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The central role of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) in the remodelling process of the human skeleton has been identified in numerous experimental and clinical studies. BMPs appear to be key agents in the osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, and more recent evidence implicates them with the cells of the osteoclastic lineage. BMP-2, BMP-4, BMP-6 and BMP-7 have been studied in t
Intravenous thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator is the only proven acute therapy for ischemic stroke. This therapy has not been translated into clinical practice in the developing world primarily due to economic constraints. Streptokinase, a lower cost alternative thrombolytic agent, is widely available in developing countries where it is utilized to treat patients with acute coronary s
Objective: in Sweden, acupuncture education is required before midwives can use the method in clinical practice. Courses in acupuncture are usually organised by private individuals or companies, and each health facility decides on the adequacy of the educational package. Therefore, there is no overall standard or quality control for free-standing courses of acupuncture education for midwives. The
Shear detection and mechanotransduction by arterial endothelium requires junctional complexes containing PECAM-1 and VE-cadherin, as well as firm anchorage to the underlying basement membrane. While considerable information is available for junctional complexes in these processes, gained largely from in vitro studies, little is known about the contribution of the endothelial basement membrane. Usi
Background Transcriptional regulation of the genes in metabolic pathways is a highly successful strategy, which is virtually universal in microorganisms. The lac operon of E. coli is but one example of how enzyme and transporter production can be made conditional on the presence of a nutrient to catabolize. Methodology With a minimalist model of metabolism, cell growth and transcriptional regula
The gene GAD2 encoding the glutamic acid decarboxylase enzyme (GAD65) is a positional candidate gene for obesity on Chromosome 10p11-12, a susceptibility locus for morbid obesity in four independent ethnic populations. GAD65 catalyzes the formation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which interacts with neuropeptide Y in the paraventricular nucleus to contribute to stimulate food intake. A case-co
Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) control the eukaryotic cell cycle by phosphorylating serine and threonine residues in key regulatory proteins, but some Cdk family members may exert kinase-independent functions that cannot easily be assessed using gene knockout approaches. While Cdk2-deficient mice display near-normal mitotic cell proliferation due to the compensatory activities of Cdk1 and Cdk4, t
Mitochondrial creatine kinase (Mi-CK) isoenzymes, in contrast to cytosolic CKs, form octameric molecules composed of four stable dimers. Octamers and dimers are interconvertible. Removal of the N-terminal pentapeptide of chicken cardiac Mi-CK (Mib-CK) by limited proteolysis drastically destabilized the octamer. The role of the charged amino acids within the N-terminal heptapeptide was studied in d
Specialized epitope tags are widely used for detecting, manipulating or purifying proteins, but often their versatility is limited. Here, we introduce the ALFA-tag, a rationally designed epitope tag that serves a remarkably broad spectrum of applications in life sciences while outperforming established tags like the HA-, FLAG®- or myc-tag. The ALFA-tag forms a small and stable α-helix that is func
Deciphering the assembly history of the Milky Way is a formidable task, which becomes possible only if one can produce high-resolution chrono-chemo-kinematical maps of the Galaxy. Data from large-scale astrometric and spectroscopic surveys will soon provide us with a well-defined view of the current chemo-kinematical structure of the Milky Way, but it will only enable a blurred view on the tempora
Serum response factor (SRF) is a transcription factor that controls the expression of cytoskeletal proteins and immediate early genes in different cell types. Here, we found that SRF expression is restricted to endothelial cells (ECs) of small vessels such as capillaries in the mouse embryo. EC-specific Srf deletion led to aneurysms and hemorrhages from 11.5 days of mouse development (E11.5) and l
RhoH is a small GTPase expressed only in the hematopoietic system. With the use of mice with targeted disruption of the RhoH gene, we demonstrated that RhoH is crucial for thymocyte maturation during DN3 to DN4 transition and during positive selection. Furthermore, the differentiation and expansion of DN3 and DN4 thymocytes in vitro were severely impaired. These defects corresponded to defective T
The relation between use of sunscreens, different host factors and malignant melanoma was investigated in a population-based, matched case-control study of malignant melanoma in the South Swedish Health Care Region, which has the highest risk for melanoma in Sweden, between 1 July 1988 and 30 June 1990. In total, 400 melanoma patients and 640 healthy controls aged 15-75 years answered a comprehens
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a global pandemic. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified >100 genetic variants associated with the disease, including a common variant in the melatonin receptor 1 b gene (MTNR1B). Here, we demonstrate increased MTNR1B expression in human islets from risk G-allele carriers, which likely leads to a reduction in insulin release, increasing T2D risk. Accordin
