Navigation Links
Signaling pathway linked to fetal alcohol risk
Date:2/20/2013

, L1, projects through the surface of a cell to help it adhere to its neighbors. When Charness and his team introduced the protein to a culture of mouse fibroblasts cells, L1 increased cell adhesion. Tellingly, the effect was erased in the presence of ethanol (beverage alcohol).

Charness and his team went on to develop multiple cell lines from that first culture, and that's where they encountered the riddle: In some of those lines, alcohol disrupted L1's adhesive effect, while in others it did not.

"How could it be possible that a cell that expresses L1 is completely sensitive to alcohol, and others that express it are completely insensitive?" asked Charness, who is also faculty associate dean for veterans hospital programs at HMS and assistant dean at Boston University School of Medicine.

Clearly, something else was affecting the protein's sensitivity to alcohol but what? Studies of twins provided one clue: Identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins to have the same diagnosis, positive or negative, for FASD. "That concordance suggests that there are modifying genes, susceptibility genes, that predispose to this condition," Charness said.

In the current study, Charness' team and collaborators at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill conducted cell culture experiments to identify specific molecular events that contribute to the alcohol sensitivity of L1 adhesion molecules. They focused on what was happening to the L1 molecule inside a cell that could affect an event outside the cell such as disruption by alcohol.

"We found that phosphorylation events that begin inside the cell can render the external portion of the L1 adhesion molecule more vulnerable to inhibition by alcohol," said Xiaowei Dou, HMS instructor in neurology in the Charness Lab and first author on the new study. "Phosphorylation was controlled by the enzyme ERK2, and occurred at a specific location on the internal port
'/>"/>

