ZBTB33 (zinc finger and BTB domain containing 33)

Review on ZBTB33 (zinc finger and BTB domain containing 33), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

CTNND1 (catenin (cadherin-associated protein), delta 1)

Review on CTNND1 (catenin (cadherin-associated protein), delta 1), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

Sustainable bioethanol production combining biorefinery principles using combined raw materials from wheat undersown with clover-grass

To obtain the best possible net energy balance of the bioethanol production the biomass raw materials used need to be produced with limited use of non-renewable fossil fuels. Intercropping strategies are known to maximize growth and productivity by including more than one species in the crop stand, very often with legumes as one of the components. In the present study clover-grass is undersown in a traditional wheat crop. Thereby, it is possible to increase input of symbiotic fixation of atmospheric nitrogen into the cropping systems and reduce the need for fertilizer applications. Furthermore, when using such wheat and clover-grass mixtures as raw material, addition of urea and other fermentation nutrients produced from fossil fuels can be reduced in the whole ethanol manufacturing chain. Using second generation ethanol technology mixtures of relative proportions of wheat straw and clover-grass (15:85, 50:50, and 85:15) were pretreated by wet oxidation. The results showed that supplementing wheat straw with clover-grass had a positive effect on the ethanol yield in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation experiments, and the effect was more pronounced in inhibitory substrates. The highest ethanol yield (80% of theoretical) was obtained in the experiment with high fraction (85%) of clover-grass. In order to improve the sugar recovery of clover-grass, it should be separated into a green juice (containing free sugars, fructan, amino acids, vitamins and soluble minerals) for direct fermentation and a fibre pulp for pretreatment together with wheat straw. Based on the obtained results a decentralized biorefinery concept for production of biofuel is suggested emphasizing sustainability, localness, and recycling principle

Increasing Support for Contraception as HIV Prevention: Stakeholder Mapping to Identify Influential Individuals and Their Perceptions

BACKGROUND: Voluntary contraceptive use by HIV-positive women currently prevents more HIV-positive births, at a lower cost, than anti-retroviral drug (ARV) regimens. Despite this evidence, most prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs focus solely on providing ARV prophylaxis to pregnant women and rarely include the prevention of unintended pregnancies among HIV-positive women. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To strengthen support for family planning as HIV prevention, we systematically identified key individuals in the field of international HIV/AIDS-those who could potentially influence the issue-and sought to determine their perceptions of barriers to and facilitators for implementing this PMTCT strategy. We used a criteria-based approach to determine which HIV/AIDS stakeholders have the most significant impact on HIV/AIDS research, programs, funding and policy and stratified purposive sampling to conduct interviews with a subset of these individuals. The interview findings pointed to obstacles to strengthening linkages between family planning and HIV/AIDS, including the need for: resources to integrate family planning and HIV services, infrastructure or capacity to provide integrated services at the facility level, national leadership and coordination, and targeted advocacy to key decision-makers. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The individuals we identified as having regional or international influence in the field of HIV/AIDS have the ability to leverage an increasingly conducive funding environment and a growing evidence base to address the policy, programmatic and operational challenges to integrating family planning with HIV/AIDS. Fostering greater support for implementing contraception for HIV prevention will require the dedication, collaboration and coordination of many such actors. Our findings can inform a targeted advocacy campaign

Competitive Regulation of E-Cadherin JuxtaMembrane Domain Degradation by p120-Catenin Binding and Hakai-Mediated Ubiquitination

p120-Catenin binding to, and Hakai-mediated ubiquitination of the E-cadherin juxtamembrane domain (JMD) are thought to be involved in regulating E-cadherin internalization and degradation. However, the relationship between these two pathways is not understood. We targeted the E-cadherin JMD to mitochondria (WT-JMD) to isolate this domain from the plasma membrane and internalization, and to examine protein modifications and degradation. WT-JMD localized to mitochondria, but did not accumulate there except when proteasome activity was inhibited. We found WT-JMD was ubiquitinated, and arginine substitution of lysines at position 5 (K5R) and 83 (K83R) resulted in the stable accumulation of mutant JMD at mitochondria. p120-Catenin did not localize, or bind to WT-JMD even upon proteasome inhibition, whereas the K5,83R-JMD mutant bound and localized p120-catenin to mitochondria. Mutation of the p120-catenin binding site in combination with these lysine mutations inhibited p120-catenin binding, but did not decrease JMD stability or its accumulation at mitochondria. Thus, increased stability of JMD lysine mutants was due to inhibition of ubiquitination and not to p120-catenin binding. Finally, mutation of these critical lysines in full length E-cadherin had similar effects on protein stability as WT-JMD. Our results indicate that ubiquitination of the JMD inhibits p120-catenin binding, and targets E-cadherin for degradation

c-Crk proto-oncogene contributes to transcriptional repression of p120-catenin in non-small cell lung cancer cells

