BACKGROUND/AIMS The linoleic acid derivative DCP-LA selectively activates PKCε and inhibits protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). In the present study, we have newly synthesized phosphatidyl-ethanolamine, -serine, -choline, and -inositol containing DCP-LA at the α and β position (diDCP-LA-PE, -PS, PC, and -PI, respectively), and examined the effects of these compounds on activities of PKC isozymes and p...

To date, 31 genes associated with different forms of SCA have been identified, but the cellular and molecular bases for this pathology remain poorly defined. The autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias (ADCA) were thought to be exclusively due to expansions of coding CAG repeats, as in the genes that underlie SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA6, SCA7, SCA17, and DRPLA (dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy)—the ...

Spatial and temporal cues govern the genesis of a diverse array of neurons located in the dorsal spinal cord, including dI1-dI6, dIL(A), and dIL(B) subtypes, but their physiological functions are poorly understood. Here we generated a new line of conditional knock-out (CKO) mice, in which the homeobox gene Tlx3 was removed in dI5 and dIL(B) cells. In these CKO mice, development of a subset of e...

There is a paucity of information on the molecular biology of aging processes in the brain. We have used biomarkers of aging (SA β-Gal, p16Ink4a, Sirt5, Sirt6, and Sirt7) to demonstrate the presence of an accelerated aging phenotype across different brain regions in the AS/AGU rat, a spontaneous Parkinsonian mutant of PKCγ derived from a parental AS strain. P16INK4a expression was significantly...

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are known to produce painful neuropathies and to enhance states of pain hypersensitivity produced by HIV-1 infection in patients with AIDS leading to discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy, thus limiting viral suppression strategies. The mechanisms by which NRTIs contribute to the development of neuropathic pain are not known. In the curren...

Phosphoinoisitide dependent kinase l (PDK1) is proposed to phosphorylate a key threonine residue within the catalytic domain of the protein kinase C (PKC) superfamily that controls the stability and catalytic competence of these kinases. Hence, in PDK1-null embryonic stem cells intracellular levels of PKCα, PKCβ1, PKCγ, and PKCε are strikingly reduced. Although PDK1-null cells have reduced endo...