Contact: David Cameron
david_cameron@hms.harvard.edu
617-432-0441
Harvard Medical School
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. FASEB SRC announces conference: TGF-β Superfamily: Signaling in Development & Disease
2. FASEB SRC announces conference registration open for: NAD Metabolism & Signaling
3. FASEB SRC announces conference registration open for: Histone Deacetylases, Sirtuins, and Reversible Acetylation in Signaling and Disease
4. Waste removal in worms reveals new mechanism to regulate calcium signaling
5. Cholesterol helps regulate key signaling proteins in the cell
6. Researchers describe new molecular interactions behind the inhibition of TGF beta-signaling
7. Ion selectivity in neuronal signaling channels evolved twice in animals
8. Scientists tie DNA repair to key cell signaling network
9. To drive infections, a hijacking virus mimics a cells signaling system
10. Pathway for membrane building blocks
11. Thomas Jefferson University researchers discover new pathways that drive metastatic prostate cancer
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/15/2013)... In the largest clinical trial to date to examine ... carriers with diseases other than breast and ovarian cancer, ... against advanced pancreatic and prostate cancers. Results of the ... Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Sheba Medical ... the American Society of Clinical Oncology,s annual meeting in ...
(Date:5/15/2013)... ITHACA, N.Y. - Clam fossils from the middle Devonian ... yield a better paleontological picture of the capacity of ... change, according to research published today (May 15) in ... to examine species abundance the head counts of ... ecosystems. The research shows that factors such as predation ...
(Date:5/15/2013)... frontier explorer and world-renowned filmmaker James Cameron has been ... Diego as the recipient of the 2013 Nierenberg Prize ... a presentation on his record-setting DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition and ... Friday, May 31, on the UC San Diego campus. ... probe the mysteries and promise of the deep sea ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):PARP inhibitor shows activity in pancreatic, prostate cancers among patients carrying BRCA mutations 2Clam fossils divulge secrets of ecologic stability 2James Cameron to be publicly honored with Scripps Nierenberg Prize 2James Cameron to be publicly honored with Scripps Nierenberg Prize 3James Cameron to be publicly honored with Scripps Nierenberg Prize 4
... on protecting individual species or natural resources. Scientists ... whole ecosystems provide to people is more economically ... the Ecological Society of America (ESA), ecologists will ... conservation. Ecosystem services are the benefits that ...
... N.Y. Combining the specificity of ... of lentiviral vectors gives researchers a powerful tool ... vivo and in vitro. This month,s issue ... www.cshprotocols.org/TOCs/toc8_08.dtl ) features a pair of protocols from ...
... August 2008 - Disease Models & Mechanisms ( ... research and the use of model organisms to advance human ... is a highly anticipated biomedical research journal which officially ... at http://DMM.biologists.org . DMM focuses on ...
Cached Biology News:Evaluating ecosystem services 2Evaluating ecosystem services 3Building bridges between the clinic and the laboratory 2
(Date:5/17/2013)... Dr. Sparano is Professor of Medicine and ... Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Associate Chairman of ... He is also Associate Director for Clinical Research ... Breast Cancer Working Group, a multidisciplinary group of physicians ... also serves as Vice Chair of the National Cancer ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... Photographers know the ... see which branch a bird is sitting on, but spotting ... lens for high-magnification images requires considerable skill. It is a ... the active biomolecules of cells. , Olga Schubert, a doctoral ... her colleagues have now come up with a search aid. ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... May 17, 2013 •    First of its ... for sustainability ,     New facility will help solve ... , Syngenta unveiled its new crop research ... company’s RTP Innovation Center. The first of its kind, ... simulate any agricultural climate and precisely measure plant inputs ...
(Date:5/17/2013)...  Yongye International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YONG ) ... distributor of crop nutrient products in the ... on May 16, 2013, the special committee (the "Special ... Directors") was provided a letter (the "Letter") issued by ... Limited ("Abax") to Full Alliance International Limited ("Full Alliance"). ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Joseph A. Sparano, MD, Named Vice Chair of ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group 2Joseph A. Sparano, MD, Named Vice Chair of ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group 3Proteome atlas for the tuberculosis pathogen 2Proteome atlas for the tuberculosis pathogen 3Syngenta Opens Unique $72 Million Advanced Crop Lab 2Syngenta Opens Unique $72 Million Advanced Crop Lab 3Yongye International Provides Update on Status of Proposed Go Private Offer 2Yongye International Provides Update on Status of Proposed Go Private Offer 3Yongye International Provides Update on Status of Proposed Go Private Offer 4
... in Brussels to bring together community around OpenClinica open source clinical ... ... 2009 -- Akaza Research announces the first annual OpenClinica European Summit. ... Belgium and bring together users, developers, and leading service providers of ...
... -- China-Biotics, Inc.,(Nasdaq: CHBT ... Chinese firm,specializing in the manufacture, research, ... today announced the State Food and ... the production of,several new products, including ...
... Limited (TSX: GEN), a company focused on developing blood-based ... personalized health management, today announced that Mr. Colin T. ... Officer, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer of GeneNews ... has appointed Mr. Sonny Young CA to the role ...
Cached Biology Technology:Registration Open for OpenClinica European Summit - April 14, 2009 2China-Biotics, Inc. Receives Manufacturing Certificate for New Products 2China-Biotics, Inc. Receives Manufacturing Certificate for New Products 3GeneNews announces management changes 2
... for whole-blood clinical diagnostic work in hospitals ... this analyzer makes precise glucose measurements of ... lactate measurements of whole blood, plasma, or ... allows you to have glucose results expressed ...
... This BioSafe room is configured specifically ... and chemical analysis. Panels are precision-joined ... easy to wipe down and disinfect. ... double-wall panel design creates strong, rigid ...
... Phosphate Sensor is a highly sensitive reagent ... product is a purified form of recombinant ... fluorophore MDCC, which is sensitive to changes ... phosphate by Phosphate Sensor is rapid and ...
... This benchtop ductless exhaust hood ... allowing safe indoor release of exhaust. ... contaminants. Over 28" of vertical clearance ... glassware. Includes polypropylene spill tray; options ...
Biology Products: