2100 MilliporeProtein-Concentrate Kit (Micro)

Exposures to two commercial nanofilm spray products (NFPs), a floor sealant (NFP 1) and a coating product for tiles (NFP 2), were investigated for airway irritation, airway inflammation and lung damage in a mouse inhalation model. The particle-exposure was characterized by particle number, particle size-distribution and gravimetric analysis. BALB/cJ mice were exposed for 60 min to the aerosolized products at 3.3-60 mg/m(3) (10(5) - 10(6) fine particles/cm(3)) measured in the breathing zone of the mice. Lung inflammation and lung damage were assessed by study of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology, protein in BALF and histology. Mass spectral analysis showed that NFP 1 and NFP 2 contained hydrolysates and condensates of a perfluorosilane and alkylsilane, respectively. NFP 1 induced a concentration-dependent decrease of the tidal volume lasting for at least one day. Exposure concentrations above 16.1 mg/m(3) (2.5x10(6) fine particles/cm(3)) gave rise to significant increases of protein level in BALF, reduced body weight, and histological examination showed atelectasis, emphysema and hemorrhages. A narrow interval between the no-effect level (16.1 mg/m(3)) and lethal concentrations (18.4 mg/m(3)) was observed. The alkylsilane based product (NFP 2) had no effect at the concentrations studied. Experiments with different types of perfluorinated silanes and siloxanes showed that the toxic effects did not arise solely from the perfluorination. The number of free hydroxyl groups in the silanes/siloxanes was also critical for the toxicity.

We investigated the ability of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) to activate PPARgamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) in the brain, liver and brown adipose tissue (BAT) of the NLS-N171-82Q transgenic mouse model of Huntington's Disease (HD). In the striatum of the HD mice, the baseline levels of PGC-1alpha, NRF1, NRF2, Tfam, COX-II, PPARdelta, CREB and ERRalpha mRNA, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), were significantly reduced. Administration of the creatine analog beta guanidinopropionic acid (GPA), reduced ATP and PCr levels, and increased AMPK mRNA in both the cerebral cortex and striatum. Treatment with GPA significantly increased expression of PGC-1alpha, NRF1, Tfam, and downstream genes in the striatum and cerebral cortex of wildtype (WT) mice, but there was no effect on these genes in the HD mice. The striatum of the untreated HD mice showed microvacuolation in the neuropil, as well as gliosis and huntingtin aggregates, which were exacerbated by treatment with GPA. GPA treatment produced a significant increase in mtDNA in the cerebral cortex and striatum of WT mice, but not in HD mice. The HD mice treated with GPA had impaired activation of liver PGC-1alpha, and developed hepatic steatosis with accumulation of lipids, degeneration of hepatocytes, and impaired activation of gluconeogenesis. The BAT in the HD mice showed vacuolation due to accumulation of neutral lipids, and age-dependent impairment of UCP-1 activation and temperature regulation. Impaired activation of PGC-1alpha, therefore plays an important role in the behavioral phenotype, metabolic disturbances, and pathology of HD, which suggests the possibility that agents which enhance PGC-1alpha function, will exert therapeutic benefits in HD patients.

PURPOSE: The incidence of malignant melanoma is increasing worldwide in fair-skinned populations. Melanomas respond poorly to systemic therapy, and metastatic melanomas inevitably become fatal. Although spontaneous regression, likely due to immune defense activation, rarely occurs, we lack a biological rationale and predictive markers in selecting patients for immune therapy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We performed unsupervised hierarchical clustering of global gene expression data from stage IV melanomas in 57 patients. For further characterization, we used immunohistochemistry of selected markers, genome-wide DNA copy number analysis, genetic and epigenetic analysis of the CDKN2A locus, and NRAS/BRAF mutation screening. RESULTS: The analysis revealed four distinct subtypes with gene signatures characterized by expression of immune response, pigmentation differentiation, proliferation, or stromal composition genes. Although all subtypes harbored NRAS and BRAF mutations, there was a significant difference between subtypes (P < 0.01), with no BRAF/NRAS wild-type samples in the proliferative subtype. Additionally, the proliferative subtype was characterized by a high frequency of CDKN2A homozygous deletions (P < 0.01). We observed a different prognosis between the subtypes (P = 0.01), with a particularly poor survival for patients harboring tumors of the proliferative subtype compared with the others (P = 0.003). Importantly, the clinical relevance of the subtypes was validated in an independent cohort of 44 stage III and IV melanomas. Moreover, low expression of an a priori defined gene set associated with immune response signaling was significantly associated with poor outcome (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our data reveal a biologically based taxonomy of malignant melanomas with prognostic effect and support an influence of the antitumoral immune response on outcome.

