Search results for " ACTIVATION"
showing 10 items of 1535 documents
Possible protective role for C-reactive protein in atherogenesis: complement activation by modified lipoproteins halts before detrimental terminal se…
2004
Background—Previous work indicated that enzymatically remodeled LDL (E-LDL) might activate complement in atherosclerotic lesions via a C-reactive protein (CRP)–dependent and CRP-independent pathway. We sought to substantiate this contention and determine whether both pathways drive the sequence to completion.Methods and Results—E-LDL was prepared by sequential treatment of LDL with a protease and cholesteryl esterase. Trypsin, proteinase K, cathepsin H, or plasmin was used with similar results. Functional tests were used to assess total complement hemolytic activity, and immunoassays were used to demonstrate C3 cleavage and to quantify C3a, C4a, C5a, and C5b-9. E-LDL preparations activated …
Activation of the first component of complement, C1: comparison of the effect of sixteen different enzymes on serum C1.
1983
In this study, the effect of sixteen different enzymes on serum C1 and its subcomponents was investigated. The sixteen enzymes could be divided into three groups. First, enzymes which activate native C1: trypsin (optimal concentration 2.4 x 10(-4) mM); alpha-chymotrypsin (2.3 x 10(3) mM); thrombin (1.0 x 10(-5) mM); plasmin (1.9 x 10(-5) mM); elastase (5.8 x 10(-5) mM); pronase (3.0 x 10(-6) mM). All these enzymes are serine esterase and activate native serum C1 bound to EAC4 at the given concentration within 10 min at 30 degrees C. Furthermore, native C1 inhibited by a pentosanpolysulfoester, Sp54, is unable to undergo the internal activation but can be externally activated by the serine e…
Platelet function testing in pigs using the Multiplate® Analyzer.
2019
PLOS ONE 14(8), e0222010 (2019). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0222010
Gata4 Blocks Somatic Cell Reprogramming By Directly Repressing Nanog
2012
Abstract Somatic cells can be reprogrammed to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells by ectopic expression of the four factors Oct4, Klf4, Sox2, and Myc. Here, we investigated the role of Gata4 in the reprogramming process and present evidence for a negative role of this family of transcription factors in the induction of pluripotency. Coexpression of Gata4 with Oct4, Klf4, and Sox2 with or without Myc in mouse embryonic fibroblasts greatly impaired reprogramming and endogenous Nanog expression. The lack of Nanog upregulation was associated with a blockade in the transition from the initiation phase of reprogramming to the full pluripotent state characteristic of iPS cells. Addition of Nanog …
The Moss Biomonitoring Method and Neutron Activation Analysis in Assessing Pollution by Trace Elements in Selected Polish National Parks
2020
The concentrations of trace elements in feather moss Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt. were used to indicate the relative levels of air pollution by trace elements in Polish national parks. Pleurozium schreberi was collected from nine national parks. The highest concentrations were recorded in the moss samples from the southern and most industrialised part of the country; the lowest from northern and north-eastern Poland. A comparison of data obtained from Polish national parks in the 1970s and 1990s showed a significant decrease in the concentrations of heavy metals. In the linear covariability estimation, the t quantile approach was used for multi-element comparison. A number of positive…
Removal of ammonium from municipal wastewater with powdered and granulated metakaolin geopolymer
2017
Abstract Ammonium (NH₄⁺) removal from municipal wastewater poses challenges with the commonly used biological processes. Especially at low wastewater temperatures, the process is frequently ineffective and difficult to control. One alternative is to use ion-exchange. In the present study, a novel NH4+ ion-exchanger, metakaolin geopolymer (MK-GP), was prepared, characterised, and tested. Batch experiments with powdered MK-GP indicated that the maximum exchange capacities were 31.79, 28.77, and 17.75 mg/g in synthetic, screened, and pre-sedimented municipal wastewater, respectively, according to the Sips isotherm (R² ≥ 0.91). Kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order rate equation in all case…
Resveratrol, a polyphenolic phytoalexin present in red wine, enhances expression and activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase.
2002
Background— Estrogens can upregulate endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in human endothelial cells by increasing eNOS promoter activity and enhancing the binding activity of the transcription factor Sp1. Resveratrol, a polyphenolic phytoalexin found in grapes and wine, has been reported to act as an agonist at the estrogen receptor. Therefore, we tested the effect of this putative phytoestrogen on eNOS expression in human endothelial cells. Methods and Results— Incubation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and HUVEC-derived EA.hy 926 cells with resveratrol for 24 to 72 hours upregulated eNOS mRNA expression in a time- and concentration-dependent manner (up to 2.8-fold)…
Polymorphonuclear leukocyte membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca2+ content in young adults with acute myocardial infarction. Evaluation at the initial …
2004
Our aim was to examine two aspects of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) rheology (membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca2+ content), at baseline and after in vitro activation, in a group of young adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at the initial stage and after 12 months. We enrolled 21 AMI subjects aged < or = 45 years (mean age 41.1 +/- 3.5 years) and evaluated PMN membrane fluidity, labelling intact PMN cells with the fluorescent probe 1,4-(trimethylamino)-phenyl-4-phenylhexatriene and the PMN cytosolic Ca2+ content marking PMN cells with the fluorescent probe Fura 2-AM, at baseline and after in vitro activation with 4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and N-formyl-methionyl-l…
Pore-forming toxins activate MAPK p38 by causing loss of cellular potassium.
2009
Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 has emerged as a survival protein in cells that are attacked by bacterial toxins forming small membrane pores. Activation of p38 by pore forming toxins (PFT) has been attributed to osmotic stress, but here we show that loss of K+ is likely to be the critical parameter. Several lines of evidence support this conclusion: first, osmoprotection did not prevent p38-phosphorylation in alpha-toxin-loaded cells. Second, treatment of cells with a K+ ionophore, or simple incubation in K+-free medium sufficed to cause robust p38-phosphorylation. Third, media containing high [K+] prevented p38-activation by Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin, Vibrio cholerae c…
Application of 3-Quinolinoyl Picket Porphyrins to the Electroreduction of Dioxygen to Water: Mimicking the Active Site of Cytochromec Oxidase
2001
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