ALG-2 is a 22-kDa calcium-binding protein necessary for cell death induced by different stimuli in 3DO T-cell hybridoma. 3DO cell clones depleted of ALG-2 protein exhibit normal caspases activation, suggesting that ALG-2 function is required downstream or is independent of caspase proteases activity for apoptosis to occur. Using the yeast two-hybrid screening system, we have isolated and charac...

Antilymphocyte and antithymocyte globulins (ALG) are currently used as immunosuppressive agents in clinical transplantation and for the treatment of severe aplastic anemia. ALG contain a mixture of antibodies that recognize Tand B-cell-specific antigens but mostly nonlineage-specific molecules. We reported previously that ALG could inhibit the proliferation of activated B cells and B cell lines...

A novel porous three-dimensional bone scaffold was developed using a natural polymer (alginate/Alg) in combination with a naturally obtained biomineral (nano cockle shell powder/nCP) through lyophilization techniques. The scaffold was developed in varying composition mixture of Alg-nCP and characterized using various evaluation techniques as well as preliminary in vitro studies on MG63 human os...

In muscle and other mechanically active tissue, cell membranes are constantly injured, and their repair depends on the injury-induced increase in cytosolic calcium. Here, we show that injury-triggered Ca(2+) increase results in assembly of ESCRT III and accessory proteins at the site of repair. This process is initiated by the calcium-binding protein-apoptosis-linked gene (ALG)-2. ALG-2 facilit...

A classification is given for regular positions D ⊕ D ⊆ D of Jones index 4 where D = alg lim −→ M n k (C) is an even matroid algebra and where the individual sum-mands have index 2. A similar classification is obtained for positions of direct sums of 2-symmetric algebras and, in the odd case, for the positions of sums of 2-symmetric C*-algebras in matroid C*-algebras. The approach relies on an ...

The purpose of measures in algorithm theory is to distinguish between “good” and “bad” algorithms. The main drawback of classical worst-case analysis is that one single “bad” instance decides the performance of an algorithm. Moreover, worst-case instances are often quite artificial and often do not represent a “realistic” or “typical” instance of a problem. In this thesis, we are concerned with...

Hyperthermia is one of the promising treatments for cancer therapy. However, the development of a magnetic fluid agent that can selectively target a tumor and efficiently elevate temperature while exhibiting excellent biocompatibility still remains challenging. Here a new core-shell nanostructure consisting of inorganic iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles as the core, organic alginate as the shell...

Background: Inflammatory bone resorption in periodontitis can lead to tooth loss. Systemic administration of bisphosphonates such as risedronate for preventing bone resorption can cause adverse effects. Alginate hydrogel (ALG) and poly (lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles have been studied as drug delivery systems for sustained release of drugs. Therefore, the release pattern of...

ALG-2 is a penta-EF-hand Ca(2+)-binding protein and interacts with a variety of intracellular proteins. Two types of ALG-2-binding motifs have been determined: type 1, PXYPXnYP (X, variable; n = 4), in ALIX and PLSCR3; type 2, PXPGF, in Sec31A and PLSCR3. The previously solved X-ray crystal structure of the complex between ALG-2 and an ALIX peptide containing type 1 motif showed that the peptid...