43,020 research outputs found
TIFA, an inflammatory signaling adaptor, is tumor suppressive for liver cancer.
TIFA (TNF receptor associated factor (TRAF)-interacting protein with a Forkhead-associated (FHA) domain), also called T2BP, was first identified using a yeast two-hybrid screening. TIFA contains a FHA domain, which directly binds phosphothreonine and phosphoserine, and a consensus TRAF6-binding motif. TIFA-mediated oligomerization and poly-ubiquitinylation of TRAF6 mediates signaling downstream of the Tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor 1 (TNFaR-I) and interleukin-1/Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathways. Examining TIFA expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues microarrays, we noted marked decreases TIFA reactivity in tumor versus control samples. In agreement, we found that HCC cell lines show reduced TIFA expression levels versus normal liver controls. Reconstituting TIFA expression in HCC cell lines promoted two independent apoptosis signaling pathways: the induction of p53 and cell cycle arrest, and the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3. In contrast, the expression of a non-oligomerizing mutant of TIFA impacted cells minimally, and suppression of TIFA expression protected cells from apoptosis. Mice bearing TIFA overexpression hepatocellular xenografts develop smaller tumors versus TIFA mutant tumors; terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining demonstrates increased cell apoptosis, and decreased proliferation, reflecting cell cycle arrest. Interestingly, p53 has a greater role in decreased proliferation than cell death, as it appeared dispensable for TIFA-induced cell killing. The findings demonstrate a novel suppressive role of TIFA in HCC progression via promotion of cell death independent of p53
Multiple phase transitions in single-crystalline NaFeAs
Specific heat, resistivity, susceptibility and Hall coefficient measurements
were performed on high-quality single crystalline NaFeAs. This
compound is found to undergo three successive phase transitions at around 52,
41, and 23 K, which correspond to structural, magnetic and superconducting
transitions, respectively. The Hall effect result indicates the development of
energy gap at low temperature due to the occurrence of spin-density-wave
instability. Our results provide direct experimental evidence of the magnetic
ordering in the nearly stoichiometric NaFeAs.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Thermal Hall Conductivity as a Probe of Gap Structure in Multi-band Superconductors: The Case of
The sign and profile of the thermal Hall conductivity gives
important insights into the gap structure of multi-band superconductors. With
this perspective, we have investigated and the thermal
conductivity in which display large
peak anomalies in the superconducting state. The anomalies imply that a large
hole-like quasiparticle (qp) population exists below the critical temperature
. We show that the qp mean-free-path inferred from
reproduces the observed anomaly in , providing a consistent
estimate of a large qp population. Further, we demonstrate that the hole-like
signal is consistent with a theoretical scenario where despite potentially
large gap variations on the electron pockets, the minimal homogeneous gap of
the superconducting phase resides at a hole pocket. Implications for probing
the gap structure in the broader class of pnictide superconductors are
discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Orientation significantly updated from previous
(0811.4668v1) reflecting new theoretical understanding of experimental
results and physical implications. Introduction, discussion, and figures
updated including additional figure for model calculatio
High-Field Shubnikov-de Haas Oscillations in the Topological Insulator BiTeSe
We report measurements of the surface Shubnikov de Haas oscillations (SdH) on
crystals of the topological insulator BiTeSe. In crystals with large
bulk resistivity (4 cm at 4 K), we observe 15 surface SdH
oscillations (to the = 1 Landau Level) in magnetic fields up to 45
Tesla. Extrapolating to the limit , we confirm the -shift
expected from a Dirac spectrum. The results are consistent with a very small
surface Lande -factor.Comment: Text expanded, slight changes in text, final version; Total 6 pages,
6 figure
Doping evoluton of antiferromagnetic order and structural distortion in LaFeAsOF
We use neutron scattering to study the structural distortion and
antiferromagnetic (AFM) order in LaFeAsOF as the system is doped
with fluorine (F) to induce superconductivity. In the undoped state, LaFeAsO
exhibits a structural distortion, changing the symmetry from tetragonal (space
group ) to orthorhombic (space group ) at 155 K, and then
followed by an AFM order at 137 K. Doping the system with F gradually decreases
the structural distortion temperature, but suppresses the long range AFM order
before the emergence of superconductivity. Therefore, while superconductivity
in these Fe oxypnictides can survive in either the tetragonal or the
orthorhombic crystal structure, it competes directly with static AFM order.Comment: reference update
- …