University of Texas Medical Branch

About: University of Texas Medical Branch is a education organization based out in Galveston, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Virus. The organization has 22033 authors who have published 38268 publications receiving 1517502 citations. The organization is also known as: The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston & UTMB.

Cells of origin and terminal distrubution of corticostriatal fibers arising in the sensory-motor cortex of monkeys†

Abstract: The cells of origin of the corticostriatal projection have been identified in squirrel monkeys by the use of the retrograde horseradish peroxidase method. In the subfields of the somatic sensory, motor, parietal and frontal areas of the cortex, cells projecting to the ipsilateral striatum are relatively sparsely distributed and form a group of small- to medium-sized pyramidal cells with an average somal diameter from area to area of 14-16 mum. Such cells are found only in layer V of the cortex (mainly in the more superficial parts of the layer). Since they are consistently smaller than the pyramidal cells of layer V that project to the brainstem and spinal cord and since they lie outside layer VI which gives rise to corticothalamic axons, the corticostriatal axons are unlikely to be collaterals of axons projecting to other sites. The cells of origin of the crossed corticostriatal projection are also found in layer V and are pyramidal cells with somal diameters in the same range as above. They are found only in areas 4, 8, and 6. Studies with the anterograde, autoradiographic method in rhesus, cynomologous and squirrel monkeys, indicate that the somatic sensory areas project to most of the antero-posterior extent of the ipsilateral putamen. Subareas 3a, 3b, 1 and 2 of the somatic sensory cortex project to the same region and the projection overlaps similarly extensive projections from the motor and certain other areas of the cortex. However, in each case the pattern of terminal labeling is in the form of interrupted clusters, strips and bands. A single small injection of the cortex is associated with only one or two such clusters of terminal labeling. This seems to imply that individual corticostriatal fibers end in a very restricted manner and that the terminal ramifications of fibers from one cortical area may alternate in the putamen with those arising in other areas.

Famciclovir for the Treatment of Acute Herpes Zoster: Effects on Acute Disease and Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Abstract: Objective: To document the effects of treatment with famciclovir on the acute signs and symptoms of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia. Design: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled,...

Two-pore channels control Ebola virus host cell entry and are drug targets for disease treatment

Abstract: Ebola virus causes sporadic outbreaks of lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans, but there is no currently approved therapy. Cells take up Ebola virus by macropinocytosis, followed by trafficking through endosomal vesicles. However, few factors controlling endosomal virus movement are known. Here we find that Ebola virus entry into host cells requires the endosomal calcium channels called two-pore channels (TPCs). Disrupting TPC function by gene knockout, small interfering RNAs, or small-molecule inhibitors halted virus trafficking and prevented infection. Tetrandrine, the most potent small molecule that we tested, inhibited infection of human macrophages, the primary target of Ebola virus in vivo, and also showed therapeutic efficacy in mice. Therefore, TPC proteins play a key role in Ebola virus infection and may be effective targets for antiviral therapy.

A naturally occurring protective system in urea-rich cells: mechanism of osmolyte protection of proteins against urea denaturation.

Abstract: Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is a solute concentrated in the urea-rich cells of elasmobranchs and coelacanth to offset the damaging effects of urea on intracellular protein structure and function. On the basis of transfer free energy measurements, favorable interaction of TMAO with amino acid side chains promote protein denaturation. This effect is more than offset by highly unfavorable TMAO-peptide backbone interactions that not only oppose denaturation but also provide stabilization against denaturation by urea. By combining transfer free energies of side chains and backbone with surface area exposure in the native and unfolded states of ribonuclease T1, the transfer free energies of native and unfolded protein from water to 1 M TMAO are estimated as 1.7 and 5.9 kcal/mol, respectively. These estimates agree favorably with the respective values of 1.2 and 5.4 kcal/mol determined experimentally by Lin and Timasheff [(1994) Biochemistry 33, 12695-12701]. The unfavorable transfer free energies of native and unfolded protein from water to TMAO provides a molecular level rationale for preferential hydration of proteins by osmolytes. Promotion of denaturation by urea is found to be offset by TMAO in a manner that is roughly additive of the combined effects of both solutes. The favorable interaction of urea with the backbone provides the dominant driving force for protein unfolding by this denaturant, and the unfavorable interaction of TMAO with backbone is the dominant force opposing urea denaturation. In solutions that contain significant organic solute concentration, the ascendance of the role of the peptide backbone over that of side chains can explain many observed effects in protein denaturation and stability induced by a variety of stabilizing and destabilizing organic solutes.