Search results for "Assays"

From ethnobotany to experimental research: the therapeutic properties of Sicilian hellebore

2018

In Sicily, the genus Helleborus (Ranuculaceae) is only represented by H. bocconei subsp. siculus (= H. bocconei subsp. intermedius). In some mountain areas of the Island, the rhizomes of this plant, harvested in a particular month of the year (May) and dried, are used in traditional veterinary practice for treating pneumonia in domestic animals, cattle and horses in particular. The same usage – with rhizomes of other Helleborus species or subspecies – is reported from various other areas of Mediterranean Europe. Phytochemical tests have permitted the isolation and characterization of new biologically active molecules. The extracts of rhizomes and aerial parts of the plant were shown antibac…

The Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition Process in Wilms Tumor

2011

Background Until now, only a few mouse-transplanted human tumors or experimental Wilms tumor (WT) cell lines have been described. The aim of this study was to show the biological behavior, including histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and molecular biology, of a WT including the original tumor and metastasis transferred into nude mice and followed for successive generations in xenografts. Methods A WT metastasis was xenotransplanted into nude mice and the mice was monitored for 7 passages over a period of 29 months; the original neoplasm was comparatively studied. The morphology was evaluated by optical and electron microscopy. The protein expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry …

Food hypersensitivity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: the diagnostic role of fecal assays.

2011

Food hypersensitivity-associated irritable bowel syndrome: may fecal assays improve diagnosis?

2011

The consequences of physical post-treatments (microwave and electron-beam) on food/packaging interactions: A physicochemical and toxicological approa…

2016

IF 4.052; The safety of microwave and electron-beam treatments has been demonstrated, in regards to the formation of reaction products that could endanger human health. An integrated approach was used combining the potential toxicity of all the substances likely to migrate to their chemical characterizations. This approach was applied to polypropylene (PP) films prepared with a selection of additives. Components were identified by liquid and gas chromatography using a mass selective detector system. Their potential toxicity was assessed using three in vitro short-term bioassays and their migrations were carried out using a standards-based approach. After the electron-beam treatment some add…

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of thiophene analogues of chalcones.

2008

Chalcones are characterized by possessing an enone moiety between two aromatic rings. A series of chalcone-like agents, in which the double bond of the enone system is embedded within a thiophene ring, were synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activity and inhibition of tubulin assembly and colchicine binding to tubulin. The replacement of the double bond with a thiophene maintains antiproliferative activity and therefore must not significantly alter the relative conformation of the two aryl rings. The synthesized compounds were found to inhibit the growth of several cancer cell lines at nanomolar to low micromolar concentrations. In general, all compounds having significant anti…

GIV noroviruses and other enteric viruses in bivalves: a preliminary study.

2012

We evaluated the presence of the enteric viruses: norovirus, adenovirus, enterovirus, astrovirus, hepatitis A virus, and hepatitis E virus in bivalves using nested PCR methods and cell culture assays. Noroviruses GII.4 and GIV.1, adenoviruses types 1 and 2, hepatitis A, and echovirus type 7 were detected in the shellfish tested, which were often co-infected. This is the first study to detect such a high level of viral contamination in Italian mussels (up to four different viral groups in a single sample), and the first to document the presence of GIV NoV in shellfish.

Binding and/or hydrolysis of purine‐based nucleotides is not required for IM30 ring formation

2021

IM30, the inner membrane-associated protein of 30 kDa, is conserved in cyanobacteria and chloroplasts. Although its exact physiological function is still mysterious, IM30 is clearly essential for thylakoid membrane biogenesis and/or dynamics. Recently, a cryptic IM30 GTPase activity has been reported, albeit thus far no physiological function has been attributed to this. Yet, it is still possible that GTP binding/hydrolysis affects formation of the prototypical large homo-oligomeric IM30 ring and rod structures. Here, we show that the Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 IM30 protein in fact is an NTPase that hydrolyzes GTP and ATP, but not CTP or UTP, with about identical rates. While IM30 forms lar…

Inhibition of the HER2 pathway by n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids prevents breast cancer in fat-1 transgenic mice

2013

Overexpression of the tyrosine kinase receptor, ErbB2/HER2/Neu, occurs in 25–30% of invasive breast cancer (BC) with poor patient prognosis. Due to confounding factors, inconsistencies still remain regarding the protective effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on BC. We therefore evaluated whether fat-1 transgenic mice, endogenously synthesizing n-3 PUFAs from n-6 PUFAs, were protected against BC development, and we then aimed to study in vivo a mechanism potentially involved in such protection. E0771 BC cells were implanted into fat-1 and wild-type (WT) mice. After tumorigenesis examination, we analyzed the expression of proteins involved in the HER2 signaling pathway and lipi…

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), EGFR downstream pathway activation and TKI targeted therapies sensitivity: Effect of the plasma membrane-associat…

2017

Adenocarcinoma of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is a severe disease. Patients carrying EGFR mutations may benefit from EGFR targeted therapies (e.g.: gefitinib). Recently, it has been shown that sialidase NEU3 directly interacts and regulates EGFR. In this work, we investigate the effect of sialidase NEU3 overexpression on EGFR pathways activation and EGFR targeted therapies sensitivity, in a series of lung cancer cell lines. NEU3 overexpression, forced after transfection, does not affect NSCLC cell viability. We demonstrate that NEU3 overexpression stimulates the ERK pathway but this activation is completely abolished by gefitinib treatment. The Akt pathway is also hyper-activated upo…