The 60 amino acid long homeodomain of Antennapedia (Antp), either alone or as a fusion protein with 30-40 amino acid long foreign polypeptides, has been reported to cross biological membranes by an energy- and receptor-protein-independent mechanism. Moreover, the 16 amino acid long third helix of the Antp homeodomain, so-called penetratin, possesses translocation properties when fused to fewer than 100 amino acids as well. These findings led us to study whether such a protein tansduction property is shared by other homeodomains. We report here that homeodomains of two homeoproteins, Fushi-tarazu and Engrailed, are able to transduce a 238 amino acid long green fluorescent protein into cultured cells as efficiently as other well-known protein transduction domains, such as an internal oligopeptide of Tat and penetratin. These findings suggest that such transduction activity of homeodomains might have some physiological roles and that it can be exploited for development of efficient transduction vectors for research use and protein therapy.

1)Fall is one of the most intimidating health conditions in elders. Comprehensive assessment is necessary to understand the individual and environmental aspects of the falls such as balancing abilities, depression, and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to compare the balancing ability, depression, and quality of life between elderly fallers and elderly non-fallers. Thirty-two community-dwelling elders (fifteen males and seventeen females between 65 and 83 years old), who have experienced fall on walking during last twelve months, were involved in the elderly fallers group. And twenty-four males and twenty-two females between 65 and 83 years old of community-dwelling elders, who have no experienced fall on walking during last twelve months, were involved in the elderly non-fallers group. Berg balance scale (BBS), timed up and go test (TUG), and functional reach test (FRT), were used to evaluate the ability of the physical balance. 'Beck depression scale in Korean' questionnaire was used to assess the depression. 'Korean version of World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument-Bref' questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life. The results were as follows: 1) Balancing abilities measured by the BBS, TUG in the elderly fallers group were meaningfully lower than that of the elderly non-fallers group (p<.05), whereas no significant difference in the FRT was found (p>.05). 2) Depression level in the elderly fallers group was significantly higher than that of the elderly non-fallers group (p<.05). 3) Quality of life in the elderly fallers group was significantly lower than that of the elderly non-fallers group, excluding environment domain (p<.05). Therefore, in order for clinical evaluation of the community-dwelling elders those with reduced balancing ability, it is necessary to evaluate and understand the fall experience, depression, and quality of life.

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