2013 May - 111 articles
Human prostatic acid phosphatase (PAcP) is a 100 kDa glycoprotein composed of two subunits. Recent advances demonstrate that cellular PAcP (cPAcP) functions as a protein tyrosine phosphatase by dephosphorylating ErbB-2/Neu/HER-2 at the phosphotyrosi...
The authors investigated the regulatory effects of sulfur dioxide (SO2) on myocardial injury induced by isopropylarterenol (ISO) hydrochloride and its mechanisms. Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control group, ISO group, ISO plus SO2 group...
The C-C chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) stimulates migration, proliferation, and invasion of prostate cancer (PCa) cells, and its signaling also plays a role in the activation of osteoclasts. Therefore targeting CCL2 signaling in regulation of tumor progre...
Obesity represents a major risk factor for a plethora of severe diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cancer. It is often accompanied by an increased risk of mortality and, in the case of non-fat...
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) is a remarkable protein as it clearly plays multiple roles in mediating viral replication, host-cell interactions and viral pathogenesis. However, on the impact of cell growth, there have been d...
The ribose-binding protein (RBP) is a sugar-binding bacterial periplasmic protein whose function is associated with a large allosteric conformational change from an open to a closed conformation upon binding to ribose. The open (ligand-free) and clo...
In this paper, we investigated the intra-species bacterial quorum sensing at the single cell level using a double droplet trapping system. Escherichia coli transformed to express the quorum sensing receptor protein, LasR, were encapsulated in microd...
A flexible methacrylate powder dressing (Altrazeal®) transforms into a wound contour conforming matrix once in contact with wound exudate. We hypothesised that it may also serve as a drug delivery vehicle for antiseptics. The antimicrobial efficacy a...
Because magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents play a vital role in diagnosing diseases, demand for new MRI contrast agents, with an enhanced sensitivity and advanced functionalities, is very high. During the past decade, various inorganic...
Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) is a major foodborne pathogen in the United States and one of the most frequently reported Salmonella serotypes globally. Eggs are the most common food product associated with SE infections in humans. The pathogen colonize...
Porcine pleuropneumonia is a highly contagious respiratory disease that causes great economic losses worldwide. In this study, we aimed to explore the underlying relationship between infection and injury by investigation of the whole porcine genome e...
To investigate the therapeutic effect of different doses of low energy shock wave therapy (LESWT) on the erectile dysfunction (ED) in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. SD rats (n = 75) were randomly divided into 5 groups (normal control, di...
The vasopressin-regulated urea transporter UT-A1, expressed in kidney inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) epithelial cells, plays a critical role in the urinary concentrating mechanisms. As a membrane protein, the function of UT-A1 transport activ...
Ischemic preconditioning has been reported to protect against spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. To investigate this, Japanese white rabbits underwent I-R (30 min aortic occlusion fo...
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) impair the physiological functions of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells by inducing cell apoptosis, which is the main cause of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The mechanism by...
It has been confirmed that alternatively activated macrophages (M2) participate in tissue remodeling and fibrosis occurrence, but the effect of M2 on peritoneal fibrosis related to peritoneal dialysis (PD) hasn’t been elucidated. This study was there...
Magnetite nanoparticles were synthesized by electrocrystallization in the presence of thiourea or sodium butanoate as an organic stabilizer. The synthesis was performed in a thermostatic electrochemical cell containing two iron electrodes with an aqu...
The CdTe quantum dots (QDs), graphene nanocomposite (CdTe-G) and dextran–Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles have been synthesized for developing an ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunoassay for Carcinoembryonic antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) in ser...
Claudins are a family of tight junction proteins regulating paracellular permeability and cell polarity with different patterns of expression in benign and malignant human tissues. There are approximately 27 members of the claudin family identified t...
Plants have been interacting with insects for several hundred million years, leading to complex defense approaches against various insect feeding strategies. Some defenses are constitutive while others are induced, although the insecticidal defense c...
Estrogen receptor (ER), expressed in approximately 80% of primary breast cancer cells, has proven to be a valuable predictive factor of the disease. Herein, by making use of the specific binding of ER to its DNA response elements, we propose an Exonu...
Epigenetic alterations including DNA methylation and microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in the initiation and progression of human cancers. As the extensively studied epigenetic changes in tumors, DNA methylation and miRNAs are the most potentia...
Lung cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, with subsequently poor prognosis. There are no biomarkers available to facilitate early diagnosis or to discriminate between benign and malignant nodules. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are stable molecules th...
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important ROS molecule (Reactive oxygen species) that serves as a signal of oxidative stress and activation of signaling cascades as a result of the early response of the plant to biotic stress. This response can also b...
Co-contamination of the environment with toxic chlorinated organic and heavy metal pollutants is one of the major problems facing industrialized nations today. Heavy metals may inhibit biodegradation of chlorinated organics by interacting with enzyme...
