L'acide thymonucléique polymérisé, principe paraissant susceptible de déterminer la spécificité sérologique et l'équipement enzymatique des bactéries. Signification pour la biochimie de l'hérédité

Summary Interactions between two types of bacteria can produce either inhibition of the growth of one of these bacteria or transformation of their biochemical or antigenic properties. Authors have shown and studied one case of induction of a new serological specificity and a new enzymic equipment in aBacterium coli. This induction was produced through a substance liberated, during autolysis, by an otherBacterium coli. Active principle is a thymonucleic acid which, maybe, results from a solubilisation of chromosomes of the inductor bacteria. Hypothesis appears likely.     

Structure-activity relationship of endomorphins and their analogs

To study the structure-activity relationship of endomorphins (EMs), the action of opioid receptor binding (AORB), analgesic activity and vasodilator effects of EMs and their eight analogs were investigated, which were prepared by rationally replacing the 2-/3-amino acid (Aa) of EMs. The results showed: (ⅰ) The 2-Aa was comparatively more related to the selectivity of EMs while the 3-Aa to their affinity; (ⅱ) the analgesia and vasodilatation of EMs and their analogs were not completely dictated by their AORB (in vitro), the action of [D-Pro²]EM-2 was unusual; (ⅲ) EMs lost their analgesia in the central nervous system and their vasodilatation in the circulatory system with different mechanisms; the former was due to the degradation of some peptidase, and the latter possibly due to the feedback inhibition.     

Enhancement of calcium current in Aplysia neurones by phorbol ester and protein kinase C

One of the molecular mechanisms capable of regulating the physiological properties of neurones is the phosphorylation of ion channels and other cellular components by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Another protein kinase present in high concentrations in the mammalian brain is protein kinase C (a calcium/phosphatidylserine/diacylglycerol-dependent protein kinase), but there is no direct evidence, as yet, for the involvement of this enzyme in the control of neuronal excitability. We now present evidence that activation of endogenous protein kinase C by the tumour-promoting phorbol ester TPA (12-O-tetradecanoyl- phorbol-13-acetate), or intracellular injection of the purified enzyme, enhances the voltage-sensitive calcium current in bag cell neurones of the mollusc Aplysia.     

Inactivation of the Wip1 phosphatase inhibits mammary tumorigenesis through p38 MAPK-mediated activation of the p16(Ink4a)-p19(Arf) pathway

Modulation of tumor suppressor activities may provide new opportunities for cancer therapy. Here we show that disruption of the gene Ppm1d encoding Wip1 phosphatase activated the p53 and p16 (also called Ink4a)-p19 (also called ARF) pathways through p38 MAPK signaling and suppressed in vitro transformation of mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) by oncogenes. Disruption of the gene Cdkn2a (encoding p16 and p19), but not of Trp53 (encoding p53), reconstituted cell transformation in Ppm1d-null MEFs. In vivo, deletion of Ppm1d in mice bearing mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) promoter-driven oncogenes Erbb2 (also called c-neu) or Hras1 impaired mammary carcinogenesis, whereas reduced expression of p16 and p19 by methylation-induced silencing or inactivation of p38 MAPK correlated with tumor appearance. We conclude that inactivation or depletion of the Wip1 phosphatase with resultant p38 MAPK activation suppresses tumor appearance by modulating the Cdkn2a tumor-suppressor locus.     

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of asthma in ethnically diverse North American populations

Asthma is a common disease with a complex risk architecture including both genetic and environmental factors. We performed a meta-analysis of North American genome-wide association studies of asthma in 5,416 individuals with asthma (cases) including individuals of European American, African American or African Caribbean, and Latino ancestry, with replication in an additional 12,649 individuals from the same ethnic groups. We identified five susceptibility loci. Four were at previously reported loci on 17q21, near IL1RL1, TSLP and IL33, but we report for the first time, to our knowledge, that these loci are associated with asthma risk in three ethnic groups. In addition, we identified a new asthma susceptibility locus at PYHIN1, with the association being specific to individuals of African descent (P = 3.9 × 10(-9)). These results suggest that some asthma susceptibility loci are robust to differences in ancestry when sufficiently large samples sizes are investigated, and that ancestry-specific associations also contribute to the complex genetic architecture of asthma.