Almost half a century ago, Tennison (1) proposed a triangular flap cleft lip repair that for the first time preserved the existing lip elements and permitted the creation of a normal Cupid’s bow. Brauer (2) and Randall (3) are better known for improving this original concept, but Millard (4) credits Marcks for popularizing Tennison’s method while developing his own Z-plasty modification. Trevas...

A major in vivo substrate of Ca(2+)-phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS)) has been purified to apparent homogeneity from the particulate as well as from the cytoplasmic fractions of calf brain using a calmodulin affinity column. The two preparations were characterized and compared with various biochemical and biophysical techniques. Altho...

Synapses in the brain must maintain a balance between learning-related plasticity and the stability necessary for reliable function. In this issue of Neuron, Calabrese and Halpain describe cell-transfection experiments implicating MARCKS, a protein that binds to both the cell surface and actin cytoskeleton, in the maintenance of dendritic spines.

Pathogenic Burkholderia rely on host factors for efficient intracellular replication and are highly refractory to antibiotic treatment. To identify host genes that are required by Burkholderia spp. during infection, we performed a RNA interference (RNAi) screen of the human kinome and identified 35 host kinases that facilitated Burkholderia thailandensis intracellular survival in human monocyti...

Several missense mutations in the protein kinase Cγ (γPKC) gene have been found to cause spinocerebellar ataxia type 14 (SCA14), an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease. γPKC is a neuron-specific member of the classical PKCs and is activated and translocated to subcellular regions as a result of various stimuli, including diacylglycerol synthesis, increased intracellular Ca(2+) and phor...

BACKGROUND Excess mucus in the airways leads to obstruction in diseases such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, and cystic fibrosis. Mucins, the highly glycosolated protein components of mucus, are stored in membrane-bound granules housed in the cytoplasm of airway epithelial "goblet" cells until they are secreted into the airway lumen via an exocytotic process. Precise mechanism(s) of mucin secret...