Industry-level determinants of India's vertical and horizontal IIT.

This paper mitigates the gap in the Indian context about the non-consideration of vertical and horizontal intra-industry trade (IIT) distinctly in testing empirical hypotheses about industry-level determinants of IIT. Our study indicates that failure to segregate vertical and horizontal IIT from the total IIT possibly leads to potential bias in econometric results. Drawing on annual multilateral trade data encompassing two and half decades of the liberalization period, we find India's IIT outpaced the growth of inter-industry trade over the years and its contribution mainly came from six manufacturing industry groups whose export baskets had been loaded with low vertically differentiated goods. However, horizontal and high vertical IIT have gained some momentum since the end of the last decade. Given the fractional nature of our dependent variable, we initially estimate a (random effects) Tobit model followed by the Exponential Regression of Fractional Response model. The robust econometric findings show that product differentiation has a positive impact only on total IIT. Whereas vertical and horizontal IIT are promoted in industries with concentrated and competitive market structures, respectively. The prevalence of concentrated market structure indicates that (large) Indian firms sustain import competition by specializing in low vertically differentiated goods, as they efficiently adjust to resource reallocation.

The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus-Associated Single Nucleotide Polymorphism rs1143678 in Integrin αM Cytoplasmic Tail Generates a 14-3-3ζ Binding Site That Is Proinflammatory.

The leukocyte integrin αMß2 (CR3 or Mac-1) has both proinflammatory and immune regulatory functions. Genome-wide association studies have identified several ITGAM (αM subunit) single nucleotide polymorphisms that are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus. The single nucleotide polymorphism rs1143678 substitutes Pro1146 for Ser in the integrin αM cytoplasmic tail. A detailed functional characterization of this substitution is lacking. Using transfected human cell lines, reconstituted mouse bone marrow neutrophils, and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), we showed that P1146S (PS) substitution promoted integrin αMß2-mediated adhesion, spreading, and migration of cells on iC3b and fibrinogen. In the presence of LPS together with iC3b or fibrinogen, the expression levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in integrin αM(PS)ß2 BMDMs were significantly higher than those of integrin αM(wild-type)ß2 BMDMs, and they showed faster kinetics of Erk1/2 activation through the src family kinase(s)-Syk signaling pathway. Integrin αM(PS)ß2 BMDMs also exhibited higher levels of active RhoA and phagocytic activity. Mechanistically, P1146S substitution in the αM cytoplasmic tail generates a noncanonical 14-3-3ζ binding site that modulates integrin αM(PS)ß2 outside-in signaling.