This intronless gene encodes a member of the SRY-related HMG-box (SOX) family of transcription factors involved in the regulation of embryonic development and in the determination of cell fate. The product of this gene is required for stem-cell maintenance in the central nervous system, and also regulates gene expression in the stomach. Mutations in this gene have been associated with optic nerve hypoplasia and with syndromic microphthalmia, a severe form of structural eye malformation. This

T Plastin is a representative of an important family of actin-cross-linking and -bundling proteins that organize most of the actin networks in cells. T Plastin is associated with the actin core bundle of microvilli, stereocilia and microspikes in epithelial cells and was proposed to participate in the assembly of these structures. In mesenchymal cells, T plastin localizes to focal adhesions and the leading edge, a broad lamellar membrane extension harboring a dynamic branched actin network.

This gene encodes a 140 kDa protein that is stored in the alpha-granules of platelets and Weibel-Palade bodies of endothelial cells. This protein redistributes to the plasma membrane during platelet activation and degranulation and mediates the interaction of activated endothelial cells or platelets with leukocytes. The membrane protein is a calcium-dependent receptor that binds to sialylated forms of Lewis blood group carbohydrate antigens on neutrophils and monocytes. Alternative splice v

Nucleotides are emerging as important extracellular signaling molecules that mediate several effects, such as proliferation, differentiation , chemotaxis and cytokine release. The P2 receptor family is activated by the binding of nucleotides and is divided into two subfamilies, P2X and P2Y. The P2X receptor family is comprised of ligand-gated ion channels that allow for the increased permeability of calcium into the cell in response to extracellular ATP. The P2Y receptor family are G protein

Adenoviruses are DNA viruses that cause upper respiratory tract infections, conjunctivitis, and other infections in humans. Adenoviruses were discovered in 1953. About 47 different types have been identified since then, and about half of them are believed to cause human diseases. Infants and children are most commonly affected by adenoviruses. Adenovirus infections can occur throughout the year, but seem to be most common from fall to spring. Adenoviruses are responsible for 3-5% of acute re

Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is a member of the herpesvirus family and one of the most common human viruses. Most people become infected with EBV during their lives. Primary infections usually results in infectious mononucleosis (glandular fever) but the virus can also lay dormant in B lymphocytes and when reactivated become associated with more serious disease such as Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Hodgkin's disease. EBV latently infects B lymphocytes. Infected B cells expre