Search results for " Polymer"
showing 10 items of 3533 documents
Cloning of two melanocortin (MC) receptors in spiny dogfish
2004
We report the cloning and characterization of two melanocortin receptors (MCRs) from the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) (Sac). Phylogenetic analysis shows that these shark receptors are orthologues of the MC3R and MC5R subtypes, sharing 65% and 70% overall amino acid identity with the human counterparts, respectively. The SacMC3R was expressed and pharmacologically characterized in HEK293 cells. The radioligand binding results show that this receptor has high affinity for adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-derived peptides while it has comparable affinity for alpha- and beta-melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH), and slightly lower affinity for gamma-MSH when compared with the human ortho…
Implementation of Sample Pooling Procedure Using a Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostic Real-Time PCR Test Performed Prior to Hospital Admission of People wit…
2021
Reliability, accuracy, and timeliness of diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection have allowed adequate public health management of the disease, thus notably helping the timely mapping of viral spread within the community. Furthermore, the most vulnerable populations, such as people with intellectual disability and dementia, represent a high-risk group across multiple dimensions, including a higher prevalence of pre-existing conditions, lower health maintenance, and a propensity for rapid community spread. This led to an urgent need for reliable in-house rapid testing to be performed prior to hospital admission. In the present study, we describe a pooling procedure in which oropharyngeal…
Differential expression of two glucocorticoid receptors in seabass (teleost fish) head kidney after exogeneous cortisol inoculation
2009
Stressful conditions include a prompt release of corticosteroid hormones which can mediate gene expression through glucocorticoid receptors (GR). Since two seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) GRs have been cloned and sequenced from peritoneal cavity cells (DlGR1) and liver (DlGR2), a comparative amino acid sequence analysis that included Haplochromis burtoni HbGRs, was carried out and homologies disclosed. The DlGR1 and DlGR2 deduced aminoacid sequences showed 61% identity (I) and 70% similarity (S). Moreover, DlGR2 was similar to HbGR2b (69% I, 73% S), and the DlGR1 to HbGR1 (72% I, 78% S). In addition, we examined the expression of the DlGRs after exogeneous cortisol inoculation into the perit…
An alternative role of C1q in cell migration and tissue remodeling: contribution to trophoblast invasion and placental development.
2010
Abstract Fetal trophoblast cells invading the decidua in the early phase of pregnancy establish complex interaction with the maternal extracellular matrix. We discovered that C1q was widely distributed in human decidual stroma in the absence of C4 and C3 and was actively synthesized by migrating extravillous trophoblasts. The cells expressed the messages for the three chains of C1q and secreted this complement component that interacted with the proteins of the decidual extracellular matrix. Solid phase-bound C1q promoted trophoblast adhesion and migration, and cell binding to C1q resulted in activation of ERK1/2 MAPKs. Ab inhibition experiments showed that the receptors for the globular hea…
Genome-wide association analyses identify multiple loci associated with central corneal thickness and keratoconus
2013
The author manuscript of this article is open access and is freely available online at PubMed Central
Poly-ADP ribose polymerase, xanthine oxidase and nitric oxide synthase expression in kidney tissue of experimental diabetes
2014
Background The spatial distribution of inflammatory and DNA reparation markers in the kidney tissue in diabetes is poorly understood. Aim The present study investigated the role of endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthase (eNOS and iNOS), Poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) xanthine oxidase (XO) in the pathogenesis of streptozotocin-induced diabetic changes in the kidney tissue. Methods Diabetes mellitus was induced in rats by a single injection of streptozotocin (STZ) at a dose of 50 mg/kg. The XO, PARP, eNOS and iNOS protein expression in the kidney was studied by immunohistochemistry. Results Obtained results showed that STZ administration incresed the numbers of PARP and XO-positiv…
Need to evaluate the performance of real-time PCR assays for the quantitation of cytomegalovirus DNA load in lower respiratory tract specimens
2013
There is an increasing appreciation for the potential clinical value of the quantitation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA in the lower respiratory tract in critically ill patients lacking canonical immunosuppression, in view of the possible pathogenic role of CMV in these patients [1]. No data have been published on the analytical performance of real-time PCR assays for this purpose. We present our data on the performance of the COBAS® AmpliPrep/COBAS® TaqMan CMV PCR Assay (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) for the quantitation of CMV DNA in tracheal aspirates (TA). This CMV PCR assay has been approved recently by the US Food and Drug Administration for use with plasma specimens [2]. We cho…
Cigarette smoke extract activates human bronchial epithelial cells affecting non-neuronal cholinergic system signalling in vitro.
2010
Abstract Aims Acetylcholine (ACh) is synthesized by Choline Acetyl-Transferase (ChAT) that exerts its physiological effects in airway epithelial cells via muscarinic receptor (MR) activation. We evaluate the effect of ACh stimulation on human bronchial epithelial cells (16-HBE) and test whether cigarette smoke extract (CSE) can modify the basal cellular response to ACh affecting the non-neuronal cholinergic system signalling. Main methods ACh stimulated 16-HBE were tested for ACh-binding, Leukotriene B 4 (LTB 4 ) release and ERK1/2 and NFkB pathway activation. Additionally, we investigated all the aforementioned parameters as well as ChAT and MR proteins and mRNA expression and endogenous A…
Translocation (10;11;22)(p14;q24;q12) Characterized by Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization in a Case of Ewing's Tumor
2001
It is well recognized that the identification by classic cytogenetics of t(11;22)(q24;q12) is a useful aid in the accurate diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma and related tumors. This translocation induces the EWS/FLI-1 fusion transcript, which can be detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Recent studies have also used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to demonstrate the translocation. The authors coupled classic cytogenetics and FISH on tumor cells from the original specimen, the local recurrence, and the pulmonary metastasis as well as from the xenografted tumors in a case of extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma. FISH analysis not only confirmed the cytogenetic results but …
In Vivo Molecular Imaging of Somatostatin Receptors in Pancreatic Islet Cells and Neuroendocrine Tumors by Miniaturized Confocal Laser-Scanning Fluor…
2010
The aim of the study was to evaluate real time in vivo molecular imaging of somatostatin receptors (sstrs) using a handheld miniaturized confocal laser scan microscope (CLM) in conjunction with fluorescein-labeled octreotate (OcF) in healthy mice and murine models of neuroendocrine tumors. For CLM a small rigid probe (diameter 7 mm) with an integrated single line laser (488 nm) was used (optical slice thickness 7 μm; lateral resolution 0.7 μm). OcF was synthesized via Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis and purified by HPLC showing high-affinity binding to the sstr2 (IC50 6.2 nmol). For in vitro evaluation, rat and human pancreatic cancer cells were used and characterized with respect to its…