Based on the analyses classified by best-stimulus categories, the number of NaCl-best neurons decreased from 68% to 45% following dietary sodium deprivation, and the responses of the NaCl-best neurons to 0.03-1.0 M NaCl were significantly inhibited. Multidimensional scaling illustrated that sodium deprivation increased the similarity of the response profiles of the NaCl-best neurons. These findings suggest that dietary sodium

deprivation might modulate sodium intake via increasing aversive threshold for salt rather enhancing salt discrimination. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.”
“The protein encoded by the UL14 gene of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 is expressed late in infection and is a minor component of the virion tegument. An UL14-deficient HSV-1 see more mutant (UL14D) forms small plaques and exhibits an extended growth cycle LEE011 mouse at

low multiplicities of infection (MOI) compared to wild-type virus. Although UL14 is likely to be involved in the process of viral maturation and egress, its precise role in viral replication is still enigmatic. In this study, we found that immediate-early viral mRNA expression was decreased in UL14D-infected cells. Transient coexpression of UL14 and VP16 in the absence of infection stimulated the nuclear accumulation of both proteins. We intended to visualize the fate of VP16 released from the infected virion and constructed UL14-null (14D-VP16G) and rescued (14R-VP16G) viruses that expressed a VP16-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein. Synchronous high-multiplicity infection of the viruses was performed at 4 degrees C in the absence of de novo protein synthesis. We found that the presence of UL14 in the virion had an enhancing effect on the nuclear accumulation of VP16-GFP. The lack of UL14 did not significantly alter virus internalization but affected incoming capsid transport to the nuclear pore. These observations suggested that UL14 (i) enhanced VIP16 nuclear localization at the immediately early phase, thus indirectly regulating the expression of immediate-early genes, and (ii) was associated with efficient nuclear targeting of capsids.

The next tegument protein UL14 could be part of the machinery that regulates HSV-1 replication.”
“The present study tested the hypothesis that the hypoxia in utero results in decreased protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) activity in cytosolic and membrane fractions and increased expression of PTPs (PTP-1B, PTP-SH1 and PTP-SH2) in the cytosol and the membrane fraction of the cerebral cortex of guinea pig fetus. In addition, we hypothesize that the increased expression is mediated by nitric oxide (NO). To test this hypothesis, PTP activity in cytosol and cell membrane, and expression in the cytosol and membrane fraction were measured in the cerebral cortex of normoxic, hypoxic and L-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), pretreated hypoxic (L-NAME + Hx) guinea pig fetuses.