BACKGROUND Uric acid (UA) plays important roles in inducing renal inflammation, intra-renal vasoconstriction and renal damage. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a well-known profibrotic factor in the kidney and is associated with fibroblast expansion. We examined the role of hyperuricemia conditions in causing elevation of ET-1 expression and kidney injury. METHODS Hyperuricemia was induced in mice usin...

METHODS. Et1 responses were imaged from Fluo-4–loaded smooth muscle in isolated segments of rat retinal arteriole using confocal laser microscopy. RESULTS. Basal [Ca ]i, subcellular Ca 2 -sparks, and cellular Ca -oscillations were all increased during exposure to Et1 (10 nM). Ca -spark frequency was also increased by 90% by 10 nM Et1. The increase in oscillation frequency was concentration depe...

1Department of Immunology, Waiter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C. 20307-5100; 2Tropical Disease Unit, Division of Infectious Diseases, The Toronto Hospital and The University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 2C4 In vitro transcription and translation are powerful tools for examining the s t ructure-funct ion relationships of proteins. Genes can be cloned into plasmid v...

We present a protocol for effi cient amplifi cation of a large number of DNA targets using a single-tube polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on PCR suppression. This method allows amplifi cation of each DNA target with only one target-specifi c primer whereas the other primer is common for all targets. Thus, this approach requires n+1 primers for n targets instead of 2n in conventional PCR an...

Little in general is known about how heme proteins are assembled from their constituents in cells. The Gram-positive bacterium Enterococcus faecalis cannot synthesize heme and does not depend on it for growth. However, when supplied with heme in the growth medium the cells can synthesize two heme proteins; catalase (KatA) and cytochrome bd (CydAB). To identify novel factors important for catala...

Endothelin receptor antagonists (ETRAs) are approved for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension and scleroderma-related digital ulcers. The efforts to approve this class of drugs for renal indications, however, failed so far. Preclinical studies were promising. Transgenic overexpression of ET-1 or ET-2 in rodents causes chronic renal failure. Blocking the ET system was effective in the treatme...

Shortly after discovery of ET-1 in 1988, the entire endothelin system was characterized. The endothelin system consists of the three peptides ET-1, ET-2 and ET-3, their G-protein-coupled receptors endothelin receptor A and B (ETRA and ETRB) and the two endothelin-converting enzymes (ECE-1 and ECE-2). Genetically modified animal models are an important tool in biomedical research. Here we descri...

Shortly after discovery of ET-1 in 1988, the entire endothelin system was characterized. The endothelin system consists of the three peptides ET-1, ET-2 and ET-3, their G-protein-coupled receptors endothelin receptor A and B (ETRA and ETRB) and the two endothelin-converting enzymes (ECE-1 and ECE-2). Genetically modified animal models are an important tool in biomedical research. Here we descri...

I n the last few years, molecular hybridization methods have been used extensively in basic and applied virology because of their technical flexibility and high specificity. Using these techniques, the detection of DNA and RNA viruses directly from clinical specimens, the analysis of the specific transcriptional activity of viral genes in vitro and in vivo, and the study of virus-host relations...