BACKGROUND: The phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) tumor suppressor protein is a central negative regulator of the PI3K/AKT signaling cascade and suppresses cell survival as well as cell proliferation. PTEN is found to be either inactivated or mutated in various human malignancies. In the present study, ...

The ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to adapt to toxic Mn(2+) concentration (4 mM) after an unusually long lag phase has been demonstrated for the first time. The mutants lacking exopolyphosphatase PPX1 did not change the adaptation time, whereas the mutants lacking exopolyphosphatase PPN1 reduced the lag period compared to the ...

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer G protein coupled receptor 1 (OGR1) mediates inhibitory effects on cell migration in human prostate and ovarian cancer cells. However, the mechanisms and signaling pathways that mediate these inhibitory effects are essentially unknown. METHODS: MCF7 cell line was chosen as a model system to study the mechanisms ...

Abstract In nature, essential oils play an important role in the protection of the plants by exerting anti-bacterial, -viral, -fungal, -oxidative, -genotoxic, and free radical scavenging properties, as well as in some cases acting as insecticides. Several Satureja species are used in traditional medicine due to recognized therapeutic properties, namely ...

Free radicals are widely known to be the major cause of human diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, allergy and autoimmune diseases. Human cells are equipped with a powerful natural antioxidant enzyme network. However, antioxidants, particularly those originating from natural sources such as fruits and vegetables, are still considered essential. ...

Math1, also known as Atoh1, is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that plays a key role in hair cells (HCs) development. Previous studies have reported that Math1 gene transfer could induce the production of ectopic hair cell-like cells both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we focused on the mechanism ...

Numerous roles have been identified for extracellular signals such as Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs), Transforming Growth Factor-βs (TGFβs), Wingless-Int proteins (WNTs), and Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) in assigning fates to cells during development of the cerebrum. However, several fundamental questions remain largely unexplored. First, how does the same extracellular signal instruct ...

Receptor tyrosine kinases, Tyro-3, Axl and Mer, collectively designated as TAM, are involved in the clearance of apoptotic cells. TAM ligands, Gas6 and Protein S, bind to the surfaces of apoptotic cells, and at the same time, interact directly with TAM expressed on phagocytes, impacting the engulfment and clearance of ...

Chronic post-natal hyperoxia reduces the hypoxic ventilatory response by reducing the carotid body sensitivity to acute hypoxia as demonstrated by a reduced afferent nerve response, reduced calcium response of carotid body glomus cells and reduced catecholamine secretion in response to acute hypoxia. The present study examined whether hyperoxia alters the ...

Heart valves arise from the cardiac endocardial cushions located at the atrioventricular canal (AVC) and cardiac outflow tract (OFT) during development. A subpopulation of cushion endocardial cells undergoes endocardial to mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and generates the cushion mesenchyme, which is then remodeled into the interstitial tissue of the mature valves. ...

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive human cancers but the mechanisms governing its metastatic dissemination are not fully understood. Upregulation of miR-214 and ALCAM and the loss of TFAP2 expression have been implicated in this process, with TFAP2 a direct target of miR-214. Here we link miR-214 and ...

The wide scale use of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) due to their unique properties and important applications in magnetic, thermal, electrical, sensor devices, and cosmetics makes human beings more prone to the exposure of CuONPs and its potential adverse effects. Exposure to such nanoparticles is mainly through skin and inhalation. ...

Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 are components of the transforming growth factor β signaling pathway associated with tumorigenesis. The expression of these proteins is associated with tumor progression and prognosis of many cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the nuclear expression of Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 in clear cell renal cell ...

Daily phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segment fragments (POS) by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is essential for vision. RPE cells use an uptake machinery that is highly similar to the one macrophages use to phagocytose apoptotic cells. In both forms of phagocytosis, particle binding induces phagocyte signaling that is required ...

A fundamental rule of cell division is that daughter cells inherit half the DNA complement and an appropriate proportion of cellular organelles. The highly asymmetric cell divisions of female meiosis present a different challenge because one of the daughters, the polar body, is destined to degenerate, putting at risk essential ...

Nanos is a pan-metazoan germline marker, important for germ cell development and maintenance. In flies, Nanos also acts in posterior and neural development, but these functions have not been demonstrated experimentally in other animals. Using the cnidarian Hydractinia we uncover novel roles for Nanos in neural cell fate determination. Ectopic ...

Telekin, a eudesmane-type sesquiterpene lactone compound isolated from Chinese folk medicine Carpesium divaricatum, has been reported to strongly inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. In this study, the involvement of a mitochondria-mediated pathway in the pro-apoptotic action of telekin was investigated in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. MTT assays showed that ...

