International Journal of Biological Sciences

International Journal of Medical Sciences

Editor-in-Chief: Chuxia Deng, Mammalian Genetics Section, NIDDK, NIH
Editor-in-Chief's Profile

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This Journal is ranked among the top 2.1% of journals (29/1380) according to SCImago in the area of Agricultural and Biological Sciences ...details

Special Issue on Fish Stem Cells and Nuclear Transfer. Guest editor: Professor Yunhan Hong, Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore

Most Cited Paper Award for 2007: The winner was JK Lunney, for the paper Advances in Swine Biomedical Model Genomics (Cited by 49 as of Dec. 31, 2009). Details ...

Previous studies revealed that leukocyte infiltration could trigger breast and prostate tumor invasion through physical disruption of tumor capsules. Our current study, involving multiple types of human tumors, further suggests that leukocyte infiltration also triggers metastasis through the following pathways: 1) the physical movement into the epithelium disrupts inter-cellular junctions and surface adhesion molecules, which cause the disassociation of tumor cells from tumor cores, 2) some of these tumor cells subsequently form tight junctions with the plasma membranes of leukocytes creating tumor cell-leukocyte chimeras (TLCs), and 3) the leukocytes of TLCs impart migratory capacity to associated tumor cell partners. Our findings suggest a novel pathway for tumor cell dissemination from primary sites and journey to new sites. ...details

Systems capable of targeting genetic manipulations to keratin- positive airway basal cells are more poorly developed than systems targeting other airway epithelial cell populations and this has likely hindered development of animal models of diseases such as lung squamous cell carcinoma. In this issue, Malkoski et al. developed a method for delivering RU486, the conditional activator of Cre recombinase progesterone receptor (CrePR) fusion proteins to the lung and then examined the activity of three keratin-driven CrePR constructs in the conducting airways. Their data indicated that K5Cre*PR is the most tightly regulated Cre driver making it ideal for targeting somatic mutations to the airway epithelia while K5CrePR1 and K14CrePR1 may be better suited to studying diseases of the conducting airways where gene targeting of keratin expressing cells and their derivatives is desired. Details ...

Apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) mimetic peptides have been pursued as new therapeutic agents for the treatment of atherosclerosis, yet their precise mechanism responsible for atheroprotection remains unclear. Song et al. compared a mimetic peptide D-4F to purified apoA-I and found that D-4F particles were 20 times more efficient than apoA-I in off-loading cholesterol to HepG2 hepatocytes. Furthermore, D-4F also facilitated cholesteryl ester offloading from HDL particles into HepG2 cells when it was pre-incubated with these HDL particles. Using an inducible HEK293 cell line, they demonstrated that these nano- particles were able to be taken up through SR-BI, a HDL selective receptor. Cholesterol uptake by HepG2 cells was completely blocked by a neutralizing monoclonal antibody against SR-BI, demonstrating that D-4F particles, similar to HDL, specifically off-loaded cholesterol through SR-BI. More ...

Understanding the molecular basis of quantitative genetic variation is a principal goal for biomedicine in human and genetic improvement in agriculture species. However, identification of genes responsible for the variation in complex phenotypes has been a challenge in modern genetics. In the present study, Jiang et al pursued both single marker-single trait association and multiple markers-single trait regression analyses and revealed genetic networks associated with economically important traits in beef cattle. Such genetic networks involving both genotypes and quantitative trait modes (QTMs) resulted in high correlations between predicted and actual values of performance, thus providing evidence that the classical Mendelian principals of inheritance can be applied in understanding genetic complexity of complex phenotypes. More ...

Vertebrate Hox genes regulate many aspects of embryonic body plan development and patterning. In this study, Hostikka et al generated mice carrying a targeted mutation of Hoxc10, a member of the Hox10 paralogous family. Their data revealed a role for Hoxc10 in generating or maintaining the normal complement of lumbar motor neurons. More ...

The promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) is involved in many cellular processes including cell cycle progression, DNA damage response, transcriptional regulation, viral infection, and apoptosis. These cellular activities often rely on the localization of PML to unique subnuclear structures known as PML nuclear bodies (NBs). More than 50 cellular proteins are known to traffic in and out of PML NBs, either transiently or constitutively. In order to understand the dynamics of these NBs, it is important to delineate the regulation of PML itself. PML is subject to extensive regulation at transcriptional, post- transcriptional, and post-translational levels. More ...

