Lyn-deficient mice produce Abs against dsDNA, yet exhibit exaggerated tolerance to the model Ag hen-egg lysozyme. To investigate this apparent contradiction, and to further examine the function of Lyn in Ag-engaged cells, we have used an anti-dsDNA Ig transgenic model. Previously, looking at these anti-dsDNA B cells in Lyn-sufficient BALB/c mice, we showed that they are regulated by functional ...

Introduction Many techniques of cellular and molecular biology require the ability to quantitate dsDNA in large numbers of samples at sensitivities that only require a small amount of the total sample. Isolation of plasmids from bacterial cultures, genomic DNA from mammalian cells, cDNA synthesis for library production, and quantitation of PCR products for diagnostic purposes all require the di...

OBJECTIVE To compare the utility of anti-nucleosome antibodies and anti-dsDNA antibodies in diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and as a marker of disease activity. METHODS This is a hospital based observational study among 40 (37 females and 3 males) selected cases of SLE (> or = 4 ACR criteria) and 80 control. 40 cases of other systemic autoimmune disease (SAD) [e g. 29 cases of...

A platform for in situ and real-time measurement of protein-induced conformational changes in dsDNA is presented. We combine electrical orientation of surface-bound dsDNA probes with an optical technique to measure the kinetics of DNA conformational changes. The sequence-specific Escherichia coli integration host factor is utilized to demonstrate protein-induced bending upon binding of integrat...

Linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses package their genome into a procapsid using an ATP-driven nanomotor. Here we report that bacteriophage phi29 DNA packaging motor exercises a one-way traffic property for dsDNA translocation from N-terminal entrance to C-terminal exit with a valve mechanism in DNA packaging, as demonstrated by voltage ramping, electrode polarity switching, and sedimenta...

The oxidative damage of DNA is a compelling issue in molecular biophysics as it plays vital role the epigenetic control gene expression and believed to be associated with mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, ageing. To understand microscopic structural changes physical properties resulting influence on its function due nucleotide bases, we have conducted all-atom dynamic simulations double-stranded (ds...

Objective: To investigate possible immunological humoral correlates in newly diagnosed adult-onset generalized tonic-clonic epilepsy among Iranian patients before and after sodium valproate treatment.   Patients and Methods: 72 adult patients with newly diagnosed idiopathic generalized tonic-clonic epilepsy were recruited. Serum antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL), a...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients exhibit immense heterogeneity which is challenging from the diagnostic perspective. Emerging high throughput sequencing technologies have been proved to be a useful platform to understand the complex and dynamic disease processes. SLE patients categorised based on autoantibody specificities are reported to have differential immuno-regulatory mechanism...

It has long been believed that the DNA-packaging motor of dsDNA viruses utilizes a rotation mechanism. Here we report a revolution rather than rotation mechanism for the bacteriophage phi29 DNA packaging motor. The phi29 motor contains six copies of the ATPase (Schwartz et al., this issue); ATP binding to one ATPase subunit stimulates the ATPase to adopt a conformation with a high affinity for ...

It is well known that during homology recognition and strand exchange the double stranded DNA (dsDNA) in DNA/RecA filaments is highly extended, but the functional role of the extension has been unclear. We present an analytical model that calculates the distribution of tension in the extended dsDNA during strand exchange. The model suggests that the binding of additional dsDNA base pairs to the...