A cytosolic pea (Pisum sativum) seed albumin (ALB) and a chimeric protein (PHALB) consisting of the signal peptide and first three amino acids of phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and the amino acid sequence of ALB were expressed in parallel suspension cultures of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cells and their intracellular fates examined. PHALB was efficiently secreted by the cells whereas ALB remained in...

Sulfoconjugation (Sulfation or Sulfonation) is an important reaction in the phase II biotransformation of a wide number of endogenous and foreign chemicals, including: drugs, toxic chemicals, hormones, and neurotransmitters. The reaction is catalyzed by the members of the cytosolic sulfotransferase (SULT) superfamily, consisting of ten functional genes in humans. Sulfation reaction in living ce...

Phosphatidate phosphohydrolase (PAP) from cytosolic fraction of rat liver was purified to homogeneity having specific activity of 5.14 U/mg protein. An activity staining procedure was developed to determine molecular weight of the enzyme on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using Ferguson plot. Molecular Weight (M.W.) of the active PAP was 298 KDa. SDS-PAGE analysis showed a M.W. of 47 KDa for...

BACKGROUND: Caffeic acid has been reported to activate caspases in MG-63 osteosarcoma cells, which can lead apoptosis via both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Translocation of protein kinase C delta (PKCδ), reduces mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), is involved apoptosis. The role PKCδ translocation ΔΨm alteration caffeic acid-induced cell are largely unknown. Present study inv...

Nitric oxide (NO) synthase-expressing neurons are found throughout the vertebrate retina. Previous work by our laboratory has shown that NO can transiently convert inhibitory GABAergic synapses onto cultured retinal amacrine cells into excitatory synapses by releasing Cl(-) from an internal store in the postsynaptic cell. The mechanism underlying this Cl(-) release is currently unknown. Because...

Earlier investigations showed a positive correlation between basal cytosolic free calcium in human platelets and blood pressure; however, recent studies have failed to show this relation. We undertook the present work to examine which platelet cytosolic calcium parameters (namely, cytosolic calcium in resting or stimulated states in calcium-containing and calcium-free media) present the least v...