The stereoselective uptake of propranolol enantiomers was investigated by using the K562 and K562 adriamycin-resistant cell line (K562/ADR) as a model. An enantioselective RP-HPLC method was applied to determine the accumulation of propranolol (PPL) stereoisomers in K562 and K562/ADR cells. The concentration, time and temperature dependent studies showed that the ...

Migration of cancer cells leads to invasion of primary tumors to distant organs (i.e., metastasis). Growing number of studies have demonstrated the migration of various cancer cell types directed by applied direct current electric fields (dcEF), i.e., electrotaxis, and suggested its potential implications in metastasis. MDA-MB-231 cell, a human metastatic ...

Recent studies have demonstrated that germ-like cells could be differentiated from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) in vitro. Whether the sexuality of hUC-MSCs affects the formation efficiency of germ-like cells derived from hUC-MSCs is still unclear. To clearly test the formation efficiency of oocyte-like cells from male and ...

Gallic acid (GA) is involved in various biological processes such as cell growth inhibition and apoptosis through changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS). In the present study, we investigated the effects of MAPK (MEK, JNK or p38) inhibitors on cell death in GA-induced A549 lung cancer cells in relation to ...

Abstract The growing use of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) in commercial and medical applications raises the urgent need for tools that can predict NP toxicity. We conducted global transcriptome and proteome analyses of three human cell types, exposed to two high aspect ratio NP types, to identify patterns of expression that ...

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) has shown substantial efficacy in the treatment of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia, a specific subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, since not all patients can achieve remission after treatment, it is necessary to develop a novel method to overcome this problem. We investigated the anti-leukemic ...

Components of the extracellular matrix may modulate the growth factor effects that play important roles in the proliferation and differentiation of precursor cells. We developed an in vitro cultivation protocol for cells of the larval marine bivalve Mytilus trossulus to study the role that extracellular matrix components may play in ...

Adult sarcomas are highly aggressive tumors that are characterized by high levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 secretions that degrade the ECM and basement membrane, allowing cancer cells to spread to distal organs. Proteases play a key role in tumor cell invasion and metastasis by digesting the basement membrane ...

Zebularine (Zeb) is a DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor to that has an anti-tumor effect. Here, we evaluated the anti-growth effect of Zeb on A549 lung cancer cells in relation to reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Zeb inhibited the growth of A549 cells with an IC50 of approximately 70 µM at 72 h. ...

We demonstrate an optoelectronic tweezer (OET) coupled to a lensfree holographic microscope for real-time interactive manipulation of cells and micro-particles over a large field-of-view (FOV). This integrated platform can record the holographic images of cells and particles over the entire active area of a CCD sensor array, perform digital image ...

BACKGROUND:Toxicity of the local anesthetic bupivacaine (BV) has been a matter of debate across medical fields. Numerous in vitro studies demonstrate considerable toxicity of BV on various cell types. PURPOSE:This study addresses the question of how tendon tissue responds to BV in vivo and in vitro. STUDY DESIGN:Controlled laboratory study. ...

The potential for carcinogenic risks is increased by radiation-induced bystander responses; these responses are the biological effects in unirradiated cells that receive signals from the neighboring irradiated cells. Bystander responses have attracted attention in modern radiobiology because they are characterized by non-linear responses to low-dose radiation. We used a synchrotron ...

Measurement of telomere length currently requires a large population of cells, which masks telomere length heterogeneity in single cells, or requires FISH in metaphase arrested cells, posing technical challenges. A practical method for measuring telomere length in single cells has been lacking. We established a simple and robust approach for ...

PURPOSE: Recent use of a titanium (Ti) backplate has improved the design and biocompatibility of the Boston Keratoprosthesis (BKpro). Titanium's shiny metallic appearance, however, makes the cosmetic outcome less favorable. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a coloring surface modification of Ti. METHOD: Ti coloring was ...

Fungi produce multiple morphological forms as part of developmental programs or in response to changing, often stressful, environmental conditions. An opportunistic pathogen of humans, Penicillium marneffei displays multicellular hyphal growth and asexual development (conidiation) in the environment at 25°C and unicellular yeast growth in macrophages at 37°C. We characterized the ...

Inhibition of c-MYC has been considered as a potential therapy for lymphoma treatment. We explored a lentiviral vector-mediated small interfering RNA (siRNA) expression vector to stably reduce c-MYC expression in B cell line Jijoye cells and investigated the effects of c-MYC downregulation on cell growth, cell cycle, and apoptosis in ...

Abstract Aim: To determine the effects of vitamin E on transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-β2)-induced cellular changes in cultured human trabecular meshwork (TM) cells. Materials and Methods: Human TM cells were pre-treated with different concentrations of vitamin E. Afterwards, cells were exposed to 1.0 ng/ml TGF-β2 for 24 h. Expressions of the heat ...

