Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5), a cdc2-related kinase expressed in postmitotic neurons, is activated by association with a brain-specific activator, p35. It has been suggested that the conversion of p35 to p25 by the protease calpain is involved in neuronal cell death. However, p35 protein is turned over rapidly via proteasomal degradation in living neurons. In this study we show that the pho...

In this study, we applied cluster beam deposition (CBD) as a new approach for fabricating efficient plasmon-based photocatalytic materials. Au nanoclusters (AuNCs) produced in the gas phase were deposited on TiO₂ P25-coated silicon wafers with coverage ranging from 2 to 8 atomic monolayer (ML) equivalents. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of the AuNCs modified TiO₂ P25 films show that ...

Calpain mediated cleavage of CDK5 natural precursor p35 causes a stable complex formation of CDK5/p25, which leads to hyperphosphorylation of tau. Thus inhibition of this complex is a viable target for numerous acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases involving tau protein, including Alzheimer's disease. Since CDK5 has the highest sequence homology with its mitotic counterpart CDK2, our pri...

Xenopus laevis oocytes are widely used as an expression system for plasma membrane proteins, achieved by cytoplasmic microinjection of messenger RNA. In the present study, we propose an alternative system allowing functional insertion of exogenous proteins into the plasma membrane of Xenopus oocytes. We microinjected proteoliposome suspensions into the cytoplasm and then analyzed membrane prote...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (cdk5) is a member of the cyclin-dependent kinase family whose activity is localized mainly to postmitotic neurons attributable to the selective expression of its activating partners p35 and p39. Deregulation of cdk5, as a result of calpain cleavage of p35 to a smaller p25 form, has been suggested to be a central component of neuronal death underlying numerous neurodeg...

Insulin resistance is an underlying cause of metabolic changes associated with cardiovascular diseases. Glucocorticoids are known determinant factors of insulin resistance. We quantified glucocorticoid receptor alpha (GRα) mRNA and 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) mRNA in various tissues of 35 patients with previously established cardiovascular disease. This was a prospect...

P68 RNA helicase is a RNA helicase and an ATPase belonging to the DEAD-box family. It is important for the growth of normal cells, and is implicated in diverse functions ranging from pre-mRNA splicing, transcriptional activation to cell proliferation, and early organ development. The protein is documented to be phosphorylated at several amino-acid residues. It was previously demonstrated in sev...

We thank Drs Zuo and Xu for their interesting letter pertaining to our recently published article, “Delayed administration of Tat-HA-NR2B9c promotes recovery after stroke in rats.” We would like to take this opportunity to formally address Drs Zuo and Xu’s letter. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a multifaceted serine/ threonine kinase protein. The 35-kDa regulatory activator (p35) of cdk5 i...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a unique member of the CDK family. It is predominantly expressed in postmitotic neurons and has been implicated in neuronal plasticity. The present study showed that Cdk5 and p35 were expressed in primary sensory and dorsal horn neurons, while p25, an N-terminal truncated derivative of p35, could only be detected in the dorsal horn neurons. Importantly, in th...