Small synthetic molecules termed growth hormone secretagogues (GHSs) act on the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus to stimulate and amplify pulsatile growth hormone (GH) release. A heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G protein)-coupled receptor (GPC-R) of the pituitary and arcuate ventro-medial and infundibular hypothalamus of swine and humans was cloned and was shown to be the target of the GHSs. On the basis of its pharmacological and molecular characterization, this GPC-R defines a neuroendocrine pathway for the control of pulsatile GH release and supports the notion that the GHSs mimic an undiscovered hormone.

Background The cost of genomic information has fallen steeply but the path to clinical translation of risk estimates for common variants found in genome wide association studies remains unclear. Since the speed and cost of sequencing complete genomes is rapidly declining, more comprehensive means of analyzing these data in concert with rare variants for genetic risk assessment and individualisation of therapy are required. Here, we present the first integrated analysis of a complete human genome in a clinical context. Methods An individual with a family history of vascular disease and early sudden death was evaluated. Clinical assessment included risk prediction for coronary artery disease, screening for causes of sudden cardiac death, and genetic counselling. Genetic analysis included the development of novel methods for the integration of whole genome sequence data including 2.6 million single nucleotide polymorphisms and 752 copy number variations. The algorithm focused on predicting genetic risk of genes associated with known Mendelian disease, recognised drug responses, and pathogenicity for novel variants. In addition, since integration of risk ratios derived from case control studies is challenging, we estimated posterior probabilities from age and sex appropriate prior probability and likelihood ratios derived for each genotype. In addition, we developed a visualisation approach to account for gene-environment interactions and conditionally dependent risks. Findings We found increased genetic risk for myocardial infarction, type II diabetes and certain cancers. Rare variants in LPA are consistent with the family history of coronary artery disease. Pharmacogenomic analysis suggested a positive response to lipid lowering therapy, likely clopidogrel resistance, and a low initial dosing requirement for warfarin. Many variants of uncertain significance were reported. Interpretation Although challenges remain, our results suggest that whole genome sequencing can yield useful and clinically relevant information for individual patients, especially for those with a strong family history of significant disease.

Methods for visualizing protein or nucleic acid motifs have traditionally relied upon residue frequencies to graphically scale character heights. We describe the pLogo, a motif visualization in which residue heights are scaled relative to their statistical significance. A pLogo generation tool is publicly available at http://plogo.uconn.edu/ and supports real-time conditional probability calculations and visualizations.

The Web-based motif-x program provides a simple interface to extract statistically significant motifs from large data sets, such as MS/MS post-translational modification data and groups of proteins that share a common biological function. Users upload data files and download results using common Web browsers on essentially any Web-compatible computer. Once submitted, data analyses are performed rapidly on an associated highspeed computer cluster and they produce both syntactic and image-based motif results and statistics. The protocols presented demonstrate the use of motif-x in three common user scenarios.

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome encodes 11 serine/threonine protein kinases (STPKs) that are structurally related to eukaryotic kinases. To gain insight into the role of Ser/Thr phosphorylation in this major global pathogen, we used a phosphoproteomic approach to carry out an extensive analysis of protein phosphorylation in M. tuberculosis. We identified more than 500 phosphorylation events in 301 proteins that are involved in a broad range of functions. Bioinformatic analysis of quantitative in vitro kinase assays on peptides containing a subset of these phosphorylation sites revealed a dominant motif shared by six of the M. tuberculosis STPKs. Kinase assays on a second set of peptides incorporating targeted substitutions surrounding the phosphoacceptor validated this motif and identified additional residues preferred by individual kinases. Our data provide insight into processes regulated by STPKs in M. tuberculosis and create a resource for understanding how specific phosphorylation events modulate protein activity. The results further provide the potential to predict likely cognate STPKs for newly identified phosphoproteins.signal transduction | phosphorylation motif | phosphoproteomics A key feature of all living cells is the ability to sense environmental signals and implement adaptive changes. These inputs propagate through complex signal transduction networks whose activity is often regulated by reversible protein phosphorylation. Although Ser/Thr/Tyr protein phosphorylation-based signaling in eukaryotes has been intensively studied, the extent to which this mechanism is used in prokaryotes has only recently begun to be appreciated (1). The number of protein kinases in prokaryotes varies widely. Although many bacteria have only a few or none of these enzymes, some cyanobacteria and streptomycetes have dozens of them (2). Bacteria that do possess Ser/Thr or Tyr kinases often have complex lifestyles and depend on these kinases to regulate critical processes, such as stress adaptation, development, and virulence (2).Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an extraordinarily versatile pathogen that can exist in distinct states in the host, leading to asymptomatic latent tuberculosis (TB) infection in which bacteria are thought to be dormant, or active TB disease in which the organisms are actively replicating. To achieve these different physiologic states M. tuberculosis requires mechanisms to sense a wide range of signals from the host and to coordinately regulate multiple cellular processes. In most bacterial pathogens, the predominant phosphorylation-based signal transduction mechanism is the two-component system. The M. tuberculosis genome, however, encodes 11 Ser/Thr protein kinases (STPKs) and an equal number of two-component system sensor kinases, suggesting that these two phospho-based signaling systems are of comparable importance in this organism (3).Knowledge of the substrates of each of the M. tuberculosis STPKs is essential for understanding their function; however, only a small number of kinase-sub...