Caspase 3, periodically expressed and activated at G2/M transition, is required for nocodazole-induced mitotic checkpoint.

Caspases have been known for several years for their involvement in executing apoptosis, where unwanted or damaged cells are eliminated. Surprisingly, after analysis of the relevant data set from the Stanford microarray database, we noticed that the gene expression pattern for caspase 3, but not for caspase 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10, undergoes periodic change in the HeLa cell cycle. In this study, we have demonstrated that caspase 3, but not other caspases, is upregulated and activated just prior to mitosis. Pretreatment of human hepatoma cells with a caspase 3 inhibitor z-DEVD-FMK, prior to the treatment with an antimicrotubule drug nocodazole, abrogates the mitotic arrest, suggesting that caspase 3 (or a caspase 3-like enzyme) might be involved in mitotic-spindle checkpoint. The studies not only characterize caspase 3 as a cell cycle-regulated protein, but also link the protein to nocodazole-dependent mitotic checkpoint, greatly expanding the understanding of caspase 3.

Dynamic expression and cellular localization of the drosophila 14-3-3epsilon during embryonic development.

The 14-3-3 protein family is known to interact with various proteins involved in signaling pathways. We report here the expression pattern of the Drosophila 14-3-3 (d14-3-3epsilon) protein during embryonic development. In syncytial blastoderm when the nuclei divided rapidly, d14-3-3epsilon localized in the nuclei. During cellularization d14-3-3epsilon gradually became membrane-bound. During gastrulation, an enhanced staining in the perinuclear region was observed in various tissues. Co-labeling with dp-ERK which recognized the activated form of MAPK suggested that d14-3-3epsilon was expressed prior to MAPK activation. During neuronal differentiation, the d14-3-3epsilon protein remained at a high level in the neuronal cytoplasm.

High-resolution optical chirped pulse gating.

We describe a system for achieving high-resolution range gating using optically chirped pulses. The technique converts signals from the time domain into signals in the frequency domain through a nonlinear, sum-frequency generation process. The technique is based on similar methods used in microwave radar. We draw analogies between our method and conventional and time-lens imaging processes, and present experimental results demonstrating the method.

High-dynamic-range laser-pulse-contrast measurement with a plasma-shuttered streak camera.

The dynamic range of a picosecond visible streak camera has been improved by the combination of a plasma shutter and multishot averaging performed with a photoconductive switch sweep circuit. We use this technique to measure the contrast of a 100-fs laser pulse over 2 ns with a dynamic range of 7 orders of magnitude.

Regenerative pulse shaping and amplification of ultrabroadband optical pulses.

Regenerative pulse shaping is used to alleviate gain narrowing during ultrashort-pulse amplification. Amplification bandwidths of ~ 100 nm, or nearly three times wider than the traditional gain-narrowing limit, are produced with a modified Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier. This novel regenerative amplifier has been used to amplify pulses to the 5-mJ level with a bandwidth sufficient to support ~ 10-fs pulses.

Adjustable negative group-velocity dispersion in graded-index lenses.

An analysis of group-velocity dispersion in graded-index (GRIN) lenses is presented. The analysis shows that continuously adjustable negative group-velocity dispersion up to hundreds of square femtoseconds can be produced by propagating the optical beam off the axis of a GRIN lens. Compared with the well-known prism-pair and grating-pair methods for producing negative dispersion, the method described here is advantageous because it is 100-fold smaller, it has low insertion loss, and it is compatible with integrated optics.