The membrane-bound ceruloplasmin homolog hephaestin plays a critical role in intestinal iron absorption. The aims of this study were to clone the rat hephaestin gene and to examine its expression in the gastrointestinal tract in relation to other genes encoding iron transport proteins. The rat hephaestin gene was isolated from intestinal mRNA and w...
Published in Journal of Evolutionary Biochemistry and Physiology
Usefulness of complex analysis of evolution of regulatory mechanisms of trophic function, including not only processes of exo- and endotrophy, but also metabolism, is substantiated on the basis of some data on regulation of metabolism and processes of exotrophy in fish, and also on polyfunctionality and polypotentiality of endocrine and digestive s...
The aim of this work was to study the structure of the parasite communities of Digeneans of 2 families of Teleost fishes (Sparidae and Labridae) of the Mediterranean sea. We tried to quantify the importance of both the microhabitat requirements of the parasite species and the effect of host biological factors on the parasite communities. We applied...
The overall aim of this thesis was to determine how natural killer (NK) cells regulate virus infections in vivo. Anti-viral mechanisms by which NK cells control murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection in the spleens and livers of adult C57BL/6 mice were first studied, revealing different mechanisms of control in different organs. Three days post-in...
Osteopetrosis is a metabolic bone disease in mammals characterized by a generalized skeletal sclerosis caused by reduced bone resorption. This reduced bone resorption is manifested in afflicted animals by abnormal bone shape, reduced or absent marrow cavities, extramedullary hemopoiesis, abnormal mineral homeostasis and absent or delayed tooth erup...
Bile acid metabolism is integrally involved in cholesterol homeostasis in mammals because it is the major means by which cholesterol is eliminated from the body. We have undertaken an effort to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of bile acid metabolism by isolating and characterizing the cDNA and gene for an enzyme that hydrox...
A heptapeptide was isolated from brain-corpora cardiaca-corpora allata-suboesophageal ganglion extracts of the locust, Locusta migratoria. Biological activity was monitored during HPLC purification by observing the myotropic effect of column fractions on the isolated hindgut of Leucophaea maderae. The primary structure of this myotropic peptide was...
In mammals, newly synthesized proteins destined for secretion are translocated cotranslationally into the lumen of the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER). Once inside, these nascent polypeptide chains are bound by a lumenal ER protein called BiP (Immunoglobulin Binding Protein) or Grp 78 (Glucose Regulated Protein 78). It is hypothesized that this binding ...
Primary chick embryo liver cells were used to explore the regulation of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase and heme oxygenase, the enzymes that catalyze the rate-limiting reactions of heme anabolism and catabolism, respectively. The general focus of the work was the exploration of the novel observation in which glutethimide and iron synergistically ind...
1. An elastase-like enzyme was purified from the pyloric caeca of rainbow trout by hydrophobic interaction, cation exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. 2. The approximate molecular weight of the elastase was 27 kDa and the isoelectric point was remarkably basic. 3. The pH optimum of this enzyme was 8.0, when assayed with Succinyl-Ala-Ala-Ala...