IJBS issue cover

Does the difference between physically active and couch potato lie in the dopamine system?
Amy M. Knab, J Timothy Lightfoot
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 133-150
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Aberrant leukocyte infiltration: a direct trigger for breast tumor invasion and metastasis
Yan-gao Man
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 129-132
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

E2F-1 has dual roles depending on the cell cycle
Fikret Sahin, Todd L. Sladek
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 116-128
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

High prevalence of multiple paternity in the invasive crayfish species, Procambarus clarkii
Gen Hua Yue, Jia Le Li, Chun Ming Wang, Jun Hong Xia, Gen Lin Wang, Jian Bing Feng
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 107-115
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Overexpression of bacterial ethylene-forming enzyme gene in Trichoderma reesei enhanced the production of ethylene
Xi Chen, Yong Liang, Jing Hua, Li Tao, Wensheng Qin, Sanfeng Chen
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 96-106
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Comparative study of the binding pockets of mammalian proprotein convertases and its implications for the design of specific small molecule inhibitors
Sun Tian, Wu Jianhua
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 89-95
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Cellular and molecular comparison of redifferentiation of intramuscular- and visceral-adipocyte derived progeny cells
Jie Chen, Michael V. Dodson, Zhihua Jiang
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 80-88
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Keratin promoter based gene manipulation in the murine conducting airway
Stephen P. Malkoski, Timothy G. Cleaver, Shi-Long Lu, Jessyka G. Lighthall, Xiao-Jing Wang
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 68-79
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

A manually curated network of the PML nuclear body interactome reveals an important role for PML-NBs in SUMOylation dynamics
Ellen Van Damme, Kris Laukens, Thanh Hai Dang, Xaveer Van Ostade
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 51-67
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

An Overview of Stress Response and Hypometabolic Strategies in Caenorhabditis elegans: Conserved and Contrasting Signals with the Mammalian System
Benjamin Lant, Kenneth B. Storey
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 9-50
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Smad4-mediated TGF-β signaling in tumorigenesis
Guan Yang, Xiao Yang
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2010, 6: 1-8
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Physiological and Oncogenic Aurora-A Pathway
Toshiaki SAEKI, Mutsuko OUCHI, Toru OUCHI
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 758-762
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

A receptor and binding protein interplay in the detection of a distinct pheromone component in the silkmoth Antheraea polyphemus
Maike Forstner, Heinz Breer, Jürgen Krieger
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 745-757
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Cloning, Expression and Purification of an Acetoacetyl CoA Thiolase from Sunflower Cotyledon
James H. Dyer, Anthony Maina, Iris D. Gomez, Melissa Cadet, Silke Oeljeklaus, Anke C. Schiedel
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 736-744
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Identification of Anoectochilus based on rDNA ITS sequences alignment and SELDI-TOF-MS
Chuan Gao, Fusheng Zhang, Jun Zhang, Shunxing Guo, Hongbo Shao
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 727-735
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health
Joël Spiroux de Vendômois, François Roullier, Dominique Cellier, Gilles-Eric Séralini
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 706-726
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

The presence of alpha-catenin in the VE-cadherin complex is required for efficient transendothelial migration of leukocytes
Jaap D. van Buul, Floris P. van Alphen, Peter L. Hordijk
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 695-705
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Role of Ldb1 in Adult Intestinal Homeostasis
Ipsita Dey-Guha, Mahua Mukhopadhyay, Matthew Phillips, Heiner Westphal
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 686-694
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Proteome Changes in Thai Indigenous Chicken Muscle during Growth Period
Tawatchai Teltathum, Supamit Mekchay
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 679-685
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Azithromycin suppresses interleukin-12p40 expression in lipopolysaccharide and interferon-γ stimulated macrophages
Keiko Yamauchi, Yoko Shibata, Tomomi Kimura, Shuichi Abe, Sumito Inoue, Daisuke Osaka, Michiko Sato, Akira Igarashi, Isao Kubota
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 667-678
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Karyology of eight species of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from Hainan Island, China
Yi Wu, Masaharu Motokawa, Yu-Chun Li, Masashi Harada, Zhong Chen, Liang-Kong Lin
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 659-666
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

Clinical diagnosis for discogenic low back pain
Yin-gang Zhang, Tuan-mao Guo, Xiong Guo, Shi-xun Wu
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 647-658
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]

An apoA-I mimetic peptide facilitates off-loading cholesterol from HDL to liver cells through scavenger receptor BI
Xuelei Song, Paul Fischer, Xun Chen, Charlotte Burton, Jun Wang
Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2009, 5: 637-646
[Abstract] [Full text] [PDF] [PubMed] [PMC]