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Showing papers by "Kettering University published in 2002"


Journal ArticleDOI
31 May 2002-Cell
TL;DR: In this article, BM ablation induces SDF-1, which upregulates MMP-9 expression, and causes shedding of sKitL and recruitment of c-Kit+ stem/progenitors.

1,795 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors showed that blocking the recruitment of these vascular precursors might provide a novel approach to blocking tumour angiogenesis by inhibiting the vasculature recruitment.
Abstract: Summary Tumours recruit neighbouring blood vessels and vascular endothelial cells to support their own blood supply. Recent evidence has indicated, however, that tumours are also capable of mobilizing bone-marrow-derived endothelial precursor cells, inducing them to migrate to the tumour and become incorporated into the developing vasculature. Tumour-derived angiogenic factors promote the recruitment of these cells, which include circulating endothelial progenitor cells and haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. As clinical trials with anti-angiogenic agents have been confronted with therapeutic hurdles, inhibiting the recruitment of these vascular precursors might provide a novel approach to blocking tumour angiogenesis.

697 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Functional vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR1) is expressed on human CD34+ and mouse Lin−Sca-1+c-Kit+ BM-repopulating stem cells, conveying signals for recruitment of HSCs and reconstitution of hematopoiesis.
Abstract: The mechanism by which angiogenic factors recruit bone marrow (BM)-derived quiescent endothelial and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is not known. Here, we report that functional vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR1) is expressed on human CD34+ and mouse Lin−Sca-1+c-Kit+ BM-repopulating stem cells, conveying signals for recruitment of HSCs and reconstitution of hematopoiesis. Inhibition of VEGFR1, but not VEGFR2, blocked HSC cell cycling, differentiation and hematopoietic recovery after BM suppression, resulting in the demise of the treated mice. Placental growth factor (PlGF), which signals through VEGFR1, restored early and late phases of hematopoiesis following BM suppression. PlGF enhanced early phases of BM recovery directly through rapid chemotaxis of VEGFR1+ BM-repopulating and progenitor cells. The late phase of hematopoietic recovery was driven by PlGF-induced upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase-9, mediating the release of soluble Kit ligand. Thus, PlGF promotes recruitment of VEGFR1+ HSCs from a quiescent to a proliferative BM microenvironment, favoring differentiation, mobilization and reconstitution of hematopoiesis.

683 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The studies support a model for KIR haplotype diversity based on six basic gene compositions, and suggest that the centromeric half of the KIR genomic region is comprised of three major combinations, while the telomeric half can assume a short form with either 2DS4 or KIR1D or a long form with multiple combinations of several stimulatory KIR genes.
Abstract: Killer Ig-like receptor (KIR) genes constitute a multigene family whose genomic diversity is achieved through differences in gene content and allelic polymorphism. KIR haplotypes containing a single activating KIR gene (A-haplotypes), and KIR haplotypes with multiple activating receptor genes (B-haplotypes) have been described. We report the evaluation of KIR gene content in extended families, sibling pairs, and an unrelated Caucasian panel through identification of the presence or absence of 14 KIR genes and 2 pseudogenes. Haplotype definition included subtyping for the expressed and nonexpressed KIR2DL5 variants, for two alleles of pseudogene 3DP1, and for two alleles of 2DS4, including a novel 2DS4 allele, KIR1D. KIR1D appears functionally homologous to the rhesus monkey KIR1D and likely arose as a consequence of a 22 nucleotide deletion in the coding sequence of 2DS4, leading to disruption of Ig-domain 2D and a premature termination codon following the first amino acid in the putative transmembrane domain. Our investigations identified 11 haplotypes within 12 families. From 49 sibling pairs and 17 consanguineous DNA samples, an additional 12 haplotypes were predicted. Our studies support a model for KIR haplotype diversity based on six basic gene compositions. We suggest that the centromeric half of the KIR genomic region is comprised of three major combinations, while the telomeric half can assume a short form with either 2DS4 or KIR1D or a long form with multiple combinations of several stimulatory KIR genes. Additional rare haplotypes can be identified, and may have arisen by gene duplication, intergenic recombination, or deletions.

