51,440 research outputs found

    AKT-dependent phosphorylation of the adenosine deaminases ADAR-1 and -2 inhibits deaminase activity

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    Murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog (AKT) kinases target both cytosolic and nuclear substrates for phosphorylation. Whereas the cytosolic substrates are known to be closely associated with the regulation of apoptosis and autophagy or metabolism and protein synthesis, the nuclear substrates are, for the most part, poorly understood. To better define the role of nuclear AKT, potential AKT substrates were isolated from the nuclear lysates of leukemic cell lines using a phosphorylated AKT substrate antibody and identified in tandem mass spectrometry. Among the proteins identified was adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR)1p110, the predominant nuclear isoform of the adenosine deaminase acting on double-stranded RNA. Coimmunoprecipitation studies and in vitro kinase assays revealed that AKT-1, -2, and -3 interact with both ADAR1p110 and ADAR2 and phosphorylate these RNA editases. Using site-directed mutagenesis of suspected AKT phosphorylation sites, AKT was found to primarily phosphorylate ADAR1p110 and ADAR2 on T738 and T553, respectively, and overexpression of the phosphomimic mutants ADAR1p110 (T738D) and ADAR2 (T553D) resulted in a 50-100% reduction in editase activity. Thus, activation of AKT has a direct and major impact on RNA editing.-Bavelloni, A., Focaccia, E., Piazzi, M., Raffini, M., Cesarini, V., Tomaselli, S., Orsini, A., Ratti, S., Faenza, I., Cocco, L., Gallo, A., Blalock, W. L. AKT-dependent phosphorylation of the adenosine deaminases ADAR-1 and -2 inhibits deaminase activity

    Comparative analysis of a plastination specimen and clinical diagnostic images.

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    JISP vol 8(1) 1994 Comparative Analysis of a Plastination Specimen and Clinical Diagnostic Images Maurizio Ripani, Andrea Bassi, Letizia Perracchio, Maria Letizia Boccoa, Giampaolo Tomaselli, Laura Giacomelli, Silvio Messinet and Giulio Marinozzi Summary An invasive apocrine carcinoma of the perineal glands, involving the anal canal, vagina and vulva was surgically removed from a 62 year-old woman. The specimen was plastinated and macroscopically sectioned serially. The sections were photographed and compared to CT images made prior to surgery to verify and support the accuracy of the clinical diagnostic images

    Responses of subalpine dwarf-shrub heath to irrigation and fertilization.

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    Question: Our study aimed at testing to what extent water and/or nutrients affect community composition in sub-alpine heath. We hypothesized that nutrient addition will have an overall positive effect on heath vegetation but water addition will have greater effects and will probably reinforce the effects of fertilization in drier habitat conditions. Location: Monte Rondinaio, northern Apennines, Italy (44°08' N; 10°35' E, ca. 1850-1930 m a.s.l.). Methods: Nutrients and water were added during five growing seasons in two communities (HV community, moister; EVcommunity, drier) and the biomass of all species was estimated non-destructively by the point-quadrat method. Results: Total above-ground biomass increased in both communities with fertilization due to increased graminoid biomass and decreased moss biomass, but was unaffected by irrigation. In the HV community species richness decreased as an effect of fertilization while in the EV community species richness was raised by irrigation. Conclusions: Our study partly supported our hypothesis since water addition had a stronger effect in the drier community. However, this effect was not revealed by changes in aboveground biomass but rather by differing responses of individual species in the two communities

    Refugial peatlands in the Northern Apennines. Vegetation-environment relationships and future perspectives

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    Aims: We aimed to detect the environmental drivers conditioning plant diversity and to predict how modifications in habitat conditions and ongoing global warming could lead to vegetation changes or biodiversity losses in a region especially rich in peatlands despite its relatively low latitude. Study area: The study area was located in the Northern Apennines, Northern Italy (about 44 degrees 45' N; 10 degrees 20' E). The vegetation study was carried out at 12 peatland sites where 206 plots were set up. Species composition in the 206 plots were recorded in the field and classified with cluster analysis. Data on hydrology, water chemistry and peat chemistry were collected at a subset of 127 plots and statistically analysed by a multivariate ordination method. Species richness and evenness were calculated for all plots. Relationships between species composition and environmental variables were analysed by stepwise multiple regression. Results: The cluster analysis defined 17 vegetation units. Water table depth represented the major environmental factors accounting for vegetation patterns, with the vegetation units being grouped in four main blocks based on vegetation physiognomy and species composition: Sphagnum hummocks, Sphagnum lawns, fens and pools. Water chemistry and peat chemistry both presented moderate variations among the vegetation units with mean water pH ranging from 4.9 to 6.3. Concentrations of major cations in the pore water showed that all of the habitats investigated were influenced by telluric water, with no evidence of ombrotrophic conditions. Species richness and evenness both presented poor relations with the environment while responses of individual species to environmental factors were more informative on vegetation changes triggered by climate change. Conclusions: Prolonged drought events associated with high temperature in summer months are expected to exert a strong impact on peatland vegetation. The main effect of climate change on the vegetation of the peatlands investigated consists in the spreading of vascular plants at the expense of Sphagnum mosses

    Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus supply on growth and flowering phenology of the snowbed forb Gnaphalium supinum L.

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    The warming-induced increase in nutrient mineralization and the further increase in atmospheric nitrogen depositions raise the topic of whether and how alpine plants will react to enhanced nutrient availability. Despite several studies have shown the effects of fertilization on primary production of alpine plants, only few studies have considered the influences of nutrients on reproduction. Here, we investigated the effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) amendments on cover, number of ramets, flowering effort and phenological timing of Gnaphalium supinum, an arctic-alpine widespread snowbed species. We set up an experimental design with four fertilization treatments (low N, P without additional N, low N + P, and high N + P) and an unfertilized control for three years (2003–2005), within a late snowbed located in the Italian Alps (Gavia Pass, 2700 m a.s.l.). The cover of Gnaphalium supinum was recorded at the peak of the aboveground biomass development in the three years, while the temporal dynamic of ramet density and reproductive phenophases were monitored during the 2005 growing season. The clonal growth of G. supinum resulted to be co-limited by N and P, while the flowering effort was stimulated by P. Flowering date was advanced by P supply, while N alone did not show any significant effect on phenology. In a warming scenario, with a predicted increase in N and P availability by nutrient mineralization and atmospheric deposition, this species should probably experience some benefits for its growth and reproduction if not limited by other factors such as the length of the growing season or interspecific competition
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