LOX-1, a receptor for ox-LDL (oxidized low-density lipoprotein), has recently been determined to play a critical role in the progression of atherosclerosis. LOX-1 expression (mRNA and protein) has been shown to be up-regulated by pro-atherogenic stimuli, such as ox-LDL and Ang II (angiotensin II). However, the molecular mechanisms of these up-regulations are unclear. In the present study, we ex...

Cytosolic inorganic pyrophosphatase plays an important role in the cellular metabolism by hydrolyzing inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) formed as a by-product of various metabolic reactions. Inorganic pyrophosphatases are known to be associated with important functions related to the growth and development of various organisms. In humans, the expression of inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPA1) is deregu...

Many recent studies have shown that glycosylation patterns of Agaricus bisporus are similar to those of mammalians, so that this organism is a good candidate for the expression of glycosylated pharmaceutical protein. To achieve constant interested gene expression in all cells of the organism, proper promoter isolation is necessary. To isolate this promoter, PCR with specific primers was perform...

BACKGROUND In this report we evaluate the use of Xenopus laevis oocytes as a matched germ cell system for characterizing the organization and transcriptional activity of a germ cell-specific X. laevis promoter. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The promoter from the ALF transcription factor gene was cloned from X. laevis genomic DNA using a PCR-based genomic walking approach. The endogenous ALF gene was cha...

BACKGROUND Bordetella pertussis infections continue to be a major public health challenge in Canada. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to detect B pertussis are typically based on the multicopy insertion sequence IS481, which offers high sensitivity but lacks species specificity. METHODS A novel B pertussis real-time PCR assay based on the porin gene was tested in parallel with several p...

Drought is a major abiotic stress limiting agricultural crops production worldwide. In our study, we isolated novel C2H2-type zinc finger protein gene ZF2 from chickpea. consisted of 232 amino acids with two QALGGH motifs in Cys2/His2 domain. Transient expression analysis ZF2:GFP fusion showed that was nuclear localized protein. the yeast assay system, full-length did not show transcriptional a...

CYP3A4 probably has the broadest catalytic activity of any cytochrome P450. It is a crucial task to test new drug candidates in a reliable system for their ability to induce expression of this enzyme. Firstly, a total of 300 bp core distal enhancer of CYP3A4 XREM region (-7972/-7673) were amplified from human genomic DNA. The PCR product was then ligated into a human secretory alkaline phosphat...

Background: Phenolic compounds, which are produced routinely by industrial and urban activities, possess dangers to live organisms and environment. Laccases are oxidoreductase enzymes with the ability of remediating a wide variety of phenolic compounds to more benign molecules. The purpose of the present research is surface display of a laccase enzyme with adhesin involved in diffuse adhesion (...

Mounting evidence suggests a role for matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 in the malignant progression of breast cancer cells. We showed previously that H-Ras, but not N-Ras, induced invasion of MCF10A human breast epithelial cells through Rac-MKK3/6-p38 pathway resulted in MMP-2 up-regulation. Activation of p38 pathway by MKK6 caused a selective up-regulation of MMP-2. In this study, we aimed to ...