When an experience is encrypted into a long-lasting memory, it is believed that specific sets of neurons in the brain of the animal undergo changes including the strengthening of preexisting synapses and the growth and maintenance of new synaptic connections. These activity-dependent synaptic changes appear to require the coordination of a variety of cellular processes in spatially separated ce...

We introduce the notion of "Janus balance" (J), defined as the dimensionless ratio of work to transfer an amphiphilic colloidal particle (a "Janus particle") from the oil-water interface into the oil phase, normalized by the work needed to move it into the water phase. The J value can be calculated simply from the interfacial contact angle and the geometry of Janus particles, without the need t...

The feasibility of fabricating Janus particles based on phase separation between a hard fat and a biocompatible polymer was investigated. The solvent evaporation method used involved preparing an oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion with a mixture of poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA), hard fat, and an organic solvent as the oil phase and a polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution as the water phase. The J...

Protein kinases play a crucial role in the intracellular signaling pathways involved in inflammation and cell proliferation. Advances in our understanding of these metabolic pathways and of the role played by intracellular signaling in the pathogenesis of psoriasis have led to research in this area and the development of a new class of drugs for the treatment of psoriasis and other inflammatory...

In recent years, for the lesion site, studies at the molecular level of drugs targeting protein molecules has been a major research method for exploiting new, high-efficiency drugs with low toxicity [1]. Janus kinases (JAKs) are important signal transducers of many cytokines, growth factors and interferon. In recent years, it has been found in cancer cells and cells transfected with oncogenes t...

The Janus family of kinases (JAKs) has been shown to be involved in the signal transduction of a number of cytokine receptors. Recently, we have cloned a novel JAK family member, JAK3, that is expressed in natural killer and activated T cells and is coupled functionally and physically to the interleukin 2 (IL-2) receptor in these cells. Here we report that JAK3 was expressed at low but detectab...

Tofacitinib is an oral immunosuppressant approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is currently undergoing investigation (Phase III trials) for treating chronic plaque psoriasis. Tofacitinib inhibits Janus kinases (JAKs), which are essential for the signaling of multiple inflammatory pathways and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of RA and psoriasis. The efficacy and sa...

Janus kinases (Jaks) play an important role in signal transduction via cytokine and growth factor receptors. A targeted inactivation of Jak2 was performed. Jak2-/- embryos are anemic and die around day 12.5 postcoitum. Primitive erythrocytes are found, but definitive erythropoiesis is absent. Compared to erythropoietin receptor-deficient mice, the phenotype of Jak2 deficiency is more severe. Fe...

RhoA upregulation has been suggested in bronchial smooth muscles (BSMs) of asthmatic rats. Here, we cloned/characterized the 5'-promoter region of the rat rhoA. A transcription-initiation site was identified at 66-bp upstream of the reference sequence, GenBank-BC061732. Luciferase assay using interleukin-13 (IL-13)-stimulated cells revealed a significant promoter activity at 238- to 166-bp upst...

West Nile virus (WNV) is a human pathogen that can cause neurological disorders, including meningoencephalitis. Experiments with mice and mammalian cell cultures revealed that WNV exhibited resistance to the innate immune program induced by alpha interferon (IFN-alpha). We have investigated the nature of this inhibition and have found that WNV replication inhibited the activation of many known ...