To the Editor: We recently identified a family with lattice corneal dystrophy type IIIA (LCD IIIA) associated with a novel threonine-to-proline (T621P) mutation in the transforming growth factor-beta induced (TGFBI) gene. The 50-year-old female proband (II-2) visited our clinic because of decreased visual acuity. Slit-lamp examination disclosed thick, branching, refractile, ropy lattice lines l...

Several amino acids, particularly [3H]proline and [3H]asparagine specifically and efficiently labelled rapidly transported proteins in the goldfish optic nerve and tectum after intraocular injection. Studies with these amino acids showed that the rapidly transported proteins moved as a discrete band at a rate which was temperaturedependent, and was equal to 70-100 mm per day at 20°C. Transporte...

8,,8'-Iminodipropionitrile (IDPN), a synthetic compound that selectively impairs slow axonal transport, produced a rearrangement of the axonal cytoskeleton, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria . Immunoperoxidase staining using an antiserum to the 68,000-dalton neurofilament subunit demonstrated a displacement of neurofilaments toward the periphery of the axons of IDPN-treated rats . ...

E l ec t ron microscopy f i r s t r evea led the presence of filamentous structures intermediate in diameter between microfilaments (5-6 nm) and microtubules (20-25 nm) in eukaryotic cells. These intermediate, or 10-nm, filaments have subsequently been shown to compr ise f ive s e p a r a t e classes, distinguishable on the basis of their sub-unit molecular weights) t i ssue distr ibution~ and ...

An antiserum which binds kinesin specifically on Western blots was used to determine the distribution and abundance of chicken kinesin by correlated immunoblotting and immunolocalization. Quantitative immunoblotting showed that the abundance of kinesin varied widely in different cell and tissue types, from 0.039% of total protein in epidermal fibroblasts to 0.309% in sympathetic neurons; of the...

Background While immune checkpoint blockade therapy has improved progression-free survival in patients suffering from cancer over other treatments, 1–4 these typically elicit durable responses only minority of patients, part because the highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). 5 6 Rational combinations with inflammatory cytokines can relieve some immunosuppression, 7 8 but systemi...

Nervous systems are composed of populations of cells that are synaptically connected in a highly predictable manner, and we have called two interconnected populations a pair of matchingpopulations. Heritable genetic changes that affect a pair of matching populations can be evolutionary only when this matching quality is not disrupted. We distinguish two types of heritable change. Concordant her...

Axons and dendrites contain dense microtubule (MT) arrays that are not attached to a traditional MT nucleating structure such as the centrosome. Nevertheless, the MTs within these neurites are highly organized with respect to their polarity, and consist of a regular 13-protofilament lattice, the two known characteristics of MTs nucleated at the centrosome. These observations suggest either that...

The existence of a neurofilament-deficient mutant of Japanese quail was recently documented (Yamasaki, H., C. Itakura, and M. Mizutani. 1991. Acta Neuropathol. 82:427--434), but the genetic events leading to the neurofilament deficiency have yet to be determined. Our molecular biological analyses revealed that the expression of neurofilament-L (NF-L) gene was specifically repressed in neurons o...

Nervous systems consist of diverse populations of neurons that are anatomically and functionally distinct. The diversity of neurons and the precision with which they are interconnected suggest that specific genes or sets of genes are activated in some neurons but not expressed in others. Experimentally, this problem may be considered at two levels. First, what is the total number of genes expre...