387 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
08 Feb 2002-Science
TL;DR: It is proposed that Lpd, SucB, AhpD, and AhpC together constitute a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (reduced)–dependent peroxidase and peroxynitrite reductase, which represents a class of thioredoxin-like molecules that enables an antioxidant defense in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Abstract: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) mounts a stubborn defense against oxidative and nitrosative components of the immune response. Dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (Lpd) and dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase (SucB) are components of alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complexes that are central to intermediary metabolism. We find that Lpd and SucB support Mtb's antioxidant defense. The peroxiredoxin alkyl hydroperoxide reductase (AhpC) is linked to Lpd and SucB by an adaptor protein, AhpD. The 2.0 angstrom AhpD crystal structure reveals a thioredoxin-like active site that is responsive to lipoamide. We propose that Lpd, SucB (the only lipoyl protein detected in Mtb), AhpD, and AhpC together constitute a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (reduced)-dependent peroxidase and peroxynitrite reductase. AhpD thus represents a class of thioredoxin-like molecules that enables an antioxidant defense.

377 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The 5′ cap is a unique feature of eukaryotic cellular and viral messenger RNA that is absent from the bacterial and archaeal domains of life and the structure and genetic organization of the component enzymes vary between species.
Abstract: The 5' cap is a unique feature of eukaryotic cellular and viral messenger RNA that is absent from the bacterial and archaeal domains of life. The cap is formed by three enzymatic reactions at the 5' terminus of nascent mRNAs. Although the capping pathway is conserved in all eukaryotes, the structure and genetic organization of the component enzymes vary between species. These differences provide insights into the evolution of eukaryotes and eukaryotic viruses.

337 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
21 Feb 2002-Nature
TL;DR: The data suggest that RNAPII stalled at a DNA lesion triggers a coordinated rescue mechanism that requires the Rad26–Def1 complex, and that Def1 enables ubiquitination and proteolysis of RNAP II when the lesion cannot be rapidly removed by Rad26-promoted DNA repair.
Abstract: Eukaryotic cells use multiple, highly conserved mechanisms to contend with ultraviolet-light-induced DNA damage1. One important response mechanism is transcription-coupled repair (TCR), during which DNA lesions in the transcribed strand of an active gene are repaired much faster than in the genome overall2. In mammalian cells, defective TCR gives rise to the severe human disorder Cockayne's syndrome (CS)3. The best-studied CS gene, CSB, codes for a Swi/Snf-like DNA-dependent ATPase, whose yeast homologue is called Rad26 (ref. 4). Here we identify a yeast protein, termed Def1, which forms a complex with Rad26 in chromatin. The phenotypes of cells lacking DEF1 are consistent with a role for this factor in the DNA damage response, but Def1 is not required for TCR. Rather, def1 cells are compromised for transcript elongation, and are unable to degrade RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) in response to DNA damage. Our data suggest that RNAPII stalled at a DNA lesion triggers a coordinated rescue mechanism that requires the Rad26–Def1 complex, and that Def1 enables ubiquitination and proteolysis of RNAPII when the lesion cannot be rapidly removed by Rad26-promoted DNA repair.

248 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The cloning and expression of CA125 antigen opens the way to an understanding of its function in normal and malignant cells.
Abstract: Serum assays based on the CA125 antigen are widely used in the monitoring of patients with ovarian cancer; however very little is known about the molecular nature of the CA125 antigen. We recently cloned a partial cDNA (designated MUC16) that codes for a new mucin that is a strong candidate for being the CA125 antigen. This assignment has now been confirmed by transfecting a partial MUC16 cDNA into 2 CA125-negative cell lines and demonstrating the synthesis of CA125 by 3 different assays. Of the 3 antibodies (OC125, M11 and VK-8) tested on the transfected cells, only the first 2 were strongly positive, indicating the differential expression of the CA125 epitopes in these cells. The cloning and expression of CA125 antigen opens the way to an understanding of its function in normal and malignant cells.

