Rockefeller University

About: Rockefeller University is a education organization based out in New York, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 15867 authors who have published 32938 publications receiving 2940261 citations. The organization is also known as: Rockefeller University & Rockefeller Institute.

Solid-phase peptide synthesis.

Abstract: It is a privilege to be able to contribute to this volume in which Professor Zervas’ friends, students, and colleagues have joined together to honor him and his remarkable contributions to peptide chemistry. Although I did not know him until after his days in the Bergmann Laboratory at the Rockefeller Institute, I can claim the distinction of now working in those very same rooms that they occupied back in the mid-1930s. Like all peptide chemists, I am greatly indebted to Professor Zervas, having depended so heavily on the carbobenzoxy group and on the various modified urethan protecting groups which have been direct extensions of the revolutionary advance that Bergmann and Zervas made.

Defective TNF-α-Induced Apoptosis in STAT1-Null Cells Due to Low Constitutive Levels of Caspases

Abstract: Signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) enhance transcription of specific genes in response to cytokines and growth factors. STAT1 is also required for efficient constitutive expression of the caspases Ice, Cpp32, and Ich-1 in human fibroblasts. As a consequence, STAT1-null cells are resistant to apoptosis by tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Reintroduction of STAT1α restored both TNF-α–induced apoptosis and the expression of Ice, Cpp32, and Ich-1. Variant STAT1 proteins carrying point mutations that inactivate domains required for STAT dimer formation nevertheless restored protease expression and sensitivity to apoptosis, indicating that the functions of STAT1 required for these activities are different from those that mediate induced gene expression.

Rapid Killing of Streptococcus pneumoniae with a Bacteriophage Cell Wall Hydrolase

Abstract: Nasopharyngeal carriage is the major reservoir for Streptococcus pneumoniae in the community. Although eliminating this reservoir would greatly reduce disease occurrence, no suitable intervention has been available for this purpose. We show here that seconds after contact, a purified pneumococcal bacteriophage lytic enzyme (Pal) is able to kill 15 common serotypes of pneumococci, including highly penicillin-resistant strains. In vivo, previously colonized mice revealed undetectable pneumococcal titers 5 hours after a single enzyme treatment. Pal enzyme had little or no effect on microorganisms normally found in the human oropharynx, and Pal-resistant pneumococci could not be detected after extensive exposure to the enzyme.