All4312, encoded by open reading frame all4312 in the genome of the heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, exhibits a CheY-like receiver domain and an output domain similar to that of OmpR, characteristic of two-component response regulators. Expression of all4312 was directly regulated by NtcA, the global transcriptional regulator of nitrogen assimilation in cyanobacte...

Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are a major source offibrous proteins in cirrhotic liver. Inducing or accelerating their apoptosis is a potential way of liver fibrosis treatment. Extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding cells in tissue affects their differentiation, migration, proliferation and function. Type I collagen is the main ECM component in fibrotic liver. We have examined how this...

Bufalin, a major component of the Chinese medicine ChanSu, which is prepared from the skin and parotid venom glands of toads, has shown cytotoxicity in several malignant tumors. Here, we reported that bufalin inhibited proliferation and induced mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in U-2OS and Saos-2 osteosarcoma cells with intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. By microRNA (miR) a...

Based on physiological evidence for multiple firing zones in the dendritic arborizations of cerebellar Purkinje cells, a superposition model is proposed for spike triggering in these cells. Spike trains from 10 Purkinje cells were analyzed in terms of independence of interspike intervals and the properties of their variance-time curves. The results of this analysis were found consistent with th...

Current developments in processing data streams are based on the best-effort principle and therefore not adequate for many application areas. When sensor data is gathered by interface hardware and is used for triggering data-dependent actions, the data has to be queried and processed not only in an efficient but also in a deterministic way. Our streaming system prototype embodies novel data pro...

The aetiology of SSc is subject to ongoing research, as the precise events that underlie the development of this disease remain unclear. The pathogenesis is known to involve endothelium, epithelium, fibroblasts, innate and adaptive immune systems and their component immunological mediators. Endothelial cell damage may be the initiating factor, but the precise triggering event(s) remain elusive....

Spondyloarthropathies are inflammatory diseases closely associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 by unknown mechanisms. One of these diseases is reactive arthritis (ReA), which is typically triggered by Gram-negative bacteria, which have lipopolysaccharide as an integral component of their outer membrane. Several findings in vivo and in vitro obtained from patients with ReA and from di...

Sr(2+) triggers neurotransmitter release similar to Ca(2+), but less efficiently. We now show that in synaptotagmin 1 knockout mice, the fast component of both Ca(2+)- and Sr(2+)-induced release is selectively impaired, suggesting that both cations partly act by binding to synaptotagmin 1. Both the C(2)A and the C(2)B domain of synaptotagmin 1 bind Ca(2+) in phospholipid complexes, but only the...

Mitochondria have a central position in innate immune response via the adaptor protein MAVS in mitochondrial outer membrane to limit viral replication by inducing interferon production. Here, we reported that C11orf83, a component of complex III of electronic transfer chain in mitochondrial inner membrane, was a potent antiviral protein independent of interferon production. C11orf83 expression ...