Decay-accelerating factor (DAF; CD55) is a membrane protein that regulates complement pathway activity at the level of C3. To test the hypothesis that DAF plays an essential role in limiting complement activation in the arterial wall and protecting from atherosclerosis, we crossed DAF gene targeted mice (daf-1(-/-)) with low-density lipoprotein-receptor deficient mice (Ldlr(-/-)). Daf-1(-/-)Ldl...

Gene expression in the pharyngeal muscles of Caenorhabditis elegans is controlled in part by organ-specific signals, which in the myo-2 gene target a short DNA sequence termed the C subelement. To identify genes contributing to these signals, we performed a yeast one-hybrid screen for cDNAs encoding factors that bind the C subelement. One clone recovered was from daf-3, which encodes a Smad mos...

DAF-16 target genes are employed as reporters of the insulin/IGF-1 like signal pathway (IIS), and this is notably true when Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is used to study the action of anti-aging compounds on IIS activity. However, some of these genes may not be specific to DAF-16, even if their expression levels are altered when DAF-16 is activated. Celecoxib was reported to extend the l...

BACKGROUND The infective stage of the parasitic nematode hookworm is developmentally arrested in the environment and needs to infect a specific host to complete its life cycle. The canine hookworm (Ancylostoma caninum) is an excellent model for investigating human hookworm infections. The transcription factor of A. caninum, Ac-DAF-16, which has a characteristic fork head or "winged helix" DNA b...

The DAF-16/FoxO transcription factor controls growth, metabolism and aging in Caenorhabditis elegans. The large number of genes that it regulates has been an obstacle to understanding its function. However, recent analysis of transcript and chromatin profiling implies that DAF-16 regulates relatively few genes directly, and that many of these encode other regulatory proteins. We have investigat...

The decay-accelerating factor (DAF), an integral membrane protein of approximately 75,000 mol wt that regulates the stability of the C3 convertases of the classical and alternative complement pathways, was initially isolated from normal erythrocyte stroma and used to prepare a polyclonal antiserum. Previously, anti-DAF antiserum has been used to immunoprecipitate DAF from surface-labeled normal...

To initiate a system-level analysis of C. elegans DAF-7/TGF-beta signaling, we combined interactome mapping with single and double genetic perturbations. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screens starting with known DAF-7/TGF-beta pathway components defined a network of 71 interactions among 59 proteins. Coaffinity purification (co-AP) assays in mammalian cells confirmed the overall quality of this networ...

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling acts through Smad proteins to play fundamental roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and metabolism. The Receptor associated Smads (R-Smads) interact with DNA and other nuclear proteins to regulate target gene transcription. Here, we demonstrate that the Caenorhabditis elegans R-Smad DAF-8 partners with the nuclear hormone recept...

In response to environmental and dietary cues, the C. elegans orphan nuclear receptor, DAF-12, regulates dauer diapause, reproductive development, fat metabolism, and life span. Despite strong evidence for hormonal control, the identification of the DAF-12 ligand has remained elusive. In this work, we identified two distinct 3-keto-cholestenoic acid metabolites of DAF-9, a cytochrome P450 invol...

It is well known that timing of rhythm production is disrupted by delayed auditory feedback (DAF), and that disruption varies with delay length. We tested the hypothesis that disruption depends on the state of the movement trajectory at the onset of DAF. Participants tapped isochronous rhythms at a rate specified by a metronome while hearing DAF (for piano tones) of differing lengths. Motion ca...