International Journal of Biological Sciences

ISSN 1449-2288

International Journal of Medical Sciences

Editor-in-Chief: Chuxia Deng, Mammalian Genetics Section, NIDDK, NIH
Editor-in-Chief's Profile

Indexed/covered by MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, CAS, CABI, Scopus ... Now indexed in Science Citation Index (SCI) Expanded, Current Contents®/Life Sciences (full index information)
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Vertebrate Hox genes regulate many aspects of embryonic body plan development and patterning. In this study, Hostikka et al generated mice carrying a targeted mutation of Hoxc10, a member of the Hox10 paralogous family. Their data revealed a role for Hoxc10 in generating or maintaining the normal complement of lumbar motor neurons. More ...

The promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) is involved in many cellular processes including cell cycle progression, DNA damage response, transcriptional regulation, viral infection, and apoptosis. These cellular activities often rely on the localization of PML to unique subnuclear structures known as PML nuclear bodies (NBs). More than 50 cellular proteins are known to traffic in and out of PML NBs, either transiently or constitutively. In order to understand the dynamics of these NBs, it is important to delineate the regulation of PML itself. PML is subject to extensive regulation at transcriptional, post- transcriptional, and post-translational levels. Many of these modes of regulation depend on the cellular context and the presence of extracellular signals. Here Reineke and Kao reviewed the current knowledge of regulation of PML under normal cellular conditions as well as the role for regulation of PML in viral infection and cancer. More ...

Pulmonary fibrosis is an intractable paranchymal lung disease characterized by persistent alveolitis, accumulation of connective tissue and extracellular matrix, Here, Dr. Inage et al. investigated the potential usefulness of vesnarinone, a novel cytokine inhibitor, for the treatment of lung fibrosis using a murine model of bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Their data indicated that dietary intake of vesnarinone minimized the BLM toxicity as reflected by significant decreases in numbers of inflammatory cells, KC, and soluble TNF receptors in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. A quantitative evaluation of histology demonstrated significantly mild lung parenchymal lesions in BLM-treated mice fed with diet containing high dose of vesnarinone than in the control diet group. Consistent with the histopathology, hydroxyproline levels in lung tissue from BLM-treated mice fed with diet containing vesnarinone were significantly lower than that from mice fed with control diet. We concluded that vesnarinone inhibits BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis, at least in part, by the inhibition of acute lung injuries in the early phase. More ...

SIRT1 has been considered as a tumor promoter because of its increased expression in some types of cancers and its role in inactivating proteins that are involved in tumor suppression and DNA damage repair. However, recent studies demonstrated that SIRT1 levels are reduced in some other types of cancers, and that SIRT1 deficiency results in genetic instability and tumorigenesis, while overexpression of SIRT1 attenuates cancer formation in mice heterozygous for tumor suppressor p53 or APC. In this study, Deng reviewed these recent findings and discussed the possibility that activation of SIRT1 both extends lifespan and inhibits cancer formation. More ...

Compared to mouse, rat is a superior model of human diseases. As technology advances in gene manipulation, a need for genetic rat models has been increasingly pursued. In this study, Zhou et al. generated multiple lines of transgenic rats to express the tetracycline-controlled transactivator (tTA) gene for conditional gene regulation. Expression of the tTA transgene was sufficient to vigorously and ubiquitously activate its reporter gene. Dynamics of doxycycline-regulated gene expression was thoroughly assessed for the first time in rats. For a quick switch between the ON and OFF statuses of tTA-activated gene expression, a complex regime of doxycycline administration was developed: doxycycline was administered at a high dose (500ug/ml) for two days to reach the effective concentration and was then switched to a low dose (20ug/ml) to maintain the effectiveness. Thus, these tTA transgenic lines should be valuable for the development of genetic rat models for human diseases. ... more

The BP1 (Beta Protein 1) gene is overexpressed in 81% of primary breast cancer and its expression is closely correlated with the progression of breast cancer. In this study, Song et al used the chromatin immunoprecipitation on chip (ChIP-on-chip) and gene expression microarray assays to identify candidate target genes and gene networks, which are directly regulated by BP1 in ER negative breast cancer cells. After rigorous bioinformatic and statistical analysis for both ChIP-on-chip and expression microarray gene lists, 18 overlapping genes were noted and verified. Those potential target genes are involved in a variety of tumorigenic pathways, which sheds light on the functional mechanisms of BP1 in breast cancer development and progression. ... more

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

The winners of 2005 Most Cited Paper Award were Ashley C. Bibby and David W. Litchfield, who were issued a certificate together with a cash prize. The winners of 2006 Most Cited Paper Award were JA De Soto, X Wang, Y Tominaga, et al. Details ...

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.