Research Triangle Park

About: Research Triangle Park is a nonprofit organization based out in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Environmental exposure. The organization has 24961 authors who have published 35800 publications receiving 1684504 citations. The organization is also known as: RTP.

Surface protein characterization of human adipose tissue-derived stromal cells

Abstract: Human bone marrow stromal cells are a multipotent population of cells capable of differentiating into a number of mesodermal lineages as well as supporting hematopoeisis. Their distinct protein and gene expression phenotype is well characterized in the literature. Human adipose tissue presents an alternative source of multipotent stromal cells. In this study, we have defined the phenotype of the human adipose tissue-derived stromal cells in both the differentiated and undifferentiated states. Flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry show that human adipose tissue-derived stromal cells have a protein expression phenotype that is similar to that of human bone marrow stromal cells. Expressed proteins include CD9, CD10, CD13, CD29, CD34, CD44, CD 49d, CD 49e, CD54, CD55, CD59, CD105, CD106, CD146, and CD166. Expression of some of these proteins was further confirmed by PCR and immunoblot detection. Unlike human bone marrow-derived stromal cells, we did not detect the STRO-1 antigen on human adipose tissue-derived stromal cells. Cells cultured under adipogenic conditions uniquely expressed C/EBPα and PPARδ, two transcriptional regulators of adipogenesis. Cells cultured under osteogenic conditions were more likely to be in the proliferative phases of the cell cycle based on flow cytometric analysis of PCNA and Ki67. The similarities between the phenotypes of human adipose tissue-derived and human bone marrow-derived stromal cells could have broad implications for human tissue engineering. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Psychological reactions to terrorist attacks: findings from the National Study of Americans' Reactions to September 11.

Abstract: ContextThe terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, represent an unprecedented exposure to trauma in the United States.ObjectivesTo assess psychological symptom levels in the United States following the events of September 11 and to examine the association between postattack symptoms and a variety of indices of exposure to the events.DesignWeb-based epidemiological survey of a nationally representative cross-sectional sample using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist and the Brief Symptom Inventory, administered 1 to 2 months following the attacks.Setting and ParticipantsSample of 2273 adults, including oversamples of the New York, NY, and Washington, DC, metropolitan areas.Main Outcome MeasuresSelf-reports of the symptoms of PTSD and of clinically significant nonspecific psychological distress; adult reports of symptoms of distress among children living in their households.ResultsThe prevalence of probable PTSD was significantly higher in the New York City metropolitan area (11.2%) than in Washington, DC (2.7%), other major metropolitan areas (3.6%), and the rest of the country (4.0%). A broader measure of clinically significant psychological distress suggests that overall distress levels across the country, however, were within expected ranges for a general community sample. In multivariate models, sex, age, direct exposure to the attacks, and the amount of time spent viewing TV coverage of the attacks on September 11 and the few days afterward were associated with PTSD symptom levels; sex, the number of hours of television coverage viewed, and an index of the content of that coverage were associated with the broader distress measure. More than 60% of adults in New York City households with children reported that 1 or more children were upset by the attacks.ConclusionsOne to 2 months following the events of September 11, probable PTSD was associated with direct exposure to the terrorist attacks among adults, and the prevalence in the New York City metropolitan area was substantially higher than elsewhere in the country. However, overall distress levels in the country were within normal ranges. Further research should document the course of symptoms and recovery among adults following exposure to the events of September 11 and further specify the types and severity of distress in children.

9-(2-Hydroxyethoxymethyl)guanine activity against viruses of the herpes group

Abstract: Of a series of nucleoside analogues synthesised, 9-(2-hydroxyethoxymethyl) guanine was found to have marked antiviral activity in animal models of herpes virus infections, associated with very low toxicity.

Agouti protein is an antagonist of the melanocyte-stimulating-hormone receptor.

Abstract: The genetic loci agouti and extension control the relative amounts of eumelanin (brown-black) and phaeomelanin (yellow-red) pigments in mammals: extension encodes the receptor for melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) and agouti encodes a novel 131-amino-acid protein containing a signal sequence. Agouti, which is produced in the hair follicle, acts on follicular melanocytes to inhibit alpha-MSH-induced eumelanin production, resulting in the subterminal band of phaeomelanin often visible in mammalian fur. Here we use partially purified agouti protein to demonstrate that agouti is a high-affinity antagonist of the MSH receptor and blocks alpha-MSH stimulation of adenylyl cyclase, the effector through which alpha-MSH induces eumelanin synthesis. Agouti was also found to be an antagonist of the melanocortin-4 receptor, a related MSH-binding receptor. Consequently, the obesity caused by ectopic expression of agouti in the lethal yellow (Ay) mouse may be due to the inhibition of melanocortin receptor(s) outside the hair follicle.