degrading fungus Schizophyllum commune is both a genetically tractable model for studying mushroom development and a likely source of enzymes capable of efficient degradation of lignocellulosic biomass. Comparative analyses of its 38.5-megabase genome, which encodes 13,210 predicted genes, reveal the species\u27s unique wood-degrading machinery. One-third of the 471 genes predicted to encode transcription factors are differentially expressed during sexual development of S. commune. Whereas inactivation of one of these, fst4, prevented mushroom formation, inactivation of another, fst3, resulted in more, albeit smaller, mushrooms than in the wild-type fungus. Antisense transcripts may also have a role in the formation of fruiting bodies. Better insight into the mechanisms underlying mushroom formation should affect commercial production of mushrooms and their industrial use for producing enzymes and pharmaceuticals
The spectral gap for some spin chains with discrete symmetry breaking
We prove that for any finite set of generalized valence bond solid (GVBS)
states of a quantum spin chain there exists a translation invariant
finite-range Hamiltonian for which this set is the set of ground states. This
result implies that there are GVBS models with arbitrary broken discrete
symmetries that are described as combinations of lattice translations, lattice
reflections, and local unitary or anti-unitary transformations. We also show
that all GVBS models that satisfy some natural conditions have a spectral gap.
The existence of a spectral gap is obtained by applying a simple and quite
general strategy for proving lower bounds on the spectral gap of the generator
of a classical or quantum spin dynamics. This general scheme is interesting in
its own right and therefore, although the basic idea is not new, we present it
in a system-independent setting. The results are illustrated with an number of
examples.Comment: 48 pages, Plain TeX, BN26/Oct/9
Nuclear Magnetic Relaxation in the Haldane-Gap Antiferromagnet Ni(C_2_H_8_N_2_)_2_NO_2_(ClO_4_)
A new theory is proposed to interpret nuclear spin-lattice relaxation-time
(T_1_) measurements on the spin-1 quasi-one-dimensional Heisenberg
antiferromagnet Ni(C_2_H_8_N_2_)_2_NO_2_(ClO_4_) (NENP). While Sagi and Affleck
pioneeringly discussed this subject in terms of field-theoretical languages,
there is no theoretical attempt yet to explicitly simulate the novel
observations of 1/T_1_ reported by Fujiwara et al.. By means of modified spin
waves, we solve the minimum of 1/T_1_ as a function of an applied field,
pending for the past decade.Comment: to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 73, No. 4 (2004
Multi-plateau magnetization curves of one-dimensional Heisenberg ferrimagnets
Ground-state magnetization curves of ferrimagnetic Heisenberg chains of
alternating spins and are numerically investigated. Calculating several
cases of , we conclude that the spin- chain generally exhibits
magnetization plateaux even at the most symmetric point. In the double- or
more-plateau structure, the initial plateau is generated on a classical basis,
whereas the higher ones are based on a quantum mechanism.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures embedded, to appear in Phys. Rev. B 01 August 200
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Analysis of clock-regulated genes in Neurospora reveals widespread posttranscriptional control of metabolic potential
Neurospora crassa has been for decades a principal model for filamentous
fungal genetics and physiology as well as for understanding
the mechanism of circadian clocks. Eukaryotic fungal and animal
clocks comprise transcription-translation-based feedback loops that
control rhythmic transcription of a substantial fraction of these transcriptomes,
yielding the changes in protein abundance that mediate
circadian regulation of physiology and metabolism: Understanding
circadian control of gene expression is key to understanding eukaryotic,
including fungal, physiology. Indeed, the isolation of clock-controlled
genes (ccgs) was pioneered in Neurospora where circadian
output begins with binding of the core circadian transcription factor
WCC to a subset of ccg promoters, including those of many transcription
factors. High temporal resolution (2-h) sampling over 48 h using
RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) identified circadianly expressed genes in
Neurospora, revealing that from ∼10% to as much 40% of the transcriptome
can be expressed under circadian control. Functional classifications
of these genes revealed strong enrichment in pathways
involving metabolism, protein synthesis, and stress responses; in
broad terms, daytime metabolic potential favors catabolism, energy
production, and precursor assembly, whereas night activities favor
biosynthesis of cellular components and growth. Discriminative regular
expression motif elicitation (DREME) identified key promoter
motifs highly correlated with the temporal regulation of ccgs. Correlations
between ccg abundance from RNA-Seq, the degree of ccg-promoter
activation as reported by ccg-promoter-luciferase fusions, and
binding of WCC as measured by ChIP-Seq, are not strong. Therefore,
although circadian activation is critical to ccg rhythmicity, posttranscriptional
regulation plays a major role in determining rhythmicity
at the mRNA level.Keywords: Clock-controlled genes, Circadian, Transcription, Neurospora, RNA-Se
Erythropoietin: a multimodal neuroprotective agent
The tissue protective functions of the hematopoietic growth factor erythropoietin (EPO) are independent of its action on erythropoiesis. EPO and its receptors (EPOR) are expressed in multiple brain cells during brain development and upregulated in the adult brain after injury. Peripherally administered EPO crosses the blood-brain barrier and activates in the brain anti-apoptotic, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory signaling in neurons, glial and cerebrovascular endothelial cells and stimulates angiogenesis and neurogenesis. These mechanisms underlie its potent tissue protective effects in experimental models of stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease. The preclinical data in support of the use of EPO in brain disease have already been translated to first clinical pilot studies with encouraging results with the use of EPO as a neuroprotective agent
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