Search results for " receptors"
showing 10 items of 785 documents
Ion-Pair Complexation with Dibenzo[21]Crown-7 and Dibenzo[24]Crown-8 bis-Urea Receptors
2016
Synthesis and ion-pair complexation properties of novel ditopic bis-urea receptors based on dibenzo[21]crown-7 (R(1) ) and dibenzo[24]crown-8 (R(2) ) scaffolds have been studied in the solid state, solution, and gas phase. In a 4:1 CDCl3 /[D6 ]DMSO solution, both receptors clearly show positive heterotropic cooperativity toward halide anions when complexed with Rb(+) or Cs(+) , with the halide affinity increasing in order I(-) <Br(-) <Cl(-) . In solution, the rubidium complexes of both receptors have higher halide affinities compared to the caesium complexes. However, Rb(+) and Cs(+) complexes of R(2) show stronger affinities toward all the studied anions compared to the corresponding catio…
Linking species habitat and past palaeoclimatic events to evolution of the teleost innate immune system
2017
Host-intrinsic factors as well as environmental changes are known to be strong evolutionary drivers defining the genetic foundation of immunity. Using a novel set of teleost genomes and a time-calibrated phylogeny, we here investigate the family of Toll-like receptor ( TLR ) genes and address the underlying evolutionary processes shaping the diversity of the first-line defence. Our findings reveal remarkable flexibility within the evolutionary design of teleost innate immunity characterized by prominent TLR gene losses and expansions. In the order of Gadiformes, expansions correlate with the loss of major histocompatibility complex class II ( MHCII ) and diversifying selection analyses sup…
Survival and gene expression under different temperature and humidity regimes in ants
2017
Short term variation in environmental conditions requires individuals to adapt via changes in behavior and/or physiology. In particular variation in temperature and humidity are common, and the physiological adaptation to changes in temperature and humidity often involves alterations in gene expression, in particular that of heat-shock proteins. However, not only traits involved in the resistance to environmental stresses, but also other traits, such as immune defenses, may be influenced indirectly by changes in temperature and humidity. Here we investigated the response of the ant F. exsecta to two temperature regimes (20 degrees C & 25 degrees C), and two humidity regimes (50% & 75%), for…
Maternal effects in quail and zebra finches: behavior and hormones.
2013
8 pages; International audience; Maternal effects are influences of parents on offspring phenotype occurring through pathways other than inherited DNA. In birds, two important routes for such transmission are parental behavior and non-DNA egg constituents such as yolk hormones. Offspring traits subject to parental effects include behavior and endocrine function. Research from the Adkins-Regan lab has used three avian species to investigate maternal effects related to hormones and behavior. Experiments with chickens and Japanese quail have shown that maternal sex steroids can influence sex determination to produce biased offspring sex ratios. Because all birds have a ZZ/ZW chromosomal sex de…
Cognate HLA absence in trans diminishes human NK cell education
2016
NK cells are innate lymphocytes with protective functions against viral infections and tumor formation. Human NK cells carry inhibitory killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIRs), which recognize distinct HLAs. NK cells with KIRs for self-HLA molecules acquire superior cytotoxicity against HLA– tumor cells during education for improved missing-self recognition. Here, we reconstituted mice with human hematopoietic cells from donors with homozygous KIR ligands or with a mix of hematopoietic cells from these homozygous donors, allowing assessment of the resulting KIR repertoire and NK cell education. We found that co-reconstitution with 2 KIR ligand–mismatched compartments did not alter the frequenc…
Retinoic Acid affects Lung Adenocarcinoma growth by inducing differentiation via GATA6 activation and EGFR and Wnt inhibition
2016
AbstractA fundamental task in cancer research aims at the identification of new pharmacological therapies that can affect tumor growth. Differentiation therapy might exploit this function not only for hematological diseases, such as acute promyelocytic leukemia (APML) but also for epithelial tumors, including lung cancer. Here we show that Retinoic Acid (RA) arrests in vitro and in vivo the growth of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKI) resistant Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). In particular, we found that RA induces G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in TKI resistant NSCLC cells and activates terminal differentiation programs by modulating the expression of GATA6, a key transcription factor involved …
Netrin-1 receptor antibodies in thymoma-associated neuromyotonia with myasthenia gravis.
2017
Objective:To identify cell-surface antibodies in patients with neuromyotonia and to describe the main clinical implications.Methods:Sera of 3 patients with thymoma-associated neuromyotonia and myasthenia gravis were used to immunoprecipitate and characterize neuronal cell-surface antigens using reported techniques. The clinical significance of antibodies against precipitated proteins was assessed with sera of 98 patients (neuromyotonia 46, myasthenia gravis 52, thymoma 42; 33 of them with overlapping syndromes) and 219 controls (other neurologic diseases, cancer, and healthy volunteers).Results:Immunoprecipitation studies identified 3 targets, including the Netrin-1 receptors DCC (deleted i…
Vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and 25-hydroxyvitamin D in a group of Sicilian multiple sclerosis patients
2016
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an auto-immune disease whose etiology remains controversial. Both genetic and environmental factors are thought to be involved in the risk of developing the disease. The purpose of our study was to assess the association of Vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms with MS and to investigate the interaction of these polymorphisms with vitamin D levels. A total of 179 Sicilian subjects, including 104 MS patients and 75 healthy controls, were studied. The most common VDR polymorphisms (Fok-I, Bsm-I, Taq-I and Apa-I) were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses in both groups and serum 25-hydroxyv…
Triggering of Toll-like Receptors in Old Individuals. Relevance for Vaccination
2019
Aging is characterized by a general decline in a range of physiological functions, with a consequent increase in the risk of developing a variety of chronic diseases and geriatric syndromes. Additionally, increasing age is accompanied by a progressive decline in both innate and acquired immune system, referred to as immunosenescence. This impaired ability to mount an efficient immune response after exposure to microorganisms or vaccines represents a major challenge in acquiring protection against pathogens in aging. Therefore, there is still a great need for vaccines that are tailored to optimally stimulate the aged immune system, thus promoting more successful aging. Various strategies ca…
The emerging role of Notch pathway in ageing: Focus on the related mechanisms in age-related diseases
2016
Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway, which is fundamental for the development of all tissues, organs and systems of human body. Recently, a considerable and still growing number of studies have highlighted the contribution of Notch signaling in various pathological processes of the adult life, such as age-related diseases. In particular, the Notch pathway has emerged as major player in the maintenance of tissue specific homeostasis, through the control of proliferation, migration, phenotypes and functions of tissue cells, as well as in the cross-talk between inflammatory cells and the innate immune system, and in onset of inflammatory age-related diseases. However, until …