International Journal of Biological Sciences

ISSN 1449-2288

International Journal of Medical Sciences

Editor-in-Chief: Chuxia Deng, Mammalian Genetics Section, NIDDK, NIH
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NIH Postdoctoral Opening available

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In Celebration of Dr. Mario R. Capecchi's Nobel Prize: This year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to Drs. Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans and Oliver Smithies for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem (ES) cells. This technology, commonly referred to as gene targeting or knockout, is based on homologous recombination between DNA sequences residing in the chromosome and newly introduced DNA to mutate any genes of interesting in mouse genome. ...more

It is hypothesized that cancer stem cells arise either from normal stem cells or from progenitor cells that have gained the ability to self-renew. In this study, Vassilopoulos et al. tested this hypothesis and they found that BRCA1 mutant cancer cells contain a subpopulation of CD24+CD29+ or CD24+CD49f+ cells that exhibit increased proliferation and colony forming ability in vitro, and enhanced tumor-forming ability in vivo. These CD24+CD29+ cells could form tubular structures reminiscent of the mammary ductal tree when grown in three-dimensional cultures, implying that these cancer initiating cells maintain some of the characteristics of the normal stem cells. These data provide evidence that breast cancer stem cells originate from normal stem cells and advance our understanding of BRCA1-associated tumorigenesis with possible implications for future cancer treatment. ... more

Hepatitis B is a common and serious infectious disease in China. Approximately half of the HBV carriers get infected via mother-to- infant transmission. While multiple factors determine the susceptibility to intrauterine HBV infection, Xu et al. (p.111) demonstrated that high frequency of HLA-DRB1*07 increases the susceptibility of the infants to intrauterine HBV infection (OR=6.66, P=0.004). This finding is fundamental for developing new strategies of prophylactic and therapeutic approaches. In a related study, Jia et al. (p.103) successfully screened human antibody Fab fragment against HBsAg; improved the affinity of the Fab by chain shuffling and constructed its dsFv form by PCR-based point mutagenesis method. The dsFv maintains the specificity of the Fab. An expected loss of binding affinity is well compensated by the improved stability of dsFv both in vitro and in vivo. These series of studies have provided direct molecular evidence for the susceptibility to intrauterine HBV infection and offered a novel technique for the production of dsFv against HBsAg for its potential clinic use in disease prevention and therapy.

Several reports have shown that urotensin 2 (UTS2) and its receptor (UTS2R) are involved in glucose metabolism and insulin resistance, which lead to development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in humans. In the present study, we annotated both bovine UTS2 and UTS2R genes and identified 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for the former gene and 14 mutations for the latter gene. Four mutations were genotyped on a Wagyu x Limousin reference population, including 6 F1 bulls, 113 F1 dams and ~250 F2 progeny. Among 12 phenotypes related to fat deposition and fatty acid composition, we observed that the UTS2 gene was significantly associated with the amount of skeletal saturated fatty acids, while its receptor (UTS2R) gene had significant effects on amounts of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, Δ9 desaturase activity for converting 16:0 into 16:1, muscle fat (marbling) score and Longissimus Dorsi muscle area. ...more

Inorganic polyphosphate [poly(P)] is a biopolymer existing in almost all cells and tissues, although its biological functions in higher eukaryotes have not been completely elucidated. In this study, Kawazoe, et al investigated the effect of poly(P) on the cell differentiation of human stem cells via FGF signaling systems. Human dental pulp cells (HDPCs) isolated from human dental pulp show the characteristics of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). HDPCs secreted FGFs and the proliferation of HDPCs was enhanced by treatment with poly(P). Cell surface receptor-bound FGF-2 was stably maintained for more than 40 hours in the presence of poly(P). The phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was also enhanced by poly(P). Microarray analysis showed that expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP1), osteopontin (OPN), osteocalcin (OC) and osteoprotegerin was induced in both HDOCs and MSCs cells by poly(P). ...more

IJBS announces "Most Cited Paper Award" to papers published in the past three years. As of Dec. 31 2007, the top 2 cited papers of 2005 are:

The Multiple Personalities of the Regulatory Subunit of Protein Kinase CK2: CK2 Dependent and CK2 Independent Roles Reveal a Secret Identity for CK2β
Cited by 25
The GAPs, GEFs, and GDIs of heterotrimeric G-protein alpha subunits
Cited by 21

Hence the winners are Ashley C. Bibby and David W. Litchfield, who were issued a certificate together with a cash prize.

Cofactor of BRCA1 (COBRA1) is a BRCA1 binding protein that modulates estrogen-dependent and independent transcription. Its expression is significantly reduced in metastatic and recurrent breast cancer, pointing to a tumor suppressor function in breast cancer development. In this study, Aiyar et al. sought to obtain more direct functional evidence that links COBRA1 with BRCA1 in transcriptional regulation in breast cancer cells. Small hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated gene knockdown and gene expression microarray were used to study the impact of COBRA1 and BRCA1 on global transcription in the same breast cancer cell background. The gene expression profiling study in tissue culture cells uncovers a significant overlap of COBRA1- and BRCA1- regulated genes, many of which have been previously implicated in breast cancer progression. The data shown herein support the notion that COBRA1 and BRCA1 may engage in common gene regulatory pathways to suppress breast cancer progression. ...

IJBS issue cover A peer-reviewed journal publishes articles of significance in all areas of biological sciences in the forms of original research papers, reviews and short research communications.