1,720,969 research outputs found

    Transcriptional control of Nramp 1: a paradigm for the repressive action of c-Myc

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    Slc11a1/Nramp1 (solute carrier family 11 member a1/murine natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 gene) encodes a divalent cation transporter that resides within lysosomes/late endosomes of macrophages. Nramp1 modulates the cellular distribution of divalent cations in response to cell activation by intracellular pathogens. Nramp1 expression is repressed and activated by the proto-oncogene c-Myc and Miz-1 (c-Myc-interacting zinc finger protein 1) respectively. Here we demonstrate, using a c-Myc mutant (V394D, Val394Asp) that is incapable of binding Miz-1, that c-Myc repression of Nramp1 transcription is dependent on its interaction with Miz-1. An oligo pull-down assay demonstrates specific binding of recombinant Miz-1 to the Nramp1 Miz-1-binding site or initiator element(s), and Miz-1-dependent c-Myc recruitment

    Oxidant regulation of the bivalent cation transporter Nramp1

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    Nramp1 (murine natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 gene)/Slc11a1 (solute carrier family 11 member a1 gene) encodes a bivalent-metal/iron transporter that is expressed within late endosomes/lysosomes of macrophages. A functionally null Nramp1 allele that exhibits impaired bivalent cation transport enables excessive growth of intracellular pathogens. Iron is important for many cellular activities, including defence against pathogens; however, redox-active/free iron can participate in Fenton chemistry that generates reactive oxygen species. Using Raw264.7 cells, non-functional for Nramp1, and stable Nramp1 transfectants, we have examined the effects of impaired bivalent cation transport on macrophage function using glutathione depletion as OS (oxidant stress). Our results demonstrate that OS itself is a signal for increasing Nramp1 transcription and that Nramp1 expression protects against OS. We suggest that OS-mediated protection by Nramp1 function may arise from direct removal of redox-active bivalent cations from a cytosolic pool. We show that OS transcriptional responses are probably mediated by the Sp1 transcription factor

    A negative autoregulatory link between Nramp1 function and expression

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    Nramp1 (natural resistance-associated macrophage protein) controls resistance to infection by intracellular pathogens in mice. Nramp1 regulates the microenvironment of the invading pathogen by increasing the luminal iron that participates in the Haber-Weiss reaction, producing radicals that attack the pathogen. We have studied the effect of inflammatory stimuli, iron, and sodium nitroprusside on Nramp1 expression in bone marrow macrophages. Investigations show all three up-regulate Nramp1 expression with a parallel increase in immunoreactivity to an amino-terminal antibody and Nramp1 mRNA. Growth rates are reduced in macrophage cell lines expressing Nramp1. This is through a decrease in iron availability, shown by an increase in IRP2 activity and a reciprocal decrease in conventional protein kinase Cbeta-1 expression. We propose that Nramp1 activity may control its own expression via a negative autoregulatory loop that is important for iron homeostasis and maintenance of low cytoplasmic redox active iron levels in the macrophage

    c-Myc represses the murine Nramp I promoter

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    The Nramp1 (natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1) gene modulates the growth of intracellular pathogens and encodes a divalent cation transporter within lysosomes/late endosomes of macrophages. Nramp1 modulates the cytoplasmic iron pool. Wu, Polack and Dalla-Favera [(1999) Science 283, 676–679] showed reciprocal control of H-ferritin and IRP2 by c-Myc, and suggest that c-Myc regulates genes to increase cytoplasmic iron. A role for c-Myc in Nramp1 regulation was evaluated. Co-transfection studies show that c-Myc represses Nramp1 promoter function. Five non-canonical Myc-max binding sites (E-box) identified within the Nramp1 5´-flanking sequence are not responsible for the inhibitory effects of c-Myc on Nramp1 expression. An initiator(s) adjacent to the transcription-initiation site is a candidate for the inhibition observed. Results are consistent with a role for Nramp1 removing iron from the cytosol and antagonizing c-Myc function

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods
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