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A four-step procedure for the efficient and systematic mining of whole EST libraries for differentially expressed genes is presented. After eliminating redundant entries from the EST library under investigation (step 1), contigs of maximal length are built upon each remaining EST using about 4 000 000 public and proprietary ESTs (step 2). These putative genes are compared against a database comprising ESTs from 16 different tissues (both normal and tumour affected) to determine whether or not they are differentially expressed (step 3; electronic northern). Fisher's exact test is used to assess the significance of differential expression. In step 4, an attempt is made to characterise the contigs obtained in the assembly through database comparison. A case study of the CGAP library NCI_CGAP_Br1.1, a library made from three (well, moderately, and poorly differentiated) invasive ductal breast tumours (2126 ESTs in total) was carried out. Of the maximal contigs, 139 were found to be significantly (alpha = 0.05) over-expressed in breast tumour tissue, while 13 appeared to be down-regulated.

In this paper we present the updated version of the compilation of 5S rRNA and 5S rDNA nucleotide sequences. It contains 1622 primary structures of 5S rRNAs and 5S rRNA genes from 888 species. These include 58 archaeal, 427 eubacterial, 34 plastid, nine mitochondrial and 1094 eukaryotic DNA or RNA nucleotide sequences. The sequence entries are divided according to the taxonomic position of the organisms. All individual sequences deposited in the 5S rRNA Database can be retrieved using the WWW-based, taxonomic browser at http://rose.man.poznan.pl/5SData/5SRNA.html++ + or http://www.chemie. fu-berlin.de/fb_chemie/agerdmann/5S_rRNA.html . The files with complete sets of data as well as sequence alignments are available via anonymous ftp.

Previous studies have demonstrated that an alteration of the interaction between the immune system and the autonomic nervous system may contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritides. To address this issue further in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), this study aimed at determining the modulation of beta-adrenergic receptors (beta 2R) on lymphocyte subsets and its impact on cell reactivity. beta 2R were determined on CD4+ and CD8+ peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and synovial fluid lymphocytes (SFL) from RA patients and normal donors. In parallel, the influence of catecholamines on OKT3-induced T-cell activation was studied. In patients with RA, beta 2R on SFL were significantly decreased compared to beta 2R on PBL. Furthermore, a disease activity-correlated significant decrease of beta 2R on CD8+ PBL was observed. This decrease of beta 2R was paralleled by a reduced suppressive effect of catecholamines on OKT3-induced lymphocyte proliferation. Our data give further evidence for an impaired sympathetic influence on the immune response in RA.

The compilation of 5S rRNA and 5S rRNA gene nucleotide sequences as of 30 September 1996, contains a total of 1661 primary structures of 5S rRNAs or their genes, which is an increase of 928 new sequence entries over the last compilation. It covers sequences from 54 archaea, 449 eubacteria, 34 plastids, nine mitochondria and 430 eukaryotes. The databank uses the format of the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Data Library complemented by a Sequence Alignment (SA) field including secondary structure information. The taxonomic classification of organisms was totally updated. Now the database is also available via anonymous FTP or WWW.

This is an update for the 5S rRNA sequences of the BERLIN RNA DATABANK last published in 1990 (1). The new entry consists of 25 eubacterial and 2 eukaryotic 5S rRNA sequences and 10 plant 5S rRNA pseudogenes (Table 1). Thus the BERLIN RNA DATABANK contains as of February 1, 1991 the 5S rRNA sequences of 44 archaebacteria, 292 eubacteria, 20 plastids, 6 mitochondria, 321 eukaryotes and 21 eukaryotic pseudogenes. The BERLIN RNA DATABANK uses the format of the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Data Library complemented by a Sequence Alignment (SA) field including secondary structure information.

The BERLIN RNA DATABANK as of December 31, 1989, contains a total of 667 sequences of 5S rRNAs or their genes, which is an increase of 114 new sequence entries over the last compilation (1). It covers sequences from 44 archaebacteria, 267 eubacteria, 20 plastids, 6 mitochondria, 319 eukaryotes and 11 eukaryotic pseudogenes. The hardcopy shows only the list of those organisms whose sequences have been determined. The BERLIN RNA DATABANK uses the format of the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Data Library complemented by a Sequence Alignment (SA) field including secondary structure information.