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Caveolae, plasma membrane invaginations particularly abundant in adipocytes, have been suggested to be important in organizing insulin signalling. Insulin-induced activation of the membrane bound cAMP degrading enzyme, phosphodiesterase 3B (PDE3B) is a key step in insulin-mediated inhibition of lipolysis and is also involved in the regulation of insulin-mediated glucose uptake and lipogenesis in a

The role of the 50S particle of Escherichia coli ribosome and its 23S rRNA in the refolding and subunit association of dimeric porcine heart cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase (s-MDH) has been investigated. The self-reconstitution of s-MDH is governed by two parallel pathways representing the folding of the inactive monomeric and the dimeric intermediates. However, in the presence of these folding m

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of thrombosis. Platelet-induced extracellular phosphorylation of plasma proteins suggests that this is due to persistent activation of the platelets. We examined 30 SLE patients (15 with thrombotic disease), 18 non-SLE patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and 50 healthy controls by analysing beta-thromboglobulin, activated

OBJECTIVE: To see if there is a relationship between clinical and laboratory tests of balance, muscular strength and gait in elderly women. DESIGN: A randomized population-based study. SETTINGS: Malmo, Sweden. METHODS: We investigated balance with a simple test of standing on one leg, as well as a computerized balance platform. Muscular strength was tested by computerized dynamometer. Extension an

Mutations in the gene encoding laminin alpha 2 chain cause congenital muscular dystrophy type 1A. In skeletal muscle, laminin alpha 2 chain binds at least two receptor complexes: the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex and integrin alpha 7 beta 1. To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying this disorder, we performed gene expression profiling of laminin alpha 2 chain-deficient mouse limb

In the present study, we have generated a mutant strain of Streptococcus pyogenes, MC25, which lacks M protein on its surface, and we demonstrate that this strain is unable to generate a mature 28 kDa cysteine proteinase. Furthermore, we show that S. pyogenes bacteria of M1 serotype are dependent on cell wall-anchored M protein to cleave the secreted zymogen into a mature cysteine proteinase. We a

Basic helix-loop-helix PAS domain proteins form a growing family of transcription factors. These proteins are involved in the process of adaptation to cellular stresses and environmental factors such as a change in oxygen concentration. We describe the identification and characterization of a recently cloned PAS domain protein termed Npas4 in ischemic rat brain. Using gene expression profiling fol

Background: Between smokers matched for daily tobacco consumption there are marked variations of the cardiovascular risk. This follow up of the population based cohort “Men born in 1914” from Malmö, Sweden, explored whether this is accounted for by the levels of carbon monoxide (CO). Methods: Three hundred and sixty-five men without history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) were followed over 27

The capillary filtration coefficient (CFC) is assumed to reflect both microvascular hydraulic conductivity and the number of perfused capillaries at a given moment (precapillary sphincter activity). Estimation of hydraulic conductivity in vivo with the CFC method has therefore been performed under conditions of unchanged vascular tone and metabolic influence. There are studies, however, that did n

Objective: To evaluate how often low 5-min Apgar scores (AS(5-min)) at term are associated with asphyxia. Study design: A cohort- and case-control study, including all 183 term infants with AS(5-min) below 7 born at Lund University Hospital during 1993-2002, antepartum deaths excluded. The control group included 183 randomly selected term newborns with AS(5-min) 9-10. Cardiotocography (CTG) traces

A key unanswered question in smooth muscle biology is whether phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) is sufficient for regulation of contraction, or if thin-filament-based regulatory systems also contribute to this process. To address this issue, the endogenous RLC was extracted from single smooth muscle cells and replaced with either a thiophosphorylated RLC or a mutant RLC (T

Skeletal muscle trauma and myocardial infarction both increase the serum values of the creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) which may render the diagnosis of perioperative myocardial infarction in major orthopaedic surgery more difficult. The significance of postoperative changes in CK-MB was studied in 30 patients subjected to total hip replacement (THR), and the results were compared to CK-MB in

Defensins represent an evolutionarily conserved group of small peptides with potent antibacterial activities. We report here that extracellular proteinases secreted by the human pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus pyogenes release dermatan sulphate by degrading dermatan sulphate-containing proteoglycans, such as decorin. Dermatan sulphate was found to bind to