Shao W, Seth DM, Navar LG. Augmentation of endogenous intrarenal angiotensin II levels in Val-ANG II-infused rats. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296: F1067–F1071, 2009. First published February 25, 2009; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.90596.2008.—In angiotensin II (ANG II)-induced hypertension, intrarenal ANG II levels are increased by AT1 receptor-mediated ANG II internalization and endogenous ANG II gener...

The type-2 (AT(2)) angiotensin (Ang) II receptor has been characterized as potentially counterregulatory to the actions of Ang II at its type-1 (AT(1)) receptor. We investigated the effects of Ang II and CGP-42112A (CGP), a selective peptide AT(2) receptor agonist, on blood pressure (BP) in rats with or without pharmacological blockade of the AT(1) receptor with losartan (LOS) or valsartan (VAL...

Val Val The chromatographic behaviour of E. coli tRNAj , Val-tRNA, and Phe-tRNA was studied on BD-cellulose columns. At pH i.O and 4°C the elution position of Phe-tRNAy was not affected by the presence or absence of Mg, whereas Val-tRNAy* was slightly retarded when Mg + was ommited. It is postulated that the amino acid and its nature influence the structure that the aminoacyltRNA assumes. Under...

We recently reported that Val-SN-38, a novel valine ester prodrug of SN-38, had greatly improved the intracellular accumulation of SN-38 in MCF-7 cell line, probably through enhanced uptake via amino acid transporters. In the present study, the efficacy of Val-SN-38 was further investigated both in vitro and in vivo. It was found that the in vitro cytotoxic effect of Val-SN-38 was similar to th...

Exposure to sex hormones is a major risk factor for breast cancer and current treatments include hormone modifying drugs, among them aromatase inhibitors. We studied the association of CYP19 (Val(80) and [TTTA](n)) polymorphisms, the gene translated to aromatase, and the risk of breast cancer in BRCA carriers and noncarriers. The study consisted of 958 cancer cases and 931 healthy controls, inc...

BACKGROUND Prefrontal dopamine is catabolized by the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme. Current evidence suggests that the val/met single nucleotide polymorphism in the COMT gene can predict the efficiency of executive cognition in humans. Individuals carrying the val allele perform more poorly because less synaptic dopamine is available. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We investigate...

Fluid intelligence (g(f)) influences performance across many cognitive domains. It is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Tasks tapping g(f) activate a network of brain regions including the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), the presupplementary motor area/anterior cingulate cortex (pre-SMA/ACC), and the intraparietal sulcus (IPS). In line with the "intermediate phenotype" appro...

Seventeen peptides have been isolated from a tryptic digest of soluble elastin by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Molecular weights range from approximately 1,700 to 10,500. Partial or complete amino acid sequences of the peptides were obtained and provide the first extensive data on the primary sequence of elastin. Several important findings stand out. First, the sequences obta...

A key element in the success of the 3rd International Planning Competition was the implementation of an automatic plan validator for PDDL2.1 , VAL. Over 5000 plans were generated by entrants, so it was clearly essential for evaluation of the results alone. VAL was a vital tool in the development process of competitors to develop their planners. This document describes the evolution of VAL to ha...