As a member of adherens junction, p120-catenin (p120ctn) plays a major role in cell adhesions through stabilization of E-cadherin. p120ctn is transcriptionally down-regulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although the molecular mechanisms underlying p120ctn repression are incompletely defined. Here we further investigated transcriptional regulation of p120ctn in NSCLC. We prepared a promoter reporter plasmid construct that contained p120ctn promoter region from position −1082 to +320 relative to transcription start site. Through serial deletion mutation analysis of the p120ctn promoter, we pinpointed cis-acting elements involved in regulation of p120ctn. We identified transcription factor SP1 as a transcriptional repressor of p120ctn that directly binds to segment (−9 to +36) of the p120ctn promoter. SP1 can receive multiple signals from several intracellular signaling pathways. Through examination of SP1 binding partners, we identified proto-oncogene c-Crk to be involved in transcriptional down-regulation of p120ctn. RNAi mediated silencing of CRK in A549, H157 and H358 cells increased p120ctn protein levels. On the other hand, over-expression of CRK-I and CRK-II in NSCLC cells down-regulated p120ctn, an effect that was abrogated by simultaneous silencing of SP1. In summary, our data provide evidence for the role of c-Crk proto-oncogene in transcriptional repression of p120ctn that further clarifies the mechanism by which this biochemical signal promotes metastasis in NSCLC

Salience-based selection: attentional capture by distractors less salient than the target

Current accounts of attentional capture predict the most salient stimulus to be invariably selected first. However, existing salience and visual search models assume noise in the map computation or selection process. Consequently, they predict the first selection to be stochastically dependent on salience, implying that attention could even be captured first by the second most salient (instead of the most salient) stimulus in the field. Yet, capture by less salient distractors has not been reported and salience-based selection accounts claim that the distractor has to be more salient in order to capture attention. We tested this prediction using an empirical and modeling approach of the visual search distractor paradigm. For the empirical part, we manipulated salience of target and distractor parametrically and measured reaction time interference when a distractor was present compared to absent. Reaction time interference was strongly correlated with distractor salience relative to the target. Moreover, even distractors less salient than the target captured attention, as measured by reaction time interference and oculomotor capture. In the modeling part, we simulated first selection in the distractor paradigm using behavioral measures of salience and considering the time course of selection including noise. We were able to replicate the result pattern we obtained in the empirical part. We conclude that each salience value follows a specific selection time distribution and attentional capture occurs when the selection time distributions of target and distractor overlap. Hence, selection is stochastic in nature and attentional capture occurs with a certain probability depending on relative salience

Lasing microbottles

Lasing of an optical microbottle resonator at predetermined resonant wavelengths is feasible via spatial engineering of the pump laser beam

N-Terminal 1–54 Amino Acid Sequence and Armadillo Repeat Domain Are Indispensable for P120-Catenin Isoform 1A in Regulating E-Cadherin

P120-catenin (p120ctn) exerts important roles in regulating E-cadherin and invasiveness in cancer cells. However, the mechanisms by which p120ctn isoforms 1 and 3 modulate E-cadherin expression are poorly understood. In the current study, HBE, H460, SPC and LTE cell lines were used to examine the effects of p120ctn isoforms 1A and 3A on E-cadherin expression and cell invasiveness. E-cadherin was localized on the cell membrane of HBE and H460 cells, while it was confined to the cytoplasm in SPC and LTE cells. Depletion of endogenous p120ctn resulted in reduced E-cadherin expression; however, p120ctn ablation showed opposite effects on invasiveness in the cell lines by decreasing invasiveness in SPC and LTE cells and increasing it in HBE and H460 cells. Restitution of 120ctn isoform 1A restored E-cadherin on the cell membrane and blocked cell invasiveness in H460 and HBE cells, while it restored cytoplasmic E-cadherin and enhanced cell invasiveness in SPC and LTE cells. P120ctn isoform 3A increased the invasiveness in all four cell lines despite the lack of effect on E-cadherin expression, suggesting a regulatory pathway independent of E-cadherin. Moreover, five p120ctn isoform 1A deletion mutants were constructed and expressed in H460 and SPC cells. The results showed that only the M4 mutant, which contains N-terminal 1–54 amino acids and the Armadillo repeat domain, was functional in regulating E-cadherin and cell invasiveness, as observed in p120ctn isoform 1A. In conclusion, the N-terminal 1–54 amino acid sequence and Armadillo repeat domain of p120ctn isoform 1A are indispensable for regulating E-cadherin protein. P120ctn isoform 1A exerts opposing effects on cell invasiveness, corresponding to the subcellular localization of E-cadherin