247 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results strongly support the emerging hypothesis that a vertebrate analog of the planar polarity pathway governs convergent extension movements.
Abstract: The signaling mechanisms that specify, guide and coordinate cell behavior during embryonic morphogenesis are poorly understood. We report that a Xenopus homolog of the Drosophila planar cell polarity gene strabismus (stbm) participates in the regulation of convergent extension, a critical morphogenetic process required for the elongation of dorsal structures in vertebrate embryos. Overexpression of Xstbm, which is expressed broadly in early development and subsequently in the nervous system, causes severely shortened trunk structures; a similar phenotype results from inhibiting Xstbm translation using a morpholino antisense oligo. Experiments with Keller explants further demonstrate that Xstbm can regulate convergent extension in both dorsal mesoderm and neural tissue. The specification of dorsal tissues is not affected. The Xstbm phenotype resembles those obtained with several other molecules with roles in planar polarity signaling, including Dishevelled and Frizzled-7 and -8. Unlike these proteins, however, Stbm has little effect on conventional Wnt/β-catenin signaling in either frog or fly assays. Thus our results strongly support the emerging hypothesis that a vertebrate analog of the planar polarity pathway governs convergent extension movements.

236 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2002-Blood
TL;DR: The acute myelogenous leukemia-1 (AML1)-ETO fusion protein is generated by the t(8;21), which is found in 40% of AMLs of the French-American-British M2 subtype as mentioned in this paper.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work has identified recessive ENU-induced mutations in six genes that prevent normal specification of ventral cell types in the spinal cord, and positionally cloned the genes responsible for two of the mutant phenotypes, smoothened and dispatched, which are homologs of Drosophila Hh pathway components.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The structure rationalizes the different specificities of T4 and eukaryotic Pnk and suggests a model for the assembly of the tetramer.
Abstract: T4 polynucleotide kinase (Pnk), in addition to being an invaluable research tool, exemplifies a family of bifunctional enzymes with 5′-kinase and 3′-phosphatase activities that play key roles in RNA and DNA repair. T4 Pnk is a homotetramer composed of a C-terminal phosphatase domain and an N-terminal kinase domain. The 2.0 Å crystal structure of the isolated kinase domain highlights a tunnel-like active site through the heart of the enzyme, with an entrance on the 5′ OH acceptor side that can accommodate a single-stranded polynucleotide. The active site is composed of essential side chains that coordinate the β phosphate of the NTP donor and the 3′ phosphate of the 5′ OH acceptor, plus a putative general acid that activates the 5′ OH. The structure rationalizes the different specificities of T4 and eukaryotic Pnk and suggests a model for the assembly of the tetramer.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Structural biologists have embraced high-throughput biology by developing and implementing technologies that will enable the structures of hundreds of protein domains to be solved in a relatively short time.
Abstract: Progress in understanding the organization and sequences of genes in model organisms and humans is rapidly accelerating. Although genome sequences from prokaryotes have been available for some time, only recently have the genome sequences of several eukaryotic organisms been reported, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, Arabidopsis thaliana, and humans (Green 2001). A logical continuation of this line of scientific inquiry is to understand the structure and function of all genes in simple and complex organisms, including the pathways leading to the organization and biochemical function of macromolecular assemblies, organelles, cells, organs, and whole life forms. Such investigations have been variously called integrative or systems biology and -omics or high-throughput biology (Ideker et al. 2001, Greenbaum et al. 2001, Vidal 2001). These studies have blossomed because of advances in technologies that allow highly parallel examination of multiple genes and gene products as well as a vision of biology that is not purely reductionist. Although a unified understanding of biological organisms is still far in the future, new high-throughput biological approaches are having a drastic impact on the scientific mainstream. One offshoot of the high-throughput approach, which directly leverages the accumulating gene sequence information, involves mining the sequence data to detect important evolutionary relationships, to identify the basic set of genes necessary for independent life, and to reveal important metabolic processes in humans and clinically relevant pathogens. Programs such as MAGPIE (www.genomes.rockefeller.edu/magpie/magpie.html) compare organisms at a whole genome level (Gaasterland and Sensen 1996; Gaasterland and Ragan 1998) and ask what functions are conferred by the new genes that have evolved in higher organisms (Gaasterland and Oprea 2001). Concurrent with computational annotations of gene structure and function, thousands of full-length ORFs from yeast and higher eukaryotes have become available because of advances in cloning and other molecular biology techniques (Walhout et al. 2000a). Structural biologists have embraced high-throughput biology by developing and implementing technologies that will enable the structures of hundreds of protein domains to be solved in a relatively short time. Although thousands of structures are deposited annually in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), most are identical or very similar in sequence to a structure previously existing in the data bank, representing structures of mutants or different ligand bound states (Brenner et al. 1997). Providing structural information for a broader range of sequences requires a focused effort on determining structure for sequences that are divergent from those already in the database. Although structure does not always elucidate function, in many instances (including the structures of two proteins reported here) the atomic structure readily provides insight into the function of a protein whose function was previously unknown. Typically, such functional annotations are based on homologies that are not recognizable at the sequence level but that are clearly revealed on inspection of the protein fold, identification of a conserved constellation of side-chain functionalities, or by the observation of cofactors associated with function (Burley et al. 1999; Shi et al. 2001; Bonanno et al. 2002).

