Training future dental clinicians. An integrated approach to health care.

The next generation of dental professionals will require an improved understanding of the interplay between oral health and general health. An aging population, a greater proportion of medically complex patients and an evolving health care delivery system all call for changes in the ways dentists are trained. A concerted effort to broaden primary health-care activities in the dental office will greatly improve both oral and general health outcomes. It is proposed that expansion of biomedical training in the predoctoral curriculum, mandated PGY-1 postgraduate training and improved continuing education courses would provide the basis for achieving these goals.

MuLK, a eukaryotic multi-substrate lipid kinase.

We report the identification and characterization of a novel lipid kinase that phosphorylates multiple substrates. This enzyme, which we term MuLK for multi-substrate lipid kinase, does not belong to a previously described lipid kinase family. MuLK has orthologs in many organisms and is broadly expressed in human tissues. Although predicted to be a soluble protein, MuLK co-fractionates with membranes and localizes to an internal membrane compartment. Recombinant MuLK phosphorylates diacylglycerol, ceramide, and 1-acylglycerol but not sphingosine. Although its affinity for diacylglycerol and ceramide are similar, MuLK exhibits a higher V(max) toward diacylglycerol in vitro, consistent with it acting primarily as a diacylglycerol kinase. MuLK activity was inhibited by sphingosine and enhanced by cardiolipin. It was stimulated by calcium when magnesium concentrations were low and inhibited by calcium when magnesium concentrations were high. The effects of charged lipids and cations on MuLK activity in vitro suggest that its activity in vivo is tightly regulated by cellular conditions.