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FMRFamide-like peptide (FLP) receptors are appealing as putative anthelmintic targets. To date, 31 flp -encoding genes have been identified in Caenorhabditis elegans and thirteen FLP-activated G-protein coupled receptors (FLP-GPCRs) have been reported. The lack of knowledge on FLPs and FLP-GPCRs in parasites impedes their functional characterisation and chemotherapeutic exploitation. Using homology-based BLAST searches and phylogenetic analyses this study describes the identification of putative flp and flp -GPCR gene homologues in 17 nematode parasites providing the first pan-phylum genome-based overview of the FLPergic complement. These data will facilitate FLP-receptor deorphanisation efforts in the quest for novel control targets for nematode parasites.

Pufferfish accumulate tetrodotoxin (TTX) at high levels in liver and ovary through the food chain. However, the mechanisms underlying TTX toxification in pufferfish have been poorly understood. In order to search gene candidates involved in TTX accumulation in the torafugu pufferfish Takifugu rubripes, a custom 4x44k oligonucleotide microarray slide was designed by the Agilent eArray program using oligonucleotide probes of 60 bp in length referring to 42,724 predicted transcripts in the publicly available Fugu genome database. DNA microarray analysis was performed with total RNA samples from the livers of two toxic wild specimens in comparison with those from a nontoxic wild specimen and two nontoxic cultured specimens. The mRNA levels of 1108 transcripts were more than 2-fold higher in the toxic specimens than in the nontoxic specimens. The levels of 613 transcripts were remarkably high, and 16 transcripts encoded by 9 genes were up-regulated more than 10-fold. These genes included those encoding forming structural filaments (keratins) and those related to vitamin D metabolism and immunity. It was also noted that the levels of the transcripts encoding serpin peptidase inhibitor clade C member 1, coagulation factor X precursor, complement C2, C3, C5, C8 precursors, and interleukin-6 receptor were high in the toxic liver samples., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Gene therapy has converged with bone engineering over the past decade, by which a variety of therapeutic genes have been delivered to stimulate bone repair. These genes can be administered via in vivo or ex vivo approach using either viral or nonviral vectors. This article reviews the fundamental aspects and recent progresses in the gene therapy-based bone engineering, with emphasis on the new genes, viral vectors and gene delivery approaches., (© 2013.)

Profound neuropeptide diversity characterizes the nematode nervous system, but it has proven challenging to match neuropeptide G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) with their cognate ligands in heterologous systems. We have expressed the Caenorhabditis elegans GPCR encoded in the locus T19F4.1, previously matched with FMRFamide-like peptides encoded on the flp-2 precursor gene, in mammalian cells and in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Pharmacological characterization revealed that the receptor is potently activated by flp-2 peptides in CHO cells (∼10 nM EC50) and in yeast (∼100 nM EC50), signaling through a Gqα pathway in each system. The yeast GPCR expression system provides a robust assay for screening for agonists of the flp-2 receptor and is the target of an ongoing high-throughput screening exercise.