Molecular Biology and Genetics / Moleküler Biyoloji ve Genetik

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/9

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  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 125
    Citation - Scopus: 156
    Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of Edible Zein Films Incorporated With Lysozyme, Albumin Proteins and Disodium Edta
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2007) Mecitoğlu Güçbilmez, Çiğdem; Yemenicioğlu, Ahmet; Arslanoğlu, Alper
    In this study, partially purified lysozyme was incorporated into zein films in combination with chickpea albumin extract (CPAE), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and disodium EDTA. The zein films showed an inherent free radical scavenging activity. Incorporation of lysozyme did not contribute to soluble free radical scavenging activity of zein films. However, the incorporation of lysozyme in combination with CPAE increased the soluble and immobilized free radical scavenging activity of zein films 17% to 25% and almost 84%, respectively. The incorporation of CPAE also improved the distribution of partially purified lysozyme preparation in zein films and enabled the controlled release of lysozyme by reducing its release rate from zein films between 1.5- and 3.5-fold, depending on the concentration of incorporated CPAE. In contrast, the BSA incorporation made distribution of lysozyme more heterogeneous and it did not contribute to the free radical scavenging activity of films significantly. The combinational incorporation of partially purified lysozyme with disodium EDTA · 2H2O or CPAE and disodium EDTA · 2H2O gave zein films effective on Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. This study clearly showed the benefits of using functional protein extracts to control lysozyme distribution and release rate and to improve antioxidant activity in zein films.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 7
    Citation - Scopus: 8
    Checkpoint Deficient Rad53-11 Yeast Cannot Accumulate Dntps in Response To Dna Damage
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2007) Koç, Ahmet; Merrill, Gary F.
    Deoxyribonucleotide pools are maintained at levels that support efficient and yet accurate DNA replication and repair. Rad53 is part of a protein kinase regulatory cascade that, conceptually, promotes dNTP accumulation in four ways: (1) it activates the transcription of ribonucleotide reductase subunits by inhibiting the Crt1 repressor; (2) it plays a role in relocalization of ribonucleotide reductase subunits RNR2 and RNR4 from nucleus to cytoplasm; (3) it antagonizes the action of Sml1, a protein that binds and inhibits ribonucleotide reductase; and (4) it blocks cell-cycle progression in response to DNA damage, thus preventing dNTP consumption through replication forks. Although several lines of evidence support the above modes of Rad53 action, an effect of a rad53 mutation on dNTP levels has not been directly demonstrated. In fact, in a previous study, a rad53-11 mutation did not result in lower dNTP levels in asynchronous cells or in synchronized cells that entered the S-phase in the presence of the RNR inhibitor hydroxyurea. These anomalies prompted us to investigate whether the rad53-11 mutation affected dNTP levels in cells exposed to a DNA-damaging dose of ethylmethyl sulfonate (EMS). Although dNTP levels increased by 2- to 3-fold in EMS treated wild-type cells, rad53-11 cells showed no such change. Thus, the results indicate that Rad53 checkpoint function is not required for dNTP pool maintenance in normally growing cells, but is required for dNTP pool expansion in cells exposed to DNA-damaging agents.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 3
    Citation - Scopus: 3
    Regulation of Mrna Stability Through a Pentobarbital-Responsive Element
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2007) Akgül, Bünyamin; Tu, Chen-Pei D.
    Pentobarbital, a general anesthetic and non-genotoxic carcinogen, can induce gene expression by activating transcription. In the Drosophila glutathione S-transferase D21 (gstD21) gene, pentobarbital's regulatory influence extends to the level of mRNA turnover. Transcribed from an intronless gene, gstD21 mRNA is intrinsically very labile. But exposure to pentobarbital renders it stabilized beyond what can be attributed to transcriptional activation. We aim here to identify cis-acting element(s) of gstD21 mRNA as contributors to the molecule's pentobarbital-mediated stabilization. In the context of hsp70 5′UTR and the 3′UTR of act5C, gstD21 mRNA, minus its native UTRs, is stable. Maintaining the same context of heterologous UTRs, we can reconstitute using the full-length gstD21 sequence the inherent instability of gstD21 mRNA and its stabilization by pentobarbital. Transgenic flies that express these chimeric gstD21 mRNA exhibit decay intermediates lacking 3′UTR, which are not stabilized by PB treatment. The 3′UTR sequence, when inserted downstream from a reporter transcript, stabilizes it 1.6-fold under PB treatment. The analysis of the decay intermediates suggests a polysome-associated decay pattern. We propose a regulatory model that features a 59-nucleotide pentobarbital-responsive element (PBRE) in the 3′UTR of gstD21 mRNA.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 22
    Citation - Scopus: 24
    Prolactin Receptor Gene Expression in Rat Splenocytes and Thymocytes From Birth To Adulthood
    (Elsevier Ltd., 1996) Güneş, Hatice; Mastro, Andrea M.
    In vivo and in vitro studies have indicated that the anterior pituitary hormone prolactin (PRL) is an immunoregulator and functions in the development of the neonatal immune system. In this study, prolactin receptor (PRL-R) expression from birth to adulthood as well as the effect of milk ingestion on the PRL-R expression were examined in splenocytes and thymocytes of neonatal rats. Three approaches were taken to measure PRL-R expression: (i) polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR); (ii) antibody to PRL-R and Western blotting; (iii) antibody to PRL-R and flow cytometry. RT-PCR analysis revealed the short and long form of PRL-R mRNA in both spleen and thymus at every age tested. However, the long form of PRL-R mRNA was always more abundant than that of the short form. In addition, antipeptide antibody against the long form of PRL-R recognized 84 and 42 kD proteins in the spleen, but only the 84 kD protein in the thymus. A monoclonal antibody U6 recognized 38 and 40 kD proteins in both the spleen and thymus. Although the mRNA level of PRL-R was relatively low at birth and increased with age in both the spleen and thymus, the levels of protein bands detected with both antibodies correlated with development in the spleen; whereas the levels remained steady in the thymus. Therefore, we concluded that the expression of PRL-R at the protein level is developmentally regulated in the spleen but not in the thymus. Finally, milk ingestion in the first seven hours decreased the percentage of cells expressing cell surface PRL-R, suggesting that milk-borne PRL may have a direct effect on lymphocytes.