We previously reported that a velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic) biotype found in Maryland was resistant to atrazine because of an enhanced capacity to detoxify the herbicide via glutathione conjugation (JW Gronwald, Andersen RN, Yee C [1989J Pestk Blochem Physiol 34: 149-163). The biochemical basis for the enhanced atrazine conjugation capacity in this biotype was examined. Glutathione le...

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated the developmental neurotoxicity associated with prenatal methylmercury exposure (Grandjean and Landrigan, 2006); However, susceptibility to methylmercury toxicity may be increased by genetic factors. This observation raises the question of possible dependence of developmental neurotoxicity on genetic predisposition. A few years ago, a National Research ...

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel was extracted with water: ethanol (1:1) at room temperature and the extract was evaluated for antioxidant potential against AAPH induced lipid peroxidation in vitro in mice synaptosomes. In addition, its neuroprotective efficacy against rotenone-induced mortality, motor deficits and oxidative stress in Drosophila melanogaster was also assessed. Extract showed ...

γ-Secretase is an unusual protease with an intramembrane catalytic site that cleaves many type I membrane proteins, including the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) precursor (APP) and the Notch receptor. Genetic and biochemical studies have identified four membrane proteins as components of γsecretase: heterodimeric presenilin composed of its Nand C-terminal fragments, nicastrin, Aph-1, and Pen-2. Here we...

T past year or so has witnessed the emergence of a plethora of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genes that are known or predicted to encode previously unidentified DNA polymerases (1–13). Some of these are members of an extended superfamily of prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteins called the UmuCyDinB nucleotidyl transferase superfamily, named after early discovered prokaryotic members (14, 15). This s...

To the Editor: Filoviruses cause highly lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates, except for Reston Ebolavirus (REBOV), which causes severe hemorrhagic fever in macaques (1,2). REBOV epizootics among cynomolgus macaques occurred in 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1996 (2) and among swine in 2008 (3). African fruit bats have been suggested to be natural reservoirs for Zaire Ebolavirus and ...

The interpretation of quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies is limited by the lack of information on metabolic pathways leading to most economic traits. Inferences about the roles of the underlying genes with a pathway or the nature of their interaction with other loci are generally not possible. An exception is resistance to the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) in maize (Zea mays L.) bec...

CBP (CREB-binding protein) and p300 are versatile coactivators that link transcriptional activators to the basal transcriptional apparatus. In the present study, we identify CBP and p300 as coactivators of the nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) component p65 (RelA). Consistent with their role as coactivators, both CBP and p300 potentiated p65-activated transcription of E-selectin and VCAM-1–CAT reporter...

Cysteinyl leukotrienes (cys-LTs) are potent proinflammatory mediators associated with various diseases including asthma and allergic rhinitis. Leukotriene C4 synthase (LTC4S) and microsomal glutathione transferase 2 (MGST2) catalyze conjugation of the epoxide intermediate LTA4 with GSH to form LTC4, the parent compound of the cys-LTs. Both enzymes belong to the Membrane-Associated Proteins in E...

Since human colorectal tumors are insensitive to most chemotherapeutic agents, there is a need for the discovery of new drugs that would show activity against this disease. In an attempt to better appreciate the relevance of a widely used mouse colon tumor (colon adenocarcinoma Co38) as a screening model for human colorectal tumors, we compared the main phase I and phase II drug-metabolizing en...