Platelet agonists increase the affinity state of integrin a IIb b 3 , a prerequisite for fibrinogen binding and platelet aggregation. This process may be triggered by a regulatory molecule(s) that binds to the integrin cytoplasmic tails, causing a structural change in the receptor. b 3 -Endonexin is a novel 111–amino acid protein that binds selectively to the b 3 tail. Since b 3 -endonexin is p...

Since the early twentieth century, inheritance was seen as the inheritance of genes. Concurrent with the acceptance of the genetic theory of inheritance was the rejection of the idea that the cytoplasm of the oocyte could also play a role in inheritance and a corresponding devaluation of embryology as a discipline critical for understanding human development. Development, and variation in devel...

Because of the limitations inherent in conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using epoxy ultrathin sections for a clear recognition of biological entities having electron densities similar to or lower than that of epoxy resin, embedment-free sectioning for TEM has been developed. Embedment-free section TEM is reliably performed using water-soluble polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a tr...

Integrins are heterodimeric cell surface adhesion receptors essential for multicellular life. They connect cells to the extracellular environment and transduce chemical and mechanical signals to and from the cell. Intracellular proteins that bind the integrin cytoplasmic tail regulate integrin engagement of extracellular ligands as well as integrin localization and trafficking. Cytoplasmic inte...

We explicitly solve and analyze a series of deterministic continent-island models to delimit the effects of pollen and seed migration on cytonuclear frequencies and disequilibria in random-mating, mixed-mating and self-fertilized populations. Given the critical assumption of maternal cytoplasmic inheritance, five major findings are (i) nonzero cytonuclear disequilibria will be maintained in the...

Colonies arising from single asexual spores o f the fungus Aspergillus glaucus show differences am ong them selves in germ ination, grow th rate, pigm entation and sexuality. These differences are transm issible, at least in part, to daughter colonies produced by asexual reproduction. T hey are independent o f the nucleus and m ust be referred to persistent differences in the cytoplasm , arisin...

Soluble amyloid β (Aβ) oligomers cause memory loss and synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer disease (AD). Despite intensive studies on Aβ assembly in vitro and in vivo, the localization and cellular mechanism of Aβ oligomerization are not fully understood. Previously, we demonstrated that cytoplasmic superoxide radicals contribute to drusen deposition, a hallmark of age-related macular degeneratio...

Plant cells are surrounded by a cell wall composed of polysaccharides and hence can change neither their form nor their position. However, active movement of organelles (cytoplasmic streaming or protoplasmic streaming) is observed in plant cells, and involvement of the actin/myosin system in these processes has been suggested. Successful biochemical and biophysical approaches to studying myosin...