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Rnl2 exemplifies a distinct ligase family, defined by variant motifs, that includes the trypanosome-editing ligases and a group of putative RNA ligases encoded by eukaryotic viruses and many species of archaea and have implications for the evolution of covalent nucleotidyl transferases and virus-host dynamics based on RNA restriction and repair.
Abstract: RNA ligases participate in repair, splicing, and editing pathways that either reseal broken RNAs or alter their primary structure. Bacteriophage T4 RNA ligase (gp63) is the best-studied member of this class of enzymes, which includes yeast tRNA ligase and trypanosome RNA-editing ligases. Here, we identified another RNA ligase from the bacterial domain—a second RNA ligase (Rnl2) encoded by phage T4. Purified Rnl2 (gp24.1) catalyzes intramolecular and intermolecular RNA strand joining through ligase-adenylate and RNA-adenylate intermediates. Mutational analysis identifies amino acids required for the ligase-adenylation or phosphodiester synthesis steps of the ligation reaction. The catalytic residues of Rnl2 are located within nucleotidyl transferase motifs I, IV, and V that are conserved in DNA ligases and RNA capping enzymes. Rnl2 has scant amino acid similarity to T4 gp63. Rather, Rnl2 exemplifies a distinct ligase family, defined by variant motifs, that includes the trypanosome-editing ligases and a group of putative RNA ligases encoded by eukaryotic viruses (baculoviruses and an entomopoxvirus) and many species of archaea. These findings have implications for the evolution of covalent nucleotidyl transferases and virus-host dynamics based on RNA restriction and repair.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Analytical characteristics of HSM as applied to the determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in water are presented.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, mesoscopic simulations of microstructural evolution during curvature driven grain growth in two-dimensions using anisotropic grain boundary properties obtained from atomistic simulations were employed to determine the energies and mobilities of grain boundaries as a function of boundary misorientation.
Abstract: We have performed mesoscopic simulations of microstructural evolution during curvature driven grain growth in two-dimensions using anisotropic grain boundary properties obtained from atomistic simulations. Molecular dynamics simulations were employed to determine the energies and mobilities of grain boundaries as a function of boundary misorientation. The mesoscopic simulations were performed both with the Monte Carlo Potts model and the phase field model. The Monte Carlo Potts model and phase field model simulation predictions are in excellent agreement. While the atomistic simulations demonstrate strong anisotropies in both the boundary energy and mobility, both types of microstructural evolution simulations demonstrate that anisotropy in boundary mobility plays little role in the stochastic evolution of the microstructure (other than perhaps setting the overall rate of the evolution. On the other hand, anisotropy in the grain boundary energy strongly modifies both the topology of the polycrystalline microstructure the kinetic law that describes the temporal evolution of the mean grain size. The underlying reasons behind the strongly differing effects of the two types of anisotropy considered here can be understood based largely on geometric and topological arguments.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that Spt5-induced arrest of elongation at promoter proximal positions ensures a temporal window for recruitment of the capping enzymes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work investigates how capping and methylation of HIV pre-mRNAs are coupled to Pol II elongation and implicates capping in an elongation checkpoint critical to HIV gene expression.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
19 May 2002
TL;DR: In this article, the Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC) installed a PV array comprised of 192 ARCO M-75 modules, which were tested in order to re-evaluate their performance.
Abstract: In 1990 the Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC) installed a PV array comprised of 192 ARCO M-75 modules. Prior to installation, Zoellick carefully measured module performance and reported average peak power at normal operating cell temperature (NOCT) to be 39.88 W, which was 14.1% lower than the 46.4 W nameplate rating. For the past 11 years the array has been exposed to and employed in a cool, marine environment. Of the original 192 modules, 191 were tested in order to re-evaluate their performance. This paper describes the equipment, conditions, and procedure used in retesting the modules, and reports module performance results. Notable results are that average module short circuit current and maximum power production at NOCT have decreased by 6.38% and 4.39%, respectively.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is found that Fcp1 was 10-fold more active in dephosphorylating Ser2-PO4 than Ser5- PO4 and displays an inherent preference for a particular CTD phosphorylation array.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The composition and dynamics of molecular and cytoskeletal events occurring during natural killer cell interactions with susceptible and nonsusceptible target cells are reviewed and it is concluded that the cytolytic immune synapses display spatial–temporal dynamics that are accelerated as compared with T’helper cells.
