66 research outputs found
Regional and cellular gene expression changes in human Huntington's disease brain
Huntington's disease (HD) pathology is well understood at a histological level but a comprehensive molecular analysis of the effect of the disease in the human brain has not previously been available. To elucidate the molecular phenotype of HD on a genome-wide scale, we compared mRNA profiles from 44 human HD brains with those from 36 unaffected controls using microarray analysis. Four brain regions were analyzed: caudate nucleus, cerebellum, prefrontal association cortex [Brodmann's area 9 (BA9)] and motor cortex [Brodmann's area 4 (BA4)]. The greatest number and magnitude of differentially expressed mRNAs were detected in the caudate nucleus, followed by motor cortex, then cerebellum. Thus, the molecular phenotype of HD generally parallels established neuropathology. Surprisingly, no mRNA changes were detected in prefrontal association cortex, thereby revealing subtleties of pathology not previously disclosed by histological methods. To establish that the observed changes were not simply the result of cell loss, we examined mRNA levels in laser-capture microdissected neurons from Grade 1 HD caudate compared to control. These analyses confirmed changes in expression seen in tissue homogenates; we thus conclude that mRNA changes are not attributable to cell loss alone. These data from bona fide HD brains comprise an important reference for hypotheses related to HD and other neurodegenerative disease
Hugs and behaviour points: alternative education and the regulation of 'excluded' youth
In England, alternative education (AE) is offered to young people formally excluded from school, close to formal exclusion or who have been informally pushed to the educational edges of their local school. Their behaviour is seen as needing to change. In this paper, we examine the behavioural regimes at work in 11 AE programmes. Contrary to previous studies and the extensive ‘best practice’ literature, we found a return to highly behaviourist routines, with talking therapeutic approaches largely operating within this Skinnerian frame. We also saw young people offered a curriculum largely devoid of languages, humanities and social sciences. What was crucial to AE providers, we argue, was that they could demonstrate 'progress' in both learning and behaviour to inspectors and systems. Mobilising insights from Foucault, we note the congruence between the external regimes of reward and punishment used in AE and the kinds of insecure work and carceral futures that might be on offer to this group of young people
Evaluation of Langerhans cells counts comparing HIV-positive and negative anal squamous cell-carcinoma patients
Candidate glutamatergic and dopaminergic pathway gene variants do not influence Huntington’s disease motor onset
Structure-Based Design of Macrocyclic Coagulation Factor VIIa Inhibitors
On the basis of a crystal structure
of a phenylpyrrolidine lead and subsequent molecular modeling results,
we designed and synthesized a novel series of macrocyclic FVIIa inhibitors.
The optimal 16-membered macrocycle was 60-fold more potent than an
acyclic analog. Further potency optimization by incorporation of P1′
alkyl sulfone and P2 methyl groups provided a macrocycle with TF/FVIIa <i>K</i><sub>i</sub> = 1.6 nM, excellent selectivity against a
panel of seven serine proteases, and FVII-deficient prothrombin time
EC<sub>2<i>x</i></sub> = 1.2 μM. Discovery of this
potent, selective macrocyclic scaffold opens new possibilities for
the development of orally bioavailable FVIIa inhibitors
Atropisomer Control in Macrocyclic Factor VIIa Inhibitors
Incorporation of a methyl group onto
a macrocyclic FVIIa inhibitor
improves potency 10-fold but is accompanied by atropisomerism due
to restricted bond rotation in the macrocyclic structure, as demonstrated
by NMR studies. We designed a conformational constraint favoring the
desired atropisomer in which this methyl group interacts with the
S2 pocket of FVIIa. A macrocyclic inhibitor incorporating this constraint
was prepared and demonstrated by NMR to reside predominantly in the
desired conformation. This modification improved potency 180-fold
relative to the unsubstituted, racemic macrocycle and improved selectivity.
An X-ray crystal structure of a closely related analogue in the FVIIa
active site was obtained and matches the NMR and modeled conformations,
confirming that this conformational constraint does indeed direct
the methyl group into the S2 pocket as designed. The resulting rationally
designed, conformationally stable template enables further optimization
of these macrocyclic inhibitors
Discovery of γ-Lactam Hydroxamic Acids as Selective Inhibitors of Tumor Necrosis Factor α Converting Enzyme: Design, Synthesis, and Structure−Activity Relationships
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