Managed care shields under fire.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T L Jones.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
GAIP (G Alpha Interacting Protein) is a member of the recently described RGS (Regulators of G-protein Signaling) family that was isolated by interaction cloning with the heterotrimeric G-protein G alpha i3 and was recently shown to be a GTPase-activating protein (GAP). In AtT-20 cells stably expressing GAIP, we found that GAIP is membrane-anchored and faces the cytoplasm, because it was not released by sodium carbonate treatment but was digested by proteinase K. When Cos cells were transiently transfected with GAIP and metabolically labeled with [35S]methionine, two pools of GAIP--a soluble and a membrane-anchored pool--were found. Since the N terminus of GAIP contains a cysteine string motif and cysteine string proteins are heavily palmitoylated, we investigated the possibility that membrane-anchored GAIP might be palmitoylated. We found that after labeling with [3H]palmitic acid, the membrane-anchored pool but not the soluble pool was palmitoylated. In the yeast two-hybrid system, GAIP was found to interact specifically with members of the G alpha i subfamily, G alpha i1, G alpha i2, G alpha i3, G alpha z, and G alpha o, but not with members of other G alpha subfamilies, G alpha s, G alpha q, and G alpha 12/13. The C terminus of G alpha i3 is important for binding because a 10-aa C-terminal truncation and a point mutant of G alpha i3 showed significantly diminished interaction. GAIP interacted preferentially with the activated (GTP) form of G alpha i3, which is in keeping with its GAP activity. We conclude that GAIP is a membrane-anchored GAP with a cysteine string motif. This motif, present in cysteine string proteins found on synaptic vesicles, pancreatic zymogen granules, and chromaffin granules, suggests GAIP's possible involvement in membrane trafficking.
Hormonal activation of Gs, the stimulatory regulator of adenylyl cyclase, promotes dissociation of alpha s from G beta gamma, accelerates removal of covalently attached palmitate from the G alpha subunit, and triggers release of a fraction of alpha s from the plasma membrane into the cytosol. To elucidate relations among these three events, we assessed biochemical effects in vitro of attached palmitate on recombinant alpha s prepared from Sf9 cells. In comparison to the unpalmitoylated protein (obtained from cytosol of Sf9 cells, treated with a palmitoyl esterase, or expressed as a mutant protein lacking the site for palmitoylation), palmitoylated alpha s (from Sf9 membranes, 50% palmitoylated) was more hydrophobic, as indicated by partitioning into TX-114, and bound beta gamma with 5-fold higher affinity. beta gamma protected GDP-bound alpha s, but not alpha s-GTP[gamma S], from depalmitoylation by a recombinant esterase. We conclude that beta gamma binding and palmitoylation reciprocally potentiate each other in promoting membrane attachment of alpha s and that dissociation of alpha s.GTP from beta gamma is likely to mediate receptor-induced alpha s depalmitoylation and translocation of the protein to cytosol in intact cells.
G-proteins of the alphaq family link extracellular stimulation of plasma membrane receptors to phospholipase C and consequently to intracellular Ca2+ release. Because they might function in initiating Ca2+ release at fertilization, we examined Galphaq family proteins in oocytes and eggs of Xenopus laevis. Three members of this protein family were identified by immunoblotting and antisense depletion. These proteins are barely detectable in the immature oocyte, but undergo a 6-fold increase in amount during oocyte maturation. This increase in Galphaq family protein expression correlates with the acquisition, during oocyte maturation, of the ability to release Ca2+ at fertilization (Schlichter and Elinson, 1981, Dev. Biol. 83, 33-41). In contrast, amounts of Galphas and Galphai3 are constant during maturation. We also examined the amounts of Galphaq, Galphas, and Galphai3 proteins during early development. While amounts of Galphas and Galphai3 show little or no change, Galphaq family protein expression increases 27-fold between the egg and neurula stages, suggesting that these proteins may be important in initiating Ca2+ release during early development.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Dozens of the laboratory's employees work in what used to be animal pens, the drain holes on the floors now covered with linoleum, the rooms still tiny and cramped. Knocking down a few walls would help, but they're full of asbestos, which would mean enormous renovation costs and lots of down-time. Hallways in the crowded three-story building are clogged with numerous pieces of equipment and thousands of water samples stacked on metal carts. In many passageways, employees cannot walk two abreast.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.