Abstract: Recent applications of imaging approaches and other methods of cell biology have provided high-resolution visualization of the location of fluorescent proteins in living and fixed cells during cell-cell interactions between lymphocytes, antigen presenting cells and target cells. We review the composition and dynamics of molecular and cytoskeletal events occurring during natural killer cell interactions with susceptible and nonsusceptible target cells. The natural killer cell immune synapse and the concomitant changes in cytoskeletal components and cytoplasmic organelles are described. The findings are compared with the observations made in T helper cells and cytotoxic T cells. It is concluded that the cytolytic immune synapses display spatial-temporal dynamics that are accelerated as compared with T helper cells. In addition, the cytolytic conjugates have unique characteristics relating to their effector function. Furthermore, the natural killer cell immune synapses in cytolytic and noncytolytic interactions are distinctly different and display patterns consistent with characteristic signaling pathways identified in biochemical studies of disrupted cells. The precise relationship between different stages of the natural killer cell immune synapse formation and progression in signal transduction pathways is yet to be established.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The group with Down's syndrome had a higher prevalence of low mood, restlessness/excessive overactivity, disturbed sleep, being excessively uncooperative and auditory hallucinations, which occurred with greater frequency in those subjects with intellectual disability of other causes.
Abstract: Dementia commonly occurs in elderly people with intellectual disability, especially those with Down's syndrome. The non-cognitive symptoms of dementia can be of greater significance to individuals and carers than the cognitive changes caused by this condition. It is not known whether there are differences between people with Down's syndrome and those with intellectual disability of other causes with regard to the prevalence of such symptoms. The present study was undertaken to draw a comparison between a group with Down's syndrome and dementia (n = 19), and a group with intellectual disability of other causes and dementia (n = 26). Maladaptive behaviours and psychiatric symptomatology were assessed in both groups. The group with Down's syndrome had a higher prevalence of low mood, restlessness/excessive overactivity, disturbed sleep, being excessively uncooperative and auditory hallucinations. Aggression occurred with greater frequency in those subjects with intellectual disability of other causes. These findings are of epidemiological importance in terms of service planning and understanding psychiatric presentation.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is reported that protein inhibitor of activated Stat1 (PIAS1) interacts with the tetramerization and C-terminal regulatory domains of p53 in yeast two-hybrid analyses, suggesting that PIAS1 is a novel activator of p 53.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There were no statistically significant differences in SLN identification rate or false-negative rate between patients undergoing excisional versus needle biopsy, nor does the type of definitive surgical procedure affect the accuracy of SLN biopsy.
Abstract: It has been suggested that sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for breast cancer may be less accurate after excisional biopsy of the primary tumor compared with core needle biopsy. Furthermore, some have suggested an improved ability to identify the SLN when total mastectomy is performed compared with lumpectomy. This analysis was performed to determine the impact of the type of breast biopsy (needle vs. excisional) or definitive surgical procedure (lumpectomy vs. mastectomy) on the accuracy of SLN biopsy. The University of Louisville Breast Cancer Sentinel Lymph Node Study is a prospective multi-institutional study. Patients with clinical stage T1–2, N0 breast cancer were eligible. All patients underwent SLN biopsy and completion level I/II axillary dissection. Statistical comparison was performed by χ2 analysis. A total of 2206 patients were enrolled in the study. There were no statistically significant differences in SLN identification rate or false-negative rate between patients undergoing excisional versus needle biopsy. The SLN identification and false-negative rates also were not statistically different between patients who had total mastectomy compared with those who had a lumpectomy. Excisional biopsy does not significantly affect the accuracy of SLN biopsy, nor does the type of definitive surgical procedure.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results from unsteady plate-pressure measurements indicate that plane-wave motion occurs in the impingement region and a secondary pressure maximum is observed on the plate adjacent to the flow region where sound appears to originate.
Abstract: An experimental investigation into the sound-producing characteristics of moderately and highly underexpanded supersonic impinging jets exhausting from a round convergent nozzle is presented The production of large plate tones by impingement on a square plate with a side dimension equal to 12 nozzle exit diameters is studied using random and phase-locked shadowgraph photography Discrete frequency sound is produced in the near-wall region of the jet when a Mach disk occurs upstream of the standoff shock wave Tones cease when the plate distance is approximately 22 free-jet cell lengths and the first and second shock waves are located in the free-jet positions The production of impulsive sound appears to be associated with the collapse of the standoff shock wave during a portion of the oscillation cycle Results from unsteady plate-pressure measurements indicate that plane-wave motion occurs in the impingement region and a secondary pressure maximum is observed on the plate adjacent to the flow region where sound appears to originate