Context: Surfactant is a successful therapeutic based on supplementing preterm infants with a substance that would normally have been up-regulated in late gestation. Although prematurity is associated with oxidative stress, no effective antioxidant therapy has yet been identified. Objective: Our objective was to identify endogenous antioxidants involved in fetal preparation for birth. Design: We performed transcript profiling of fetal rat lung and intestine at 16 d gestational age (dGA) and 20 dGA with out-of-sample validation. Gene expression was then measured in fetal sheep tissues, comparing 1) advancing GA, 2) exogenous maternal dexamethasone (compared with saline, at 130 dGA), and 3) fetal adrenalectomy at 115-118 d on levels at term. Protein levels were compared in human umbilical cord serum using Western blot. Results: Four transcripts were up-regulated more than 20-fold on the array in both rat lung and intestine. One of these, paraoxonase-3 (Pon3), had been identified as a putative circulating antioxidant. Up-regulation of Pon3 mRNA in rat lung, intestine, and liver was confirmed in siblings (all P < 0.001). Pon3 mRNA levels in fetal sheep lung and intestine increased 5.1- and 5.3-fold, respectively (both P < 0.001) between 100 and 145 dGA and were strongly correlated with plasma cortisol (both P < 0.001). Fetal sheep pulmonary Pon3 transcript level was increased 55% (P = 0.01) by dexamethasone and reduced 74% (P < 0.001) by adrenalectomy. Term human infants had more than 6-fold higher umbilical cord serum levels of Pon3 than preterm (24-28 wk GA) infants (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Pon3, a putative circulating antioxidant, was systemically up-regulated in late-gestation rat, sheep, and human fetuses and is a candidate therapeutic in preterm human infants.

Areas and layers of the cerebral cortex are specified by genetic programs that are initiated in progenitor cells and then, implemented in postmitotic neurons. Here, we report that Tbr1, a transcription factor expressed in postmitotic projection neurons, exerts positive and negative control over both regional (areal) and laminar identity. Tbr1 null mice exhibited profound defects of frontal cortex and layer 6 differentiation, as indicated by down-regulation of gene-expression markers such as Bcl6 and Cdh9. Conversely, genes that implement caudal cortex and layer 5 identity, such as Bhlhb5 and Fezf2, were up-regulated in Tbr1 mutants. Tbr1 implements frontal identity in part by direct promoter binding and activation of Auts2, a frontal cortex gene implicated in autism. Tbr1 regulates laminar identity in part by downstream activation or maintenance of Sox5, an important transcription factor controlling neuronal migration and corticofugal axon projections. Similar to Sox5 mutants, Tbr1 mutants exhibit ectopic axon projections to the hypothalamus and cerebral peduncle. Together, our findings show that Tbr1 coordinately regulates regional and laminar identity of postmitotic cortical neurons.

We demonstrate that single interneurons can toggle the output neurons of the cerebellar cortex (the Purkinje cells) between their two states. The firing of Purkinje cells has previously been shown to alternate between an "up" state in which the cell fires spontaneous action potentials and a silent "down" state. We show here that small hyperpolarizing currents in Purkinje cells can bidirectionally toggle Purkinje cells between down and up states and that blockade of the hyperpolarization-activated cation channels (H channels) with the specific antagonist ZD7288 (10 microM) blocks the transitions from down to up states. Likewise, hyperpolarizing inhibitory postsnyaptic potentials (IPSPs) produced by small bursts of action potentials (10 action potentials at 50 Hz) in molecular-layer interneurons induce these bidirectional transitions in Purkinje cells. Furthermore, single interneurons in paired interneuron --> Purkinje cell recordings, produce bidirectional switches between the two states of Purkinje cells. The ability of molecular-layer interneurons to toggle Purkinje cells occurs when Purkinje cells are recorded under whole-cell patch-clamp conditions as well as when action potentials are recorded in an extracellular loose cell-attached configuration. The mode switch demonstrated here indicates that a single presynaptic interneuron can have opposite effects on the output of a given Purkinje cell, which introduces a unique type of synaptic interaction that may play an important role in cerebellar signaling.

