Annexins constitute a family of calcium and membrane binding proteins. As annexin A1 and A2 have previously been linked to various membrane trafficking events, we initiated this study to investigate the role of these annexins in the uptake and intracellular transport of the bacterial Shiga toxin (Stx) and the plant toxin ricin. Once endocytosed, both toxins are retrogradely transported from end...

The ability of annexins, particularly annexin 1 (lipocortin 1), to inhibit phospholipase A2 (PLA2) is well known and a substrate depletion mechanism is now widely accepted as the explanation for most inhibitory studies. However, there are only a very limited number of reported studies involving annexins and the high-molecular-mass cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2). In this study we have examined the effec...

Asymmetric division is an important property of stem cells. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the Wnt/beta-catenin asymmetry pathway determines the polarity of most asymmetric divisions. The Wnt signalling components such as beta-catenin localize asymmetrically to the cortex of mother cells to produce two distinct daughter cells. However, the molecular mechanism to polarize them remains to be elucidat...

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) catalyzes the hydrolysis of the SN-2 acyl ester linkage of phospholipids and producing fatty acids and lysophospholipids. Their activity is one of the rate-limiting steps in the formation of arachidonic acid and in the synthesis of leukotrienes and prostaglandins. These prostaglandins have vital role in carcinogenesis. In the present study structure based drug design app...

We have previously reported that in several renal cell types, adenosine receptor agonists inhibit adenylyl cyclase and activate phospholipase C via a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein. In the present study, in 28A cells, both of these adenosine receptor-mediated responses were inhibited by 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX), a highly selective A1 adenosine receptor antagonist. The bin...

1. Rat liver cytosol contains a heat-sensitive phospholipase A1 active against phosphatidylethanolamine, 1-acylglycerophosphoethanolamine and, to a very much lesser extent, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol. 2. Activity towards a pure phosphatidylethanolamine substrate is invoked by the presence of water-soluble cations that do not precipitate at the pH optimum of the enzyme (9.5). I...