IL-2 gene transcription is affected by several nuclear proteins. We asked whether dexamethasone (Dex) and cyclosporin A (CsA) inhibit IL-2 gene transcription by interfering with the activity of nuclear proteins that bind to the IL-2 promoter. Nuclear extracts from primary human T lymphocytes were analyzed by electrophoretic DNA mobility shift assays. Both Dex and CsA inhibited the binding of tr...

We examine a dual theory of a Supersymmetric Standard Model(SSM) in terms of an SU(3)C gauge group. In this scenario, it is naturally understood that at least one quark (the top quark) should be heavy, i.e., almost the same order as the weak scale. Moreover, the supersymmetric Higgs mass parameter μ can naturally be expected to be small. This model automatically induces nine pairs of composite ...

T cell activation requires the import of NF-AT transcription factors to the nucleus, a process promoted by calcineurin-dependent dephosphorylation and inhibited by poorly understood protein kinases. Here, we report the identification of two protein kinases that oppose NF-AT4 nuclear import. Casein kinase Ialpha directly binds and phosphorylates NF-AT4, resulting in the inhibiton of NF-AT4 nucle...

The NF-κB transcription factor is the master regulator of the inflammatory response and is essential for the homeostasis of the immune system. NF-κB regulates the transcription of genes that control inflammation, immune cell development, cell cycle, proliferation, and cell death. The fundamental role that NF-κB plays in key physiological processes makes it an important factor in determining hea...

Neurofilament assembly requires at minimum the polymerization of neurofilament light chain (NF-L) with either neurofilament medium chain (NF-M) or neurofilament heavy chain (NF-H) subunits, but requirements for their axonal transport have long been controversial. Using a gene deletion approach, we generated mice containing only NF-L or NF-M. In vivo pulse radiolabeling analyses in retinal gangl...

BACKGROUND Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) is synthesized in the cytoplasm, complexed with its inhibitor, I-kappaB, and NF-kappaB is released in an activated (phosphorylated) form following phosphorylation of I-kappaB and proteasomal degradation of the NF-kappaB.p-kappaB complex. The free p-NF-kappaB can then be translocated to the nucleus where it effects transcriptional activation of genes ...

The X gene product of the human hepatitis B virus (HBx) is a transcriptional activator of various viral and cellular genes. We recently have determined that the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) by HBV-infected hepatocytes is transcriptionally up-regulated by HBx, involving nuclear factor of activated T cells (NF-AT)-dependent activation of the TNF-alpha gene promoter. Here ...

We consider a variant of the charge-Q compact Abelian-Higgs model, in which an Nf-dimensional complex vector is coupled with Abelian Z_q gauge field. For Nf=2 and Q=1 we observe several transition lines that belong to O(4), O(3), O(2) universality classes, depending on symmetry breaking pattern at transition. The class independent $q$ as long q>=3. uniquely determined by behavior scalar fields;...

The expression of the murine interleukin (IL)-2 receptor alpha chain/CD25 is strongly induced at the transcriptional level after T cell activation. We show here that nuclear factor of activated T cell (NF-AT) factors are involved in the control of CD25 promoter induction in T cells. NF-ATp and NF-ATc bind to two sites around positions -585 and -650 located upstream of the proximal CD25 promoter...

Objective(s): High-glucose (HG) stress, a mimic of diabetes mellitus (DM) in culture cells, alters expression of a large number of genes including Wnt and NF-κB signaling-related genes; however, the role of Wnt signaling during HG-mediated fibroblast damage and the relationship between Wnt and NF-κB signaling have not been understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the ffects of Wnt sig...