The DM domain proteins Doublesex- and MAB-3-related transcription factors (DMRTs) are widely conserved in metazoan sex determination and sexual differentiation. One of these proteins, DMRT1, plays diverse and essential roles in development of the vertebrate testis. In mammals DMRT1 is expressed and required in both germ cells and their supporting Sertoli cells. Despite its critical role in testicular development, little is known about how DMRT1 functions as a transcription factor or what genes it binds and regulates. We combined ChIP methods with conditional gene targeting and mRNA expression analysis and identified almost 1,400 promoter-proximal regions bound by DMRT1 in the juvenile mouse testis and determined how expression of the associated mRNAs is affected when Dmrt1 is selectively mutated in germ cells or Sertoli cells. These analyses revealed that DMRT1 is a bifunctional transcriptional regulator, activating some genes and repressing others. ChIP analysis using conditional mutant testes showed that DNA binding and transcriptional regulation of individual target genes can differ between germ cells and Sertoli cells. Genes bound by DMRT1 in vivo were enriched for a motif closely resembling the sequence DMRT1 prefers in vitro. Differential response of genes to loss of DMRT1 corresponded to differences in the enriched motif, suggesting that other transacting factors may modulate DMRT1 activity. DMRT1 bound its own promoter and those of six other Dmrt genes, indicating auto- and cross-regulation of these genes. Many of the DMRT1 target genes identified here are known to be important for a variety of functions in testicular development; the others are candidates for further investigation.

Two novel haloalkaliphilic archaea, strains CG-6(T) and CG-4, were isolated from sediment of the hypersaline Lake Chagannor in Inner Mongolia, China. Cells of the two strains were pleomorphic, non-motile and strictly aerobic. They required at least 2.5 M NaCl for growth, with optimum growth at 3.4 M NaCl. They grew at pH 8.0-11.0, with optimum growth at pH 9.0. Hypotonic treatment with less than 1.5 M NaCl caused cell lysis. The two strains had similar polar lipid compositions, possessing C(20)C(20) and C(20)C(25) derivatives of phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester. No glycolipids were detected. Comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences and morphological features placed them in the genus Natronorubrum. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to strains of recognized species of the genus Natronorubrum were 96.2-93.8 %. Detailed phenotypic characterization and DNA-DNA hybridization studies revealed that the two strains belong to a novel species in the genus Natronorubrum, for which the name Natronorubrum sediminis sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is CG-6(T) (=CECT 7487(T) =CGMCC 1.8981(T) =JCM 15982(T)).

The signaling mechanisms that mediate the important effects of contraction to increase glucose transport in skeletal muscle are not well understood, but are known to occur through an insulin-independent mechanism. Muscle-specific knockout of LKB1, an upstream kinase for AMPK and AMPK-related protein kinases, significantly inhibited contraction-stimulated glucose transport. This finding, in conjunction with previous studies of ablated AMPKalpha2 activity showing no effect on contraction-stimulated glucose transport, suggests that one or more AMPK-related protein kinases are important for this process. Muscle contraction increased sucrose nonfermenting AMPK-related kinase (SNARK) activity, an effect blunted in the muscle-specific LKB1 knockout mice. Expression of a mutant SNARK in mouse tibialis anterior muscle impaired contraction-stimulated, but not insulin-stimulated, glucose transport. Whole-body SNARK heterozygotic knockout mice also had impaired contraction-stimulated glucose transport in skeletal muscle, and knockdown of SNARK in C2C12 muscle cells impaired sorbitol-stimulated glucose transport. SNARK is activated by muscle contraction and is a unique mediator of contraction-stimulated glucose transport in skeletal muscle.

In working environments, especially in confined spaces like greenhouses, elevated concentrations of airborne microorganisms may become a problem for workers' health. Additionally, the use of microbial pest control agents may increase exposure to microorganisms. The aim of this study was to investigate tomato growers' exposure to naturally occurring bioaerosol components (dust, bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, (1-->3)-beta-D-glucans and endotoxin) and microbial pest control agents applied by drip irrigation. Airborne dust was collected with filter samplers and analyzed for microorganisms by plate counts and total counts in microscope. Analysis of (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan and endotoxin content were performed by kinetic, chromatic Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate tests. The fungal strain (Trichoderma harzianum) from the biocontrol product Supresivit(R) was identified by PCR analysis. Measurements were performed on the day of drip irrigation and one week, one month and three months after the irrigation. T. harzianum from Supresivit(R) could only be detected on the day of treatment. Streptomyces griseoviridis, an applied microbial pest control agent, was not detected in the air during this investigation. We found that bioaerosol exposure increases during the growth season and that exposure to fungi, bacteria, and endotoxin can reach levels during the harvest period, that may cause respiratory symptoms in growers. The collected data indicates that MPCAs applied by drip irrigation do not become airborne later in the season.