The efficacy of cancer therapeutics remains limited because tumors comprise heterogeneous cell populations, with distinct phenotypic and functional properties. Among those, cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a small cell subpopulation with self-renewal, differentiation and tumor initiation capacity and have been linked to treatment failure. Unlike differentiated cells, CSCs evade the cytotoxic ...

The domain structure of plasma fibronectin was studied by limited proteolysis with trypsin and thermolysin. Intact hamster plasma fibronectin is a disulfide-bonded dimer of two nonidentical subunit polypeptides with M, = 230,000 (a subunit) and 210,000 (B subunit). Mild trypsin treatment selectively released a small fragment with M, = 32,000 (designated as 32K fragment, others are designated in...

C eliac sprue is a chronic intestinal disorder caused by hypersensitivity to prolamins, the glutamineand proline-rich gluten proteins contained in wheat, rye, and barley. Genetically predisposed subjects who ingest cereal proteins develop an inflammatory enteropathy characterized by proliferation of intraepithelial lymphocytes, crypt hyperplasia, and partial or complete atrophy of small intesti...

BACKGROUND The transglutaminase activated factor XIII (FXIIIa) acts to strengthen pathological fibrin clots and to slow their dissolution, in part by crosslinking active α(2)-antiplasmin (α(2)AP) to fibrin. We previously reported that a yeast-derived recombinant fusion protein comprising α(2)AP residues 13-42 linked to human serum albumin (HSA) weakened in vitro clots but failed to become speci...

Over the past two decades, the ability to produce genetically engineered animal models has been widely used to unravel complex biological pathways involved in both physiology and disease. Although uniquely powerful and inherently elegant, these models, while often providing surprising new insights, have not uncommonly raised more questions than they have answered. A case in point is a transgeni...

I n the first 20 years since their discovery, the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) were considered purely for their roles in protein synthesis. Each aaRS links its cognate amino acid to one of the tRNAs bearing the appropriate anticodon trinucleotides before decoding and translation by the ribosome. The accuracy of this aminoacylation reaction depends on the ability of each aaRS to select its ...

Despite the fact that Leishmania parasites are transmitted exclusively by the bite of an infected sand fly, there are few reports concerning the relationship of this factor on Leishmania infection. Two models were developed, one using needle injection and the second based on natural transmission by the vector. During the natural transmission of Leishmania, sand flies inoculate low numbers of me...