In forensic medicine, DNA fingerprinting for human identification and paternity testing is becoming a necessary procedure. The genetic locus D1S80 (MCT118) with Hinf I polymorphism of its 5' flanking sequence, HUMTH01 and D21S11 have been successfully amplified from human genomic DNA isolated from blood (50 ng from each sample) by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotide primers complementary to the flanking sequences as primers

At present, DNA fingerprinting for human identification and paternity testing is a necessary and usual procedure. D1S80 is one of the best known polymorphic loci showing a VNTR, and exhibiting a high heterozygosity. This genetic locus, with a Tsp 509 I polymorphism of its 5' flanking sequence (1, 9), have been successfully amplified from human genomic DNA isolated from blood. The Tsp 509 I polymorphism was detected by restriction after PCR amplification.

Small GTPases from the Rab/Ypt family regulate events of vesicular traffic in eukaryotic cells. For their activity, Rab proteins require a posttranslational modification that is conferred by Rab geranylgeranyltransferase (RabGGTase), which attaches geranylgeranyl moieties onto two cysteines of their C terminus. RabGGTase is present in both lower and higher eukaryotes in the form of heterodimers composed of alpha and beta subunits. However, the alpha

Rab GTPases are post-translationally geranylgeranylated on their C-terminal cysteines by Rab geranylgeranyl transferase (RabGGTase) and this modification is essential for their biological activity. Rab Escort Protein (REP) is a molecular chaperone that assists in the prenylation reaction carried out by RabGGTase. Mutations in the REP-1 gene lead to progressive retinal degradation and blindness in humans. Despite the significant interest in REP proteins,

Vascular injury increases nitric oxide (NO) levels, and this effect may play a counterregulatory role in neointima formation, by decreasing vascular smooth muscle cell motility. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect are not well established. We tested the hypothesis that NO decreases cell motility by increasing the activity of a protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP), PTP-PEST, in cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells. Two NO donors increased

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) both play important roles in vascular remodeling. Moreover, nitric oxide (NO) is well established as a counterregulatory agent that opposes the actions of several vascular agonists, in part by decreasing smooth muscle motility. We tested the hypothesis that NO blocks insulin or IGF-I-induced rat aortic smooth muscle cell motility via a mechanism involving the attenuation of agonist-induced elevation