A DNA-binding element for a steroid receptor-binding factor is flanked by dual nuclear matrix DNA attachment sites in the c-myc gene promoter

The receptor-binding factor (RBF) for the avian oviduct progesterone (Pg) receptor (PR) has previously been shown to be a unique 10-kDa nuclear matrix protein that generates high affinity PR-binding sites on avian DNA. This paper describes the use of Southwestern blot and DNA gel shift analyses with RBF protein to identify a minimal 54-base pair RBF-binding element in the matrix-associated region (MAR) of the Pg-regulated c-myc gene promoter. This element contains a 5'-GC-rich domain and a 3'-AT-rich domain, the latter of which has a homopurine/homopyrimidine structure. The gel shift assays required the generation of an RBF-maltose fusion protein (RBF-MBP), which specifically binds this element and is supershifted when the anti-RBF polyclonal antibody is added. Computer analysis of the full-length amino acid sequence for RBF predicts a DNA-binding motif involving a beta-sheet structure at the N-terminal domain. Southern blot analyses using nuclear matrix DNA suggests that there are dual MAR sites in the c-myc promoter, which flank an intervening domain containing the RBF element. The co-transfection of this MAR sequence, containing the RBF element and cloned into a luciferase reporter vector, together with an RBF expression vector construct, into steroid treated human MCF-7 cells, results in a decrease of the c-myc promoter activity relative to control transfections containing only the parent vector of the RBF expression construct. These data suggest that a unique chromatin/nuclear matrix structure, composed of the RBF-DNA element complex which is flanked by nuclear matrix attachment sites, serves to bind the PR and repress the c-myc promoter.     

Absence of detectable human herpesvirus 8 in the semen of human immunodeficiency virus-infected men without Kaposi's sarcoma

The prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8)/Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus was investigated in the semen of 99 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected men (median CD4 cell count, 357/mm3) by use of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay capable of detecting <10 copies of HHV-8 DNA. Of the subjects, 95 (96%) self-identified as men who have sex with men (MSM), and 3 had a history of clinical KS. Seminal cell specimens were negative for HHV-8 in 98 subjects. None of the 26 without KS (27.1% of 96 tested) who were seropositive for HHV-8 by IFA for latency-associated nuclear antigens had HHV-8 detected in their semen. The only subject with any evidence for seminal HHV-8 DNA was seropositive for HHV-8 and had active KS. HHV-8 was detected in 10 (10.4%) of 96 peripheral blood mononuclear cell specimens. The prevalence of HHV-8 DNA by PCR in semen of HIV-infected MSM without KS is low.     

A magnetic resonance imaging study of planum temporale asymmetry in men with developmental dyslexia

The influence of ionic strength and composition on the binding and inhibition of human leukocyte elastase by glycosaminoglycans with variable degree and position of sulfation was investigated. The kinetic mechanism of inhibition had a hyperbolic, mixed-type character with a competitive component that was promoted by low ionic strength, reduced by phosphate ions, and which also depended on the substrate and glycosaminoglycan structure. Enzyme binding was a cooperative phenomenon that varied with ionic strength and composition. The inhibition patterns correlated with the cationic character of elastase and with the distribution of arginines on its molecular surface, most notably with residues located in the vicinity of the substrate binding region. The order of affinity for elastase binding was chondroitin 4-sulfate < chondroitin 6-sulfate < dermatan sulfate, iduronate-containing derivatives being superior with respect to the glucuronate-containing counterparts. Additional sulfation at both the 4- and 6- positions or at the N- and 4-positions of the N-acetylgalactosamine moiety decidedly improved the inhibitory efficiency. The results highlight a fundamental physiological role of enzyme-glycosaminoglycan interactions. In the azurophil granule of the human polymorphonuclear neutrophil, elastase and other enzymes are bound to a matrix of chondroitin 4-sulfate because this is the only glycosaminoglycan that simultaneously offers good binding for enzyme compartmentalization together with prompt release from the bound state at the onset of phagocytosis.     

Egg handling and storage

The relative importance of fat and lean tissue mass in determining bone mineral mass among postmenopausal women was examined in this 1-year longitudinal study. Fifty postmenopausal Caucasian women entered the study; 45 of them completed a 1-year follow-up. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was employed for measuring total and regional bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC), fat tissue mass (FTM), lean tissue mass (LTM), and body weight. Results from linear regression analysis using the cross-sectional data (n = 50) of the study indicated that LTM explained a larger percentage of variation in bone mineral mass than did FTM. FTM and LTM were found to be moderately correlated (r = 0.55); when FTM was entered in the same predicting regression models, LTM was a significant predictor (p < 0.05) of the total and regional BMC, but not BMD. The percent FTM (and inversely %LTM) was correlated with BMD and BMC, but significant correlation was primarily found only for total body BMD (or BMC). Weight was the best predictor of total body BMD and BMC. Longitudinally (n = 45), annual changes in both FTM and weight were significantly associated with annual changes in regional BMD after adjustment for initial bone mineral values (p < 0.05). We conclude that bone mineral mass is more closely related to LTM than to FTM, while annual changes in regional BMD are more closely correlated with changes in FTM in healthy postmenopausal women. Meanwhile, increased body weight is significantly associated with increased bone mineral mass.     

Evidence for two types of spatial representations: Hemispheric specialization for categorical and coordinate relations.

Analyses of human object recognition abilities led to the hypothesis that 2 kinds of spatial relation representations are used in human vision. Evidence for the distinction between abstract categorical spatial relation representations and specific coordinate spatial relation representations was provided in 4 experiments. These results indicate that Ss make categorical judgments—on/off, left/right, and above/below—faster when stimuli are initially presented to the left cerebral hemisphere, whereas they make evaluations of distance—in relation to 2 mm, 3 mm, or 1 in. (2.54 cm)—faster when stimuli are initially presented to the right cerebral hemisphere. In addition, there was evidence that categorical representations developed with practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)