Biomedical subjects

Jessica Hernandez

Publications and source records attributed to Jessica Hernandez.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Gateway cloning is compatible with protein secretion from Pichia pastoris.

Secretion of a recombinant protein from the yeast Pichia pastoris requires the presence of a signal peptide at the amino terminus. Maintaining the full amino acid sequence of the signal peptide is thought to be important for proper signal processing and protein secretion. We show that at least for one protein, a synthetic human interferon, the presence of a Gateway recombination site within the signal peptide is fully compatible with high levels of protein secretion. The amino termini of the secreted interferon proteins cloned with Gateway and cloned with restriction enzymes and ligase are identical, and the proteins were highly active in biological assays. Compatibility with Gateway cloning simplifies construction of plasmids directing secretion of recombinant proteins from P. pastoris.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2004

Human interferons alpha, beta and omega.

Type I interferons (IFNs), IFN-alpha, IFN-beta, IFN-omega, IFN-delta and IFN-tau are a family of structurally related, species-specific proteins found only in vertebrates. They exhibit a variety of biological functions, including antiviral, antiproliferative, immunomodulatory and developmental activities. Human Type I IFNs interact with the human IFN alpha receptor (IFNAR), which is composed of two identified subunits (IFNAR-1 and IFNAR-2). The interaction of IFN-alpha/beta with its receptor components results in the activation of a number of signaling pathways. The regulation of specific genes and proteins contributes to the numerous biological functions of Type I IFNs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2003

Abdominal vagal mediation of the satiety effects of CCK in rats.

CCK type 1 (CCK1) receptor antagonists differing in blood-brain barrier permeability were used to test the hypothesis that satiety is mediated in part by CCK action at CCK1 receptors on vagal sensory nerves innervating the small intestine. Devazepide penetrates the blood-brain barrier; A-70104, the dicyclohexylammonium salt of N alpha-3-quinolinoyl-D-Glu-N,N-dipentylamide, does not. At dark onset, non-food-deprived control rats and rats with subdiaphragmatic vagotomies received a bolus injection of devazepide (2.5 micromol/kg i.v.) or a 3-h infusion of A-70104 (3 micromol.kg(-1).h(-1) i.v.) either alone or coadministered with a 2-h intragastric infusion of peptone (0.75 or 1 g/h). Food intake was determined from continuous computer recordings of changes in food bowl weight. In control rats both antagonists stimulated food intake and attenuated the anorexic response to intragastric infusion of peptone. In contrast, only devazepide was effective in stimulating food intake in vagotomized rats. Thus endogenous CCK appears to act both at CCK1 receptors beyond the blood-brain barrier and by a CCK1 receptor-mediated mechanism involving abdominal vagal nerves to inhibit food intake.

Abdomen↗