Development and function of T cells in mice rendered interleukin-2 deficient by gene targeting.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a lymphocytotropic hormone which is thought to have a key role in the immune response of mammalian cells. It is produced by a subpopulation of activated T-lymphocytes and acts in vitro as the principal auto- and paracrine T-cell growth factor (for reviews see refs 1-3). IL-2 is, however, not the sole T-cell growth factor, nor does it act exclusively on T cells, also promoting growth of NK cells and differentiation of B cells. A role for IL-2 in T-cell development has been postulated but remains controversial. Here we test the requirement for IL-2 in vivo using IL-2-deficient mice generated by targeted recombination. We find that mice homozygous for the IL-2 gene mutation are normal with regard to thymocyte and peripheral T-cell subset composition, but that a dysregulation of the immune system is manifested by reduced polyclonal in vitro T-cell responses and by dramatic changes in the isotype levels of serum immunoglobulins.     

The Huntington's disease candidate region exhibits many different haplotypes.

Analysis of 78 Huntington's disease (HD) chromosomes with multi-allele markers revealed 26 different haplotypes, suggesting a variety of independent HD mutations. The most frequent haplotype, accounting for about one third of disease chromosomes, suggests that the disease gene is between D4S182 and D4S180. However, the paucity of an expected class of chromosomes that can be related to this major haplotype by assuming single crossovers may reflect the operation of other mechanisms in creating haplotype diversity. Some of these mechanisms sustain alternative scenarios that do not require a multiple mutational origin for HD and/or its positioning between D4S182 and D4S180.     

应力、应力纤维、Rho三者关系的研究进展

应力影响细胞的形状和骨架结构并因此控制许多与组织发展有关的关键行为，因此应力作用下细胞的种种响应问题成为生物力学目前最热的研究领域，应力纤维、Rho在研究应力信号如何被细胞感受过程中占据核心地位并已成为研究者关注的重点。本文依据国内外近几年进行的细胞对应力响应的研究进展对应力、应力纤维、Rho三者的相互关系进行了综述。     

Preliminary data on the chromosome cycle ofLycœides idas L.

Riassunto Nella specieLycides idas L. si osservano variazioni numeriche dei cromosomi anche nelle spermatogonie di uno stesso individuo. Questo fatto è posto in relazione con la presenza nelle femmine dei caratteri secondari dei due sessi, come risultato dell'unione tra gameti con assetti sbilanciati.     

Solid-state Synthesis of Carbon-nanostructures

1 Results In addition to single wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes[1], several structures,which are more or less related to fullerenes,including carbon nanohorns[2a], carbon nanospheres[2b] and onion like carbon structures[2c] have been reported.A new simple straight forward method to access some of these structures is the solid-state pyrolysis of different organometallic complexes in a sealed vessel,which led so far to carbon nanotubes[3a,b], carbon nanocables[3c] and onions[3d].