We previously showed that applying 10(-6) M of the cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) to uninoculated roots of Masym3, a Nod(-)Myc(-)Melilotus alba (Desr.) mutant, resulted in the accumulation of MaENOD40 transcripts to levels similar to BAP-treated wild-type roots. In contrast, inoculation with a Nod(-)S. meliloti mutant expressing the trans-zeatin synthase gene of Agrobacterium tumefaciens (...

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are strongly associated with poor survival in neuroblastomas that lack MYCN amplification. To study TAM action in neuroblastomas, we used a novel murine model of spontaneous neuroblastoma lacking MYCN amplification, and observed recruitment and polarization of TAMs, which in turn enhanced neuroblastoma proliferation and growth. In both murine and human neurob...

Rhizobium meliloti nod genes are required for the infection of alfalfa. Induction of the nodC gene depends on a chemical signal from alfalfa and on nodD gene expression. By using a nodC-lacZ fusion, we have shown that the induction of the R. meliloti nodC gene and the expression of nodD occur at almost normal levels in other Rhizobium backgrounds and in Agrobacterium tumefaciens, but not in Esc...

The nodulation factors (Nod factors) of Rhizobium etli and R. loti carry a 4-O-acetyl-L-fucosyl group at the reducing end. It has been claimed, based on sequence analysis, that NolL from R. loti participates in the 4-O-acetylation of the fucosyl residue of the Nod factors, as an acetyl-transferase (D. B. Scott, C. A. Young, J. M. Collins-Emerson, E. A. Terzaghi, E. S. Rockman, P. A. Lewis, and ...

Abstract Background Filamentous fungi are excellent lignocellulose degraders, which they achieve through producing carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes). CAZyme production is highly orchestrated and gene expression analysis has greatly expanded understanding of this important biotechnological process. The thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus secretes thermostable that enable saccharifica...

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) can locally suppress T cell-mediated immune responses. It has been shown that defective self-tolerance in early prediabetic female non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice can be attributed to the impaired interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)- induced IDO expression in dendritic cells of these animals. As IFN-γ can induce IDO in both dendritic cells and fibroblasts, we asked the ques...

Current techniques for identifying fetal hemoglobin (HbF) inducers are complex and time consuming. We developed a rapid and efficient method for detecting HbF inducers. Our system uses a recombinant DNA construct in which the coding sequences of 2 different luciferase reporter genes, firefly and renilla, are substituted for those of human gamma and beta globin genes, respectively. The activity ...

It has been established that insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice results from a CD4+ and CD8+ T cell-dependent autoimmune process directed against the pancreatic beta cells. The precise roles that beta cell-reactive CD8+ and CD4+ T cells play in the disease process, however, remain ill defined. Here we have investigated whether naive beta cell-specific CD8...

Development of a small animal model for the in vivo study of human immunity and infectious disease remains an important goal, particularly for investigations of HIV vaccine development. NOD/Lt mice homozygous for the severe combined immunodeficiency (Prkdc scid) mutation readily support engraftment with high levels of human hematolymphoid cells. However, NOD/LtSz-scid mice are highly radiosensi...

Induction of the endogenous human NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (HQOR1) gene in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 was measured at both the enzyme activity and RNA levels after exposure to a variety of industrial compounds. An RNA probe was designed that was complementary to portions of both the coding region and the 3'-nontranslated region unique to the largest (2.7-kilobase) HQOR1 transcript...