Homeostasis without a GLUT
Article Abstract:
The mechanism that maintains the level of glucose in the blood can take care of a lack of GLUT4 glucose transporters in mice. There are four diffusion-type transporters in the plasma membrane that take care of the glucose levels in the body: GLUT1 is responsible for the blood-brain barrier, GLUT3 in the neuronal cells takes care of the supply in the brain while GLUT2 and GLUT4 are responsible for a steady glucose level in the blood. The mechanism that takes care of the absence of GLUT4 in mice can probably be used in the treatment of diabetes in humans.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1995
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Calcium turns turquoise into gold
Article Abstract:
Researchers have been able to use fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between differently coloured green fluorescent protein (GFP) mutants to generate new, molecularly engineered Ca2+ indicators. These are prototypes of new probes to analyze protein-protein interactions in living cells. In terms of cellular Ca2+ homeostasis, the most significant finding of this research is that the concentration of Ca2+ inside the endoplasmic reticulum at steady state is between two and three orders of magnitude higher than in the cytosol.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1997
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HOmeostasis or synaptic plasticity?
Article Abstract:
Turrigiano and colleagues have reported stabilizing mechanism that could represent a general form of activity-dependent regulation of synaptic transmission. They observed up and downregulation of the total postsynaptic strength and compared AMPA miniature excitatory postsynaptic current amplitudes. Periods of artificially increased activity resulted in a fall in synaptic gain.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1998
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