PURPOSE: Endogenous labeling of stem/ progenitor cells via intracerebroventricular injection of micron-sized particles of iron oxide (MPIOs) has become standard methodology for MRI of adult neurogenesis. While this method is well characterized in the naïve rodent brain, it has not been fully investigated in disease models. Here, we describe methodological ...

Introduction: Paneth cell (PC) numbers increase following intestinal damage, but mechanisms driving this process are not understood. We hypothesized that increased PC numbers is due to recruitment of cells from a pre-existing pool of secretory progenitors. Methods: Mice were given a single injection of Doxorubicin (Dox), and then intestinal tissue ...

SOX9 regulates cell lineage specification by directly regulating target genes in a discrete number of tissues, and previous reports have shown both cell proliferative and suppressive roles for SOX9. Although SOX9 is expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC), only a few direct targets have been identified in intestinal epithelial cells. We ...

BACKGROUND: Aquaporins (AQPs) are water channel proteins that facilitate transcellular water movements. Recent studies have shown that AQP5 is expressed in various cancers, and plays a role in tumor progression. However, its expression and role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have not been investigated. We examined the pathophysiologic role ...

The migration of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) to the white matter is an indispensable requirement for an intact brain function. The mechanism of cell migration in general is not yet completely understood. Nevertheless, evidence is accumulating that besides the coordinated rearrangement of the cytoskeleton, a finetuned interplay of ion and ...

Orientation of extracellular matrix (ECM) fibrils contributes to the anisotropy of bones, but little is known about how fibril orientation induces osteoblastic responses. Here, biomimetic polycaprolactone/type I collagen (PCL/COL-1) nanofibers with aligned and random fiber arrangements were used as models to study their effects on pre-osteoblasts. Elongated cell morphology, accelerated ...

Inorganic nanoparticles such as silica particles offer many exciting possibilities for biomedical applications. However, the possible toxicity of these particles remains an issue of debate that seriously impedes their full exploitation. In the present work, commercially available fluorescent silica nanoparticles of 25, 45 and 75 nm diameter optimized for cell ...

Fibroblast clusters have been observed in tissues under a variety of circumstances: in fibrosis and scar, in the formation of hair follicle dermal papilla, and as part of the general process of mesenchymal condensation that takes place during development. Cell clustering has been shown to depend on features of the ...

NEK9 is known to play a role in spindle assembly and in the control of centrosome separation, but the consequences of NEK9 targeting in cancer cells remain to be elucidated. In this study, we used siRNA to investigate the consequences of targeting NEK9 in glioblastoma and kidney cancer cells as ...

Several lines of evidence suggest that specific transcriptional events are involved in cell cycle, proliferation and differentiation processes; however, their deregulation by proto-oncogenes are involved in the development of leukemia and tumors. One such proto-oncogene is ecotropic viral integration site I which can differentially effect cell cycle progression and proliferation, ...

Tissue organization comes from the emergence of cell cooperation where cell homeostasis and function are performed as a trade-off of two excluding proliferative and differentiated cellular states. By introducing function in a population dynamics approach, I study the role of division of labor in tissue optimality when cell turn-over and ...

Cell cycle exit and acquirement of a postmitotic state following cell proliferation is essential for the proper development of organs. In the present review, we examine the role of the cell cycle control in the sensory epithelia of the mammalian inner ear. We describe the roles of the core cell ...

Opa interacting protein 5 (OIP5), overexpressed in some types of human cancers, has been reported to be associated with the carcinogenesis of human cancer. However, the biological function and clinical significance of OIP5 in human Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (CCRCC) remains unknown. In the present study, we found the ...

In this study we characterized (3)H-2-deoxy-D-glucose ((3)H-DG) uptake by the estrogen receptor (ER)-positive MCF7 and the ER-negative MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell lines and investigated the effect of quercetin (QUE) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) upon (3)H-DG uptake, glucose metabolism and cell viability and proliferation. In both MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells ...

Homers are scaffolding proteins that modulate diverse cell functions being able to assemble signalling complexes. In this study, the presence, sub-cellular distribution and function of Homer 1 was investigated. Homer 1a and Homer 1b/c are constitutively expressed in cardiac muscle of both mouse and rat and in HL-1 cells, a ...

Goblet cell numbers decrease within the conjunctival epithelium in drying and cicatrizing ocular surface diseases. Factors regulating goblet cell differentiation in conjunctival epithelium are unknown. Recent data indicate that the transcription factor SAM-pointed domain epithelial-specific transcription factor (Spdef) is essential for goblet cell differentiation in tracheobronchial and gastrointestinal epithelium of ...