The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism of action of SPI-0211 (lubiprostone), a novel bicyclic fatty acid in development for the treatment of bowel dysfunction. Adult rabbit intestine was shown to contain mRNA for ClC-2 using RT-PCR, Northern blot analysis, and in situ hybridization. T84 cells grown to confluence on permeable supports were shown to express ClC-2 channel protein...

Mature T-lymphocytes undergo spontaneous apoptosis in the biobreeding diabetes-prone strain of rats due to the loss of the functional GIMAP5 (GTPase of the immune-associated nucleotide-binding protein 5) protein. The mechanisms underlying the pro-survival function of GIMAP5 in T-cells have not yet been elucidated. We have previously shown that GIMAP5 deficiency in T-cells impairs Ca2+ entry via...

The chemokine receptor, CCR-5, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) which mediates chemotactic responses of certain leukocytes, has been shown to serve as the primary co-receptor for macrophage-tropic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Here we describe functional coupling of CCR-5 to inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cAMP formation via a pertussis toxin-sensitive G(i) protein mechanis...

The clathrin-mediated sequestration pathway is used by non-G protein-coupled receptors (e.g., transferrin receptors) and a large number of G protein-coupled receptors, including beta-2 adrenoceptors and various muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtypes. Recently, the ubiquitously expressed small GTPase RhoA has been implicated as a negative regulator of transferrin receptor internaliza...

The HEK 293 cell line (293 cells) was derived from human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells grown in tissue culture. 293 cells are very easy to grow and transfect and have been widely used in cell biological research for many years. 293 cells have many of the properties of immature neurons, suggesting that they represent a transformed neuronal cell present in the original kidney culture, and they are...

(1)H high resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR spectroscopy was applied in combination with multivariate statistical analyses to study the metabolic response of whole cells to the treatment with a hexacationic ruthenium metallaprism [1](6+) as potential anticancer drug. Human ovarian cancer cells (A2780), the corresponding cisplatin resistant cells (A2780cisR), and human embryonic kidne...