Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) keeps oocytes in meiotic arrest, thereby preventing activation of the key regulators of meiosis, p34cdc2/cyclin B1, (known as maturation-promoting factor (MPF)) and Erk 1 and 2, members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family. The activity of MAPK in oocytes is upregulated by Mos. We previously demonstrated that Mos translation in rat oocytes ...

The goal of this study was to use spectral analysis of EMG data to test the hypothesis that the O2 uptake VO2) slow component is due to a recruitment of fast fibers. Thirteen runners carried out a treadmill test with a constant speed, corresponding to 95% of the velocity associated with maximal VO2. The VO2 response was fit with the classical model including three exponential functions. Electri...

Activated Xenopus laevis eggs undergo a series of surface contractions in response to cell-cycle progression but fall to cleave unless the sperm centrosome is present. These surface contraction waves (SCWs) begin at the animal pole and progress around the egg, occur every cell cycle and precede cleavage [1] [2] [3]. The SCWs are biphasic, comprising a relaxation phase (SCWa) and a contraction p...

It has been suggested that systemic infection, occurring during aging and chronic neurodegenerative diseases, can evoke an immune response that aggravates the progression of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. It has been shown that the AD11 neurodegeneration mouse model, expressing a recombinant anti-nerve growth factor (NGF) antibody, shows a milder phenotype when housed in murine pathog...

The origin of the slow component (SC) of oxygen uptake kinetics, presenting during exercise above the ventilatory threshold (VT), remains unclear. Possible physiologic mechanisms include a progressive recruitment of type II muscle fibers. The purpose of this study was to examine alterations in muscle activity through electromyography (EMG) and mean power frequency (MPF) analysis during heavy cy...

Oocyte meiotic maturation is triggered by different stimuli (hormones, unknown signals through cell interactions) in different species. These stimuli indirectly lead to the activation of a major cell cycle regulating activity, the maturation promoting factor (MPF). Other factors, such as the product of the proto-oncogene c-mos or enzymes of the MAP kinase family, are also involved in the proces...

We measured mitosis-promoting factor (MPF) activity in two cell lines, CHO and HeLa, extensively used at mitosis as inducers in the assay of premature chromosome condensation to study the yield and the repair kinetics of radiation damage in interphase chromosomes of diverse cell lines. We found a 2.5-fold higher MPF activity in HeLa as compared to CHO mitotic cells per mg of crude extract prote...

We measured mitosis-promoting factor (MPF) activity in two cell lines, CHO and HeLa, extensively used at mitosis as inducers in the assay of premature chromosome condensation to study the yield and the repair kinetics of radiation damage in interphase chromosomes of diverse cell lines. We found a 2.5-fold higher MPF activity in HeLa as compared to CHO mitotic cells per mg of crude extract prote...

Levels of maturation-promoting factor (MPF) in oocytes decline after vitrification, and this decline has been suggested as one of the main causes of low developmental competence resulting from cryoinjury. Here, we evaluated MPF activity in vitrified mouse eggs following treatment with caffeine, a known stimulator of MPF activity, and/or the proteasome inhibitor MG132. Collected MII oocytes were...

The mesothelin (MSLN) gene encodes a 71 kilodalton (kDa) precursor protein that is processed into megakaryocytic potentiating factor (MPF), a 31 kDa protein that is secreted from the cell, and mature mesothelin (mMSLN), a 40 kDa cell surface protein. The mMSLN binds to CA125, an interaction that has been implicated in the intra-cavitary spread of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. To better defin...