51 research outputs found
Dutton, Miss Anna
No full textPhotograph from the C.R. Savage Portrait Studio. Name associated with the photograph: Miss Anna Dutto
"La tecnica degli informatori". Un approccio di tipo etnografico nella ricerca educativa
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An improved method for the detection of nucleotide excision repair factors at local UV DNA damage sites.
No full textAmong different DNA repair processes that cells use to face with DNA damage, nucleotide excision repair (NER) is particularly important for the removal of a high variety of lesions, including those generated by some antitumor drugs. A number of factors participating in NER, such as the TFIIH complex and the endonuclease XPG are also involved in basal processes, e.g. transcription. For this reason, localization of these factors at DNA damage sites may be difficult. Here we have applied a mild digestion of chromatin with DNase I to improve the in situ extraction necessary to detect chromatin-bound proteins by immunofluorescence. We have compared this method with different extraction protocols and investigated its application on different cell types, and with different antibodies. Our results show that a short DNase I treatment before the immunoreaction, enhances the fluorescence signal of NER proteins, such as XPG, DDB2 and XPC. In addition, our findings indicate that the antibody choice is a critical factor for accurate localization of DNA repair proteins at DNA damage sites. In conclusion, a mild DNA digestion with DNase I improves the immunofluorescence detection of the recruitment of NER factors at local DNA damage sites by enhancing accessibility to the antibodies, independently of the cell type
Applying Sequential Rules to Protein Localization Prediction
No full textAbstractIn this paper we present a new classifier based on sequential classification rules for protein localization prediction. We also present three compact representations for encoding, in a concise form, the knowledge available in a classification rule set. Experiments run on the Gram-bacteria data set show that the classifier achieves both high prediction and good recall. Furthermore, since rules can be easily interpreted, biologists can understand classification results. To further improve classification performance, an SVM classifier is used to process data not covered by means of the sequential rule classifier
Increased levels of p21CDKN1A do not inhibit the recruitment of NER factors at DNA damage sites.
No full textP21CDK1NA is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor playing multiple roles also in the DNA damage response. Therapeutic trials have been developed to contrast tumor cell proliferation, by exploiting the p21 ability to arrest the cell cycle; in particular, proteasome inhibitors increase p21 protein levels, impairing tumor cell growth. However, this approach is may be potentially dangerous because high p21 levels inhibit the apoptotic response and allow DNA repair, rendering tumor cells resistant to chemotherapy. We have investigated whether the accumulation of p21 levels, induced by the inhibitor of proteasome MG132, may affect nucleotide excision repair (NER) and apoptosis. The results have shown that MG132 induced persistent increased levels of XPC, PCNA and p21 proteins at local DNA damage sites, together with accumulation of XPG, DNA polymerase δ and CAF-1, suggesting that the presence of p21 protein did not block the recruitment of NER factors interacting with PCNA. Immunoprecipitation experiments have shown that DNA pol δ interacts with an ubiquitinated form of p21. These results indicate that p21 regulates steps of NER before degradation
Biology of the cell cycle inhibitor p21CDKN1A: molecular mechanisms and relevance in chemical toxicology
No full textThe cell cycle inhibitor p21(CDKN1A) is a protein playing multiple roles not only in the DNA damage response, but also in many cellular processes during unperturbed cell growth. The main, well-known function of p21 is to arrest cell cycle progression by inhibiting the activity of cyclin-dependent kinases. In addition, p21 is involved in the regulation of transcription, apoptosis, DNA repair, as well as cell motility. However, p21 appears to a have a dual-face behavior because, in addition to its tumor suppressor functions, it may act as an oncogene, depending on the cell type and on the cellular localization. As a biomarker of the cell response to different toxic stimuli, p21 expression and functions have been analyzed in an impressive number of studies investigating the activity of several types of chemicals, in order to determine their possible harmful effects on human cells. Here, we review these studies in order to highlight the different roles p21 may play in the cell response to chemical exposure and to better evaluate the information provided by this biomarker
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