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: These findings imply an intimate evolutionary relationship between the poxvirus and bacterial type IB enzymes, and they engender a scheme for the evolution of topoisomerase IB and tyrosine recombinases from a common ancestral strand transferase in the bacterial domain.
Abstract: We report that diverse species of bacteria encode a type IB DNA topoisomerase that resembles vaccinia virus topoisomerase. Deinococcus radiodurans topoisomerase IB (DraTopIB), an exemplary member of this family, relaxes supercoiled DNA in the absence of a divalent cation or ATP. DraTopIB has a compact size (346 aa) and is a monomer in solution. Mutational analysis shows that the active site of DraTopIB is composed of the same constellation of catalytic side chains as the vaccinia enzyme. Sequence comparisons and limited proteolysis suggest that their folds are conserved. These findings imply an intimate evolutionary relationship between the poxvirus and bacterial type IB enzymes, and they engender a scheme for the evolution of topoisomerase IB and tyrosine recombinases from a common ancestral strand transferase in the bacterial domain. Remarkably, bacteria that possess topoisomerase IB appear to lack DNA topoisomerase III.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) to study the flowfield and performance of the air curtain of a medium-temperature open vertical refrigerated display case used in supermarkets.
Abstract: Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling is effectively coupled with the experimental technique of Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV), to study the flowfield characteristics and performance of the air curtain of a medium-temperature open vertical refrigerated display case used in supermarkets. A global comparison of the flowfield and quantification of the entrained air into the case indicate that there is a considerable amount of cold air spillage from a typical display case that is replaced by the ambient warm entrained air across the air curtain, lowering the energy efficiency of the case. The computational model that is developed from the marriage of CFD and DPIV techniques provides a reliable simulation tool that can be used for the design optimization of air curtains. A correct estimate of the infiltration rate by changing different parameters in a validated computational simulation model will provide a feasible tool for minimizing the spillage of the cold air, and thereby designing more energy efficient open display cases.