Here we report and validate a new method, suitable broadly, for use in differentiated cells and tissues, for the direct visualization of actin polymerization under physiological conditions. We have designed and tested different versions of fluorescently labeled actin, reversibly attached to the protein transduction tag TAT, and have introduced this novel reagent into intact differentiated vascu...

The Tat protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 enhances transcription by binding to a specific RNA element on nascent viral transcripts. Binding is mediated by a 10-amino acid basic domain that is rich in arginines and lysines. Here we report the three-dimensional peptide backbone structure of a biologically active 25-mer peptide that contains the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Tat...

The role of JNK in neutrophil chemotaxis and killing of microbial pathogens remains unclear. Using a recently described cell-permeable peptide inhibitor of the JNK pathway, based on the JBD of JIP-1, coupled to the protein transduction domain of HIV-TAT (TAT-JIP), in association with control peptides, we demonstrate that the JNK pathway plays a major role in regulating human neutrophil chemotax...

The protein transduction domain of HIV-1 TAT, TAT(48-60), is an efficient cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) that diffuses across the lipid membranes of cells despite eight cationic Arg and Lys residues. To understand its mechanism of membrane translocation against the free energy barrier, we have conducted solid-state NMR experiments to determine the site-specific conformation, dynamics, and lipid...

Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones induce apoptosis in T-cell and pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells. Steroid-mediated apoptosis requires a threshold level of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein, and increasing the intracellular GR levels in ALL cells would augment their hormone sensitivity. A protein transduction domain (PTD) approach was used to accomplish this. We produced an...

UNLABELLED During biosynthesis of [NiFe]-hydrogenase 2 (Hyd-2) of Escherichia coli, a 15-amino-acid C-terminal peptide is cleaved from the catalytic large subunit precursor, pro-HybC. This peptide is removed only after NiFe(CN)2CO cofactor insertion by the Hyp accessory protein machinery has been completed, suggesting that it has a regulatory function during enzyme maturation. We show here that...

The human liver and lymph node sinusoidal endothelial cell C-type lectin (hLSECtin), a type II integral membrane protein, containing a Ca(2+)-dependent carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD), has a well-established biological activity, yet its three-dimensional structure is unknown due to low expression yields and aggregation into inclusion bodies. Previous study has demonstrated that the HIV-1 ...

Dendritic cell-based (DC-based) immunotherapy represents a promising approach to the prevention and treatment of many diseases, including cancer, but current strategies have met with only limited success in clinical and preclinical studies. Previous studies have demonstrated that a TAT peptide derived from the HIV TAT protein has the ability to transduce peptides or proteins into various cells....

BACKGROUND Myocardial infarction remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality associated with coronary artery disease. The L-type calcium channel (IC a-L) is critical to excitation and contraction. Activation of the channel also alters mitochondrial function. Here, we investigated whether application of a alpha-interacting domain/transactivator of transcription (AID-TAT) peptide, which ...

Long-term memory formation is believed to involve alterations of synaptic efficacy. It has been shown that GluR1-containing AMPA receptors are inserted into synapses following stimuli leading to plasticity and that GluR2/GluR3-containing receptors replace existing synaptic AMPA receptors continuously and may act to maintain synaptic efficacy. Maintaining GluR2/GluR3 receptors level in synapse r...