Astrocytes play critical roles in neural circuit formation and function. Recent studies have revealed several secreted and contact-mediated signals from astrocytes which are essential for neurite outgrowth and synapse formation. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of dendritic branching by astrocytes remain elusive. Phospholipase D1 (PLD1), which catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosph...

Symbiotic rhizobium–legume interactions, such as root hair curling, rhizobial invasion, infection thread expansion, cell division and proliferation of nitrogen-fixing bacteroids, nodule formation, involve extensive membrane synthesis, lipid remodeling cytoskeleton dynamics. However, little is known about these membrane–cytoskeleton interfaces related genes. Here, we report the roles a major pho...

Lipophilic and hydrophilic D-alanyl-lipoteichoic acids are elongated in Lactobacillus casei by the transfer of sn-glycerol 1-phosphate units from phosphatidylglycerol to the poly(glycerophosphate) moiety of the polymer. These sn-glycerol 1-phosphate units are added to the end of the poly(glycerophosphate) which is distal to the glycolipid anchor; 1,2-diglyceride results from this addition. The ...

Large vesicles (5-15 microns) were formed by hydrating a dried lipid film containing phospholipids labeled with a fluorophore in one fatty acid chain. By using a fluorescence microscope attached to a low-light-intensity charge-coupled-device camera and digital-image processor, the vesicles were easily viewed and initially showed uniform fluorescence intensity across the surface. The fluorescenc...

Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) was examined in the A7r5 rat vascular smooth muscle cell line. Treatment of A7r5 cells with vasopressin, phorbol ester (PMA), or serum resulted in activation of two MAPKs, Erk-1 and Erk-2. Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C was activated in response to vasopressin but not to PMA. Vasopressin and PMA both caused maximal activatio...

Phosphatidic acid dispersions in H2O vesiculate when the pH is increased transiently (less than 2 min) from approximately 3 to 10.5-11. The same phenomenon is observed in mixed dispersions of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidic acid in H2O when the pH is increased from approximately 3 to 7 to 8. With phosphatidic acid, this treatment produces small closed unilamellar vesicles (200-600 A) from ...

The kinetic properties of acyl-coenzyme A (CoA): l-alpha-glycerol-phosphate trans-acylase (EC 2.3.1.15) from Escherichia coli were studied. At 10 C, a temperature at which the reaction was proportional to time and enzyme concentration, the enzyme had an apparent K(m) of 60 mum for l-alpha-glycerol-phosphate. The curve describing the velocity of the reaction as a function of palmitoyl-CoA concen...

Interest in the regulation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has increased substantially in recent years largely because of an apparent link between mTOR and survival signals in human cancer cells. Much has been learned about the regulation of mTOR in response to survival signals generated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). However, another mechanism for regulating mTOR has been...