Natural medicine and nutritional therapy as an alternative treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disorder without a known cure. Conventional medicine typically approaches the disease with a treatment plan that includes the use of corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antimalarial drugs, and chemotherapeutic agents. The results vary and safety is questionable. Conservative treatment methods, such as the use of vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids, have been shown to have an impact on the activity of the disease. Alternative medicine treatments, including the use of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and Chinese medicines, such as Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF), have gained a growing interest recently and may prove to be viable treatment options in the future. The elimination of possible associated factors, such as food allergens and SLE-symptom eliciting foods like alfalfa seeds, have also been shown to affect disease activity. Conservative alternative medicine approaches have been shown to provide some benefit in SLE studies; however, the evidence is limited, and the overall effectiveness and long-term safety have not been established. More research must be conducted in this area to further establish firm treatment protocols which provide maximum therapeutic benefit and minimum treatment-related side effects.

Complex formation between Mad1p, Bub1p and Bub3p is crucial for spindle checkpoint function.

The spindle checkpoint delays the metaphase to anaphase transition in response to defects in kinetochore-microtubule interactions in the mitotic apparatus (see [1] [2] [3] [4] for reviews). The Mad and Bub proteins were identified as key components of the spindle checkpoint through budding yeast genetics [5] [6] and are highly conserved [3]. Most of the spindle checkpoint proteins have been localised to kinetochores, yet almost nothing is known about the molecular events which take place there. Mad1p forms a tight complex with Mad2p [7], and has been shown to recruit Mad2p to kinetochores [8]. Similarly, Bub3p binds to Bub1p [9] and may target it to kinetochores [10]. Here, we show that budding yeast Mad1p has a regulated association with Bub1p and Bub3p during a normal cell cycle and that this complex is found at significantly higher levels once the spindle checkpoint is activated. We find that formation of this complex requires Mad2p and Mps1p but not Mad3p or Bub2p. In addition, we identify a conserved motif within Mad1p that is essential for Mad1p-Bub1p-Bub3p complex formation. Mutation of this motif abolishes checkpoint function, indicating that formation of the Mad1p-Bub1p-Bub3p complex is a crucial step in the spindle checkpoint mechanism.

The spindle checkpoint of budding yeast depends on a tight complex between the Mad1 and Mad2 proteins.

The spindle checkpoint arrests the cell cycle at metaphase in the presence of defects in the mitotic spindle or in the attachment of chromosomes to the spindle. When spindle assembly is disrupted, the budding yeast mad and bub mutants fail to arrest and rapidly lose viability. We have cloned the MAD2 gene, which encodes a protein of 196 amino acids that remains at a constant level during the cell cycle. Gel filtration and co-immunoprecipitation analyses reveal that Mad2p tightly associates with another spindle checkpoint component, Mad1p. This association is independent of cell cycle stage and the presence or absence of other known checkpoint proteins. In addition, Mad2p binds to all of the different phosphorylated isoforms of Mad1p that can be resolved on SDS-PAGE. Deletion and mutational analysis of both proteins indicate that association of Mad2p with Mad1p is critical for checkpoint function and for hyperphosphorylation of Mad1p.

Prediction formulae for normal pulmonary function values in New Zealand European subjects.

The prediction formulae for normal pulmonary function values, VC, FEV1, FRC, RV, TLC and DCO, in New Zealand European subjects have been established for the first time. The 159 male and 169 female volunteers were aged 15--75 years and were non-smokers and healthy.