Apoptosis is executed through the activity of the caspases that are aspartyl-specific proteases. In this study, we isolated the caspase gene (Cscaspase-1) of Chilo suppressalis (one of the leading pests responsible for destruction of rice crops). It...
Chemically responsive hydrogels with embedded magnetic nanoparticles are of interest for biosensors that magnetically detect chemical changes. A crucial point is the irreversible linkage of nanoparticles to the hydrogel network, preventing loss of na...
The Trk family of receptors play a wide variety of roles in physiological and disease processes in both neuronal and non-neuronal tissues. Amongst these the TrkB receptor in particular has attracted major attention due to its critical role in signall...
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways are activated by several stimuli and transduce the signal inside cells, generating diverse responses including cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis. Each MAPK cascade comprises...
The Rab27 family of small GTPases regulates exocytosis of distinct vesicle types including multivesicular endosomes, which results in the release of exosomes. Exosomes are nanometer-sized membrane vesicles that enclose soluble factors such as protein...
We describe a combination of all-atom simulations with CABS, a well-established coarse-grained protein modeling tool, into a single multiscale protocol. The simulation method has been tested on the C-terminal beta hairpin of protein G, a model syste...
Cationic compounds are promising candidates for development of antimicrobial agents. Positive charges attached to surfaces, particles, polymers, peptides or bilayers have been used as antimicrobial agents by themselves or in sophisticated formulation...
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that modulates many central and peripheral functions. Tryptophan hydroxylase-1 (TPH1) is a key enzyme of serotonin synthesis. In the current study, the interaction mechanism of phenylalanine derivative TPH1 inhibitors...
The facilitative glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) is expressed in adipose and muscle and plays a vital role in whole body glucose homeostasis. In the absence of insulin, only ~1% of cellular GLUT4 is present at the plasma membrane, with the vast ma...
Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a crucial role in plant responses to abiotic stress. To investigate differences in plant responses to salt and ABA stimulus, differences in gene expression in Arabidopsis in response to salt and ABA were compared using an Ag...
A simple colorimetric immunoassay system, based on the peroxidase mimicking activity of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), has been developed to detect clinically important antigenic molecules. MNPs with ca. 10 nm in diameter were synthesized and c...
The human embryonic lethal abnormal vision-like protein, HuR, is a member of the Hu family of RNA-binding proteins. Over the past decade, this ubiquitously expressed protein has been extensively investigated in cancer research because it is involved...
Vitamin C (VC) is well known as an antioxidant in humans, primates and guinea pigs. Studies have suggested gender differences in VC requirements in humans, and gender differences in oxidant injury vulnerability in early life may represent a biologica...
Melatonin is an endogenous hormone rhythmically produced in the pineal gland under the control of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and the light/dark cycle. This indole plays an important role in many physiological processes including circadian entr...
Recent studies indicate that β-elemene, a compound isolated from the Chinese herbal medicine Curcuma wenyujin, is capable of reversing tumor MDR, although the mechanism remains elusive. In this study, β-Elemene treatment markedly increased the intrac...
Lung cancer cells express different chemokines and chemokine receptors that modulate leukocyte infiltration within tumor microenvironment. In this study we screened several mediators/growth factors on CXCL1 release in human carcinoma epithelial cells...
Platelets and lipoproteins play a crucial role in atherogenesis, in part by their ability to modulate inflammation and oxidative stress. While oxidized low density lipoproteins (OxLDL) play a central role in the development of this disease, high dens...
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in men and shows a predilection for metastasis to the bone. D-pinitol, a 3-methoxy analogue of d-chiro-inositol, was identified as an active principle in soy foods and legumes, and it has been...
Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a plant self-defense mechanism against a broad-range of pathogens and insect pests. Among chemical SAR triggers, plant and bacterial volatiles are promising candidates for use in pest management, as these volatil...
Microglia are resident immune cells in the central nervous system. They play a role in normal brain development and neuronal recovery. However, overactivation of microglia causes neuronal death, which is associated with neurodegenerative diseases, su...
Adsorption of precious metals in acidic aqueous solutions using thiourea modified magnetic magnetite nanoparticle (MNP-Tu) was examined. The MNP-Tu was synthesized, characterized and examined as a reusable adsorbent for the recovery of precious metal...
Ca2+ is a universal signalling molecule involved in regulating cell cycle and fate, metabolism and structural integrity, motility and volume. Like other cells, red blood cells (RBCs) rely on Ca2+ dependent signalling during differentiation from precu...
Caffeine is an alkaloid with a stimulant effect in the body. It can interfere in transmissions based on acetylcholine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine and glutamate. Clinical studies indicate that it can be involved in the slowing of...
The generally accepted mechanism for ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) to enhance drug and gene delivery is through sonoporation. However, passive uptake of adeno-associated virus (AAV) into cells following sonoporation does not adeq...
Resistin is a novel hormone that is secreted by human adipocytes and mononuclear cells and is associated with obesity, insulin resistance and inflammation. Recently, resistin has been postulated to play a role in angiogenesis. Here, we investigated t...
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