objective: cd133+ umbilical cord blood cells were identified as a hematopoietic stem cell which has the capacity for extensive self-renewal and differentiation. the aim of this study was to identify the effect of staurosporine (sts), a wellknown protein kinase inhibitor on differentiation of cd133+ cells into neural cells. materials and methods: cd133+ cells were enriched by immunomagnetic bead...

Proteins with expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases. One common characteristic of expanded-polyQ expression is the formation of intracellular aggregates (IAs). IAs purified from polyQ-expressing cells were dissociated and studied by protein blot assay and mass spectrometry to determine the identity, condition, and relative level of several proteins...

Previous studies in the hypomyelinating mouse mutant Trembler have suggested that demyelinating axons are smaller in caliber compared to normal axons, and that there are differences in the organization of axonal neurofilaments. In the normal PNS, however, the relationship between neurofilament organization and myelination has not been investigated extensively. In normal axons, only the initial ...

C-terminal neurofilament phosphorylation mediates cation-dependent self-association leading to neurofilament incorporation into the stationary axonal cytoskeleton. Multiple kinases phosphorylate the C-terminal domains of the heavy neurofilament subunit (NF-H), including cyclin-dependent protein kinase 5 (CDK5), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), casein kinase 1 and 2 (CK1 and CK2) and g...

Neurofilaments are neuronal intermediate filaments that play an important role in the growth and maintenance of large myelinated axons. Mammalian neurofilaments are composed of three polypeptide subunits, designed as NF-L, NF-M, and NF-H, all of which are phosphorylated. Here, we demonstrate by several criteria that neurofilament polypeptides are also modified by an abundant type of intracellul...

We have identified, purified, and characterized two neurofilament/tau kinases from bovine brain, PK36 and PK40, with apparent Mr of 36,000 and 40,000 and with novel biochemical properties. A specially designed immunoassay for phosphorylated epitopes in neurofilament (NF) proteins was used in the early stages of the purification. Neither kinase is closely associated with the cytoskeleton. Both k...

Immature Schwann cells of the rat sciatic nerve can differentiate into myelin-forming or non-myelin-forming cells. The factors that influence this divergent development are unknown but certain markers such as galactocerebroside distinguish the two cell populations at an early stage of Schwann cell differentiation. Because myelination requires extensive changes in cell morphology, we have invest...

Because transgenic mice expressing an altered stoichiometry of neurofilament proteins develop a motor neuron degeneration associated with neurofilamentous aggregate formation similar to that found in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we studied the expression of intermediate filament proteins in sporadic ALS. Archival cervical spinal cord paraffin-embedded sections from 11 disease and 11 con...

Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of proteins associated with microtubules (MAPs) modulate the functional properties of microtubules (MT). A study was designed to test the hypothesis that ethanol at pharmacologically relevant levels affects phosphorylation of MAPs. Low (6, 12, 24, and 48 mM) and high (96, 384, and 768 mM) levels of ethanol were used in the study. MT prepared from rat brain ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE An animal model has been developed to elucidate the pathological changes in brain cytoskeletal proteins during chronic hypoperfusion. METHODS Newly designed coiled clips were placed around both carotid arteries of Mongolian gerbils (n = 10) to cause stenosis without occlusion. Those gerbils showing impaired learning ability by the passive avoidance paradigm were killed ...