Search results for "Alpha"
showing 10 items of 3228 documents
Effects of Nandrolone Stimulation on Testosterone Biosynthesis in Leydig Cells
2016
Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are among the drugs most used by athletes for improving physical performance, as well as for aesthetic purposes. A number of papers have showed the side effects of AAS in different organs and tissues. For example, AAS are known to suppress gonadotropin‐releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle‐stimulating hormone. This study investigates the effects of nandrolone on testosterone biosynthesis in Leydig cells using various methods, including mass spectrometry, western blotting, confocal microscopy and quantitative real‐time PCR. The results obtained show that testosterone levels increase at a 3.9 μM concentration of nandrolone and return to the ba…
Fatty Acids of Microbial Origin in the Perirenal Fat of Rats (Rattus norvegicus domestica) and Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus) Fed Various Diets.
2020
Guinea pigs are assumed to practice caecotrophy to a higher degree than rats. Studies from leporids suggest that through the practice of caecotrophy, hindgut fermenting species could build up microbial fatty acids (FA) in body tissues. We hypothesized that microbial FA would be detectable in the body tissue of guinea pigs and rats, and this to a higher degree in guinea pigs. Twenty-four rats and guinea pigs were fed with four different pelleted diets (lucerne-, meat-, meat-bone-, insect-based) in groups of six animals for 8 weeks. Perirenal adipose tissue differed in FA composition between the species in spite of the common diets. FA typically associated with microbial activity (saturated F…
Relationship between -889 C/T polymorphism in interleukin-1A gene and risk of chronic periodontitis : evidence from a meta-analysis with new publishe…
2017
Background Periodontitis results from an inflammatory response caused by accumulative microorganisms in periodontal sites. Several factors are involved in pathogenesis of periodontitis, for example the -889 C/T polymorphism in interleukin-1A gene. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between this polymorphism and risk of development of chronic periodontitis by a meta-analysis based in new published findings. Material and Methods Thereunto a review in literature was performed in the electronic biomedical and education databases (Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, MEDLINE and PubMed) to studies published before August 2, 2015, the abstracts were evaluated and the data extraction perfo…
Improvement of In Vivo Expression of Genes Delivered by Self-Amplifying RNA Using Vaccinia Virus Immune Evasion Proteins.
2017
Among nucleic acid–based delivery platforms, self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vectors are of increasing interest for applications such as transient expression of recombinant proteins and vaccination. saRNA is safe and, due to its capability to amplify intracellularly, high protein levels can be produced from even minute amounts of transfected templates. However, it is an obstacle to full exploitation of this platform that saRNA induces a strong innate host immune response. In transfected cells, pattern recognition receptors sense double-stranded RNA intermediates and via activation of protein kinase R (PKR) and interferon signaling initiate host defense measures including a translational shutdow…
Genetics and Gene Therapy of Anderson-Fabry Disease.
2018
Fabry's disease is a genetic disorder of X-linked inheritance caused by mutations in the alpha galactosidase A gene resulting in deficiency of this lysosomal enzyme. The progressive accumulation of glycosphingolipids, caused by the inadequate enzymatic activity, is responsible of organ dysfunction and thus of clinical manifestations. In the presence of a high clinical suspicion, a careful physical examination and specific laboratory tests are required, finally diagnosis of Fabry's disease is confirmed by the demonstration of absence or reduced alpha-galactosidase A enzyme activity in hemizygous men and gene typing in heterozygous females; in fact the performance of enzymatic activity assay …
Clinical efficacy of α4 integrin block with natalizumab in ankylosing spondylitis
2016
We describe the impact of α4-β1/7 blockade with natalizumab, a recombinant humanised immunoglobulin (Ig) G4κ monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeted to the α4 subunit of the α4β1 and α4β7 integrins, on the gut and spine inflammation in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who developed multiple sclerosis after treatment with tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-blocking agents. A 45-year-old man with human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B27-positive AS was admitted in January 2007. He had been diagnosed with AS 4 years earlier based on the presence of inflammatory back pain, peripheral arthritis, radiographic bilateral grade 2 sacroiliitis, HLA-B27 positivity. At that time, he had evidence of chronic int…
With mouse age comes wisdom : a review and suggestions of relevant mouse models for age-related conditions
2016
Ageing is a complex multifactorial process that results in many changes in physiological changes processes that ultimately increase susceptibility to a wide range of diseases. As such an ageing population is resulting in a pressing need for more and improved treatments across an assortment of diseases. Such treatments can come from a better understanding of the pathogenic pathways which, in turn, can be derived from models of disease. Therefore the more closely the model resembles the disease situation the more likely relevant the data will be that is generated from them. Here we review the state of knowledge of mouse models of a range of diseases and aspects of an ageing physiology that ar…
Role of the DNA repair glycosylase OGG1 in the activation of murine splenocytes
2017
OGG1 (8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylase) is the major DNA repair glycosylase removing the premutagenic DNA base modification 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) from the genome of mammalian cells. In addition, there is accumulating evidence that OGG1 and its substrate 8-oxoG might function in the regulation of certain genes, which could account for an attenuated immune response observed in Ogg1-/- mice in several settings. Indications for at least two different mechanisms have been obtained. Thus, OGG1 could either act as an ancillary transcription factor cooperating with the lysine-specific demethylase LSD1 or as an activator of small GTPases. Here, we analysed the activation by lipopolysaccaride…
The analysis of estrogen receptor-α positive breast cancer stem-like cells unveils a high expression of the serpin proteinase inhibitor PI-9: Possibl…
2016
Abstract Breast cancer stem cells seem to play important roles in breast tumor recurrence and endocrine therapy resistance, although the underlying mechanisms have not been well established. Moreover, in some tumor systems the immunosurveillance failure against cancer cells has been related to the presence of the granzyme B inhibitor PI-9. This study explored the status of PI-9 in tumorspheres isolated from estrogen receptor-α positive (ERα+) breast cancer MCF7 cells. Studies were performed in tertiary tumorspheres which possess high levels of stemness markers (Nanog, Oct3/4 and Sox2) and self-renewal ability. The exposure to estrogens (17-β estradiol and genistein) increased the number and…
Efficient Delivery of Human Cytomegalovirus T Cell Antigens by Attenuated Sendai Virus Vectors.
2018
ABSTRACT Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) represents a major cause of clinical complications during pregnancy as well as immunosuppression, and the licensing of a protective HCMV vaccine remains an unmet global need. Here, we designed and validated novel Sendai virus (SeV) vectors delivering the T cell immunogens IE-1 and pp65. To enhance vector safety, we used a replication-deficient strain (rdSeV) that infects target cells in a nonproductive manner while retaining viral gene expression. In this study, we explored the impact that transduction with rdSeV has on human dendritic cells (DCs) by comparing it to the parental, replication-competent Sendai virus strain (rcSeV) as well as the poxvirus …