Synergistic activity, variation

Whatever the reason for the variation in the synergistic activity observed between Cx and the various Cx enzymes, it would appear that the answer must lie in the Cx fraction and the manner in which the various components interact with Cx. For this reason, we have looked at the Cx system to T. koningii in some detail. 

GAA-071, Endo and Sawasaki systematically modified the length and sequence of the 3 -UTR that works synergistically with the 5 -UTR to enhance transcript stability and initiation of translation. It was found that the activity of transcripts were more sensitive to the length of the 3 -UTR than to variations in the 3 -UTR sequence. mRNA synthesized with a 1626-nucleotide 3 -UTR, and the GAA-071 5 -UTR translation enhancer proved to be almost as active as the capped and polyadenylated mRNA transcribed from the unmodified pSP65 vector. 

It is worth remembering that these advances are enjoyed only by a privileged few. The WHO estimates that 80% of the world s population still relies on traditional medicines for their primary health care needs. These are invariably crude natural product extracts, with potentially large variations in composition from one batch to another, and that are not subjected to controlled clinical trials. It is also true that many of these traditional medicines, although consumed by millions of people who vouch for their efficacy, have not succumbed to Western-style inquisitions to determine their mechanism of action. Traditional medicines, contend their proponents, work by complex synergistic interactions between their constituents. Consequently, reductionist approaches that identify single active pharmaceutical ingredients are doomed to failure. 

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