Anti-JUP monoclonal antibody, clone 707DU32.6.2

We generated cornea-specific plakoglobin (Jup; junctional plakoglobin) knockout mice in order to investigate the function of plakoglobin on the maintenance of the homeostasis of corneal epithelium in mice. Cornea epithelium-specific conditional knockouts (Jup(CE Delta/CE Delta)) (cKO) were obtained by breeding keratin12-Cre (Krt12-Cre) mice to Jup-floxed (Jup(f/f)) mice. Light and transmission electron microscopic and immunohistochemical analyses were carried out to determine consequence of the loss of plakoglobin on maintaining corneal epithelium integrity under mechanical stress, e.g., brushing and wound healing. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated that, although Jup ablation did not affect BrdU incorporation, basal cell-like cells labeled for keratin 14 were ectopically present in the supra-basal layer in mutant corneal epithelium, suggestive of altered cell differentiation. Plakoglobin-deficient epithelium exhibits increased fragility against mechanical intervention when compared to wild-type controls under identical treatment. Closure of an epithelial defect was significantly delayed in Jup(CE Delta/CE Delta) epithelium. Our findings indicate that the lack of plakoglobin significantly affects corneal epithelium differentiation, as well as its structural integrity. Plakoglobin is essential to the maintenance of the structure of the corneal epithelium and its wound healing.

We present updates to PRISM, a photometric transit-starspot model, and GEMC, a hybrid optimization code combining MCMC and a genetic algorithm. We then present high-precision photometry of four transits in the WASP-6 planetary system, two of which contain a starspot anomaly. All four transits were modelled using PRISM and GEMC, and the physical properties of the system calculated. We find the mass and radius of the host star to be 0.836 +/- 0.063 M-circle dot and 0.864 +/- 0.024 R-circle dot, respectively. For the planet, we find a mass of 0.485 +/- 0.027M(Jup), a radius of 1.230 +/- 0.035 R-Jup and a density of 0.244 +/- 0.014 rho(Jup). These values are consistent with those found in the literature. In the likely hypothesis that the two spot anomalies are caused by the same starspot or starspot complex, we measure the stars rotation period and velocity to be 23.80 +/- 0.15 d and 1.78 +/- 0.20 km s(-1), respectively, at a colatitude of 75.8 degrees. We find that the sky-projected angle between the stellar spin axis and the planetary orbital axis is lambda = 7.2 degrees +/- 3.7 degrees, indicating axial alignment. Our results are consistent with and more precise than published spectroscopic measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. These results suggest thatWASP-6 b formed at amuch greater distance from its host star and suffered orbital decay through tidal interactions with the protoplanetary disc.