A reliable sensitive method for measuring vitamin B12 in the circulation was first achieved at Hammersmith in 1950.' During the subsequent decade the vitamin B12 status was assessed of patients with a wide variety of conditions.2 This culminated in the determination of a unique function for the ileum by Booth and Mollin: that of the absorption of vitamin B123. During the course of these early s...

The chemokines are a large family of small signaling proteins that bind to G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) on target cells and mediate the directional migration of immune cells into sites of infection or inflammation. The large DNA viruses, particularly the poxviruses and herpesviruses, have evolved several mechanisms to corrupt the normal functioning of the chemokine network. Two strategie...

The cell envelope of gram-negative bacteria includes inner and outer membranes with the periplasmic space in between. The transport systems for many nutrients in these organisms include components in both the periplasm and the inner membrane. In some cases, e.g., maltose, transport components in the outer membrane are also involved. The scope of this review will be limited to a progress report ...

background: allergens are mostly composed of glycoprotein structures. it is believed that glycan-specific antibodies may lead to false-positive reactions in immunoassays. in this study we investigated the glycosylation state of grape allergens as well as the presence of antibodies to cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants (anti-ccds) in sera from grape-sensitive individuals. methods: grape ex...

Shengwen Shen,† Xing-Fang Li,† William R. Cullen,‡ Michael Weinfeld, and X. Chris Le*,† †Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, 10-102 Clinical Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2G3 ‡Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z1 Department of Oncology, Cross Cancer Institute,...

Actin is an essential component of the cytoskeleton and plays a crucial role in eukaryotic cells. The actin cytoskeleton functions in the generation and maintenance of cell morphology and polarity, in endocytosis and intracellular trafficking, in contractility, motility and cell division. In cells, the assembly and disassembly of actin filaments, and also their organisation into functional high...

The C. elegans genome encodes many RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) with diverse functions in development, indicative of extensive layers of post-transcriptional control of RNA metabolism. A number of C. elegans RBPs have been identified by forward or reverse genetics. They tend to display tissue-specific mutant phenotypes, which underscore their functional importance. In addition, several RBPs that...

Small GTP-binding proteins (G proteins) exist in eukaryotes from yeast to human and constitute a superfamily consisting of more than 100 members. This superfamily is structurally classified into at least five families: the Ras, Rho, Rab, Sar1/Arf, and Ran families. They regulate a wide variety of cell functions as biological timers (biotimers) that initiate and terminate specific cell functions...